The Luckiest Time of All by Lucille Clifton

Plot Diagram

View Activity

Theme

View Activity

Cause and Effect

View Activity

Predictions

View Activity

Essential Questions for "The Luckiest Time of All”

1. Is there such a thing as luck?
2. What does it mean to be lucky?

A Quick Synopsis of "The Luckiest Time of All” (Contains Plot Spoilers)

When Mrs. Elzie Pickens is visited by her granddaughter, she starts to tells how, when she was a young girl, she and a friend decided to run away with a travelling circus. They didn’t bother to tell anyone; they just packed up and left. Once they’d arrived, the two girls were almost immediately enthralled by a dancing dog. It was wearing a tutu and spinning in circles. Many onlookers threw pennies at the dog, as a reward. The girls joined in. Elzie accidentally tossed her “lucky” rock towards the dog, hitting it on the nose. She upset about losing the pebble, but is surprised when the dog begins chasing her. The lucky rock had seemingly caused a very unfortunate event.

However, a handsome young stranger lassos the dog, saving Elzie from it. The young man smiled, helped her retrieve her lucky rock, and followed Elzie and her friend home to make sure they were safe. Eventually Elzie married the nice young man, so even though there was a bit of bad luck in being chased by the dog, the pebble really did wind up bringing her luck and happiness in the long run.