question: CHAPTER XXXIX

Doctor Crofts Is Turned Out

"Have you heard the news, my dear, from the Small House?" said Mrs Boyce to her husband, some two or three days after Mrs Dale's visit to the squire. It was one o'clock, and the parish pastor had come in from his ministrations to dine with his wife and children.

"What news?" said Mr Boyce, for he had heard none.

"Mrs Dale and the girls are going to leave the Small House; they're going into Guestwick to live."

"Mrs Dale going away; nonsense!" said the vicar. "What on earth should take her into Guestwick? She doesn't pay a shilling of rent where she is."

"I can assure you it's true, my dear. I was with Mrs Hearn just now, and she had it direct from Mrs Dale's own lips. Mrs Hearn said she'd never been taken so much aback in her whole life. There's been some quarrel, you may be sure of that."

Mr Boyce sat silent, pulling off his dirty shoes preparatory to his dinner. Tidings so important, as touching the social life of his parish, had not come to him for many a day, and he could hardly bring himself to credit them at so short a notice.

"Mrs Hearn says that Mrs Dale spoke ever so firmly about it, as though determined that nothing should change her."

"And did she say why?"

"Well, not exactly. But Mrs Hearn said she could understand there had been words between her and the squire. It couldn't be anything else, you know. Probably it had something to do with that man, Crosbie."
1. How many are leaving the aged home?
2. Who are they?
3. Who was gossiping about it to her man?
4. Who was she telling?
****
answer: 1. Three
2. Mrs Dale and the girls
3. Mrs Boyce
4. her husband

question: In a quiet house there was a dog named Bentley. Bentley was a little brown puppy and he was always getting into trouble. One day Bentley got outside and walked down the street. He found a trash can and started to dig through it. A cat came also to see what Bentley was doing. "Excuse me, but what are you looking for?" asked the cat. "Well, nothing important," Bentley told the cat. "I wanted to see if there was anything cool in there." The cat told Bentley that his name was Felix and asked if he could dig through the trash too. "Sure thing" Bentley told the cat. The two of them started to dig through the trash again. After a little bit the pair got bored and started to walk down the street going away from Bentley's house. They walked to a river and went to the edge of the water. They saw they were dirty because they had been digging in the trash so they went into the water to wash themselves. When they were clean they went back to Bentley's house. Inside the house they got water on everything because they were still wet. Bentley's human's came home and were very upset that their house was now very wet.
1. Who was the cat?
2. Who was the dog?
3. Was he black?
4. What color was he?
5. Was he well-behaved?
6. What did he search through?
7. Was he alone?
8. Did they find five different items?
9. Were they clean afterwards?
10. How did they get clean?
11. Did another friend join them?
12. What did they do last?
13. Did they make a mess there?
14. Why?
15. Were the humans pleased?
16. What did they feel?
17. Was the refuse bin in an alley?
****
answer: 1. Felix
2. Bentley
3. no
4. brown
5. no
6. a trash can
7. no
8. no
9. no
10. in the river
11. no
12. went home
13. yes
14. they were wet
15. no
16. very upset
17. no

question: Chapter VII.

MAGGIE IS VERY NAUGHTY.

As soon as the children reached the open air Tom said, "Here, Lucy, you come along with me," and walked off to the place where the toads were, as if there were no Maggie in existence. Lucy was naturally pleased that Cousin Tom was so good to her, and it was very amusing to see him tickling a fat toad with a piece of string, when the toad was safe down the area, with an iron grating over him.

Still Lucy wished Maggie to enjoy the sight also, especially as she would doubtless find a name for the toad, and say what had been his past history; for Lucy loved Maggie's stories about the live things they came upon by accident--how Mrs. Earwig had a wash at home, and one of her children had fallen into the hot copper, for which reason she was running so fast to fetch the doctor. So now the desire to know the history of a very portly toad made her run back to Maggie and say, "Oh, there is such a big, funny toad, Maggie! Do come and see."

Maggie said nothing, but turned away from her with a deep frown. She was actually beginning to think that she should like to make Lucy cry, by slapping or pinching her, especially as it might vex Tom, whom it was of no use to slap, even if she dared, because he didn't mind it. And if Lucy hadn't been there, Maggie was sure he would have made friends with her sooner.
1. Did Lucy like Maggie's stories?
2. What was Mrs. Earwig running for in Maggie's story?
3. Why?
4. What did Lucy want to hear a story about?
5. Did she ask Maggie to come look at it?
6. Did Maggie respond?
7. Why not?
8. To achieve what?
9. Is it hard to do that?
10. What is Maggie's goal?
11. Is Maggie jealous of Lucy's relationship with Tom?
12. Did she feel ignored?
13. What is Lucy's relationship to Tom?
14. What did Tom tickle a toad with?
15. What was over the toad?
16. Who did Tom ask to come with him?
17. Did she?
18. Was Lucy happy about Tom's attention to her?
19. What about Maggie?
20. Why not?
****
answer:
1. yes
2. fetching the doctor
3. one of her children had fallen into the hot copper
4. a toad
5. yes
6. no
7. she wanted to make Lucy cry
8. vex Tom
9. yes
10. make friends with Tom
11. yes
12. yes
13. cousin
14. piece of string
15. iron grating?
16. Lucy
17. yes
18. yes
19. no
20. she felt ignored