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Mother Sissi and The Cozy Cat

This book includes

a glossary + reading

comprehension questions

Written byMohamed Salah ABIDI & Tarak BRAHMI

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Mother Sissi and The Cozy CatWritten byMohamed Salah ABIDI & Tarak BRAHMI

ISBN: First published in 2010.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the Writers.Requests to the writers for permission should be addressed to Mohamed Salah ABIDI, L’Inspecteur d’Anglais, Lycée Tahar Hadded, Regueb 9170, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisie, or e-mail:med.saha@gmail.com or brahmtr72@hotmail.comFor additional copies/bulk purchases of this book in Tunisia please contact 98 98 98 94 or 20 23 96 79. We also publish our books in a variety of electronic formats.

Printed in Tunisia by Donia Print, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. 76 636 506email: impdonia.sbz@gnet.tn

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nce upon a time, in a remote small village in the South of

Tunisia, lived a middle-aged woman called Mother Sissi.

Nobody really knows why she was called so. Some of the old

dwellers of the village said that she was named Sissi after

a lovely active bird that still lives in the village: Om Sissi. Others

claim that her grandparents came from Khartoum, the capital of

The Sudan, and settled in the village a few hundred years ago and

some said that her name had some connection with the Berbers

who fled to the south during the wars against the different peoples

who invaded Tunisia in olden times.

However, they all agreed on one thing: Mother Sissi was a very

kind and caring mother. She loved her orphan kids so much and

they loved her so much, too. Her husband was a victim of a road

accident. A lorry driver was running at a crazy speed when uncle

Slimane was crossing the road and hit him dead.

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Mother Sissi was in her forties. She used to wear black garments

and a scarf. She also wore a pair of brown leather-made slippers.

She didn’t like wearing bright colourful clothes. She thought they

were for younger women.

On a sunny day – it was a hot Sunday- Mother Sissi was cleaning

the house as usual. She had already finished milking and feeding

the two she-goats. She had taken care of the chickens as well.

She had collected the eggs, cleaned the poultry-yard and filled

the pots with clean water. While she was sweeping the floor with

a home-made broom - made of some kind of plant leaves (In

her village, like in other villages in the South of Tunisia, women

didn’t use to use ready-made brooms or vacuum cleaners like their

granddaughters today.) At first, Mother Sissi thought it was a

piece of broken glass that reflected the intense rays of the sun.

But when she bent down and took the glinting object in her

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Aaimlessly [adv] /ˈeɪmləsli/without direction, with no purpose or aimapologise [vb] / əˈpɒlədʒaɪz / express regret, express sorrowarrangement [n] /əˈreɪndʒmənt / planning, preparationBbefore long soon, in a short timebeg [vb] / beɡ / to ask for something, to pleadbristle [n] / ˈbrɪsl / short hard hair broom [vb] / bruːm / to clean; to sweepbroom [n] / bruːm / tool used for sweeping, cleaning the floorCclay [n] / kleɪ / type of soil used to make pottery and brickscottage [n] / ˈkɒtɪdʒ / small house curl [vb] / kɜːl / to form a round shapeDdivine [adj] / dɪˈvaɪn / godly, from, by, related to Goddusk [n] / dʌsk / the time of day immediately following sunsetEexhausted [adj] / ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd / tiredFferocious [adj] / fəˈrəʊʃəs / wild, brutal

Gget rid of to eliminate, to removegleaming [adj] / ˈɡliːmɪŋ / shiny, luminous, glinting,glitteryglittery [adj] / ˈɡlɪtəri / (see gleaming)gracious [adj] / ˈɡreɪʃəs / kind, nicegulp [vb] / ɡʌlp / to take a large mouthful, eat a large quantity of foodHhead to a place go in a certain directionheaven [n] / ˈhevn / place where God and the angels stayhit the road set out, leave; depart, get goinghorrified [adj] / ˈhɒrɪfaɪd / shocked, frightened hypnotize [vb] / ˈhɪpnətaɪz / to control through magic, to mesmerizeill-ˈfated [adj] unlucky irritating [adj] /ˈɪrɪteɪtɪŋ/ annoying, badJjoyful [adj] / ˈdʒɔɪfl / happyKkind-ˈhearted [adj] nice, kindMmarvellous [adj] / ˈmɑːvələs / wonderful, amazing

ˈmouth-watering [adj] delicious, yummymumble [vb] / ˈmʌmbl / to speak unclearlyNnostril [n] / ˈnɒstrəl / external opening of the nosePpaw [n] / pɔː / animal’s foot; handpot [n] / pɒt / container used for cooking, a ceramic vesselprey [n] / preɪ / animal that is hunted for food, victim provision [n] / prəˈvɪʒn / stock of something (like food) supplypurr [n] / pɜː(r) / the sound of a sleeping catRrush [vb] / rʌʃ / to hurry, make hasteSscramble[vb] / ˈskræmbl / to hurry or run quicklyshudder [vb] / ˈʃʌdə(r) / tremble, shakestroll [vb]1. to walk slowlystumble [vb] / ˈstʌmbl / to fall , to lose one’s balance, to make a mistakeYyummy [adj] / ˈjʌmi / delicious, lip-smacking, luscious

Vocabulary

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Complete the following table with information about Mother Sissi:Name Age Number

of childrenHusband’s name

Animals

Mother Sissi

What did Mother Sissi find when she was sweeping the floor?______________________________________________________Circle the correct answer:Cozy Cat wanted to borrow:

a- Mother Sissi’s cooking pot.b- Mother Sissi’s broom.c-the kids’ guitar.

Why were Mother Sissi’s children disappointed when they came out of the kitchen?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Questions

Circle the three adjectives that describe Cozy Cat:helpful lazy responsible greedy shy naive careless

Complete with words from the story:Animal sounds:Cats mew.Dogs __________.Owls__________.Foxes _________.The following statement is false. Correct it with details from the story:Cozy Cat enjoyed his trip to and from the mountain.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________If you were Mother Sissi, would you cut the cat’s tail? Why?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________What is the moral of this story?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________Imagine another ending to this story:________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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What did Mother Sissi find?Why did she decide to cut Cozy Cat’s tail?Why was the cat horrified while he was in the forest?Did the shepherd agree to help Cozy Cat?

Read this entertaining story to find the answers to these questions and to learn new words and expressions.

INTERMEDIATELEVEL:

ISBN:PRICE:2.200 DT

Printed in Tunisia by Donia Print, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. 76 636 506