World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson77: The Farmer and the Cranes

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　patiently	/PEY-shent-li/
	-in a patient way
	The survivors patiently waited for help to come.
2.　sow	/sow/
	-to put seeds into the ground
	The crops he sowed on the land of another were harvested by the landowner.
3.　feast	/fist/
	-a large meal, especially to celebrate something special
	The family prepared a feast for their eldest son’s graduation.
4.　scare	/sker/
	-to frighten a person or animal
	For Holloween, she planned to scare her sister by dressing up as a zombie.
5.　threaten	/TRET-en/
	-to tell someone that you will kill or hurt them, or cause problems for them if they do not do what you want
	The debater was so confident that she was not threatened by her opponents.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

The Farmer and the Cranes

Some Cranes saw a farmer plowing a large field. When the work of plowing was done, they patiently watched him sow the seed. It was their feast, they thought.

So, as soon as the Farmer had finished planting and had gone home, down they flew to the field and began to eat as fast as they could.

The Farmer, of course, knew the Cranes and their ways. He had had experience with such birds before. He soon returned to the field with a sling. But he did not bring any stones with him. He expected to scare the Cranes just by swinging the sling in the air, and shouting loudly at them.

At first, the Cranes flew away in great terror. But they soon began to see that none of them ever got hurt. They did not even hear the noise of stones whizzing through the air, and as for words, they would kill nobody. At last, they paid no attention whatever to the Farmer.

The Farmer saw that he would have to take other measures. He wanted to save at least some of his grain. So he loaded his sling with stones and killed several of the Cranes. This had the effect the Farmer wanted, for from that day the Cranes visited his field no more.

Bluff and threatening words are of little value with rascals. Bluff is no proof that hard fists are lacking.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	What did the Cranes do to the farmer’s crops?
2.	How did the farmer prepare for the Cranes?
3.	What happened in the end?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	What could have happened if the farmer had used the stones in the first encounter?
2.	Was the farmer successful with his plan? Why or why not?
3.	What could have been done by the farmer to prevent the cranes from eating the other crops?
4.	Do you agree with the moral of the story? Why or why not?
5.	Could you think of a life situation where this is applicable? Please tell me 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.
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org