🏮 The Lantern in the Woods

Reflexive pronouns • Reading • Vocabulary

Today’s Goals

Read Nora’s adventure, choose reflexive pronouns that agree with their subjects, and practice wild, mild, child, right, night, sight, and fight.

Read first, then open each activity and check it when you finish.

MiClase.org Link List

🎯 Reflexive Pronoun Cheatsheet

Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object refer to the same person or thing: Leo pinched himself. Leo did the action, and Leo received it.

I → myself
you (one person) → yourself
he → himself
she → herself
it → itself
we → ourselves
you (two or more people) → yourselves
they → themselves

By + reflexive pronoun means alone or without help: “You’re not going by yourself.” Help yourself to means take some food or drink. Behave yourself means act properly.

These forms can also add emphasis: “Nora herself carried the lantern.” In that use, they are called intensive pronouns. Avoid using a reflexive pronoun as the subject: say “Leo and I went,” not “Leo and myself went.”

📘 The Lantern in the Woods

Nora had always considered herself brave, but the woods looked different at night. From her bedroom window, she could see a small golden light moving between the trees.

“It’s probably a firefly,” she told herself.

Then the light blinked three times, and someone shouted, “Help!”

Nora pulled on her boots and wrapped herself in a coat. Her little brother, Leo, appeared in the doorway.

“You’re not going by yourself,” he said.

“You’re a child.”

“So are you.”

Nora couldn’t argue with that. They equipped themselves with a flashlight, reminded themselves to stay on the path, and stepped outside.

The air was mild, but the woods smelled wild: damp earth, pine needles, and something strangely like burned toast.

“Stay on my right,” Nora whispered.

“I can look after myself,” Leo replied, immediately tripping over his own feet.

They followed the golden glow until they reached an enormous oak. Beneath it stood a fox wearing a blue waistcoat. He was trying to pull his tail out of a hollow log.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he said. “I’ve gotten myself into a dreadful situation.”

Leo pinched himself.

Nora stared. The sight of a talking fox had left her speechless.

“Don’t trouble yourselves with introductions,” the fox continued. “Just pull.”

The children braced themselves against the tree roots and tugged. With a loud pop, the fox flew backward, knocking all three of them into a heap.

He dusted himself off.

“I’m Felix. I was searching for my lantern. A badger borrowed it and decided to keep it for himself.”

“Did you fight him?” Leo asked.

“Certainly not! I challenged him to a staring contest. Unfortunately, I sneezed.”

Nora found herself laughing.

Just then, a badger emerged from the bushes, carrying the golden lantern.

“There you are!” he said. “I’ve been looking for you. You rushed away before I could return this.”

Felix glanced at the children, then at his muddy shoes.

“I may have embarrassed myself.”

“A little,” Nora said.

The badger introduced himself as Bram and invited everyone to his burrow for toast. The children seated themselves on tiny stools while Felix helped himself to blackberry jam.

“We should get ourselves home,” Nora said after a while.

Felix and Bram exchanged a look. Then Felix held out the golden lantern. “You helped me when I couldn’t help myself,” he said. “It should belong to you now.”

“Take good care of it,” Bram added. “It knows the safest path.”

The light floated ahead of them, leading them through the trees. At their garden gate, it drifted gently down into Nora’s hands.

Leo smiled to himself. “Nobody will believe us.”

“We’ll know it happened,” Nora said, holding the lantern close.

Upstairs, they set the lantern on the windowsill and tucked themselves into bed just as their mother peeked into the room.

“Have you two behaved yourselves?”

“Mostly,” Nora answered.

Their mother smiled. Then she noticed a golden lantern glowing softly on the windowsill. She had never seen it before. She stood there for a moment, wondering how it had gotten there, and then quietly closed the door.

From somewhere beyond the window came a sneeze, followed by a very offended fox shouting, “That doesn’t count!”

✔️ True or False

Choose the best answer.








🧠 Matching A — Subjects and Reflexive Pronouns

Select a card on the left, then its partner on the right.

🧠 Matching B — Story Vocabulary

Select a card on the left, then its partner on the right.

📖 Reflexive Pronouns in Context

Choose the best answer.









❓ Comprehension — Multiple Choice
1. What first made Nora think someone needed help?
2. Where was Felix’s tail stuck?
3. Why did Felix think Bram had kept the lantern?
4. How did Felix lose the staring contest?
5. What did Bram offer everyone?
6. How did the children find the safest path home?
✍️ Cloze A — Reflexive Pronouns

Type an answer, or select a word and then a blank. Words may be used more than once.











✍️ Cloze B — Seven Story Words

Type an answer, or select a word and then a blank. Words may be used more than once.








🔊 Read Aloud — Two Rhyme Groups

wild · mild · child · dialed · filed
right · night · sight · fight · light · tight

Say each group aloud. The words in each group rhyme. Dialed and filed are spelled differently, but they end with the same sound as wild. In these six -ight words, the letters gh are silent. Read: “The child saw a wild fox on a mild night. He held the light tight.”

