Quick Check 2 in English 4

Mrs. Moodle and the Tea Tray

by Rose Fyleman

I wonder if you know Mrs. Moodle and her little maid. Boodle?

Well, in case you don't, I must tell you that Mrs. Moodle is a nice old lady. She wears a dress made of shiny black satin with little frills all the way up. She has a hat with a pink rose on it. And she always carries an umbrella. Now maybe you know her.

Well, even if you don't know her, let me tell you what she did.

One day she was reading her paper. And this is what she saw:

"Why go away for winter sports? You can enjoy sledding in your own home. Just slide down the stairs on a tea tray."

"What a grand idea," said Mrs. Moodle. "I must try it at once.

"Boodle," she called. "Please bring the tin tray from the kitchen."

Mrs. Moodle spent a lovely day sliding down the stairs. I don't know how many times she climbed up and slid down. But she seemed to get quicker and quicker at it.

Boodle stayed in the kitchen. She refused to slide down the stairs. But she could hear Mrs. Moodle sliding. She slid right up to the front door.

Boodle was so busy listening to the bumps that she didn't hear the front doorbell. Mrs. Moodle didn't hear it either. She was having too much fun. Once, twice, it rang. Then the person on the doorstep grew impatient.

He turned the handle. The door opened. And he walked into the hall. Just at that moment Mrs. Moodle came flying down the stairs on her tray.

"Look out!" she yelled. But it was too late.

She slid, tray and all, right into the legs of the stranger. And she sent him sprawling.

He picked himself up. Then Mrs. Moodle picked herself up. And neither of them spoke for a minute.

The stranger was too angry to speak, I think. Mrs. Moodle was too confused.

At last the stranger found his voice.

"Are you Mrs. Moodle?" he gasped.

"Yes," said Mrs. Moodle.

"Well, I never," said the stranger. He turned round. He walked out the front door. And he was never seen again.

Boodle says she's sure he was Mrs. Moodle's long-lost cousin. She says he came to give Mrs. Moodle half his fortune. He had a little black bag. And Boodle says rich, long-lost cousins always have little black bags.

Mrs. Moodle sometimes wonders whether he was a long-lost cousin. But he's never come back.

Multiple Choice

Another good name for this story is _____________.

• "The Rich Cousin"

• "The Maid Named Boodle"

• "Sledding into Trouble"

Multiple Choice

Mrs. Moodle was the kind of person who was ____________.

• willing to try new things

• afraid of hurting herself

• unkind to other people

Multiple Choice

You know what kind of person Mrs. Moodle was because ____________.

• she liked to read the paper every day

• she slid down the stairs on a tea tray

• she didn't say she was sorry to the stranger

Multiple Choice

Boodle thought the man at the door was ___________.

• a salesman with a black bag

• a member of Mrs. Moodle's family

• someone who was lost

Multiple Choice

This story is supposed to ___________.

• make you think

• make you angry

• make you laugh

Open Ended

Construct two sentences using a subordinating conjunction.