Math Concepts: Fractions, Decimals
Old Sally Cato
Now Old Sally Cato was as old as the
mountains, but she was as smart as a hawk.
She was sturdy, too. She had tended her peach
orchards for ninety odd years all by herself.
But these days, her legs wobbled like a newborn foal’s.
She’d gotten to the point where she needed her grandsons,
Georgy and Tim, to help her pick the peaches.
“You lazy boys,” she croaked. “Get out of bed right
quick! My one hundred and two peaches are as ripe as
they should get.” Georgy and Tim jumped up and hustled
on down to the orchard, as Old Sally Cato shook her cane
at them.
“Don’t eat even one of them peaches, you hear, or
you’ll rouse that giant, Billy Bully. He’ll smell the aroma
and eat up my orchard. And he’ll eat you, too!”
Well, Georgy and Tim started picking the peaches and
laying them in rows of ten. But those peaches looked so
delicious, Tim said, “Granny won’t miss a peach or two.
We can eat up two of ’em real fast.”
And that’s just what they did. But no sooner had
they finished the last bite, the earth began to move like
an earthquake. The boys looked up and saw Billy Bully
towering over them. His face was as rough as the moon’s
surface, and his hands were like saucepans.
“Want a peach?” asked Tim, trembling with fear.
Billy Bully just stared and snorted. So, the boys tossed
him peach after peach, and he swallowed each in one gulp.
“More,” roared Billy Bully.
“You’ve eaten all one hundred,” said Georgy.
“Well, then, I’ll have to eat you!”
Georgy and Tim took off like scared cats toward
Granny’s house.
(Continued)
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Tall Tale Math © 2013 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Old Sally Cato
Math Concepts: Fractions, Decimals
“What’s the fuss?” asked Old Sally Cato, looking
up from her knitting.
“Billy Bully done ate all one hundred peaches,”
said Georgy.
“One hundred peaches? Well you two foolish
boys must have ate two of ’em yourselves.”
Old Sally Cato set down her yarn. The she
picked up her largest knitting needle and a long
chicken feather. “With all your antics, how can
anyone get anything done around here?” she
grumbled at the boys.
Just then Billy Bully appeared. He leaned down,
meaning to gobble up Old Sally Cato. But before
he knew what was happening, she marched herself
straight into that giant’s mouth. Then she took her
feather and dusted all around his insides, stirring up
enough dust to make him cough and sneeze.
Next, she poked him with her knitting needle
’til he howled like a coyote. She kept on dusting and
poking until Billy Bully spat her up, along with all
one hundred peaches. Then he hightailed it home.
“Georgy, Tim,” said Old Sally Cato, “Go wash
all them peaches.” Then she picked up her
knitting. “Now where was I?” she said as
she settled back into her rocker.
Tall Tale Math © 2013 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources
49
Name ________________________________________ Date _____________________________
Old Sally Cato
Old Sally Cato had 100 peaches
left after her lazy grandsons ate
two of her 102 peaches. This
grid shows the 100 peaches she
still had. Use the grid to answer
questions 1–4.
1. In an early burst of energy, Georgy
and Tim picked 10 peaches. Color that
many peaches.
What fraction of the peaches did the
boys pick? __________
How many more peaches do they need
to pick? __________
2. The boys heard Old Sally Cato holler,
“Get to work!” So, they picked 15 more
peaches. Color that many more peaches.
Now what fraction of the peaches has
the boys picked? __________
What fraction has not been picked yet?
3. Old Sally Cato yelled, “By noon, you’d
better have half of them picked.” The boys
got to work, but very slowly. Color the
peaches until you’ve colored half of them.
How many peaches are left for the boys
to pick? ____________________________
4. After an hour passed, the boys still had
20 peaches to pick. Color in the peaches
that they have already picked.
What fraction of the peaches has been
picked? __________
Show that fraction in its lowest terms:
__________
__________
50
Tall Tale Math © 2013 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name ________________________________________ Date _____________________________
Old Sally Cato
(Continued)
5. Write the decimal for each fraction of
peaches that the boys picked:
/10 : ______________
1
/4: ______________
3
/4: ______________
1
/2: ______________
8
/10 :______________
4
/5: ______________
1
6. When Billy Bully showed up, Georgy and
Tim had picked all 100 peaches. Billy ate
1 5 of their peaches in one minute.
/
How many peaches did he eat?
______________________________
Write the decimal for the fraction of
peaches that Billy ate: __________
7. After Billy Bully gobbled the 100 peaches
and Old Sally Cato, he spat them all out.
Luckily, only 15 peaches were bruised.
Write a decimal to represent each of
the following:
bruised peaches: __________
unbruised peaches: __________
8. Old Sally Cato put gave Georgy 1/5 of the
peaches to wash. She told Tim to wash
2 5 of the peaches. What fraction of the
/
peaches did the boys wash in all?
______________________________
9. Old Sally Cato used 11/4 cups of peaches
to make a pie. She sprinkled another
1 4 cup of peaches on top of the pie. How
/
many cups of peaches did she use in all?
______________________________
Show that number in its lowest terms:
______________________________
10. One day, Old Sally Cato squeezed
2 3 cup of juice from some peaches.
/
The next day, she squeezed another
2 3 cup of juice. How much juice
/
did she squeeze in all?
______________________________
Show that fraction as a mixed number:
__________
Tall Tale Math © 2013 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources
51
Answers
Old Sally Cato
page 50
1. Students should color the first 10 peaches in
the grid; 1/10; 90
2. Students should color 15 more peaches in the
grid (for a total of 25 colored peaches in all);
1/4; 3/4
3. Students should color 25 more peaches in the
grid (for a total of 50 colored peaches in all);
50 peaches
4. Students should color 30 more peaches in the
grid (for a total of 80 colored peaches in all);
80/100; 4/5
page 51
5. 0.10; 0.25; 0.75; 050; 0.80; 0.80
6. 20 peaches; 0.20
7. 0.15; 0.85
8. 3/5
9. 1 2/4; 11/2
10. 4/3; 11/3
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Tall Tale Math © 2013 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources