Teaching Guide

The Dog, The Cat and The Mice - Guide

Where did this story come from?

Romania is in Eastern Europe, but people there speak a Romance (Latin based) language rather than a Slavic based language as many of their neighbors do. Long part of the Ottoman Empire, Romania came together as a nation only in 1878. After World War II, it was dominated by the Soviet Union, but today is independent and working to rebuild itself.

What happened?

1. How did the dog and the cat share responsibilities originally?
2. Why was the dog unhappy with his side of the arrangement?
3. Why did the dog want to see the written agreement?
4. Where was the written agreement of this arrangement kept?
5. What did the mice do that made the cat angry?

What do you think?

Was the agreement fair? Whose fault was it that it didn’t work out? Explain your answer.

Try this!

Does someone in your class keep a pet mouse, gerbil, guinea pig or other rodent? Have that person report on how rodents treat paper or cardboard.

Look it up!

What is the difference between an oral contract and a written contract? What kinds of oral contracts do you have in your class? In your family? Do you have written contracts as well? When should contracts be put in writing?

Newspaper Activity

Find a news story in today’s paper about a disagreement in which people can’t agree on a solution. Did they have a written contract? What went wrong to make them disagree ? Do you think they could have created a contract that would have helped them avoid this disagreement?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. The cat supervised activities inside the house, while the dog watched over and protected the house
outside.
2. The cat had little to do and was able to stay warm and dry inside. In addition to having to work in
cold, wet conditions, the dog felt unappreciated when his food was left carelessly in the rain.
3. Suspicious that the cat may not have been telling the truth, the dog wanted to know the exact
terms of the agreement and who made the agreement on behalf of the dogs.
4. The written agreement was kept in a trunk in the attic.
5. The mice shredded the document on which the agreement was signed.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

(Is it fair?) If the dog were given a warmer corner of the porch or his own doghouse and were treated
with more respect, then the terms of the agreement might be thought of as fair. The imbalance came
with the cat neglecting his duties – which resulted in mice being allowed to live in the house and damage its contents.

It could be argued that the cat should have taken greater care of the document and kept it in a safer
place, or checked on it more frequently, and his neglect of his duties was responsible for his unhappiness.

Skill Builders:
Language arts - vocabulary

Pick out all the words in the story which mean “to see”. Can you think of other words which suggest
a) to look at closely and b) to barely notice?
In story: glance, watch, notice, look, spy

Other verbs include: a) examine, peer, gaze, stare, gawk, glare, scrutinize, peruse b) peek, glimpse,
scan, peep

Language arts – sentence structure

Notice the phrases used to indicate the passage of time. How do they help the narrative?

Years ago, then one day, by now, through the cold, rainy night, ever since that day

They indicate the order of events and help the reader follow the narrative. They also add variety to
sentence structure to make the story more interesting.

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

Sparrow and Woodpecker - Guide

Where did this story come from?

Japan shares some of its ancient history with nearby countries, but for a very long time, the Japanese kept to themselves, and their stories and traditions are very much their own. Although Japan is a rich and successful nation, in folk stories like this one, the moral is less about what is safe or what will make you successful, and more about what is the right thing to do in order to be truly happy.

What happened?

1. Why was the merchant’s younger daughter more helpful?
2. What did the merchant save money to buy for his daughters?
3. What did the sisters find out when they went to the tailor’s shop?
4. What did the sisters do when the messenger told them their father was sick?
5. What happened to the sisters after their father died?

What do you think?

Many stories talk about poor, ragged girls being turned into beautiful princesses in lovely gowns. How is this story different? What point is the story trying to make?

Science question!

There are sparrows and woodpeckers all over the world, but there are lots of other birds, as well. If this story were written in this country, instead of Japan, what other kinds of birds might have been chosen for the girls to be turned into? Why?

