3 THE MISER

Once upon a time there was a miser who hid his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden. Every week he dug it up and looked at it.

One night a robber dug up the gold and ran away with it. The next morning, when the miser came to look at his treasure, he found only the empty hole.

Then he raised such a cry of sorrow that the neighbours ran to find out what the trouble was. In great grief, he told them of his loss.

“Did you ever use any of the gold? ”asked one of his neighbours.

“No, ”answered the miser, “but I looked at it every week.”

“Then come every week and look at the hole, ”said the neighbour, “That will do you just as much good as to look at the gold.”

(Aesop)

Word list

miser: a person who doesn't like to spend money

robber: someone who steals money and other valuables

sorrow: sadness

grief: extreme sadness

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Where did the miser hide his gold?

2) What happened to the miser's gold?

3) What did the neighbour ask the miser?

4) What advice did the neighbour give the miser?

5) Do you think the neighbour gave good advice? Why or why not?

B) True, False, or Not Given—Read the following sentences carefully. Write T (true), F (false), or NG (not given) for each.

1) _____ Misers are very generous to other people.

2) _____ The miser used to dig up his gold every month.

3) _____ The miser spend a lot of his gold.

4) _____ The miser is going to look at the hole every week.

5) _____ The miser knows who the robber is.

C) What should he do? The miser is very sad because he lost all his gold. In two or three sentences, give him some advice.

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