The Water Beneath the Plain
At the end of August, in a village in Karapınar, a giant hole opens up overnight in the stubble field. Some say, "This plain has always been like this," while others are frightened, and the Officials won't arrive until tomorrow. Zoe picks up her notebook: Why did this hole open up, where else is the ground giving signs, and who needs to know about it?
Free story — no account needed to read it.
15 Minutes
4 Endings
9-10
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About This Story
“The Water Beneath the Plain” is an interactive educational story for children aged 9-10, about 15 minutes long. The reader decides how it goes at 5 choice points, and there are 4 different endings. It is free to read on Kitapz, with no account needed.
- Age range
- 9-10 years
- Reading time
- about 15 minutes
- Genre
- Educational
- Format
- Interactive · 5 choice points · 4 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Grandpa Hank, Eddie, Granny Fay, Mayor Reggie, Zoe, The Neighbors, The Barn Animals, The Officials
- Values
- Curiosity, Responsibility, Courage
- Collections
- Educational stories, Stories for ages 9-10
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
When Zoe opened her eyes on her floor mattress, footsteps were hurrying past the window. Someone was running, and someone was calling out to someone else. Zoe had come from the city to spend the last weeks of summer at her grandparents' village, and she had never woken up to a morning like this in the city.
The door opened. Granny Fay rushed in, trying to tie the ends of her headscarf.
Granny Fay:
“Up you get, sweetheart, up! The ground caved in out in the stubble field last night. There's a huge hole, and the whole village is running over there.”
Zoe leaped out of bed.
Zoe:
“I want to see it too, Granny!”
Granny Fay:
“But you stay right by my side. We'll look from far away, all right?”
Zoe nodded and tucked her blue notebook into her pocket. She would draw whatever she saw.
“The Water Beneath the Plain” · Ages 9-10 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children help Zoe find out why a sinkhole opened overnight in a Karapınar village: listening to older people's memories, sketching what she sees and looking for other signs. It explores the hidden water beneath the plain and a child's courage in getting adults to listen. Readers' choices decide which clues Zoe follows and whom she tells.
What will children learn from this story?
- Learns that a sinkhole opens when the roof of a hollow space in the rock underground caves in, and that water carves out such spaces over many years.
- Practices turning observations into questions, such as comparing an old sinkhole with a pond at the bottom to a new one that puffs up dust, and recording them in drawings and notes.
- Notices how small clues, like a well rope that gets longer every summer, a spring that has dried up or a crack that grows from one day to the next, can show changes happening underground.
- Thinks about who needs to know when you spot a danger, and why it helps to explain what you saw in order, with evidence.
Curriculum links: Science, Environmental education, Social studies
Fact Box
What is a sinkhole, and how does it form?
Sinkholes are most common where the rock underground, such as limestone or salt beds, can be dissolved by groundwater. As the rock dissolves, hollow spaces and caverns form; if there is not enough support for the land above them, the ground can suddenly collapse.
Source: USGS Water Science School
How many sinkholes are there in Turkey's Konya basin, and why is the number growing?
By December 2025 the total in the Konya basin was nearing 700, according to geology professor Fetullah Arık of Konya Technical University, who names climate change and drought as the main reasons. Groundwater levels there have been dropping by 4 to 5 metres a year, compared with about half a metre a year in the 2000s, and farmers digging more wells deplete the groundwater further.
Source: Reuters (via The Star)
What signs can show that a sinkhole may be forming?
Warning signs include ground slowly settling in one spot, doors and windows that stop closing properly, cracks in a foundation, a circular pattern of cracks in the ground around the sinking area, and well water turning cloudy. These signs can have other causes, and some sinkholes open with no warning at all.
Can there be a lake at the bottom of a sinkhole?
Some sinkholes fill with water and turn into lakes. Kızören Obruğu, a sinkhole in the Karatay district of Konya, Turkey, is about 171 m deep, and 145 m of that depth is water; the level of the lake reflects the local groundwater table.
Source: Kure Encyclopedia
Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)
The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.
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Who? Who is the boy in the red jersey who leans toward the rope to get a better picture?
Answer: Eddie, who lives in the house next door and says he knows every path in the village.
-
What? What rises from the hole when a chunk of earth breaks off, and what does Zoe work out from it?
Answer: A cloud of yellow dust rises, so Zoe realizes the bottom is bone-dry, with no mud and no water.
-
Where? Where has the huge hole opened up?
Answer: In the middle of the stubble field, a field where the crop has already been cut.
-
When? When did the ground cave in?
Answer: During the night; when Zoe wakes up in the morning, the whole village is running to see the hole.
-
Why? Why does Grandpa Hank go to check on the pump after lunch?
Answer: Because if the corn doesn't get its last watering that night, the cobs won't fill out.
-
How? How, according to Grandpa Hank, did hollow spaces form in the rock under the plain?
Answer: Water carved them out of the rock over many, many years.
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- At the first choice, did you send Zoe to follow the water with Grandpa Hank, or to look for signs in the ground with Eddie? Why did you pick that path?
- Zoe notices that everyone is talking, but nobody can say why the hole opened. Have you ever wondered about something that even grown-ups couldn't answer? How did you try to find out?
- If you noticed something dangerous, who would you tell first? What would you do if they didn't believe you at first?
- Where does the water we use at home come from? What could your family do to use less of it?
Word List
- sinkhole
- A deep hole that opens when the roof of an empty space underground caves in and the ground falls into it.
- stubble
- The short, dry stalks left standing in a field after the crop has been cut; a stubble field is a field like that.
- cob
- The long, thick middle part of an ear of corn that the kernels grow on.
- pulley
- A wheel that a rope runs over; turning it lifts the bucket up out of the well.
- trough
- A long, open container that farm animals drink or eat from.
- sheepfold
- A fenced or walled area where sheep are kept, especially at night.
Activity Idea
Line the bottom of a clear plastic container with a few sugar cubes and cover them with 3-4 cm of sand, then slowly pour water in at one side and watch what happens to the surface. Afterwards, compare the little model with what Grandpa Hank says about the rock under the plain.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: