My Father Goes to Court (Carlos Bulusan)
There was a family that lived in a small town on the Island of Luzon. Their father’s farm
had been destroyed in 1898 by one of the Philippine floods. They had a very rich
neighbor with two children that sudden came out of the house. Their rich neighbor also
had a tall house that his children could look in the window of their house and watch them
play, sleep or eat, when they have food to eat.
The rich man’s servant usually cooked special foods, and the children smelled the yummy
aroma of the food. They always stay in the window to smell the spirit of the food. Then
days passed, and the rich man’s children got thin and anemic while the happy children
got robust and full of life.
One day, the rich neighbor looked at them one by one. My sisters, my brothers and then
he banged down the window and immediately shut all the windows. From that day they
never see the children once again. The window of the neighbor’s house was always
closed. But still, they can smell the aroma of the food the servants were cooking.
One morning a policeman from the Presidencia came to their house with a sealed paper.
The rich man had filled a complaint against them. His father took him to the town clerk
and asked what the complaint is all about. Then the man claimed that we are been
stealing the spirit of the rich man’s wealth and food.
The day comes that they need to appear in court. They were the first to arrive and then
his father sat on a chair in the center of the courtroom while his mother occupied the chair
by the door. The children sat on a long bench by the wall. The rich man arrived. He had
grown old, and his face was scarred with deep lines. With him was his young lawyer.
Spectators came in and almost filled the chairs. The judge entered the room and sat on a
highchair. They stood up in a hurry and then sat down again.
The judge asked if the father has a lawyer with him and the father replied that he do not
need one. The lawyer of the rich man starts it with a question. The father agreed that they
inhaled the spirit of the food. He also agrees that his children grow strong and limb while
the rich man’s children grow thin and pale. He asks if he could see the complainant’s
children. Then, the children arrived shyly in the courtroom looking thin and pale. The
father asked the judge if he could do examine the complaint, then the judge let him. He
asked questions to the complaint that agree on all if it. The father walked across the room
of the hall with the judge’s permission. In his hand is a hat full of coins. The sweet tinkle of
the coins carried beautifully in the courtroom. The spectators looked at it with wonder. The
father asked the complainant if he heard the spirit of the money, the complainant
answered yes. The father then said that they are paid.
The rich man tried to talk but then he fell on the floor without a sound and his lawyer
rushed to his aid. The judge pounded his gravel and said that the case was dismissed.
The father asked the judge if he wanted to hear his family laugh. The judge agreed to
hear it and then they started laughing their heart out that is started with his sister. The rest
followed but the judge was the loudest of them all.
PISA Competency: Scan, search for, locate and select relevant information in the
text
Content: Reading Comprehension
Context: Short Story
Process: Interpret
Text Format: Continuous
1. What do you think the text is written for?
a. To describe the readers about the life of the poor and the rich families
b. To persuade the readers that laughing can dismiss a case
c. To explain to the readers how life should be embraced
d. To discuss to the readers the importance of having a complete family
Answer: A – Based from the given text, it mainly describe the life of the poor and rich
family. It is stated in the second paragraph of the text. Then days passed, and the rich
man’s children got thin and anemic while the happy children got robust and full of life.
2. What does the father imply when he says that they are paid?
a. He is making sure that what’s lost has been paid
b. He is stating that their family didn’t steal anything
c. He is entertaining the people by tinkling the coins
d. He is just making fun of the complainant
3. What does the author intend to show in the story?
a. That happiness can’t be bought by money
b. That it is best to exercise than staying inside the house
c. That a healthy body can’t be stole by stealing the soul of food
d. That a happy life is not only by having a food on the table but having a bonding
with each family member
4. Based on the story presented, which statement is true about poor family children?
a. The children got robust and full of life by smelling the aroma of food cooked by
the servants
b. The children didn’t get sick for they always bond with their mother
c. The children grow strong and limb by playing, sleeping and eating.
d. The children always laugh their heart out
5. When did the rich man children get sick?
a. When the poor man children got robust and full of life
b. When days passed
c. In 1898 when the farm has been destroyed by one of the Philippine floods
d. After the servants shut all the windows