Grade 6 Short Stories August 2025

Grade 6 Short Stories

1 The Bird
Alabama State Department of Education 2005

“Come back, Butch!” shouted Tom as he scrambled after the brown terrier. “You’re not
dry yet!” The dog raced across the field behind Tom’s house, heading for some pine
trees. Butch was not fond of his weekly bath and tried to escape at every opportunity.
“If he gets into the woods, he’ll need another bath,” mumbled Tom. “I wish Molly were
here to help.” Just then, a girl rushed up. “Did he take off again?” Turning to find his
friend Molly, Tom replied, “Yes, and he’s probably already rolling in dirt. We need to
bring him back.” As the two friends headed for the trees on the far side of the field,
they heard Butch barking.

“Butch doesn’t usually bark unless there’s trouble,” said Tom. Molly and Tom hurried.
They found Butch barking furiously at a small bird on the ground. It flapped one wing
rapidly in a desperate attempt to fly away while it held the other wing close to its side.

Tom grabbed Butch and pulled him away. Molly carefully picked up the bird and tried
to console it with a soothing voice. “I think its wing is broken,” whispered Molly. “Let’s
take it to my house. Dad will know what to do,” said Tom. Back at the house, Tom’s
dad looked the bird over. He agreed that the wing was broken. Carefully, he set the
wing to keep it still. “The bird will need looking after until its wing heals,” said Tom’s
dad. “Are you up for it?” “Oh, sure,” both Tom and Molly replied. “You’ll need to keep it
fed and watered every day,” cautioned Tom’s dad. “We will,” promised Tom. The two
found an old birdcage in the garage and set it on Tom’s porch. Molly put the bird inside
while Tom found a water dish. Molly suggested, “How about we take turns? I’ll go hunt
for some worms while you stay and watch the bird. Tomorrow we’ll switch.” “Okay,”
agreed Tom.

The two friends took turns caring for the bird. They became quite fond of the little bird
as each day it grew stronger. After a few weeks had passed, Tom’s dad said, “It looks
fine.” The bird seemed to confirm this as it fluttered both wings. “I think we need to

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Grade 6 Short Stories August 2025

keep the bird a while longer,” said Tom. “Yeah. I don’t want to let it go too soon and
have it not be able to live on its own,” chimed in Molly. “You know this bird owes you
its life,” said Tom’s dad. “But now it’s time to let it go.” “Okay, Dad,” said Tom. “We’ll
take it to the woods this afternoon.”

Butch tagged along as Molly and Tom walked slowly to the trees where they had first
found the bird. Opening the cage door, they stood back. The bird hopped slowly to the
opening and then suddenly flew out. It settled on a nearby tree limb. Butch barked
once, and the bird flew off into the deep green needles of the pine trees. “Well, Butch,
it’s bath time again,” said Tom. “But we’ll make sure you don’t get out until you’re dry.”

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Grade 6 Short Stories August 2025

2 African Fable—The Lion and the Spider

It was a sunny day in the grassland. The lion had slept well. It was fierce when it
hunted. But today it was not hungry yet. It would hunt for food later in the day. Right
now, all it wanted to do was relax. It stretched out and watched the grass.

Then it noticed a spider. The spider was climbing on a plant. Then the spider jumped
to the next plant and left a string between them. It was making a web. The lion watched
for a while. “How clever you are,” it said to the spider. How did you learn to do that?
The spider said, “My mother showed me how to do this. I learned from her. And I have
taught my children. How to make webs.”

The lion watched a while longer. Then it asked the spider, “But why do you do that
when you could just grab your food, the way I do?” “I am just a small animal. I cannot
run fast. So I do not eat insects that run. I cannot fly. I eat flies. So with my web I can
catch them.” The lion said, “Could you make me a web that could catch an animal for
me to eat? Then I would not have to run after them either.”

The spider thought about that. At first she thought the lion was joking. But he was not.
“I can’t do that,” she said. My web can catch a fly. But it could not catch a big animal.
And you could not live by eating flies.” Just then a fly flew into the spider’s web. She
went to get it. She wrapped it up for her children. Then she went back to spinning more
of the web.

The lion was very selfish. It was jealous of the spider. It did not have to work hard for
its food. And it would not help him get his food. So it slapped at the spider web and
broke it. But the spider jumped onto the lion’s back. And it bit the lion. “Now you will
remember me,” said the spider as she hopped of and into the grass. “Think before you
are mean to another animal. We are all special. And some of us may be small but very
smart.” The lion tried to scratch its back but could not reach the spider bite. It itched
for days. The lion remembered the smart spider for a long time.

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Grade 6 Short Stories August 2025

3 The Lost Dog

One particularly cold Saturday in January, I was supposed to take our dog out for a
walk, but it was so cold that I didn’t want to go outside. Instead, I just opened the door
and let the dog out by himself. I kept an eye on him to make sure he would come back
inside. However, another neighbourhood dog quickly ran past our house, and our dog
sped after to catch him. I hurriedly went to grab my coat so I could follow my dog, and
then I rushed outside. Unfortunately, I was already too late, and my dog was nowhere
in sight.

I walked a few blocks, but I was unable to find him. Distressed, I returned home. My
mother was standing at the door waiting, and she asked me what had happened. “I
know I was supposed to walk our dog,” I confessed, “but I thought he would be able
to go outside and come back by himself. Now he’s gone and I can’t find him anywhere.”
My mother was very angry with me; she said I should have been more responsible.
She decided to help by making some signs. The signs read, “Lost: A big black dog.
Please call us right away” and she printed our phone number on the bottom. “Okay,
Darrell,” she said, as she handed over the stack of signs, “now go post these fliers on
all the street posts.” My sister and I grabbed the signs and we posted them along our
street as well as along the surrounding streets.

The whole time, I was incredibly sad and worried about our dog. All I could think about
was how cold it was and how cold our dog must be. My sister wanted to go home, so
I told her I’d walk her home, but then keep looking for the dog myself. I took her home
and resumed my search I continued circling the neighbourhood, looking for our dog,
but I didn’t see him anywhere. I called out his name, and I looked in all the alleys. I got
more and more upset. I had made such a huge mistake. All I wanted was to stay warm,
but now I was extremely cold—and so was my dog.

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Grade 6 Short Stories August 2025

Finally, I gave up and sulked home. When I returned, my mother was waiting for me
and smiling broadly. She told me, “Our dog came back home all by himself. So, you
were right—he did come back—but you were wrong, too. You should have done your
job this morning.” “You’re right, mom. I was wrong, and, as a result, I have learned a
very important lesson today. What seems easy initially may turn out to be difficult in
the end. This was a very difficult morning for everyone.” Ever since that morning, I
have remembered that important lesson I learned.

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