Puzzles & Diversions
Finish the Rhyme
Fill each blank with a word from the bank below.
Hickory dickory ,
The mouse ran up the ;
The clock struck ,
The mouse ran ,
Hickory dickory dock.
clockdowndockone
Answer Key
dock · clock · one · down
The Word Search
Find every name in the list. Words hide across, down, and slantwise — forwards or back.
- Amerista
- Betty
- Boot
- Clock
- Coffee
- Coyote
- Dickens
- Dobson
- Fonez
- George
- Horace
- Markum
- Matta
- Norus
- Petra
- Pumpkin
- Tadpole
The Goose's Maze
Horace has had his tea and wants his bed. Trace a path from the teacup to the pillow without crossing a wall.
Riddles & Trivia
Puzzle out each riddle, then test what you remember from the tales.
i. I broke her figurine, drank her tea and slept on her pillow — and still she swears I was never there. What am I?
Answer
A mouse (Horace).
ii. Most folk wear me on one foot. Eight children sleep inside me. What am I?
Answer
A boot — the shoe house.
iii. I would not quit falling. Jump in my puddles and you may catch a king. What am I?
Answer
The ever-lastin' rain.
By the Book
- What did Amerista's Papa call the mouse?
Answer
Hickory Dickory Dock.
- Which of Uncle Mac's animals led the stampede that saved Matta?
Answer
EI, his prize pig.
- How many ducklings hatched from Mr. Dickens's thank-you eggs?
Answer
Twelve — and Petra gave every one of them back.
The Crossword
Fill the grid using the clues. Numbers run Across and Down.
Across
- 3. The teacher who stands up for Jack
- 4. The shape of the new house
- 7. Matta's friend who swears she has no mouse
- 9. Animal that preys on Uncle Mac's cows
- 10. What floated the Rennells family to safety
- 12. Ms. ___ Rennells, who saved her family
- 13. Gramma G's brew that sets Matta and Petra racing
- 15. The town where the tales take place
- 16. Mrs. ___, the woman with eight children
Down
- 1. The mouse who will not leave Amerista be
- 2. New boy who kisses all the girls
- 5. The ___ King, hunted in the puddles
- 6. Farmer whose barn catches fire
- 8. The Lord Mayor with a deadly secret
- 11. Matta's goose
- 14. Shoemaker who wants a house of leather
Answer Key
- Across
- 3. Markum
- 4. Boot
- 7. Amerista
- 9. Coyote
- 10. Pumpkin
- 12. Betty
- 13. Coffee
- 15. Westler
- 16. Norus
- Down
- 1. Horace
- 2. George
- 5. Tadpole
- 6. Dickens
- 8. Dobson
- 11. Petra
- 14. Fonez
The Fill-In Story
Fill every blank without peeking at the story, then press the button to read your tale.
