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SHORT STORIES Grade 6 Term 4

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2 061-eng-wb-t4-(Short Stories)

Table of Contents Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 3

Calendar .................................................................................................................................................. 4

“The Third Wish,” by Joan Aiken ............................................................................................................. 5

Before Reading .................................................................................................................................... 5

The Third Wish .................................................................................................................................... 6

After Reading ..................................................................................................................................... 11

Personal Response ............................................................................................................................ 12

“Aaron’s Gift,” Myron Levoy ................................................................................................................. 13

Before Reading .................................................................................................................................. 13

“Aaron’s Gift,” Part 1: ........................................................................................................................ 15

After Reading ..................................................................................................................................... 18

“Aaron’s Gift,” Part 2 ......................................................................................................................... 19

After Reading ..................................................................................................................................... 23

Plot Diagram ...................................................................................................................................... 24

Research and Present ........................................................................................................................ 25

Write and Illustrate ........................................................................................................................... 25

Read and Analyze .............................................................................................................................. 25

“Stray,” by Cynthia Rylant .................................................................................................................... 26

Student Evaluation ................................................................................................................................ 29


Learning Objectives

Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary

Learn a variety of useful new words

Spell correctly most words used

Use a dictionary effectively.

Reading

Give an informed personal response to a text and provide some textual reference in support.

Skim and scan a text or ICT source to find out the main ideas and relevant information.

Make relevant notes to select, collate and summarize ideas from texts.

Identify and understand the main ideas, viewpoints, themes and purposes in a text; give and support comments on quotations

Writing

Summarize, and give written answers to factual questions about a story.

Write to express an opinion about themes addressed in a text, and provide evidence from the text to support that opinion.

Practice note-taking using different styles for different purposes.

Speaking and Listening

Work in solo, paired and group assignments, including role-play.

Speak for a variety of purposes, such as to explain, describe, narrate, explore, analyse, imagine, discuss, argue and persuade.

Social Skills Internalize and display the value of respect towards other

people and individual differences.

Empathize with others Critical Thinking Skills Explain one’s own viewpoint with supporting examples


Calendar April 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Notes:

1 Week 26

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Week 27

April 7th: End of Term 3

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Week 28

April 17th: Constitutional Referendum Holiday

April 18th: Start of Term 4

23 24 25 25 26 28 29 Week 29

May 2017


30 1 2 3 4 5 6 Week 30

May 1st: Labour Day Holiday

May 3rd-4th:Aegean Province Field Trip

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 AÇI Week 31

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Week 32

English Take Home Assessment

May 19th: Youth and Sport Day Holiday

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 AÇI Week 33

May 25th: English General Assessment

28 29 30 31 AÇI Week 34

June 2017


1 2 3 Week 34

June 2nd: English Writing Assessment

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Week 35

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Week 36

June 16th: End of Term 4

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30


“The Third Wish,” by Joan Aiken

Before Reading A. Answer the questions below in complete sentences. 1. If you had three wishes (and could not wish for more wishes), what would you wish for?

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2. Write three sentences comparing the swan to the other birds. Use comparative (more … than / …er than) and superlative (the most …. / the …est) adjectives.

swan goose duck seagull

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B. Use your iPad to research the author Joan Aiken. Write at least three important facts about her.

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C. Use Quizlet to study the words below. Match them with their definitions. 1. thrashing ___ 2. rustling ___ 3. thorns ___ 4. canal ___ 5. frantically ___ 6. companion ___ 7. utter ___ 8. rash ___ 9. weeping ___ 10. withered ___

a) wildly and in a hurry b) done too quickly and without thinking c) a human-made water way d) a soft crackling sound, like that caused by dry leaves e) say; speak f) crying with deep sadness g) moving around in a frantic or uncontrolled manner h) a friend or partner i) shriveled, curled up, dried out j) sharp points on the branches of some plants


The Third Wish Once there was a man who was driving in his car at dusk on a spring evening through part of

the forest of Savernake. His name was Mr. Peters. The primroses were just beginning but the trees

were still bare, and it was cold; the birds had stopped singing an hour ago.

As Mr. Peters entered a straight, empty stretch of road he seemed to hear a faint crying, and

a struggling and thrashing, as if somebody was in trouble far away in the trees. He left his car and

climbed the mossy bank beside the road. Beyond the bank was an open slope of beech trees leading

down to thorn bushes through which he saw the gleam of water. He stood a moment waiting to try

and discover where the noise was coming from, and presently heard a rustling and some strange

cries in a voice which was almost human-and yet there was something too hoarse about it at one

time and too clear and sweet at another.

Mr. Peters ran down the hill and as he neared the bushes he saw something white among

them which was trying to extricate1 itself; coming closer he found that it was a swan that had

become entangled in the thorns growing on the bank of the canal. The bird struggled all the more

frantically as he approached, looking at him with hate in its yellow eyes, and when he took hold of it

to free it, hissed at him, pecked him, and thrashed dangerously with its wings which were powerful

enough to break his arm. Nevertheless he managed to release it from the thorns, and carrying it

tightly with one arm, holding the snaky head well away with the other hand (for he did not wish his

eyes pecked out), he took it to the verge of the canal and dropped it in.

The swan instantly assumed great dignity and sailed out to the middle of the water, where it

put itself to rights with much dabbling and preening, smoothing its feathers with little showers of

drops. Mr. Peters waited to make sure that it was all right and had suffered no damage in its

struggles. Presently the swan, when it was satisfied with its appearance, floated in to the bank once

more and in a moment, instead of the great white bird, there was a little man all in green with a

golden crown and long beard, standing by the water.

1 to extricate: to free someone or something from a trap or from a difficult situation


He had fierce glittering eyes and looked by no means friendly. "Well, Sir," he said

threateningly, "I see you are presumptuous2 enough to know some of the laws of magic. You think

that because you have rescued-by pure good fortune-the King of the Forest from a difficulty, you

should have some fabulous reward."

"I expect three wishes, no more and no less," answered Mr. Peters, looking at him steadily

and with composure.

"Three wishes, he wants, the clever man! Well, I have yet to hear of the human being who

made any good use of his three wish they mostly end up worse off than they started. Take your three

wishes then-" he flung three dead leaves in the air "-don't blame me if you spend the last wish in

undoing the work of the other two."

Mr. Peters caught the leaves and put two of them carefully in his notecase. When he looked

up the swan was sailing about in the middle of the water again, flicking the drops angrily down its

long neck. Mr. Peters stood for some minutes reflecting on how he should use his reward. He knew

very well that the gift of three magic wishes was one which brought trouble more often than not,

and he had no intention of being like the forester who first wished by mistake for a sausage, and

then in a rage wished it on the end of his wife's nose, and then had to use his last wish in getting it

off again.3

Mr. Peters had most of the things which he wanted and was very content with his life. The

only thing that troubled him was that he was a little lonely, and had no companion for his old age. He

decided to use his first wish and to keep the other two in case of an emergency. Taking a thorn he

pricked his tongue with it, to remind himself not to utter rash wishes aloud. Then holding the third

leaf and gazing round him at the dusky undergrowth, the primroses, great beeches and the blue-

green water of the canal, he said: "I wish I had a wife as beautiful as the forest." A tremendous

quacking and splashing broke out on the surface of the water. He thought that it was the swan

laughing at him. Taking no notice he made his way through the darkening woods to his car, wrapped

himself up in the rug and went to sleep.

When he awoke it was morning and the birds were beginning to call. Coming along the track

towards him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, with eyes as blue-green as the canal,

hair as dusky as the bushes, and skin as white as the feathers of swans. "Are you the wife that I

wished for?" asked Mr. Peters.

2 presumptuous: overconfident; arrogant; proud 3 The Three Ridiculous Wishes is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, published in 1697. It tells the story of a poor woodcutter who was given three wishes. His wife tells him to wait until the next day to use his wishes, so that he can have more time to think about them. That night when he gets hungry, he tells his wife that he wishes they had sausages to eat, and a plate of sausages appears. The woodcutter’s wife scolds him for wasting a wish, and he angrily remarks that he wishes the sausages were stuck on her nose. He uses his last wish to make the sausages go away, and they are as poor as when they started.


"Yes I am," she replied. "My name is Leita." She stepped into the car beside him and they

drove off to the church on the outskirts of the forest, where they were married. Then he took her to

his house in a remote and lovely valley and showed her all his treasures—the bees in their white

hives, the Jersey cows, the hyacinths, the silver candlesticks, the blue cups and the lustre bowl for

putting primroses in. She admired everything, but what pleased her most was the river which ran by

the foot of his garden. "Do swans come up here?" she asked. "Yes, I have often seen swans there on

the river," he told her, and she smiled.

Leita made him a good wife. She was gentle and friendly, busied herself about the house

garden, polished the bowls, milked the cows and mended his socks. But as time went by Mr. Peters

began to feel that she was not happy. She seemed restless, wandered much in the garden, and

sometimes when he came back from the fields he would find the house empty and she would only

return after half an hour or so with no explanation of where she had been. On these occasions she

was always especially tender and would put out his slippers to warm and cook his favorite dish-

Welsh rarebit with wild strawberries-for supper.

One evening he was returning home along the river path when he saw Leita in front of him,

down by the water. A swan had sailed up to the verge and she had her arms round its neck and the

swan's head rested against her cheek. She was weeping, and as he came nearer he saw that tears

were rolling, too, from the swan's eyes. "Leita, what is it?" he asked, very troubled.

"This is my sister," she answered. "I can't bear being separated from her." Now he

understood that Leita was really a swan from the forest, and this made him very sad because when a

human being marries a bird it always leads to sorrow. "I could use my second wish to give your sister

human shape, so that she could be a companion to you," he suggested. ""No, no," she cried, "I

couldn't ask that of her." "Is it so very hard to be a human being?" asked Mr. Peters sadly. "Very, very

hard," she answered. "Don't you love me at all, Leita?" "Yes, I do, I do love you," she said, and there

were tears in her eyes again. "But I miss the old life in the forest, the cool grass and the mist rising off

the river at sunrise and the feel of the water sliding over my feathers as my sister and I drifted along

the stream."


"Then shall I use my second wish to turn you back into a swan again?" he asked, and his

tongue pricked to remind him of the old King's words, and his heart swelled with grief inside him.

