1 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 “CRICTOR” BY TOMI UNGERER Once upon a time in a Little French town lived an old lady whose name was Madame Louise Bodot. She had one son who was in Africa studying reptiles. One morning the mailman brought her a peculiar O-­‐shaped box. Madame Bodot screamed when she opened it. It was a snake her son had sent her for her birthday. To make sure it was not a poisonous snake, she went to the zoo. She identified it as a boa constrictor. So she called her animal Crictor. Madame Bodot mothered her new pet, feeding it bottles of milk. She bought palm trees so Crictor would really feel at home. As dogs do when they are happy, he wagged his tail. Well fed, Crictor grew longer and longer and stronger and stronger. The boa followed his mistress when she went shopping. Everyone was astonished. Madame Bodot knitted a long woolen sweater for her pet to wear on cold days. Crictor also had a warm, comfortable bed. There he would dream happily, under his palm trees. In the winter it was fun for Crictor to wriggle in the snow. Madame Bodot taught at the public school. One day she decided to take Crictor to her classes. Soon Crictor learned to shape the alphabet in his own way S as in snake E as in elephant N as in nothing O as in oak L as in lion M as in man G as in glass W as in whale He could count too, forming figures. 2 for your two hands 3 for the three little pigs 4 for the four legs of the dog 5 for your five fingers 6 for the six legs of a bug 7 for the seven dwarfs 8 for the eight arms of the octopus The boa liked to play with little boys and little girls too. He helped the boy scouts learn knots. Crictor was a helpful snake. One day in a sidewalk café Madame Bodot heard from a friend at the next table that there had been a series of thefts in the town. That very night the burglar broke into her apartment. Madame Bodot was already gagged and tied to a chair when the faithful boa awoke and furiously attacked the burglar. The villain’s terrified shrieks awoke the neighbors. Crictor remained coiled around him until the police arrived. For his bravery a nice medal was awarded to the heroic snake. Crictor even inspired the local sculptor to make a statue in his honor. And the city dedicated a park to him. Loved and respected by the entire village, Crictor lived a long and happy life. 2 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 KEY VOCABULARY happy
• happiness
• unhappiness
• unhappy
faithful/
helpful
comfortable
• discomfort
• uncomfortable
• unfaithful
• unhelpful
Crictor
"not a poisonous
snake"
heroic
honored
• hero
• heroism
• bravery
• courage
• honor
• dishonor
• honorable
respected
• respect
• disrespect
• respectable
• respectful
SUGGESTED VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES Activity 1 To make sure it was not a poisonous snake, she went to the zoo. 3 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 Help students to find the word “poison” in “poisonous” and confirm that boa constrictors are indeed not poisonous. This means that they are not dangerous, which is what the French version says: “ce n’était pas un serpent dangereux.” If students already know the end of the story, you could point out that Crictor is neither poisonous nor dangerous, but is considered courageous because of the way he furiously attacked the burglar to save Mme Bodot. Then draw attention to the similarities in the endings of the following adjectives and how they’re formed from nouns: • poison ⇒ poisonous • danger ⇒ dangerous • courage ⇒ courageous • fury ⇒ furious Then, review some of the words seen in the context of Moon Man to get students to create adjectives ending in –ous from the following nouns: • disaster ⇒ disastrous en français: • courageux • fame ⇒ famous • dangereux • humor ⇒ humorous • désastreux • monster ⇒ monstrous • furieux • mountain ⇒ mountainous • monstrueux • mystery ⇒ mysterious • mystérieux • nerve ⇒ nervous Or, if this is too hard, have them find the noun in the adjective (e.g., nervous ⇒ nerve). Activity 2 Crictor also had a warm, comfortable bed. Help students to notice the suffix -­able in the adjective “comfortable” and have them identify “comfort” as the root. Then have them identify the root words in the following adjectives: • acceptable ⇒ accept • believable ⇒ believe • comparable ⇒ compare en français : • detectable ⇒ detect • acceptable • comparable • enjoyable ⇒ enjoy • confortable • honorable ⇒ honor • honorable • preferable ⇒ prefer • préférable • reliable ⇒ rely • respectable • respectable ⇒ respect • understandable ⇒ understand 4 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 Activity 3 Crictor was a helpful snake…. Madame Bodot was already gagged and tied to a chair when the faithful boa awoke and furiously attacked the burglar. Help students detect the words “help” and “faith” in “helpful” and “faithful” then have them form similar adjectives from the following nouns:
• beauty ⇒ beautiful • mouth ⇒ mouthful • bliss ⇒ blissful • pain ⇒ painful • care ⇒ careful • peace ⇒ peaceful • doubt ⇒ doubtful • play ⇒ playful • hand ⇒ handful • power ⇒ powerful • harm ⇒ harmful • respect ⇒ respectful • hope ⇒ hopeful • success ⇒ successful • meaning ⇒ meaningful • thought ⇒ thoughtful
• Activité 4 For his bravery a nice medal was awarded to the heroic snake. 5 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 Help students find the word “hero” in “heroic” and also in “heroism” then draw attention to the related nouns “bravery” and “courage” and their adjectives “brave” and “courageous”: brave • bravery heroic courageous • heroism • courage HERO Focus on the -­ic suffix in “heroic” then have students use the same suffix to form adjectives with from the following nouns:
• athlete ⇒ athletic • metre ⇒ metric en français: • catastrophe ⇒ catastrophic • microscope ⇒ microscopic • catastrophique • drama ⇒ dramatic • poetry ⇒ poetic • héroïque • historique • energy ⇒ energetic • rhythm ⇒ rhythmic • métrique • enthusiasm ⇒ enthusiastic • science ⇒ scientific • microscopique • history ⇒ historic • strategy ⇒ strategic • scientifique • magnet ⇒ magnetic • symbol ⇒ symbolic Activity 5 Crictor even inspired the local sculptor to make a statue in his honor. Loved and respected by the entire village, Crictor lived a long and happy life 6 Roy Lyster, McGill University – March 2012 Help students understand the meaning of “honor” and “respect” as well as their opposites “dishonor” and “disrespect”. Then have them figure out the opposites of the following words: •
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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dishonesty disadvantage disorder disagreement disbelief discomfort disappearance disapproval disobedience dissatisfaction Alternatively, focus on verbs rather than nouns (e.g., disagree, disobey, disappear, etc.). In the same way that the prefix “dis” can make a word mean its opposite, the prefix “un” is especially productive in English for making words mean their opposite. Ask students to imagine Crictor’s life if it hadn’t turned out to be such a happy one, with the goal of eliciting the word “unhappy” from them. Then have them practice using “un” to make the following words mean their opposite: Adjectives Verbs • able ⇒ unable • button ⇒ unbutton • believable ⇒ unbelievable • cover ⇒ uncover • certain ⇒ uncertain • do ⇒ undo • comfortable ⇒ uncomfortable • fold ⇒ unfold • fair ⇒ unfair • lock ⇒ unlock • faithful ⇒ unfaithful • pack ⇒ unpack • forgettable ⇒ unforgettable • plug ⇒ unplug • fortunate ⇒ unfortunate • wrap ⇒ unwrap • friendly ⇒ unfriendly • zip ⇒ unzip • healthy ⇒ unhealthy • helpful – unhelpful • known ⇒ unknown • likeable ⇒ unlikeable • likely ⇒ unlikely • lucky ⇒ unlucky • real ⇒ unreal • reliable ⇒ unreliable • sure ⇒ unsure • usual ⇒ unusual