Smart

by Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes -- I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!


In 3-5 sentences, write a summary of the poem above.

(4 points)

In "Smart" by Shel Silverstein, a young boy demonstrates his cleverness by trading a one dollar bill for two quarters, then swapping the quarters for three dimes, and so on. Each time, he manages to get more coins in return, showing his understanding of numerical value. When he finally shows his father the five pennies he acquired, his father is impressed and speechless with pride.