"Who would darn your socks and cook your meals and see to the hens?" "I'd do it myself as I did

before I married you," he said, trying to sound cheerful. She shook her head. "No, I could not be as

unkind to you as that. I am partly a swan, but I am also partly a human being now. I will stay with

you."

Poor Mr. Peters was very distressed on his wife's account and did his best to make her life

happier, taking her for drives in the car, finding beautiful music for her to listen to on the radio,

buying clothes for her and even suggesting a trip round the world. But she said no to that; she would

prefer to stay in their own house near the river. He noticed that she spent more and more time

baking wonderful cakes-jam puffs, petits fours, éclairs and meringues.

One day he saw her take a basketful down to the river and he guessed that she was giving

them to her sister. He built a seat for her by the river, and the two sisters spent hours together there,

communicating in some wordless manner. For a time he thought that all would be well, but then he

saw how thin and pale she was growing.

One night when he had been late doing the accounts he came up to bed and found her

weeping in her sleep and calling: "Rhea! Rhea! I can't understand what you say! Oh, wait for me, take

me with you!" Then he knew that it was hopeless and she would never be happy as a human. He

stooped down and kissed her goodbye, then took another leaf from his notecase, blew it out of the

window, and used up his second wish.

Next moment instead of Leita there was a sleeping swan lying across the bed with its head

under its wing. He carried it out of the house and down to the brink of the river, and then he said,

"Leita! Leita!" to waken her, and gently put her into the water. She gazed round her in astonishment

for a moment, and then came up to him and rested her head lightly against his hand; next instant she

was flying away over the trees towards the heart of the forest.

He heard a harsh laugh behind him, and turning round saw the old King looking at him with a

malicious expression. "Well, my friend! You don't seem to have managed so wonderfully with your

first two wishes, do you? What will you do with the last? Turn yourself into a swan? Or turn Leita

back into a girl?"

"I shall do neither," said Mr. Peters calmly. "Human beings and swans are better in their own

shapes." But for all that he looked sadly over towards the forest where Leita had flown, and walked

slowly back to his empty house.


Next day he saw two swans swimming at the bottom of the garden, and one of them wore

the gold chain he had given Leita after their marriage; she came up and rubbed her head against his

hand. Mr. Peters and his two swans came to be well known in that part of the country; people used

to say that he talked to the swans and they understood him as well as his neighbors. Many people

were a little frightened of him. There was a story that once when thieves tried to break into his house

they were set upon by two huge white birds which carried them off bodily and dropped them in the

river.

As Mr. Peters grew old everyone wondered at his contentment. Even when he was bent with

rheumatism4 he would not think of moving to a drier spot, but went slowly about his work, milking

the cows and collecting the honey and eggs, with the two swans always somewhere close at hand.

Sometimes people who knew his story would say to him: "Mr. Peters, why don't you wish for

another wife?" "Not likely," he would answer serenely. "Two wishes were enough for me, I reckon.

I've learned that even if your wishes are granted they don't always better you. I'll stay faithful to

Leita."

One autumn night, passers-by along the road heard the mournful sound of two swans

singing. All night the song went on, sweet and harsh, sharp and clear. In the morning Mr. Peters was

found peacefully dead in his bed with a smile of great happiness on his face. In between his hands,

which lay clasped on his breast, were a withered leaf and a white feather.

4 rheumatism: a disease which often effects older people, and causes pain in the bones and muscles


After Reading D. Answer the questions below in full sentences.

1. Why does Mr. Peters stop and get out of his car at the beginning of the story? What does this tell us about his character (his personality)?

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2. What happens to the swan that Mr. Peters rescues? What does he give to Mr. Peters?

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3. Who and what is Leita? Why is she unhappy?

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4. List two details from the story that support the idea that Mr. Peters loves Leita more than he loves himself.

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5. List two details from the story that support the idea that Leita continues to love Mr. Peters even after she changes back into a swan.

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6. What does Mr. Peters have in his hands when he dies? What can we understand from this information?

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Personal Response E. Answer one of these questions below in a paragraph of at least 120 words.

1. Why do you think Mr. Peters did not use his third wish? What does this tell us about his personality? If you were in the same situation as Mr. Peters, what would you have done with your third wish? Why? What does this tell us about your personality?

2. When Leita the swan suddenly transformed into a woman, she accepted her new role as Mr. Peters’ wife without question or complaint. Imagine how the story would be different if Leita had been transformed into a strong, independent woman instead of a fairy tale bride. Or if Mr. Peters’ “wife as beautiful as the forest” had looked more like a forest and less like a woman. Rewrite the story, giving Leita a totally different personality.

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“Aaron’s Gift,” Myron Levoy

Before Reading A. Often, a lot of information about the setting of a story can be inferred (guessed,

understood) from the descriptions in the exposition. Read the quotes from the first page of “Aaron’s Gift” and choose the most likely inference about the setting:

1. Aaron Kandel had come to Tompkins Square Park to roller-skate, for the streets near Second Avenue were always too crowded with children and peddlers and old ladies and baby buggies. Choose:

PLACE: Aaron Kandel lives in a crowded part of the city. WEATHER: It is probably winter. SOCIAL CONDITIONS: Aaron’s family is rich and lives in an expensive neighbourhood.

2. Though few children had bicycles in those days, almost every child owned a pair of roller skates. Choose:

TIME: The story takes place in the present time. MOOD: The story is dark and creepy. TIME: The story takes place in the past.

