2ElementaryKidsAges 7-9Science

The Queen Rat Has a Secret Smell!

A special rat queen uses her smell to stay boss! Scientists found that her smell keeps other girl rats from having babies. When the queen left but her smell stayed, everyone stayed calm!

1 min readLevel 2August 26, 2026

By Flalingo Editorial Team

Vocabulary

Study these words before reading the article. Click the audio button to hear pronunciation.

queen

/kwiːn/

noun

The most important female in a group

“The queen lives in a big home.”

underground

/ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd/

adverb

Below the ground, under the earth

“The animals live underground.”

secret

/ˈsiːkrɪt/

noun

Something that other people do not know

“I have a fun secret for you!”

smell

/smɛl/

noun

Something you sense with your nose

“The flower has a nice smell.”

calm

/kɑːm/

adjective

Quiet and not worried or angry

“The baby is very calm today.”

special

/ˈspɛʃəl/

adjective

Different and better than usual

“Today is a special day for us.”

Listen to Article

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Article

Click on any underlined word to see its definition. Highlighted words are from the vocabulary section.

Have you heard of mole-rats? They live underground like ants! They have a queen. She is the boss. Only the queen can have babies. The other rats help and work.

Scientists found her big secret! The queen makes a special smell. This smell stops other girl rats. They cannot have babies near her. The smell is very strong underground.

Then scientists did a fun test. They took the queen away. But they kept her smell there. The group stayed happy and calm! No other rat tried to be queen. Her smell did all the work!

Comprehension Quiz

Test your understanding of the article with these multiple-choice questions.

1
Where do mole-rats live?
2
What does the queen use to stay boss?
3
What happened when the queen left but her smell stayed?
4
Who can have babies in the group?

Discussion

Answer these comprehension questions about the article.

1
Where do mole-rats live?
2
Who is the boss of the group?
3
What did the queen make to stay boss?
4
What did scientists do in the test?
5
What happened when the smell stayed?

Further Discussion

Share your opinions on these open-ended questions.

1
What animal would you like to be queen of?
2
Can you think of animals that live underground?
3
What is your favorite animal smell?
4
What would you do if you were a scientist?
5
Do you have a secret you can share?

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