Name: __________________________
Date: ______________ Period: ______
Directions: Read the passage. Pay close attention to the underlined words. Use the passage and a dictionary to
answer the questions that follow.
Old Joe and the Handyman
1
Old Joe lived way out in the most rural countryside, far away from most of civilization. He had one
neighbor, who also happened to be his closest and dearest companion. The two men had known each other for
years and had always enjoyed each other’s company, especially now that their spouses had passed on and their
children had grown and moved away. All the two men had was their friendship and their small farms, but they
were quite satisfied with this arrangement. Well, that is until the day a calf threatened to ruin their relationship
forever.
2
The two men had never exchanged an unkindness in all their years of friendship, but this particular spring
day long ago, they got into a tussle over a stray calf, a calf that neither one of them even needed. It all began
when the calf wandered onto Old Joe’s neighbor’s land. Old Joe’s neighbor claimed the calf for himself and
Old Joe didn’t like that.
3
“Well, now, can’t you see that this calf has the same markings as one of my cows?” said Old Joe. “I say
that this calf is mine and that it belongs to me.”
4
Both men just stared each other down, and neither would give the other so much as an inch. When they
both realized that neither man was going to budge, they each stomped away home. Two weeks passed, and
neither man had made the slightest attempt to see or speak to the other.
5
One morning, Old Joe heard a knock on his front door, which was unusual since he lived way out in the
country, and even more unusual because the only knock he usually heard at the door was from his closest and
dearest friend. Old Joe leaped from his chair thinking that perhaps his friend was knocking after all, coming to
make amends. Imagine Old Joe’s disappointment when what he found standing on his porch was not his friend,
but a young man who called himself a traveling handyman. The man had a wooden toolbox at his side and a
warm smile on his face.
6
“I’m looking for work,” explained the stranger as he extended his hand to Old Joe. “I’m good with my
hands, and if you have a project or two, I’d like to help you out.”
7
Old Joe thought for a moment, and soon an impish grin appeared on his face. He was struck with an idea
so clever and so sneaky that even he had to marvel at his own craftiness.
8
“Hmmm…I think I might have a job for you after all,” said Old Joe, pointing way off in the distance
toward his neighbor’s house. “Do you see that farm way over there, near the creek?” The handyman nodded as
Old Joe continued, “Now, you can see that the creek borders our property, but that creek didn’t even exist last
week,” said Old Joe. “Would you believe that my neighbor, a man who was my dearest and most treasured
friend, made that creek just to spite me? Yessiree, he hitched a plow to his tractor, dug a trench till it filled with
water from the pond, and now we’ve got this creek to separate us. I’m so darn angry about it all that this is
what I’d like for you to do. Take whatever lumber you need from my barn—boards, post, or anything at all—
and build me the tallest fence that you can right along the edge of that creek. Then I won’t have to set eyes on
my neighbor or his place ever again.”
9
The handyman listened to Old Joe’s story and just smiled and said, “Well, then Old Joe, I will do my best
work for you.”
10 Old Joe had to go to town for supplies, so he hitched his horse to his wagon and began a journey that
would last the better part of the day. Meanwhile, the handyman busied himself carrying wood and posts and
other materials from the barn to the edge of the creek, where he hammered and sawed and hammered and
sawed, never stopping to take a break all day. When the sun began to set, he put his tools away and stood back
to admire his fine craftsmanship.
11 Right about this time Old Joe returned from his trip into town, his wagon filled high with supplies. When
he saw what the handyman had built, his jaw dropped to his feet and his eyes bulged so wide it looked as if they
might just pop right out of his head. For, you see, the handyman hadn’t built Old Joe a fence at all; he had built
instead a beautiful footbridge that reached across one side of the creek to the other.
12 Just then, Old Joe’s neighbor crossed the bridge and walked over to the man who had been his friend for
so long. He extended a hand to Old Joe and said, “I’m sorry about our squabble. You can have the calf; I just
want things to go back to the way they used to be.”
