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THE TORTOISE AND THE DUCKS

The Tortoise, you know, carries his house on his back. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot leave
home. They say that Jupiter punished him so, because he was such a lazy stay-at-home that he would
not go to Jupiter’s wedding, even when especially invited.

After many years, Tortoise began to wish he had gone to that wedding. When he saw how gaily the birds
flew about and how the Hare and the Chipmunk and all the other animals ran nimbly by. Always eager to
see everything.

One day he met a pair of Ducks and told them all his trouble.

“We can help you to see the world,” said the Ducks. “Take hold of this stick with your teeth and we will
carry you far up in the air where you can see the whole countryside. But keep quiet or you will be sorry.”

The Tortoise was very glad indeed. He seized the stick firmly with his teeth, the two Ducks took hold of it
one at each end, and away they sailed up toward the clouds.

Just then a Crow flew by. He was very much astonished at the strange sight and cried:

There was to be seen, the Tortoise felt very sad and discontented. He wanted to see the world too. And
there he was with a house on his back and little short legs that could hardly drag him along.

“This must surely be the King of Tortoises!”

“Why certainly” began the Tortoise.

But as he opened his mouth to say these foolish words, he lost his hold on the stick, and down he fell to
the ground, where he was dashed to pieces on a rock.

Foolish curiosity and vanity often lead to misfortune.

1. Who are the characters in the story?

2. Why did Jupiter punish him?
3. What can you say about the two ducks
THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF

A Shepherd Boy tended his master’s Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life
in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his shepherd’s
pipe.

One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet forest, and thinking what he would do should he see
a Wolf, he thought of a plan to amuse himself.

His Master had told him to call for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers would drive it
away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even looked like a Wolf, he ran toward the village
shouting at the top of his voice, “Wolf! Wolf!””

As he expected, the Villagers who heard the cry dropped their work and ran in great excitement to the
pasture. But when they got there, they found the Boy doubled up with laughter at the trick he had
played on them.

A few days later the Shepherd Boy again shouted, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the Villagers ran to help him, only
to be laughed at again.

Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the
pasture, a Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the Sheep.

In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting “Wolf! Wolf!”” But though the Villagers heard the cry,
they did not run to help him as they had before. “He cannot fool us again,” they said.

The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy’s sheep and then slipped away into the forest.

Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.

1. What is the title and who is the author of the story?

2. What did the boy do to amuse himself?
3. What did his master tell him if there would be a wolf?
THE LION AND THE MOUSE

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him
unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap,
the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you."

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally
let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalk- ing his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net.
Unable to free him- self, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and
quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Run- ning to one of the great ropes that bound him, she
gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help
a Lion."

A kindness is never wasted.

1. Why did the lion wake up?

2. Why was the mouse scared?
3. How did the mouse help the lion?
THE OWL AND THE GRASSHOPPER

The Owl always takes her sleep during the day. Then after sundown, when the rosy light fades from the
sky and the shadows rise slowly through the wood, out she comes ruffling and blinking from the old
hollow tree. Now her weird “hoo-hoo-hoo-00-00” echoes through the quiet wood, and she begins her
hunt for the bugs and beetles, frogs and mice she likes so well to eat.

Now there was a certain old Owl who had become very cross and hard to please as she grew older,
especially if anything disturbed her daily slumbers. One warm summer afternoon as she dozed away in
her den in the old oak tree, a Grasshopper nearby began a joyous but very raspy song. Out popped the
old Owl’s head from the opening in the tree that served her both for door and for window.

“Get away from here, sir,” she said to the Grasshopper. “Have you no manners? You should at least
respect my age and leave me to sleep in quiet!”

But the Grasshopper answered saucily that he had as much right to his place in the sun as the Owl had to
her place in the old oak.

1.How did the owl feel about the grasshopper singing?

2. How did flattery make the grasshopper forget about its enemy?

3. What is the lesson of the Owl and the Grasshopper story?

THE FARMER AND THE STORK

A Stork of a very simple and trusting nature had been asked by a gay party of Cranes to visit a field that
had been newly planted. But the party ended dismally with all the birds entangled in the meshes of the
Farmer’s net.

The Stork begged the Farmer to spare him.

“Please let me go,” he pleaded. “I belong to the Stork family who you know are honest and birds of good
character. Besides, I did not know the Cranes were going to steal.”

“You may be a very good bird,” answered the Farmer, “but I caught you with the thieving Cranes and you
will have to share the same punishment with them.”

You are judged by the company you keep.

1.Why did the farmer place net over the fields?

2. How did the stork try to convince the farmer?

3. Why did the farmer not release the stork?

THE SHEEP AND THE PIG

One day a shepherd discovered a fat Pig in the meadow where his Sheep were pastured. He very quickly
captured the porker, which squealed at the top of its voice the moment the Shepherd laid his hands on
it. You would have thought, to hear the loud squealing, that the Pig was being cruelly hurt. But in spite of
its squeals and struggles to escape, the Shepherd tucked his prize under his arm and started off to the
butcher’s in the market place.

