Let’s read the story carefully and answer what’s being asked — even though no specific question is written, we can infer from the context that this is a reading comprehension task. Often, such tasks ask questions like:
- What did Tommy buy?
- How much did it cost before tax?
- How much was the tax?
- Why did he need more money?
- What lesson did he learn?
Since you didn’t specify which question to answer, I’ll assume the most common one for this kind of passage:
“How much did Tommy pay in total for his toy army men?”
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Step 1: Find the original price of the toy.
The story says:
> “Tommy made his selection... smiling at a pack of army men that only cost 99 cents.”
So, the toy costs
$0.99.
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Step 2: Find out how much tax was added.
Later, the cashier says:
> “There are six cents of taxes on non-food items, kid.”
And then she takes four pennies from the dish and gives him change? Wait — let’s look again.
Actually, after Tommy hands over $1.01 (a dollar bill + one penny), the cashier says:
> “She cracked her gum, took the money he proffered, and scooped four more pennies from the ‘give a penny, take a penny’ dish. ‘There, $1.05. Don’t forget next time.’”
Wait — that doesn’t add up yet. Let’s break it down.
Tommy had:
- $1.00 (crisp dollar bill)
- $0.01 (one penny)
Total he handed over:
$1.01
But the final amount paid was
$1.05, as stated by the cashier.
That means the store gave him back… wait, no — actually, she *took* his $1.01, then *added* 4 pennies from the dish to make it $1.05? That doesn’t make sense unless she’s giving him change or something.
Wait — reread:
> “He handed over the one penny and grinned sheepishly.” → So he gave $1.00 + $0.01 = $1.01
Then:
> “She... scooped four more pennies from the ‘give a penny, take a penny’ dish. ‘There, $1.05.’”
Ah! She used his $1.01 plus 4 pennies from the dish to make $1.05? But why would she do that? Unless...
Actually, think differently.
The machine showed $1.05 when scanned.
Tax is 6 cents on non-food items.
Original price: $0.99
Tax: $0.06
Total due: $0.99 + $0.06 =
$1.05
Yes! That matches.
Tommy only had $1.01 ($1.00 + $0.01). He was short by 4 cents.
The cashier took his $1.01, then took 4 pennies from the “give a penny, take a penny” dish to cover the remaining 4 cents, making the total payment $1.05.
So, Tommy effectively paid
$1.05 for the toy.
He learned to bring extra coins next time.
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Final Answer:
$1.05
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of 6th grade reading comprehension worksheet.
