The Great Minu ‘A West African Folktale by Bath P, Wilson 1 Far away in the African country of Ghana ‘thot lived a poor farmer. He decided to make 1 joumey to the big city of Accra some dis- {ance away. Looking over his small farm, ne {ook note of the yams and com growing in the (garden, Than he fed his chickens ane goats, hed the door of his straw-rooted hu and started off down the narrow, dusty road, 2. The farmer hummed happily to himselt as the morning sun rose higher inthe sky. How ‘exciting to be going to the big city! Nothing ‘much happened in his tiny vilage. But since ‘Accra was the largest ety n Ghana, ne Would fin much excitement th walking for some timo, the farmer at last approached some farms just outside ‘Avera, The fist thing he noticed was a great herd of cows. He wondered who could own ‘such a herd, Seeing a man with them, he ‘asked, "To whom do these cows belong?” 4 The’man di not know the language of the farmer. So he shrugged his shoulders andsi, "Minu,”" mening “I do not understand ‘The farmer thought Minu must be a person, ‘And so he exclaimed, "Mr. Minu must be very fen «Entering the city, the farmer saw some large ‘new buildings in the town square. He won {ered wo might own the fine buildings, But ‘the old woman he asked could not understana his question. So she answered, "Min 7 "Good heavens!” cred the farmer. "What a rich fellow Mr Minu must be to own all those ‘cows and all these bulidings tool” ' Soon he came to great hotel surrounded by beautiful grounds and mahogany trees. A ‘r0up of well-dressed women came down the {ont steps of the hota. The farmer stopped up {other and asked who might be the owner ot such a grand hotel, The women smiled and said, “Minu.” “0 "How wealthy Mr. Minu le” exclaimed the astonished farmer He wandered trom one area of the city to ‘nother. Seeing a large house with many Gor lumns and porches, he stopped in surprise “These homes in Accra ae so grand. They are not a bit lke the nuts of my village.” he ea sJust then @ servant came out. The farmer Stepped up hurriedly and asked, "Please tell me wno owns this fine house v2 The young woman shrugged her shoulders. Minu,” she saa 12, "How foolish of me to ask!" "The Great Minu, of course." He stood for a moment, admiring the house and garden, ‘Then he went on Fi workers loading bananas, cocoa beans, and Wood on a huge ship. The blue sky above, the foamy green ocean below, and the sailors ‘ushing about on board ship made quite. @ sight Surprised at tho great cargo, the farmer went over to a worker. "To whom doae this tine vessel belong?” ho asked v= "Minu,” replied the puzzled man, who ‘couldn't understand a word the farmer said, 1 "Tothe Great Minu also?” the farmer asked. "He is the richest man lever heard of v7 Just as the farmer was setting out fr home, hhe saw some peopio carrying & coffin down the main stroot of Accra. long procession of men and women, all dressed in black. fo- lowed them. Those who were watehing shook their heads slowly. Sad faces looked up now fang then, When the farmer asked one of the ‘moumers the name of the dead person, receives the usual reply, "Min. 6 Mr Minu is dead?” wailed the farmer Poor Mr. Minul $o he had to leave all his weslth—his herd of cows, his buildings, his {rand hotel, and his fine ship—and die just like a poor person. Well, wal in the future bbe content to ive a simple lite, to breathe the ‘reshairon my litle fam, and to help the poor people in my ite village. vw The long dusty road back didn't seem as Jong as itd betore. When the farmer arrived hhome, he unlatched the door of his hut and looked inside. Then he climbed Into his own ‘snug bed and dreamed of the good yams and ‘corn he would eat the next day.How Well Did You Read? Write the latter of the best anewer for each question 4 Many diffrent languages are spoken in At- rica. Why Is this fact Important in under standing the stor”? ait explains why the fa Aeora. 'b It explains why the farmer and the people of Accra couldn't understand ‘cach other. {© Itoxplains why the farmer decided to go home again. 