LESSON 12
A WALK IN THE GARDEN

WORD LIST

shook gravel invited assure continued

plants borders enjoyed meddle admiring

1. Frank was one day walking with his mother, when they came to a pretty garden. Frank looked in, and saw that it had clean gravel walks, and beds of beautiful flowers all in bloom.

2. He called to his mother, and said, “Mother, come and look at this pretty garden. I wish I might open the gate, and walk in.”

3. The gardener, being near, heard what Frank said, and kindly invited him and his mother to come into the garden.

4. Frank's mother thanked the man. Turning to her son, she said,“Frank, if I take you to walk in this garden, you must take care not to meddle with anything in it.”

5. Frank walked along the neat gravel paths, and looked at everything, but touched nothing that he saw.

6. He did not tread on any of the borders, and was careful that his clothes should not brush the tops of the flowers, lest he might break them.

7. The gardener was much pleased with Frank, because he was so careful not to do mischief. He showed him the seeds, and told him the name of many of the flowers and plants.

8. While Frank was admiring the beauty of a flower, a boy came to the gate, and finding it locked, he shook it hard. But it would not open. Then he said: “Let me in; let me in; will you not let me in this garden? ”

9. “No, indeed, ” said the gardener, “I will not let you in, I assure you; for when I let you in yesterday, you meddled with my flowers, and pulled some of my rare fruit. I do not choose to let a boy into my garden who meddles with the plants.”

10. The boy looked ashamed, and when he found that the gardener would not let him in, he went slowly away.

11. Frank saw and felt how much happier a boy may be by not meddling with what does not belong to him.

12. He and his mother then continued their walk in the garden, and enjoyed the day very much. Before they left, the gardener gave each of them some pretty flowers.

STUDY GUIDE

A. True or False—Write T (true) or F (false). Explain your answer in one sentence.

_____1. The gardener allowed Frank and his mother to enter the garden.

_____2. Frank meddled with the flowers.

_____3. The gardener thought Frank was a good boy.

_____4. The gardener was kind to Frank and his mother.

_____5. Frank gave the gardener some flowers.

_____6. The gardener allows everyone into the garden.

B. Vocabulary Practice—Answer the questions that contain vocabulary words.

1. Meddle means to interfere with things that are not yours. When you were a child, did you meddle with something?

2. To assure is to convince someone. Why did the gardener assure the boy that he wouldn't allow him into the garden?

3. Gravel is a mixture of sand and small stones. What is gravel often used for?

4. If you admire someone or something, you like or respect it because of its beauty or intelligence, for example. Who or what do you admire?

5. The boy shook the gate hard. This means he moved it forcefully. Why did he do this?

6. A border is the edge of something. Why was Frank careful not to walk on the borders?

C. Who is it? Tell which person did or said each thing. Choose from these people.

Frank Mother the gardener the boy

1. ___________wanted to look at the garden.

2. ___________told Frank not to meddle with anything in the garden.

3. ___________shook the gates hard.

4. ___________admired the beauty of a flower.

5. ___________walked away slowly.

6. ___________was happy that he didn't meddle with anything.