Three Wise Guys 6o233p

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Answer Key

In Holt Literature and Language Arts, you read Sandra Cisneros’s “Eleven,” about a girl named Rachel and her awful experience in school on her eleventh birthday. Although Rachel is a fictional character, she is similar to Cisneros as a young girl. Like Rachel, Cisneros was shy and awkward and sometimes had a hard time in school. Cisneros’s childhood experiences are very much a part of her writing. In “Three Wise Guys,” you read about a family waiting for the day they’ll get to open a mysterious present and what happens to them once they discover what’s inside.

Did you ever receive a present you weren’t allowed to open right away? Did you think about it all the time? So do the Gonzaleses, the family in “Three Wise Guys.” As you read this story, try to guess what the present is. Then, at the end of the story, think about the effect of the present on each family member. Here’s what you need to know before you read this story: • This story is based on the Spanish tradition of exchanging gifts on Three Kings’ Day, January sixth. • The story includes some Spanish words, which are defined by the footnotes at the bottom of each page.

Reading Standard 3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices (for example, symbolism, imagery, metaphor) in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

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Answer Key

Sandra Cisneros The big box came marked “Do Not Open till Xmas,” but the mama said not until the Day of the Three Kings. Not until Dia de los Reyes, the sixth of January, do you hear?

Actually, Dia de los Reyes means “Day of the Kings.” The kings were Magi, or wise men.

That is what the mama said exactly, only she said it all in Spanish. Because in Mexico where she was raised, it is the custom for boys and girls to receive their presents on January sixth, and not Christmas, even though they were

Notice the superscript numbers (the raised numbers) next to Spanish words. These numbers are references to the footnotes at the bottom of the pages. Why are these footnotes important in this story?

living on the Texas side of the river1 now. Not until the sixth day of January. 10

Yesterday the mama had risen in the dark same as always to reheat the coffee in a tin saucepan and warm the breakfast tortillas.2 The papa had gotten up coughing and spitting up the night, complaining how the evening before the buzzing of the chicharras3 had kept him from sleeping. By the time the mama had the house smelling of oatmeal and cinnamon, the papa would be gone to the fields, the sun already tangled in the trees and the urracas4 screeching

Find and underline three examples of imagery in this paragraph. What does this imagery add to the story?

their rubber-screech cry. The boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda would have to be shaken awake for school. The 20

mama would give the baby Gilberto his bottle and then she would go back to sleep before getting up again to the chores that were always waiting. That is how the world had been. 1. river n.: Rio Grande, which separates Mexico and Texas. 2. tortillas (tôr • t≤√y¥s) n.: thin, flat cakes of cornmeal or flour. 3. chicharras (¬≤ • ¬ä√räs) n.: cicadas, insects that make a loud, highpitched sound. 4. urracas (º • rä√käs) n.: magpies, black and white birds belonging to the crow family, known for their chattering. “Three Wise Guys” by Sandra Cisneros. Copyright © 1990 by Sandra Cisneros. First published by Vista Magazine, December 23, 1990. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York.

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Looking at Texts: Uses of the Imagination



Answer Key

But today the big box had arrived. When the boy

• • • • • •

Notes

• • • • • •

Ruben and the girl Rosalinda came home from school, it was already sitting in the living room in front of the television set that no longer worked. Who had put it there? Where had it come from? A box covered with red paper with green Christmas trees and a card on top that said 30

“Merry Christmas to the Gonzales Family. Frank, Earl, and Dwight Travis. P.S. Do Not Open till Xmas.” That’s all. Two times the mama was made to come into the living room, first to explain to the children and later to their father how the brothers Travis had arrived in the blue pickup, and how it had taken all three of those big men to lift the box off the back of the truck and bring it inside, and how she had had to nod and say thank-you thank-you thank-you over and over because those were the only words she knew in English. Then the brothers Travis had nodded

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as well, the way they always did when they came and

Why do the brothers bring clothes and food on holidays? What can you infer about the family’s financial status?

brought the boxes of clothes, or the turkey each November, or the canned ham on Easter, ever since the children had begun to earn high grades at the school where Dwight Travis was the principal. But this year the Christmas box was bigger than usual. What could be in a box so big? The boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda begged all afternoon to be allowed to open it, and that is when the mama had said the sixth of January, the Day of the Three Kings. Not a day sooner. 50

It seemed the weeks stretched themselves wider and wider since the arrival of the big box. The mama got used to sweeping around it because it was too heavy for her to push in a corner. But since the television no longer worked ever since the afternoon the children had poured iced tea through the little grates in the back, it really didn’t matter if

Some sentences within the boxed age are long. Practice reading the age aloud, and pay special attention to the long sentences. Notice where the commas are, and use them as a signal to pause. Practice reading at a rate that is not too fast and not too slow.

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Answer Key

the box obstructed the view. Visitors that came inside the house were told and told again the story of how the obstructed (¥b • struk√tid) v.: blocked.

box had arrived, and then each was made to guess what was inside.

distract (di • strakt√) v.: draw attention away from; sidetrack.