12 Why did the farmer go to Accra? ‘a He wanted to learn @ new language. 1b He wanted to visit an exciting ely ‘© He wanted to sll his crops. ‘3. What did the farmer think about ” Min"? ‘That Mr. Minu must be dangerous ‘That Mr. Minu must bo rich and great ‘© That Mr. Minu must bo well iked 4 How have the farmer's feelings changed by the end of the story? [2 He feels more cantent with his own sim- ple ite 1b He feels loss content. ‘© He wants to make the city his permanent home, '5 Which ofthe following ideas was most im- portant to the ending ofthe story? [2 The farmer thought that Mr. Minu owned 8 great otal 'b The farmer thought that Mr. Minu owned ashi. ‘© The farmer thought that Mr. Minu had ies 16 What lesson aid the farmer draw from the things he had soon and heard’? | When death comes, rich and poor are made equal 'b People might as well be satistiod with whatover thoy have fe Botha and B er traveled to 77 What did the people of Accra mean when they said "min"? ‘2 "I don't understand.” BB “itbolongs to Mr. Min, Both @ and b Loam about Words Vocabulary A. You can often tel the meaning ofa word by reading the words around it. Look at each number in parentheses. Find the paragraph in the story with the samo rhumber. Then find the word that fits the ‘iven mesning. Write the word. 4 wip) 2 came near (3) 3 speech, spoken or waiten (4) 4 encirled; enclosed on al sides (8) '5 amazed: vory surprised (10) 6 load of goods; freight (14) 17 burial box fora dead person (17) 1B Aword may have more than one meaning. Ite meaning depends on the way its used. ‘The word watch is an example, ‘A guard stood watch. My watch Is fas. Look at each number in parentheses. Find the paragraph in the story with the same hnumber. See how the word in heavy type Below is used in the paragraph. Decide ‘whetherit has meaning aor. Writea or. 8 great (3) 2 big: large 1 important; famous very good; excellent 10 columns (11) ‘slender, upright posts: pillars 1 vertical sections ofa printed pageservant (one who serves) reakage (result of breaking) Many nouns end in ant and age. Often ant ‘means “one who,” and age means “result (f:" Raed each word in heavy type and the Incomplete definition of it. Write the ‘Word that completes the definition. 41 spottage: result of — 412 package: result of — 43 attendant: one who 44 defendant: one who 45 leakage: result of 46 contestant: one who 17 coverage: result of — 48 assistant: one wno ‘The small boat / swayed inthe wind, (Subject) (Predicate) Se baby / cried al night. (Subject). (Predicate) Dane and Ann / walked tothe park (Surject)—_(Prodicate) Each ofthe sentences above hes a subject land a predicate. Road the sentences below land notice the words in heavy type. If those words are the subject of the son- tence, wite S. If they are the predicate, wate. 19 The basket isin the car ‘The camel ran through the desert. ‘The food le on the tab A giraffe has along nock, ‘The noige awakened me, My teacher lot the room, ‘The quoon lives in the palace. We climbed the mountain BEEBE Ef you want information trom an encycio- pedia, you have to decide whore the infor fration you want Is most Iikelyt0 be found. For example, i you want to know how long pandas lve, you would probably decide to fook in the P volume for an entry called manda.” Complote each statement below by writing the word that names the most Iikely entry, 227 Tom wants to know about boats ofall kinds, Ho should look up (Water, Boat- ing, Sailing) 128 Armetta wants to know when Julius Caesar lived. She should took up (Ro- ‘man, General, Caesar). 29 Beverly wants to find out what por- polses eat She should look up (Por poise, Aquamarine, Food) ‘90 Kim wants to fing out how many people lve In Tokyo. She should look tp (Tokyo, Japan, Population). ‘31 Garol wants to find out where choco- late comes from. Sho should look up ‘Sweets, Chocolate, Plants). ‘32 Chuck wants to find a photo of azobra. He should look up (Africa, Photog: raphy, Zebra). 33, Mao wants to know about the training ‘of guide dogs forthe bind. She should Took up (Guide 009, Blind, Vision.