"I CAN BE BRAVE," SAMMY WHIMPERED. "I CAN!" (24)

                SAMUEL SMOTHERBY SPROUT                   

          Samuel stood in his mother's firm clutch.

          "Don't wriggle!" she said; "It won't hurt very much!

          I'll just pull your tooth ‑‑ then the whole world will shout:

              

          `How brave is young Samuel Smotherby Sprout!'"

          "I can be brave," Sammy whimpered.  "I can!

          I'm Samuel Sprout, and I'm almost a man!

          I'll hold back the tears, and I won't even blink,

          `Cause I am a very big boy, I think!"

                                                   

          One yank, then the tooth (what a small pearly thing!)

          Happily swung from the end of the string;

          Samuel grinned.  "Now the whole world will shout:

          `How brave ith young Thamuel Thmitherby Thprout!'"

                                    Leo Harrington

                                                           

Questions About the Poem

Check the right answer.

1.  Samuel's mother held him firmly so she could

    ___a.  pull his tooth.

    ___b.  brush his hair.

    ___c.  zip up his jacket.

2.  Samuel whimpered,

    ___a.  "Can't we do this tomorrow?"

    ___b.  "I'm going to cry."

    ___c.  "I can be brave!"

3.  The tooth was

    ___a.  a small pearly thing.

    ___b.  hard to pull out.

    ___c.  Samuel's favorite tooth.

4.  After one yank, Samuel's tooth

    ___a.  landed under his pillow.

    ___b.  hit the ceiling.

    ___c.  swung from the end of a string.

5.  "Think" rhymes with

    ___a.  thank.

    ___b.  blink.

    ___c.  sing.

Special question:  After his tooth was pulled, why did Samuel  call himself Thamuel Thmitherby Thprout?