fair

upright deceitful
honest
tricky reliable

truthful

Self-check
Now check your answers against those below to find out how you fared.

A. 1. e 3. a 5. g 7. f
2. d 4. b 6. c

B. filthy
soiled deceive trick
dirty cheat
unclean dupe outwit
stained
fair
upright
honest
reliable
truthful

Perfect score is 19. Perfect? Hats off to you! You learn fast.
Did you score 15-18? Very good! Keep up the good work.
Did you score 11-14? Good! But there is still so much room for improvement.
Continue reading.
Did you score 10 or lower? Well, that’s okay. Keep on reading so you will do
better next time. Happy reading!

Reading Adventure

Pre-reading
Honesty between or among friends is important, isn’t it? How would you feel if you found out
that your friend cheated on you? Why?

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 Look at the title of the selection you are about to read. Guess what literary type it is. Write your
guess in your notebook. Be able to explain your answer.

While Reading
Now read the selection. It is divided into five segments. After each segment, answer the
questions in the box

The Crow and the Sparrow

Once upon a time a sparrow “Then the one who wins will eat
made friends with a crow. One day the other,” said the crow.
when they were hunting for food, the The sparrow laughed and
crow spied some red peppers that agreed for he thought the crow was
were spread out on a mat to dry. joking. Friends do not eat each other.
“Look at those peppers,” said the The sparrow ate each pepper fairly, but
crow to the sparrow. the crow cheated. For each pepper that
“Let’s see who can eat the he ate, he hid three more under the mat
most.” without the sparrow’s seeing.
“All right!” answered the
sparrow.

1. Why did the sparrow agree to the bet?

2. How did the crow cheat?
3. Will the crow cash in on the bet?
Continue reading to find out.

“I’ve won! Now I’m going to “River! River!

eat you!” said the crow. Give me water
Then at last the sparrow To wash my beak,
realized that the crow was serious. To make myself neat,
“All right,” he said, “I’ll keep my The sparrow to eat!”
promise. But before you eat me you The river replied: “You want
must wash your beak for everyone water? Very well, but everyone says
knows that you’re a dirty bird and eat you eat nasty things. If you want to
lots of nasty things.” wash your beak in my water, you must
So the crow went to the river get a pot to put it in and then you can
and cried. have as much water as you like.”

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 4. What condition did the sparrow give before allowing
himself to be eaten by the crow? Why?
5. Why did the river refuse to give water to the crow?
6. What do you think will the crow do?

The crow went to the potter in Bring me some clay and “I’ll make you
the village and cried: a pot.”
“Potter! Potter! The crow went to a field and
Make me a pot began digging up clay with his beak.
To fetch some water. The earth said: “The whole
To wash my beak, world knows that you eat rubbish and
To make myself neat, nasty things. I cannot allow you to dig
The sparrow to eat!” up my clay unless you use a spade.”
The potter replied: “You want
a pot? Very well, but I have no clay.

7. Why can’t the potter give the crow a pot?

8. What did earth require from the crow?
9. What do you think will the crow do?

The crow went to the village To wash my beak,

blacksmith, who was working on a To make myself neat,
wheel. The crow said to him: The sparrow to eat!”

“Blacksmith! Blacksmith! The blacksmith replied: “You

Make me a spade want a spade? Very well, but you see I
To dig some clay, have no fire in the forge. If you want
To make a pot, me to make a spade, you must bring
To fetch some water, me some fire.”

10. Who do you think will the crow approach next?

11. Do you think that somebody will give the crow’s request?

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 The crow went to a farmer’s The farmer’s wife replied:
house nearby. The farmer’s wife was “You want fire? Very well, but how
cooking rice in the courtyard. The will you carry it?”
crow cried: “You can put it on my back,”
“Dear farmer’s wife! said the crow.
Give me fire The farmer’s wife put the fire
To make a spade on the crow’s back and immediately
To dig some clay, his feathers burst into flames. The
To make a pot, greedy crow was burnt to ashes. But
To fetch some water, the honest sparrow lived to a ripe old
To wash my beak, age.
To make myself neat,
The sparrow to eat!” - Retold by Ashraf Siddigui

Post Reading
A. Scanning for Details

Sometimes, you read only those parts of a reading material that will give you the
information you need. One way of doing this is through scanning. This way you hunt-skip-
read search as little as possible. You move your eyes rapidly over the page, reading as little
as possible. You move your eyes rapidly over the page, looking for the information you need.

Now scan the selection for answers to the following questions.

1. Who are the characters in the story? Which of them is the cheat?
2. What was the bet?
3. When did the sparrow realize that the crow meant what he said?
4. How did the sparrow save himself?
5. Whom did the crow approach and for what? Show sequence by writing the events in the
flow chart.

Sparrow wanted crow

to clean his beak.

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 6. What happened to the crow at the end?

B. True or False

Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false. Explain your answer.

1. The sparrow never thought that the crow was serious about the bet.
2. The crow cheated because he really wanted to eat the sparrow.
3. The river had a valid reason for not giving the crow water.
4. The earth gave clay to the crow but it was not enough for a pot.
5. The blacksmith’s request for fire from the crow was only an alibi.
6. The housewife really intended to burn the crow.
7. The sparrow was honest and trusting.
8. The crow was not only a cheat but he was also stupid.

C. Reacting to the Story

Answer the following questions.

1. What kind of friend was the crow? Do you know of people like him?
2. Would you like a friend like the crow? Why or why not?
3. What is the lesson of the fable?

Self-check
Now check your answers against the answers below to find out how you fared.

While Reading

1. Because the sparrow thought that the crow was only joking.
2. For every pepper he eats, he hides three under the mat without being seen by the sparrow.
3. Yes.
4. That the crow washes its beak first.
5. Because the river did not want its water to get dirty.
6. The crow will go to the potter for a pot.
7. Because he has no clay to be made into a pot.
8. That the crow use a spade in digging for clay.
9. The crow will go to the blacksmith.
10. The crow will approach somebody who is cooking – the farmer’s wife.
11. Yes.

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Post Reading

A. Scanning for details

1. The sparrow and the crow. The crow cheated.
2. The bet was who can eat the most.
3. When the crow won.
4. By asking the crow to wash its beak first
5.

Sparrow wanted crow He went to the He went to the

to clean his beak. river for water. potter for pot.

He went to the He went to the He went to the

farmer’s wife for fire. blacksmith for spade. earth for clay.

6. The crow was burned to death.

B. True or False
1. T. Friends don’t eat each other.
2. T. Crows are predators.
3. T. Its water will become dirty because the crow’s beak is dirty.
4. F. The earth did not give any clay to the crow.
5. T. There was no fire on his forge and he needed it to make a spade.
6. F. The farmer’s wife placed the fire on the crow’s back at his instruction.
7. T. He trusted the crow and ate each pepper honestly.
8. T. He told the farmer’s wife to put the fire on his back which caused his death.

C. Reacting to the Story

1. The crow is dishonest. (Name some people like the crow.)
2. (The expected answer is No. Any explanation will do provided that it supports your
answer.)
3. A dishonest intention will never succeed.

Write Thing

You have read the ideas of the author about friendship. Surely, you have your
own. How about jotting them down.

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 In your Reflective Journal notebook, write a paragraph on your ideas of
friendship. You may use the questions below as guide.
1. How would you define friendship?
2. What is your idea of a friend?
3. What qualities would you want in a friend?

Skills Enhancer
Two basic reading skills essential to comprehension are getting the main idea of a paragraph
and distinguishing relevant from irrelevant ideas in a material read. A third higher level skill is
distinguishing fact from opinion. You should master these skills if you are to become a
discriminating and analytical learner.

Getting the Main Thought/Idea

In reading, it is important to know how to find the meaning of each paragraph or its main
thought. This main thought may be directly stated or it could be implied in the paragraph. When it
is directly stated the sentence that gives the main thought is called the topic or key sentence. It
unlocks the meaning of the paragraph for the reader.

Key Sentence

Try the paragraph that follows.

There are many ways that vegetables may be classified or grouped

together. They may be grouped by color, such as red, yellow or green. They may be
classified according to the part of the plant they represent, such as root, the stem, or
the leaf. They may be grouped according to the season of the year during which
they’re planted. They may be classified according to the way they react to
temperature – that is, their reaction to heat and cold.

The first sentence gives you the paragraph meaning or main thought. It tells you that
vegetables can be grouped together in many different ways. All the other sentences help to explain
this main thought, even though each one is different from the others.

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