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It was the comadre5 Elodia who suggested over coffee one afternoon that the big box held a portable washing machine that could be rolled away when not in use, the

simplicity (sim • plis√¥ • t≤) n.: absence of complexity; plainness.

kind she had seen in her Sears Roebuck catalog. The mama said she hoped so because the wringer washer she had used

Replace the word simplicity with the word plainness in the sentence. Is the sentence as effective? Why or why not?

for the last ten years had finally gotten tired and quit. These past few weeks she had had to boil all the clothes in the big pot she used for cooking the Christmas tamales.6 Yes. She hoped the big box was a portable washing machine. A washing machine, even a portable one, would be good. 70

But the neighbor man Cayetano said, what foolishness, comadre. Can’t you see the box is too small to hold a washing machine, even a portable one. Most likely God has heard your prayers and sent a new color TV. With a good antenna you could catch all the Mexican soap operas, the neighbor man said. You could distract yourself with the complicated troubles of the rich and then give thanks to God for the blessed simplicity of your poverty. A new TV would surely be the end to all your miseries. Each night when the papa came home from the fields,

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he would spread newspapers on the cot in the living room, where the boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda slept, and sit facing the big box in the center of the room. Each night he imagined the box held something different. The day before yesterday he guessed a new record player. Yesterday an ice chest filled with beer. Today the papa sat with his bottle of 5. comadre (ko • mä√dr†) n.: woman who is a relative or close friend of the family (the “co-mother”). 6. tamales (t¥ • mä√l≤z) n.: meat and peppers cooked in a corn husk.

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beer, fanning himself with a magazine, and said in a voice as much a plea as a prophecy: air conditioner. But the boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda were sure the big box was filled with toys. They had even punctured it 90

What do you learn in lines 60–89 about each person based on what he or she hopes is inside the box?

in one corner with a pencil when their mother was busy cooking, but they could see nothing inside but blackness. Only the baby Gilberto remained uninterested in the contents of the big box and seemed each day more fascinated with the exterior of the box rather that the interior. One afternoon he tore off a fistful of paper, which he was chewing when his mother swooped him up with one arm, rushed him to the kitchen sink, and forced him to swallow handfuls of lukewarm water in case the red dye of the wrapping paper might be poisonous.

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When Christmas Eve finally came, the family Gonzalez put on their good clothes and went to Midnight Mass. They came home to a house that smelled of tamales and atole,7 and everyone was allowed to open one present before going to sleep. But the big box was to remain untouched until the sixth of January. On New Year’s Eve the house was filled with people, some related, some not, coming in and out. The friends of the papa came with bottles, and the mama set out a bowl of grapes to count off the New Year. That night the children

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did not sleep in the living-room cot as they usually did, because the living room was crowded with big-fannied ladies and fat-stomached men sashaying to the accordion music of the midget twins from McAllen.8 Instead the children fell asleep on a lump of handbags and crumpled suit jackets on top of the mama and the papa’s bed, dreaming of the contents of the big box.

Underline the images in lines 100–116 that help you imagine what the house was like on the holidays.

7. atole (ä • t£√l†) n.: broth made from corn flour. 8. McAllen: Texas city near the Mexican border. Sandra Cisneros

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Answer Key

Finally, the fifth of January. And the boy Ruben and Soon the box will be opened. Make a prediction about what you think is inside. Then read on and see if your prediction is right.

the girl Rosalinda could hardly sleep. All night they whispered last-minute wishes. The boy thought perhaps if 120

the big box held a bicycle, he would be the first to ride it, since he was the oldest. This made his sister cry until the mama had to yell from her bedroom on the other side of the plastic curtains, Be quiet or I’m going to give you each the stick, which sounds worse in Spanish than it does in English. Then no one said anything. After a very long time, long after they heard the mama’s wheezed breathing and the papa’s piped snoring, the children closed their eyes and ed nothing. The papa was already in the bathroom coughing up

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the night before from his throat when the urracas began their clownish chirping. The boy Ruben awoke and shook his sister. The mama, frying the potatoes and beans for breakfast, nodded permission for the box to be opened. With a kitchen knife the boy Ruben cut a careful edge along the top. The girl Rosalinda tore the Christmas

“Coughing up the night before” in lines 129–130 is not literally true. What does this figure of speech mean?

wrapping with her fingernails. The papa and the mama lifted the cardboard flaps and everyone peered inside to see what it was the brothers Travis had brought them on the Day of the Three Kings. 140

There were layers of balled newspaper packed on top. When these had been cleared away the boy Ruben looked inside. The girl Rosalinda looked inside. The papa and the mama looked. This is what they saw: the complete Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia, twenty-four volumes in red imitation leather with gold-embossed letters, beginning with Volume 1, Aar–Bel and ending with Volume XXIV, Yel–Zyn. The girl Rosalinda let out a sad cry, as if her

