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If You Lived in a Castle

If you were alive more than 500 years ago, you might have lived in a castle!

By Blair Rainsford

From the March/April 2022 Issue

Lexiles: 530L

Guided Reading Level: L

DRA Level: 20-24

Featured Skill: Compare Two Texts,

Vocabulary: ache, knight, drawbridge, narrow, feast, stables, trapdoor, dungeon, spiral, tusk, jesters

Topic: Social Studies,

Jim McMahon

It’s the year 1450. You’re a 7-year-old boy. You’re riding in a wagon pulled by horses. Every time the wagon hits a bump in the road, you bounce in your seat. Your bones ache (ayk). They hurt. This is a long ride!

You’re on your way to your uncle’s castle. Your parents have sent you to live with him. You’ve never met him before. But he’s going to teach you how to be a knight!

The wagon pulls up in front of a huge castle. It’s a bit scary. You hop off the wagon.

The drawbridge is down for the daytime, so you walk across it. You get to a heavy gate. Guards with long, pointy spears glare at you, but they let you in.

Welcome to your new home.

It’s the year 1450. You’re a 7-year-old boy. You’re riding in a wagon pulled by horses. You bounce in your seat. The road is bumpy. Your bones ache (ayk). They hurt. It is a long ride!

You are going to your uncle’s castle. Your parents have sent you to live with him. You have never met him. But he’s going to teach you how to be a knight!

The wagon pulls up in front of a huge castle. It’s a bit scary. You hop off the wagon.

The drawbridge is down. You walk across it. You get to a heavy gate. Guards with long spears stare at you. But they let you in.

Welcome to your new home.

It’s the year 1450, and you’re a 7-year-old boy riding in a wagon pulled by horses. Every time the wagon hits a bump in the road, you bounce in your seat. It is a long ride, and your bones begin to ache!

You’re on your way to your uncle’s castle. Your parents have sent you to live with him even though you have never met. He’s going to teach you how to be a knight!

The wagon pulls up in front of a huge castle. It looks a bit scary, but you hop off the wagon anyway.

The drawbridge is down for the daytime, so you walk across it. You approach a heavy gate. Guards with long, pointy spears glare at you, but they let you enter.

Welcome to your new home.

PAUSE AND THINK: Who is telling this story?

A Cold Welcome

Here you are, inside the castle. Your footsteps echo on the hard stone floor. It’s drafty and chilly in here. Those stone walls are cold!

It’s dark inside. There are only a few narrow windows. They don’t let in much light.

A large man with a thick beard stomps into the room. He must be your uncle.

“Welcome, my boy!” he shouts. “Tonight we’re having a feast, and I want you to celebrate with us! Fergus here will show you around.”

A tall teenage boy shakes your hand. “I’m your cousin, Fergus,” he says. “Let me give you a tour of the castle.”

You are inside the castle. Your footsteps echo on the stone floor. It’s cold in here.

It’s dark inside. There are only a few windows. They don’t let in much light.

A large man with a thick beard comes into the room. He must be your uncle.

“Welcome, my boy!” he shouts. “Tonight we’re having a feast. I want you to celebrate with us! Fergus here will show you around.”

A tall teenage boy shakes your hand. “I’m your cousin. My name is Fergus,” he says. “Let me show you the castle.”

It’s dark inside because the few, narrow windows don’t let in much light.

A large man with a thick beard stomps into the room. You think he must be your uncle. “Welcome, my boy!” he shouts. “Tonight we’re having a feast, and you are invited to celebrate with us! Fergus here will show you around.”

A tall teenage boy shakes your hand. “I’m your cousin, Fergus,” he says. “Let me give you a tour of the castle.”

PAUSE AND THINK: What is the castle like so far?

Castle Sights

Fergus takes you out into the yard. Some workers are picking vegetables from the garden. Others are making butter
and cheese.

You go into the stables. That’s where the horses live. Boys are brushing and cleaning the horses.

As you go back in the castle, you pass by a trapdoor in the floor. “What’s that?” you ask.

“You don’t want to end up in there,” says Fergus. “It’s the dungeon! It’s like a jail.”

You hear spooky noises coming from inside. You shiver and run after Fergus.

Fergus takes you out into the yard. People are picking vegetables from the garden.

You go into the stables. That’s where the horses live. Boys are cleaning the horses.

You go back inside the castle. You pass a trapdoor in the floor. “What’s that?”
you ask.

“You don’t want to go there,” says Fergus. “It’s the dungeon! It’s like a jail.”

Yikes. You run after Fergus.

Fergus takes you out into the yard. Some workers are harvesting vegetables from the garden while others are making butter and cheese.

You go into the stables. Boys are grooming the horses.

As you go back into the castle, you notice a trapdoor in the floor. “What’s that?” you inquire. “You don’t want to end up in there,” explains Fergus. “It’s the dungeon!”

You hear spooky noises coming from inside. You shiver and run after Fergus.

PAUSE AND THINK: Name two things in the castle.

Getting Dressed

You follow Fergus up some stairs . . . and more stairs . . . and MORE stairs. Your legs get tired. The stairs are in a spiral, so you get dizzy. At last you reach the rooms at the top.

Fergus shows you the garderobe. That’s the toilet. It’s a seat with a hole in the bottom. Everything falls down a tunnel that leads outside the castle.

It’s time to get ready for the party! You brush your hair. The comb is made from a walrus tusk. Should you take a bath? Nah. You took one a few months ago. No one takes many baths.

You put on your best jacket, and you’re ready. Time to party!

You follow Fergus up some stairs. There are so many stairs! Your legs get tired. The stairs are in a spiral. At last, you get to the rooms at the top.

Fergus shows you the toilet. It is a seat with a hole in the bottom. Everything falls down a tunnel. It goes outside the castle.

It’s time to get ready for the party! Should you take a bath? No. You took one a few months ago. No one takes many baths.

You put on your best jacket. You’re ready.

You follow Fergus up some stairs . . . and more stairs . . . and MORE stairs. Your legs are exhausted. The stairs are in a spiral, so you get dizzy! At last you reach the rooms at the top.

Fergus shows you the garderobe—that’s what they call the toilet. It’s a seat with a hole in the bottom, and everything falls down a tunnel that leads outside the castle.

It’s time to prepare for the party! You brush your hair with a comb made from a walrus tusk. Should you take a bath? Nah. You took one a few months ago, and no one takes many baths.

You put on your best jacket, and you’re ready. Time to party!

PAUSE AND THINK: How do you get ready for the party?

A Fine Feast

You go down to the great hall with Fergus. The room is packed. Most people are sitting on benches at long tables. You spot your uncle sitting at a table at the end of the room. That’s a place of honor for the lord of the castle and his family. That means you too!

Workers carry around platters of food. You smell fresh bread, pies, and something smoky.

The room is full of smoke. You squint and look at the middle of the room. A huge piece of meat is cooking over a fire. “What’s that?” you ask. “It’s so big!”

“That’s a deer,” says Fergus. “We caught it on our hunt today, and we’ll eat it tonight!”

There’s one more special dish tonight—roast swan! You take a bite, but you don’t like it. It tastes too fishy.

While you eat, people put on a show! Musicians play. Jesters tell jokes and silly stories.

Dogs run around the hall, eating out of people’s hands. You see a dog poop on the floor. That’s stinky but pretty normal.

The party goes on for hours. It’s late in the night when you finally head off to bed. You’re tired—but you still have all those stairs to climb!

You go down to the great hall with Fergus. The room is crowded. People are sitting at long tables. You see your uncle. He sits at a table at the end of the room.

Workers carry around plates of food. You smell bread and pies.

The room is full of smoke. A huge piece of meat is cooking over a fire. “What’s that?” you ask. “It’s so big!”

“That’s a deer,” says Fergus.

There’s one more big dish tonight. It is roast swan! You take a bite. You don’t like it. It tastes too fishy.

While you eat, people put on a show! Musicians play. Jesters tell jokes and silly stories.

Dogs run around the hall. They eat out of people’s hands. You see a dog poop on the floor. It’s stinky but normal.

The party lasts for hours. It’s late in the night when you finally go to bed.

You arrive in the great hall with Fergus. The room is packed, and most people are sitting on benches at long tables. You spot your uncle sitting at a table at the end of the room. It is a place of honor for the lord of the castle’s family, and that means you too!

Workers carry around big platters of food. You smell fresh bread, pies, and something smoky.

You squint through the smoke and notice something in the middle of the room. A huge piece of meat is roasting over a fire. “What’s that?” you ask. “It’s huge!”

“That’s a deer we caught on our hunt today,” says Fergus. “We’ll eat it tonight!”

There’s one more special dish tonight. It is a roast swan! You take a bite, but you don’t like it—it tastes too fishy.

While you eat, people perform! Musicians play, and jesters entertain you with jokes and silly stories.

Dogs run around the hall, eating out of people’s hands. You notice a dog poop on the floor, and although it is stinky, it is pretty normal.

The party lasts for hours, and it is late into night when you finally head off to bed. You’re tired—but you still have all those stairs to climb!

PAUSE AND THINK: What is one kind of food served at the feast?

Goodnight, Castle

You’re huffing and puffing by the time you reach the top. Fergus climbs into his wooden bed, but there’s no room for you.

You’ll sleep on the floor. At least you’re right next to the fireplace! It’s warm and cozy there. You wrap up in your thick wool blankets. You hope there aren’t too many bedbugs in the blankets. Even fancy castles have bedbugs!

Now you drift off to sleep. Sleep tight!

You are tired by the time you reach the top. Fergus climbs into his bed. There is no room for you.

You’ll sleep on the floor. You are right next to the fireplace! It’s warm there. You wrap up in your blankets. You hope there aren’t too many bedbugs!

You go to sleep. Sleep tight!

You’re out of breath by the time you reach the top. Fergus climbs into his wooden bed, but there’s no room for you.

You’ll sleep on the floor, but at least you’re right next to the fireplace! It’s warm and cozy there. You wrap up in your thick wool blankets hoping that there aren’t too many bedbugs. Even fancy castles have bedbugs!

Finally, you drift off to sleep. Sleep tight!