World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson128: The Cat and the Old Rat

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　watchful	/WOCH-fuhl/
	-giving careful attention so as to notice what is happening and be prepared for something that might happen
	In order to be a security staff, one must be watchful of his/her surroundings.
2.　wit	/wit/
	-intelligence and the ability to think quickly
	Harry’s character has both wit and kindness.
3.　timidly	/TIM-id-lee/
	-in a shy or nervous way
	The child timidly knocked on his parents’ bedroom door.
4.　troop	/troop/
	-to walk somewhere in a large group, usually with one person behind another
	The musicians in the parade trooped about the large city.
5.　heap	/heep/
	-a lot of something
	Kenny makes a heap of money from his own business.

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 Old Rat

There was once a Cat who was so watchful, that a Mouse hardly dared show the tip of his whiskers for fear of being eaten alive. That Cat seemed to be everywhere at once with his claws all ready for a pounce. At last, the Mice kept so closely to their dens, that the Cat saw he would have to use his wits well to catch one. So one day he climbed up on a shelf and hung from it, head downward, as if he were dead, holding himself up by clinging to some ropes with one paw.

When the Mice peeped out and saw him in that position, they thought he had been hung up there in punishment for some misdeed. Very timidly at first they stuck out their heads and sniffed about carefully. But as nothing stirred, all trooped joyfully out to celebrate the death of the Cat.

Just then the Cat let go his hold, and before the Mice recovered from their surprise, he had made an end of three or four.

Now the Mice kept more strictly at home than ever. But the Cat, who was still hungry for Mice, knew more tricks than one. Rolling himself in flour until he was covered completely, he lay down in the flour bin, with one eye open for the Mice.

Sure enough, the Mice soon began to come out. To the Cat it was almost as if he already had a plump young Mouse under his claws, when an old Rat, who had had much experience with Cats and traps, and had even lost a part of his tail to pay for it, sat up at a safe distance from a hole in the wall where he lived.

“Take care!” he cried. “That may be a heap of meal, but it looks to me very much like the Cat. Whatever it is, it is wisest to keep at a safe distance.”

The wise do not let themselves be tricked a second time.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	What did the Cat do to catch one of the Mice?
2.	After the Cat killed three or four of the Mice, what did the rest do?
3.	What had the Old Rat lost in exchange for his experience of Cats and traps?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	If you were one of the Mice and you saw the Cat hanging from the shelf, what would you do?
2.	Do you agree that the Old Rat should share his knowledge of Cats and traps with the younger Mice? Please tell me more.
3.	How would you know if someone is tricking you or not?
4.	In your opinion, what is the difference between “smart” and “wise”?
5.	Share an experience where you did not let yourself be tricked a second time.

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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