The Guest
In This Grade 3 The Guest
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83 Invention InventionNumber NumberThree Three 99 Egg EggDrop DropSoup Soup 117 Benjamin Benjaminand andthe thePaper PaperTrail Trail 133 Aislinn’s Aislinn’sCaper Caper 149 My MyMom MomHates Hatesto toCook Cook
RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text RL.4.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, poem from details in the text; summarize the text RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text RF.4.3 a: Use combined knowledge of all lettersound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context
165 A Dragon in the Desert
SL.4.1 c: Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others
181 Mr. Petalucha, P.E.
SL.4.1 d: Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion
197 Jack and Billy A True Story
213 What Gold Brings 229 Born to Run
Get on track with this popular sport!
SL.4.3: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text in an organized manner, using relevant facts and descriptive details to support main ideas; speak clearly at an understandable pace
When invited to dinner, Mullah Nasreddin gets to share more than just a meal.
U nit Author: Uma Krishnaswami Illustrator: Allan Eitzen
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swatches ragged
peered grace suspiciously
delicate finery
shabbiest ushered
trim respectfully beamed
dribbled delightful
Is it important to wear pretty and expensive clothes? Have you ever not recognized someone because of their clothes?
• Has someone ever not recognized you because of something you wore? • Look at the cover picture. Who do you think the guest is? • Do the people in the picture look rich or poor? Why do you think so?
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Mullah Nasreddin was a wise man. When he spoke, people listened. And so he chose his words and actions as carefully as kings choose their generals. One day a rich man invited the Mullah to a feast at his house. “I would be honored, Mullah sahib,” said he, “if you would grace us with your presence. Tomorrow night?” “I will come,” agreed Mullah Nasreddin, “tomorrow night.” The following night, the Mullah threw on his shabbiest and most comfortable clothes. “It is a bit chilly,” he said, and added an old black coat. The edges of its sleeves were frayed. The holes in its elbows were patched with swatches torn from old flour sacks. On his feet, Mullah Nasreddin slipped a pair of ragged sandals. When darkness fell he arrived at the rich man’s doorstep. A servant opened the door. “What do you want, old man?” the servant demanded. 6
“Your master has invited me to his feast,” said the Mullah. The servant peered suspiciously at him. “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll be back in a moment.” The servant went in. His whispers carried to the door. “An old beggarman, O my master . . . says he is your guest . . .” The rich man came to the courtyard to take a look. Seeing the old man in his ragged clothes, he waved a hand to the servant, then went back to join his elegant guests. The servant returned to the door. “My master does not know you,” he said. “He invited me to his feast,” insisted the Mullah. The servant laughed. “Nonsense! Invited you? A ragged old beggar? My master’s friends are noblemen and kings. Be off before I take a stick to you!” 7
So Mullah Nasreddin went home. He changed into his finest silk garments. He wore a black woolen vest with silver trim. He put his best cap on his head and added a handsome high-collared coat. He sprinkled rose water on his face and hands. He combed his beard. Smiling to himself, he made his way back to the rich man’s house and knocked at the door. Once again, the servant opened it. Once again, the Mullah said, “Your master has invited me to his feast.” This time the servant bowed respectfully and ushered him in.
The food arrived. “Serve Mullah Nasreddin first,” said the rich man. The Mullah smiled at everyone. Then he began to get busy with his food. But he did not eat. “Hai hai!” cried the guests. “Mullah sahib! What are you doing?” cried the rich man. For Mullah Nasreddin had begun to spoon the soup over his best cap. He crumbled the bread and sprinkled the crumbs over the shoulders of his handsome high-collared coat. He took apart the shish kebab and fed it lovingly to his sleeves.
“Welcome, welcome, Mullah sahib.” And the rich man himself showed the Mullah to his special seat at the feast. “At last, Mullah sahib,” said the guests. “We have all been waiting for you.”
