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Copywork
About This Passage
The passage Mary speaks to Colin’s face, comparing him directly to a child-king she once saw in India. Burnett lets Mary do what no adult in the household has ever dared: she tells Colin what he LOOKS like from the outside. The quiet violence in the last sentence (‘they would have been killed’) is the moral shock that makes Colin actually listen.
Once in India I saw a boy who was a Rajah. He had rubies and emeralds and diamonds stuck all over him. He spoke to his people just as you spoke to Martha. Everybody had to do everything he told them—i...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 14 in your own words. Start with Martha gasping over Mary’s news in the nursery, move through Colin ordering Martha back to the room, Mary telling him about Rajahs and about Dickon, and end with Dr. Craven finding them laughing.
Discussion Questions
- Martha says Colin must have been BEWITCHED to have welcomed Mary so kindly. Mary replies that she did not use Magic. Looking at the story, what do you think is the real reason Colin was gentle with Mary that first night?
- When Mary describes Dickon charming foxes and squirrels with his pipe, Colin’s eyes grow larger and the red spots on his cheeks burn. What does this physical reaction tell us is happening inside a boy who has spent his life shut in one room?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A king or prince of a state in India
Item 2
Precious stones of a deep red color, highly valued as jewels
Item 3
Precious stones of a brilliant green color, prized in royal jewelry
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Critical Thinking
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