Домашнее чтение. Сказка.
материал на тему

The King Who Wanted to Reach the Moon

Many years ago there was a king who wanted to reach the Moon. He thought day and night how to do that. He thought and thought for many months. One day he had an idea. He thought: "I must build a tower. And from the top of the tower I shall reach the moon!"
And he ordered a carpenter to build a tower to the sky.
"To the sky?" asked the carpenter.
"Yes, to the sky!" cried the king, "And not another word!"

The carpenter asked everyone how to build a tower to the sky. But nobody could tell him, because nobody knew how to do it.
The carpenter thought and thought and then he had an idea. He went to the king and said, "I know how to build a tower to the sky. But I must be the first to go to the top of the tower."
"What!" cried the king, "You want to be the first to reach the moon? No, I shall be the first! Tell me how you want to build the tower!"
The carpenter said, "I shall build the tower of boxes." 

The king ordered the people to bring every box in the country to the carpenter. When the carpenter had very many boxes, he began to put them one on top of the other.
Soon there was a high tower. But it did not reach the sky. And there were no more boxes in the country.

Then the king ordered the carpenters to cut down all the trees and to make boxes out of them. They put those boxes one on top of the other, too, Now the top of the tower was in the clouds, and the king thought that it was time to go up.

So he climbed, and climbed, and at last he reached the top of the tower. But he did not reach the moon.
"One more box!" cried the king. But there were no more trees in the country. So the carpenters could not make any more boxes.
The king was very angry. He was near the moon, but he could not reach it! Then the king cried to the carpenters:
"Pull out one of the boxes and put it on the top."

The carpenters looked at each other. But what could they do? A king's word is a king's word! When the king again ordered them to pull out one of the boxes and put it on the top, they pulled out a box.
Of course the tower, and with it the king, fell to the ground.

And now no king tries to build towers that will reach the moon.