Text Leveling System

Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill

RDQ:	1218	Max Word/Sent	34	Total Words	1371		Diff Words	485
Lex	780	Ave Word/.Sent	12	Hi Freq occurs	932	68%	Hi freq	212	43.7%
AR	4.0	Long Sentences	11.4	Low Freq occurs	71	5.2%	Low freq	58	12%

In olden times
when Ireland's glens and woods
were still filled with fairies and leprechauns
giants too lived on that fair Emerald Isle.
One of the finest of those big folk was Fin M'Coul
who was wed to the lovely great lass Oonagh.
They made their home on the top of Knockmany Hill.]]
Now as any good giant
Fin M'Coul had his work to do
so he was often away from home.
Lovely Oonagh didn't seem to mind
for there was plenty to keep her own hands busy.
Spinning knitting and even giving a pretty touch
to their great house.]]
Live was very pleasant indeed.
One morning
when Fin M'Coul was busy
working with his kin
building a causeway to Scotland
the word came that Cucullin was coming.]]
Cucullin was giant too and without doubt
the strongest in that part of the world.
When he walked the very earth trembled
and with one blow of his fist
he had flattened a thunderbolt
so it looked like a pancake.
He was so proud of that feat
that he kept the thunderbolt in his pocket
to show all just how strong he was.]]
Every giant in Ireland
had been given a good beating by Cucullin.
Every giant that is
except Fin M'Coul.
And Cucullin swore by the green
that he would never rest
day or night winter or summer
until Fin M'Coul was added to his list.]]
So far Fin had been smart enough.
He kept moving about whenever he heard
that Cucullin was in the neighborhood.
But this time Cucullin was sure to get him.
So Fin left the causeway
and sped off for Knockmany Hill
his house and his darling Oonagh.]]
"Fin m' love" said Oonagh
greeting him at the door
"what brings you home so early from your work?"
"The chance to get a sight of you
my sweet thing" said Fin.
Since was as honest as the summer day is long
he added "And to keep out of the way of Cucullin.
He's after me!"]]
Oonagh soothed her husband.
She brought him his slippers
and lit a pipe for him.
She stirred up the peat fire so it would be cozy.
Then she set down a huge mug of stout
and cut a gigantic slab of soda bread for her dearie.
"Fin husband of mine enough is enough"
said Oonagh as gently as she could.
"For years you've been hikin' around
from one place to another to avoid this Cucullin.]]
"Why you even built our house high on the windiest
of hills so you'd be able to spy him comin'.
You'll not get a moment's rest
until you stand fast and face him."
"Aye I'll be getting plenty of rest
if I stand fast and he knocks me down.
I don't have the heart to face a man
who can make a young earthquake just with his walk
and who carries around a flattened thunderbolt
in his pocket just to prove his strength."]]
At that Knockmany Hill gave a little dance.
"He's coming!" said Fin
his face turning a fine shade of pale green.
"Now hush" said Oonagh
"and give me time to think.
Do you worry that I won't do all I can
to help you settle this matter once and for all?"]]
Oonagh then worked her charm
the fairies had taught her.
She took nine woolen threads
each a different color
and braided them into three braids.
She put one around her right arm
one circling her heart
and the third around her right ankle.
Now nothing she did could fail.]]
Next she sent around to all the neighbors
to borrow one and twenty iron frying pans.
She hid them in one and twenty loaves of bread
that she baked on the fire in the usual way.
She set them in the cupboard
with some bread she had baked the day before.
She then took a pot fo milk
and made ito a fresh wet cheese
and put it along with some white stones
at the foot of the cradle she had made up.]]
"Now my darlin'" she said
handing Fin some baby clothes.
"Put these on and do everything 
just as I'm about to tell you."
"And remember" she said at last
"Cucullin's strength lies in the brass finger
he has on his right hand.
Now quick into the cradle because I hear 
that man-mountain at the door."]]
"All right woman"
bellowed the giant at the door.
"Where's that coward Fin M'Coul
that I've been chasin' after all this time?"
