Text Leveling System

You Look Ridiculous, Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus

RDQ:	469	Max Word/Sent	43	Total Words	1307		Diff Words	329
Lex	640	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	852	65.2%	Hi freq	135	41%
AR	2.6	Long Sentences	4.1	Low Freq occurs	46	3.5%	Low freq	29	8.8%

Once upon a time in the jungle...
A rhinoceros came upon a hippopotamus splashing about in the mud. "You look ridiculous" said the rhinoceros to the hippopotamus. "But I like mud" answered the hippopotamus. "Oh it isn't the mud that makes you look ridiculous" said the rhinoceros. "It's your nose." The hippopotamus look down at her nose. "What's wrong with my nose?" she asked. "You don't see anything missing?" the rhinoceros asked. The hippopotamus shook her head. "You don't see a horn missing?" the rhinoceros asked again. "A horn?" said the hippopotamus. "A horn" said the rhinoceros. "You nose doesn't have a horn and a nose without a horn looks absolutely ridiculous." Raising herself from the mud the hippopotamus looked down at her nose once more. When she looked up again the rhinoceros was gone. If only I had a horn like the rhinoceros I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus. That's the way it was with the hippopotamus. Once a worrisome thought was put into her head she would fret and fuss and fume and just never let go of it. There was only one way to settle it she decided. she would go and ask everyone she met if they too thought she looked ridiculous. First she met a lion. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the lion. The lion thought about it. "Well if it's an honest opinion you want..." the lion began at last. "Yes" said the hippopotamus. "Then I must say you do look ridiculous. Look at you" said the lion "you haven't got a mane. What you need is a glorious mane like mine." The lion shook his mane just to prove how truly glorious it was. "No hard feelings I hope" said the lion. "No hard feelings" answered the hippopotamus sadly. If only I had a glorious mane like the lion I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met a leopard. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the leopard. The leopard studied the hippopotamus carefully. "Now that you mention it..." the leopard began. "Yes" said the hippopotamus. "I would say you do look ridiculous. Look at you" said the leopard "you have no spots. What you need is a handsomely spotted coat like mine." The leopard gave a good long stretch to show off every last spot on his handsome coat. "We're still friends I hope" said the leopard. "We're still friends" answered the hippopotamus sadly. If only I had handsome spots like the leopard I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met an elephant. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the elephant. The elephant seemed surprised by the question. "I have to think about it" he said. The hippopotamus waited while the elephant thought. "Aha" said the elephant "I know what it is." "What?" asked the hippopotamus eagerly. "You have no ears." "No ears?" said the hippopotamus. "No ears to speak of" said the elephant. "What you need are big floppy ears like mine." The elephant flopped his ears to prove his point. "See what I mean?" said the elephant. "I see" answered the hippopotamus sadly. If only I had big floppy ears like the elephant I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met a monkey. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the monkey. "If you call not having a tail ridiculous then I would say you look ridiculous" answered the monkey. "No tail?" said the hippopotamus. "No tail to speak of" said the monkey. "Look at me" continued the monkey "I am not nearly your size and I have a magnificent tail." With that the monkey scrambled up a tree and swung from a branch by his tail. "Nothing personal of course" the monkey called down. "Of course not" the hippopotamus answered sadly. If only I had a magnificent tail like the monkey I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met a giraffe. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the giraffe. "Of course you look ridiculous" said the giraffe getting to the point at once. "You have no neck." "No neck?" said the hippopotamus. "No neck to speak of" said the giraffe. "How can you possible see the world without a neck?" "I see flowers I see birds I see the stars at night..." began the hippopotamus. "Ah but do you see the treetops? Do you see the distant hills? Of course not" said the giraffe answering her own questions. "What you need is a long long neck like mine." With that the giraffe stretched out her neck until it seemed her head would disappear into the clouds and she went about the business of seeing the world. "I think you're very nice otherwise" the giraffe called back over her shoulder. "Thank you" answered the hippopotamus sadly. If only I had a long long neck like the giraffe I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met a turtle. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the turtle. "I suppose someone should tell you" said the turtle. "Yes" said the hippopotamus. "You do look ridiculous without a shell." "A shell?" said the hippopotamus. "Oh they're wonderful" said the turtle. "I couldn't live without one. My shell is my house. It keeps me warm when it is cold and cool when it is hot. And if I ever need a place to hide" said the turtle backing into her shell "I know exactly where to go. You'd have found out sooner or later" the turtle called out from inside her little house. "I suppose" answered the hippopotamus sadly. If only I had a wonderful shell like the turtle I wouldn't look ridiculous thought the hippopotamus continuing her walk. She met a nightingale. "Do you think I look ridiculous?" she asked the nightingale. "If you don't mind my saying so I think you sound ridiculous" said the nightingale. "What you need is a beautiful voice like mine. Listen" said the nightingale. And the nightingale sang a beautiful but sad song for the hippopotamus. Suddenly the hippopotamus could not bear to continue her walk or ask further questions. "I am a ridiculous creature" she sighed. "I shall never find a place to hide and never show myself to anyone again." The hippopotamus ran and ran until she found a lonely place where no one would find her. "Why did I have to be born looking so ridiculous?" she cried as she fell asleep that night. While sleeping she began to dream. And as so often happens in dreams her dearest of wishes were granted. She dreamed she had a horn like the rhinoceros's a mane like the lion's spots like the leopard's ears like the elephant's a tail like the monkey's a neck like the giraffe's a shell like the turtle's and a voice like the nightingale's. So delighted was the hippopotamus with her new appearance she ran to show herself off to everyone. "Look at me" she called out in her sweet nightingale voice "I no longer look ridiculous." Everyone laughed when they saw the new hippopotamus. The monkey laughed so hard he almost fell out of his tree. "What is wrong?" cried the hippopotamus. "Why do you laugh? Can't you see for yourselves I no longer look ridiculous?" This only made the animals laugh even more. The hippopotamus rushed to a rain puddle to see for herself. "Ohhhh..." she cried out upon seeing his reflection "I look ridiculous." She was so shaken by what she saw she shook herself awake. "Thank goodness it was only a dream" the hippopotamus sighed with relief. Joyfully she plopped herself into the nearest mudhole and from that day to this is proud to be just what she is - a big fat wonderful hippopotamus.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Character traits

Clear cause/effect

Topic

Body

Trying to please

Appearances

Differences

Jungles

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

absolutely	fret	further	glorious	granted
handsome	handsomely	honest	joyfully	leopard
leopard's	magnificent	mention	nightingale	nightingale's
opinion	otherwise	personal	prove	raising
reflection	rhinoceros's	ridiculous	scrambled	shaken
studied	truly	worrisome	yourselves