Newspaper Activity

Read some fashion stories in the features section of your newspaper. Most will include descriptions of the clothing, with information about the designer or about how the clothing is worn and why it is special. Write a fashion story about the two kimonos. Can you provide illustrations for your story?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. She didn’t worry about messing up her hair, her makeup or her clothing.
2. Kimonos.
3. They didn’t have enough money for nice kimonos.
4. Suzume ran straight home, but Kitsutsuki stayed to finish coloring her kimono.
5. They became birds. Suzume became a sparrow and Kitsutsuki became a woodpecker.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

In many fairy tales, the mean sisters are also ugly, but Kitsutsuki is not mean to her sister, just thoughtless and self-centered, and she is very beautiful. Also, Suzume doesn’t want to be beautiful or rich, and she doesn’t feel that she is ill-treated. Nor is there any suggestion that she either envies her sister or disapproves of her.

Their “transition” is different because it reveals, rather than changes, the sisters: They change into who they are, rather than into something else. Note, too, that, in fairy tales, the poor, dutiful daughter is never appreciated until finally a king or prince realizes how beautiful she is. In this story, the father probably knew what his daughters were like all along. Nor does Suzume need anyone’s recognition or approval in order to become what she is destined to become.

Although it differs from many well-known fairy tales, this is not an unusual pattern in folklore, but in
most stories, the narrator begins by promising to explain how a particular animal became what it is. In
this story, we focus on the sisters from the beginning, and their nature as birds is revealed only at the
end. This focuses the narrative more sharply on the human dimension of the moral lesson, taking away
some of the distance inherent in the more familiar format, where we concentrate on the animal and its
human characteristics become more metaphorical.

Science question

Answers will vary, of course, depending on where you live and what birds students are familiar with.
This is a chance to see what your students know about birds, and also to gauge how well they have
absorbed the lesson of the story. (You might also find some books or web sites about birds such as
http://www.audubon.org/ to extend this lesson into your science curriculum)

Skill Builders
Research and Art

Encourage students to research kimonos and either draw and color a kimono or create one from cloth
(possibly scaled down for a doll).

Here is a large, accessible and interesting site on kimonos and other facets of Japanese life:
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/fashion/kimono.html

There are many pictures on the site, illustrating a large number of kimonos but also explaining how different types fit into different aspects of Japanese life.

Pay particular attention to the furisode, the formal kimono worn by young women when they come of age, but before they are married. This is likely the type of kimono the merchant wanted for his daughters. This web site (which is based in Australia) suggests that a furisode may cost $15,000.

(A cultural note: In recent years, many Japanese families have given their daughters lavish overseas
wedding trips because it is less expensive than hosting a formal wedding in Japan, where the cost of
the kimono is only part of the socially-required expenses!)

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

The Lion and the Jackal - Guide

Where did this story come from?

The Khoisan of South Africa found that their lifestyle changed a great deal when the European colonists came to their area. They lost most of their land and lived very hard lives for many years. Today, they are working with the government of South Africa to gain back much that they lost.

What happened?

1. How did Lion and Jackal get an eland to eat?
2. How did Jackal get scratches on his face? What did he tell Lion caused them?
3. Why did Jackal beat an old hide with a stick?
4. What was his wife doing while he hit the hide?
5. Who got to eat the eland for dinner?

What do you think?

Which adjective describes Jackal best -- “crafty” or “clever”?
Which adjective describes Lion best -- “foolish” or “trusting”?

Jackal’s tricks

One of the keys to fooling someone is to distract them so they don’t think clearly. For instance, magicians practice ways to get you to look at the wrong hand while they make things “appear” or “disappear” with the other hand.

1. How did Jackal get Lion angry so that Jackal could steal the eland and get it to the top of the tower?
2. When Lion was trying to climb the tower, what did Jackal pretend to do so Lion would be too upset to think of better ways to solve the problem?

Newspaper Activity

Find a story in the paper about a person who was tricked by somebody. In this story, it’s funny when Jackal tricks Lion. Was it funny in the story you found? What could the person in the news story have done to keep from being fooled? What lesson can you learn from that person’s experience?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. They cooperated by hunting together.
2. He put his face into a thorn bush, but he told Lion that Lion’s wife scratched him.
3. He wanted Lion to think he was hitting his wife.
4. She was laughing, but also pretending to be hurt.
5. Jackal and his family.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

“Crafty” suggests a negative feeling including trickery and deceit; “clever” suggests intelligence and
initiative. Discussion question: What would Jackal have ended up with if he had done things Lion’s
way?

