Oscar Wilde's story of a firework who thinks the whole party is about him.
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Ten words open the story. Do the four short activities. Say your answer out loud first, then click Reveal.
Three words: audience · proud · firework. Say the right word, then reveal.
Read each part. Then answer the questions from memory, and talk about one question.
The King's son was getting married. The party continued for a week. At nine o'clock in the evening there were going to be fireworks in the palace garden.
The fireworks waited on a long table and talked. The little Squib talked about the beautiful garden. The Roman Candle talked about the moon. Then a tall Rocket spoke. "You are all very lucky," he said. "The Prince and the Princess chose this day because I am going up into the sky tonight!"
He continued. "My family is very important. My mother was the most famous Catherine Wheel in the country. When I go up, everybody will talk about me for years." The other fireworks began to talk about the weather. "How rude you are!" said the Rocket. "Nobody is asking questions about me! I am a firework with very sensitive feelings." Then he began to cry about a sad story that he invented in his head. He cried and cried — and his tears made him very, very wet.
1. Why does the Rocket think the wedding is on this day?
2. Why does he cry, and what happens because of it?
1. He thinks the Prince and Princess chose the day because he is going up into the sky that night.
2. He cries about an invented sad story, to show that he has sensitive feelings. The tears make him wet.
At nine o'clock the fireworks began. The Catherine Wheel turned round and round. The Roman Candle threw gold stars into the sky. The Squib danced. The people shouted and the Princess laughed. The garden was as bright as day.
But one firework did not go up. The Rocket was too wet, so he could not light. He stayed on the table, quiet and wet, and the show finished without him. Nobody noticed. Nobody said his name.
In the morning the gardeners found a wet stick on the table. "This is a bad rocket," they said, and they threw him over the wall into a ditch. The Rocket lay in the mud and looked at the sky. "This is clearly a very fashionable place," he thought. "They sent me here to rest, because I am delicate. The King is probably very worried about me." A frog swam past and talked about rain. A dragonfly asked who he was. A duck gave him good advice about being useful. He told all of them, in a long speech, that he was a Remarkable Rocket. All of them went away before he finished.
1. Why does the Rocket not go up with the other fireworks?
2. What does he think about the ditch?
1. Because he is too wet from his own tears, so he cannot light. Nobody notices that he is missing.
2. He thinks it is a fashionable place, that he was sent there to rest, and that the King is worried about him.
A few days later, two boys came to the ditch. They wanted to make a fire and cook some food. One boy saw the old stick in the mud. "This is good," he said, and he put it on the fire.
The Rocket was very happy. "Now I will go up in the daylight!" he thought. "Everybody will see me. People will talk about this moment for the rest of their lives."
The fire made him warm and dry. Finally he went up with a big BANG! But it was the middle of the day, so nobody saw the light. The two boys were asleep, so nobody heard the noise. And one small piece of him fell down on a goose near the water. "Oh!" said the goose. "It is raining." The last words of the Rocket were: "I knew it! I am a sensation!" And then nothing happened. Nothing at all.
1. How does the Rocket finally go up?
2. Give three reasons why nobody sees his big moment.
1. Two boys use him as wood for their fire. The fire dries him, and then he explodes.
2. It is daytime, so the light is invisible; the boys are asleep, so nobody hears; and only one piece falls — on a goose, who thinks it is rain.
The Rocket compares himself with everybody, all the time. Here is how to do it correctly.
Write the correct form of the adjective in brackets.
1. The Rocket was (tall) than the little Squib.
2. He said his mother was (famous) Catherine Wheel in the country.
3. For the Rocket, that night was (bad) night of his life.
1. taller 2. the most famous 3. the worst
Write one word in each gap.
1. The Rocket talked more all the other fireworks together.
2. He believed he was the most important firework the whole garden.
3. When the fireworks started, the garden was bright as day.
1. than 2. in 3. as
Write the correct form in each gap. Then read the paragraph aloud.
The Rocket was (big) than the Squib, but he was also (noisy) firework on the table. He said his family was (important) family in the country. In fact, the Catherine Wheel was (good) than him, because she went up and he did not. His tears were (bad) mistake of his life. And the end of his story was much (quiet) than he expected.
bigger · the noisiest · the most important · better · the worst · quieter
Check each one: are you comparing two things (comparative) or saying "number one" (superlative)?
Keep these forms ready — in the Speak tab you will compare a lot of things.
Oscar Wilde wrote this story in 1888, in a book of fairy tales for his two small sons. The stories look simple, but they are really about adults. Wilde himself was famous for talking brilliantly at parties — so this story about a firework who talks too much is also a joke about people like Wilde.
This is the most important part of the lesson. Do everything out loud. Use the timer and try to speak for the whole time.
Tell The Remarkable Rocket in your own words. Follow the steps: the royal wedding → the fireworks on the table → the Rocket talks about his family → he cries and gets wet → nine o'clock and the show → the ditch → the frog, the dragonfly and the duck → the two boys and the fire → the goose.
Use at least three comparatives or superlatives and at least five key words (wedding, ditch, wet, proud, firework, audience, bored, wrong, show-off, proud of).
Say what you think and give three reasons. Some people say you must talk about your good points to get a job or a place at university. Other people say the Rocket shows what happens then. What do you think?
Then change sides! Speak for one minute for the other opinion.
Use today's grammar for real.
No idea? Choose one of these: