A Bell for the Cat
(adopted by Aesop's fable)
Once upon a time there lived three friendly mice. They were the happiest mice in the world
because they lived together in a peaceful house with an old lady who enjoyed in good food.
The first mouse was called Snowflake. She was really small, pretty and as white as snow. She
was the youngest of all three mice. Her favourite season was winter. She liked hiding in the
snow. Snowflakes were her best fun and her popular dessert too.
The second one was named Rose. She was bigger and a bit older than Snowflake. She liked
being beautiful and wore amazing dresses that she carefully sewn herself. She was as pretty
as a picture. All mice always said: »She is the cutest mouse.«
The third one was a male, Peanuts. It was a funny name because he was really huge. He was
the oldest, the biggest and the fattest too. He liked eating and was always stealing delicious
peanuts. He was lazier than other two and he thought he was the smartest.
One day, the old lady’s neighbour went on a short holiday and she asked the lady to take
care of her cat. When the mice heard the conversation, they got scared. All the mice in
neighbourhood knew about that terrible cat. It was catching and eating all of the mice. It
was as fast as wind and as cunning as a fox.
“What can we do? What can we do?” asked the three mice. Peanuts called an urgent
meeting. “We need to find a way to solve this problem.” said the biggest mouse. “How can
we keep that hungry cat from catching any of us?” asked the younger mouse.
The mice talked and talked and talked. No one could think of
a good way to solve this problem. At least, the youngest
mouse stood up. “I know what to do. The cat can sneak up
on us because it is so quiet. We should put a bell around the
cat’s neck. Then we could hear when it is coming and run for
cover.” said the wise Snowflake.
“Hoorah!” shouted other two mice. “We’re saved! We’re
saved! We’ll put a bell on the cat!”
As the younger two mice shouted with joy, the oldest mouse
said with a loud voice. “I think a bell on the cat is the best
plan. It would give us a chance to escape that hungry cat.
But, tell me, just who will put it there?”
The room became very quiet. Each mouse slowly left the
room. No one wanted to bell the cat.
1. What is the moral of the story? Circle the answer you like best or write your own.
a. A plan isn’t any good if can’t work.
b. It’s good to have a plan.
c. (your own answer) __________________________________________
2. Answer these questions in short.
a. What was the mice’s problem? ______________________________________________
b. Why did the mice have a meeting? ___________________________________________
c. What was Snowflake’s plan? ________________________________________________
d. How would putting a bell on the cat help the mice? _____________________________
e. What happened when Peanuts asked who would put the bell on? __________________
3. Change the underlined parts of the sentences with these words:
escape, a terrible, sneak, bell the cat, had a meeting
a. The mice got together to talk. _______________________
b. The mice wanted to get away from the cat. _______________________
c. The mice planned to put a bell around cat’s neck. _______________________
d. It was an awful problem. _______________________
e. The cat would creep up on the mice. _______________________
4. Circle all the adjectives in the text. Use 4 different colours (mark them in a square):
positive comparative superlative as – as
(osnovnik) (primernik) (presežnik) (tako – kot)
5. Complete the table with comparison of adjectives. Write all three forms.
SLOVENIAN POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
TRANSLATION (–er than) (the –est)
(more … than) (the most …)
old
young
short
small
cute
loud
smart
big (double -g →)
fat (double -t→)
thin (double -n→)
happy
pretty
funny
lazy
hungry
amazing
favourite
beautiful
peaceful
terrible
delicious
Irregular comparisons: good - ______________________ bad - ______________________
2 patterns comparison: friendly, quiet (clever, simple): er/more, est/most
Comparisons as – as: _________________________________________________________
The Old Dog and the Young Lion
An old dog was in the forest, chasing rabbits. Suddenly, he saw a young lion and the
lion saw him! The old dog thought "Oh no! I'm in deep trouble now!”
Just then, he saw some bones on the ground and he had an idea! He chewed the
bones.
Just as the hungry lion was about
to pounce on him, the old dog
licked his lips and shouted
loudly:
"That lion was delicious! I
wonder if there are any more?”
When he heard this, the young lion was terrified and he turned round and ran away.
"Phew!" he said, "That was close! That old dog nearly had me!’
Meanwhile, a squirrel who was at the top of a tall tree,
saw this. He decided to follow the lion and he told him
everything, in return for a promise of protection from the
lion.
The young lion was furious
because the old dog had tricked him. "Here squirrel, hop on
my back and see what's going to happen to that old dog!”
he said.
When the old dog saw the lion coming back with the squirrel
on his back, he thought fast and he made a plan! He
pretended not to see them, turned his back and said out
loud: What might
happen next?
"Now, where's my squirrel? I sent him off to bring me another lion!”
WORD STUDY: Match up the synonyms Answer: Yes, he did OR No, he didn’t.
or similar terms.
1) Did the dog see a lion?
Pounce angry
2) Did the lion see the dog?
Spotted big
3) Did the dog run away?
Tasty return
4) Did the lion pounce?
Terrified in the meantime
5) Did the dog lick his lips?
Run away jump
6) Did the lion eat the dog?
Meanwhile saw
7) Did the lion run away?
Tall delicious
8) Did the squirrel see what happened?
Furious escape
9) Did the squirrel mind his own business?
Come back frightened
10) Did the squirrel hop on the lion’s back?
Read the sentences. Find the inaccuracies and write the sentences out correctly.
1) A young dog was in the school yard, chasing squirrels.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2) The old dog found some toys and buried them in the ground.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3) Just as the tiger was about to pounce on him, the old dog ran into the forest.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4) When the young lion heard what the old dog said, he roared and attacked him.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) A rabbit heard this and sat beside the old dog.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6) The lion was pleased that the dog had tricked him and he laughed out loud.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7) The lion told the squirrel to go back to his tree.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8) When the old dog saw the lion returning with the cat on his back, he hid behind a tree.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Circle the right word in the brackets to complete the story:
An old dog was in the forest chasing rabbits (which, when) he spotted a lion (leaving, approaching)
him. The old dog (slowly, quickly) formed a plan to outwit the lion (because, and) he pretended he
had (never, already) eaten a lion. (If, when) the lion believed he could become a nice dinner for
the dog, he ran (up, away).
(As soon as, in the meantime) a squirrel had seen everything (what, that) had happened and he
(followed/led) the lion and (said, told) him. The lion roared (furiously, happily) and (immediately,
recently) set off back to confront the dog, (as, with) the squirrel on his back.
The moral of this tale is: (don’t mess with old dogs, squirrels are just out for themselves, age and
experience will always beat youth and treachery.)