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Answer Key

hair was going to be cut again. The boy Ruben pulled out 150

Volume IV, Ded–Fem. There were many pictures and many words, but there were more words than pictures. The papa

What does each person do with the gift? See lines 156–177.

flipped through Volume XXII, but because he could not read English words, simply put the book back and grunted, What can we do with this? No one said anything, and shortly after, the screen door slammed. Only mama knew what to do with the contents of the big box. She withdrew Volumes VI, VII, and VIII, marched off to the dinette set in the kitchen, placed two on Rosalinda’s chair so she could better reach the table, and 160

put one underneath the plant stand that danced. When the boy and girl returned from school that day, they found the books stacked into squat pillars against one living-room wall and a board placed on top. On this were arranged several plastic doilies and framed family photographs. The rest of the volumes the baby Gilberto was playing with, and he was already rubbing his sore gums along the corners of Volume XIV. The girl Rosalinda also grew interested in the books. She took out her colored pencils and painted blue on the

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eyelids of all the illustrations of women and with a red pencil dipped in spit she painted their lips and fingernails red-red. After a couple of days, when all the pictures of women had been colored in this manner, she began to cut

The plant stand in line 160 is personified—that is, it is spoken of as if it were human. What is the plant stand doing that only humans can do?

out some of the prettier pictures and paste them on looseleaf paper. One volume suffered from being exposed to the rain when the papa improvised a hat during a sudden shower. He forgot it on the hood of the car when he drove off. When the children came home from school they set it on

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Answer Key

the porch to dry. But the pages puffed up and became so fat, the book was impossible to close.

Pause at line 202. What discovery has Ruben made?

Only the boy Ruben refused to touch the books. For several days he avoided the principal because he didn’t know what to say in case Mr. Travis were to ask how they were enjoying the Christmas present. On the Saturday after New Year’s the mama and the papa went into town for groceries and left the boy in charge of watching his sister and baby brother. The girl Rosalinda was stacking books into spiral staircases and

What could the colors in the final lines of the story symbolize?

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making her paper dolls descend them in a fancy manner. Perhaps the boy Ruben would not have bothered to open the volume left on the kitchen table if he had not seen his mother wedge her name-day corsage9 in its pages. On the page where the mama’s carnation lay pressed between two pieces of Kleenex was a picture of a dog in a space ship. “First dog in space” the caption said. The boy turned to another page and read where cashews came from. And then about the man who invented the guillotine. And then about Bengal tigers. And about clouds. All afternoon the boy read,

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even after the mama and the papa came home. Even after the sun set, until the mama said time to sleep and put the

What do you think the story’s title means? Could it have more than one meaning?

light out. In their bed on the other side of the plastic curtain the mama and the papa slept. Across from them in the crib slept the baby Gilberto. The girl Rosalinda slept on her end of the cot. But the boy Ruben watched the night sky turn from violet. To blue. To gray. And then from gray. To blue. To violet once again.

9. name-day corsage (kôr • sä¤√) n.: flower or a bunch of flowers that are worn to celebrate the feast day of the saint for whom a person is named.

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Symbolism

Answer Key

A symbol is a thing that represents something besides

itself. What do you think the encyclopedias are symbolic of? Write your answer in two or three sentences.

Personal Word List

You probably came across some new words in

this story. They may have been Spanish words or English words you were unfamiliar with. Choose five words, and add them to your Personal Word List. Write an English word that means the same thing as each Spanish word.

Personal Reading Log

Did you enjoy this story? Explain why or why

not in your Personal Reading Log. Give yourself 4 points on the Reading Meter for completing it.

Checklist for Standards Mastery

You’ve finished reading and

responding to another selection. Use the Checklist for Standards Mastery to determine how far you’ve come in mastering the standards.

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Menu On Course Print Answer Key Three Wise Guys Interactive Reading, page 236 Go Beyond a Literary Text Author Profile Use your library and the Internet to find out more about Sandra Cisneros. As you find information, enter it on the author-profile chart below.

Profile of:

Sandra Cisneros

Date of Birth: Place of Birth: Parents: Other Family : Description of Her Childhood and Childhood Interests:

Education: Famous Books or Other Works:

Author Quotation:

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DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION Three Wise Guys

(Interactive Reading, pages 236–261)

Three Wise Guys Sandra Cisneros

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Tell students that they are going to read “Three Wise Guys,” another story by Sandra Cisneros. Encourage students to recall what they liked about Cisneros’s story “Eleven.” Have students read the Author Study and the Before You Read notes. Tell students that in this story, three brothers bring the Gonzales family a gift for Three Kings’ Day. Based on what they’ve learned about this holiday, ask students to speculate about why Cisneros gave the story this title.

