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The Money in the Pot of Butter

A man had to go on a long journey. He hid his money in a pot and put some butter over it. So nobody could see what was there under the butter in the pot.

Then he took the pot to his neighbour and said: "Please keep this pot of butter for me till I come back." He did not say anything about the money in the pot.


A month passed, two months passed, but the traveller did not come back. His neighbour thought: "I'm afraid the butter in that pot has become rancid."

He took the butter out of the pot and saw money there. He took the money for himself and put many small stones into the pot in place of the money.


When the traveller came back, he asked his neighbour for the pot. He carried it home and took out all the butter. He wanted to take the money, but he found only many small stones under the butter.

He was very angry. Then one of his friends came to see him.

"You look angry, my friend! What's the matter?" asked his friend.

"Oh, I am a silly man!" And he told his friend the story about the pot of butter, the money and the small stones.

"Well, I can show you how to get your money back. Let us go to the forest."


The two friends went to the forest, caught a monkey there and brought it home.

"Now go to your neighbour and say, 'Please let your son come with me to the market. He can help me to carry food from the market.' "


The man did so. The neighbour sent his son to the man. But they did not go to the market. The man went home with the neighbour's son and locked the boy in his house.

The friend said, "Now go to your neighbour with the monkey and say: 'Here is your son.' "


The man did so. The neighbour was very angry.

"Take the monkey away and bring back my son!" he said.

"Why, this is your son! If money can turn into small stones then a boy can turn into a monkey."

The neighbour understood everything. He brought the money, and the man let the boy go back to his father.


The man thanked his clever friend very much. He wanted to give him a part of the money, but his friend did not take it.

"We are friends, aren't we?" he said. "And friends always help each other, but never take money for that."



A. Answer the questions.

  1. Where does the story happen?
  2. When does the story happen?
  3. Who is the main character of the story?
  4. What problem does the man have in the beginning of the story?
  5. How does he solve the problem?
  6. Why does the neighbour take the butter out of the pot?
  7. What does he do with the money?
  8. What problem arises for the traveller when he comes back?
  9. How does he feel?
  10. Whom does he tell about the problem?
  11. What idea does the friend have?
  12. What does the man say when he gives the monkey to his neighbour?
  13. Does the neighbour understand everything? What does he do?
  14. Whom does the man want to thank? Why?
  15. Why doesn’t the friend take the money?
  16. What is the main idea of the story?
  17. What do you think of the main characters?

B. Correct the sentences.

  1. A man had to go on a short journey.
  2. He hid his money in a pot and put some cream over it.
  3. He took the pot to his brother and asked him to keep it.
  4. The neighbour thought the cream had become sour.
  5. He found the butter and took it for himself.
  6. The man came back and took the money.
  7. But he found small sweets under the butter.
  8. The man told his neighbour about the problem.
  9. The two friends caught a crocodile.
  10. Then they took the neighbour’s daughter.
  11. The man went to his neighbour with the pot.
  12. He said that the girl had turned into it.
  13. The neighbour returned the cream.
  14. The man thanked his crocodile.

С. Complete the sentences.

  1. A man had to go …………
  2. He ………… in a pot and put ………… over it.
  3. He took the pot ………… and asked him to keep it.
  4. The neighbour thought ………… had become …………
  5. He found the money and …………
  6. The man came back and …………
  7. But he found ………… the butter.
  8. The man ………… about the problem.
  9. The two friends caught …………
  10. Then they took …………
  11. The man went to his neighbour …………
  12. He said ………… had turned into it.
  13. The neighbour …………
  14. The man …………

D. Put the sentences in the right order. First do it without looking into the text, then check using the text.*

  • The man came back and took the pot.
  • The neighbour returned the money.
  • He hid his money in a pot and put some butter over it.
  • The two friends caught a monkey.
  • The neighbour thought the butter had become rancid.
  • He took the pot to his neighbour and asked to keep it.
  • He said that the boy had turned into it.
  • A man had to go on a long journey.
  • Then they took the neighbour’s son.
  • The man thanked his friend.
  • But he found small stones under the butter.
  • The man went to his neighbour with the monkey.
  • He found the money and took it to himself.
  • The man told his friend about the problem.


* Примечание: Задание D выполняется с использованием раздаточного материала. Лист с заданием разрезается на отдельные предложения и раздаётся на каждую парту. Ученики в парах раскладывают предложения в правильной последовательности, а затем проверяют по тексту сказки.

E. Choose and write down some key words from each sentence to help you retell the story. Retell the story in pairs.