"Tom Thumb"
Excerpt
Passage from "Fairy Tales by the Brothers
Grimm"
A poor woodman sat in his cottage
one night, smoking his pipe by the fireside, while his wife sat by his side
spinning.
"How lonely it is,
wife," said he, as he puffed out a long curl of smoke, "for you and
me to sit here by ourselves, without any children to play about and amuse us
while other people seem so happy and merry with their children!"
"What you say is very
true," said the wife, sighing, and turning round her wheel; "how happy
should I be if I had but one child! If it were ever so small—nay, if it were no
bigger than my thumb—I should be very happy, and love it dearly."
Now—odd as you may think it—it
came to pass that this good woman's wish was fulfilled, just in the very way
she had wished it; for, not long afterwards, she had a little boy, who was
quite healthy and strong, but was not much bigger than my thumb. So they said,
"Well, we cannot say we have not got what we wished for, and, little as he
is, we will love him dearly." And they called him Thomas Thumb.
They gave him plenty of food, yet
for all they could do he never grew bigger, but kept just the same size as he
had been when he was born. Still, his eyes were sharp and sparkling, and he
soon showed himself to be a clever little fellow, who always knew well what he
was about.
One day, as the woodman was
getting ready to go into the wood to cut fuel, he said, "I wish I had
someone to bring the cart after me, for I want to make haste."
"Oh, father," cried
Tom, "I will take care of that; the cart shall be in the wood by the time
you want it."
Then the woodman laughed, and
said, "How can that be? you cannot reach up to
the horse's bridle."
"Never mind that,
father," said Tom; "if my mother will only harness the horse, I will
get into his ear and tell him which way to go."...
Reading
Comprehension Questions
1) Which of the following best describes how the woodman and
his wife feel at the start of the above passage?
a.
content
b.
fearful
c.
gloomy
d.
excited
2) In the above passage, the boy is named "Thomas
Thumb" as a result of which of the following?
a.
the odd shape of his hands
b.
his ignorance
c.
his use of the "thumbs-up" gesture
d.
his small size
3) Within the first few paragraphs of the above passage, it
becomes very clear that it is which of the following?
a.
verse
b.
fiction
c.
biography
d.
reference
4) When Tom Thumb helps his father with the wood, it is very
clear that which of the following is true?
a.
he doesn't want his size to keep him from doing things
b.
he uses his size as an excuse to be lazy
c.
his size makes him bitter about everything
d.
he feels like he can keep his size a secret
5) In the above passage, which of the following best describes
Tom Thumb?
a.
a sick boy who is very small
b.
a perfectly healthy boy, except he is very small
c.
a dimwitted boy who is very small
d.
a perfectly healthy boy, except he is very large
6) The above passage introduces Tom Thumb, a character seen in
many adventures. Based on the last line
of the passage, what is most likely a common theme that can be seen in
all of these passages?
a.
Tom Thumb must overcome his size with his great strength.
b.
Tom Thumb must trick everyone into believing he is larger
than he is.
c.
Tom Thumb must find a way to trick others into doing his
work.
d.
Tom Thumb must overcome his size by being clever.
Answer Key
1)
Which of the
following best describes how the woodman and his wife feel at the start
of the above passage?
a.
content
b.
fearful
c.
gloomy
d.
excited
2)
In the above
passage, the boy is named "Thomas Thumb" as a result of which of the
following?
a.
the odd shape of his hands
b.
his ignorance
c.
his use of the "thumbs-up" gesture
d.
his small size
3)
Within the
first few paragraphs of the above passage, it becomes very clear that it is
which of the following?
a.
fable
b.
fiction
c.
biography
d.
reference
4)
When Tom
Thumb helps his father with the wood, it is very clear that which of the
following is true?
a.
he doesn't want
his size to keep him from doing things
b.
he uses his size as an excuse to be lazy
c.
his size makes him bitter about everything
a.
he feels like he can keep his size a secret
1)
In the above
passage, which of the following best describes Tom Thumb?
a.
a sick boy who is very small
b.
a perfectly
healthy boy, except he is very small
c.
a dimwitted boy who is very small
d.
a perfectly healthy boy, except he is very
large
2)
The above
passage introduces Tom Thumb, a character seen in many adventures. Based on the last line of the passage, what
is most likely a common theme that can be seen in all of these passages?
a.
Tom Thumb must overcome his size with his
great strength.
b.
Tom Thumb must trick everyone into believing
he is larger than he is.
c.
Tom Thumb must find a way to trick others into
doing his work.
d.
Tom Thumb must
overcome his size by being clever.