“Foolish” suggests that Lion took a long time to realize he had been tricked; “trusting” suggests he gave Jackal the benefit of the doubt. Students might also think it was foolish of Lion to think Jackal would be happy with the leftovers when he had helped kill the eland.

Have students suggest other adjectives that carry similar implications.

Jackal’s tricks

1. He pretended Lion’s wife had scratched him and refused to come when Lion wanted her to. Lion
went to find her, and then Jackal could steal the eland!
2. He pretended to be hurting his wife. Lion was so upset that he didn’t think clearly and just did whatever Jackal suggested so that it would stop.

Skill Builder
Language arts – sentence structure

In narratives there are two ways of reporting what someone has said. One is to write in quotations
marks the exact words he or she used (direct speech). The other is to paraphrase what was said using
words that are similar but not necessarily exactly the same (indirect speech).

Compare: “You go get my family,” he said. “When they have finished, you can bring your family to eat.”
With: Lion told Jackal to call Lion’s family to eat, and added that when Lion’s family had had their dinner, Jackal could bring his family to eat.

Try it! What changes will you make?

In changing from direct to indirect speech, some words may be changed and some may be
added. Have students rewrite Lion and Jackal’s direct speech as indirect speech. Discuss the changes
they must make in the wording and punctuation.

This becomes that, these become those, here becomes there and so on.

Words indicating time are usually changed so that tomorrow becomes the following day, yesterday
becomes the previous day etc.

“Have you got our eland up there?” becomes “Lion asked if Jackal had the eland at the top of
the tower.”

Note that the question mark is no longer necessary.

The words recorded in direct speech in the present tense (“That’s easy,” Jackal answered.) are
written in the past tense in indirect speech (Jackal answered that it was easy.).

First and second person pronouns (and possessive adjectives) become third person. Names are
use to avoid confusion. (You stay here with the food becomes Lion told him to stay with the food.).

In indirect speech a word may be used to link the “he said” with what is said (Lion asked him if he
had the eland or Jackal replied that he took the eland up the tower).

In direct speech a new paragraph is begun each time someone new speaks. This is not necessary in indirect speech.

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

The Tulip Nursery - Guide

Where did this story come from?

England is not just where the English language came from, but it’s also a source of many popular
children’s stories, old and new, like “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” England was once the center of a mighty empire, and, during that time, spread its culture,
and its stories, all around the world. In those years, England also borrowed many stories from other lands.

What happened?

1. What things brought pleasure to the old lady?
2. What sounds did the old lady hear on the night of the full moon? Why were they unusual?
3. In what ways was the old lady self-reliant?
4. Why didn’t the old lady just stick her head out the window to see the fairies?
5. How did the man who bought the house ruin the garden?

What do you think?

What made the old lady’s garden so attractive to the fairies?

Why do you think the storyteller emphasizes that the old lady was “little” and lived in a “small” village in a “little” thatched cottage with a “tiny kitchen”?

Caution: Words at Play!

Think about the word “nursery.” Is there more than one kind of nursery? What kinds of things might you expect to find in one kind of nursery? What kinds might you find in another kind of nursery? How does this fit in with the story?

Newspaper Activity

When the old woman died, she had no family left, but the fairies surely knew that she was gone. Read the obituaries in your paper and see what sorts of information is in them. Write an obituary for the old lady as it might appear in her own paper. Now write another obituary as it might appear in the fairies’ newspaper. How will they be different?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. She enjoyed looking after her vegetable garden and her chickens, but she especially loved the tulips
in her garden.
2. She heard children giggling and the sound of soft singing. They were unusual because her house
was by itself at the edge of the village and nobody lived nearby.
3. She grew her own vegetables, raised her own chickens and did her own housekeeping. She was
sometimes lonely, but she seemed to be happy living alone.
4. She knew that, if the fairy mothers knew she had seen them, they would go away.
5. He wanted to make money from the healthy garden, but it was the fairies who made everything
there grow so well. When he took out the flowers, they left.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

The fairies probably liked the idea that the old lady was quiet and kept to herself so there wouldn’t be a lot of people coming around. The house was at the edge of the forest, so they could come and go easily. And they liked the well-tended garden as a playground for their babies.

