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Two wise men of Korea were talking together one day.
One asked the other, “Can you name two brothers living close together who never saw each other?”
“No, I can’t,” the other wise man replied.
“The answer’s simple, “ said the first wise man. “Your ears.”
“Very well,” the second wise man replied. “Let me tell you a story now of two brothers who did meet.
“Once upon a time, there were two brothers who worked as farmers growing rice. They were both very good to each other.
“One year, the elder brother had some rice to spare.
“He thought, ‘I’d better give some to my younger brother. He has a large family to feed.’
“That night, he carried a large sack of rice to his brother’s house. He left it outside the door.
“The next day, he went to his store to count the remaining sacks of rice. He was surprised. He still had the same number as before.
“How is it possible?” he asked himself. ‘I’d better take another sack of rice to my brother’s house tonight.’
“So that night, after dark, he carried another sack of rice to his brother’s house.
“Once more, the next morning, he counted the number of sacks of rice left in his store. He still had the same number as before.
“ ‘I can’t believe it,’ he said. ‘All right, I’ll take another sack of rice to my brother’s house tonight.’
“That night, for the third time, he went to his brother’s house carrying a sack of rice on his back.
“The moon was very bright. He saw someone carrying a sack of rice coming towards him. It was younger brother.
“ ‘Why, it’s you, younger brother,’ he called out.
“His younger brother stopped and put down the sack of rice he was carrying.
“Without saying any more, they both understood what had happened. They laughed for a long time.”
1. Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
a. The two brothers were (good friends) (afraid of each other) (living together)
b. (The elder brother) (The younger brother) (Both brothers) had extra rice.
c. The elder brother met his younger brother (carrying a sack of rice) (at a shop) (in his house)
The Buffalo and The Monkey
A monkey wanted to cross a river to eat some bananas on the other side. Unfortunately, he did not know how to swim. He asked a buffalo to carry him across on his back.
“All right,” said the buffalo. “Jump on. I’ll swim across. There’s some very tasty grass on the other side which I would like to eat.”
So the monkey rode on the buffalo’s back across the river. When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped off. He ran to eat as many bananas as he could. The buffalo was quiet happy eating the long grass.
After some time, the monkey wanted to return home. He asked the buffalo to take him back. But the buffalo told him to wait a little longer as he had not yet finished eating.
The naughty monkey began to sing. He made such a loud noise that a farmer, who was working in a nearby field, came to see what was the matter. He shouted at the buffalo, “Thief! Thief! Why are you eating my grass?” He threw some stones at the buffalo.
When the farmer had gone, the monkey came out from where he had been hiding. The buffalo was holding his sore head. He had been hit by a stone.
“Oh, oh! Why did you make so much noise? If you had kept quiet, the farmer wouldn’t have noticed me.”
The buffalo asked him to sit on his back to return across the river.
When they were halfway across, the buffalo said to the monkey, “I want to roll over and take a bath here.”
“Please don’t! The monkey begged. “I can’t swim.”
“That’s not my fault,” replied the buffalo. “You like to sing and make a noise. I always like to roll over in the water. It’s so cool and pleasant and it will cure my headache.’
Without saying any more, he rolled over in the water.
Luckily, the monkey was holding on tightly otherwise he would have drowned.
When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped down from the buffalo’s back. He was very wet and frightened.
“I shall never give you any trouble again,” he promised the buffalo.
Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
1. The monkey wanted to cross the river to (play with the buffalo) (eat some fruit) (make a noise).
2. The farmer threw stones (at the monkey) (in the river) (at the buffalo).
3. The buffalo had a sore (throat) (foot) (head)
The Buffalo and The Monkey
A monkey wanted to cross a river to eat some bananas on the other side. Unfortunately, he did not know how to swim. He asked a buffalo to carry him across on his back.
“All right,” said the buffalo. “Jump on. I’ll swim across. There’s some very tasty grass on the other side which I would like to eat.”
So the monkey rode on the buffalo’s back across the river. When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped off. He ran to eat as many bananas as he could. The buffalo was quiet happy eating the long grass.
