Fourth Grade
Worksheets
King Sam's Mirth
Mirth Day
Reading Comprehension for June 22
King Sam lived in a large castle. He had many servants to do his bidding. He could buy almost anything he wanted, but King Sam had one big problem. He could not laugh.
Sometimes the nobles would come to court and tell him jokes. Even if he thought one was very funny, he could not laugh. This made King Sam sad. He wanted to laugh the way everyone else could.
One day, Queen Emily gave him a book of funny stories. She had read it herself and laughed until her sides hurt. King Sam read it. It was funny, but he did not laugh.
That night, the king stood in front of the mirror. He used his fingers to pull up the corners of his mouth, but they would not stay up.
"Do not worry, dear," said the queen in a soothing voice. "I have asked all the best jesters to come to court tomorrow. One of them is sure to make you laugh."
The next afternoon, ten jesters came to court. They stood in the middle of the room before King Sam and everyone else. Some of them juggled objects. Some of the jesters danced very funny dances. Three of them were acrobats. They all put on their best shows.
The nobles laughed and the queen laughed, but King Sam did not laugh. It was time to try something else.
Next, they decided to put on a joust. The king thought that if he could not laugh at things that were funny, maybe he would laugh at things that were not funny. That whole day, he watched as his best knights tried to knock each other off their horses. Everyone around him cheered and yelled. Sometimes they even laughed, but not King Sam.
Queen Emily was becoming worried about the king. Laughing never seemed important before. Now it was the only thing on his mind. Maybe they needed to call in the doctor.
