Elephant and friends

A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for

friends. She came across a monkey and asked, “Will
you be my friend, monkey?” “You are too big and
cannot swing on trees as I do. So I cannot be your
friend”, said the monkey.

The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked

him if she could be his friend. “You are too big to fit
inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”,
replied the rabbit.

Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could

be her friend. The frog said “You are too big and
heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you
cannot be my friend”.

The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the animals in
the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was happening and was told
that a tiger has been attacking all the animals.

The elephant wanted to save the other weak animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir, leave my
friends alone. Do not eat them”. The tiger didn’t listen and asked the elephant to mind her own business.
Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant kicked the tiger and scared it away.

She then went back to the others and told them what happened. On hearing how the elephant saved their
lives, the animals agreed in unison, “You are just the right size to be our friend”.

Moral: Friends come in all shapes and sizes!

 Controlling anger
There was once a young boy who had problem controlling
his temper. When he became angry, he would just say
anything that came to his mind and hurt people. So his
father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and said,
“Every time you get angry, hammer one nail into the fence
in our backyard”.

The first few days the boy hammered so many nails that
he emptied half the bag. Over the weeks, the number of
nails he hammered to the fence reduced and gradually, his
temper was much in control. Then came a day when he
didn’t lose his temper at all. His father asked him to
remove one nail each day that he manages not to lose his temper.

Finally, on the day the child was removing the last nail, his father says, “You have done well, boy. But do
you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same, even after repainting. Likewise,
when you say mean things in anger, you will leave a scar in the person’s mind, as the nails did to the fence”.

Moral: Anger is a dangerous weapon like a knife. When you put a knife in a man and draw it out, the wound
heals but the scar remains.
 The Day I Tried to Cook
By: Sue Peterson

Mom is a great cook. She started cooking when she was three-years-old! I know that sounds silly, but she
would help her mother cook. And, now I’m helping my mom cook.

I like to make chicken the best. Baked chicken is my most favorite thing to make. It is also my favorite food
to eat.

One day, when mom was sick, I tried to make the chicken all by myself. I washed the chicken and put it in a
pan in the oven to bake. When the bell rang to tell me the chicken was done, I opened the oven door.
Guess what? The chicken was not cooked!

I started to laugh. I laughed and laughed and laughed! Did you know what I did? I forgot to turn on the
oven! The oven!

Did you know what I did next? I called on the telephone for pizza to come to our house. Mom was happy
that I “cooked” by myself. She was happy that we could eat the pizza together.

Guess what? We will have chicken some other night.

The History of Chocolate

By: Sue Peterson

People from all over the world like the taste of chocolate. Chocolate is a refreshment that many people
enjoy as a dessert or snack. Did you ever grab a chocolate bar at the store when you were checking out
groceries with your mom or dad? Did you ever buy a chocolate bar at the gas station when your parents
stopped to buy gas? Did you ever get to pick out a chocolate candy bar at a basketball game or a soccer
game?

Some people like dark chocolate and some people like light chocolate. Some people like plain chocolate
and others like nuts or cream inside. Mrs. Hershey thought it would be a good idea for her son Milton to
learn a business from someone who was a successful businessman. So when Milton finished fourth grade,
she arranged for Milton to become a printer’s apprentice where he would learn about print, newspapers,
and books.

However, Milton did not like this kind of work and soon he was serving as an apprentice under his father
who got a new job in a candy factory where he helped to make candy. After a few years, Milton knew that
he was a good candy maker and he wanted to start his own candy business. He tried to build several
businesses in many different cities, and he did not give up until his candy business was finally a success. He
learned to make caramels and to expand the kinds of candy he made. When he was 29-years-old, he moved
back to Pennsylvania to start a caramel business, and in four years his business was very successful.

After seeing how chocolate was made at a chocolate convention, Milton purchased the equipment needed
to make similar chocolates. He got married and sold the caramel company for $1,000,000 dollars and
opened up a chocolate factory. Hershey built an entire town complete with houses, schools, churches, and
stores so the people who worked in his factory could live nearby. The Hershey Chocolate Company grew to
make sweet chocolate and cocoa. He focused his factory on the “nickel bar”, a chocolate bar that everyone
could afford. He then added Hershey Kisses and Hershey’s with Almonds.

As success and profits rose, he expanded his town to add a sports arena, a stadium, and a school to learn
how to make chocolate. The school was for orphaned children, and when his wife died, Milton took all of
his money ($60 million dollars) and gave it to the school to help these children. He also made a foundation
which is an organization that gives money to people who need it. His foundation is designed to help people
get an education.

Milton Hershey died in 1945, but the world remembers him for not only making chocolate bars, but for his
work to help people through his foundation. A medical center for The Pennsylvania State University was
also founded. Milton Hershey is remembered as someone who built an entire city and helped people get
jobs. He is remembered for someone who made a school for children who did not have families. He is
someone who made a medical center to help those who are sick and someone who made that chocolate,
that yummy chocolate that most of us throughout the world enjoy.

Practice

Multiple-Choice Questions (Put an X in front of the correct answer.)

1. The word “apprentice’ is described in the text. Who is most likely an apprentice?

a. A teacher who teaches reading at school.

b. A parent who cooks dinner at your house.

c. A friend who bikes with you to the park.

d. Someone who learns a trade from someone who is skilled.

 (Answer in complete sentences.) 1. Why do you think Milton Hershey gave funds to the orphan school and
made a foundation when his wife died? _____________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________. © Sue Peterson 2012 7 2. How will
Milton Hershey be remembered? _____________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________. 3. Who likes chocolate in your family?
What kind is their favorite and why? _____________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________. © Sue Peterson 2012 8 Answer Sheet
Answers for Matching, Multiple-Choice Questions, Crossword, and Extended Response The History of
Chocolate Multiple-Choice Questions 1. d 2. d 3. a 4. f Extended Response (Accept reasonable answers.) 1.
The student writes something about Hersey’s caring nature as he gave funds to those in need. 2. The
student writes something about Hersey’s contribution to chocolate and his contribution to mankind. 3. Free
expression.