Read the beginning of the story aloud, until the first “What and Why?” note. Find and identify for students one example of imagery in the paragraph. Direct students to underline the example you identify. Have students find and underline two additional examples on their own. Model how you might respond to the second part of the note: “The use of this imagery really helps me ‘hear,’ ‘smell,’ and ‘see’ what is happening. The images make the scene seem real.”

Have students read the rest of the story independently. Remind them to note their responses to the sidenotes in their books. After students have finished reading, divide the class into small groups, and have them discuss their responses. Bring the class back together, and direct students to the Fluency note. Have several students read the fluency age aloud. Have students add the title of this story to their Personal Reading Logs.

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Learners Having Difficulty This selection contains some Spanish words. Before students read the selection independently, ask those who are conversant in Spanish to read these Spanish words aloud and define them for nonSpanish speakers. Benchmark Students The selection vocabulary and some of the other words used in the text may pose problems for benchmark students. Encourage students to use the Vocabulary Development and Word Knowledge sidenotes as they read. Advanced Students Students will enjoy guessing what is in the box. Before they finish reading the story, ask them to fill out prediction cards, writing their predictions on one side and their reasons for making the prediction on the other. Have small groups share and discuss their cards. After they finish the story, students can see if their predictions were correct.

READING OPTION All students will enjoy hearing this selection read aloud on the Audio CD before they read it independently.

TEACHER TO TEACHER

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Use the Vocabulary Check on Teacher’s Edition page 80 to evaluate mastery of the vocabulary standard. Use the Comprehension Check on Teacher’s Edition page 81 to evaluate mastery of the literary standard. Have students complete the Author Profile on Interactive Reading page 244 to learn more about Sandra Cisneros.

Have students in small groups discuss the questions the selection raises. Ask the groups to share personal stories about presents with mysterious contents. Then, have the groups share their responses.

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Key Menu Name On ______________________________ Course Print AnswerClass _____________ Date _____________

Three Wise Guys ■

Vocabulary Check

Interactive Reading, page 236

Reading Standard 1.5 Understand and explain “shades of meaning” in related words.

Vocabulary Development obstructed, verb

blocked

distract, verb

draw attention away from; sidetrack

simplicity, noun

absence of complexity; plainness

A. Words in Context Use words from the word box to complete the paragraph. Use each word only once.

I couldn’t see the box because it was (1) _______________ by Papa’s hulking form in the doorway. “What do you want, bonita?” he said. I started to plead, “Let me see! Let me see!” but he ignored my begging. Mama made breakfast, but the (2) _______________ of the meal—the usual fried bread sprinkled with sugar—did nothing to (3) _______________ me from the mystery of the box.

1. The large box blocked the view of the living room.

2. Like a game, the box had the ability to sidetrack the children’s attention.

3. The family’s life has a certain plainness to it.

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B. Words with Similar Meanings Replace each boldface word with a vocabulary word that has a similar meaning. Then write a sentence in which you use the vocabulary word correctly.


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Three Wise Guys ■

Comprehension Check


Reading Standard 3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

Academic Vocabulary figurative language imagery symbol

word or phrase that describes one thing in of something else and is not literally true language that appeals to the senses person, place, thing, or event that has its own meaning and stands for something beyond itself

A. Circle the letter of the best response to each item below.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

1. Which of the following is not an example of figurative language? A sun tangled in the trees B coughing and spitting up the night C weeks stretched themselves wider and wider D spread newspapers on the cot 2. Which of the following is an example of imagery? F a lump of handbags and crumpled suit jackets G troubles of the rich H the house was filled with people J no one said anything 3. Which of the following uses imagery to help us hear something? A a bowl of grapes C mama’s wheezed breathing B books stacked in squat pillars D a house that smelled of tamales 4. In this story the encyclopedia could be seen as a symbol of— F books and pictures H money and luxury G poverty and simplicity J learning and knowledge B. Re-read the descriptions of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Write down the sensory images (sound, taste, smell, sight, touch) that helped you imagine these scenes.

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Menu On Course Print Chapter 6 Practice Read: Who Was Cleopatra? Vocabulary Check, page 78 A: 1. feuds 2. deposed 3. ambitious 4. dynamic 5. jeered B: 1. greedy 2. feuds 3. jeered 4. toppled 5. dynamic Comprehension Check, page 79 A: 1. D 2. G 3. C 4. F B: Students’ responses will vary. Examples: Cleopatra was like a snake. Cleopatra was a tiger.

