Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Don't Spill the Salt!
Maggie watched Melody with a questioning look on her face. Melody had just picked up the cute salt shaker shaped like a baby pig, put some salt in her right hand, and then tossed it over her left shoulder.
"What did you do that for?" Maggie asked.
"I did it for good luck," Melody answered.
Maggie shook her head. "I don't understand you. Why would you toss a pinch of salt over your shoulder?"
"Well, I learned in day camp about how important salt is to us. Did you know that the Greeks and Egyptians tossed salt over their shoulder to keep bad luck away? I figured it couldn't hurt for me to do it, too."
Maggie rolled her eyes. Her friend was always trying new ways to bring good luck into her life. Sometimes, Melody seemed a little strange, but Maggie liked her anyway. Even though she had a wild imagination, Melody was a kind, intelligent person, and Maggie learned a lot from her.
"What else did you learn about salt?" Maggie asked.
"I learned that the Romans used to pay their soldiers money to use to purchase salt. It was called salarium, which meant salt money, and our word salary comes from that."
