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Horace Greeley had always wanted to be a printer. He liked books and papers. He thought it would be a fine thing to learn to make them.

One day he heard that the newspaper at East Poultney wanted a boy to learn the printer's trade. He walked many long miles to see about it. He went to see Mr. Bliss. Mr. Bliss was one of the owners of the paper. Horace found him working in his garden. Mr. Bliss looked up. He saw a big boy coming toward him. The boy had on a white felt hat with a narrow brim. It looked like a half-peck measure. His hair was white. His trousers were too short for him. All his clothes were coarse and poor. He was such a strange-looking boy, that Mr. Bliss wanted to laugh.

"I heard that you wanted a boy," Horace said.

"Do you want to learn to print?" Mr. Bliss said.

"Yes," said Horace.

"But a printer ought to know a good many things," said Mr. Bliss. "Have you been to school much?"

"No," said Horace. "I have not had much chance at school. But I have read some."

"What have you read?" asked Mr. Bliss.

"Well, I have read some history, and some travels, and a little of everything."

Mr. Bliss had examined a great many schoolteachers. He liked to puzzle teachers with hard questions. He thought he would try Horace with these. But the gawky boy answered them all. This towheaded boy seemed to know everything.

Mr. Bliss took a piece of paper from his pocket. He wrote on it, "Guess we'd better try him."

He gave this paper to Horace, and told him to take it to the printing office. Horace, with his little white hat and strange ways, went into the printing office. The boys in the office laughed at him. But the foreman said he would try him.

That night the boys in the office said to Mr. Bliss, "You are not going to take that tow head, are you?"

Mr. Bliss said, "There is something in that towhead. You boys will find it out soon."

A few days after this, Horace came to East Poultney to begin his work. He carried a little bundle of clothes tied up in a handkerchief.

The foreman showed him how to begin. From that time, he did not once look around. All day he worked at his type. He learned more in a day than some boys do in a month.

Day after day he worked, and said nothing. The other boys joked him. But he did not seem to hear them. He only kept on at his work. They threw type at him. But he did not look up.

The largest boy in the office thought he could find a way to tease him. One day he said that Horace's hair was too white. He went and got the ink ball. He stained Horace's hair black in four places. This ink stain would not wash out. But Horace did not once look up.

After that, the boys did not try to tease him anymore. They all liked the goodhearted Horace. And everybody in the town wondered that the boy knew so much.

Horace's father had moved away to Pennsylvania. Horace sent him all the money he could spare. He soon became a good printer. He started a paper of his own. He became a famous newspaper man.

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Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Horace loved papers and books and wanted become a printer to learn how to make them. He walked miles to apply for a spot to learn the printer's trade at a newspaper. He went to see Mr. Bliss, one of the owners of the paper. Mr. Bliss was skeptical at first, but when Mr. Bliss asked hard questions, Horace answered them all right. Mr. Bliss decided to give Horace a chance. The other boys at the paper laughed at Horace's poor clothing and white hair. Horace ignored the teasing of the other boys and worked hard. Horace learned more in his first day, than some boys did in a month. Day after day he worked hard. The other boys kept laughing at him, but Horace continued to ignore them. One boy stained Horace's hair with black ink, but Horace still ignored the boys. Eventually, the other boys grew to like Horace. Horace became a good printer. He sent his poor father money. Horace started his own paper and became a famous newspaper man.

Vocabulary

Newspaper: A printed publication (usually issued daily or weekly) consisting of folded unstapled sheets and covering topics such as news, sports, and culture.
Tow Head: A person with very blond hair.
Handkerchief: A square of cotton cloth or material.
Tease: Make fun of to provoke a response.
Ink: A colored fluid used for writing, drawing, and printing.

Concepts

The boys at the newspaper bullied Horace because he was different than them.

  1. Bullies are people who use strength or power to hurt or intimidate others.
  2. Ignoring bullies and not giving them the reaction they want is one way of handling bullies. But sometimes ignoring bullies doesn't work. Sometimes bullies hurt others.
  3. Children should tell a trusted adult to get help with a bully.
  4. It is important that people speak out against bullies to protect victims and so the bullies can learn to correct their behavior.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Color the Story   

  • Click the crayon above, and complete page 52 of 'History Coloring Pages for First Grade.'

Activity 3: Make a Newspaper Front Page about You

In this activity, you will make a newspaper front page that will feature you.

  • Think up a title for your newspaper ('The Cassidy Chronicle' or 'The Daniel Daily News.'
  • Think up a couple of fun stories about you to cover the front page. You might cover your favorite food, a funny nickname you have, your pet, your favorite music, etc.
  • Dictate or type up two stories about your topic on the computer.
  • Format at least two columns on the page.
  • Add some pictures to each article that apply to the story.
  • Add your newspaper title and your name to the newspaper.
  • Move the text and pictures around until the newspaper looks good.
  • Print out your paper and enjoy.

Review

Question 1

Why did Mr. Bliss give Horace a chance?
1 / 4

Answer 1

Horace answered correctly all of Mr. Bliss' hard questions.
1 / 4

Question 2

What did Horace do when one of the other newspaper boys stained his hair with ink?
2 / 4

Answer 2

He ignored them.
2 / 4

Question 3

How did Horace do on his first day at work as a printer?
3 / 4

Answer 3

He learned more in one day than many other boys did in a month.
3 / 4

Question 4

When Horace started making money as a printer, how did he show generosity to his father?
4 / 4

Answer 4

He sent money to his father to help him out.
4 / 4

  1. Why did Mr. Bliss give Horace a chance? Horace answered correctly all of Mr. Bliss' hard questions.
  2. What did Horace do when one of the other newspaper boys stained his hair with ink? He ignored them.
  3. How did Horace do on his first day at work as a printer? He learned more in one day than many other boys did in a month.
  4. When Horace started making money as a printer, how did he show generosity to his father? He sent money to his father to help him out.

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