Three Wise Guys Vocabulary Check, page 80 A: 1. obstructed 2. simplicity 3. distract B: 1. obstructed Example: Our access to the door was obstructed by a mean-looking dog. 2. distract Example: The clown on the sidewalk distracted all the ersby. 3. simplicity Example: The pattern of the curtains had such a simplicity to it. Comprehension Check, page 81 A: 1. D 2. F 3. C 4. J B: The house smelled of tamales and tacos. [smell] The living room was crowded with big-fannied ladies and fat-stomached men sashaying to the accordion music. [sight and sound] The children fell asleep on a lump of handbags. [sight]

The Ancient Library of Alexandria Vocabulary Check, page 82 A: 1. universal 2. deposited 3. stationary B: 1. fragrance 2. odor 3. scrawny 4. slender Comprehension Check, page 83 A: 1. A 2. J 3. B B: He asserted that Earth was a sphere. He used geometric calculations and measured the lengths of shadows cast by sticks. He estimated that Earth’s diameter was 7,850 miles.

from The Autobiography of a Kid Vocabulary Check, page 84 A: 1. blithely 2. subscription 3. curriculum B: 1. ridiculous 2. bland 3. liked 4. clever Comprehension Check, page 85 A: 1. B 2. H 3. A 4. J B: Students may choose: “And what about words, which, packed together, made up a book as cells made up my body? I liked them.” “Whether I knew it or not, words were claiming me.” “That [the word ‘bum ticker’] tickled me to no end.”

Answer Key

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for use with Holt Literature and Language Arts, page 364

sweater that smells like cottage cheese

pennies in a tin Band-

Aid box

Chapter 6


Answers will vary.

3. Which image from the story do you like the most? Why?

taste

2. Which had the least?

sight and touch

1. Which sense from the diagram had the most images?

Questions

coming out of me

animal noises from

I can’t stop the little

one sleeve of the

Sound

rattling inside me like

Smell

have the hiccups

far away like a runaway balloon,

Taste

my body shaking like when you

waterfall

like a tiny-o in the sky

they’ll get to open a mysterious present and what happens to them

My face all hot

it’s hanging over the edge like a

by the footnotes at the bottom of each page.

• The story includes some Spanish words, which are defined

gifts on Three Kings’ Day, January sixth.

• This story is based on the Spanish tradition of exchanging

Here’s what you need to know before you read this story:

about the effect of the present on each family member.

guess what the present is. Then, at the end of the story, think

the family in “Three Wise Guys.” As you read this story, try to

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Reading Standard 3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices (for example, symbolism, imagery, metaphor) in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

Sandra Cisneros

away? Did you think about it all the time? So do the Gonzaleses,

Did you ever receive a present you weren’t allowed to open right

once they discover what’s inside.

In “Three Wise Guys,” you read about a family waiting for the day

down on my teeth real hard

mountain

experiences are very much a part of her writing.

and sometimes had a hard time in school. Cisneros’s childhood

I squeeze them shut tight and bite

Touch

Cisneros as a young girl. Like Rachel, Cisneros was shy and awkward

Although Rachel is a fictional character, she is similar to

awful experience in school on her eleventh birthday.

Cisneros’s “Eleven,” about a girl named Rachel and her

In Holt Literature and Language Arts, you read Sandra

the red sweater is . . . like a big red

Sight

Imagery Grid Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. Images describe sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and the way things feel when you touch them. Writers use imagery to help us share an experience. Fill in the imagery chart below with images that Sandra Cisneros uses throughout “Eleven.” Then answer the questions.

Interact with a Literary Text

Eleven

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Pupil Pages 222–261

Pupil Pages with Answers

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Interactive Reading: Teacher’s Edition

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chicharras3 had kept him from sleeping.

The papa had gotten up coughing and

“Three Wise Guys” by Sandra Cisneros. Copyright © 1990 by Sandra Cisneros. First published by Vista Magazine, December 23, 1990. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York.

1. river n.: Rio Grande, which separates Mexico and Texas. 2. tortillas (tôr • t≤√y¥s) n.: thin, flat cakes of cornmeal or flour. 3. chicharras (¬≤ • ¬ä√räs) n.: cicadas, insects that make a loud, highpitched sound. 4. urracas (º • rä√käs) n.: magpies, black and white birds belonging to the crow family, known for their chattering.

had been.

chores that were always waiting. That is how the world

she would go back to sleep before getting up again to the

mama would give the baby Gilberto his bottle and then

Rosalinda would have to be shaken awake for school. The

their rubber-screech cry. The boy Ruben and the girl

sun already tangled in the trees and the urracas4 screeching

and cinnamon, the papa would be gone to the fields, the

By the time the mama had the house smelling of oatmeal

the buzzing of the


happening in the story.

smell, and see what is

allows readers to hear,

The use of imagery

Suggested response:

Find and underline three examples of imagery in this paragraph. What does this imagery add to the story?

Spanish words mean.

explain what the

breakfast spitting up the night, complaining how the evening before

tortillas.2

always to reheat the coffee in a tin saucepan and warm the

Yesterday the mama had risen in the dark same as

now. Not until the

Many footnotes

10

living on the Texas side of the sixth day of January.

river1

January sixth, and not Christmas, even though they were

custom for boys and girls to receive their presents on

Spanish. Because in Mexico where she was raised, it is the

That is what the mama said exactly, only she said it all in

until Dia de los Reyes, the sixth of January, do you hear?

the mama said not until the Day of the Three Kings. Not

Notice the superscript numbers (the raised numbers) next to Spanish words. These numbers are references to the footnotes at the bottom of the pages. Why are these footnotes important in this story?

