Fifth Grade
Worksheets
An Unusual Tradition
Thanksgiving
Reading Comprehension for November 28
It was a family tradition. Bradley and Michelle loved it. At Thanksgiving time when the family gathered for their yearly celebration, their family would do something not many families do. They would select someone in the family to get a pie in the face!
The tradition had been part of the family for years, way before Bradley and Michelle were even born. Apparently, on the first Thanksgiving on which it happened, a few of the boys in the family got to fooling around and teasing each other. The laughing and fun escalated, and one noticed that about one-quarter of a chocolate cream pie was left over. He sneaked it off the table and ran outside, daring his brothers and cousins to catch him.
They ran after him, and he turned around and hurled the pie into the face of the first cousin he met. Jimmy (the cousin) looked hilarious with a face full of cream and chocolate.
"What is going on here!?" Jimmy's mother yelled. Jimmy turned to look at her, expecting to be in trouble. Instead, she surprised everyone by breaking down in laughter.
"You look so funny!" she said. Jimmy and the others began to laugh harder, too, and Jimmy said to his cousin, "It's your turn next year!"
So the tradition continued. In the past, Bradley and Michelle (who were now 10 and 8) simply had watched some of the older cousins surprise another with the traditional pie. This year, they were old enough to participate! This was the year Bradley was going to "get" Robert, and Michelle would "get" Amanda, their cousins from Minnesota.
Mom and Dad had gone grocery shopping yesterday, getting all the supplies for Thanksgiving dinner. They made sure to purchase some foil pie plates and some inexpensive whipped cream. When they got home, Bradley and Michelle began to prepare their "pies." They put heaping scoops of whipped cream into the foil pie plates, and then put them in the refrigerator. They could hardly wait for Amanda and Robert to arrive. They finally did about 4:00 pm.
Mom pulled Bradley and Michelle aside. "Hold off on throwing the pie until they've been here for a while. Let them settle in after their long trip."
Bradley and Michelle reluctantly nodded their heads. They welcomed their cousins and helped them get set up in their rooms, where they would sleep in sleeping bags for a few days. Then, they headed outside to play.
