ASSIGNMENT

Choose one of the stories and make a thorough analysis on the light of
everything you have learnt so far.

Belling the Cat

The mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of
their enemy, the cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when
she was coming, so they might have some time to run away. Indeed,
something had to be done, for they lived in such constant fear of her claws
that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day. Many plans were
discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last, a very young
mouse got up and said, “I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it
will be successful. All we have to do is hang a bell around the cat’s neck.
When we hear the bell ringing, we will know immediately that our enemy is
coming.”
All the mice were so surprised that they had not thought of such a plan
before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old
mouse rose up and said, “I will say that the plan of the young mouse is very
good. But let me ask one question: Who will hang the bell on the cat?”

The Lion and the Mouse

A lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little
mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away,
ran right across the lion’s nose. Roused from his nap, the lion laid his huge
paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.
“Spare me!” begged the poor mouse. “Please let me go, and some day I will
surely repay you.”
The lion was much amused to think that a mouse could ever help him, but he
was a generous lion, and finally let the mouse go.
Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the lion was caught in a
hunter’s net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry
roaring. The mouse knew his voice, and quickly came and found the lion
struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound the lion,
she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the lion was free.
“You laughed when I said I would repay you, “said the mouse. “Now you see
that even a mouse can help a lion.”
 The Boy Who Cried Wolf
A shepherd boy tended his master’s sheep near a dark forest not far from the
village. Soon, he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse
himself was talk to his dog or play a tune on his shepherd’s pipe.
One day as he sat watching the sheep and the quiet forest, he began to think
about what he would do if he should see a wolf. He thought of a plan to
amuse himself. His master had told him to call for help if a wolf attacked the
flock, and the villagers would come running to drive it away. So now, even
though he had not seen anything that even looked like a wolf, he ran toward
the village shouting at the top of his voice, “Wolf! Wolf!”
As he expected, the villagers heard his cry and dropped their work to run to
the pasture in great excitement. But when they got there, they found the boy
doubled up with laughter at the trick he had played on them.
A few days later the boy again shouted, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again the villagers ran
to help him, only to be laughed at again. Then one evening, as the sun was
setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the
pasture, a wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the
sheep. In terror, the boy ran toward the village shouting, “Wolf! Wolf!” But
though the villagers heard his cry, they did not run to help him as they had
before. “He cannot fool us again,” they said.
The wolf killed a great many of the boy’s sheep and then slipped away into
the forest.

The Ants and the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn, a family of ants were busting about in the
warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer.
A starving grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged
for a bite to eat.
“What?” cried the ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the
winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”
“I didn’t have time to store up any food, “ whined the grasshopper. “I was so
busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.”
The ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust. “Making music, were you?”
they cried. “Very well, now you can dance!” They turned their backs on the
grasshopper and went on with their work.

The Fox and the Goat

A fox fell into a well, and though it was not very deep, he found that he could
not get out again. After he had been in the well for a long time, a thirsty goat
came by. The goat thought the fox had gone down to drink, and so he asked
if the water was good.
“The finest in the whole country,” said the crafty fox, “jump in and try
it.There is more than enough for both of us.”
The thirsty goat immediately jumped in and began to drink. The fox just as
quickly jumped up on the goat’s back and then leaped up onto the tips of the
goat’s horns and out of the well. The foolish goat now saw what a plight he
had gotten into. He begged the fox to help him out, but the fox was already
on his way to the woods.
“If you had as much sense as you have beard, old fellow,” he said as he ran,
“you would have been more cautious about finding a way to get out again
before you jumped in.”

The Goose and the Golden Egg

There was once a country man who possessed the most wonderful goose you
can imagine, for every day when he visited the nest, the goose had laid a
beautiful, glittering, golden egg.
The country man took the eggs to market and soon began to get rich. But it
was not long before he grew impatient with the goose because she only gave
him a single golden egg each day. He was not getting rich fast enough.
Then one day, after he had finished counting his money, the idea came to
him that he could get all the golden eggs at once by killing the goose and
cutting it open. But when the deed was done, not a single golden egg did he
find, and his precious goose was dead.