Actually, Dia de los Reyes means “Day of the Kings.” The kings were Magi, or wise men.

The big box came marked “Do Not Open till Xmas,” but

Sandra Cisneros

50

40

30

But today the big box had arrived. When the boy

through the little grates in the back, it really didn’t matter if

ever since the afternoon the children had poured iced tea

push in a corner. But since the television no longer worked

to sweeping around it because it was too heavy for her to

wider since the arrival of the big box. The mama got used

It seemed the weeks stretched themselves wider and

the Day of the Three Kings. Not a day sooner.

and that is when the mama had said the sixth of January,

Rosalinda begged all afternoon to be allowed to open it,

What could be in a box so big? The boy Ruben and the girl

But this year the Christmas box was bigger than usual.

Travis was the principal.

begun to earn high grades at the school where Dwight

or the canned ham on Easter, ever since the children had

as well, the way they always did when they came and

she knew in English. Then the brothers Travis had nodded

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Some sentences within the boxed age are long. Practice reading the age aloud, and pay special attention to the long sentences. Notice where the commas are, and use them as a signal to pause. Practice reading at a rate that is not too fast and not too slow.

charitable.

and the brothers are

The family is poor

• • • • • •

brought the boxes of clothes, or the turkey each November,

Notes

Why do the brothers bring clothes and food on holidays? What can you infer about the family’s financial status?

• • • • • •

thank-you over and over because those were the only words

how she had had to nod and say thank-you thank-you

lift the box off the back of the truck and bring it inside, and

pickup, and how it had taken all three of those big men to

father how the brothers Travis had arrived in the blue

room, first to explain to the children and later to their

Two times the mama was made to come into the living

Dwight Travis. P.S. Do Not Open till Xmas.” That’s all.

“Merry Christmas to the Gonzales Family. Frank, Earl, and

with green Christmas trees and a card on top that said

Where had it come from? A box covered with red paper

television set that no longer worked. Who had put it there?

was already sitting in the living room in front of the

Ruben and the girl Rosalinda came home from school, it




238

Chapter 6

80

70

60

rushed him to the kitchen sink, and forced him to swallow handfuls of lukewarm water in case the red dye of the

pot she used for cooking the Christmas tamales.6 Yes. She hoped the big box was a portable washing machine. A

and everyone was allowed to open one present before going to sleep. But the big box was to remain untouched until the sixth of January.

has heard your prayers and sent a new color TV. With a good antenna you could catch all the Mexican soap operas, the neighbor man said. You could distract yourself with the

music of the midget twins from McAllen.8 Instead the children fell asleep on a lump of handbags and crumpled suit jackets on top of the mama and the papa’s bed,

yesterday he guessed a new record player. Yesterday an ice chest filled with beer. Today the papa sat with his bottle of 5. comadre (ko • mä√dr†) n.: woman who is a relative or close friend of the family (the “co-mother”). 6. tamales (t¥ • mä√l≤z) n.: meat and peppers cooked in a corn husk.

ladies and fat-stomached men sashaying to the accordion

imagined the box held something different. The day before

7. atole (ä • t£√l†) n.: broth made from corn flour. 8. McAllen: Texas city near the Mexican border.

dreaming of the contents of the big box.

because the living room was crowded with big-fannied

facing the big box in the center of the room. Each night he

did not sleep in the living-room cot as they usually did,

where the boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda slept, and sit

he would spread newspapers on the cot in the living room,

grapes to count off the New Year. That night the children

the papa came with bottles, and the mama set out a bowl of

would surely be the end to all your miseries. Each night when the papa came home from the fields,

some related, some not, coming in and out. The friends of

God for the blessed simplicity of your poverty. A new TV

On New Year’s Eve the house was filled with people,

came home to a house that smelled of tamales and atole,7

complicated troubles of the rich and then give thanks to

put on their good clothes and went to Midnight Mass. They

washing machine, even a portable one. Most likely God

When Christmas Eve finally came, the family Gonzalez

comadre. Can’t you see the box is too small to hold a

But the neighbor man Cayetano said, what foolishness,

110

chewing when his mother swooped him up with one arm,

past few weeks she had had to boil all the clothes in the big

100

afternoon he tore off a fistful of paper, which he was

for the last ten years had finally gotten tired and quit. These

wrapping paper might be poisonous.

ed with the exterior of the box rather that the interior. One

said she hoped so because the wringer washer she had used

washing machine, even a portable one, would be good.

contents of the big box and seemed each day more fascinat-

kind she had seen in her Sears Roebuck catalog. The mama

Only the baby Gilberto remained uninterested in the

machine that could be rolled away when not in use, the

in one corner with a pencil when their mother was busy

the big box was filled with toys. They had even punctured it cooking, but they could see nothing inside but blackness.

