Question

Read the passage below. Then, answer the following question.

"The Magic Cask" from The Chinese Fairy Book

ONCE upon a time there was a man who dug up a big, earthenware cask in his field. So he took it home with him and told his wife to clean it out. But when his wife started brushing the inside of the cask, the cask suddenly began to fill itself with brushes. No matter how many were taken out, others kept on taking their place. So the man sold the brushes, and the family managed to live quite comfortably.

Once a coin fell into the cask by mistake. At once the brushes disappeared and the cask began to fill itself with money. So now the family became rich; for they could take as much money out of the cask as ever they wished.

Now the man had an old grandfather at home, who was weak and shaky. Since there was nothing else he could do, his grandson set him to work shoveling money out of the cask, and when the old grandfather grew weary and could not keep on, he would fall into a rage, and shout at him angrily, telling him he was lazy and did not want to work. One day, however, the old man's strength gave out, and he fell into the cask and died. At once the money disappeared, and the whole cask began to fill itself with dead grandfathers. Then the man had to pull them all out and have them buried, and for this purpose he had to use up again all the money he had received. And when he was through, the cask broke, and he was just as poor as before.

What are the two themes of this fable?

(1) Greed and (2) Family
(1) There are consequences for being unkind, and (2) Be grateful for the gifts you are given.
(1) Be careful of the curses that seem like gifts, and (2) Always stay hydrated.
(1) Kindness and (2) Wealth

Answer 1

The fable 'The Magic Cask' teaches the importance of kindness and the need to be thankful for and prudent with unexpected blessings.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two themes of the fable 'The Magic Cask' from 'The Chinese Fairy Book' are best represented by the options: (1) There are consequences for being unkind, and (2) Be grateful for the gifts you are given. These themes illustrate the moral lessons that one should consider the repercussions of their actions, particularly towards their family members, and that one must appreciate and responsibly use the windfalls that come their way. It also emphasizes the importance of family as the man's actions lead to the appearance of dead grandfathers in the cask.

Answer 2

Greed and Family.

Step-by-step explanation: