In a small town called Willowbrook, there was a big, old church with a special gargoyle called Grumpy on it. Grumpy was known for his giggling which wasn’t normal for a gargoyle. He had a magical laugh that made flowers grow, birds sing, and made people feel really happy. Because Grumpy laughed all the time, the whole town was a happy place.

One day, an evil witch named Penelope came to Willowbrook. She was jealous of how happy everyone was because of Grumpy. She wanted to take his laughing power for herself. She tried to cast a spell on Grumpy to stop his giggles and take his power. But Grumpy was smart and laughed harder, making her spell turn back on her.

Because of what happened with the spell, now everyone in town couldn’t stop giggling. They laughed all the time no matter what they were doing, even in their sleep. This made it hard for people to do normal things, and what used to be a happy town became a place where everyone was stressed and unhappy.

Penelope felt sorry about the trouble she caused. She said sorry to Grumpy and wanted to fix everything. They came up with a plan where Grumpy would use his laugh to make a new spell. This spell would make people happy again but wouldn’t force them to laugh all the time. They would be able to enjoy laughing without it causing problems.

After they fixed things, the people of Willowbrook were happy again and shared joy with each other. They learned that laughing is great, but too much can be a problem too. Grumpy and Penelope became friends and kept making people laugh in good ways, like visiting places where people needed cheering up. Grumpy showed everyone that even when times are hard, laughing can make things better. The town was a joyful place once more, and the people knew that laughing is really like a medicine for tough times.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who was the gargoyle in the town of Willowbrook and what made him special?
2. Why did the evil witch Penelope come to Willowbrook?
3. What happened when Penelope tried to cast a spell on Grumpy?
4. How did the spell affect the people of Willowbrook?
5. How did Penelope feel about the trouble she caused?
6. What was the plan that Grumpy and Penelope came up with to fix everything?
7. How did the people of Willowbrook feel after everything was fixed?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a (1)______ town called Willowbrook, there was a big, old church with a (2)______ gargoyle called Grumpy on it. Grumpy was known for his (3)______ which wasn’t normal for a gargoyle. He had a magical laugh that made flowers grow, birds sing, and made people feel really happy. Because Grumpy laughed all the time, the whole town was a happy place.

One day, an evil witch named (4)______ came to Willowbrook. She was jealous of how happy everyone was because of Grumpy. She wanted to take his (5)______ power for herself. She tried to cast a spell on Grumpy to stop his giggles and take his power. But Grumpy was smart and laughed harder, making her spell turn back on her.

Because of what happened with the spell, now everyone in town couldn’t stop giggling. They laughed all the time no matter what they were (6)______, even in their sleep. This made it hard for (7)______ to do normal (8)______, and what used to be a happy town became a place where everyone was (9)______ and un(10)______.

Penelope felt sorry about the trouble she caused. She said sorry to Grumpy and (11)______ to fix everything. They came up with a plan where Grumpy would use his laugh to make a new spell. This spell would make people happy again but wouldn’t force them to laugh all the time. They would be able to enjoy laughing without it (12)______ problems.

After they fixed things, the people of Willowbrook were happy again and shared joy with each other. They learned that laughing is (13)______, but too much can be a problem too. Grumpy and Penelope (14)______ friends and kept making people laugh in good ways, like (15)______ places where people needed cheering up. Grumpy showed everyone that even when times are hard, laughing can make things better. The town was a (16)______ place once more, and the people knew that laughing is really like a medicine for tough times.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a gargoyle? Why do you think Grumpy is a special gargoyle?
2. How would you feel if you had a magical laugh that made flowers grow and birds sing? Why?
3. Do you think it’s important to be happy? Why or why not?
4. How do you think the people in Willowbrook felt when they couldn’t stop giggling? Why?
5. Do you like to laugh? Why or why not?
6. What do you think Penelope learned from her mistake? Why is it important to say sorry?
7. How do you think Grumpy and Penelope’s plan helped the people of Willowbrook? Why was it important to find a solution?
8. Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t stop laughing? How did you feel? Why?
9. Why do you think Grumpy and Penelope decided to visit places where people needed cheering up? How do you think it made the people feel?
10. Do you agree that laughing is like a medicine for tough times? Why or why not?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. gargoyle
2. magical
3. spell
4. jealous
5. giggles
6. stressed
7. apologized
8. plan
9. joy
10. medicine
11. tough
12. cheerful
13. giggling
14. normal
15. shared

