Salmon

A fish that is a great favorite with people is salmon. It begins its life in a small pool up a river. Far from the sea, the fish lays its eggs in a pool in the river. When the baby fish are a few inches long, they begin to swim down the river. As they grow bigger, they make their way towards the sea.

They jump over rocks, often with their tails first. Suddenly, they find themselves in the sea. The fish live in the sea for three years. They swim far away from land. How do they find their way back? These fish have a wonderful sense of smell. They remember the scent of their journey easily because the river flowed to the sea and carried them there. After three years, most salmon swim toward the pools.

As soon as they reach a pool, the females lay their eggs. They lay their eggs near the edge of the water and cover them with sand. Soon the eggs hatch, and the pool is full of small fish, getting ready for the long journey out to the sea.

What is the first important event that happens in this story?

A Clever Idea

Once, there was a severe drought. There was little water in Tony’s well, and he didn’t know what would happen to the fruit trees in his garden. Just then, he noticed three men looking intently at his house. He was certain that the three were planning to rob his house. He acted quickly. He shouted out to his son, “My son, due to the drought, money has become scarce. There are many thieves. Let us protect our valuables, and put all of our jewels in a box and throw them into the well. They will be safe there.” He quickly told his son to put some large stones in a box and throw them into the well.

The thieves heard the sound of the box falling into the well and were happy. That night they came to the well. The box was heavy and had landed deep down in the well. To get it, they would have to take out some of the water. They started drawing water from the well and pouring it onto the ground. Tony had made arrangements to make sure that the water reached his fruit trees. He had channels leading from the well to each of the trees. By the time thieves found the box, they had drawn out enough water to water the trees. It was almost dawn. Tony sent for the soldiers, and just as the thieves were trying to open the box, they were caught red-handed.

Which sentence shows the correct timeline of events?

The Glass Cupboard

There was a king who had a cupboard that was made entirely of glass. It was a special cupboard. It looked empty, but you could always take out anything you wanted. There was only one thing you had to remember. Whenever you took something out of it, you had to put something else back in, although nobody knew why.

One day, some thieves broke into the palace and stole the cupboard. “Now we can have anything we want,” they said. One of the thieves said, “I want a large bag of gold,” and he opened the glass cupboard and got it. The other two did the same and they too got exactly what they wanted. The thieves forgot one thing. Not one of them put anything back in the cupboard. They went on and on for weeks and months. At last, the leader of the thieves could bear it no longer. He took a hammer and smashed the glass cupboard into a million pieces, and then all three fell down dead.

When the king returned home, he ordered his servants to search for the cupboard. When they found it, and the dead thieves, they filled sixty great carts with the gold and took it back to the king. He said, “If those thieves had only put something back into the cupboard, they would be alive this day.”

He ordered his servants to collect all the pieces of glass and melt them down and make them into a globe with all the countries of the world upon it, to remind him and others, to give back something in return when someone or something does or gives us something.

What is the first thing the King did when he returned?