Third Grade
Worksheets
Compliments vs. Flattery
Compliments Day
Reading Comprehension for February 6
It's a great day if your friends like your new hairstyle and your teacher likes your science project. Our faces light up when we receive compliments. American humorist Mark Twain once said, "I can last two months on a good compliment." Who doesn't love being praised for their looks, their manners, their grades, or their skills?
Like compliments, flattery also sounds good. It's too bad that flattery is the compliment's ugly stepsister. A compliment is a simple expression of praise. Flattery is praise with an ulterior motive. Suppose that Trixie sees your science project. If she tells you that it is sure to win a prize, she has complimented you. What if she tells you that it's sure to win a prize and then asks for a dollar? In that case, you are probably the victim of flattery.
Flatterers want something in return. It may not be a dollar; it may be a favor. It may be your friendship and the perks that go with it. Sometimes the flattery may be true, but at other times it's not. Some people say what they know you want to hear, but they really don't believe it. Hank Ketcham, the Dennis the Menace cartoonist, was quoted as saying, "Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don't swallow it." You may have seen TV shows or movies in which characters flatter each other but don't really act like friends. George Chapman, a dramatist and poet, lived before the invention of TV, but he had seen for himself what flattery is like. He said, "Flatterers look like friends, as wolves [look] like dogs."