Meanings:
(A) A stone figure of a creature used as a decoration on buildings
(B) Feeling unhappy because you want what someone else has
(C) Difficult or challenging situations
(D) Happy and in good spirits
(E) A feeling of great happiness or pleasure
(F) Gave or enjoyed something with others
(G) Feeling worried and unable to relax
(H) Short, repeated bursts of quiet laughter
(I) A set of words with magical powers, often used in stories to cast enchantments
(J) Something that helps to cure a disease or improve your health
(K) Laughing in a light, repeated way
(L) A detailed idea or method for doing or achieving something
(M) Said you were sorry for something you did
(N) Having special powers that can do things that seem impossible
(O) Usual or expected
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was the name of the special gargoyle on the church in Willowbrook?
(a) Happy
(b) Silly
(c) Sleepy
(d) Grumpy

2. What did Grumpy’s magical laugh do?
(a) Made people feel sad
(b) Made people fall asleep
(c) Made flowers grow and birds sing
(d) Made people angry

3. Why did the evil witch Penelope come to Willowbrook?
(a) She wanted to become a gargoyle
(b) She was jealous of everyone’s happiness
(c) She wanted to take over the town
(d) She wanted to learn how to laugh

4. What happened when Penelope tried to cast a spell on Grumpy?
(a) Grumpy disappeared
(b) Grumpy became sad
(c) The spell turned back on her
(d) The spell worked and Grumpy stopped laughing

5. What happened to the people in Willowbrook after the spell turned back on Penelope?
(a) They became sad and angry
(b) They couldn’t stop giggling
(c) They forgot how to laugh
(d) They started crying all the time

6. How did Grumpy and Penelope fix the problem?
(a) They made everyone forget how to laugh
(b) They moved away from Willowbrook
(c) They made Grumpy stop laughing
(d) They made a new spell to make people happy without laughing all the time

7. What did the people of Willowbrook learn from this experience?
(a) Laughing is great, but too much can be a problem
(b) Laughing is always a problem
(c) They should never trust witches
(d) They should never trust gargoyles

8. What did Grumpy and Penelope do after they fixed everything?
(a) They became friends and made people laugh in good ways
(b) They left Willowbrook and never came back
(c) They started a new town
(d) They started a new church with a different gargoyle

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. An evil witch named Penelope came to Willowbrook and tried to stop Grumpy’s giggles.
2. After the spell went right, everyone in town couldn’t start frowning, even in their sleep.
3. Grumpy, the gargoyle on the church in Willowbrook, had a magical laugh that made everyone in town happy.
4. Once the spell was cast, the people of Willowbrook were happy again, and Grumpy and Penelope became friends who spread joy throughout the town.
5. Grumpy’s laughter was so powerful that it made Penelope’s spell backfire on her.
6. The intermittent laughter made it easy for people to do their daily tasks and made the town unhappy.
7. Grumpy and Penelope worked together to create a new spell that would bring sadness without the intermittent laughter.
8. Penelope felt satisfied with what she did and wanted to ruin everything.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who was the gargoyle in the town of Willowbrook and what made him special?
Grumpy was the gargoyle in the town of Willowbrook. He was special because he had a magical laugh that made flowers grow, birds sing, and made people feel really happy.

2. Why did the evil witch Penelope come to Willowbrook?
Penelope came to Willowbrook because she was jealous of how happy everyone was because of Grumpy. She wanted to take his laughing power for herself.

3. What happened when Penelope tried to cast a spell on Grumpy?
When Penelope tried to cast a spell on Grumpy, he laughed harder and made her spell turn back on her.

