Boulder — A Vocabulary Story
The Giant's Nose
Aksel was quite sure the enormous boulder halfway up the hill was actually a giant's nose. It was grey, it was lumpy, and it had two dark hollows underneath that looked exactly like nostrils.
Boulder means a very large rock, especially one that has been worn smooth.
"Giants don't bury themselves in hillsides," said his big sister, Ingrid, unpacking the picnic.
"That's what a giant would want you to think," Aksel whispered.
The whole slope was scattered with boulders, big ones and small ones, as if someone had emptied a pocketful of stones the size of cars. Aksel's dad said a glacier had dropped them there thousands of years ago. Aksel thought a sneeze seemed more likely.
Then the wind snatched Ingrid's red hat clean off her head. It tumbled and bounced down the slope until it wedged itself in a gap between two smaller boulders, just out of reach.
Ingrid groaned and stretched her arm into the gap. Nothing. Dad tried. His hand was far too big.
"Stand back," said Aksel grandly. "This is a job for someone small and brave."
He wriggled between the boulders, feet first, tongue poking out with effort, and pinched the hat between two fingers. Victory!
As he squeezed back out, his elbow bumped the nose-shaped boulder, and a trickle of pebbles rattled down its side.
Aksel froze. "It twitched," he breathed. "The giant is going to sneeze."
Ingrid rolled her eyes and put on her hat. But she did eat her picnic a little further down the hill, just in case.
Word Definition
boulder
meaning
a very large rock, especially one that has been worn smooth
synonyms
rock · stone · crag
antonyms
pebble · grain · particle
example sentence
A huge boulder blocked the mountain path.