Sequencing "The Cat in the Hat" Quiz

The opening of the book tells of Sally and her unnamed brother staring out the window on a cold and rainy window. The children are bored, and complain that they can't go out, so they just stay in the house while their mother is out. They complain that they can only just "Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit", and that they "do not like it one bit!".

As the children sit staring out the window, they hear a very loud BUMP near the front door. It was a bump so loud that it made them both jump! The bump happens when the Cat in the Hat swings the door open as he arrives in their house. The Cat wonders why they are just sitting there, and suggests that they have some fun when he says, "I know some good games we could play", and "I know some new tricks".

When the Cat in the Hat suggests that he play games with the children, they are not sure what to do. Then their fish tells them that they should NOT be playing with the Cat while their mother is away. Their fish lets them know that they should just tell the cat that they do not want to play and that they should send him away.

The fish says, "He should not be here when your mother is out!"

The children do not pay attention to their fish's warnings and the Cat enters the house. When the Cat in the Hat begins his playing around in the house, he starts showing off his tricks. His first is to balance the fish in its bowl on his umbrella tip.

He proceeds to balance while standing on a ball and holding more items like a book, a cup on his hat, a cake, a toy boat, a dish of milk, a toy man, and a red fan (that he holds with his tail).

While the Cat in the Hat shows of his balancing skills, he is also jumping. He starts to brag about his abilities when suddenly he falls. According to the book, the Cat fell on his head, and all of the things that he had been holding fell all over the place.

The fish lands in a teapot and surveys the damage, with the ship that is sunk in the cake and the bent rake. He then says, "You SHOULD NOT be here when our mother is not."

After the fish demands that he leave, the Cat in the Hat refuses and states that he knows another fun game to play. He runs out the door and returns with a large red box. The lid of the box is locked with a hook. The Cat jumps up on the box, tips his hat, and states that "In this box are two things I will show to you now." He opens the box and two small creatures with blue hair come out of the box.

Their names are Thing One and Thing Two. The children shake hands with Thing One and Thing Two, but the fish argues that the Things do not belong in the house either.

The Cat in the Hat reassures the fish that the Things are tame, and that "They have come here to play. They will give you some fun on this wet, wet, wet day." The Things then each take a kite and fly them inside the house. The fish continues to complain as the kites bump on the walls and at the head of a bed.

A kite string also catches the mother's new gown. The boy who is telling the story states, "I do NOT like the way that they play! If mother could see this, Oh what would she say!"

When the boy realizes that he doesn't like the way that Thing One and Thing Two are playing, the fish happens to be caught up on a kite string. He glances out the window and sees the mother approaching. The fish tells the children that their mother is on her way home.

The fish worries about what the mother will think about what has gone on in the house, so he appeals to the children to get rid of Thing One and Thing Two.

The boy storyteller realizes that the fish is right, that Thing One and Thing Two have to go. So, he decides that the best way to catch them as they run around is with his net. He swings it down on the Things and catches them both with a PLOP. Then he tells the Cat in the Hat, "Now you do as I say. You pack up those Things and you take them away." The Cat is surprised and says that he thinks it's a shame that the children didn't like the Things' games.

Once the Things are locked back into their red box, the Cat in the Hat leaves with them. At that point, the children scan the mess that has been left and realize that they will never get it all cleaned up before their mother gets back to the house. Just then, the Cat comes through the door and says, "I always pick up my playthings and so ... I will show you another good trick that I know!" The Cat rides in on a vehicle that has lots of arms and hands sticking out of it.

The machine proceeds to pick up everything that has been tossed about during the games that he and the Things have played.

As soon as the Cat leaves, the mother returns home and the children wonder how much they should tell her about their day.