Long long ago, there was an old
merchant who had three sons. “To which one shall I leave my fortune?” he
wondered. “It must be to the cleverest son. But which one is the cleverest?”
He
called his three sons to him. “Here is some money,” he told them, “you must
each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room. Anyone who can do
this shall have my fortune.”
“It is a big room,” said the
eldest son.
“One coin will not buy very
much,” said the second son.
But the
youngest son said nothing. He stood and thought, and then he smiled, “Come,
brothers,” he said, “let us go to the market.”
The eldest son
bought straw with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of straw. Even when
he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the
room.
The
second son bought sand with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of sand.
Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the sand covered only half of
the floor.
“What did you buy?” the eldest
son angrily asked the youngest son. “You don't have any straw.”
“Yes, what did
you buy?” the second son asked angrily. “You don't have any sand.”
“I bought
this,” said the youngest son.
“A candle!” cried his brothers.
“What good is a candle?”
“Watch”, said the
youngest son.
He lit the
candle, and all at once the room was filled from wall to wall, from ceiling to
floor. It was filled with light!
“Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the
old merchant said.
And that
is how, the old merchant left his fortune to his youngest son, the one who
could fill a room with light.
1. Who would get father's
fortune?
A. The oldest
son.
B. The richest son.
C. The
cleverest son.
D. The silliest son.
2. The merchant left his fortune
to the son
A. who would fill
the room by using something which is worthy of one coin
B. who would take
care of him when he became old
C. who wanted to get
his fortune
D. who got married
first
3. How do you think of the
youngest son?
A. He is very
clever.
B. He is very lazy.
C. He is very
mean. D.
He is very diligent.
4. The youngest son used
_____ to fill the room.
A. straw
B. candle C. sand
D. water