World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson103: The Miser

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　miser	/MAHY-zer/
	-someone who has a strong wish to have money and hates to spend it
	There is a myth that living like a miser will see you end up with a stash of gold.
2.　overcome	/oh-ver-KUHM/
	-to defeat or succeed in dealing with something
	She had overcome her struggles silently.
3.　groan	/grohn/
	-a deep, long sound showing great pain or sadness
	“My wound hurts!” he groaned.
4.　passerby	/PAS-er-BAHY/
	-someone who is going past a particular place
	The passersby are staring at the arguing couple.
5.　possession	/puh-ZESH-uhn/
	-something that you own or that you are carrying with you at a particular time
	Emma packed all her possessions into her car.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

The Miser

A Miser had buried his gold in a secret place in his garden. Every day he went to the spot, dug up the treasure and counted it piece by piece to make sure it was all there. He made so many trips that a Thief, who had been observing him, guessed what it was the Miser had hidden, and one night quietly dug up the treasure and made off with it.

When the Miser discovered his loss, he was overcome with grief and despair. He groaned and cried and tore his hair.

A passerby heard his cries and asked what had happened.

“My gold! O my gold!” cried the Miser, wildly, “someone has robbed me!”

“Your gold! There in that hole? Why did you put it there? Why did you not keep it in the house where you could easily get it when you had to buy things?”

“Buy!” screamed the Miser angrily. “Why, I never touched the gold. I couldn’t think of spending any of it.”

The stranger picked up a large stone and threw it into the hole.
“If that is the case,” he said, “cover up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the treasure you lost!”

A possession is worth no more than the use we make of it.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	Where did the Miser bury his gold?
2.	How did the Thief guess what the Miser had hidden in the hole?
3.	What did the stranger tell the Miser after throwing the stone in the hole?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	If you were the Miser, would you also bury your gold? Why or why not?
2.	How do you value and protect your possessions?
3.	Do you believe that wealth unused might as well not exist? Why or why not?
4.	What is your understanding of the fable’s lesson?
5.	Give a situation similar to the fable’s lesson.

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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