Sunday, September 16, 2018

A Cat and a Mouse Living Together: The Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales Story Time ESL Listening

(TESOL Worksheets--The Brothers Grimm Fairy TalesStory Time ESL Listening)
Worksheet: drivedocspub
Slow Speed Video: HERE, Normal Speed Video: HERE, Quizlet: HERE







A Cat and a Mouse Living Together: Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale #2

(Original Title: Cat and Mouse in Partnership)

Video slow speed: https://youtu.be/ZFBbJgwvyE4

Video normal speed: https://youtu.be/d8e6fr-_014

Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/_52vdae


Suggested Use:

Step 1: Look at the vocabulary. Check any words that you don’t know in your dictionary.

Step 2: Listen to the video. (Listen only.  Don’t look at the reading yet).

Step  3: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet 

Step 4: Watch the video again.  This time look at the reading. Read and listen at the same time.

Step 5: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet again 

Step 6: Listen one last time.  The last time, don’t look at the reading. 


Vocabulary

advice, already, animal, baby, believe, besides, birth, careful, ceremony, church, christening, common, continue, country, cousin, decide, during, eat up, else, empty, enjoy, feel, God, godfather, godmother, grab, greedy, ground, hear, hide, hungry, inside, instead, jump, lick, lip, look after, matter, meanwhile, mice, mouse, nobody, once, once upon a time, or else, outside, parent, place, plan, poor, pot, pray, probably, quickly, relax, responsible, return, roof, serve, shake, shake your head, should, son, space, stay, steal, strange, summertime, sun, sweet, trap, truly, untrue, unusual, upon, whenever, whole, wine, winter

A Cat and a Mouse Living Together: Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale #2

Once upon a time, there was a cat who met a mouse.  And the cat liked the mouse very much.  In fact, they liked each other so much that they decided to live together.

They found a small room that no one was using, and they moved there.

At first, it was summertime, and there was lots of food everywhere for animals to find on the ground.  But they both knew that winter was coming, and during winter, it would be very hard to find food.  

“We should make a plan for the winter,” said the cat.  “Or else, we will go hungry.  And you, little mouse, cannot go outside to look for food, because there are traps everywhere.”   (A “trap” is something that people put on the ground to catch mice.)

It was good advice.  So they bought a large pot of food to eat during the winter.  But, they did not know where to keep it.  There was no space in their small room to keep such a large pot.  After thinking for a long time, the cat said, “I know where we can keep it.  Let’s hide it in the church.  No one will steal from a church.”  (A “church” is a building where people go to pray to God.)  “We can hide it in the back room of the church.  But we must be careful, because winter is very long.  We don’t want to eat all of our food too quickly, or we will be hungry later.  So we must agree to only go to the pot when we are really in need of food.”

The mouse agreed, and the pot was put in a place of safety inside the church.

Winter came, and it was not long before the cat began to feel hungry.  So the cat said to the mouse, “I want to tell you something, little mouse.  My cousin has had a son, and he has asked me to be the godmother.” (In some countries, each baby is given a “godmother” or “godfather” at birth.  The godmother or godfather are not the parents of the child, but they are usually close friends of the parents.  The godmother or godfather is responsible for teaching the child about God.)  The cat continued, “I have to go to the church today for the christening.  Let me go out today, and you look after the house by yourself.”  (A “christening” is a ceremony in which the baby is given a name.)

“Yes, yes, of course,” said the mouse.  “You go and have a good time at the christening.  And if you get anything good, think of me.  If would very much like to have some of the sweet red wine that they serve at the christening.”

So the cat said goodbye and left.

But, everything the cat had said was untrue.  The cat didn’t have a cousin, and there was no new baby, and there was no christening, and no one had asked the cat to be a godmother.

Instead, the cat went straight to the pot of food, and started eating the top of it.  And the cat kept eating until she had eaten the whole top.

Then the cat took a walk upon the roofs of the town, relaxed in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the pot of food.  And the cat didn’t return home until evening.

“Well, here you are again,” said the mouse.  “You must have had a very happy day.”

“Everything went well,” answered the cat.

“And what name did they give the child?” asked the mouse.

“Top Off,” said the cat.

“Top Off!” cried the mouse.  “That is a very strange and unusual name.  Is that name common in your family?”

