L O O

READ A R N
K L E
The more that you read
THE MORE THINGS
YOU WILL KNOW.
The more that you learn
THE MORE PLACES
YOU’LL GO.
AESOP’S
FABLES
One warm summer’s day a fox was
ambling along, enjoying the sunshine.
He came across a vine.

Juicy bunches of grapes were hanging

from its branches, ripe and ready to be
eaten.
The fox was thirsty, so when he saw the
grapes, he wanted to eat them right away.

Walking back a few steps, the fox took a

run up and jumped and almost reached
the grapes. “I'll try again," the fox
thought. He took a few steps back,
counted to three and ran and jumped
again, but he still couldn't reach the
grapes.
 “Third time lucky!”, the fox said and
jumped for a third time. But he still
couldn't reach. He tried again and again
until he became very tired and couldn’t
jump any more.

The fox thought for a while, put his nose

in the air and said to himself, “Well, I’m
sure the grapes were sour anyway!” It is
not easy to like what you cannot get.

Moral: It is easy to despise what you cannot get

Comprehension Questions:

1. The hungry fox went to a vineyard. What is in a vineyard?

a. a place where one raises foxes
b. a place where one raises grapes
c. a home for birds
2. The grapes looked
a. sour and large.
b. dried up.
c. juicy.
3. The fox did not eat the grapes because
a. they were too far up for him to reach.
b. they were no good.
c. they were sour.
The Wolf was having fish for lunch,
when suddenly a tiny bone got stuck in
his throat.

The Wolf tried to swallow it but he

couldn’t. It started hurting so terribly that
the wolf couldn’t bear the pain any
longer. He ran out to look for help.
First, he met a Bear. “I would give you
anything if you help me take out the
bone”, the wolf said. But the Bear’s paw
was too big and he couldn’t help.

Then, the Wolf saw his friend Fox.

“Please, Fox, I’m in a great pain. If you
help me take the bone out, I will give
you whatever you want.” The Fox told
the Wolf to open his mouth but the bone
was stuck too deep in his throat and he
couldn’t reach it.
Next, the Wolf met a Crane. “Crane, my
friend, I would give you anything if you
took out the bone that is stuck in my
throat.”

The Crane made the Wolf open his

mouth as wide as he could and quickly
took out the bone from inside the Wolf’s
throat.
 “You promised to give me anything if I
helped you”, said the Crane...

... but the Wolf just grinned and said

“You received your gift already. You put
your head inside a Wolf’s mouth. You are
still alive and that is the biggest gift I
could give you.”
Moral: Expect no reward for serving the one who has no honor.
Staying in a company of selfish people will not do anyone any
favor.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What happened as the wolf was eating happily?
a. There was nothing left to eat.
b. A bone stuck in his throat.
c. He became full.
2. Why did the crane agree to help the wolf in the end?
a. The wolf promised to give her a big surprise.
b. The wolf promised not to hurt her.
c. The wolf promised her a reward.
3. What was the crane’s reward?
a. She received a big reward.
b. She had the bone.
c. She did not get any reward.
 There was a poor man who lived with his wife. They
lived in an old house at the end of a village. Both the
man and his wife were farmers. They reared some geese
on their farm. The geese would lay eggs every day.

Then, the farmers would collect the eggs and sell them. They
would get some money after selling the eggs.

One day, the farmer was surprised. One of the geese had
laid a golden egg. "Come! Come and see this!" he called out to
his wife. She came running to the coop. She was surprised to
see the golden egg.
 " Our goose has laid a golden egg!" she
shouted happily. " We will be rich when we sell this
golden egg!"

The farmer later went to town. He sold the

golden egg to a goldsmith. He was happy to get a
lot of money for it. "If the goose lays a golden egg
each day, we will be very rich soon!" the farmer said
to his wife. The farmer's wish came true. The next
day, he went to see the goose again. It had laid
another golden egg.

The farmer had a lot of money now. The

goose laid a golden egg every day. The farmer and
his wife became very rich and lived in a new house.
Soon, the farmer became greedy. One day, he
had an idea. He believed that the goose had many
golden eggs in its stomach.
 "If I cut the goose's stomach, I will
get more golden eggs," he thought. So, he
took a knife and walked towards the coop.
He cut open the goose's stomach.
However, he could not find any golden eggs
in the goose's stomach. The farmer was
very disappointed.

