Fourth Grade
Worksheets
The Old Woman and Her Wish
A very long time ago, an old woman was cleaning her house as she did every Saturday. She cleaned her cupboards and dusted her draperies. She washed her windows and polished her pots. One of her pots was made of brass. It had a very unusual shape. The old woman was especially fond of this pot. When she polished it, she took great care to rub first one way and then the other. She picked up the pot and polished it just as she had always done, but this time a strange thing happened. As she rubbed one way and then the other, she felt something move inside the pot. The old woman removed the pot's lid to see inside. As she did, a large, vaporous cloud escaped, nearly frightening the old woman to death.
Inside the mysterious cloud, a rather stern looking genie appeared.
"Why have you awakened me?" stormed the genie. "I have been sleeping quite soundly inside this pot for a thousand years. You have disturbed my sleep. What is it you want?"
"I...I...I" sputtered the old woman.
"You WHAT?" shouted the irate genie.
"I... I didn't mean to disturb you. I was only taking care of what was mine," answered the old woman.
"What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. I'll get back in the pot when next you shine. There is only one way I can go back to sleep, and that is if I make you a promise that I can keep. What is it that you wish for, old woman? One wish is all you get."
"One wish? I have everything I need here," she answered. "I have nothing to wish for. I do not know what I want."