One possible point is that the lady is unimportant and lives in an out-of-the-way place in order to make
the presence of the fairies that much more special. They may also feel that special things like fairies
don’t happen to big, loud, important, busy people because they don’t take the time to observe small
things. Students may also know country people who live quietly and enjoy good relations with birds
and small animals that come to their yards to feed. It’s not a long jump from that to the idea of co-existing quietly with fairy folk!

Skill Builders:
Language arts – vocabulary

Authors choose words not only for their meaning, but often for their sound. Words that have soft consonants like s, sh, w, wh and th give an impression of quiet like the sound of singing, soft and sweet.

On the other hand, hard consonants like b ,d, p, g, and k, can give an impression of noise or  harshness like a baby giggling and dug up all the tulip bulbs and planted herbs instead. As you read a story aloud, be aware of the sounds of the words as well as the meanings.

Language arts – sentence structure

Look at the use of commas to separate phrases and clauses within sentences:
A comma is used to set apart a introductory (often adverbial or prepositional) phrase at the beginning
of a sentence: One summer evening when the moon was just about to be full, the little old lady ... and Instead, from then on, she simply lay ...

Commas are used to separate words or phrases of explanation or comment (acting as parentheses in
this case). Note commas are used as pairs in these situations, unless coming at the end of a sentence,
when the full stop replaces the second comma: It sounded like a baby giggling, far away, and then
another... and The next day, as she worked in her garden, she thought...

Punctuate the following sentences correctly

The little old lady who lived alone was never lonely.
Once she had gone to bed the little old lady heard giggling in her garden.
Several months later after he had dug up the tulips the man tried to grow herbs without success.

The little old lady, who lived alone, was never lonely.
Once she had gone to bed, the little old lady heard giggling in her garden.
Several months later, after he had dug up the tulips, the man tried to grow herbs without success.

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

The Priest and the Tanuki - Guide

Where did this story come from?

Japan shares some of its ancient history with nearby countries, but for a very long time, the Japanese kept to themselves, and their stories and traditions are very much their own. Although Japan is a rich and successful nation, in folk stories like this one, the moral is less about what is safe or what will
make you successful, and more about what is the right thing to do in order to be truly happy.

What happened?

1. How did the priest spend his time?
2. How did his neighbors show their respect for him?
3. Why did the tanuki come to the priest’s home?
4. Why did it take so long for the tanuki to get the coins for the priest?
5. How did the priest help protect the tanuki’s privacy?

What do you think?

1. Besides wanting to stay warm, why do you think the tanuki kept coming back
to the priest’s house?
2. Why do you think the priest liked having the tanuki come to his house?
3. Why did the priest ask for the coins, and then say he didn’t really want them?
4. How does the tanuki go out of his way to respect the priest’s values?

Play the roles: The priest was a quiet, very well-behaved, religious man. Tanukis are mischievous, magical tricksters. Yet these two became good friends, even though their friends might not have thought they ought to hang out together.

Imagine if everyone knew about their friendship. Act out a discussion among the priest’s friends, and another among the tanuki’s friends. What sorts of things would they probably say? What sorts of things do you think they OUGHT to say?

Newspaper Activity

The priest and the tanuki had very little in common, and yet they had a very good friendship. Find examples in today’s newspaper about people who get along well despite their differences. Cut out the examples and make posters, using these examples and some words that explain how people who are different can get along.

