3 I DON'T CARE

I

A horse and a brown colt once lived in a meadow.

One day the gate was open.

“I will run out of the gate.”said the brown colt.

“No, no! ”said the horse.

“You must stay in the meadow.”

“Why? ”asked the brown colt. “I do not know.”said the horse.

“But the old white horse told me to stay. So I shall stay.”

“I don't care! ”said the colt, “I do not like it here. If I run down the road, I shall have more fun.”

So off he ran, down the road.

By and by he met the old white horse.

“Why are you here? ”asked the old horse.

“I want some fun.”said the colt.

“I am tired of staying in the meadow.”

“The meadow is the best place for you, ”said the old white horse.

“You are safe in the meadow. You are too little to see the world.”

“I don't care! ”said the brown colt. He shook his head and ran on.

By and by he met a mule.

The mule was pulling a big cart.

“Why are you here? ”he asked the colt, “You should be in the meadow.

The town is close by, and it is no place for a little colt like you.”

“I don't care! I want some fun, ”said the brown colt.

II

The colt ran on until he came to the town. He had never seen a town before.

What a noise the carts made! The little colt was frightened.

He wanted to run back to the meadow. Then some men and boys ran after him. They shouted at him and tried to catch him.

Soon he came to a big glass window.

He saw his shadow in the window, and he thought it was another colt.

“Oh, there is another colt just like me! ”said the little brown colt, “I will ask him the way to the meadow.”

But it was not another colt. It was only his shadow he saw in the glass.

The little brown colt ran into the window and broke the glass.

The glass cut him, and he fell down. Then some men caught him. They took the little colt back to the meadow and shut him in.

Now he does not want to run away. He never says, “I don't care”any more.

(Gertrude Sellon)

Word list

cart: a car-like thing pulled by a horse

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Who lives in the meadow?

2) Why does the colt want to leave the meadow?

3) Why did the old white horse tell the colt to stay in the meadow?

4) What did the old white horse think about the colt running down the road?

5) Where did the colt run after talking to Old White Horse and the mule?

B) Homophones—These are words that sound the same, but have different meanings. For each pair, use both words in the same sentence. The first one has been done as an example.

1) here: hear

If I stand here, I can hear you!

2) know: no

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3) right: write

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4) won: one

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5) not: knot

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6) seen: scene

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7) too: two

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8) son: sun

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9) road: rode

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10) by: bye

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C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The colt listened to the horse.

2) _____ The colt didn't want to leave the meadow.

3) _____ The colt found another colt.

4) _____ The colt hurt itself in the town.

5) _____ The colt doesn't want to run away again.