The Fox and the Crane

Fox Crane

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Fox and the Crane

One day a Fox invited a Crane to dinner. He liked to amuse himself at the expense of his guests, so the only food he provided was a thin soup served in a shallow dish. The Fox had no difficulty in lapping up his soup, but the Crane did. As much as she tapped her long, thin beak against the bowl, she could not manage to swallow a single drop of soup. She was just as hungry at the end of the meal as she had been at the beginning.

The Fox professed his deep regret at seeing her eat so little. ‘Oh dear,’ he said, ‘I do hope the soup was not too salty for your taste.’ The Crane did not answer. All she did was beg the Fox to do her the honour of returning the visit the next day.

The Fox accepted the invitation and arrived at the appointed hour. The Crane greeted him kindly. The food smelt excellent, and the Fox was looking forward to satisfying his keen appetite. But when dinner was served, the Crane produced two jars with very tall, narrow necks. The Fox looked the strange vessels up and down. The Crane, with her long beak, ate the food quite easily, and soon her jar was empty. But the Fox could only walk round and round his jar, licking at its neck and sniffing the delicious food inside.

The Crane professed her deep regret at seeing the Fox eat so little. The Fox was angry, but went on his way without complaining. The Crane had paid him back with his own coin.

Sean Taylor,From, Essential Fiction, edited by Brian Moses,

Heinemann 1998

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Unit 4 Day 1

Fables

Fables are very old stories. They give people a special message or lesson called a ‘moral’. Fables are often quite short stories and they usually have animals in

them. At first, fables were oral stories, but later people wrote them down and published collections

of them in books. Two of the most famous collections were put together by a Greek man named Aesop and

a Frenchman called La Fontaine.

The Frog and the Scorpion

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Unit 4 Day 1

One day a contented frog sat enjoying a moment of peace and quiet on the riverbank. The sun was warm and the stream bubbled and chuckled merrily as it flowed over the rocks and pebbles that

made up the river’s bed.

Then the frog heard weeping. A scorpion stood nearby, its stinging tail drooping with despondency. ‘Oh, if only I could cross this river I would have so much lovely food to eat. Over there on the far side I can see wriggling spiders and juicy worms, brightly-coloured lizards

and scuttling beetles. But I can’t swim, so I am stuck here where there is nothing for me.’

Feeling sorry for the little scorpion, the frog offered to carry the miserable insect across the river on his back. ‘But you must promise

not to sting me, or we shall both surely drown,’ said the frog.

Delighted with the frog’s kind offer, the scorpion readily agreed not to use his sting. He climbed on to the frog’s broad, green back and

the pair set off towards the far bank.

However, when they were half way across the river, the frog felt a sharp sting in his side. ‘Scorpion! Why have you stung me? You

promised not to!’ The scorpion sighed and said, ‘I know, but it’s in my nature. It’s just how I am.’

And with that the frog and the scorpion both disappeared below the surface of the swirling water.

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Fox and the CraneQuestions

Answer these questions in your book

1. What does it mean when it says that the Fox liked to ‘amuse himself at the

expense of his guests’?

2. What does the Fox serve the Crane for dinner?

3. Why does the Crane find it difficult to eat the food the Fox has prepared?

4. Name another sort of food that the Crane might have found it hard to eat.

5. Does the Fox really regret seeing the Crane eat so little? Why does he say that

he does?

6. What does it mean when is says that the Fox’s appetite was ‘keen’?

7. Copy any of the words from the list below that you think describe the Fox’s

mood at the end of the story:

enrageddisinterestedhumiliatedrelievedhumbled

8. Of these words, which do you think best describes the fox’s mood? Why have

you chosen that word?

9. In what ways is this a typical fable?

10. Fables usually have a moral to them: what would you say the moral of this

fable is?

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Frog and the ScorpionQuestions

1. When the story begins, it says that the frog was ‘contented’.

Can you list some other words that mean the same thing as

contented?

____________________________________________________

2. Name two things to eat that the Scorpion could see across

the river.

____________________________________________________

3. What would the Scorpion’s tail have looked like if it was

‘drooping with despondency’?

____________________________________________________

4. True or false: Frog is over-trusting.

____________________________________________________

5. Tick any words in the list below that you think show how Frog

would have felt when Scorpion stung him:

surprised [ ]frightened [ ]amused [ ]angry [ ]relieved [ ]

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Unit 4 Day 1

Which of the words is the one that best would describe Frog’s

reaction?

____________________________________________________

6. Did you think Scorpion was going to sting Frog? Why?

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

7. List three things The Frog and the Scorpion has in common with other fables.____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Ant and the GrasshopperQuestions

1. In the fable, where do Ant and Grasshopper both live?

2. How does Grasshopper make her music?

3. Grasshopper’s music is described as ‘beautiful’. What other

words do you know that mean the same thing as beautiful?

