World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson9: Hercules and the Wagoner

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　drag	/drag/
	-to draw with force, effort, or difficulty
	The pet walker dragged the bull dog away from a stray cat.
2.　load	/lohd/
	-the quantity that can be or usually is carried at one time
	The construction worker carried a heavy load of wooden materials across the site.
3.　rut	/ruht/
	-a furrow or track in the ground, especially one made by the passage of a vehicle
	The fruit truck got stuck in a rut on the way to the market.
4.　aid	/eyd/
	-help or support; assistance.
	With the aid of a dog, the blind man was able to cross the street safely.
5.　urge	/urj/
	-to drive with incitement to speed or effort
	The team captain urged his teammates to play harder during the last quarter of the game.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

HERCULES AND THE WAGONER

A Farmer was driving his wagon along a miry country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to the hub in a rut.

The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making the least effort to get it out of the rut. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules to come to his aid. Then, it is said, Hercules really did appear, saying:

“Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it and whining about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some effort to help yourself.”

And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very readily, and soon the Farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned.

Self help is the best help.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	What was the farmer doing after a heavy rain?
2.	What happened to his wagon while driving?
3.	How did the farmer solve the problem?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	Do you think the farmer expected the trouble to happen?
2.	Why do you think the farmer complained instead of solving his own problem?
3.	If Hercules did not talk to him, what do you think would have happened to the farmer?
4.	The fable’s lesson is “Self help is the best help. Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
5.	Have you ever read any self-help books? Please tell me more.

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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