The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 18: George Washington and His Hatchet
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 18, George Washington and His Hatchet, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 18, George Washington and His Hatchet, is a gentle story about telling the truth. When George Washington was a small boy, he was given a shiny new hatchet and was delighted to try it on everything he could find. Out in the garden he chopped at a young cherry tree that his father prized, and hurt it badly. When his father discovered the ruined tree, he was very angry and asked who had done it. Young George could not tell a lie, and bravely confessed that he had done it with his hatchet. His father, valuing honesty far above any tree, forgave him gladly and was proud of his truthful son.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 17, Pocahontas?Have a look
In the last chapter, Pocahontas, Captain John Smith was captured by a Native nation and brought before their king. The warriors laid him on a great stone and raised their clubs to end his life. Just then the king’s young daughter, Pocahontas, rushed forward and laid her head upon his to shield him, begging her father to spare him. Her plea was heard, and Smith was set free and led safely home. From that day she remained a faithful friend to the settlers.
Read the previous lesson: Pocahontas →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 18, George Washington and His Hatchet?hatchet, delight, falsehood, sportHave a look
- hatchet: a small ax used with one hand
- delight: great pleasure or joy
- falsehood: an untrue statement; a lie
- sport: fun; an enjoyable pastime
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 18, George Washington and His Hatchet?
- Find Fredericksburg (Virginia, United States).
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 18 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 18 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterThe cherry tree story is a moral legend, not history. An early biographer, Parson Weems, invented it, and it first appeared in 1806. Families still love it for its lesson about honesty.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 18 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?George Washington, Washington’s father, The cherry treeHave a look
- George Washington: The honest boy of this famous American tale, who grew up to be the first U.S. president.
- Washington’s father: George’s father, who prizes his son’s honesty.
- The cherry tree: The little tree at the heart of the story.
Chapter 18 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is the story of Washington and the cherry tree true?
The cherry tree story is a moral legend, not history. An early biographer named Parson Weems invented it, and it first appeared in 1806, after Washington’s death. Families still love it for its lesson about honesty, even though it never really happened.
Why is the cherry tree story so famous?
The cherry tree story is so famous because it gives children a simple, memorable picture of honesty in a great man’s childhood. By showing young George bravely telling the truth, it teaches that being honest matters more than avoiding blame. Parson Weems shaped it to inspire, and it has been loved ever since.
Where did George Washington grow up?
George Washington grew up largely at Ferry Farm, near Fredericksburg in Virginia, beside the Rappahannock River. It was here, in the family garden, that the beloved tale of the hatchet and the cherry tree is set. The farm was his boyhood home in colonial Virginia.
What is the lesson of George Washington and His Hatchet?
The lesson of George Washington and His Hatchet is truthfulness: being honest even when you know you may be blamed. Young George confessed to spoiling the tree rather than hide his fault, and his father prized that honesty above the tree itself. The story invites children to value the courage of telling the truth.