a fable by Aesop
One day a tiny mouse accidently woke a sleeping lion. The lion growled and
said, “Such a tiny mouse has woken me up. I will eat it for a snack.” He
trapped the mouse’s tail under his big paw. “Oh no, Mr Lion,” squeaked the
mouse.
“Please don’t eat me. Spare me! I am just a little mouse,“ begged the poor
mouse. “Please let me go and one day I will repay you.”
“You’re right,” growled the lion. "You are too small to fill my tummy.”
“Thank you, Mr Lion,” squeaked the mouse. “One day I will help you.”
“Ha ha ha!” roared the big lion. “You can’t help me, you are such a little mouse,
and I need help from no one. I am the king of all the animals. I can help myself.”
The mouse quickly ran back to his home, grateful to be alive.
Not long after, the lion went for a walk. He walked into a hunter’s net and was
trapped. “Help!” he yelled. “I can’t get out. I’m trapped!” The lion struggled
under the net and could not believe he was being captured by the humans.
The tiny mouse heard the lion. He ran to the trap. “Little mouse!” roared the
lion. “Men have captured me. What am I to do? You’re too little to help me,”
growled the lion.
The mouse began gnawing at the rope and before long the lion was free. The lion
turned to his new little friend and said, “You taught me a great lesson today.”
He smiled gratefully and said, “You may be a little mouse, but you’re a big help.”
1
A fable is a short story with talking animals as characters. One of these
animals tries to teach other characters in the story a moral lesson.
Examples of fables:
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Lion and the Mouse
RESEARCH
Do research on fables. Use the space below to draw a mind map illustrating the
characteristics of a fable.
(7)
2
Do research on “The Lion and the Mouse.”
Use a dictionary or the internet to find the meanings of these words. Then choose
a word from the word bank to describe how the underlined characters must feel.
Word bank
proud:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
brave:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
scared:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
desperate:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
angry:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
thankful:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
relieved:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3
1. “Spare me!” begged the poor mouse. “Please let me go and one day I will
repay you.” __________________
(1)
2. Lion replied, “You can’t help me, you are such a little mouse, and I need
help from no one.” _________________
(1)
3. The mouse quickly ran back to his home, grateful to be alive.
_________________
(1)
4. The lion struggled under the net and could not believe he was being
captured by the humans. ________________
(1)
5. “Little mouse!” roared the lion. “Men have captured me. What am I to
do?” ________________
(1)
6. The mouse began gnawing at the rope and before long the lion was free.
________________
(1)
7. The lion turned to his new little friend and said, “You taught me a great
lesson today.” ________________
(1)
8. What is the moral of this story?
____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________ (1)
Total:
4
/15
WRITING
STEP 1 – PRE-WRITING
YOUR OPINION COUNTS!
A publishing company wants to print a book about the story: The Lion
and the Mouse. You have been asked to write a review of between
30 – 40 words and to design a front cover for the book.
Use the graphic organiser below to help you with writing your book review.
Genre:
Characters
Cover Picture
Setting
Opinion
Problem
Title:
Reason 2
Reason 1
Author:
5
STEP 2 – ROUGH DRAFT

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



6
STEP 3 – REVISE
Use the checklist below to complete step 3.
Tick the box once you have completed the instruction.
❑ Reread it to see if it makes sense.
❑ Are ideas in the correct order?
❑ Are clear details present?
STEP 4 – EDITING
Use the checklist below to complete step 4.
Tick the box once you have completed the instruction.
❑ Look for errors in grammar.
❑ Look for errors in punctuation, capitalisation, and spelling.
❑ Colour over all the punctuation marks with red.
❑ Colour over all the capital letters with green.
❑ Circle all the difficult words in blue and look them up in a dictionary to
make sure that the spelling is correct.
❑ Make sure that you have between 30-40 words.
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STEP 5 – FINAL DRAFT AND PUBLISH
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Review
8
FINAL COVER PAGE
TITLE
Author
9
ORAL PRESENTATION
The publishing company has
given you another BIG assignment.
YOU
You have been asked to advertise and sell the published book.
Prepare an oral advertisement. It should not be longer than 1
min. You can dress up. You need to attract the buyer’s attention
and persuade them to buy the book. The live broadcast will take
place in class, in front of the audience watching TV (classmates).
10
RESEARCH - MEMORANDUM
RESEARCH
Do research on fables. Use the space below to draw a mind map illustrating the
characteristics of a fable.
Animals that act like people
Setting is outside
A moral
What do we find in a
fable?
2 – 3 characters
A hero
A villain
Character with a weakness
(5)
11
Beside each detail from the story, decide how the underlined character must
feel at this point. Use the word bank to help you.
1. “Spare me!” begged the poor mouse. “Please let me go and one day I will
repay you.” Scared
(1)
2. Lion replied, “You can’t help me, you are such a little mouse, and I need help
from no one.” Proud
(1)
3. The mouse quickly ran back to his home, grateful to be alive. Relieved (1)
4. The lion struggled under the net and could not believe he was being captured
by the little humans. Angry
(1)
5. “Little mouse!” roared the lion. “Men have captured me. What am I to do?”
Desperate
(1)
6. The mouse began gnawing at the rope and before long the lion was free
Brave
(1)
7. The lion turned to his new little friend and said, “You taught me a great
lesson today.” Thankful
(1)
8. What is the moral of this story?
Size does not matter and you should never look at the outward
appearance.
OR
Small/young people can also do big things.
(1)
Total: 15
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