“What does it matter?” said the cat.  “You mice also have many strange names in your family.  Besides, Top Off is a good name for a cat.”

A few days later, the cat got hungry again.  “Mouse, you must watch the house for me again,” said the cat.  “I have been asked to be godmother again, and I must go.”

The mouse agreed, and the cat left.  But the cat went straight to the pot again, and this time the cat ate half the food.  When the cat came home again, the mouse asked, “And what name was this child given?”

“Half Done,” said the cat.

“Half Done?” said the mouse.  “That’s a very strange name.  I’ve never met anyone with that name in my life.”

A few days later, the cat got hungry again.  “Little mouse, I must go,” said the cat.   “You’ll never believe it, but there’s been another baby, and I’ve been asked to be godmother a third time.”

“So many new babies,” said the mouse.  “This is all very strange.”

“You’re thinking too much,” said the cat.  “Just wait for me, and I’ll be back soon.”  

So, the mouse stayed home and cleaned the house.  Meanwhile, the greedy cat went straight to the pot of food, and ate everything.  

When the cat came home that night, the mouse asked what name the child had been given.  “You’re probably going to think it is strange again,” said the cat.  “But the child is named All Gone.”

“All Gone?!” said the mouse.  “This is the strangest name of all.  I have never heard this name anywhere before.  What can it mean?”  The mouse shook her head, and went to sleep.

After this, nobody asked the cat to be godmother for a long time.  But, during the long winter, the mouse and the cat soon ran out of their food at home.  “Come,” said the mouse, “Let’s go to the church, where we put the big pot of food, and enjoy that.”

“Yes, let’s,” said the cat.

So they set out on their way.  But when they got to the church, the pot was empty.

“Oh no,” said the mouse.  “Now, too late, do I understand what happened.  You are not a good friend.  You ate this whole pot when you told me you were going out to be godmother.  First Top Off.  Then Half Done.  Then--”

“Stop talking,” said the cat.  “If you say one more word, I will eat you too.”

But it was too late.  The poor mouse had already started to say “All Gone”, and the words came out before she could stop herself.  As soon as the mouse had spoken the words, the cat jumped on her, grabbed her, and ate her up.

And that, truly, is how the world is.

Vocabulary

advice - suggestions about what you think someone should do or how they should do something:

She asked me for advice about writing a book.


already - before now, or before a particular time in the past:

I've already told him.


animal - something that lives and moves but is not a person, bird, fish, or insect:

She's a real animal lover.


baby - a very young child:

Liz has had a baby.


birth - the time when a baby is born:

They're awaiting the birth of their first child.


believe - to think that something is true, or that what someone says is true:

They believe that their health has suffered because of the chemicals.


careful - giving a lot of attention to what you are doing so that you do not have an accident, make a mistake, or damage something:

Be careful, Michael - that knife's very sharp.


ceremony - a formal event that is performed on important social or religious occasions:

I've been invited to a wedding ceremony.


church - a building where Christians go to worship God:

We used to go to church every Sunday morning.


christening - a ceremony where someone is christened


christen - to give a baby a name at a Christian ceremony and make them a member of the Christian Church:

She's being christened in June.


common - happening often or existing in large numbers:

Injuries are common in sports such as hockey.


continue - to keep happening, existing, or doing something:

It continued to snow heavily for three days.


country - an area of land that has its own government, army, etc:

He is among the top five tennis players in the country.


cousin - the child of your aunt or uncle:

I have fifteen cousins on my mother's side of the family.


decide - to choose something after thinking about several possibilities:

 I haven't decided whether or not to tell him.


during - for the whole of a period of time:

Emma's usually at home during the day.


eat up - to eat all the food you have been given:

Be a good boy and eat up your spinach.


else - different from someone or something:

I don't like it here. Let's go somewhere else.


or else - used to say what will happen if another thing does not happen:

We must be there by six, or else we'll miss the beginning.


empty - If something is empty, it does not contain any things or people:

The train was completely empty when it reached London.


enjoy - If you enjoy something, it gives you pleasure:

I hope you enjoy your meal.


feel - to experience an emotion or a physical feeling:

It's normal to feel nervous before starting a new job.


