Christmas in the Barn quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which kind of story is Christmas in the Barn?

   • Fable, Talking Animals & a Stated Moral
   • Fairy Tale, Magic & a Wish Come True
   • Tall Tale, a Giant Hero & Big Boasts
   • Correct answer: Holiday Story, Real Pets & a Home
   • Adventure, Danger & a Long Trip

   Holiday Story, Real Pets & a Home is the best fit. The story happens at Christmas. It has a boy, his family, and his pets, and everything in it could really happen.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why are there two Christmas trees?

   • Correct answer: Papa and mamma each bought one tree
   • Annie the cook bought one for the barn
   • The man with the wagon gave one away
   • Johnny asked for one for his pets

   Papa said he would buy a tree, and mamma did not hear him. So Johnny guesses that mamma "must have bought the other." He is right: "Papa and mamma had each bought one." They keep both trees, so there is one extra.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Who does Johnny tell about his plan first?

   • Rover, his big black dog
   • Annie, the cook, in the kitchen
   • Correct answer: Pussy, who sits in his lap
   • Papa, at the front gate

   "Pussy jumped into his lap and purred and purred." Then Johnny asks her, "Would you like to have one, Pussy?" He tells papa and mamma later that evening, and he asks them if he may have the extra tree.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Match the word to its meaning in the story: "the Christmas-tree which he was going to trim for all his pets"

   • To cut off the ends
   • Correct answer: To decorate with things
   • To carry to a new place
   • To water so it stays green

   Here, to trim a tree means to decorate it, or hang things on it. Johnny does not cut his tree. He hangs presents on it for his pets. Trim can also mean to cut a little off, like a haircut, but that is not the meaning here.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does Johnny ask Annie, the cook, to save for him?

   • Cookies, candy and sweet cakes
   • Ribbons, bells and shiny paper
   • Apples, pears and other fruit
   • Correct answer: Bones, potato peels and leftovers

   Johnny asks Annie to save "the bones and potato parings and all other leavings from the day's meals." Parings are peels, and leavings are leftovers. She also gives him salt, cornmeal, a few chipped dishes and "an old wooden bowl."

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Johnny tie to the very top of the tree?

   • Carrots for soft white Bunny
   • A bowl of milk for Pussy
   • Oats for Brownie the mare
   • Correct answer: Nuts for his pet squirrel

   "On the top of the tree he tied a basket of nuts; these were for his pet squirrel." A squirrel can climb, so the top is a good place for her present. The carrots go "very low down," and the milk sits on the floor near the big wooden bowl.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why are the carrots tied very low on the tree?

   • So the dog cannot get them
   • So they stay cold in the snow
   • Correct answer: So that Bunny can reach them
   • So they will not fall off

   The story says the carrots are "tied very low down where soft white Bunny could reach them." The hay for White Face, the cow, also goes where she "could reach them," and the hay for Spotty, the calf, goes on "the lowest branches."

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8. 8

   Question 8. What do papa, mamma and Annie do when they first see the tree?

   • Correct answer: They laugh out loud at the funny tree
   • They tell Johnny to take it all down
   • They say the pets will not like it
   • They go back inside without a word

   "They laughed aloud when they saw what he had done. It was the funniest Christmas-tree they had ever seen." They were also "sure the pets would like the presents Johnny had chosen," and they help bring the animals in.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Match the word to its meaning in the story: "Such a hubbub of noises!"

   • A quiet, sleepy hush
   • Correct answer: A noisy mix of sounds
   • A song sung by a group
   • A loud, angry fight

   A hubbub is a noisy mix of many sounds at once. At the end, the animals neigh, bellow, bleat, grunt, mew and bark, all at the same time. A hubbub is the opposite of a quiet hush, and here no one is angry.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • A wagon brings two Christmas trees to Johnny's house.

      Happened

      Johnny looks out the window and sees a wagon come in at the gate. To his great surprise, he sees "two large Christmas-trees."

    • Santa Claus comes to the barn on Christmas morning.

      Didn't happen

      Santa Claus is not in this story. On Christmas morning, Johnny trims the tree himself, and papa, mamma and Annie come out to the barn.

    • Johnny asks papa and mamma before he takes the extra tree.

      Happened

      Johnny tells them his plan and asks "if he might have the extra tree." They smile a little, and they say yes.

    • The squirrel runs away from the tree when Johnny toots his trumpet.

      Didn't happen

      The other animals leave, but "the squirrel still sat up in the tree cracking her nuts."

    • The pet lamb gets salt for a Christmas present.

      Happened

      Johnny puts out "on one plate the salt for the pet lamb." The chickens get the cornmeal on another plate.

    • The animals talk and say Merry Christmas to Johnny.

      Didn't happen

      The animals only make animal noises. Mamma says it sounded "as if they were trying to say" Merry Christmas. That is her way of describing the noise.

    • Papa, mamma and Annie help bring the animals in to the tree.

      Happened

      "Papa and mamma and Annie helped about bringing in the animals." Each animal is led to its own Christmas breakfast.

    • Papa and mamma send the extra tree back.

      Didn't happen

      Papa and mamma had each bought a tree, and "they thought they would not send either of them back." The extra tree goes out to the barn for Johnny's pets.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does Johnny's little toot on his trumpet mean?

    • Time for the pets to come in
    • Correct answer: The tree party is over now
    • Papa should come see the tree
    • Breakfast is ready to eat

    When the animals finish eating, Johnny gives "a little toot on his trumpet as a signal that the tree festival was over." A festival is a party. Then the animals go off, all but the squirrel, who still sits up in the tree.

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12. 12

    Question 12. The story does not tell its lesson. Which lesson do many readers find in it?

    • Correct answer: Think of others and share what you have
    • Always keep the best gift for yourself
    • Never keep pets in a barn in the winter
    • Wait until you are older to give gifts

    Many readers see a lesson about thinking of others at Christmas. Johnny could keep the extra tree, but he wants a tree "for all the pets," so they can be "as happy as I shall be with my tree in the parlour." The story can also be read as a lesson in being kind to animals.

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