McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XXV · Part 3: Ballads, battles and Abou Ben Adhem

31. The Righteous Never Forsaken

Goal: Your child retells the story of the widow's kindness and its surprising reward.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pencil

What's in the book

A story, with no author named, of a poor widow on a winter Saturday night who shares her last food with a stranger, who turns out to be her long-lost son. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read some definitions:

    Fagots, bundles of sticks used for fuel.

    Sustenance, that which supports life.

    Fortitude, resolute endurance.

    Proffered, offered to give.

    Manna, food miraculously provided by God for the Israelites.

  2. Read aloud

    Take turns by paragraph.

    It was Saturday night, and the widow of the Pine-Cottage sat by her blazing fagots,

    The last herring smoked upon the coals before her; it was the only article of food she possessed

  3. Talk about it

    SayWhat troubles did the widow have?

    SayWhy did she share her last food with a stranger?

    Say"We shall not be forsaken," said she. What did she mean?

    SayWho was the stranger? Why do you think he came in disguise?

  4. Tell it back

    Your child narrates the story, keeping the surprise for the end.

  5. Copywork

    Copy the lines of Cowper the widow remembers:

    Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

    But trust him for his grace;

  6. Write (optional)

    Write about a time someone shared with you when they had little.

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