Name: _________________________________________________ Grade:_________________

Teacher: _______________________________________________ Score: _________________

School: ________________________________________________

A. Arrange the Events in Order (10 points)

Directions: Arrange the following events from the story “The Clever Husband and His Wife” Arrange the
following events by putting numbers (1-10) according to their sequence in the story.

1. Pedro rubbed onion juice on his eyes to fake his crying. 1.

2. The master and his sister laughed, relieved their servants were alive. 2.

3. Pedro and his wife both pretended to be dead. 3.

4. Pedro and his wife spent all their money and asked the master for more. 4.

5. The master and his sister visited Pedro’s house to find out the truth. 5.

6. The master gave Pedro and his wife 200 pieces of gold after their wedding. 6.

7. Pedro asked his master for a wife because he had no money to support one. 7.

8. The master touched Pedro’s foot, and Pedro couldn’t help but laugh. 8.

9. Pedro pretended his wife had died so he could get more money from 9.
the master.

10. The master let Pedro and his wife stay at his house for the rest of their days. 10.

B. Answer the Questions (5 points each)

1. What can we learn from Pedro and Marta about saving money? Explain why it is important to
manage money wisely and how Pedro and Marta struggled with this in the story.

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2. How does the story show Filipino humor? Give examples from the story that show how Filipinos use
humor even in difficult situations.

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 The Clever Husband and His Wife
Dean S. Fansler

Pedro had been living as a servant in a haciendero's house for more than nine years. He wanted very
much to have a wife, but he had no business of any kind with which to support one

Pedro helped in the various chores, like scrubbing the pigpen or the chicken coop, fetching water from the
well, repairing the broken fence, and many other odd things that could be done in his master's spacious
house.

One day he felt very sad. His look of unhappiness did not escape the notice of his master, who asked,
"What is the matter, my boy? Why do you look so out of focus these days? Is there anything 1 can do to
comfort you?"

"Oh, yes!" said Pedro.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the master.

"Master," the man replied, "I want a wife, but I have no money to support one."

"Oh, don't worry about money!" replied his master. "Be ready tomorrow, and I will help you marry the
woman you love."

The next day the wedding was held. The haciendero let the couple live in a cottage not far from his
hacienda, and he gave them two hundred pieces of gold. When they received the money, they hardly
knew what to do with it, as Pedro had never had any business of any sort. "What shall we do after we have
spent all our money?" asked the wife. "Oh, we can ask the master for more," answered Pedro.

Years passed by, and one day the couple had not even a cent with which to buy food. So Pedro went to his
master and asked him for some money. The haciendero, who had always been kind to them, gave him
twenty pieces of gold; but these did not last very long, and it was not many days before the money was
spent. Both husband and wife now thought of another way by which they could get money from the
master.

Early one day, Pedro went to his master's house wailing. He said that his wife had died, and that he had
nothing with which to pay for her burial. (He had rubbed onion juice on his eyes so that he would look as if
he were really crying.) When Pedro's master heard his story, he pitied the man, and asked him, "What was
the matter with your wife?"

In between sobs, Pedro narrated how his wife got sick and died because he had no money to bring her to
the hospital.

"Why did you not call me then? We should have been able to save her. Well, take this money and see that
she gets a decent burial."

Pedro returned home in good spirits. He found his wife Marta, waiing for him at the door, and they were happy once
more; but in a month the money was all used up, and they were on the point of starving again.

Now the haciendero had a married sister for whom Pedro and his wife had worked, off and on after their
marriage. Pedro told his wife to go to that sister, and tell her that he was dead and that she had no money
to pay for the burial. Marta set out as she was told.

That evening the haciendero visited his sister. The sister told him that Marta's husband had died.

"No," answered the man, "if was Marta who died." They argued and argued but could not agree, so they
finally sent one of the haciendero's servants to see which one was dead. When Pedro saw the servant, he
told his wife to lie flat and stiff on the bed as if she were dead. When the servant entered, Pedro showed
him his dead wife.

The servant returned and told his master and the sister that it was Marta who was dead. The sister would
not believe him, for she said that perhaps he was joking. So they sent another servant. This time Marta
made Pedro lie down and still and flat on the bed. When the servant entered the house, he saw the man
lying as if dead. So he hurried back and told the rich man and his sister what he had seen.

Neither of them knew what to believe.

"Hmmm! What if we visit their house together and find out the truth for ourselves," the rich man
suggested.

The next morning, therefore, the haciendero and his sister together visited the cottage of Pedro where
they found the couple both lying as if dead. The master went near the bed and touched Pedro's foot,
stroking it gently as he wept. Pedro could not contain himself any longer; he jerked his foot and burst into
laughter because of the tingling sensation that he felt.

Both the rich man and his sister, realizing the joke and feeling so glad to find their old servants alive,
laughed out loud. Soon, all of them were laughing their hearts out. In the end, the haciendero was very
happy to find the servants alive, so he took them home with him and made them stay at his house for the
rest of their wonderful days together.