Name____________________________________                             Date_______________________
           THE HAND
Reading Comprehension Worksheet           

Directions:  Read the passage below carefully. When you have finished reading it completely, answer the questions that follow.

Well, this is an oldie but goody classic ghost story that is sworn to be true. It was told to me by a baby sitter when she was challenged to scare me.

It starts like this. There was once this painter. He was getting on in age and didn't have a lot of money. There was an art exhibit that was coming to town and not only would it make him famous but it would make him a lot of money if he won. 

The artist was stewing because he tried painting but no matter how hard he tried he knew his paintings weren't good enough. He began thinking about how he could win the prize when all of a sudden the most terrifying figure appeared. It was a shrivelled old man with no hands and no eyes. Empty sockets. It began to speak. "I know how desperately you want to do well at that exhibit. I can guarantee you win on the condition you give me your right hand". The painter knew the presence was evil, but at this point was so desperate he agreed. 

The next day he showed up at the exhibit to see the most spectacular painting he had ever seen and sure enough it was signed in his name. So he took home his prize. That night the presence appeared and with one swift swing of a very large knife the artist's hand was gone.

Sometime later the artist was enjoying his fame and fortune, he had made up a story about his hand and he had basically forgotten about the deal he'd made until one faithful night.

He was sleeping when he awakened by a loud tap, tap, tap on his window. He woke up to see the hand. It was begging to be let in. Ignoring it he went back to sleep. Again later tap, tap, tap. Again, it wanted in. The artist ignored it again, but was getting nervous. A while later this happened again. This time the artist screamed for the hand to leave him alone (this is of course a toned down version)The rest of the night he slept peacefully and the next morning he thought he'd been dreaming.

Well the next night he was again in a peaceful sleep when he heard a loud crash downstairs. Waking with a start he headed downstairs to investigate. He was rushing down and the last thing he felt was a hand gripping his leg.

He was found two months later. Neighbors had been complaining of a bad smell. The cause of his death, a broken neck, a nasty fall down the stairs.

Questions:

1)   What is the tone of this selection?

2)   What is the setting of this passage?

3)   What seems to be the author's intent for writing this selection?

4)   What is the Main Idea of this passage?

5>   Why do you think the artist would not let the hand in?

6>   What is the moral of this story?

7>   Who won...the man or the hand and why?