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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Little Tree's education and instincts about nature get him into trouble at the orphanage?
(a) He explains to the teacher that the dogs in the courtyard are mating.
(b) He tells the teacher that the mourning dove is a sign of death.
(c) He tells the teacher that the trees and the winds can communicate with him.
(d) He explains to the teacher that the deer in a picture are mating.

2. How does the preacher make Granpa angry in some of his sermons?
(a) He rants and raves about whiskey makers.
(b) He talks a lot about Pharisees or separates, while looking and pointing straight at Granpa's family.
(c) He talks with contempt about the Catholics.
(d) He talks with contempt about the Cherokee.

3. What is the meaning of the red flag planted on the land by the regulators?
(a) It means that the government has evicted squatters from the land.
(b) It means the occupants have been taken to jail.
(c) It means blood has been shed during fighting on the land.
(d) It means the occupants cannot pay the taxes on the land.

4. What advice from Granma does Little Tree follow to help him get through his need for communication with his grandparents?
(a) He watches the Milky Way and communicates with his family.
(b) He watches the Dog Star from his window and imagines conversations with Granma, Granpa and Willow John.
(c) He watches the mountain range in the distance and communicates with his family.
(d) He watches the moon and tells it his secrets.

5. Which of the following is the best alternate title for Chapter 14?
(a) City Slickers Outwit Mountain Dwellers.
(b) .Little Tree Defends His Mountain.
(c) The Men from Chattanooga.
(d) Granma's Special Brew.

6. The author implies there is a special bond between Willow John and Little Tree, despite the difference in their ages. What is the cause of this bond?
(a) Both have suffered the loss of their parents.
(b) Both are outsiders who don't quite belong in the world they occupy.
(c) Both have a great sense of humor.
(d) Both have suffered from having to adjust to moving to the mountain area.

7. In Chapter 15, how does Granma reassure Little Tree that his birth time is special and he will never be alone?
(a) She explains that his birth time makes Summer his season and his company will always be the trees, birds, rain, and water that love him.
(b) She tells him he was born in the Spring and the bees buzzing around the new flowers will be his company.
(c) She tells him he was born in Summer and the sun will always be his companion.
(d) She tells him he was born in the Spring so he will always have nature bursting out to keep his company.

8. According to Granpa's story about the farm, who was in charge of the land when Granpa was growing up?
(a) The Cherokees were in charge of the land.
(b) The land was occupied by Union soldiers and run by politicians.
(c) Granpa's family had the run of the land.
(d) The Confederates were in charge of the land.

9. In teaching Little Tree, how does Mr. Wine reinforce Granma's lessons about the spirit-mind and the body-mind?
(a) He says there is modern, technical education to help you make a living and there is the education that makes you honest and caring.
(b) He says some education is for work and some for appreciating life.
(c) He says some education is practical and some is theoretical.
(d) He says some education is technical and some is spiritual.

10. How does Little Tree create a disturbance in church?
(a) He comes in late and falls over in the aisle.
(b) He gives Willow John a harmless snake which jumps on a lady who screams out in church.
(c) He gives Willow John a whistle and he tries it out in church.
(d) He gives Willow John a nickel and a bullfrog that starts a loud croaking in church.

11. Which two incidents destroy Granpa's hope of being able to keep Little Tree?
(a) Mr. Taylor refuses to help Granpa, and Willow John dies so he cannot be a witness.
(b) Mr. Jenkins refuses to lend Granpa the money for the lawyer, and Granma says she agrees that Little Tree should go.
(c) Mr. Wine's death means he cannot testify to Little Tree's education, and Mr. Taylor, the lawyer says he can't help Granpa.
(d) Pine Billy refuses to testify and Little Tree accidentally reveals he has been making whiskey.

12. How does Granpa help Little Tree understand the seriousness of spending the money on the calf?
(a) Granpa reduces Little Tree's stake in the business.
(b) Granpa makes Little Tree go without his earnings for the next two weeks.
(c) Granpa sends him to find the man who sold him the calf and demand his money.
(d) Granpa makes Little Tree write down on paper how much he spent and lost.

13. Why is Wilburn, the boy at the orphanage, as much of an outcast as Little Tree is?
(a) He is Mexican.
(b) He is Jewish.
(c) His clubfoot makes him different from the other children.
(d) He is African-American.

14. In what two ways does the author introduce humor in the incident with the two men from Chattanooga?
(a) By describing how the men fall into poison ivy and how Granma cooks them fish with roots that cause diarrhea.
(b) By describing how Little Tree sets the hounds on them and they are chased into the freezing river.
(c) By describing how Granpa leads them to the edge of the cliff and taunts them until they beg for forgiveness.
(d) By describing how Little Tree outwits them and sends them running from the hounds.

15. How does the author suggest that even nature is mourning about Little Tree's departure?
(a) Little Tree's description says a low oak limb's finger pulls the tow sack off his shoulder, and a lonesome dove gets no answer to his call.
(b) Little Tree describes the rain as mournful and sad.
(c) Granma says the frogs and spiders in Little Tree's secret place have hidden away.
(d) Granpa says even the animals are howling with sadness.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author establish Granma's resourcefulness in Chapter 12?

2. How does Little Tree describe the effect of returning to his secret place in Chapter 20?

3. In what way do the events in Chapter 18 represent a major turning point in the novel?

4. In the incident with the two men from Chattanooga, how does Little Tree demonstrate that he is becoming clever and less trusting?

5. What is the special symbolism of the chapter title "Down From the mountain"?

(see the answer keys)

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