A Wooden Bowl

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the soup upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look toward the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young daughter-in-law scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they bought him a wooden bowl for a few cents, out of which he had to eat.

They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. "What are you doing there?" asked the father. "I am making a little bowl," answered the child, "for father and mother to eat out of when I grow up."

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. They took the old man to the table, and henceforward always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the passage, how many members were there in the family?
2. Why didn't the grandfather sit with the family at table?
3. Why did they buy a wooden bowl for the grandfather?
4. What did the couple decide to do at the end of the story?
5. What was the attitude of the old man's son and daughter-in-law towards him?

(Keys.)