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. Praying and meditating.
2. They gave him food and made sure his home was taken care of.
3. To stay warm in the cold winters.
4. He had to make them by hand.
5. He agreed not to tell anyone the tanuki was coming to his house.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

1. The priest respected the tanuki’s privacy. He didn’t ask him what mischief he might have been up to, and he didn’t try to get him to make any promises or changes in order to share the fire. It also seems that the tanuki understood the priest’s values and respected them.
2. He was company, but he didn’t bother the priest and make it hard for him to concentrate on his
meditation.
3. The tanuki wanted to give him a gift, and the priest wanted to let him do something that he wanted
to do. But after he asked for the coins, he felt greedy and was embarrassed.
4. He could have just stolen the coins, but he knew that would be offensive to the priest, so he
worked very, very hard to get them in an honest way.

Skill Builders:
Language arts: Suffixes

A suffix can be used to extend a base word so that it can do different jobs in a sentence. – tion or
–sion can turn a verb into a noun. In the story the author uses the verb meditate and the noun meditation.
The noun attention comes from the verb attend.

Add a suffix to turn the following verbs used in the story into nouns:

complete, admire, provide, admit, possess, imagine, recognize.

Completion, admiration, provision, admission, possession, imagination, recognition

Language Arts – Sentence structure

Adverbs can be created from nouns by adding –ly

terrible - terribly
mere - merely
mild - mildly
real - really
true - truly
intense - intensely
quick - quickly
final - finally

What are the rules to form adverbs from adjectives?

Usually just add –ly. Words ending in l will then have lly as the ending. Words ending in ll (e.g. full) just
add y. Sometimes the terminal e is dropped.

Adverbs: greatly (great, respected); simply (simple, asked, fulfilled); respectfully (respectful, bowed;
raised); easily (easy, could have stolen); truly (true, thankful).

NOTE friendly and earthly are adjectives, not adverbs!)

Note that adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs, not nouns.
Note some words ending in –ly are not adverbs but adjectives – e.g. silly person.

Identify & highlight the adverbs ending in –ly in the text. What are the nouns from which these
adverbs are derived? Identify the adjective, adverb or verb they are modifying.

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

The Water Dance - Guide

Where did this story come from?

The Bantu of South Africa are a large language group that includes many types of people, including the
Zulu and Xhosa. Most African-Americans are of Bantu heritage. The stories their ancestors brought to America are often retold as “Brer Rabbit” stories, and are similar to this one.

What happened?

1. How did the lack of rain affect the countryside?
2. Why was it important for all the animals to work together?
3. What was the hare’s “special water” really?
4. Why did the hare not notice the tortoise in the river?
5. How did the hare escape from the turtle’s back?

What do you think?

Do you think the other animals were right to refuse to share their water with the hare?

The hare is lazy, dishonest and annoying. He’s also very funny and clever. How do you feel about the hare? Can you name other characters in stories who are like the hare? How is it different to read about somebody like hare, and to have to deal with somebody like hare in real life?

Is a “water dance” real?

The water dance in this story is made up, of course. Animals don’t really talk, and they still eat each other, even during a drought.

But maybe the idea of a water dance isn’t entirely imaginary. Have you ever played in the sand at the beach? Sometimes, when you dig a hole in dry sand, you dig deep enough to reach the water underneath the sand. When rivers dry up, there still might be water under that dried mud. In real life, elephants often dig with their tusks to find it. Then other animals come to drink. After awhile, their walking in the mud to get a drink could make the hole deeper and wider. That’s a sort of “water dance,” isn’t it?

Newspaper Activity

The animals cooperated to solve their water shortage, and they made some rules, too. Imagine that they needed to advertise in the paper to get volunteers for the water dance. Create an ad that will encourage others to come help dance in the dry river bed. Make sure to tell both what can happen if they help, and what will happen if they don’t.

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. The rivers and streams dried up, and even the springs dried up.
2. It would take all of them to “dance” the riverbed down to where the water was.
3. Honey
4. Its shell looked like a rock in the river.
5. He got the elephant to pull him off and swing him around by his tail, which he knew would break
off.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

Students may vary on their feelings about the hare, and this might make a good debate topic, or a
topic for a mock trial in which a jury debates the fate of the water-thief. Some may go with the hard line view that he didn’t help and doesn’t deserve water, others may feel a social obligation to help all
animals who need water.

The second question is a continuation of the first. Would the animals be more apt to share water with a quiet, modest hare? How much difference does attitude make in the way people are treated by others?

Skill Builders:
Language arts – vocabulary

Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings such as beach,
the sandy shore at the edge of the sea or a lake, and beech, a tree. Look in the story for the
homonyms of the following words: reign, hair, planes, fir.

Language arts – sentence structure

Stories are much more interesting if they contain a variety of sentences rather than sentences that follow the same pattern all the time. A series of short sentences can create a sense of excitement or tension, or in the case of “The Water Dance”, emphasis:
First the streams stopped running. Then the rivers dried up. Even the springs ceased to pour water from the rocks.

While these are perfectly good, well-written sentences, a whole story of sentences like these would be
very boring. A good author is able to write different types of sentences – including the very simple ones – to change the pace of the story and to make it more interesting for the reader.

Sentences can be combined by turning one sentence into an adverb or adjective.
The gazelle danced next to the buffalo. The gazelle was tiny. The buffalo was mighty.
The tiny gazelle danced next to the mighty buffalo.

Sentences can be combined by using a conjunction like and, but, or because.
All of the other animals gathered in the river bed. They began to dance.
All of the other animals gathered in the river bed and began to dance.

Sentences can be combined by making one an adverbial or adjectival phrase.
The moon was rising. The hyena saw the hare. It was coming down the path.
The moon was just rising when the hyena saw the hare coming down the path.

Use these techniques to combine the four opening sentences of the story into one sentence.
Possible answers:
One summer when it did not rain, the streams stopped running, the rivers dried up and even springs
ceased pouring from the rocks.
When it did not rain one summer, the streams, rivers and even the springs dried up.

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

The Kildare Pooka - Guide

Where did this story come from?

Ireland has a long tradition of fairy tales, ghost stories and other folklore. You’ve seen the jolly leprechauns each St. Patrick’s Day, but in real Irish stories, leprechauns were not very nice and there were much more pleasant fairy folk around. Pookas are sometimes fun and sometimes scary, but meeting one is always an experience to remember!

What happened?

1. What kept the servants from sleeping well?
2. Why did the scullery boy not to to bed with the others?
3. Why was the pooka being punished?
4. How did the servants react when they learned about the pooka?
5. What happened when they rewarded the pooka with a warm coat?

What do you think?

Do you think the pooka learned his lesson? Do you think the experience of knowing the pooka was good or bad for the servants?

Make some lists!

In the squire’s kitchen, food was cooked over a fire in the fireplace, and water was also heated there to wash dishes and clean the floor. What other old-fashioned things were likely part of life then? List some old-fashioned ways of doing common household tasks, and the modern ways we do them today. Include a description of how newer technologies make life simpler.

Newspaper Activity

The pooka was ungrateful for the opportunities he had been given. Look through the newspaper and find photos of people who seem to be grateful. Make a collage of grateful people. How many ways does gratitude show in these pictures? Does it always take the form of saying “thank you,” or are there other ways you can tell someone is grateful?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. They could hear doors slamming and pots and pans clattering in the kitchen.
2. He fell asleep in the corner of the hearth and they didn’t notice him when they left.
3. When he was a servant, he didn’t work hard and was ungrateful for having a good job.
4. They stopped doing their work, because they knew he would to do it again anyway.
5. His punishment ended and he didn’t have to clean up the kitchen anymore. Now the servants had to!

What do you think? (Discussion points)

The pooka seems very ungrateful for not at least doing the dishes one more time before he left forever. There is humor and irony in this, of course. In discussing the effect of the pooka on the other servants, students may discuss how lazy those servants became. Could they have done better work with that spare time, instead of just using it to avoid doing anything? If so, who is the “ungrateful servant” now? (The servants were grateful to the pooka and gave him a coat -- but were they cheating the squire by goofing off?)

Skill Builders:
Language arts - vocabulary

There are many words to show that someone is talking. Sometimes, using a more specific word that
“said” or “asked” makes writing more interesting. It may also add a clue to the emotion of the speaker. But other times, a plain word is less distracting and puts the emphasis on what is said, not on who is speaking.