God - in Jewish, Christian, or Muslim belief, the spirit who created the universe and everything in it, and who rules over it:

He prayed to God to make his mother well again.


godfather - a man who is responsible for the moral and religious development of another person's child


godmother - a woman who is responsible for the moral and religious development of another person's child


grab - to take hold of something or someone suddenly:

He grabbed my arm and pulled me away.


greedy - wanting a lot more food, money, etc, than you need:

They were greedy for money.


ground - the surface of the Earth:

I sat down on the ground.


hear - to be aware of a sound through your ears:

I could hear his voice in the distance.


hide - to put something in a place where it cannot be seen or found:

Ella turned the cup to hide the crack in it.


hungry - wanting or needing food:

I'm hungry. What's for supper?


inside - in or into a room, building, container, etc:

There were some keys inside the box.


instead - in the place of someone or something else:

If you don't want pizza, we can have pasta instead.


jump - to push your body up and away from the ground using your feet and legs:

The children were jumping up and down with excitement.


lick - to move your tongue across the surface of something:

We licked the chocolate off our fingers.


lip - one of the two soft, red edges of the mouth:

He licked his lips.


look after - to take care of someone or something by keeping them healthy or in a good condition:

Could you look after the children while I'm out?


matter - to be important, or to affect what happens:

We were late, but it didn't seem to matter.


meanwhile - in the time between two things happening, or while something else is happening:

The mother is ill. The child, meanwhile, is living with foster parents.


mice - plural of mouse


mouse - a small animal with fur and a long, thin tail


nobody - no person:

There was nobody I could talk to.


once - in the past, but not now:

This house once belonged to my grandfather.


once upon a time - used at the beginning of a children's story to mean that something happened a long time ago


outside - not inside a building:

Go and play outside for a while.


parent - your mother or father:

Her parents live in Oxford.


place - a position, building, town, area, etc:

Is there a place where we can talk privately?


plan - an arrangement for what you intend to do or how you intend to do something:

Do you have any plans for the weekend?


poor - used to show sympathy for someone:

That cold sounds terrible, you poor thing.


pot - a round container, usually used for storing things or cooking:

This is a pot of food.


pray - to speak to a God in order to show your feelings or to ask for something:

Let us pray for all the sick children.


probably - used to mean that something is very likely:

I'll probably be home by midnight.


quickly - fast or in a short time:

I quickly shut the door.


relax - to become happy and comfortable because nothing is worrying you, or to make someone do this:

I find it difficult to relax.


responsible - to be the person whose duty is to deal with someone or something:

I'm responsible for looking after the children in the evenings.


return - to go or come back to a place where you were before:

She returned to America in 1954.


roof - the surface that covers the top of a building or vehicle:

He climbed onto the roof.


serve - to give someone food or drink, especially guests or customers in a restaurant or bar:

The restaurant serves good, though extremely expensive, food.


shake - To make quick, short movements from side to side or up and down, or to make something or someone do this:

He was shaking with nerves.


shake your head - to move your head from side to side to mean 'no'


should - used to say or ask what is the correct or best thing to do:

He should have gone to the doctor.


son - your male child:

Jenny has a grown-up son of 24.


space - an empty area that is available to be used:

There wasn't enough space for everyone.


stay - to continue to be in a place, job, etc and not leave:

The weather was bad so we stayed at home.


steal - to secretly take something that does not belong to you, without intending to return it:

He was caught red-handed trying to steal a car.


strange - If something is strange, it is surprising because it is unusual or unexpected:

It's strange that she hasn't called.


summertime - the period when it is summer:

In the summertime, we often eat outside.


sun - the light and heat that comes from the sun:

I can't sit in the sun for too long.


sweet - with a taste like sugar:

It was covered in a very sweet chocolate sauce.


trap - a piece of equipment for catching animals:

This is a mouse trap.


truly - used to emphasize that something is true in every way:

The project was truly a team effort.


untrue - false


unusual - different and not ordinary, often in a way that is interesting or exciting:

That is an unusual name.


upon - on:

Her story was seized upon by the press.


whenever - every time or at any time:

You can go whenever you want.


whole - complete, including every part:

She spent the whole afternoon studying.


wine - an alcoholic drink that is made from the juice of grapes (= small, green or purple fruit), or sometimes other fruit:

This is a glass of wine.


winter - the coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring:

We went skiing last winter.

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