88. Jupiter and Ten (James T. Fields)

The lesson, step by step

1. Words and meanings

   Read the notes printed at the end of the lesson together before reading. The book explains, among others:

   Jupiter: the greatest of the Greek and Roman gods, thought to rule both mortals and immortals

   Horace: a celebrated Roman poet

   Io: a heroine of Greek myth whom Jupiter loved

   Lempriere: author of a Classical Dictionary, long the chief reference on ancient mythology

   Ask your student to find two other hard words in the lesson, guess their meaning from the sentence, then check a dictionary.

2. About the author

   The book says Fields was born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was a partner in Ticknor & Fields, the leading publishers of standard American literature, and was chief editor of the Atlantic Monthly for eight years. It says he did more to help other writers than to write himself.

3. Read aloud

   Read it with a straight face and let the joke land on its own.

   Listen for these lines:

   Mrs. Chub was rich and portly,

   Mrs. Chub was very grand,

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat kind of person is Mrs. Chub? Find words that show she likes to look important.

   SayWhy can't the visitors find 'Ten' in Lempriere's dictionary?

   SayWhat was really written on the label? How did Mrs. Chub misread it?

   SayWhy is the joke funnier because she is so grand?

5. Narration

   Your student tells the joke in prose, the way they would to a friend, in under a minute.

6. Memorize or copy

   Learn the poem's last two lines, the punchline:

   We perused the printed label,

   And 'twas Jupiter and Io!