13 “I don’t care about any calf either,” said Old Joe. “I just care about our friendship. I want things to go
back to the way they used to be, too. The footbridge was this young fellow’s idea,” added Old Joe, pointing to
the handyman. “And I surely appreciate what he did, too.”
14 The handyman tightened his tool belt and bent over to grab his wooden toolbox. “Gentlemen, it’s been a
pleasure meeting you both, but I must be on my way,” he said as he started to leave.
15 “Hold up just a minute,” said Old Joe. “You’re a good man and a fine worker. My neighbor and I have
enough projects to keep you busy for weeks.”
16 The handyman just smiled and said, “I’d like to stay, Old Joe, but, you see, I have more bridges to build.”
And with that, the handyman disappeared down the road, whistling a happy tune as he went.
Name: __________________________
Date: ______________ Period: ______
Directions: Read the passage. Pay close attention to the underlined words. Use the passage and a dictionary to
answer the questions that follow.
Old Joe and the Handyman Questions
1. Paragraph 2 is mainly about—
A. the friendship between Old Joe and his neighbor
B. the calf that wandered onto the neighbor’s land
C. the traveling handyman who needed work
D. the friends’ disagreement about who owned the calf
2. “An impish grin appeared on Old Joe’s face.” Another word for impish is—
A. sincere
B. dishonest
C. mischievous
D. charming
3. By the end of the story, the reader can conclude that old Joe and his neighbor—
A. believed that high fences make good neighbors
B. thought that strangers made good companions
C. were too poor to hire a handyman
D. learned that an argument should never come between friends
4. What is the meaning of squabble in paragraph 12?
A. an argument or dispute
B. to raise one’s voice; to shout
C. confusion
D. an animal related to a chipmunk
5. After the handyman arrives, Old Joe hires him to—
A. create a creek
B. build a fence
C. make a bridge
D. fix the porch
6. What is the theme of the story?
A. A skilled craftsman can fix any problem.
B. Always take care of your own belongings.
C. Friends should resolve their disagreements.
D. It is easier to build a bridge than a fence.
7. Which of these is an example of hyperbole?
A. his jaw dropped to his feet
B. he hitched his horse to a wagon
C. Old Joe returned from his trip to town
D. The handyman listened to Old Joe’s story
8. At the end of the story, the handyman said, “I have other bridges to build.” What did the handyman
probably mean?
A. He built only bridges wherever he worked.
B. He had to get to work for other people who had hired him.
C. He had to help other people resolve their disagreements.
D. He was going to build another bridge along the creek that separated Old Joe and his neighbor.
company \kum pu nee\ n. 1. a business
2. companionship 3. a guest 4. a group of actors
9. What is the definition of company as it is used in
paragraph 1?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4
marking \maark ing\ n. 1. assessment of graded
work 2. identification on certain aircraft
3. a scratch or dent on the surface of something
4. a natural pattern occurring on an animal’s coat
10. What is the definition of markings as it is used in
paragraph 3?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4
border \bawr dar\ v. 1. form a boundary between
two regions 2. run along the edge of something
3. divide two areas 4. make flowerbeds for
planting
11. Look at the use of the word borders in paragraph
8. All of the above definitions would work for
borders EXCEPT:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4
post \post\ n. 1. a display 2. an upright pole fixed
in the ground 3. poles that mark the starting and
finishing point in a race 4. metal stem on a pierced
earring
12. What is the definition of post as it is used in
paragraph 10?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4
project \pro jekt\ n. 1. task or job to accomplish
2. an organized public undertaking as in a
construction project 3. group of homes as in a
housing project 4. part that sticks out or protrudes
13. What is the definition of project as it is used in
paragraph 6?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4
break \brayk\ n. 1. short vacation 2. end to a
relationship 3. pause in a speech 4. period off
from activity
14. What is the definition of break as it is used in
paragraph 10?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Definition 1
Definition 2
Definition 3
Definition 4