THE GYPSY AND THE PRIEST

Just before harvest a gypsy went to a priest in search of work.

"I'll cut you enough hay to last you all winter," he promised.

"Very well," agreed the priest. "I've got a large field with waist-high grass. Cut it for me and earn yourself ten roubles. Fair enough?"

"Done, Your Reverence. Only it won't be a quick job. Give me some food and drink to put fire in my belly."

Well why not? The priest gave him meat, bread, and a bottle of vodka - to keep the fellow going. And off to the meadow went the gypsy, his bundle of food over one shoulder, a scythe over the other.

The grass in the meadow was so high and thick that you could stand up in it and not be seen. But the first thing the gypsy did was to put up his tent. Then he got a fire going and started to cook the food. He boiled the meat and ate and drank to his heart's content. Then he lay down to sleep. In two days he finished off the priest's rations, yet he did not do a stroke of work. When nothing remained of the food he set off back to the church house.

"Right then, Your Reverence," he said, "let's settle up."

"Have you cut the lot, gypsy?" asked the holy man.

"Every little bit," replied the gypsy. "I can assure you there isn't a blade of grass left in the field and it's all cut and neatly stacked."

So the priest handed over ten roubles but the man lingered on.

"Toss another five in," the gypsy said. "I had a hard job with that tall grass it was really tough to cut down. If I'd known, I would never have agreed to do it."

"Oh no, gypsy boy," said the man of God. "We made a deal. Take your money and go."

"So you won't give me another penny?"

"No. Not a penny more."

"If that's the case, then let the grass grow as tall as before!"

With that the gypsy slammed the door and left.

Fearing the gypsy curse, the priest hurried off to the meadow … and there was the grass standing just as tall and thick as ever.

"Well I'm blessed," he gasped. "He's made the grass grow again. I shouldn't have been so mean. Now I'll have to hire someone else to do the job!"

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WORKSHEET: THE GYPSY AND THE PRIEST

Match the numbers on the left with the letters on the right to find explanations for the new vocabulary:

1. harvest	a. amount of something you are allowed to have
2. hay	b. arranged in a tidy pile
3. bundle	c. as much as he liked
4. a scythe	d. closed with great force
5. a meadow	e. dried grass for animals to eat
6. to his heart's content	f. a field of grass
7. rations	g. hard / difficult
8. set off	h. magic words used to bring bad luck
9. settle up	i. a number of things tied together
10. assure	j. pay someone the money you owe them
11. stacked	k. promise
12. lingered	l. start a journey
13. tough	m. stayed for a while
14. slammed	n. the time of the year when the crops are cut
15. curse	o. too careful with money
16. mean	p. a tool with a curved blade used to cut grass and crops

 

"In two days he finished off the priest's rations, yet he did not do a stroke of work."

"I can assure you there isn't a blade of grass left in the field …"

The words stroke and blade are quantifiers for uncountable nouns. Match the numbers on the left with the letters on the right to make combinations like the examples:

1. a bout	a. of class
2. a breath	b. of depression
3. a course	c. of fresh air
4. a dose	d. of luck
5. an item	e. of medicine
6. a pile	f. of news
7. a pinch	g. of paper
8. a plank	h. of rain
9. a puff	i. of rubbish
10. a ray	j. of salt
11. a sheet	k. of smoke
12. a shower	l. of sunshine
13. a stroke	m. of treatment
14. a touch	n. of wood

 

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