3. Luckily, Aaron hadn’t eat the cookies he’d stuffed into his pocket before he’d gone clacking down the three flights of stairs from his apartment, his skates already on. Choose:

SOCIAL CONDITIONS: Aaron’s family is rich and he has a roller skate park in his basement. PLACE: The story takes place in Aaron’s imagination. SOCIAL CONDITIONS: Aaron’s family is busy and Aaron often takes care of himself.

B. Now, use the following quote to make your own inference about the setting:

Very slowly, he edged toward the bird, making little kissing sounds like the ones he heard his grandmother make when she fed the sparrows on the back fire escape.

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C. The words below are important in “Aaron’s Gift.” Write a prediction about what will happen in the story using all five words.

pigeon cardboard roll crumbs gang bandages

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D. Follow the QR Code to study the vocabulary words for “Aaron’s Gift.” E. Complete the crossword puzzle using words from the Quizlet.

“Aaron’s Gift”

Quizlet Link

Across 3. Faithfulness to a person, group, or idea. 4. Dive. 5. A person, character, or animal chosen to

represent a team or an organization. 8. Before doing something to pause because of

fear or uncertainty. 9. A small platform in front of the door of a

building, with steps leading up to it. 10. Tiny pieces of bread, cake, cracker, or cookie. 12. Gasping for breath while crying. 16. Moving around in a frantic or uncontrolled

manner. 17. A pile.

Down 1. To comfort, to help someone overcome

sadness. 2. Wildly excited, frantic. 4. To beg, to ask, to say please. 6. An underground room beneath a house or

building; a basement. 7. The killing of many people. 11. A symbol that can be worn to identify

someone as part of a group or organization. 13. A serious promise made in front of witnesses. 14. A poorly built cabin or small house. 15. A common bird with a small head, sometimes

used to carry messages.


“Aaron’s Gift,” Part 1: Aaron Kandel had come to Tompkins Square Park to roller-

skate, for the streets near Second Avenue were always too crowded

with children and peddlers5 and old ladies and baby buggies. Though

few children had bicycles in those days, almost every child owned a

pair of roller skates. And Aaron was, it must be said, a Class A, triple

fantastic roller skater.

Aaron skated back and forth on the wide walkway of the park,

pretending he was an aviator6 in an air race zooming around pylons7,

which were actually two lampposts. During his third lap around the

racecourse, he noticed a pigeon on the grass, behaving very strangely.

Aaron skated to the line of benches, then climbed over onto the lawn.

The pigeon was trying to fly, but all it could manage was to flutter and turn round and round in

a large circle, as if it were performing a frenzied dance. The left wing was only half open and was

beating in a clumsy, jerking fashion; it was clearly broken. Luckily, Aaron hadn’t eaten the cookies

he’d stuffed into his pocket before he’d gone clacking down the three flights of stairs8 from his

apartment, his skates already on. He broke a cookie into small crumbs and tossed some toward the

pigeon. “Here pidge, here pidge,” he called. The pigeon spotted the cookie crumbs and, after a

moment, stopped thrashing about. It folded its wings as best it could, but the broken wing still stuck

half out. Then it strutted over to the crumbs, its head bobbing forth-back, forth-back, as if it were

marching a little in front of the rest of the body—perfectly normal, except for that half-open wing

which seemed to make the bird stagger sideways every so often.

The pigeon began eating the crumbs as Aaron quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off.

Very slowly, he edged toward the bird, making little kissing sounds like the ones he heard his

grandmother make when she fed the sparrows on the back fire escape. Then suddenly Aaron

plunged. The shirt, in both hands, came down like a torn parachute. The pigeon beat its wings, but

Aaron held the shirt to the ground, and the bird couldn’t escape. Aaron felt under the shirt, gently,

and gently took hold of the wounded pigeon.

“Yes, yes, pidge,” he said, very softly. “There’s a good boy. Good pigeon, good.”

The pigeon struggled in his hands, but little by little Aaron managed to soothe it. “Good boy,

pidge. That’s your new name. Pidge. I’m gonna take you home, Pidge. Yes, yes, ssh. Good boy. I’m

gonna fix you up. Easy, Pidge, easy does it. Easy, boy.”

Aaron squeezed through an opening between the rows of benches and skated slowly out of

the park, while holding the pigeon carefully with both hands as if it were one of his mother’s rare,

precious cups from the old country.9

5 peddler: a person who travels around selling small things 6 aviator: an airplane pilot, especially one who races or performs stunts 7 pylons: posts or towers marking the flight path of an airplane 8 flight of stairs: an uninterrupted set of stairs, usually from one floor of a building to the next 9 old country: refers to the country a person’s family or ancestors left when they immigrated to America


How fast the pigeon’s heart was beating! Was he afraid? Or did all pigeons’ hearts beat fast? It

was fortunate that Aaron was an excellent skater, for he had to skate six blocks to his apartment,

over broken pavement and sudden gratings and curbs and cobblestones. But when he reached

home, he asked Noreen Callahan, who was playing on the stoop, to take off his skates for him. He

would not chance going up three flights on roller skates this time.

“Is he sick?” asked Noreen.

“Broken wing,” said Aaron. “I’m gonna fix

him up and make him into a carrier pigeon or

something.”

