Beginners' Book in Language Part 3

8. Another group of pupils may now play the whole story. Let them do it in their own way.[5] If the story is played well, the cla.s.s will see everything as it happened.

=8. Telling a Fable=

The fable of the ants and the gra.s.shoppers may be told in different ways.[21] You could tell it as if you were one of the ants. In that case the story might begin in this way:

I am a busy ant. I really have no time to stop to talk with you.

But perhaps a few minutes' rest will do me good. Yes, I will tell you about the gra.s.shoppers.

One day last summer I noticed some of these good-for-nothing fellows near the field where I was working. They were sunning themselves by the roadside. They were too lazy to work.

Or you could tell the fable as if you were one of the gra.s.shoppers. Then it would perhaps begin as follows:

I am a gra.s.shopper. I had a hard time last winter. All my companions died then. I think it is wonderful that I am still alive. But my health has been ruined.

You see, last summer we gra.s.shoppers did not feel like doing any work. We thought it was more fun to dance and sing and to laugh at the ants. We thought they were foolish to work so hard.

=Oral Exercise.= Tell the fable of the ants and the gra.s.shoppers in your own way. As you speak to your cla.s.smates, shall you play that you are an ant or a gra.s.shopper?

=Group Exercise.= As each pupil tells the fable, the cla.s.s will listen to see whether any important parts have been left out. The cla.s.s should tell each speaker where he did well and where the fable might have been told better. There is a good way and a poor way of telling a story. Do you not remember the two ways in which Tom told his dream?

=9. Making up Fables=

As you know, the fable of the ants and the gra.s.shoppers teaches the lesson that during worktime one should work. The same lesson could be taught by other stories. Let us try to make up a fable of our own. Our fable should show what happens to those who will not work.

=Oral Exercise.= 1. What animals shall we have in our story to take the place of the ants? They must be very busy animals. They must be good workers. They must not waste their time in idleness. They must not play when they should be going about their business. Would bees do? Now, what animals shall take the place of the gra.s.shoppers? What do you think of b.u.t.terflies for this part?

2. Make up a fable about bees and b.u.t.terflies and tell it to your cla.s.smates. Will you tell it as if you were one of the bees? Or will you be a b.u.t.terfly? Or will you tell the fable as if you were a bird or a field mouse that saw all that happened and heard all that was said?

=Group Exercise.= After each telling of the fable you and the other pupils should tell the story-teller, first, what things in his story you liked, and, second, what could be made better.

Sometimes pupils do not speak loud enough for the cla.s.s to hear.

Sometimes they do not seem strong enough to stand squarely on their two feet while they are speaking. They seem to need to hold on to a chair or table, so as not to fall. Those who stand well and speak with a clear, ringing voice should be praised for it by their cla.s.smates.[22]

=Oral Exercise.= Read the following ideas for stories. Perhaps you can make up a story from one of them that the cla.s.s would like to hear.

Perhaps you can make up a very interesting story that the cla.s.s would like to play.

1. There are two dogs living in neighboring houses. One is too lazy to watch his master's house. The other is faithful. When a burglar comes, the faithful dog drives him away. Then the burglar enters the neighbor's house. There he finds the lazy watchdog fast asleep. What happens next morning when the master of each dog learns what took place during the night?

2. The billboards say that a circus is coming. In a month it will be in a certain city where two boys live. These two boys plan to go. They need to earn the money for the tickets. One of them begins at once and works steadily. The other is unwilling to give up his play.

=10. Correct Usage--_Saw_, _Seen_=

Some time ago we began to learn about the correct use of the word _saw_.

Some pupils use _saw_ when only _seen_ is correct, and _seen_ when only _saw_ is correct. The following sentences show the correct use of these two troublesome words:

1. I _saw_ some ants busily at work.

2. _Have_ you _seen_ them?

3. Have you ever _seen_ a gra.s.shopper at work?

4. I never _saw_ one.

5. But I _have_ often _seen_ ants at work.

6. _Has_ your brother _seen_ the ant hill in the field?

=Oral Exercise.= 1. In any of the sentences above do you find _saw_ used with _have_ or _has_? Do you find _seen_ used in any sentence without _have_ or _has_? Can you make a rule for the use of _saw_ and _seen_?

2. Using what you have just learned about _saw_ and _seen_, fill the blanks below with the correct one of the two words:

1. The gra.s.shoppers ---- the ants, and the ants ---- them.

2. I have ---- many ants and many gra.s.shoppers.

3. Has any one ever ---- this gra.s.shopper doing any work?

4. I once ---- two ants carrying a heavy grain of wheat together.

5. I ---- them at work.

6. Have you ---- the ants carrying grain this summer?

7. My brother once ---- a beehive.

8. He ---- hundreds of bees.

9. I have never ---- b.u.t.terflies gathering food for the winter.

=Game.= 1. The teacher sends one of the cla.s.s from the room. The remaining pupils close their eyes. The teacher tiptoes to one of them and shows him a pencil (or a book or a cap) belonging to the pupil in the hall. When that one returns to the room, he asks each of his cla.s.smates in turn, "George (or Fred or Mary), have you seen my pencil?"

The answer is, "No, Tom (or Lucy or John), I have not seen your pencil,"

until at last the pupil is reached who has seen it. He answers, "Yes, Tom, I have seen it."

Then he in turn leaves the room, and another round of the game begins.

2. The teacher points to one pupil after another and asks each, "What did you see on your way to school?" The answers come: