Grade V FABLES (TERM 1)

THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE

Once upon a time a Town Mouse went off to the country to visit one of her
relatives.
The Country Mouse was really thrilled to see her and at lunchtime she
served up what she usually had, which was wheat stalks, grass seeds,
roots and acorns, with a little drop of cold water to wash it all down. The
Town Mouse didn’t eat very much, and just nibbled a little bit of her food.
She pulled a face as she didn’t like the food at all but tried her best to be
polite.
After the meal the two mice had a good old chat. Well, actually, the Town
Mouse talked about what a wonderful life she had in the town while the
Country Mouse just listened. That night they went off to bed in a cosy nest
in the hedge and had a peaceful and snug sleep until early the next
morning. The Country Mouse had dreamt all about the lovely life that her
relative had told her about. When the Town Mouse asked the Country
Mouse if she’d like to come back to the town with her, her little eyes
sparkled and she said, “Oh, yes please!”
After a long journey on their little mousy legs they finally arrived at the big
house where the Town Mouse lived. They were both very hungry so when
they went into the grand dining room, they were delighted to find the
leftovers of a feast on the table. There were jellies, cakes and delicious-
looking cheeses, the sorts of foods that a country mouse can only dream
about.
The Country Mouse picked up a lovely little bit of pastry in her paw and was
about to take a bite when suddenly she heard a cat mewing and scratching
at the door. The two little mice were very frightened and scampered off to a

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little hiding place, where they waited for a long time, hardly daring to
breathe.
The Town mouse peeped out and the cat had gone. But just as they were
about to get back to the lovely food the cook came bursting in to clear the
table. And right behind the cook was the House Dog. “Grrrrrrrrrr.”
The Country Mouse went straight to the Town Mouse's little den and quickly
packed her little bag.
"Sorry, but I’ve got to go! I haven’t got a big house to live in or all the
delicious food you’ve got but I much prefer my simple, safe and peaceful
country life.” And with that, she scampered off.
And the moral of the story is that it is sometimes better to live a safe and
peaceful life than a life of luxury that might end in disaster.

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THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

One fine day a hare was being a bit unkind and made fun of his friend the
tortoise for being such a slowcoach.
The hare laughed and laughed and said, "How do you ever actually get
anywhere?"
"Hmmm," replied the tortoise, "Oh, I get there all right and much sooner
than you might think. Why don’t we run a race and you will find out?"
The hare thought this was highly amusing and giggled as he pictured
himself zipping along miles ahead of the slow old tortoise. “Okay, you’re
on,” agreed the hare. They got their friend the fox to act as the judge and
he counted down, “5,4,3,2,1 and off you go!”
Very quickly, the hare raced ahead and he was way off in the distance as
the tortoise crept slowly along on his little legs, carrying the heavy shell on
his back.
The hare knew the tortoise was a very long way back and would take ages
to catch up. So he thought he would have a little sleep and that would
make the tortoise feel very silly for challenging him, a hare, to a race. Then
he could spring up and dash for the finish line.
Now, the tortoise just kept plodding slowly and steadily along and, as time
went on, he passed the spot where the hare lay fast asleep. The tortoise
just kept going until he was very close to the finish line. The hare suddenly
woke up and ran as fast as he could but he was too late. The tortoise
crossed the line and was declared the winner.
And the moral of that story is that it's not always the fastest who wins the
race.
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THE DOG, THE ROOSTER AND THE FOX

Once upon a time there was a dog and a rooster and, believe it or not, they
were the very best of friends. They were talking one day and decided they
would like to see a bit more of the world. So they thought that it would be a
great idea to leave the farmyard where they both lived and head off down
the road that led to the woods. The two friends were so happy and excited
as they set off on their journey.
They had walked along all day and by the time the sun had set they were
both pretty tired. They decided it was time to get some sleep. The rooster
spotted an old hollow tree and he thought that would suit them both very
well. He could fly up to a branch to roost, while his friend the dog could curl
up on the ground inside the hollow. They both agreed that this was a
wonderful arrangement and they both slept the night through.
First thing in the morning, when the sun rose in the sky, the rooster woke
up suddenly and he was a bit confused. Now, it was the rooster’s job to
crow loudly every morning to remind people to wake up. But, for a moment,
he forgot that he wasn’t in the farmyard. So, he stood up where he had
perched for the night, took a big breath and crowed as loudly as he could.
But instead of waking up the farmer and his family, he woke up a fox who
had been sleeping in the woods nearby. As soon as he heard the rooster,
the fox thought, “Rooster for breakfast, yum, yum.”
Now, foxes can be crafty creatures and this one thought up a plan to get
the rooster down from his perch. He trotted over to the hollow tree and said
in his politest voice, "Welcome to our woods, sir. I am so very happy to see

