World Literature (Aesop Fables)｜世界文学（イソップ童話）Lesson61: The Monkey and the Cat

PART A_1

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

PART A_2

1.　mischief	/MIS-chif /
	-behavior, especially a child’s, that is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage
	He recalled memories of his childhood where he spent his days in mischief.
2.　cunning	/KUHN-ing/
	-the quality or skill of being clever at planning something so you get what you want, especially by tricking other people
	The cunning wolf killed its prey with ease.
3.　scamper	/SKAM-per/
	-to run or go hastily or quickly.
	The children scampered around the birthday cake.
4.　skillful	/skil-FUHL/
	-good at doing something, especially because you have practiced doing it
	Mr. Wada is a skillful kendo player.
5.　flatterer	/FLAT-er-er/
	-someone who praises people without being sincere
	You must not believe what he says; after all, he’s a flatterer.

PART B_1

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

PART B_2

The Monkey and the Cat

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Once upon a time a Cat and a Monkey lived as pets in the same house. They were great friends and were constantly in all sorts of mischief together.

What they seemed to think of more than anything else was to get something to eat, and it did not matter much to them how they got it.

One day they were sitting by the fire, watching some chestnuts roasting on the hearth. How to get them was the question.

“I would gladly get them,” said the cunning Monkey, “but you are much more skillful at such things than I am. Pull them out and I’ll divide them between us.”

Pussy stretched out her paw very carefully, pushed aside some of the cinders, and drew back her paw very quickly. Then she tried it again, this time pulling a chestnut half out of the fire. A third time and she drew out the chestnut.

This performance she went through several times, each time singeing her paw severely. As fast as she pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, the Monkey ate them up.

Now the master came in, and away scampered the rascals, Mistress Cat with a burnt paw and no chestnuts. From that time on, they say, she contented herself with mice and rats and had little to do with Sir Monkey.

The flatterer seeks some benefit at your expense.

PART C_1

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

PART C_2

1.	What did the Cat and the Monkey thought of more than anything?
2.	What did the Cat do in order to get the chestnuts?
3.	In the end, were they able to get some chestnuts for themselves? What happened?

PART D_1

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

PART D_2

1.	What makes the fable interesting for you?
2.	How would you describe the two characters?
3.	In your opinion, do you think it was right for the Cat to break her ties with the Monkey? Why or why not?
4.	How should you deal with friends who try to take advantage of you?
5.	Why is it important for us to give others genuine compliments?

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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