23 THE NAUGHTY SHADOW

Once there was a little boy who wanted his shadow to come to him. “Come to me! ”the boy said. “I want you; come to me! ”

But the shadow stood still.

Then the boy ran toward the shadow, but the shadow ran away. The little boy ran faster, but the shadow ran just as fast as he did. It would not come to him.

When at last the little boy was tired and sat down to rest, the shadow sat down, too.

“If you won't come to me, ”said the little boy, “sit still, and I will come to you.”

The little boy got up, but the shadow got up, too.

Then the little boy became angry. “Do as you please, ”he said, “You are a naughty shadow. I shall not ask you again to come to me.”

Then the little boy turned and ran away from the shadow. He ran and ran and ran.

After he had run a long time, he looked back.

There was the little shadow, close to him. “Oho! ”said the little boy. “Now I know how to make you come to me! ”

(Russian Tale)

Word list

naughty: not behaving well, not nice

oho: what some people say when they are surprised

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What did the little boy in this story want?

2) Why didn't the shadow go to the boy?

3) Why did the boy think the shadow was naughty?

4) How old do you think the boy is in this story?

5) What do you think the boy will do now that he knows how to get his shadow to come to him?

B) Fill in the blanks—Read these sentences carefully and fill in the blanks with words from the story.

1) The little boy thought the ____________ was naughty.

2) The shadow made the little by ________.

3) The little boy ______ away from the shadow.

4) The little by told the shadow to sit _______.

5) The little boy was tired, so he sat down to ________.

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

1) _____ The little boy and the shadow were friends.

2) _____ The shadow ran away from the little boy.

3) _____ The shadow talked to the little boy.

4) _____ The shadow tried to make the little boy angry.

5) _____ The little boy figured out how to make the shadow come to him.