3rd Grade Fluency Passages + Comprehension Worksheets - Free Printable

Grade 3 Reading Comprehension Worksheet: "The Miller, His Son and Their Ass"

Let's go through the story and answer each question step by step.

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#### Story Summary:
A miller and his son are walking to the fair with their donkey (ass). They plan to sell it. Along the way:
- Girls comment that it’s unfair for the boy to ride while the father walks.
- So, the son rides, and the father walks beside him.
- Later, old men mock them, saying the father should be riding, not the young boy.
- The son gets off, and the father rides instead.
- A townsman says they’re better at carrying the ass than the ass is at carrying them.
- So, they tie the ass to a pole and carry it on their shoulders.
- People laugh at them.
- The ass panics, breaks free, jumps off a bridge into the river, and drowns.

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Now, let's answer the questions:

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1. What did the miller do with the ass?
👉 The miller took the ass to the fair to sell it. He also rode it at one point and later helped carry it on a pole with his son.

> ✔ Answer: The miller took the ass to the fair to sell it. He rode it, then carried it on a pole with his son.

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2. What did one of the girls say to them?
👉 One of the girls said: *"Look! They are walking when one of them might be riding."*

> ✔ Answer: "Look! They are walking when one of them might be riding."

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3. Why did the son get down?
👉 The son got down because some old men said it was unfair that the young boy was riding while his father had to walk. The miller then told the son to get off so he could ride.

> ✔ Answer: The son got down because the old men said it was wrong for the young boy to ride while the father walked.

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4. Did the townsman befool them? How?
👉 Yes, the townsman tricked them. He told them that two people could carry the ass better than the ass could carry them. This made them think carrying the ass was smarter, but it caused laughter and eventually led to the ass being injured and drowning.

> ✔ Answer: Yes, the townsman befooled them by saying they were better able to carry the ass than the ass was to carry them. This made them carry the ass on a pole, which caused trouble.

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5. What did happen with the poor ass?
👉 The ass tried to get off the pole, broke free, tumbled to the ground, became frightened, jumped off a bridge into the river, and drowned.

> ✔ Answer: The ass pulled his legs out of the rope, fell to the ground, got scared, jumped off the bridge into the river, and drowned.

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✔ Final Answers:

1. The miller took the ass to the fair to sell it. He rode it and later carried it on a pole with his son.
2. "Look! They are walking when one of them might be riding."
3. The son got down because the old men said it was unfair for the young boy to ride while the father walked.
4. Yes, the townsman befooled them by saying they were better able to carry the ass than the ass was to carry them, which made them carry it on a pole.
5. The ass broke free, fell to the ground, became frightened, jumped off the bridge into the river, and drowned.

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This story teaches a lesson about not trying to please everyone, as doing so can lead to bad consequences. It’s a classic fable often attributed to Aesop.