Page 45 - English Reader - 4

hard. He thought that if he went outside

and sat next to his dog, Rover, he would
learn more quickly. That’s exactly what

he did.

Just then, a man was walking down the
street. He stopped and looked at little

Daddy. He watched him for a while and

then asked, ‘What are you doing?’
‘I want to be a dog,’ little Daddy said.

‘Don’t you want to be a person?’

‘I’ve been a person for a long time,’ replied little Daddy.

‘What sort of a person are you, if you can’t even be a dog? Is that what a person is
like?’ He asked little Daddy.

‘Well, what is he like?’ Little Daddy asked.

‘You think about it and discover yourself,’ the man said and walked away. The man

wasn’t laughing and he didn’t even smile. He was not making fun of little Daddy.

Now little Daddy began to think. The man did not explain anything to him, but little
Daddy suddenly understood. The next time he was asked the same question he

remembered that man and said, ‘I want to be a good person!’

No one laughed this time. And little Daddy understood that this was the best answer
of all. He still thinks so.

Yes, you have to be a good person before you become a night watchman, a shunter, a
pilot, a shepherd or an ice cream man. After all, a human being does not really have to
know how to scratch behind his ears with his foot.

Word Meanings

1. obviously : definitely

2. turner : who works in a factory
3. shepherd : who looks after the cattle

4. cattle : herd of goats, sheep, etc.
5. sort of : type of

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