Rattle-Ben Plays Hide-and-Seek
Rattle-Ben was a happy little skeleton. He lived in a cozy house under a hill.
Rattle-Ben loved to play games with his friends. His best friend was a friendly ghost named Pip.
One sunny day, Pip flew into the yard. "Let us play hide-and-seek!" Pip called out.
"I will hide first!" said Rattle-Ben with a wide grin. He looked for the best spot in the garden.
He crept behind a big oak tree. He tried to stand very still.
Clack-clack-clack! went his knees. Click-clack! went his ribs.
Pip floated right over to the tree. "I found you, Rattle-Ben!" Pip laughed.
"Oh, barnacles!" said Rattle-Ben. "My bones are too noisy."
Next, Rattle-Ben crawled inside a wooden barrel. He held his breath and pulled his knees up.
Rattle-tat-tat! went his funny elbow bones. The wood made the sound even louder!
Pip peeked right over the top of the barrel. "I hear you in there!" Pip cheered.
Rattle-Ben climbed out and sighed. "I cannot win this game," he said.
Then Pip had a clever idea. "Wait here!" Pip said, zooming into the house.
Pip came back with fuzzy winter socks. There were colorful socks for Ben's feet and elbows.
Ben pulled the soft wool socks over his bones. He crept behind a big flower bush.
- skeleton:
- The frame of bones that supports a body.
- garden:
- An outdoor area with plants, trees, or flowers.
- barrel:
- A large round container with flat ends, often made of wood.
- clever:
- Quick to learn, understand, or think of smart ideas.
- fuzzy:
- Covered with soft, frizzy hair or woolly fibers.
More sheets from this passage
Built from the text itself — answer key included where it counts.
fix the sentence
Sentences from the passage with the capitals and punctuation removed — rewrite each one correctly.
vocabulary worksheet
Match the passage words to their meanings, then fill the missing words back into real sentences.
writing prompts
Two writing tasks that build on the passage, with plenty of lines to write on.
- All 4 sheets as one workbookPro
One PDF with a cover, contents page and every answer key at the back.
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About this short story passage for Lower Elementary
“Rattle-Ben Plays Hide-and-Seek” is a short story reading passage about hide-and-seek, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (260 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.