“Can I watch?” asked Noreen.

“Watch what?”

“The operation. I’m gonna be a nurse

when I grow up.”

“OK,” said Aaron. “You can even help.

You can help hold him while I fix him up.”

Aaron wasn’t quite certain what his mother would say about his new-found pet, but he was

pretty sure he knew what his grandmother would think. His grandmother had lived with them ever

since his grandfather had died three years ago. And she fed the sparrows and jays and crows and

robins on the back fire escape with every spare crumb she could find. In fact, Aaron noticed that she

sometimes created crumbs where they didn’t exist, by squeezing and tearing pieces of her breakfast

roll when his mother wasn’t looking.

Aaron didn’t really understand his grandmother, for he often saw her by the window having

long conversations with the birds, telling them about her days as a little girl in the Ukraine.10 And

once he saw her take her mirror from her handbag and hold it out toward the birds. She told Aaron

that she wanted them to see how beautiful they were. Very strange. But Aaron did know that she

would love Pidge, because she loved everything.

To his surprise, his mother said he could keep the pigeon, temporarily, because it was sick, and

we were all strangers in the land of Egypt,11 and it might not be bad for Aaron to have a pet.

Temporarily.

The wing was surprisingly easy to fix, for the break showed clearly and Pidge was remarkably

patient and still, as if he knew he was being helped. Or perhaps he was just exhausted from all the

thrashing about he had done. Two Popsicle sticks served as splints,12 and strips from an old

undershirt were used to tie them in place. Another strip held the wing to the bird’s body.

10 Ukraine: a country in eastern Europe on the Black Sea 11 strangers in the land of Egypt: Refers to the story of the Israelites, who were slaves in Egypt until Moses lead them to freedom. Moses then commanded the Israelites: “Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (The Bible, Book of Deuteronomy, 10:19) 12 splints: objects used to hold a broken bone in place


Aaron’s father arrived home and stared at the pigeon. Aaron waited for the expected storm.

But instead, Mr. Kandel asked, “Who did this?”

“Me,” said Aaron. “And Noreen Callahan.”

“Sophie!” he called to his wife. “Did you see this? Ten years old and it’s better than Dr. Belasco

could do. He’s a genius!”

As the days passed, Aaron began training Pidge to be a carrier pigeon. He tied a little

cardboard tube to Pidge’s left leg and stuck tiny rolled-up sheets of paper with secret messages into

it: THE ENEMY IS ATTACKING AT DAWN. Or: THE GUNS ARE HIDDEN IN THE TRUNK OF THE CAR. Or:

VINCENT DEMARCO IS A BRITISH SPY. Then Aaron would set Pidge down at one end of the living

room and put some popcorn at the other end. And Pidge would waddle slowly across the room,

cooing softly, while the ends of his bandages trailed along the floor.

At the other end of the room, one of Aaron’s friends would take out the message, stick a new

one in, turn Pidge around, and aim him at the popcorn that Aaron put down on his side of the room.

And Pidge grew fat and contented on all the popcorn and crumbs and corn and crackers and

Aaron’s grandmother’s breakfast rolls.

Aaron had told all the children about Pidge, but he only let his very best friends come up and

play carrier-pigeon with him. But telling everyone had been a mistake. A group of older boys from

down the block had a club—Aaron’s mother called it a gang—and Aaron had longed to join as he had

never longed for anything else. To be with them and share their secrets, the secrets of older boys. To

be able to enter their clubhouse shack on the empty lot on the next street. To know the password

and swear the secret oath. To belong.

About a month after Aaron had brought the pigeon home, Carl, the gang leader, walked over

to Aaron in the street and told him he could be a member if he’d bring the pigeon down to be the

club mascot. Aaron couldn’t believe it; he immediately raced home to get Pidge. But his mother told

Aaron to stay away from those boys, or else. And Aaron, miserable, argued with his mother and

pleaded and cried and coaxed.13 It was no use. Not with those boys. No.

Aaron’s mother tried to change the subject. She told him that it would soon be his

grandmother’s sixtieth birthday, a very special birthday indeed, and all the family from Brooklyn and

the East Side would be coming to their apartment for a dinner and celebration. Would Aaron try to

build something or make something for Grandma? A present made with his own hands would be

nice. A decorated box for her hairpins or a crayon picture for her room or anything he liked.

In a flash Aaron knew what to give her: Pidge! Pidge would be her present! Pidge with his wing

healed, who might be able to carry messages for her to the doctor or his Aunt Rachel or other people

his grandmother seemed to go to a lot. It would be a surprise for everyone. And Pidge would make

up for what had happened to Grandma when she’d been a little girl in the Ukraine, wherever that

was.

13 coax: persuade or convince someone, usually through flattery


After Reading F. Answer the questions below in complete sentences, giving evidence from the story.

1. Describe Aaron’s relationship with his grandmother. Why does he find his grandmother hard to understand?

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2. Why do you think Aaron wants be part of Carl’s club? Why do you think his mother tells him he can’t be?

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G. Each of the quotes below contains important information about the social conditions of the story. In each quote, underline the part which gives a clue about Aaron’s family’s culture and history.

1. “Aaron [held] the pigeon carefully with both hands as if it were one of his mother’s rare,

precious cups from the old country.”

