The Cleverest Son

Once there lived an old man who had three sons. When he grew old and ill and knew that he would soon die, he called all three sons into his room.
He said, “There is no way I can divide the house and farm to support all three of you. The one who proves himself the cleverest will inherit the house and farm. There is a coin on the table for each of you. The one who can buy something that will fill this room will inherit all I own.
The eldest son took his coin, went straight to the marketplace, and filled his wagon full of straw.
The second [middle] son thought a bit longer then also went to the marketplace where he bought sacks and sacks of feathers.
The youngest son thought and then quietly went to a little shop. He bought two small things and tucked them into his pocket.

That night, the father called them in to show what they had bought. The eldest son spread his straw all over the floor, but it filled only one part of the room.
The second son dumped out his sacks of feathers, but they filled only two corners of the room.
Then the youngest son smiled, pulled the two small things out of his pocket, and they soon filled the room.
“Yes,” said the father. “You are the cleverest and have filled my room when others could not. You shall inherit my house and farm.”

QUESTION: What had the youngest son bought, and with what did he fill the room?
ANSWER: He had bought a match and a candle, and they filled the room with light.

VOCABULARY
1. called v. past tense (He called all three sons into his room.)
a. phoned them b. asked them to come into his room c. scolded his sons
2. inherit v. (The one who proves himself the cleverest will inherit the house and farm.)
a. receive the money and/or items of a person (usually a relative) who dies
b. put something inside here
c. sew her clothes
3. the eldest (son) adjective (The eldest son took his coin.)
a. the tallest b. the thinnest c. the oldest
4. tucked v. past tense (He bought two small things and tucked them into his pocket.)
a. inserted b. took c. hid

GRAMMAR
Who clauses Example sentences:
1. An old man who had three sons lived a long time ago.
2. The one who proves himself the cleverest will inherit the house and farm.
3. The one who can buy something that will fill this room will inherit all I own.
4. My husband is the one who earns the money in our family.
5. Her children are the ones who play video games all evening.
YOUR TURN Write two sentences.
6. (the one who) ________________________________________________________
7. (the ones who) ________________________________________________________

8. Find all the future tense verbs. (will or shall + base form of the verb)
a. b. c.
YOUR TURN Write a sentence using a future tense verb.
________________________________________________________________________
9. What does would mean in this clause?
When he grew old and ill and knew that he would soon die . . .
Has he died yet? ____yes ____no
YOUR TURN Please finish these sentences and recall some of your past life.
a. When I was young, I would ______________________________________________
b. When my parents told me to do homework, I would ___________________________
c. On the weekends when I was in _____________(home country), I would _________ ________________________________________________________________________
d. ______________________________________________________________________
10. Circle all the past-tense verbs in the story. How many can you find?

11. Superlatives
Find the three superlatives used in the story. Then tell the adjective that they come from.
a. ________________________ _____________________
b. ________________________ _____________________
c. ________________________ ______________________
one-syllable adjective
big bigger than the biggest I ate the biggest bowl of rice.
two-syllable adjective or adjectives ending in “y”
heavy heavier than the heaviest She picked up the heaviest piece of luggage.
Three or more-syllable adjective
Interesting more interesting than the most interesting
Last night I saw the most interesting TV program.
YOUR TURN Please write your own sentence using the superlative with a noun.
12._____________________________________________________________________

Try writing a superlative without the noun -- the biggest. For example:
There were three books in the store that I liked, and I bought the cheapest.
the least/most expensive.
13. ____________________________________________________________________






CONVERSATION Please talk to a partner and then write complete sentences.
1. How many daughters did the old man have? ___________________________
2. What did the father want to give his sons and why?

3. What was the father’s plan?

4. What did the eldest son buy?

5. What did the middle son buy?

6. What did the youngest son buy?
7. Who inherited the father’s property? Why did he inherit everything? __________________________________________________________________
8. What would you have done if your father had presented you with this same problem? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gati©2009