The Poor

old Horse
 Basım Yeri: ERTEM BASIM YAYIN DAĞITIM SAN. TİC. LTD. ŞTİ.
Başkent Organize Sanayi Bölgesi 22. Cadde No: 6 Malıköy-Sincan/Ankara
Sertifika 16031 Basım Tarihi: 2019
 The Poor Old Horse

Summerville is a silent town on a valley between two small

mountains. The people of Summerville are always happy and
hard-working. Nobody is poor or unhappy.

The King of Summerville is a very good king. The people of

Summerville love their king. He helps everyone in Summerville
and wants all his people to be happy.

One day, he tells the people to hang a big bell up in the

tower in the centre of the village. There is a long rope from the
bell to the ground.

“When somebody needs help, he or she can pull the rope

and ring the bell,” the King says. “I want to help all of you when
you have a problem.”

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 The people of Summerville don’t have any problems. No
one is poor or hungry. Everybody is happy, so nobody rings the
bell.

After a long time, the rope gets very old. The King tells the
people to hang up a new rope.

The people of Summerville take down the old rope. But

there isn’t a new long rope for the bell. So they hang up a long
branch of grapevine. The grapevine is strong like a rope, and it
has got a lot of green leaves on it.

Near Summerville lives an old man called Anthony. He is

a farmer. He lives with his two sons, Arthur and John. He has
an old horse called Silver. Silver is very old, so he cannot work
anymore.

Anthony is a cruel old man. He doesn’t want to feed Silver

because Silver can’t do any work. So one day, Anthony sends
Silver away.

Silver is very hungry. He walks on the streets of

Summerville and looks for food. Sometimes he eats some
leaves or grass, but there is not much grass in the streets of the
town.

The poor old horse is very hungry. He gets thinner, he feels

more and more hungry after each day.
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 One day, Silver walks along a street in Summerville. He
sees the grapevine tied to the King’s bell. He feels happy when
he sees the green leaves on the vine.

“Here are some green leaves to eat,” says Silver to himself.

He pulls the grapevine. “Ding dong, ding dong,” rings the

bell up in the tower.

The King hears the bell. He sends a man to find out who
rings it.

The King’s man looks out and sees the poor old horse. He
sees that the horse is eating the leaves and ringing the bell. He
sees that the horse is very thin and hungry.

The man goes back to the King. He tells him that a poor
old horse is ringing the bell.

“Whose horse is it? Go and find out!” says the King.

“He belongs to an old man called Anthony,” says one of

King’s man. “He doesn’t want the poor horse because he is too
old to work for him. The horse is weak and thin because it can’t
find food.”

The King gets very angry when he hears the story of Silver.
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 “Bring the old horse into my garden and give him some
food,” he says. “He rings the bell and asks for my help. I am
going to help him. Then go and tell the old man, Anthony, to
come here.”

The King’s men go and find Anthony. Anthony comes to

the palace to see the King.

“Is this your old horse?” asks the King. “He is thin and
hungry. Why don’t you feed him?”

“He is too old, and he can’t work,” answers Anthony. “I don’t

need him anymore. So I send him away to find food for himself.
I can’t feed an old horse. He doesn’t work for me.”

“Are your children going to send you away when you are
too old to work?” asks the King.

“I am their father. My sons never do things like that,” says

Anthony. He doesn’t feel sorry for his cruelty.

“From now on I’m going to feed this horse, then,” the King
says. “It is no longer your horse. It belongs to my kingdom.
Now you can leave!”

Anthony doesn’t say a word. He leaves the palace. He

doesn’t care about the King’s words or the poor old horse.
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 The King makes a plan. He orders some of his men to find
and bring the old man’s sons.

The King’s men go and find Arthur and John. They take
them to the King’s palace.

The King tells the young men to teach a lesson to their

father. Arthur and John listen to their king carefully and then
go home. Their father is sitting in the garden. He is enjoying
the sun, and he looks happy.

Anthony sees his sons and shouts at them. “Where are

you? It is almost evening, and there is nothing ready for dinner!
I’m starving!”

“I am not hungry. I don’t want to eat anything,” says John.

“I am very tired. I have a lot of work to do. You can prepare

your dinner yourself,” says Arthur.

Anthony gets very angry when he hears their words, but

he doesn’t say anything. He goes to the kitchen and finds a loaf
of bread to eat.

“I don’t want to live in this farm anymore. I want to live

in the town and work with the baker in the town centre,” says
John.
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 “Oh, how nice!” says Arthur. “My school is too far from this
farm. I can come and live with you. The school is near the town
centre.”

“What?” cries Anthony. “I am an old man. There is no one

to help me on the farm. There is no one to cook for me. I don’t
want to be alone here.”

“I don’t care,” says John.

“None of my business,” says Arthur.

Now, Anthony remembers Silver. He feels sorry for his

cruelty to his old horse. He does not say a word to his sons.

Anthony wakes up early in the morning and quickly goes

to the King’s palace. He begs the King to forgive his cruelty.
“Please, please, forgive me my good King. I feel ashamed
because I understand my mistake now,” he says.

“Take the horse back to your farm and feed him,” the King
says to Anthony.

Anthony takes the horse back home. He builds a nice and

warm stable for the horse and looks after him very well for the
rest of his life.

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 ACTIVITIES
A. Write T (True) or F (False).

…… 1) The people of Summerville are poor and unhappy.

…… 2) The King helps everyone, and he wants all his people to be

happy.

…… 3) The people of Summerville don’t ring the bell.

…… 4) People can’t find a new long rope to hang up to the bell.

…… 5) Anthony is a farmer, and he lives alone on his farm.

…… 6) Silver walks on the streets of Summerville to find Anthony.

…… 7) The King’s men take the old horse into the garden of the
palace and give him some food.

…… 8) The King tells Anthony to teach a lesson to his sons.

…… 9) Anthony understands his mistake at the end of the story.

…… 10) The King builds a warm stable for the horse and looks after
him.

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B. Answer the questions.

1) Why does the King tell people to hang a bell high up in a tower,
and tie a rope to it?

2) Why do they hang a grapevine to the bell?

3) Why does Anthony send Silver away?

4) What happens when the horse eats the vine leaves?

5) Why does the King get very angry with Anthony?

6) Why does the King want to talk to Arthur and John?

7) What does Anthony eat for dinner when his sons don’t prepare
anything for him?

8) How does Anthony feel when he understands his mistake?

9) Where does Anthony go early in the morning?

10) What happens to the poor old horse in the end?

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