COMPREHENSION READING: Jide the Liar or The Snail Hunting
Chief Badejoko was a farmer. He lived in a village called Ogbo. He had four children. The names of these four children were Jide, Anna, Shola, and Bidemi. Chief Badejoko loved his children very much. He always taught them to do good.
One day, Chief Badejoko led his children to a small bush near his cocoa farm. He gave each of them a cutlass. They went into the bush to hunt for snails. Chief Badejoko was the first to pick a snail. It was a big one. He raised it and said, “I have picked a big snail.”
The children were happy. All of them struggled to pick their own snails. Shortly, one after the other, the children called, “Father, I have picked a snail”, Chief Badejoko told them to put the snails in a big bucket. He warned them to cover it so that the snails might not crawl away.
Towards evening, they came out from the bush. Chief Badejoko asked Bidemi to count the snails. Bidemi counted them. They were surprised because they counted four instead of five snails in the bucket. Chief Badejoko knew one of his children had lied. He was not happy about this. He was determined to teach that child a lesson.
Three days after, Chief Badejoko and his children went on another snail hunting. All the children were happy. Chief Badejoko put the bucket where he put it the first day. He went there later and removed it. Jide did not search with seriousness. He planned to do what he did three days ago.
The children did as they did the first day. “Father, I have picked a snail”, the other children said. Jide also did the same thing. Chief Badejoko asked them to keep their snails in their farm bag. Jide was not happy at this because he did not pick any snail.
When they got home, Chief Badejoko asked them to cook their snails for food. Bidemi, Shola, and Anna had a very delicious supper that night. Jide wept and said, “I will not tell lies again.”
QUESTION:
- Where did Chief and his children go to?
- Who first picked a snail?
- How many snails were picked?
- Who did not search with seriousness?
- Who did not enjoy the supper that night?
- Describe the moral lesson of this story.
