Hero the Brave Chicken
Everyone on the farm believes that Hero is the bravest chicken in the whole wide world. But the only thing Hero really knows how to do is jump out of his feathers and run at the tiniest sound! Then one day, a mysterious sound he has never heard before begins to echo across the farm. This time, running away isn't as easy as it usually is. As Hero follows his curiosity with his new friends, he starts to discover that sometimes being brave doesn't mean not being scared. It means taking a step forward, even when you are. Full of laughter, friendship, and courage, Hero the Brave Chicken invites children on a fun and unforgettable adventure on a warm and cozy farm.
Free story — no account needed to read it.
15 Minutes
3 Endings
7-10
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About This Story
“Hero the Brave Chicken” is an interactive adventure story for children aged 7-10, about 15 minutes long. The reader decides how it goes at 6 choice points, and there are 3 different endings. It is free to read on Kitapz, with no account needed.
- Age range
- 7-10 years
- Reading time
- about 15 minutes
- Genre
- Adventure
- Format
- Interactive · 6 choice points · 3 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Corny, Hazel, Gale, Hero
- Values
- Courage, Honesty, Friendship
- Collections
- Adventure stories, Stories for ages 7-8, Stories for ages 9-10
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
Hero (thinking):
Click... Pitter-patter... What's that sound?
Hero sits bolt upright on his perch.
Hero (thinking):
It came from the right corner... It must be something dangerous.
Hero:
“Didn't anyone wake up? How can everyone sleep so soundly?”
In the dim coop, he listens hard and waits for morning.
As Hero steps down into the yard at sunrise, a big tin can tips over with a CLANG.
Hero:
“Help! Run! Save yourselves!”
Running in a panic, he bumps into the giant rolling feed barrel, and the barrel lands back in place with a THUD.
Hero (thinking):
I can't breathe... My heart's about to jump right out of me.
Hero:
“Did I... did I just do that?”
“Hero the Brave Chicken” · Ages 7-10 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children follow Hero, a jumpy rooster hailed as brave after an accident, as he tries to work out what is making a mysterious night-time sound. It invites talk about tall tales versus what really happened, and about hiding fear versus sharing it. Readers' choices decide whom Hero confides in and who searches with him.
What will children learn from this story?
- Recognizes that feeling scared is normal and that courage can mean taking a small step even while afraid.
- Learns to tell the difference between a blown-up retelling of an event and a plain account of what happened.
- Practises making sense of a frightening sound by listening carefully and piecing clues together instead of running away.
- Thinks about how sharing a worry with a trusted friend can make it feel lighter.
Curriculum links: Life skills, Science, Language arts
Fact Box
Is a rooster a chicken?
Yes. Chicken is the name of the whole species: an adult male is called a rooster, a young male a cockerel, an adult female a hen, and a young one a chick.
Source: Wikipedia
Why do chickens sleep on a perch at night?
In natural conditions, roosting off the ground protects chickens from predators on the ground, and birds' feet are thought to be adapted to close around a perch when they sit. Poultry experts note that chickens kept without a place to roost become agitated, especially around dusk.
Source: University of Georgia Extension
How do crickets chirp?
In most cricket species only the males chirp. They rub their front wings together, so that a scraper on one wing rasps across a comb-like row of ridges, called a file, on the other; their calling song attracts females. Crickets hear through ear-like organs on their front legs.
Source: Wikipedia
How can we tell which direction a sound is coming from?
By comparing what our two ears hear. A noise from the right is slightly louder in the right ear and reaches it a tiny bit earlier than the left, and the brain uses differences as small as a 100,000th of a second to work out where the sound is coming from.
Source: BBC Science Focus
Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)
The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.
-
Who? Who says "Too loud. Too exaggerated." about Hazel's story?
Answer: Corny the duck, who quietly waddles up to the crowd.
-
What? What happens when Hero steps down into the yard at sunrise?
Answer: A big tin can tips over with a clang, and as he runs off in a panic he bumps into the rolling feed barrel, which lands back in place.
-
Where? Where does Hazel tell the crowd about the barrel?
Answer: In front of the hayloft.
-
When? When does Hero first hear the "click... pitter-patter" sound?
Answer: At night in the dim coop, while everyone else is asleep, and he listens hard until morning.
-
Why? Why does Hero huddle off to the side while Hazel tells her story?
Answer: Because he knows he was only running away with his eyes closed, not standing up to the barrel.
-
How? How does Hazel say Hero faced the rolling barrel?
Answer: She says he stood before it fearlessly, like a mountain.
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- While Hazel was telling her tall tale, did you have Hero listen quietly or whisper the truth to Corny? Why did you pick that path?
- Did your Hero go looking for the sound on his own, or tell Corny first? When something scares you, do you tell someone, or try to deal with it by yourself?
- In this story, does being brave mean never feeling scared? Have you ever done something even though you were afraid?
- Hazel dresses events up, while Corny tells them short and plain. Which of them are you more like when you tell a story? When is exaggerating fun, and when can it put someone in a difficult spot?
Word List
- perch
- A bar or branch that a bird sits and sleeps on, like Hero's perch in the coop.
- hayloft
- The upper part of a barn where hay is stored.
- barrel
- A big round container with bulging sides; in the story it holds animal feed.
- tall tale
- A story that makes things sound much bigger or more exciting than they really were.
- exaggerated
- Made to sound bigger, better or scarier than it really is.
- waddle
- To walk with short steps, swaying from side to side, the way a duck does.
Activity Idea
Close your eyes for two minutes at home or in class and listen to every sound you can hear; like Hero, guess where each one is coming from, draw a "sound map" on paper, and then check your guesses together. Afterwards, try telling a small everyday event twice: first like Hazel, making it as big as possible, then like Corny, in three short sentences.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: