The Mouse and the Motorcycle

The Mouse and the Motorcycle


Story Review
Paragraph Cloze

Before completing this activity, please read the novel, The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary!

The following are paragraphs taken from each chapter of the story. Fill in the gaps with the words that you think will fit. You can refer back to your book as necessary. Then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints!

When you have answered all of the questions, click the "Check Answer" button. A box will pop-up with your score. Do not close until your score is printed or reviewed by your teacher.
   215      ambulance      apple core      ashtray stand      aspirin      Aunt Sissy      bacon      challenged      chew      college guys      damage      damaged      danger      dog      dresser      drinking glass      elevator      family      feel      fever      flee      Gridley      Gridleys      ground floor      grow up      helmet      housekeeper      incinerator      inn      jelly      Keith’s mother      light      lost      maid      Matt      mice      milkman      mining towns      miserable      motorcycle      Ohio      peanut butter and jelly sandwich      pill      pillowcase      ping-pong ball      plan      postcard      Ralph      reunion      rubber band      scared      school      see      shut      sleep      sleeve      sorry      stairs      supper      surprised      talk      trapped      Tuesday      Uncle Victor      vacuum cleaner      wastebasket      window      without   

Chapter 1: The New Guests


Mr. and Mrs. Gridley and Keith have been traveling from for five days. They decide to stop at an old for a rest. Even though the bellboy, , said that there were no , Mrs. Gridley was sure there would be some, and Keith was hoping to some.

Chapter 2: The Motorcycle


A mouse named lived with his mother in the knothole in the wall of Room . Ralph checked out the and decided to take a joy ride. The phone rang long enough to scare Ralph, who fell head first into the beside the bed stand.

Chapter 3: Trapped!


Ralph was dizzy, but was worrying about any to the motorcycle. Ralph worried about ending up in the like his . Ralph decided to eat his fill of an and save his seeds as dessert.

Chapter 4: Keith


Keith noticed his was not where he had left it. Ralph cowered behind the while Keith looked for it. Keith found his motorcycle and noticed it was and then found Ralph.

Chapter 5: Adventure in the Night


Ralph had a glorious time riding the in the hall even as he was trembling about the possibilities he could find there. Ralph frightened around midnight by speeding down the hall. Escaping the sleepy man from 211 who went to the to go down and walk his gave Ralph a daredevilish attitude. Since Room 215 had been , let Ralph in the door. Ralph was seen by , but Keith allowed Ralph to hide from in his .

Chapter 6: A Peanut-Butter Sandwich


Keith ordered a for Ralph and his family. The head was looking for traces of mice in Rooms 215 and 216. The came to clean the room and started the .

Chapter 7: The Vacuum Cleaner


Ralph had saved the from the vacuum cleaner, but was in of being sucked up into the tube himself. Ralph himself with the motorcycle and the vacuum cleaner and rode straight into a . Ralph had to his way out of the laundry hamper Keith's motorcycle. Ralph was about the loss of Keith’s , but he was safe and needed to catch up on his .

Chapter 8: A Family Reunion


Ralph’s whole decided to have a to feast on the room service that Keith had delivered. All of the adults had opinions about ’s adventures on the . Keith made a for Ralph from an old and a . Ralph was when he had to confess to Keith that he the motorcycle.


Chapter 9: Ralph Takes Command


Ralph was to learn that Keith still wanted to to him after the loss of the motorcycle. Ralph asked Keith to bring some and toast with for breakfast. Ralph’s family were very and thought they would probably need to from the inn before the inn staff brought in dangers to get rid of the mice. Ralph convinced his family that he would think of a to keep them safe before the family left on .

Chapter 10: An Anxious Night


The went exploring some old . When they returned, Keith did not well, and ate very little for . Keith’s parents could not find an to treat Keith’s . Ralph decided he had to find a way to get an for Keith.

Chapter 11: The Search


Ralph knew he could find an aspirin somewhere, maybe on the and he was determined to find it. Ralph was moving from room to room looking when a came on and blinded him. He was suddenly inside of a . Betty and Mary Lou would have loved to take Ralph back to with them, but they had a long trip ahead of them. Betty slipped a under the glass and carried Ralph to the and dropped him outside.


Chapter 12: An Errand of Mercy


Ralph made his way to an open and climbed back inside to a room full of . Finally, he found the tablet under the . He hid the aspirin behind the while he tried to figure out how to get the aspirin upstairs. He climbed the to the second floor and asked Keith to borrow his . He tormented the until the made his owner take him outside, and then he snuck into the with them. He dragged the into the back of the and snuck back into the . He shoved the aspirin under the bedroom door and took it to Keith.


Chapter 13: A Subject for a Composition


Keith refused to take the until his mom check to make sure it was really an . The night clerk had asked the to bring an aspirin the next morning, so Keith was able to take a second dose. found the outside the door and brought it and the lost back to Keith. Keith and Ralph talked about what it meant to . Keith decided to let Ralph keep the if his mother agreed. Ralph’s mother agreed to let him have the motorcycle if he promised to wear his .

 

 

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by: Casey Jo Burrus © 2025
Vandalia, Illinois
created: March 2025 | updated: May 30, 2025
Cowden-Herrick Schools