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The rich man’s voice trembled. “Mullah sahib, do you not like the food?” In reply, Mullah Nasreddin dribbled the delicate yogurt and cream sauces over his fine silk garments and best black woolen vest with silver trim. Then he sat back and beamed at everyone. There was a shocked silence. Then the rich man said, “O most
“What are you doing?”
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respected Mullah Nasreddin, you never do anything without a reason. Has someone offended you?”
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1. Circle true or false for each statement.
The Mullah replied, “When I arrived in rags, you turned me away. Now that I am dressed in finery, you treat me with honor. Clearly it is my clothes you are welcoming and not me. So it is only fitting that they should eat this delightful food you have prepared for them.” The rich man hung his head in shame. He said, “Mullah sahib, forgive me. I was blind. I saw only your clothes and could not recognize the wearer. I will never again judge people by how they look or by the clothes they wear.” And, in truth, he never did.
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a. People never listened to the Mullah.
TRUE
FALSE
b. The Mullah was forced to go to dinner at the rich man’s house.
TRUE
FALSE
c. The Mullah dressed shabbily for his dinner with the rich man.
TRUE
FALSE
d. The Mullah was turned away the first time he appeared.
TRUE
FALSE
e. The Mullah forced his way into the rich man’s house.
TRUE
FALSE
f. The rich man insisted on being served first.
TRUE
FALSE
g. At dinner, the Mullah dribbled food and sauces on his clothes.
TRUE
FALSE
h. The Mullah wanted to teach the rich man a lesson.
TRUE
FALSE
i. The rich man never understood why the Mullah behaved strangely.
TRUE
FALSE
j. The Mullah was driven away by the rich man for being rude.
TRUE
FALSE
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2. Circle the correct answers about the events in the story.
a. Mullah Nasreddin was 1. a magician. 2. the king. 3. a wise and respected man. b. A rich man invited the Mullah to 1. perform at a party. 2. come to dinner. 3. go shopping for clothes. c. The servant didn’t believe the Mullah because 1. his clothes were so shabby. 2. the Mullah was a known prankster. 3. the servant was a wicked man. d. The Mullah was finally welcomed when 1. he begged to be let in. 2. he sang a beautiful song. 3. he changed into fancy clothes. e. At dinner, the Mullah behaved oddly because 1. he was going crazy. 2. he wanted to teach the rich man a lesson. 3. he didn’t know the customs.
3. Complete each sentence using the vocabulary word in parentheses.
a. (shabbiest) The artist always wore ________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ b. (ragged) The boy’s socks were always _____________________________ _______________________________________________________________ c. (delicate) The flower _____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ d. (ushered) When greeting guests ___________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ e. (suspiciously) He looked __________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ f. (peered) Tim ____________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ g. (respectfully) She ________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ h. (dribbled) Water _________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ i. (trim) I will _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ j. (beamed) My little sister __________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
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4. Fill in the Graphic Organizer about the different parts of the story.
Theme
5. Draw a picture of the Mullah in shabby clothes and another in fancy clothes.
Setting
Characters
Beginning
fancy Middle
shabby
6. Use these questions to discuss the story in more depth.
a. Should people be treated differently because of what they wear? Why or why not? End
b. Why did the servant tell the Mullah to go away?
c. What did we learn from the story? 16
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Story Connection About the Autho r
Retell
Uma Krishnaswmi w as born in New Dheli, India. Uma d oesn’t have any brothers or sisters, so as a child she saw books as her fr iends. She loves to write books for children and also teaches writing cla sses. She has a son and lives in New Mexico, USA.
Retell The Guest in
your own words.
Beginning Middle End
To Student: Find a picture of the author on the internet. Print, cut, and paste here.
Author�s Purpos e
Uma Krishnaswmi w anted to remind people that we shou ld not judge others by what they wear or how muc h money they ha ve, but by their actions. Draw a picture of the outfit you would wear if you were invited to a fancy feast.
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Text Evidence 1. Why didn’t the rich man recognize Mullah N asreddin when he came to th e feast? Key Detail 2. Why were the g uests shocked? Key Detail 3. Where did the feast take place in the story? Setting