The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 44: Maximilian and the Goose Boy
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 44, Maximilian and the Goose Boy, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 44, Maximilian and the Goose Boy, is a story about a king who learns humility from a sharp country boy. King Maximilian of Bavaria falls asleep under a tree while walking, then discovers he has left his book behind. He meets a barefoot boy tending geese and offers him a gold piece to fetch it, but the boy only agrees once he is paid in advance. Left in charge of the geese, the king cannot manage them at all: they scatter into a garden the moment their keeper is gone, and he cannot even crack the whip to call them back. When the boy returns with the book, he scolds the king good-naturedly for losing the flock, and together they drive the geese out of the garden. The boy never quite believes his companion is really a king, and tells him plainly that whatever else he might be, he would never make a good gooseherd.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 43, The Blind Men and the Elephant?Have a look
In the last chapter, The Blind Men and the Elephant, we learned that six blind men who had never touched an elephant each felt a different part of the animal, the side, the tusk, the trunk, a leg, the ear, and the tail, and each became certain that his own impression was the whole truth. They argued by the roadside all day, each sure the others were wrong, and the story notes that people who can see sometimes act just as foolishly.
Read the previous lesson: The Blind Men and the Elephant →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 44, Maximilian and the Goose Boy?wading, errand, tending, pardonHave a look
- wading: walking through water
- errand: a short trip to do a small job
- tending: looking after animals or a place
- pardon: to forgive someone for a fault
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 44, Maximilian and the Goose Boy?
- Find Bavaria (Germany): Bavaria is the real kingdom Baldwin names as King Maximilian's own, the setting for his walk in the country where he meets the goose boy and loses track of the flock.
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 44 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 44 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.
- "King Maximilian of Bavaria"Two kings of Bavaria were named Maximilian, and the story does not say which. Neither one's life story records this walk, though the first was known for stopping to talk with ordinary people in the street.
- the geese in the gardenGeese are grass-eaters and mostly leave garden vegetables alone. Farmers have long turned them loose among crops for that reason, to eat the weeds and not the harvest.
- the closing punch lineNo history of either king records this meeting. It is a well-liked old story about a king, not an account of a day anyone wrote down at the time.
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 44 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?King Maximilian, The goose boy, Bavaria, The geese, The bookHave a look
- King Maximilian: A king of Bavaria.
- The goose boy: A boy who tends geese.
- Bavaria: King Maximilian's kingdom.
- The geese: The flock the boy tends.
- The book: The king's book.
Chapter 44 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.
Was there a real King Maximilian of Bavaria?
Yes, two kings of Bavaria were named Maximilian, but the story doesn't say which one this is. Neither one's biography records this particular walk, though the first Maximilian was known for stopping to talk with ordinary people in the street.
Would geese really eat garden vegetables the way the story suggests?
Not usually. Geese are mostly grass-eaters and tend to leave garden vegetables alone, which is why farmers have long turned them loose among crops on purpose, to eat the weeds rather than the harvest.
Did this meeting with the goose boy actually happen?
No history of either King Maximilian records this meeting. It's a well-liked old story about a king rather than an account of a day anyone wrote down at the time.