90

one afternoon that the big box held a portable washing

It was the comadre5 Elodia who suggested over coffee

was inside.

But the boy Ruben and the girl Rosalinda were sure

as much a plea as a prophecy: air conditioner.

box had arrived, and then each was made to guess what

the house were told and told again the story of how the


simplicity is used.

when the word

and more effective

the sentence is clearer

should indicate that

Answers will vary, but

Replace the word simplicity with the word plainness in the sentence. Is the sentence as effective? Why or why not?

simplicity (sim • plis√¥ • t≤) n.: absence of complexity; plainness.

distract (di • strakt√) v.: draw attention away from; sidetrack.

obstructed (¥b • struk√tid) v.: blocked.

beer, fanning himself with a magazine, and said in a voice

the box obstructed the view. Visitors that came inside

Sandra Cisneros

239

Underline the images in lines 100–116 that help you imagine what the house was like on the holidays.

children dream of toys.

an air conditioner. The

record player, beer, or

because he hopes for a

pleasure in his life

seems to want more

from reality. Papa

for a TV for an escape

The neighbor hopes

make chores easier.

washing machine to

Mama hopes for a

What do you learn in lines 60–89 about each person based on what he or she hopes is inside the box?





239

240


240

Chapter 6

140

130

120

Finally, the fifth of January. And the boy Ruben and

shortly after, the screen door slammed.

the plastic curtains, Be quiet or I’m going to give you each

put one underneath the plant stand that danced.

ed nothing.

were arranged several plastic doilies and framed family photographs. The rest of the volumes the baby Gilberto

his sister. The mama, frying the potatoes and beans for breakfast, nodded permission for the box to be opened.

There were layers of balled newspaper packed on top.

He forgot it on the hood of the car when he drove off. When the children came home from school they set it on

leather with gold-embossed letters, beginning with Volume 1, Aar–Bel and ending with Volume XXIV, Yel–Zyn. The girl Rosalinda let out a sad cry, as if her

when the papa improvised a hat during a sudden shower.

Encyclopaedia, twenty-four volumes in red imitation

One volume suffered from being exposed to the rain

leaf paper.

This is what they saw: the complete Britannica Junior

out some of the prettier pictures and paste them on loose-

mama looked.

women had been colored in this manner, she began to cut

red-red. After a couple of days, when all the pictures of

inside. The girl Rosalinda looked inside. The papa and the

When these had been cleared away the boy Ruben looked

pencil dipped in spit she painted their lips and fingernails

eyelids of all the illustrations of women and with a red

see what it was the brothers Travis had brought them on the Day of the Three Kings.

The girl Rosalinda also grew interested in the books. She took out her colored pencils and painted blue on the

lifted the cardboard flaps and everyone peered inside to

along the corners of Volume XIV.

wrapping with her fingernails. The papa and the mama

along the top. The girl Rosalinda tore the Christmas

was playing with, and he was already rubbing his sore gums

one living-room wall and a board placed on top. On this

their clownish chirping. The boy Ruben awoke and shook

With a kitchen knife the boy Ruben cut a careful edge

day, they found the books stacked into squat pillars against

the night before from his throat when the urracas began

170

Rosalinda’s chair so she could better reach the table, and

the papa’s piped snoring, the children closed their eyes and

When the boy and girl returned from school that

off to the dinette set in the kitchen, placed two on

long after they heard the mama’s wheezed breathing and

The papa was already in the bathroom coughing up

big box. She withdrew Volumes VI, VII, and VIII, marched

English. Then no one said anything. After a very long time,

160

What can we do with this? No one said anything, and

mama had to yell from her bedroom on the other side of Only mama knew what to do with the contents of the

read English words, simply put the book back and grunted,

since he was the oldest. This made his sister cry until the

the stick, which sounds worse in Spanish than it does in

flipped through Volume XXII, but because he could not

the big box held a bicycle, he would be the first to ride it,

Volume IV, Ded–Fem. There were many pictures and many

hair was going to be cut again. The boy Ruben pulled out words, but there were more words than pictures. The papa

150

whispered last-minute wishes. The boy thought perhaps if

the girl Rosalinda could hardly sleep. All night they


much the night before.

smoked or drank too

coughing because he

Papa could be

“Coughing up the night before” in lines 129–130 is not literally true. What does this figure of speech mean?

Predictions will vary.

Soon the box will be opened. Make a prediction about what you think is inside. Then read on and see if your prediction is right.

Sandra Cisneros

It is dancing.

241

The plant stand in line 160 is personified—that is, it is spoken of as if it were human. What is the plant stand doing that only humans can do?

as a hat in the rain.

others. Papa uses one

pictures and cuts out

Rosalinda colors all the

baby chews on them.

makes a table. The

piles the books up and

steady it. Mama later

the plant stand to

chair and one under

volume on Rosalinda’s

Mama puts one

What does each person do with the gift? See lines 156–177.




Symbolism

A symbol is a thing that represents something besides

242

Chapter 6

knowledge.