🔢 Sequencing A — Finding Felix

Use the up and down buttons to put the events in story order.

  1. Nora sees a golden light from her window.
  2. Someone shouts for help.
  3. Nora and Leo step outside together.
  4. They find Felix with his tail stuck.
  5. The children pull Felix free.
🔢 Sequencing B — Going Home

Use the up and down buttons to put the events in story order.

  1. Bram appears with the lantern.
  2. Felix admits he may have embarrassed himself.
  3. Everyone goes to Bram’s burrow for toast.
  4. The lantern leads the children home.
  5. Their mother checks on them in bed.
🧩 Make Your Own Sentences

Write complete sentences. These answers are for discussion with your teacher or partner.

💬 Discussion & Writing

Partner check: Underline each reflexive pronoun and identify the person or thing it refers to.

🎭 Role Play — A Woodland Misunderstanding

Work in groups of four. This is an adapted scene. Read it, then invent a new problem.

Nora: Leo, remind yourself to stay on the path.

Leo: I can look after myself!

Felix: Please help! I’ve gotten myself stuck.

Nora: We’ll brace ourselves against the roots and pull.

Leo: You’re free! You can dust yourself off now.

Bram: Hello! Let me introduce myself. I’m Bram.

Felix: I thought you had kept my lantern for yourself.

Bram: You left before I could return it!

Felix: I’ve embarrassed myself.

Bram: Come to my burrow. You can all help yourselves to toast.

Nora: Thank you! Then we should get ourselves home.

Leo: We’ll remind ourselves to listen before jumping to conclusions.

📝 Answer Key

🧠 Matching A — Subjects and Reflexive Pronouns

  1. I → myself
  2. you (one person) → yourself
  3. he → himself
  4. she → herself
  5. it → itself
  6. we → ourselves
  7. you (a group) → yourselves
  8. they → themselves

🧠 Matching B — Story Vocabulary

  1. wild → not tame; in a natural state
  2. mild → gentle or not extreme, such as comfortable weather
  3. child → a young person
  4. right → the direction opposite left
  5. night → the dark part of the day
  6. sight → something that is seen
  7. fight → to struggle or battle with someone

📖 Reflexive Pronouns in Context

  1. Nora wrapped ___ in a coat. → herself
  2. Leo pinched ___. → himself
  3. “I can look after ___,” Leo said. → myself
  4. The children reminded ___ to stay on the path. → themselves
  5. “We should get ___ home,” Nora said. → ourselves
  6. “You’re not going by ___,” Leo told Nora. → yourself
  7. “Have you two behaved ___?” their mother asked. → yourselves
  8. Imagine the lantern could light ___ without a match. → itself

Comprehension

  1. She heard someone shout “Help!”
  2. In a hollow log.
  3. Felix left before Bram could return it.
  4. He sneezed.
  5. Toast.
  6. They followed the lantern.

✍️ Cloze A — Reflexive Pronouns

  1. Nora told ___ that the light was probably a firefly. → herself
  2. “I’ve gotten ___ into a dreadful situation,” Felix said. → myself
  3. The children braced ___ against the roots. → themselves
  4. Felix dusted ___ off. → himself
  5. “Don’t trouble ___ with introductions,” Felix told both children. → yourselves
  6. “We should get ___ home,” Nora said. → ourselves
  7. Bram introduced ___ to the children. → himself
  8. “You’re not going by ___,” Leo told his sister. → yourself
  9. Nora found ___ laughing. → herself
  10. They tucked ___ into bed. → themselves

✍️ Cloze B — Seven Story Words

  1. The opposite of tame is ___. → wild
  2. The weather was comfortable and ___. → mild
  3. A young person is a ___. → child
  4. “Stay on my ___,” Nora said, meaning the opposite of left. → right
  5. The woods were dark at ___. → night
  6. The ___ of a talking fox surprised Nora. → sight
  7. Leo asked whether Felix had tried to ___ the badger. → fight

✔️ True or False

  1. Nora went into the woods alone. → False
  2. Felix wore a blue waistcoat. → True
  3. Felix and Bram had a physical fight. → False
  4. Bram meant to return the lantern. → True
  5. The lantern guided the children home. → True
  6. The children told their mother the whole adventure. → False
  7. Felix and Bram let the children keep the lantern. → True

🔢 Sequencing A — Finding Felix

  1. Nora sees a golden light from her window.
  2. Someone shouts for help.
  3. Nora and Leo step outside together.
  4. They find Felix with his tail stuck.
  5. The children pull Felix free.

🔢 Sequencing B — Going Home

  1. Bram appears with the lantern.
  2. Felix admits he may have embarrassed himself.
  3. Everyone goes to Bram’s burrow for toast.
  4. The lantern leads the children home.
  5. Their mother checks on them in bed.

Original sentences, discussion, and the new ending have individual answers. Check that each reflexive pronoun agrees with the person or thing it refers to.