"Well well" said Oonagh
with her sweetest smile.]]
"Now isn't that a shame.
Fin was off workin' on the causeway
when some important family affair called him away.
But he'll be home by tea time
so why don't you come right in and sit down."
Poor Fin trembled in the cradle.]]
"See this" Cucullin said
pulling what looked like a pancake out of his pocket.
"This was a thunderbolt
until I caught it and flattened it.
And that's what I'm goin' to do to Fin M'Coul too."
"Tsk-tsk" said Oonagh.
"That may not be as easy as you think.
Fin M'Coul's a big broth of a man.
Why take a look at our little baby
and you might be gettin' and idea
of the strength and breadth of Fin himself."]]
Cucullin peeked in the cradle.
"Chirrup" said the huge baby looking back at him.
"My" said Cucullin "What a big boy!"
"While you're waitin'
why not have a bite to eat" said Oonagh.
She put some loaves of bread on the table
along with a can or two of butter
and a pile of cabbages.]]
Cucullin who was as much a glutton
as a bully
popped a loaf into his mouth
and took a huge bite -
right down on one of the frying pans.
Clang!
"Yowl!" shouted Cucullin.
"What kind of devil's bread is this?
Here are two of my teeth out!"]]
"That's Fin's bread
the only kind he eats" said Oonagh.
"is it a bit too tough for you?"
"Too tough for me?" shouted Cucullin.
"I should say not. Just give me another."
Cucullin chomped into another loaf...
and into another frying pan.
"I'll not have a tooth left in my mouth woman.
There's two more out!"
Cucullin hollered even louder.]]
The baby began to holler too.
"Hungry hungry hungry."
"Ah sweet dumplin'" said Oonagh.
and she handed Baby-Fin of loaf.
And because there was no frying pan in it
Fin ate it right down.
"More" said the baby
and he gobbled up another loaf.]]
"He seems a strong lad" said Cucullin
getting a little bit worried.
If this was the baby the father must indeed
be a bit stronger than Cucullin thought.
"Ah yes" said Oonagh beaming.
"Why instead of dollies he loves to play
with those white stones there in his cradle.
Show the nice man baby dear."]]
Fin did as he was told.
He picked up a stone that was really the cheese
and squeezed all the water out of it
and popped it into his mouth and ate it down.
Cucullin was not to be outdone by a baby.]]
He grabbed a stone and squeezed. 
He squeezed. And squeezed.
Squeeze as he might
he couldn't get a drop of water out of it.
He popped it into his mouth and with a chomp
there went the rest of his teeth.]]
The howl that came out of him
almost broke all the windows.
When he finally calmed down
Cucullin said to Oonagh
"What kind of teeth does that lad have?
They must be made of iron!
Let me see your choppers baby."]]
At that
Baby-Fin opened wide his mouth
and Cucullin stuck in his brass finger -
the very brass finger
that was the secret of his strength.]]
With a strong bite
Fin M'Coul bit the brass finger right off.
Then up Fin leapt
and began to pound the daylights
out of poor weak Cucullin.
That was that.]]
Out the door went Cucullin never to bother anyone 
let alone Fin M'Coul again.
"Tea's ready m' love" said Oonagh
and Fin M'Coul sat down with the best giant wife
in the whole world.
And they lived a long happy life.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Some Long/Complex

Text structure: Story/Poem

Inferences: Several Implications

Complexity: Several ideas - closely related

Concept: Fanciful

Prior Knowledge: Familiarity

Features

Character traits

Integral Setting

Complex Problem/Solution

Figurative Language

Difficult names

Dialect/Accents

Unusual use of vocabulary

Topic

Giants

Tricking

Fears

Danger

Fighting

Love

*Fictional Ideas/Charac

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

borrow	breadth	calmed	carries	causeway
chasin	circling	comin'	coward	daylights
dearie	devil's	doubt	dumplin	emerald
fairies	folk	gettin	gigantic	glens
glutton	gobbled	goin	handing	hikin
holler	hollered	honest	isle	ito
kin	knitting	knockmany	knocks	lass
leapt	leprechauns	loaves	m'coul's	moment's
neighborhood	neighbors	olden	oonagh	outdone
peat	pleasant	prove	scotland	soothed
stirred	stout	threads	thunderbolt	waitin
windiest	workin	yowl