World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson99: The Ass and the Lap Dog

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　frisk	/FRISK/
	-to move around in a happy, energetic way
	The hamster is frisking upon seeing his food.
2.　discontent	/dis-kuhn-TENT/
	-a feeling of wanting better treatment or an improved situation
	There were murmurs of discontent about his speech.
3.　eagerly	/EE-ger-lee/
	-in a way that shows that you want to do or have something very much, especially something interesting or enjoyable
	We must eagerly welcome new opportunities provided by digital technology.
4.　prance	/PRAHNS/
	-to walk in an energetic way and with more movement than necessary
	The singer is well-known to prance about the stage while performing.
5.　mourn	/MAWRN/
	-to feel or express great sadness, especially because of someone’s death
	Followers had traveled many miles to mourn the loss of their leader.

PART B_1

Let’s read the story. Please read them aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

The Ass and the Lap Dog

There was once an Ass whose Master also owned a Lap Dog. This Dog was a favorite and received many a pat and kind word from his Master, as well as choice bits from his plate. Every day the Dog would run to meet the Master, frisking playfully about and leaping up to lick his hands and face.

All this the Ass saw with much discontent. Though he was well fed, he had much work to do; besides, the Master hardly ever took any notice of him.

Now the jealous Ass got it into his silly head that all he had to do to win his Master’s favor was to act like the Dog. So one day he left his stable and clattered eagerly into the house.

Finding his Master seated at the dinner table, he kicked up his heels and, with a loud bray, pranced giddily around the table, upsetting it as he did so. Then he planted his forefeet on his Master’s knees and rolled out his tongue to lick the Master’s face, as he had seen the Dog do. But his weight upset the chair, and Ass and man rolled over together in the pile of broken dishes from the table.

The Master was much alarmed at the strange behavior of the Ass, and calling for help, soon attracted the attention of the servants. When they saw the danger the Master was in from the clumsy beast, they set upon the Ass and drove him with kicks and blows back to the stable. There they left him to mourn the foolishness that had brought him nothing but a sound beating.

Behavior that is regarded as agreeable in one is very rude and impertinent in another. Do not try to gain favor by acting in a way that is contrary to your own nature and character.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the story.

PART C_2

1.	What did the Ass do after being jealous of the Lap Dog?
2.	What did the servants do after seeing the Ass’ mess?
3.	What is the lesson of the story?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the story. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	Do you think that the behavior of the Ass is justifiable? Why or why not?
2.	In your opinion, what should the Master do next time to avoid jealousy between the two animals?
3.	How do you avoid jealousy?
4.	Do you agree with the lesson of the story? Why or why not?
5.	Have you experienced something similar to the fable’s lesson? Please tell more about it.

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An eBook from The Project Gutenberg.
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