Karisa and Grasshopper

Karisa Rothey lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, where there’s a problem right now with grasshoppers. These hungry insects eat crops. They destroy gardens and fruit trees. Killing the grasshoppers is difficult. People have tried poison. They’ve tried burning the insects. Both of these methods hurt crops along with the grasshoppers.

Karisa remembered hearing stories about grasshoppers causing trouble back in 1847. When that happened, flocks of seagulls helped the Morman settlers near Salt Lake City to save their crops. The seagulls ate the grasshoppers and didn’t harm the crops. Karisa thought that birds might be able to do the job again. So, she decided to use the chickens she had received as an Easter present from her father. She put the chickens in the garden where they promptly began to peck at the grasshoppers.

After the chickens got rid of the grasshoppers in the Rotheys’ garden, Karisa began renting the birds to her neighbors. She also gathered and sold the eggs from the chickens. Perhaps the most amazing part of this entire story is that Karisa Rothey is only six years old!

1. Karisa Rothey is a
(a) grasshopper.
(b) farmer.
(c) clever six-year-old.
(d) city girl.

2. Karisa rented chickens to
(a) kill grasshoppers.
(b) destroy crops.
(c) lay eggs.
(d) play with seagulls.

3. To destroy something is to
(a) clean it off.
(b) put it out to sea.
(c) feed it carefully.
(d) wipe it out.

4. History helped Karisa because
(a) she kept busy reading.
(b) school was nearby.
(c) she knew about grasshoppers.
(d) she enjoyed doing work.

5. Karisa’s chickens
(a) laid eggs on Easter day.
(b) pecked and ate grasshoppers.
(c) bothered all the neighbors.
(d) went into a feed store.

6. Poison and burning can
(a) harm crops and grasshoppers.
(b) make everything safe again.
(c) fix the chicken problem.
(d) be used in any barn.

7. What happened first?
(a) Karisa got chickens.
(b) Seagulls ate grasshoppers.
(c) The chickens ate grasshoppers
(d) Karisa rented her chickens.

8. Karisa is unusual because
(a) few six-year-olds do business.
(b) she goes to school every day.
(c) she has some chickens.
(d) her family lives in Utah.

Key: 1. c; 2. a; 3. d; 4. c; 5. b; 6. a; 7. b; 8. a