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you here. Do you know, I think that you and I could become the very best of
friends.”
Now, his friend the dog had told the rooster about how crafty and sly foxes
could be. So, the rooster replied, "Dear fox, I’d be delighted to be your
friend, how kind of you. Please just go around to the door of my house at
the foot of this old hollow tree, and my rooster servant will let you in."
The hungry fox couldn’t believe his luck – two roosters for the price of one!
So he went around the tree just as he was told. But the dog was waiting for
him and instantly jumped up growling and barking as loudly as he could.
This gave the fox the fright of his life and he ran off terrified back into the
woods.
And the moral of that story is; people who are nasty to others should not
expect to be treated nicely in return.

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THE DOG AND HIS REFLECTION

One fine sunny day a little dog was trotting happily through the village when
he passed a butcher’s shop. He licked his lips at the thought of all the
delicious bones there.
Just then, the very kind butcher saw him, came out of the shop and threw
him a bone. “Here you are, old chap,” cried the kind butcher. The little dog
could hardly believe his luck, grabbed the bone in his mouth and trotted
home as fast as he could, wagging his little tail in delight.

His way home took him over a little bridge across a big pond. Now, as he
crossed the bridge, he chanced to catch sight of his reflection in the still
water. It was like looking in a mirror. Greedy little dogs don’t really
understand mirrors and he thought what he saw was another dog with a
much bigger bone in his mouth. But it was just his reflection, after all. He
thought to himself, “I’m going to have that great big bone!” So he dropped
his own bone over the side of the bridge and jumped right into the pond just
where he had seen his reflection.
Oh, dear, the pond was very, very deep and the greedy little dog wasn’t a
very good swimmer and soon he was paddling as hard as he could to
reach dry land.
Finally, he struggled out of the water, shook himself and stood there,
thinking how sorry he was that he’d lost such a good bone.
He walked sadly back home, thinking what a silly, greedy little dog he’d
been.
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And the moral of that story is that it is very foolish to be greedy.

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

One fine and sunny day a fox was strolling along minding his own foxy
business. He thought he might sit down under a shady tree and have some
lunch, as he was a bit thirsty and hungry. Then he realised he’d left his
lovely packed lunch at home. "Oh, you foolish fox!” he said to himself. But
just then he looked up and what should he see but the most delicious-
looking bunch of purple grapes he’d ever seen in his whole foxy life.
They were just sitting there; hanging from a grapevine that ran along the
branches of a tree. The grapes looked like they were about to burst with the
tastiest juice and the fox’s mouth began to water. “Oh, I’ve got to have
these, just got to!” he muttered to himself, “I shall fill my foxy face with
them!”
The bunch of grapes hung from a very high branch so the fox jumped up to
reach it. He hadn’t jumped high enough and missed it by a long way. So he
walked back a little way and took a running leap. Up he went but not high
enough and his paw missed the grapes. He kept jumping and jumping but
every single time he missed.
Now he was hot and tired and thirsty and hungry and cross. He sat down
under the tree and looked up at the grapes in disgust.
"What a foxy fool I am," he muttered. "What am I doing wearing myself out
jumping up and down on a hot day like this just to get hold of a bunch of
horrible old sour grapes?" So, he got up, made a cross face and off he
went.
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And the moral of the story is that sometimes people pretend to dislike
things they can’t have. Oh, and did you know that this is where the phrase
‘sour grapes’ comes from?

THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF

Once upon a time a very long time ago there was a young shepherd boy,
whose job was to watch his master's sheep. He just sat there in the field
every single day with nothing much to do but watch sheep munching at
grass. He was so bored! Sometimes he talked to his dog or played a little
tune on his shepherd's pipe but he quickly got bored with that, too.
One day, as he sat watching the sheep, he wondered what he would do if
he ever saw a wolf come out of the deep, dark forest nearby. His master
had told that if ever a wolf came by and attacked the flock he should call to
the people in the village and they would come and chase it away.
Then he thought of something that would give him some real fun. He ran
down to the village, yelling, "Wolf! Wolf!" as loudly as he could. Just as he
hoped, the villagers heard him yelling, immediately stopped their work and
ran straight up to the field. When they arrived, there was no wolf of course
and the boy was laughing his head off at the trick he had played on them.
Only a day or two later the shepherd boy played the same trick and yelled,
"Wolf! Wolf!" Once more, the villagers ran to help him, only to have the
shepherd boy laugh at them again.
After a long, hot and sunny day the sun was setting and there were
shadows on the field from the trees in the nearby forest. The boy sat

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quietly, talking to his dog and then yawned. Right at that very moment, a
wolf really did creep out from the forest and started chasing the sheep.
The boy was now terrified and raced back down to the village, yelling,
"Wolf! Wolf!" The villagers heard him yelling but this time they didn’t believe
him as they had been fooled too many times before.
The sad part of the story is that the wolf killed quite a few sheep. As you
can imagine, the shepherd boy’s master was furious and immediately told
him never to come back to work for him ever again.
And the moral of that story is that sometimes people who tell lies are often
not believed even when they speak the truth.

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THE TORTOISE AND THE DUCKS

Of course, you probably know that the poor old tortoise has to carry his
house around on his back. That means that no matter how hard he tries he
can’t ever leave home or go very far.
Once upon a time, there was a tortoise who saw how happily birds could fly
around wherever they wanted. He saw how quickly rabbits hopped about
here and there and how all the other animals could run as fast and as far
as they liked.
The tortoise felt very sad, as he wanted to see as much of the world as all
the other animals. But he was stuck, with his house on his back and his
little legs that couldn’t carry him along very fast or far.
One day as he was walking slowly along by a pond he met two ducks and
told them how sorry he was that he couldn’t go very far or see as much of
the world as they could.
"We can help you!" quacked one of the ducks, "grab hold of this stick with
your teeth and we will get either end and fly up so high that you will be able
to see the whole countryside from above. But don’t say anything to
anybody or you might be sorry."
The tortoise was really excited. He grabbed the stick firmly with his teeth
and the two ducks flew up into the sky with the tortoise hanging on from the
stick. The tortoise looked down at the countryside below and started to
think that he was rather special.

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Just then a crow flew nearby. He was amazed to see such a thing as a
flying tortoise and said, "Good gracious me, are you the King of Tortoises?"
The tortoise was thrilled and replied, "Yes indeed, I am….."

Oooops! As he opened his mouth to say this he lost hold of the stick. He fell
and fell and fell through the air and finally landed with a huge splash right in
the middle of the pond.
And the moral of that story is that foolish curiosity and being big-headed
can often lead to misfortune.

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THE FROGS WHO WISHED FOR A KING

Once upon a time there was a watery land where lots and lots and lots of
frogs lived. Actually, it was just a big pond but the frogs called it Frogland.
And that’s where all those frogs lived their froggy lives. But they were
bored.
They had no-one to tell them what to do and they spent all day croaking
and moaning that everything would be so much better if they had someone
in charge, who would show them how to live their lives, entertain them like
royalty does. So they sent a letter to Jupiter asking for a king.
When Jupiter read the letter he knew that frogs were simple and silly
creatures. He wasn’t going to send a king down to them.
You can’t waste a good king on a bunch of frogs! But Jupiter thought he’d
better keep the frogs quiet, so he threw a great big log down into Frogland.
The log flew down from the sky and landed with a splash so big it made
little waves everywhere.
The frogs hid themselves under stones and under lily pads as they thought
the new king must be some kind of terrifying giant.
But the log just kept floating gently in the water. After a little while the frogs
became curious and one by one they peeked out to look at the log.
And it wasn’t long until the frogs found out that their new King Log was
actually a very quiet and peaceful king.
In fact, some of the younger frogs started diving off him. Some of the older
frogs gathered there and used the log as a meeting place. They decided to
send another letter saying that this new king of theirs wasn’t really very
good.
This made Jupiter quite cross, so he thought he would teach the frogs a
lesson. He sent a stork down to become the new King of Frogland.

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Oh dear, storks are very hungry birds and frogs are one of their favourite
foods. The stork started gobbling up as many frogs as he could eat. Soon,
the frogs realised what fools they'd been so they sent yet another letter to
Jupiter.
"What a cheek!" cried Jupiter "I gave you what you asked for so you have
only got yourselves to blame if it has all gone wrong.
And the moral of that story is to be very careful what you wish for.

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