The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

A certain wolf could not get enough to eat because of the watchfulness of
the shepherds. But one night he found a sheep skin that had been cast aside
and forgotten. The next day, dressed in the skin, the wolf strolled into the
pasture with the sheep. Soon a little lamb was following him about and was
quickly led away to slaughter. The wolf was delighted that his new plan was
working out well. That evening the wolf entered the fold with the flock.
But it happened that the shepherd took a fancy for mutton broth that very
evening, and, picking up a knife, went to the fold. There, the first sheep he
laid hands on and killed was the wolf!
 The Milkmaid and Her Tail
A milkmaid had been out to milk the cows and was returning from the field
with the shining milk pail balanced neatly on her head. As she walked along,
her pretty head was busy with plans for the days to come.
“This good, rich milk,” she mused, “will give me plenty of cream to churn. I
will take the butter I make to market, and with the money I get for it I will
buy lots of eggs for hatching. How nice it will be when they are all hatched
and the yard is full of fine young chicks. Then, when May Day
comes, I will sell them. With the money I earn, I will buy a lovely new dress to
wear to the fair. All the young men will look at me. They will all fall in love
with me, but I shall very quickly send them about their business!”
As she thought of how she would settle that matter, she tossed her head
scornfully, and down fell the pail of milk! All the milk flowed out, and with it
vanished butter and eggs and chicks and new dress and all the milkmaid’s
pride.

The Tortoise and the Hare

A hare was making fun of the tortoise one day for being so slow.
“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.
“Yes,” replied the tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you
a race and prove it!”
The hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the tortoise,
but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So the fox, who had consented to act
as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.
The hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the tortoise feel very deeply
how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a hare, he lay down beside
the course to take a nap until the tortoise should catch up.
The tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time,
passed the place where the hare was sleeping. But the hare slept on very
peacefully. When at last he did awaken, the tortoise was near the goal. The
hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the tortoise in time.

The Fox and the Crow

One bright morning as the fox was following his sharp nose through the
wood in search of a bite to eat, he saw a crow on the limb of a tree overhead.
This was by no means the first crow the fox had ever seen. What caught his
attention this time and made him stop for a second look, was that the lucky
crow held a bit of cheese in her beak.
“No need to search any father,” thought the sly fox. “Here is a dainty bite for
my breakfast.” Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the crow was
sitting, and looking up admiringly, he cried, “Good morning, beautiful
creature!”
The crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the fox suspiciously. But she
kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his greeting.
“What a charming creature she is!” said the fox. “How her feathers shine!
What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful bird
should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect.
Could she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds.”
Listening to these flattering words, the crow forgot all her suspicion, and also
her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds. So, she
opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese,
straight into the fox’s open mouth.
“Thank you,” said the fox sweetly, as he walked off. “Though it is cracked,
you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?”

The Miller, His Son, and the Ass

One day, a long time ago, an old miller and his son were on their way to
market with an ass which they hoped to sell. They drove him very slowly, for
they thought they would have a better chance to sell him if they kept him in
good condition. As they walked along the highway, some travelers laughed
loudly at them.
“What foolishness,” cried one, “to walk when they might as well ride. The
most stupid of the three is not the one you would expect it to be.”
The miller did not like to be laughed at, so he told his son to climb up and
ride. They had gone a little farther along the road, when three merchants
passed by.
“Oho, what have we here?” they cried. “Respect old age, young man! Get
down and let the old man ride!” Though the miller was not tired, he made
the boy get down and climbed up himself to ride, just to please the
merchants.
At the next turnstile they overtook some women carrying market baskets
loaded with vegetables and other things to sell.
“Look at that old fool, “ exclaimed one of them. “Perched on the ass while
that poor boy has to walk.”
The old miller felt a bit vexed, but to be agreeable he told the boy to climb up
behind him. They had no sooner started out again than a loud shout went up
from another company of people on the road.
“What a crime,” cried one, “to load up a poor dumb beast like that! They look
more able to carry the poor creature than he to carry them.”
“They must be on their way to sell the poor thing’s hide,” said another.
Then the miller and his son quickly scrambled down. A short time later, the
marketplace was
thrown into an uproar as the two came along carrying the donkey slung from
a pole. A great crowd of people ran out to get a closer look at the strange
sight.
The ass did not dislike being carried, but so many people came out to point at
him and laugh and shout, that he began to kick and bray, and then, the ropes
that held him gave way, and down he tumbled into the river. The poor miller
went sadly home. By trying to please everybody, he had pleased nobody, and
lost his ass besides.

The Lion, the Ass, and the Fox

A lion, an ass, and a fox were hunting in company, and caught a large
quantity of game. The ass was asked to divide the spoil. This he did very
fairly, giving each an equal share. The fox was well satisfied, but the lion flew
into a great rage over it, and with one stroke of his huge paw, he added the
ass to the pile of the slain. Then he turned to the fox.
“You divide it,” he roared angrily.
The fox wasted no time in talking. He quickly piled all the game into one
great heap. From this he took a very small portion for himself, such
undesirable bits as the horns and hoofs of a mountain goat, and the end of
an ox tail.
The lion now recovered his good humour entirely.
“Who taught you to divide so fairly?” he asked pleasantly.
“I learned a lesson from the ass,” replied the fox, carefully edging away.