Retell the legend as if you were a kangaroo

1.  Retell the legend as if you were a kangaroo.

2.  Say which of the characters of the story (a wombat or a kangaroo) you like the best. Why?

WRITIHG

Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.

The Fire on the Hill

Key words and expressions:

to climb

a servant

a judge

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

How do you think? What does «mother’s love» mean?

Reading

Long, long ago there was a lake of cold water in Australia. At night many animals came there to drink. But people never came to the lake at night: the wild animals might kill and eat them.

Now, a rich man who had a beautiful daughter, once said: "The young man, who will go to the lake in the evening and stay in the cold water till morning will have my daughter for his wife".

One poor young man loved the rich man's daughter very much, and she loved him. He said to his mother, "I shall try to stay at night in the lake and then marry the dear girl".

"No, no", the mother said, "you are my only son. The water in the lake is very cold, and the animals will eat you. Don't go there!"

She cried and cried, but her son said, "Mother, don't cry, I must try. I love her so much!"

So the young man went to the girl's father. He told him that he wanted to go to the lake and stay in the cold water all night. The rich man sent his servants to a place from which they could watch the young man.

When night came, the young man went to the lake. His mother followed him, but he didn't see her. There was a hill forty paces from the place where the young man entered the water. The woman climbed up the hill and made up a fire there. The wild animals saw the fire and were afraid to go near that place.

The young man saw the fire too. He understood that his mother was there. He thought of his mother's love and it was easier for him to stay all night in the very cold water.

Morning came. The young man went to the rich man's house. The rich man saw him and said, "My servants say that there was a fire on the hill forty paces from the lake. It warmed you, and that is why you could stay all night in the water. So you can't marry my daughter. Good-bye". The young man was very angry. He went to the judge.

"Well", the judge said, "this is a very simple case".

The next morning the young man with his mother and the rich man with his servants came before the judge. There were many people there who wanted to hear the case.

The judge asked for a pot of cold water. Then he walked forty paces from the pot and made a fire. "Now", he said, "we shall wait a little until the water is warm". The people cried, "But the fire is so far away, it can't warm the water in the pot".

The judge said, "And how could that young man warm himself at a fire forty paces away?" So the case was over, and the young man married the rich man's daughter. They lived happily for many years.

Comprehension check

Retell the legend as if you were a poor young man.

WRITIHG

Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.

A Careless Tongue

Key words and expressions:

impossible

to make up a story

to go from mouth to mouth

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

Try to explain the expression «It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all».

Reading

There was a young woman who liked to tell stories about her neighbors. Some stories were good, some stories were funny and the young woman told them to make people laugh. As always happens in such cases, the people who heard the stories, told them to their friends trying to make them funnier and funnier. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.

An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it. He wanted to make her stop telling stories about her neighbors. He did not know how to do it, but then he thought of a good plan.

"Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me. I have here a bag of small stones. On your way home throw them as far as you can in all sides. When you do it, come back and tell me."

The young woman was surprised to hear it. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.

When the young woman came back, the old man said: "Daughter, I want to ask you to do one more thing for me. Go along the same road and pick up all the stones that you have thrown away."

"But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman. "I can find some of the stones and bring them back to you, but I cannot find all of them."

"That's true," said the old man. "Those stones are like the stories that you tell about your neighbors. It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all. It's easy to make up stories about your neighbors, but it's impossible to call them back, because they go from mouth to mouth and become worse and worse. Remember this! First think, then speak! Remember this always!"

The young woman remembered it all her life.

Comprehension check

Put the following events (A-F) in the right order. Number them (1-6).

A."Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me.

B. "But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman.

C. An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it.

D. "That's true," said the old man.

E. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.

F. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.

WRITIHG

Write an article of about 30-50 words to express your point of view on the legend.

The Sacred Python

Key words and expressions:

a slave-trader

to give a terrible scream

an arrow

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

Tell what do you know about pythons. Where do they live? How do they look like?

Reading

Many years ago a group of men went out hunting. They walked in the forest all day long. In the evening they were far from home.

"We will have to sleep in the forest tonight", said their leader. "Quickly look for a good place to sleep".

The hunters had to be careful. In those days there were many slave-traders all about the country, and they might attack the hunters at any moment.

Late in the evening they found a good place to sleep. After supper the hunters lay down on the ground and were soon all asleep.

When the weary men were asleep, a group of slave-traders surrounded them. They were to attack the sleeping men.

Suddenly something big and heavy fell from one of the trees on one of the young hunters. The hunter woke up, looked down at his body and gave a terrible scream: a huge python was lying on him! He jumped to his feet, but his comrades were already awake. In a moment they were ready to fight.

The slave-traders fired their guns. But the hunters hid behind the trees. The fight continued for a long time. When the hunters had no more arrows they fought with stones and even sticks.

The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the attackers were killed. The others had to run away.

After the fight was over the hunters came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"

"It was a python", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".

"It was a sign specially for us", the leader said.» You can see that the python is now our friend. From this day on no man, woman or child in our clan will ever kill or eat a python".

To this day the people who live in those places remember the words of that man. If you go to their houses in the rainy season, you will find pythons there. In the daytime they sleep in holes under the houses, but at night they crawl about the rooms.

The people never harm the pythons and the pythons never harm the people.

Comprehension check

Some words are missing from the text. Choose the most appropriate answer from the box for each gap (1-6) in the text. Do not change the words. There is one word which you do not need to use.

The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the ____________ were killed. The others had to run away.

After the fight was over the _________ came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"

"It was a _________", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".

"It was a sign specially for us", the ___________ said.» You can see that the python is now our friend. From this day on no man, woman or _________ in our clan will ever ___________ or eat a python".

WRITIHG

Work in pairs. Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your partner.

The Lion and the Goat

Key words and expressions:

a she-goat

a cave

boldly

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

Try to explain the expression «to be brave».

Reading

Once upon a time there was an old she-goat. One day, when it was getting dark, she was returning home with many other goats. As she was old and weak, she got tired and was left behind. It became quite dark, and as she couldn't find her way back, she decided to enter a cave that she saw near by. What was her surprise when she went in and found a lion sitting there! She was terribly frightened and stood still for a moment, then she thought of what she could do.

"If I try to run", she thought, "the lion will soon catch me, but if I pretend not to be afraid of him I may manage to save my life". She walked boldly up to the lion as if she were not afraid of him at all. The lion looked at her, looked and looked, not knowing what to think of this boldness on the part of the goat. He knew the goats had never dared to come near him. At last he thought she could not be a goat but must be some other strange animal which he had not seen before.

"Who are you, old one?" he asked her.

"I am the queen of the goats," she replied. "I came to eat up a hundred tigers, twenty five elephants and ten lions. I have already eaten the hundred tigers and twenty five elephants and now I am looking for the ten lions."

The lion was very much surprised to hear this, and believing the goat had really come to eat him up, he went out of the cave saying that he was going to wash his face at the river.

Comprehension check