Question

”The Talking Beasts: A Book of Fable Wisdom
by Smith and Wiggin
A King in the East said to his Minister; “Do you believe in luck?”

“I do,” said the Minister.

“Can you prove it?” said the King.

“Yes, I can,” said the Minister.

So one night he tied up to the ceiling of a room a parcel containing peas mixed with diamonds, and let in two women, one of whom believed in luck and the other in human effort alone. The former quietly laid herself down on the ground; the latter, after a series of efforts, reached the parcel. The Woman of Effort felt the peas and the stones in the dark and ate the former, one by one, and she threw down the latter at her companion, saying, “Here are the stones for your idleness.” The woman below received them in her blanket.

In the morning, the King and the Minister came to the room and bade each take for herself what she had got. The Woman of Effort found she had nothing beyond the peas she had eaten. The Woman of Luck quietly walked away with the diamonds.

The Minister said to the King: “Sire, there is such a thing as luck; but it is as rare as peas mixed with diamonds. So I would say: ‘Let none hope to live by luck.’”

Adapted from The Talking Beasts: A Book of Fable Wisdom, by Smith and Wiggin, Public domain.

Adapted from The Talking Beasts: A Book of Fable Wisdom, by Smith and Wiggin, Public domain.


Questions
Which of the following sentences best summarizes the story?

The King works hard to collect all the diamonds while the Minister accidentally collects only peas.

The Woman of Luck and the Woman of Effort end up with the same amount of peas and diamonds after arguing over the parcel.

The Woman of Effort outworks the Woman of Luck and ends up with all the diamonds.

The Woman of Luck comes out ahead of the Woman of Effort, but it is apparent that the event is extremely rare.

Answer 1

The sentence that best summarizes the story is:

**The Woman of Luck comes out ahead of the Woman of Effort, but it is apparent that the event is extremely rare.**