2. “To his surprise, his mother said he could keep the pigeon, temporarily, because it was sick,

and we were all strangers in the land of Egypt, and it might not be bad for Aaron to have a

pet.”

3. “Pidge would make up for what had happened to Grandma when she’d been a little girl in

the Ukraine, wherever that was.”

H. Write a short describing Aaron’s family, using the evidence you found in the quotes above.

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“Aaron’s Gift,” Part 2 Often, in the evening, Aaron’s grandmother

would talk about the old days long ago in the

Ukraine, in the same way that she talked to the

birds on the back fire escape. She had lived in a

village near a place called Kishinev14 with hundreds

of other poor peasant families like her own. Things

hadn’t been too bad under someone called Czar

Alexander the Second, whom Aaron always

pictured as a tall handsome man in a gold uniform.

But Alexander the Second was assassinated,15 and Alexander the Third, whom Aaron pictured as an

ugly man in a black cape, became the Czar. And the Jewish people of the Ukraine had no peace

anymore.

One day, a thundering of horses was

heard coming toward the village from the

direction of Kishinev. “The Cossacks! The

Cossacks!” someone had shouted. The Czar’s

horsemen! Quickly, quickly, everyone in

Aaron’s grandmother’s family had climbed

down to the cellar through a little trapdoor

hidden under a mat in the big central room of

their shack. But his grandmother’s pet goat,

whom she’d loved as much as Aaron loved

Pidge and more, had to be left above, because

if it had made a sound in the cellar, they would

never have lived to see the next morning. They all hid under the wood in the woodbin and waited,

hardly breathing.

Suddenly, from above, they heard shouts and calls and screams at a distance. And then the

noise was in their house. Boots pounding on the floor, and everything breaking and crashing

overhead. The smell of smoke and the shouts of a dozen men.

The terror went on for an hour and then the sound of horses’ hooves faded into the distance.

They waited another hour to make sure, and then the father went up out of the cellar and the rest of

the family followed. The door to the house had been torn from its hinges and every piece of furniture

was broken. Every window, every dish, every stitch of clothing was totally destroyed, and one wall

had been completely bashed in. And on the floor was the goat, lying quietly. Aaron’s grandmother,

who was just a little girl of eight at the time, had wept over the goat all day and all night and could

not be consoled.

But they had been lucky. For other houses had been burned to the ground. And everywhere,

not goats alone, nor sheep, but men and women and children lay quietly on the ground. The word

14 Kishinev: a city (today known as Chisinau) that is now the capital of the country of Moldova 15 assassinated: murdered for political reasons

Cossacks were a nation of fierce warriors that lived on the borders of the Russian Empire and often fought for the Czar.


for this sort of massacre, Aaron had learned, was

pogrom. It had been a pogrom. And the men on the

horses were Cossacks. Hated word. Cossacks!

And so Pidge would replace that goat of long

ago. A pigeon on Second Avenue where no one

needed trapdoors or secret escape passages or

woodpiles to hide under. A pigeon for his

grandmother’s sixtieth birthday. Oh wing, heal

quickly so my grandmother can send you flying to

everywhere she wants!

But a few days later, Aaron met Carl in the

street again. And Carl told Aaron that there was going to be a meeting that afternoon in which a map

was going to be drawn up to show where a secret treasure lay buried on the empty lot. “Bring the

pigeon and you can come into the shack. We got a badge for you. A new kinda membership badge

with a secret code on the back.”

Aaron ran home, his heart pounding almost as fast as the pigeon’s. He took Pidge in his hands

and carried him out the door while his mother was busy in the kitchen making stuffed cabbage, his

father’s favourite dish. And by the time he reached the street, Aaron had decided to take the

bandages off. Pidge would look like a real pigeon again, and none of the older boys would laugh or

call him a bundle of rags.

Gently, gently he removed the bandages and the splints and put them in his pocket in case he

should need them again. But Pidge seemed to hold his wing properly in place. When he reached the

empty lot, Aaron walked up to the shack, then hesitated.

Four bigger boys were there. After a moment, Carl came out and commanded Aaron to hand

Pidge over.

“Be careful,” said Aaron. “I just took the bandages off.”

“Oh sure, don’t worry,” said Carl. By now Pidge was used to people holding him, and he

remained calm in Carl’s hands.

“OK,” said Carl. “Give him the badge.”

And one of the older boys handed Aaron his badge with the code on the back. “Now light the

fire,” said Carl.

“What...what fire?” asked Aaron.

“The fire. You’ll see,” Carl answered.

“You didn’t say nothing about a fire,” said Aaron. “You didn’t say nothing to—”

“Hey!” said Carl. “I’m the leader here. And you don’t talk unless I tell you that you have

p’mission. Light the fire, Al.”

Five of the 49 victims killed in the Kishinev Pogroms of 1903.


The boy named Al went out to the side of the shack, where some wood and cardboard and old

newspapers had been piled into a huge mound. He struck a match16 and held it to the newspapers.

“OK,” said Carl. “Let’s get ’er good and hot. Blow on it. Everybody blow.”

Aaron’s eyes stung from the smoke, but he blew alongside the others, going from side to side

as the smoke shifted toward them and away.

“Let’s fan it,” said Al.

In a few minutes, the fire was crackling and glowing with a bright yellow-orange flame.

