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 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. 7 STEP 5 – FINAL DRAFT AND PUBLISH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 12