Lesson 8: The Purple Jar-3

A . Read the last part of the story to see what happened to Rosamond's beautiful purple jar.

Rosamond and her mother were going back to the chemist's shop. As they were walking, Rosamond had to stop once again to take another stone out of the broken shoe, and she often limped with pain.

When they got back to the shop, Rosamond's mother asked her to carefully examine the jar before she bought it. But Rosamond was so excited that she bought it even without looking at what was inside the jar.

Happily she came back home with her mother. Then Rosamond quickly brought some flowers from the garden and was going to put them into the jar. But as soon as she took the top off, she saw something dark inside, which gave off an unpleasant smell.

"What is it, Mamma? I didn't want this black thing and the terrible smell."

"Nor did I, my dear."

"But what shall I do with it?"

"That I can't tell."

"Okay, Mamma, I must pour it out and fill the jar with fresh water."

Then she made the jar empty. But to her great disappointment, she found that it was no longer a purple jar --- it was a plain white glass jar. With its coloured water gone, the jar did no longer look beautiful.

Rosamond cried with tears of disappointment in her eyes. She was to cry more for her folly. Every day her shoes grew worse and worse, and she could neither run, dance, jump, nor go shopping with her mother.

Thus Rosamond suffered for a whole month and learned a lesson the hard way. She hoped that she would be wiser in future.

adapted from The Purple Jar by Maria Edgeworth

B . Answer these questions.

1. Why didn't Rosamond examine the jar before buying it?

2. What did she take the jar for?

3. How did she come to know that the purple jar was in fact a plain white glass jar?

4. Describe her sufferings and disappointments for buying the purple jar.

C . Read all the three parts of the story again and answer these questions.

1. How did Rosamond try to persuade her mother to buy all the pretty things she saw in the shops?

2. How did her mother try to stop Rosamond from buying all the things she wanted to buy?

3. Write two compositions- one about Rosamond and the other about her mother. Use words and phrases from the box below, which are appropriate for each character and their activities. You can also use your own words and phrases.