In this post, I am presenting a very beautiful short story
by Max Lucado entitled ‘You Are Special’. I want to invite the readers to give
your appreciation to this great work. Another important point why I put this story
on to surface is that I want to share the form of narrative text to the English
foreign learners and provide some comprehension questions. So, first we get a
wonderful reading material and second we get something to learn especially
about narrative text.
Check this story out. Enjoy reading and don’t forget to say
your thanks to Max Lucado for this wonderful story.
You Are Special
by Max Lucado
The Wemmicks
were small wooden people. Each of the wooden people was carved by a woodworker
named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village. Every Wemmick
was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall and
others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all were made by the
same carver and all lived in the village. And all day, every day, the Wemmicks
did the same thing: They gave each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of
golden star stickers and a box of gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets
all over the city, people could be seen sticking stars or dots on one another.
The pretty
ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood
was rough or the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got
stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall
boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very pretty songs. Everyone
gave them stars.
Some
Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel
so good that they did something else and got another star. Others, though,
could do little. They got dots.
Punchinello
was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell.
And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots.
Sometimes
when he fell, it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots.
He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks
would give him more dots. After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want
to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his hat
or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he
had so many gray dots that some people would come up and give him one without
reason. "He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree
with one another. "He's not a good wooden person."
After a
while Punchinello believed them. "I'm not a good Wemmick," he would
say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot
of dots. He felt better around them.
One day he
met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She
was just wooden. Her name was Lucia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give
her stickers; it's just that the stickers didn't stick. Some admired Lucia for
having no dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall
off. Some would look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a
dot. But it wouldn't stay either. 'That's the way I want to be,'thought
Punchinello. 'I don't want anyone's marks.' So he asked the stickerless Wemmick
how she did it. "It's easy," Lucia replied. "every day I go see
Eli."
"Eli?"
"Yes, Eli. The woodcarver. I sit in the workshop with him."
"Why?" "Why don't you find out for yourself? Go up the hill.
He's there."
And with
that the Wemmick with no marks turned and skipped away. "But he won't want
to see me!" Punchinello cried out. Lucia didn't hear. So Punchinello went
home. He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried
around giving each other stars and dots. "It's not right," he
muttered to himself. And he resolved to go see Eli. He walked up the narrow
path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big shop. His wooden eyes
widened at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had to
stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the workbench. A hammer was as long as
his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned
to leave. Then he heard his name.
"Punchinello?"
The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good
to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly
and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the
little Wemmick asked.
"Of
course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him
on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the
gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I
didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to
defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think."
"You don't?"
No, and you
shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?
They're
Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that
matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."
Punchinello
laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is
peeling. Why do I matter to you?"
Eli looked
at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very
slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
Punchinello
had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know
what to say.
"Every
day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.
"I came
because I met someone who had no marks."
"I
know. She told me about you."
"Why don't the stickers stay on
her?"
"Because she has decided that what I
think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you
let them."
"What?"
"The stickers only stick if they matter
to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"You will, but it will take time. You've
got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind
you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on
the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door.
"You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."
Punchinello
didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means
it."
And when he did, a dot fell to the ground.
--------------------------------------------MAX LUCADO----------------------------------------------
Now, try to answer these questions by choosing the best answer.
1.
Who was Eli?
A.
He was a wooden carved person.
B.
He was the most talented wooden person.
C.
He was the creator of the Wemmicks.
D.
He was a villager who made stickers.
2.
What did the Wemmicks do every time?
A.
Showing their ability in sport.
B.
They stuck stickers to each other.
C.
They went to Eli’s workshop.
D.
Complaining about their body’s proportion.
3.
Who was the main character of this story?
A.
Punchinello
B.
Lucia
C.
Eli
D.
Wood carver
4.
Why might ones get grey dot sticker?
A.
Because they wanted it.
B.
If they could sing very well or jump highly.
C.
When they went to meet Eli
D.
Since they did or said something uncool.
5.
How could Lucia free from any stickers?
A.
She believed in the creator’s feeling more than
anyone.
B.
She came to meet Eli to take off those stickers
from her body.
C.
Her body has special liquid that protect her
from being stuck by stickers.
D.
She always ran and hide from other Wemmicks.
6.
"Every day I've been hoping you'd
come," Eli explained.
"I came because I met someone who had no
marks."
"I know. She told me about you."
The underlined word refers to ….
A.
Eli
B.
Lucia
C.
Carver
D.
Punchinello
7.
"You are special because I made you. And I
don't make mistakes."
The underlined word can be replaced with ….
A.
Guilty
B.
Dirt
C.
Foolishness
D.
Fault
8.
What can we learn from the story?
A.
Be a good man by collecting as many stars as you
can.
B.
A good creator must see all his works special
and perfect.
C.
We don’t need to think too much about what
people say about us.
D.
Scars on our body will show the strength within
us.
