## Exercises for The Monks' Blessing

Back to the story

A. How much did you understand?

The sentences below are headings for each of the five parts of the story. Put them in the right order.

1. The young man stays in an old man's house.
2. The young man works for many years in a monastery.
3. The young man sees his father fighting with his son.
4. The young man leaves home to find work.
5. Robbers attack two travellers on the road.

B. What's in the story?

Read these sentences, which retell Part 1 of the story. One sentence is not true. Which is it?

1. A young man lived with his father, his mother, his wife and his baby son.
2. The young man did not love his wife.
3. The family were very poor.
4. The young man went to the town to find work.

These sentences retell Part 2 of the story. Which sentence is not true?

1. The young man wanted to work in a monastery.
2. The monks were kind to the young man and he worked for them for many years.
3. The young man wanted to become a monk, but the monks refused.
4. At last the young man decided to go home, and the monks gave him three blessings.

These sentences retell Part 3 of the story. Which sentence is not true?

1. As the young man travelled along the road, he met two men.
2. The two men asked the young man to take a different road.
3. The young man remembered the monks' first blessing. "Only go straight on," they had said.
4. The two men attacked the young man and robbed him.

These sentences retell Part 4 of the story. Which sentence is not true?

1. The young man came to a house in a wild place and an old man let him come in.
2. The old man wanted to wash the young man's feet, and the young man remembered the monks' second blessing. "Obey your host," they had said.
3. The old man's servant girl wanted to run away with the young man.
4. The old man gave the young man a sack full of silver dollars.

These sentences retell Part 5 of the story. Which sentence is not true?

1. The young man arrived at last at a church near his home.
2. An old man and a young boy were fighting, and the young man ran to them and tried to stop them.
3. The young man realised that the old man and the young boy were his father and his son.
4. "You have come home only to die," the young man's mother and wife said to him.

C. How much, how many, how long?

Answer these questions.

1. For how many days did the young man travel before he reached the town?
2. For how long did the young man want to stay at the monastery?
3. For how long did the young man stay and work with the monks?
4. How much money did the monks owe to the young man?
5. How much money did they give him?
6. For how many nights did the young man stay with the old man and the blind girl?
7. How many sacks did the cruel old man give to the young man?

D. Acting

This story can make a good play. You can act it with your friends.

Can you think of another title for your play?

Check the answers