My Father Goes to Court by Carlos Bulosan

Summary
In the Island of Luzon, there lived a poor but happy family. The children were always
playing and bathing in a cold river. They had a very rich neighbor with two children who were
not allowed to play outside of their house.
The rich man’s servant usually cooked special foods. The children of the poor family
just smelled the yummy aroma of the food from their rich neighbor. They enjoyed doing it
everyday until they got strong and healthy while the rich man’s children got pale and thin.
One day, the rich man filed a case against the father of the poor family for stealing
the spirits of his food and wealth. They all went to court. The father had no lawyer with him
while the rich man had. When the judge asked about the truth of the charge, the father said
“yes” to smelling the aroma of the rich man’s food but not to stealing his wealth.
The father, with a hat full of coins, asked permission from the judge to have the
tinkling of the coins heard by the rich man. The father asked if the rich man heard the spirit
of the money, which the latter said yes. The father then said that the charge was paid.
The judge smiled and pounded his gavel and said that the case was dismissed.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the rich man’s accusation against the father?

The rich man accused the father for____________________________.
2. How did the father pay the rich man’s accusation?
The father paid the rich man’s accusation with ____________________ .
3. What did the children do with the yummy aroma of the food from a rich man’s
house?
The yummy aroma of the food from a rich man’s house ______________ by
the children.
4. What did the judge do with the case filed by the rich man?
The case __________________by the judge.