“Get me the rope,” said Carl.

One of the boys brought Carl some cord and Carl, without a word, wound it twice around the

pigeon, so that its wings were tight against its body.

“What...what are you doing!” shouted Aaron. “You’re hurting his wing!”

“Don’t worry about his wing,” said Carl.

“We’re gonna throw him into the fire. And when we do, we’re gonna swear an oath of loyalty

to—”

“No! No!” shouted Aaron, moving toward Carl.

“Grab him!” called Carl. “Don’t let him get the pigeon!”

But Aaron had leaped right across the fire at Carl, taking him completely by surprise. He threw

Carl back against the shack and hit out at his face with both fists. Carl slid down to the ground and

the pigeon rolled out of his hands. Aaron scooped up the pigeon and ran, pretending he was on roller

skates so that he would go faster and faster. And as he ran across the lot he pulled the cord off Pidge

and tried to find a place, any place, to hide him. But the boys were on top of him, and the pigeon

slipped from Aaron’s hands.

“Get him!” shouted Carl.

Aaron thought of the worst, the most horrible thing he could shout at the boys. “Cossacks!” he

screamed. “You’re all Cossacks!”

Two boys held Aaron back while the others tried to

catch the pigeon. Pidge fluttered along the ground just out

of reach, skittering17 one way and then the other. Then

the boys came at him from two directions. But suddenly

Pidge beat his wings in rhythm, and rose up, up, over the

roof of the nearest tenement18, up over Second Avenue

toward the park.

16 to strike a match: to light a match 17 skittering: moving in a jerking way 18 tenement: apartment building in a city, usually overcrowded and unsafe


With the pigeon gone, the boys turned toward Aaron and tackled him to the ground and

punched him and tore his clothes and punched him some more. Aaron twisted and turned and kicked

and punched back, shouting “Cossacks! Cossacks!” And somehow the word gave him the strength to

tear away from them.

When Aaron reached home, he tried to go past the kitchen quickly so his mother wouldn’t see

his bloody face and torn clothing. But it was no use; his father was home from work early that night

and was seated in the living room. In a moment Aaron was surrounded by his mother, father, and

grandmother, and in another moment he had told them everything that had happened, the words

tumbling out between his broken sobs. Told them of the present he had planned, of the pigeon for a

goat, of the gang, of the badge with the secret code on the back, of the shack, and the fire, and the

pigeon’s flight over the tenement roof.

And Aaron’s grandmother kissed him and thanked him for his present which was even better

than the pigeon.

“What present?” asked Aaron, trying to stop the series of sobs.

And his grandmother opened her pocketbook and handed Aaron her mirror and asked him to

look. But all Aaron saw was his dirty, bruised face and his torn shirt.

Aaron thought he understood and then, again, he thought he didn’t. How could she be so

happy when there really was no present? And why pretend that there was? Later that night, just

before he fell asleep, Aaron tried to imagine what his grandmother might have done with the pigeon.

She would have fed it, and she certainly would have talked to it, as she did to all the birds, and...and

then she would have let it go free. Yes, of course. Pidge’s flight to freedom must have been the gift

that had made his grandmother so happy. Her goat has escaped from the Cossacks at last, Aaron

thought, half dreaming. And he fell asleep with a smile!


After Reading I. Answer the questions in complete sentences.

1. Choose one human character from the story and describe his or her personality, using at least two adjectives.

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2. Where did Aaron’s grandmother live when she was a child? What happened to her and her family there?

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3. Why does Aaron think that Pidge would be a good gift for his grandmother’s birthday?

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4. Why does Aaron call Carl and the other boys Cossacks? How are they like Cossacks?

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5. Why do you think Aaron’s grandmother tells him to look into the mirror?

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6. Aaron’s grandmother thanks Aaron for giving her a present that was better than a pigeon. What do you think she means?

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Plot Diagram J. Complete the plot diagram for “Aaron’s Gift.”

Them

e:

Mo

ral:


Research and Present K. Research one of these topics and use an ICT tool to create a 5-minute presentation:

1. The Cossacks. Who were they? Where did they live? What was their history? How did they dress? In what wars did the fight, and why? What other interesting information can you find about them?

2. Homing Pigeons. When and where have they been used to carry messages? How can the carry messages? How do they know where to go? What other interesting information can you find out about them?

3. Pogroms. What were Pogroms? When and where did they happen? Why did they happen? What other important information should people know about pogroms?

Write and Illustrate L. Write and illustrate a story (at least 320 words) about one of these topics:

1. Retell Aaron’s Gift from the perspective of Pidge. Focus on his experiences, not Aaron’s. Be sure to include what happened before he met Aaron (how he broke his wing) and what happened after he escaped from the gang of boys. Don’t forget to include Pidge’s thoughts and feelings, and to give him a personality.

2. Create a comic book version of “Aaron’s Gift.” All the important events should appear in the pictures, and all the important dialogue should be included in speech bubbles.

3. Continue the story. What happens next? Does Aaron ever see Pidge again? What happens to Carl and his gang of boys?

Read and Analyze M. Read the short story “Stray,” by Cynthia Rylant, and choose one of the tasks:

1. Complete a detailed plot diagram.

2. Write a paragraph (at least 160 words) about the similarities between “Stray,” “Aaron’s Gift,”

and “The Third Wish.”

