72 THE FOOLISH GOOSE

Time-one BriGht morninG

Place-A BiG roAD

[Gray Goose goes walking down the road, with a big bag of corn—very proud and happy. He meets Wise Old Crow.]

WISE OLD CROW. Good morning, Gray Goose! What a heavy bag you have there! It is too much for you to carry alone. Let me help you.

GRAY GOOSE. Oh, no! It is a big bag of corn, but I can carry it without any help.

WISE OLD CROW. Oh, well, I just wanted to help you as a friend. How long do you think your bag of corn will last you? I can tell you of a plan to make a little corn go a long way.

GRAY GOOSE. What is your plan? Tell me how to make my corn go a long way, Wise Old Crow.

[He puts down his bag of corn in the road.]

WISE OLD CROW. First, you must spread your corn out upon the ground, so that we can count it. Then, you count on one side, and I will count on the other side.

[Gray Goose takes some of the corn out of the bag and spreads it upon the ground.]

GRAY GOOSE. [Counting.] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine—

WISE OLD CROW. [Eating a grain of corn each time he counts.] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine—

GRAY GOOSE. [Looking up.] What are you doing, Wise Old Crow? Stop eating my corn!

WISE OLD CROW. [As he flies far away,laughing] Caw! Caw! Caw! I told you that I knew a plan to make a little corn go a long way!

[Gray Goose picks up his bag of corn, which is not so heavy now, and goes along the road. After a while he meets White Crane.]

WHITE CRANE. Good morning, Gray Goose! What have you in your bag?

GRAY GOOSE. Oh, that is some of the best corn in the world.

WHITE CRANE. Is that all? You carry it with such care that I thought it must be pearls or diamonds.

GRAY GOOSE. No, I never saw any pearls or diamonds. I should like very much to see such sights!

WHITE CRANE. Well, just swim out to that big rock in the lake over there. The bottom of the lake is covered with beautiful pearls and diamonds. I will keep your corn for you.

[Gray Goose swims out to see the wonderful sights. While he is gone White Crane eats nearly all of the corn. Gray Goose cannot see any pearls or diamonds on the bottom of the lake.

When he starts back, he sees White Crane eating the corn.]

GRAY GOOSE. Go away from my corn, White Crane! Go away from my corn!

WHITE CRANE. [As he flies off, laughing.] I told you that I would keep your corn for you, Gray Goose!

[Gray Goose picks up the little corn that is left and goes on down the road. After a while he meets Brownie Hen and her ten chicks.]

BROWNIE HEN. What have you in that little bag, Gray Goose?

GRAY GOOSE. Oh, just a few grains of corn. I had a big bag full, but White Crane ate most of it while I was looking for pearls and diamonds! I like to see strange sights.

BROWNIE HEN. Well, if you like to see strange sights, throw your corn upon the road and see what happens.

GRAY GOOSE. No, indeed! I know well enough what would happen! Your ten little chicks would eat every grain of it.

BROWNIE HEN. No, no! Gray Goose. My chicks will not steal your corn. Throw some of it upon the road. If my little ones eat a single grain, I will give you ten white eggs.

GRAY GOOSE. All right! I agree to that.

[He throws down some corn. The chicks run toward it. But before they can eat it, Brownie Hen makes a noise like a hawk. The chicks run away, and Brownie Hen eats the corn.]

BROWNIE HEN. I told you that my chicks would not eat your corn, Gray Goose!

[Gray Goose goes on till he meets a Farmer.]

FARMER. What is in your bag, Gray Goose?

GRAY GOOSE. [Sadly.]Only a few grains of corn.My bag of corn grows smaller and smaller. I wish I could make it grow bigger and bigger!

FARMER. Why don't you put the corn in the ground? Then it will grow, and you will always have plenty to eat.

GRAY GOOSE. I will do as you say, Farmer.

[He plants it, and the corn begins to grow. For every grain he planted, Gray Goose has hundreds of grains! ]

GRAY GOOSE. At last I have found a way to make my bag of corn grow bigger and bigger, instead of smaller and smaller!

(Leora Robinson)

Word list

caw: the noise that a crow makes

crane: a big, tall kind of bird

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) How is this story different from most of the other stories in this book?

2) How did Wise old Crow trick Gray Goose?

3) Who are the characters in this story?

4) How do you think this story got its title?

5) Who helped Gray Goose the most?

6) What do you think Gray Goose will do with all the corn he grows?

B) Setting, characters, problem, and solution—in the spaces below, write the setting, characters, problem, and setting for this story.

1) Setting: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) Characters: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) Problem: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) Solution: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The Gray Goose was tricked four times.

2) _____ The farmer tricked Gray Goose.

3) _____ Gray Goose ate most of her corn.

4) _____ White Crane did not trick Gray Goose.

5) _____ Brownie Hen had ten chicks.