McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXIX · Part 8: Dickens, Irving and poems of the heart

85. The Gift of Empty Hands (Mrs. S. M. B. Piatt)

Goal: Your child reads a story-poem aloud and explains why the King values empty, scarred hands above treasures.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

A story-poem by Mrs. S. M. B. Piatt, in eight stanzas, about a King and his sons. One son brings him a bird, a rose, a gem and fruit; the other comes with empty hands that bear scars. The King says which gift means more. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    Read together any note about the author printed with the lesson. (Lesson LXXVII, "Snow Falling," was by J. J. Piatt; you can ask your child to look for that name too.)

  2. Words and meanings

    The words and meanings are printed at the end of the lesson. Read a few together before the reading, so they don't trip your child up:

    Doomed, destined, condemned.

    Weird, tainted with witchcraft, supernatural.

    Quick, alive, living.

    Imperial, royal.

    Mute, silent.

    Point out that "quick" here means alive, not fast. Old words sometimes keep old meanings.

  3. Read aloud

    Read the poem aloud, you first, then your child. Near the end the King answers:

    At bird, and rose, and gem, and fruit,

    The King was sad, the King was mute;

    At last he slowly said: "My son,

    True treasure is not lightly won."

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat did the first son bring the King? How did the King feel about those gifts?

    SayThe other son came with empty hands. Why did his hands have scars? Why did they mean more to the King?

    SayThe title is "The Gift of Empty Hands." How can empty hands be a gift?

  5. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me the story of the poem from the beginning, as if it were a fairy tale.

    Older children can write their narration in a short paragraph instead. Don't correct while they talk; just listen.

  6. Memorize

    Learn these two lines and talk about what they mean:

    At last he slowly said: "My son,

    True treasure is not lightly won."

Tip

The scan page where this poem begins could not be read for this guide, so check the first stanzas in the book before you teach it.

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