4. What do you think it means when it says that Grasshopper’s

music ‘lit up the meadow’:

It turned on the lights in all the animals’ homes

It made the meadow seem a more cheerful place to live

It made the moon shine really brightly at night

5. True or false? Ant is lazy.

6. What sort of jobs does Ant do all through the summer when

she is keeping busy?

7. Do fables usually have animals in them? What other things

can you say about fables?

8. What do you think the message of this fable is?

9. Do you feel sorry for Grasshopper at the end of the story?

Why?

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Fox and the Crow

One morning, a crafty crow stole a freshly made cheese that had been left on a windowsill to dry, and flew up into the branches of a tree, his tasty prize gripped firmly in his beak. The crow felt very proud of his skill and daring, and croaked out his cleverness for all the world to hear… which isn’t very easy to do when you

have a beautiful round cheese in your mouth.

A fox heard the racket and came to see what all the fuss was about. Spying the tempting cheese in the crow’s beak, the fox began to heap praises on the bird. ‘How clever you must be to have won such a magnificent prize, Crow! And how handsome you look sitting there on your branch – I bet your voice is every bit as beautiful as your fine black feathers. Do give me a song, I

beg you.’

The crow, overwhelmed with all this flattery and praise, opened his beak as wide as possible to give the fox a chance to hear his

lovely singing voice. And the flavoursome cheese tumbled from the crow’s open

beak, straight into the waiting mouth of the cunning fox below.

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Unit 4 Day 1

The Fox and the Grapes

A fable by Aesop

Grapes are growing, round and ripe,High upon the vine.Fox says, as he licks his lips,‘Those grapes will soon be mine.’

The grapes look plump and juicy.The fox, on his hind legs,Stretches up to reach for themJust like a dog that begs.

Fox jumps and keeps on jumpingTo try and take his treat.The grapes will be so tasty:Succulent and sweet.

At last the hungry fox gives up.He’s tried for many an hour.He cannot reach the fruit and cries:‘I bet those grapes are sour!’

by Celia Warren,The Works, ed. Paul Cookson, page 75

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Unit 4 Day 2

The Fox and the Grapes

one hot summers day a fox was strolling through an orchard he spotted a bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch just the thing to quench my thirst he said drawing back a few paces he took a run and a jump and just missed the bunch he tried again taking a longer run-up this time and reaching for the grapes with both his mouth and his paws but again he failed again and again he leapt up towards the tempting bunch but at last had to give up the fox then walked away with his nose in the air saying I bet those grapes are really sour anyway

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Unit 4 Day 2

Proverbs

Read the proverbs with your partner and join them up to the meanings you think are right. One has already been done for you.

Proverb Meaning

precious things come in small packages

You shouldn’t criticise people for doing something wrong when they could say exactly the same about you.

people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

Although it is important to be quick at things, don’t rush as you’ll probably make a mistake.

too many cooks spoil the broth

If you deal with a problem straightaway it can save you a lot of time or trouble later.

more haste less speed The more people that help to do something, the easier and quicker it will get done.

don't count your chickens before they are hatched

People who are empty of brains make more noise than those who are clever!

a stitch in time save nine Small things or people can be just as good or better than larger or taller ones.

many hands make light work

Don’t make plans before something has actually happened. It might not happen!

empty cans make the most noise

If you have too many people trying to do something at the same time, it can be spoiled.

Finished? Carefully add capital letters, full stops – and any other punctuation that you think is missing.

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Unit 4 Day 2

More Proverbs

Carefully read each proverb and try to explain in your own words what you think they mean

Strike while the iron is hot.

Don’t run before you can walk.

Prevention is better than cure.

Actions speak louder than words.

© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. fablesl_F021TT4_resources

© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. fablesl_F021TT4_resources

Unit 4 Day 2

Proverbs and Their Meanings

Proverb Meaning

Precious things come in small packages.

Small things or people can be just as good or better than larger or taller ones.

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

You shouldn’t criticise someone for doing something wrong when you do things wrong too.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

If you have too many people trying to do something at the same time, it can be spoiled.

More haste, less speed. Although it is important to be quick at things, don’t rush, as you’ll probably make a mistake.

Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

Don’t make plans before something has actually happened. It might not happen!

A stitch in time save nine. If you deal with a problem straightaway it can save you a lot of time or trouble later.

Many hands make light work.

The more people that help to do something, the easier and quicker it will get done.

Empty cans make the most noise.

People who are empty of brains make more noise than those who are clever!

Strike while the iron is hot.

If something needs doing, get started on it straightaway.

Don’t run before you can walk.

Take things slowly. Don’t try to do more than you are ready to do comfortably.

Prevention is better than cure.

Stopping something bad from happening is better than letting it happen and then trying to sort out the problem.

Actions speak louder than words.

Actually doing something is more impressive than just talking about it or saying that you are going to do it.

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Unit 4 Day 3

My Favourite Proverb

Proverb: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meaning: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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My Favourite Proverb

Proverb: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meaning: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scenario:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Unit 4 Day 3

Unit 4 Day 3