Did you enjoy this story? Explain why or why

You’ve finished reading and

9. name-day corsage (kôr • sä¤√) n.: flower or a bunch of flowers that are worn to celebrate the feast day of the saint for whom a person is named.

To violet once again.

from violet. To blue. To gray. And then from gray. To blue.

of the cot. But the boy Ruben watched the night sky turn

slept the baby Gilberto. The girl Rosalinda slept on her end

mama and the papa slept. Across from them in the crib

In their bed on the other side of the plastic curtain the

Sandra Cisneros

Mastery to determine how far you’ve come in mastering the standards.

Checklist for Standards Mastery

responding to another selection. Use the Checklist for Standards

light out.

Reading Meter for completing it.

not in your Personal Reading Log. Give yourself 4 points on the

Personal Reading Log

as each Spanish word.

Personal Word List. Write an English word that means the same thing

were unfamiliar with. Choose five words, and add them to your

the sun set, until the mama said time to sleep and put the

even after the mama and the papa came home. Even after

Bengal tigers. And about clouds. All afternoon the boy read,

about the man who invented the guillotine. And then about

another page and read where cashews came from. And then


children the gift of

ers who brought the

the three Travis broth-

Magi. It also refers to

Literally it refers to the

What do you think the story’s title means? Could it have more than one meaning?

of learning.

darkness into the light

as if he is coming from

“First dog in space” the caption said. The boy turned to

two pieces of Kleenex was a picture of a dog in a space ship.

this story. They may have been Spanish words or English words you

new world for Ruben,

Personal Word List

the page where the mama’s carnation lay pressed between

You probably came across some new words in

The encyclopedias symbolize knowledge or discovery.

your answer in two or three sentences.

itself. What do you think the encyclopedias are symbolic of? Write

symbolize a whole

open the volume left on the kitchen table if he had not seen

Perhaps the boy Ruben would not have bothered to

making her paper dolls descend them in a fancy manner.

Rosalinda was stacking books into spiral staircases and

charge of watching his sister and baby brother. The girl

papa went into town for groceries and left the boy in

On the Saturday after New Year’s the mama and the

were enjoying the Christmas present.

know what to say in case Mr. Travis were to ask how they

several days he avoided the principal because he didn’t

Only the boy Ruben refused to touch the books. For

fat, the book was impossible to close.

the porch to dry. But the pages puffed up and became so

his mother wedge her name-day corsage9 in its pages. On

200

190

180

The colors could

Suggested response:

What could the colors in the final lines of the story symbolize?

about the world.

the joys of learning

Ruben has discovered

Pause at line 202. What discovery has Ruben made?

243





241

242

244



Chapter 6


Author Quotation: Quotations will vary.

Hollering Creek and Other Stories; My Wicked, Wicked Ways (poems)

Famous Books or Other Works: The House on Mango Street; Woman

Education: Loyola University and University of Iowa

displaced. She read a lot and found comfort in books.

and her father grew up) and the United States. She felt homeless and

back and forth between Mexico (where her paternal grandmother lived

Description of Her Childhood and Childhood Interests:

Anne Nolting

“The Ancient Library of Alexandria” by Anne Nolting from Cricket, May 2000. Copyright © 2000 by Anne Nolting. Reprinted by permission of the author.

powerful nation in the world.

knowledge. His wish was for Egypt to become the most

wise and inquisitive monarch with a deep longing for

of Egypt. His name was Ptolemy I Soter, and he was a

About 2,300 years ago, a great king ruled the country

at the library.

Reading Standard 2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate ing citations.

The Ancient Library of Alexandria

245

Inquisitive means “eager to learn.”

Underline inquisitive (in • kwiz√¥ • tiv) in line 3. What words in this first paragraph help you guess what it means? Circle the clues.

resort, because people who came from distant lands lived and ate

and share ideas. In many ways the library was like an educational

where people came to do research, debate, discuss, study, teach,

• The library was not only a place to read. It was also a great center

countries were collected.

This means that it was the first library where scrolls from different

• The library of Alexandria, in Egypt, was the first universal library.

Her family often moved

• Ancient books were written on papyrus and rolled into scrolls.

Parents: Mexican father and Chicana (Mexican-American) mother

Other Family : seven brothers, no sisters

Here’s what you need to know before you begin reading:

how it came to be, and how it was eventually destroyed.

Place of Birth: Chicago

Sandra Cisneros

questions as you read all about the ancient library of Alexandria,

people determined to get rid of it? Find out the answers to these

How did the first library begin? What was it like? Why were some

Date of Birth: December 20, 1954

Profile of:

Author Profile Use your library and the Internet to find out more about Sandra Cisneros. As you find information, enter it on the author-profile chart below. Sample entries provided.

Go Beyond a Literary Text

Three Wise Guys

HRW TE_6_S2 CH6_2nd Printing_F 12/28/01 1:29 PM Page 242



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