Wordville 3rd Grade Reading Print

Long ago there were many donkeys. The donkeys worked hard and had no time to play, to rest in the grass, or just to relax.

One day two donkeys got fed up with working so hard. They went to see the wise old man.

"I have an idea," said the wise old man. "I will paint you, and no one will know you are donkeys."

The wise old man got two pots of paint. One pot was filled with white paint, and the other was filled with black paint. First he painted the donkeys white. Then he painted black stripes over the white paint.

"You don't look at all like donkeys," said the wise old man. "I will call you something else - zebras!"

The zebras went to a field to lay in the grass. They did no work, and no one bothered them.

Soon other donkeys saw them. They asked the zebras where they came from. When the zebras told the donkeys what happened, all the donkeys rushed to see the wise old man. "Make us into zebras, too," they cried.

The old man could not paint the donkeys fast enough. Soon the donkeys grew restless. They began to kick and they knocked over the paint pots. The wise old man was out of paint.

The painted donkeys became zebras. The unpainted donkeys had to return to work. This is why both zebras and donkeys roam the earth.

Where was this folktale first told?
China
Mexico
Uganda
Uganda Why didn't all the donkeys become zebras?
They liked being donkeys.
They couldn't find the wise old man.
There wasn't enough paint.
There wasn't enough paint. Why were the donkeys tired of being donkeys?
The other animals made fun of them.
They were tired of working so hard.
They didn't like the color of their fur.
They were tired of working so hard. What was the wise old man's idea to help the donkeys?
to paint them so they didn't look like donkeys
to move them to another country
to hide them in his field of tall grass
to paint them so they didn't look like donkeys How did the zebra get its stripes?
A zebra is a cross between a white horse and a black horse.
A wise man painted donkeys and named them zebras.
The story doesn't say.
A wise man painted donkeys and named them zebras. Why did the wise old man run out of paint?
The donkeys knocked over the paint pots.
The paint pots were very small.
A few very large donkeys used up too much.
The donkeys knocked over the paint pots.

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