The Heavy Thumb
Written by Studio AM.
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In a market town there lived a miller who sold flour by weight. His scale was honest, but his thumb was not. When he poured flour into the pan, he let his thumb rest on its edge, and the scale read more than the bag held. Each trick earned him a coin, and each coin looked the same as an honest one.
One morning a girl watched the pan instead of the flour. "Your thumb is buying flour too," she said, loud enough for the whole line to hear. The miller laughed and gave her an extra scoop. Nobody laughed with him.
No one argued with him that day. But the baker began weighing his sacks at home. The innkeeper started walking to the mill in the next village, which was farther away but felt nearer. Within a year the miller's scale was honest all day long, because nobody came to test it.
A coin taken by trickery spends your name along with it.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
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Question 1 of 4
What lesson does this fable teach?
The answer is C: A small cheat earns coins now and costs your good name later.
The miller gains money by cheating but later loses customers who no longer trust him.
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Question 2 of 4
Why did the mill in the next village feel "nearer" to the innkeeper?
The answer is A: He preferred a longer walk to worrying about being cheated.
Nearer describes how the alternative feels more acceptable, not a change in physical distance.
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Question 3 of 4
In this passage, "trickery" most nearly means
The answer is D: cheating
The hidden pressure from the miller's thumb makes customers pay for more flour than they receive.
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Question 4 of 4
What did the baker begin to do after the girl spoke?
The answer is B: He weighed his sacks at home.
The baker weighs his sacks at home; the innkeeper goes to the other mill.
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