Al Brown was very good at fixing things around the house when they broke. One day he went to another city to do some work there, and his wife was alone in the house. While Mr. Brown was away, one of the faucets on the bathtub broke. Mrs. Brown didn't know much about fixing broken faucets, so she telephoned a plumber.

The plumber came to the house that afternoon and fixed the faucet in a few minutes. When he finished, he gave Mrs. Brown his bill for the work.

She looked at it for several seconds and then said, "Your prices are very high, aren't they? Do you know, the doctor costs less than this when he comes to the house?"

"Yes, I know," answered the plumber. "I know that very well, because I was a doctor until I was lucky enough to find this job a few months ago."

A    Aswer these questions:

1. Why didn't Mr. Brown fix the broken faucet in his bathroom?
2. Why didn't his wife fix it?
3. Who did fix it?
4. How long did it take him?
5. What did Mrs. Brown say when she saw the plumber's bill?
6. What did the plumber answer?

B    Do this puzzle:

Across:

1. The plumber wet up the _______ to the top floor.

4. Mrs. Brown always drinks ______ instead of coffee.

6. There are two _______ on Mrs. Brown's bathtub: one for hot and one for cold.

8. You put this in your camera before you take pictures.

9. You usually do this in a bathtub.

10. Mrs. Brown __________ a husband. His name was Al.

11. Mrs. Brown's _______ was 365 Green Street.

Down:

2. A ________came to fix Mrs. Brown's faucet.

3. Not dry.

4. 3/10 = three ________.

5. Mrs. Brown ______ the plumber a question, and he answered her.

6. The plumber ________ Mrs. Brown's faucet very quickly.

7. Mr. Brown's first name was _______.

C    Write this story. Put one of these words in each blank space:

bathtub     become     bill     called     city     doctor     faucet     fixed    plumber     prices

John studied for many years, and then he became a ________ in a hospital in a big _________ . One day John was taking a bath when the hot water _______ in his _______ broke. He _______ a ________ , and the plumber came and __________ it. Then he gave John his _______. His ______ were very high. They were higher than John's, so John thought, "Why am I a doctor? I'm going to __________ a plumber too."