3. Create a Quizlet study set to teach the important vocabulary (at least 10 words) in “Stray.”

4. Create a Kahoot quiz (at least 10 questions) about the story “Stray.”


“Stray,” by Cynthia Rylant In January, a puppy wandered onto the

property of Mr. Amos Lacey and his wife, Mamie,

and their daughter, Doris. Icicles hung three feet

or more from the eaves of houses, snowdrifts

swallowed up automobiles and the birds were so

fluffed up they looked comic.

The puppy had been abandoned, and it

made its way down the road toward the Laceys’

small house, its ears tucked, its tail between its

legs, shivering.

Doris, whose school had been called off

because of the snow, was out shoveling the

cinderblock front steps when she spotted the pup

on the road. She set down the shovel.

“Hey! Come on!” she called.

The puppy stopped in the road, wagging its tail timidly, trembling with shyness and cold.

Doris trudged through the yard, went up the shoveled drive and met the dog.

“Come on, Pooch.”

“Where did that come from?” Mrs. Lacey asked as soon as Doris put the dog down in the kitchen.

Mr. Lacey was at the table, cleaning his fingernails with his pocketknife. The snow was keeping

him home from his job at the warehouse.

“I don’t know where it came from,” he said mildly, “but I know for sure where it’s going.”

Doris hugged the puppy hard against her. She said nothing.

Because the roads would be too bad for travel for many days, Mr. Lacey couldn’t get out to take

the puppy to the pound in the city right away. He agreed to let it sleep in the basement while Mrs.

Lacey grudgingly let Doris feed it table scraps. The woman was sensitive about throwing out food.

By the looks of it, Doris figured the puppy was about six months old, and on its way to being a

big dog. She thought it might have some shepherd in it.

Four days passed and the puppy did not complain. It never cried in the night or howled at the

wind. It didn’t tear up everything in the basement. It wouldn’t even follow Doris up the basement steps

unless it was invited.

It was a good dog.

Several times Doris had opened the door in the kitchen that led to the basement and the puppy

had been there, all stretched out, on the top step. Doris knew it had wanted some company and that

it had lain against the door, listening to the talk in the kitchen, smelling the food, being a part of things.

It always wagged its tail, eyes all sleepy, when she found it there.


Even after a week had gone by, Doris didn’t name the dog. She knew her parents wouldn’t let

her keep it, that her father made so little money any pets were out of the question, and that the pup

would definitely go to the pound when the weather cleared.

Still, she tried talking to them about the dog at dinner one night.

“She’s a good dog, isn’t she?” Doris said, hoping one of them would agree with her.

Her parents glanced at each other and went on eating.

“She’s not much trouble,” Doris added. “I like her.” She smiled at them, but they continued to

ignore her.

“I figure she’s real smart,” Doris said to her mother. “I could teach her things.”

Mrs. Lacey just shook her head and stuffed a forkful of sweet potato in her mouth. Doris fell

silent, praying the weather would never clear.

But on Saturday, nine days after the dog had arrived, the sun was shining and the roads were

plowed. Mr. Lacey opened up the trunk of his car and came into the house.

Doris was sitting alone in the living room, hugging a pillow and rocking back and forth on the

edge of a chair. She was trying not to cry but she was not strong enough. Her face was wet and red,

her eyes full of distress.

Mrs. Lacey looked into the room from the doorway.

“Mama,” Doris said in a small voice. “Please.”

Mrs. Lacey shook her head, “You know we can’t afford a dog, Doris. You try to act more grown-

up about this.”

Doris pressed her face into the pillow.

Outside, she heard the trunk of the car slam shut, one of the doors open and close. The old

engine cough and choke and finally start up.


“Daddy,” she whispered. “Please.”

She heard the car travel down the road, and, though it was early afternoon, she could do nothing

but go to her bed. She cried herself to sleep, and her dreams were full of searching and searching for

things lost.

It was nearly night when she finally woke up. Lying there, like stone, still exhausted, she

wondered if she would ever in her life have anything. She stared at the wall for a while.

But she started feeling hungry, and she knew she’d have to make herself get out of bed and eat

some dinner. She wanted not to go into the kitchen, past the basement door. She wanted not to face

her parents.

But she rose up heavily.

Her parents were sitting at the table, dinner over, drinking coffee. They looked at her when she

came in, but she kept her head down. No one spoke.

Doris made herself a glass of powdered milk and drank it all down. Then she picked up a cold

biscuit and started out of the room.

“You’d better feed that mutt before it dies of starvation,” Mr. Lacey said.

Doris turned around.

“What?”

“I said, you’d better feed your dog. I figure it’s looking for you.”

Doris put her hand to her mouth.

“You didn’t take her?” she asked.

“Oh, I took her all right.” her father answered. “Worst looking place I’ve ever seen. Ten dogs to

a cage. Smell was enough to knock you down. And they give an animal six days to live. Then they kill

it with some kind of a shot.”

Doris stared at her father.

“l wouldn’t leave an ant in that place,” he said. “So I brought the dog back.”

Mrs. Lacey was smiling at him and shaking her head as if she would never, ever, understand

him.

Mr. Lacey sipped his coffee.

“Well,” he said, “are you going to feed it or not?”


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