Reading Comprehension - The Clever Little Tailor

The Clever Little Tailor A long time ago, there was a little man who longed for adventure. The man was a tailor, and he worked hard. Day after day, he stitched and sewed to make shirts, coats, and pants. It was a quiet life, and he daydreamed as he worked.One sunny day, the tailor sat by his open door to eat a lunch of cheese and bread with jam. Before he took even one bite, a swarm of flies landed on the sweet, sticky jam, spoiling the tailor’s meal. Angrily, he snapped a cloth at them. When he pulled the cloth away, there on his bread were no less than seven dead flies.Instantly, the tailor took heart, shouting, “Look what I’ve done! I’ve killed seven at one blow! The world shall hear of this.” So he stitched the words “SEVEN AT ONE BLOW” on the cloth and tied it around his chest. Then, taking the cheese with him, he went out the door.The first thing he saw was a bird trapped in a bush. The tailor freed the bird and put it in his pocket along with the cheese. Then, crying “Seven at one blow!” he set off down the road.Deep in the forest, he met a giant. “I’m off to seek adventures,” said the tailor. “Why don’t you join up with me?”“How dare you even look at me!” the giant roared.But the little tailor pointed to his chest, saying, “I killed seven at one blow, and I’m not afraid of just one giant!”The giant, thinking the tailor had killed seven like him, decided to test the little man’s strength. Picking up a stone, he squeezed it so hard that water ran from it. “Let’s see you do that!” the giant taunted.The tailor laughed. “That’s too easy for me,” he cried. Taking the cheese from his pocket, he squeezed it till milk ran from it. “Now who’s the strong one?” he asked.The giant was impressed, though he tried not to show it. “Well, little man, let’s see you do this!” He took another stone and threw it so high that it disappeared from sight before it fell back to Earth.“That wasn’t too bad for a first try, but what do you think of this? My stone will go so high it will never come back!” the tailor said.From his pocket, he took the bird and threw it into the air. Sure enough, this “stone” did not fall back to Earth.Looking about for a way to get the better of the tailor, the giant spotted a fallen tree. “If you’re so strong, let’s see if you can carry this tree up the mountain!” he said.“Not a problem!” the tailor gaily replied. “I’ll take the heavy end with all the branches. All you have to do is carry the trunk.”The giant agreed and lifted up the mighty trunk. The clever tailor leaped up into the branches and had a fine ride while the giant struggled to carry both him and the tree. Before long, the giant began to puff and pant, while the man whistled merrily. At last, the giant could stand it no more and gasped, “That’s far enough! Let’s put it down here.”Quickly, the tailor hopped down from the branches, saying, “I could have carried this twig all day!”Then the giant, exhausted, lay down and went to sleep, and the tailor went on his way.After a time, he came to the palace of the king. By then it was night, and the tailor was tired, so he lay down to sleep outside the palace. In the morning, the king’s guards found him and brought him to the king. “Seven at one blow!” the king said. “Maybe you’re the one who can rid the kingdom of the ogres in the wood.”“Excuse me, Your Majesty, but how many ogres are there?” the tailor was bold enough to ask.“Alas, there are two,” the king replied. “No one has been able to drive them away. If you can free the kingdom from these beasts, three bags of gold and half of the kingdom shall be yours. But I warn you, it will not be easy. Many others have tried and failed.”“Only two ogres! No sooner said than done,” the tailor cried. “For one that can boast of seven at one blow, two will be child’s play. I’ll do it today and claim my half of the kingdom tomorrow.”With directions from the king’s guard, the tailor soon found the ogres in the wood. They were lying on their backs, snoring, under a big tree. After filling his pockets with stones, the tailor quietly climbed the tree. Ping! He dropped a stone on one of the ogres. Ping! He dropped another, bigger stone.The ogre woke up filled with anger at his companion. “Why are you hitting me?” he roared.“I’m not hitting you! You’re dreaming,” came the reply, and both ogres went back to sleep.Then the tailor chose a heavier stone and dropped it on the second ogre.The angry beast woke with a roar and punched the other. In no time the two were arguing, then fighting. Then one began to run, and the other began to chase. Off they ran, shouting and hitting, to a place far beyond the kingdom.The tailor, meanwhile, climbed down from the tree and went off to claim his reward.In later years, he married and had seven sons and seven daughters. He became a beloved king of his new land, which he ruled wisely and well. Choose the best answer to each question, or write your answer on the lines provided.1. What made the tailor suddenly decide to go on an adventure? He had nothing to eat for lunch. He heard about the king’s problem. He met a giant on the road. He killed seven flies at once. 2. “ ‘Let’s see you do that!’ the giant taunted.” What does the word taunted mean? looked at; observed said angrily made fun of; dared whispered quietly 3. The tailor squeezed milk out of the cheese and impressed the giant. What conclusion can be drawn from this? The tailor was really strong. The giant thought the tailor was squeezing a stone. The tailor wanted to be like the giant. The giant feared that the tailor was going to kill him. 4. Which two words best describe the tailor’s character? clever and bold angry and upset quiet and lonely handsome and young 5. What tricks did the tailor use? Complete the chart below using information from the passage. The Tailor’s Tricks Who Was Fooled How the Trick Worked 6. The tailor says that driving away two ogres will be “child’s play.” What does the tailor mean? The ogres will act like little children. He will ask a child to help him. Children often pretend to be ogres. It will be an easy thing for him to do. 7. How can you tell that this passage is a folk tale? One of the characters is a giant. The tailor killed seven flies. It takes place in a dark forest. There is a king in the story. 8. Describe two ways the tailor’s life changed from the beginning of this story to the end.