World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson86: The Cat and the Birds

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　ailing	/EY-lin/
	-experiencing difficulty and problems
	Because of their ailing child, the parents decided to sell their properties.
2.　peep	/pip/
	-to look at something for a short time, often when you do not want other people to see you
	She peeped into her children’s room to check if they are already asleep.
3.　solicitude	/so-LIS-i-tud/
	-the quality of caring about other people’s comfort, safety, and how they feel
	With solicitude, she visited the victims of the typhoon.
4.　wise	/ways/
	-having or showing the ability to make good judgments, based on a deep understanding and experience of life
	A wise man will never judge a situation on its face.
5.　shun	/shan/
	-to avoid something
	She shunned the questions thrown to her by diverting the topic.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

The Cat and the Birds

A Cat was growing very thin. As you have guessed, he did not get enough to eat. One day he heard that some Birds in the neighborhood were ailing and needed a doctor. So he put on a pair of spectacles, and with a leather box in his hand, knocked at the door of the Bird’s home.

The Birds peeped out, and Dr. Cat, with much solicitude, asked how they were. He would be very happy to give them some medicine.

“Tweet, tweet,” laughed the Birds. “Very smart, aren’t you? We are very well, thank you, and more so, if you only keep away from here.”

Be wise and shun the quack.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	Why was the Cat growing thin?
2.	What did it plan to do to avoid continued hunger?
3.	Was it successful with its plan? Why or why not?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	What do you think the Cat is planning to do?
2.	How did the birds know the Cat’s real intention?
3.	What could the Cat have done instead of pretending to be a doctor?
4.	Do you agree with the moral of the story? Why or why not?
5.	What do you think are the things which could help us know one’s real intentions?

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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