The Sheep In the pasture were much astonished and amused at the Pig’s behavior, and followed the
Shepherd and his charge to the pasture gate.

“What makes you squeal like that?” asked one of the Sheep. “The Shepherd often catches and carries off
one of us. But we should feel very much ashamed to make such a terrible fuss about it like you do.”

“That is all very well,” replied the Pig, with a squeal and a fran- tic kick. “When he catches you he is only
after your wool. But he wants my bacon! Gree-ee-ee!”

It Is easy to be brave when there is no danger.

1.What did the shepherd find in the field where the sheep was playing?

2. How did the sheep react when they watched the shepherd catch the pig?

3. Why did the pig make so much noise when the shepherd captured it, but the sheep did not?
THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE

A Town Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse served
wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a dash of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly,
nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple
food only to be polite.

After the meal the friends had a long talk, or rather the Town Mouse talked about her life in the city
while the Country Mouse listened. They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the hedgerow and slept in
quiet and comfort until morning. In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with
all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her. So, the next day when the
Town Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, she gladly said yes.

When they reached the mansion in which the Town Mouse lived, they found on the table in the dining
room the leavings of a very fine banquet. There were sweetmeats and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses,
indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. But just as the Country Mouse was about to
nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat mew loudly and scratch at the door. In great fear the Mice
scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at
last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly and in came the servants to clear the
table, followed by the House Dog.

The Country Mouse stopped in the Town Mouse’s den only long enough to pick up her car- pet bag and
umbrella.

“You may have luxuries and dainties that I have not,” she said as she hurried away, “but I prefer my plain
food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.”

Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.

1. What did the city mouse think about the food of his cousin was eating?

2. Why did the country mouse go to the city?

3. What happen when he went to the city?

THE FROGS WHO WISHED FOR A KING

The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had spoiled them, and
they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing for a government that could
entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule them in a way to make them know they
were being ruled. No milk and water government for them, they declared. So they sent a petition to
Jupiter asking for a king.

Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and make them think
they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a great splash. The Frogs hid
them- selves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king to be some fearful giant. But they soon
discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was. In a short time the younger Frogs were using him as a
diving platform, while the older Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to
Jupiter about the government.

To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a crane to be king of Frog land. The Crane
proved to be a very different sort of king from old King Log. He gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left
and they soon saw what fools they had been. In mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the
cruel tyrant before they should all be destroyed.

“How now!” cried Jupiter “Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for and so you have only
yourselves to blame for your misfortunes.

Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change.

1. What did the Frogs want from Jupiter?

2. What did Jupiter send them first?

3. What lesson did Jupiter teach the Frogs?

THE DOG, THE COCK, AND THE FOX

A Dog and a Cock, who were the best of friends, wished very much to see something of the world. So,
they decided to leave the farmyard and to set out into the world along the road that led to the woods.
The two comrades traveled along in the very best of spirits and without meeting any adventure to speak
of.

At nightfall the Cock, looking for a place to roost, as was his custom, spied nearby a hollow tree that he
thought would do very nicely for a night’s lodging. The Dog could creep inside and the Cock would fly up
on one of the branches. So said, so done, and both slept very comfortably.

With the first glimmer of dawn the Cock awoke. For the moment he forgot just where he was. He
thought he was still in the farm- yard where it had been his duty to arouse the household at day- break.
So, standing on tip-toes he flapped his wings and crowed lustily. But instead of awakening the farmer, he
awakened a Fox not far off in the wood. The Fox immediately had rosy visions of a very delicious
breakfast. Hurrying to the tree where the Cock was roosting, he said very politely:

“A hearty welcome to our woods, honored sir. I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you here. I am quite
sure we shall become the closest of friends.”

“I feel highly flattered, kind sir,” replied the Cock slyly. “If you will please go around to the door of my
house at the foot of the tree, my porter will let you in.”

The hungry but unsuspecting Fox, went around the tree as he was told, and in a twinkling the Dog had
seized him.

Those who try to deceive may expect to be paid in their own coin.

1. Who are the characters of the story?

2. What is the theme of the story?
3. What is the Moral of the Story?
BELLING THE CAT

The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least
they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have time to run away.
Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly
dared stir from their dens by night or day.

Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a very young Mouse got
up and said:

"I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell
about the Cat's neck. When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is
coming."

All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before. But in the midst of
the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:

"I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one question: Who will bell the
Cat?"

It is one thing to say that some thing should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.

1.Why did the mice have meeting?

2.Who did the old house belong to?

3.Where did the mice play hide and seek?