The farmer realized his mistake. The

goose was dead and there was no more
golden eggs.

Moral: Do not be greedy or you will lose everything.

 Comprehension Questions:
1. The goose that the man and the woman had:
a. Gave them 1 golden egg every day.
b. Was golden on the inside.
c. Had many golden eggs inside.
2. The woman and the man killed to goose because they thought:
a. That the goose was golden on the inside and they would become rich quickly.
b. They did not want other people to take it from them and become rich.
c. They just did not need it anymore.
3. Did the woman and the man become richer after they killed the goose?
a. Yes, they did.
b. No, they did not.
c. maybe
A long time ago there was a hare who wouldn’t
stop teasing a tortoise for his slowness. “I’m the
fastest runner in the woods and you are the
slowest one! We should compete!” he jeered.

One day the tortoise, tired of the hare

showing off, agreed to have a running
competition. “You may be fast, but I am
persistent”, he said.
The next day the tortoise and the hare
stood at the start, ready for the race.
“One, two, three, go”, said the hare and
they started running.

The hare was a long way in front of the tortoise

when he saw a field of cabbages. He looked
back and almost couldn’t see the tortoise. “Take
your time!” he shouted to the tortoise, “I’ll have
a snack here and still I’ll win the race!”
When he had finished his breakfast, the hare
looked around to see how far the tortoise had
got. He still hadn’t passed halfway! Feeling
sleepy after his snack, the hare thought to
himself, “I will have a quick snooze now and
when I wake up I will quickly run past the
finish line.”

He fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of

winning the competition. Time passed
and the sun was already setting when the
hare woke up. He jumped and looked
around to see the tortoise a few steps
from the finish line.
 The hare rushed towards the finish line
as fast as he could, but the tortoise was
already crossing it, winning the
competition. “You don’t always have to
be the fastest to win”, the tortoise told
the hare, who was sobbing in disgrace.

Moral: Slow but steady wins the race

Comprehension Questions:
1. What is the main theme of the story?
a. Everyone needs good sleep.
b. Do not brag.
c. Being overly confident can help you.
2. Who won the race?
a. The tortoise.
b. The mouse.
c. The hare.
3. Why did the tortoise win the race?
a. He chose to eat a good breakfast.
b. He was slow, but steady the entire race.
c. He was super fast.
It was a hot summer day. A grasshopper
was lying in the shade, relaxing from the
heat of the sun when an ant passed by.
The ant was dragging a huge seed in
order to store it for the winter.

Just looking at the ant made the

grasshopper feel tired. "Ant, why do you
work all day long? Why don’t you sit for
a while and sing a song with me?” he
asked, and he took out his violin.
“I am gathering food for the winter when
it will be cold and there will be no food.
It would be a good idea if you did the
same," the ant answered.

“Oh Ant, why worry about the winter?

There is plenty of food right now!” the
grasshopper replied. The ant walked
away with his load, leaving the
grasshopper playing his violin and
singing.
 Winter came and just as the ant had warned,
Grasshopper had no food stored. So he went to
the ant. “Hello again, Ant! I came to sing you a
song in return for some food.”

“All summer long I was working hard, while

you were singing and laughing at me. As a
result I have a full tummy now and you are
hungry.”

Moral: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

Comprehension Questions:
1. Which character in the story played all day?
a. ant
b. grasshopper
c. bee
2. Why was the Ant storing food for?
a. summer
b. spring
c. winter
3. What is the main theme of the story?
a. play hard
b. plan for the future
c. it’s better to take food from others
REFERENCES:
• taleswithgigi.com/tale/15/
• http://taleswithgigi.com/tale/34/
• englishstorybooks01.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-goose-that-laid-
golden-eggs.html
• http://taleswithgigi.com/tale/40/
• http://taleswithgigi.com/tale/14/
One warm summer’s day a fox was ambling along,
enjoying the sunshine. He came across a vine.
Juicy bunches of grapes were hanging from
its branches, ripe and ready to be eaten.
 The fox was thirsty, so when he
saw the grapes, he wanted to eat
them right away.
 Walking back a few
steps, the fox took a
run up and jumped
and almost reached
the grapes. “I'll try
again," the fox
thought. He took a
few steps back,
counted to three and
ran and jumped
again, but he still
couldn't reach the
grapes.