Life's
Lessons
•
Skill: Story Elements (Plot)
Storytellers often use animal characters to teach us lessons
about human nature. What animal stories do you know that
have helped you to better understand yourself and others?
You'll have the opportunity to learn about and read more
of these kinds of stories as you complete the activities
in Life's Lessons.
Start by clicking the first activity below.
Take-Home
Activity: Family
Favorites
If you don't already have a copy of this activity, click the
link above. Then print out the page or copy the instructions.
Before
You Read: Animals That Teach Us About Ourselves
For thousands of years, people have told fables—stories
that teach lessons or morals. These stories usually have animal
characters who act and talk like humans. In each fable, a
character faces a problem similar to ones we humans face.
The ways in which the character tries to solve the problem
may be clever or foolish. In either case, thinking about how
the character acts helps us to better understand ourselves
and the ways in which we act when we face problems.
Do you know the fable about the
plodding
tortoise who accepts the
conceited
hare's challenge to race—and then beats the hare to the
finish line? The moral of that story is "slow and steady wins
the race." Do you remember the fable about a mouse who talks
a lion into setting him free? The lion laughs when the mouse
promises to help him someday. When the mouse keeps his promise,
however, the lion learns that "true friends come in all sizes"
and that "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever
wasted."
What other fables do you know? With some friends, talk about
one or more fables you have read or heard. List the main events
in each fable, how the fable ends, and what lesson you think
it teaches. You may want to use a chart like the one below.
| Title |
The
Hare and the Tortoise |
The
Lion and the Mouse |
| Events |
Hare
and Tortoise race each other. Hare is far in front and
so sure of his victory that he decides to take a nap. |
Lion
traps Mouse. Mouse promises to help Lion someday if Lion
will set him free. Lion laughs but lets Mouse go. |
| Ending |
Hare
wakes up just as Tortoise is crossing the finish line. |
Lion
is trapped in a hunter's net. Mouse gnaws through the
net and frees Lion. |
| Lesson(s) |
Slow
and steady wins the race. |
True
friends come in all sizes.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
|
Now read about some interesting fables you may not have
heard.
Have
You Heard?
- In
the fable "The Fox and the Grapes," Fox tries and tries
to grab a bunch of juicy grapes growing high above his head.
When he cannot reach them, he gives up. As he walks away,
he says, "Those grapes are probably sour. I don't want them."
From this fable comes the expression "sour grapes," which
describes the attitude of people who say something isn't
good anyway, as soon as they discover they cannot have it.
- In
the fable "The Crow and the Pitcher," thirsty Crow finds
a tall, narrow pitcher of water. He cannot reach the water,
however, because the level is too low. Then he has an idea
and begins to drop pebbles in the pitcher, one by one. With
each pebble, the water rises higher and higher until Crow
can have a drink. Crow's experience teaches us that little
by little you can solve your problems.
Next, you'll read another fable about a greedy dog who learns
an important life lesson.
Now
read "The
Dog and the Bone" and complete the worksheet.
If
you don't have a copy of the worksheet, click "The
Dog and the Bone" Worksheet. Then print out
the page or copy the instructions.
The
Dog and the Bone
Dog
trotted
along the road.
Clenched
in her teeth she carried a fat bone with plenty of meat
on it. Chef Henri of Henri's Cafe had tossed this juicy
prize to her as she passed his kitchen door. "Happy chewing,
Madame!" the kind man had called.
Dog
planned to lie down in the cool grass with that delicious
bone between her paws as soon as she got home. Then she
would gnaw and chew and crunch to her heart's content. Dog
turned a corner and started across a small footbridge over
a deep, slow-moving river. Her toenails clicked gaily on
the wooden planks.
BUT
WHAT WAS THAT?!
In
one blink, quicker than a flea can jump, Dog went from being
happy to being very, very jealous! For as she
gazed
down into the clear water, she saw another dog. Although
she had never met this dog before, she hated him instantly!
The other dog held clenched in his teeth a HUGE BONE! That
bone was much longer, fatter, and meatier than the poor
skinny
morsel
in Dog's own jaws.
"Now
that's the bone I want," said Dog to herself as she stared
at the other dog's bone. It was, without a doubt, the bone
of all bones. "I must have it!" she thought. A deep
growl rumbled up from her throat.
"You'd
better get ready to fight for that bone of yours!" barked
Dog to the dog in the water. When she opened her mouth,
her own bone dropped into the river with a loud PLOP!
Dog
leaped into the river, snarling and barking, grabbing for
the other dog's bone with fury. But when she hit the cold
water, Dog was shocked to find that there was no one there
to fight.
Bewildered,
she paddled around in circles until she realized the sad
truth: she had lost both the real bone she had held in her
mouth and the bone she had seen in the water. You see, the
dog she had seen in the river was simply her own reflection.
It was only her jealousy that had made the bone in the river
seem so big and juicy.
Sometime
later, and a bit farther downstream, Dog pulled herself
onto the riverbank. Wet, miserable, and hungrier than ever,
she sadly continued her journey home. On the way, Dog made
herself a promise: From now on, I will hold on to what is
real instead of chasing imaginary things.
When
you finish the "The
Dog and the Bone" Worksheet, use Rate Yourself
to judge how well you did on this Reading Journey.
If
you don't have a copy of Rate Yourself, click Rate
Yourself. Then print out the page or copy the instructions.
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