Substitute some of these words that mean “said” or “asked” in these sentences. Which words seem to
work the best? Which do you prefer? Which don’t work at all?

answered, replied, responded, announced, declared, said,
stated, told, shouted, giggled, screamed, laughed, cried.

(O)ne of the serving girls _______, “Well, if the donkey is going to do all that, what are we bothering
with it for?”

As the donkey was getting ready to leave, the boy stepped forward and _______, “Excuse me. Can
you tell me who you are, and why you come here to work every night the way you do?”

“I work here now because I didn’t work here before,” the pooka _________.

“We just wanted to ______ ‘thank you,’” the boy ________,

Make up your own sentences using quotes and substituting different words for “said” and “asked.”

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here

Foxes and Tiger - Guide

Where did this story come from?

India is a very large nation made up of many different peoples with many different traditions. This particular story comes from the Santal Parganas, an area north of Calcutta, and was collected by Cecil Henry Bompas, an Englishman who worked for the British Civil Service in India at the turn of the 20th Century.

What happened?

1. Why did the foxes go to town?
2. How many foxes were in the family?
3. What sorts of things did Mother Fox say to flatter the tiger?
4. Why did the tiger say he had to see the kids before he could solve the foxes’ problems?
5. Why did Mother Fox take the tiger to the den where the children were?

What do you think?

How did the way the mother fox spoke to the tiger help to fool him?

Look it up!

There are many kinds of foxes around the world. Can you figure out which kind of fox might be in this story? (Here’s a hint: The same name is also the kind of tiger in this story!)  Make a list of different types of foxes and choose a couple of them to learn more about. What do foxes have in common?

Safety tip!

The mother fox slowly backed down the den instead of running down head first. Why did she choose to go that way?

She really IS smart as a fox! She knew that, if you keep facing an animal that is threatening you, and move slowly, they’re apt to just keep watching you instead of chasing after you. Remember it if you meet a dog who doesn’t seem friendly!

Newspaper Activity

Turn to the classified section of your paper and see if you can find ads for apartments for rent. Do any of them have pictures, and do they tell what good things the apartment building has? Make up an ad for an apartment complex for foxes. What sorts of things can you say about the building that would appeal to Mother Fox?

Teacher's Page (Answers, tips and backgrounders)
What happened?

1. To get food for their family.
2. Seven: Two parents and five children.
3. She called him “uncle” (a term of respect) and she said he was “large and magnificent,” “wise and
mighty” and “an important person.”
4. He wanted the foxes to show him where the children were so he could eat them and the parents!
5. She wanted her husband and herself to be able to get down into the den where they would be
safe. She knew the tiger couldn’t get in there to harm her children.

What do you think? (Discussion points)

The tiger was fooled by Mother Fox’s flattery. He thought she was so impressed with him that she didn’t know what he was planning to do. But, in fact, he was so impressed with himself that he didn’t
know what she was planning to do, until it was too late!

Look it up!

Here’s a website for looking up foxes and all their cousins, though most of the information is on PDF
files rather than HTML that kids can see right on the screen. However, there are good pictures on the
site, and the information, once downloaded, is in depth and good for writing reports!

http://www.canids.org/species/index.htm

The Indian or Bengal Fox can also be found at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/144.shtml

(Note how the Bengal Fox conforms to the description in the story -- lives in a burrow and has 3-6 children! Folk tales are often based on observation of real animals.)

This site has information on the Bengal Tiger

http://www.bangalinet.com/bengaltiger.htm

Skill Builders:

Language arts - Commas and direct address
Note the use of commas in direct address to set off the person being addressed.
"And at last we have found you, oh wise and mighty uncle!"
"What is it, my niece?"
"Oh, I could never insult such an important person as you, mighty tiger, by
turning my back on you!"
Write some sentences using direct address. Will you put the person’s name at the beginning, at the
end or in the middle? Try some of each!

For a complete guide to this series of stories in PDF format, including several pages of material and suggested activities on folk tales in general, click here