4. How did the spell affect the people of Willowbrook?
The spell made the people of Willowbrook unable to stop giggling. They laughed all the time, even in their sleep. This made it hard for them to do normal things and the town became a place where everyone was stressed and unhappy.

5. How did Penelope feel about the trouble she caused?
Penelope felt sorry about the trouble she caused. She realized that she had made a mistake and wanted to fix everything.

6. What was the plan that Grumpy and Penelope came up with to fix everything?
Grumpy and Penelope came up with a plan where Grumpy would use his laugh to make a new spell. This spell would make people happy again but wouldn’t force them to laugh all the time. They would be able to enjoy laughing without it causing problems.

7. How did the people of Willowbrook feel after everything was fixed?
After everything was fixed, the people of Willowbrook were happy again and shared joy with each other. They learned that laughing is great, but too much can be a problem too. The town was a joyful place once more, and the people knew that laughing is really like a medicine for tough times.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) small
(2) special
(3) giggling
(4) Penelope
(5) laughing
(6) doing
(7) people
(8) things
(9) stressed
(10) happy
(11) wanted
(12) causing
(13) great
(14) became
(15) visiting
(16) joyful
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. gargoyle
Answer: (A) A stone figure of a creature used as a decoration on buildings

2. magical
Answer: (N) Having special powers that can do things that seem impossible

3. spell
Answer: (I) A set of words with magical powers, often used in stories to cast enchantments

4. jealous
Answer: (B) Feeling unhappy because you want what someone else has

5. giggles
Answer: (H) Short, repeated bursts of quiet laughter

6. stressed
Answer: (G) Feeling worried and unable to relax

7. apologized
Answer: (M) Said you were sorry for something you did

8. plan
Answer: (L) A detailed idea or method for doing or achieving something

9. joy
Answer: (E) A feeling of great happiness or pleasure

10. medicine
Answer: (J) Something that helps to cure a disease or improve your health

11. tough
Answer: (C) Difficult or challenging situations

12. cheerful
Answer: (D) Happy and in good spirits

13. giggling
Answer: (K) Laughing in a light, repeated way

14. normal
Answer: (O) Usual or expected

15. shared
Answer: (F) Gave or enjoyed something with others
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was the name of the special gargoyle on the church in Willowbrook?
Answer: (d) Grumpy

2. What did Grumpy’s magical laugh do?
Answer: (c) Made flowers grow and birds sing

3. Why did the evil witch Penelope come to Willowbrook?
Answer: (b) She was jealous of everyone’s happiness

4. What happened when Penelope tried to cast a spell on Grumpy?
Answer: (c) The spell turned back on her

5. What happened to the people in Willowbrook after the spell turned back on Penelope?
Answer: (b) They couldn’t stop giggling

6. How did Grumpy and Penelope fix the problem?
Answer: (d) They made a new spell to make people happy without laughing all the time

7. What did the people of Willowbrook learn from this experience?
Answer: (a) Laughing is great, but too much can be a problem

8. What did Grumpy and Penelope do after they fixed everything?
Answer: (a) They became friends and made people laugh in good ways
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. An evil witch named Penelope came to Willowbrook and tried to stop Grumpy’s giggles. (Answer: True)
2. After the spell went right, everyone in town couldn’t start frowning, even in their sleep. (Answer: False)
3. Grumpy, the gargoyle on the church in Willowbrook, had a magical laugh that made everyone in town happy. (Answer: True)
4. Once the spell was cast, the people of Willowbrook were happy again, and Grumpy and Penelope became friends who spread joy throughout the town. (Answer: True)
5. Grumpy’s laughter was so powerful that it made Penelope’s spell backfire on her. (Answer: True)
6. The intermittent laughter made it easy for people to do their daily tasks and made the town unhappy. (Answer: False)
7. Grumpy and Penelope worked together to create a new spell that would bring sadness without the intermittent laughter. (Answer: False)
8. Penelope felt satisfied with what she did and wanted to ruin everything. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