The Wise Old Woman by Yoshiko Uchida

The setting of a story is both the time and place. This traditional Japanese folktale takes place, "many long years ago" in "a small village in the western _________ of Japan."

• seaport

• lowlands

• hills

• plateaus

The ruler of the village proclaims: "I have no _________ for old people in my village."

• love

• use

• patience

• inclination

The harsh lord of the village decides to ______ all people over the age of 71.

• banish

• imprison

• enslave

• sell

When villagers turn 71 years old, they are carried up into the mountains and left there. After a while, there are “fewer and fewer old people in the village, and soon they disappeared altogether.” The village lord knows old people may need more care, and he does not want to deal with that; he brags he will have “the finest village in all of Japan” because his people are “young, _______, and hard-working.”

• industrious

• adventurous

• healthy

• good-looking

A “kind, young farmer” lives with his old mother. They are poor, but they live well because they take care of each other, and they are happy. The young man watches as his mother grows older, and he wishes he could “deceive the cruel lord,” but _____ are kept in the village books, and everyone knows his mother has turned 71.

• records

• tax accounts

• school files

• baptism certificates

In the phrase “deceive the cruel lord,” the verb, deceive, means ________.

• avoid

• honor

• convince

• trick

The young farmer just keeps walking because he does not want to leave his mother. He notices she is _________ to mark his path so he can find his way back to the village.

• dropping white stones

• leaving buttons

• snipping ferns

• breaking off twigs

They wait until night to return to the village under the cover of darkness. The son makes a secret room in the _______ in their little house where he will hide his mother.

• garage attic

• tool shed

• back pantry

• kitchen floor

The farmer tells no one; he continues living his life, working in the fields, and acting as if he lives alone in order to keep his mother safe. This goes on for _________ until a crisis threatens the village.

• two months

• five moths

• two years

• five years

The evil Lord Higa from a neighboring town threatens to conquer their village if they cannot correctly respond to a challenge. They must bring him a box with ______ ropes made out of ash.

• ten

• 100

• 500

• 1000