In the text "Peter and the Wolf," the simple past of the verbs in brackets is used to narrate a story about Peter, a young boy who lived with his grandfather in a small village in the Russian countryside.
1. Peter **was** a young boy who **lived** in a small village in the Russian countryside. He **did not have** a father or mother, so he **lived** with his grandfather.
2. The people of the village **asked** Peter to take their sheep to the meadows. So, early in the morning, he **walked** up the hill with lots of sheep around him.
3. During the day, he **looked** after the sheep, **played** his flute, and **climbed** up the trees. He **did not answer** him, of course. So, he **counted** them and **talked** to the sheep, feeling very lonely and bored up there in the mountains.
4. One day, he **had** an idea to try to have some fun. He **decided** to play a trick on the people of the village. He **cried** for help as loudly as he **could**: "Wolf, wolf, please help me!"
5. Some men and women **got** out of their houses and **ran** up the hill to help Peter. But when they **arrived** there, there **was** no wolf at all. Peter **was not** very pleased with himself. And they **laughed** like crazy at the villagers, but they **went** back home.
6. Some days later, when Peter **was** watching over the sheep in the meadows, a real wolf appeared and attacked the sheep. The boy **tried** to fight the wolf, but it **became** too dangerous. So, Peter **cried** for help again: "Wolf, wolf, please help me!"
7. This time, nobody **stayed** at home because they **showed** up. The people of the village **did not believe** in Peter anymore. Poor Peter, nobody **helped** him, and he **had** to run to the village for help. That **was** a good lesson he **learned** that day.