After some time, the monkey wanted to return home. He asked the buffalo to take him back. But the buffalo told him to wait a little longer as he had not yet finished eating.
The naughty monkey began to sing. He made such a loud noise that a farmer, who was working in a nearby field, came to see what was the matter. He shouted at the buffalo, “Thief! Thief! Why are you eating my grass?” He threw some stones at the buffalo.
When the farmer had gone, the monkey came out from where he had been hiding. The buffalo was holding his sore head. He had been hit by a stone.
“Oh, oh! Why did you make so much noise? If you had kept quiet, the farmer wouldn’t have noticed me.”
The buffalo asked him to sit on his back to return across the river.
When they were halfway across, the buffalo said to the monkey, “I want to roll over and take a bath here.”
“Please don’t! The monkey begged. “I can’t swim.”
“That’s not my fault,” replied the buffalo. “You like to sing and make a noise. I always like to roll over in the water. It’s so cool and pleasant and it will cure my headache.’
Without saying any more, he rolled over in the water.
Luckily, the monkey was holding on tightly otherwise he would have drowned.
When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped down from the buffalo’s back. He was very wet and frightened.
“I shall never give you any trouble again,” he promised the buffalo.
Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
1. The monkey wanted to cross the river to (play with the buffalo) (eat some fruit) (make a noise).
2. The farmer threw stones (at the monkey) (in the river) (at the buffalo).
3. The buffalo had a sore (throat) (foot) (head)
THE TORTOISE
WHO LIKED TO BOAST
There were three good friends, a tortoise and two birds, who lived by a lake in Tibet. One year, there was no rain. Day by day, the water in the lake became less and less. The three friends did not know what to do.
The two birds told the tortoise, “Everyone is moving to the Lake in the Sky. I think we had better move too, other wise we shall die of hunger and thirst. What do you think?”
“How can I travel so far?” replied the tortoise. “You can easily fly there but I have no wings.”
The tortoise cried so hard that the birds felt sorry for him.
“All right,” they said. “We can take you with use.”
“How can you do that?” asked the tortoise.
“We can hold two ends of a stick in our mouths. You can hold on the middle. We can then all fly together to the Lake in the Sky.”
“Yes, yes, “ the tortoise cried. “What a good idea!”
“But you must be careful not to open your mouth while we are flying.”
“Of course not,” reply the tortoise. “If anyone speaks to me, I shall not answer them.”
So they started on their journey the next morning. The birds held the two ends of the stick. The tortoise held the middle of the stick with his mouth.
Soon they were on their way, flying over high mountains covered with snow, over dark forests, and farms.
On the earth, some farmers planting rice pointed up at them. “What a clever tortoise! He lets the birds carry him.”
Neither the birds nor the tortoise said anything. The tortoise felt very happy to hear the farmers praise him.
They flew on and on towards the Lake in the Sky.
Some children looking after some cattle on a hill shouted at them.
“What clever birds! They are carrying the tortoise to the Lake in the Sky.
The birds did not say anything but the tortoise felt angry.
He wanted to answer the children, “Stupid fools!” Don’t you know that I was I who though of the idea? I’m much more clever than the birds.” So he opened his mouth to shout back at them, “Hi…”
As soon as he did so, he fell straight to the ground.
Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
1. The two birds told the tortoise there was (no food or drink) (food but no drink) (plenty to drink).
2. The birds felt sorry for the tortoise because he was (very hungry) (crying) (sick).
3. The tortoise was happy to hear the (the farmers praise him) (birds praise him) (children praise him).
The Greedy Monkeys
A family of monkeys lived in a forest in South China. They often came out to play. They liked to drink wine and wear red shoes. A hunter knew they lived in the forest and wanted to catch them. The monkeys were very clever. They always ran away when they saw him coming.
One day, the monkeys were all playing together. Suddenly one of them thought he could smell some wine.
“Ai-yaah! What a lovely smell! Where is it coming from?” he cried.
The monkeys soon found that it was coming from a large jar at the side of the path. There were several pairs of red shoes also next to the jar. The leader of the monkeys said, “We must be careful. I’m sure the hunter is playing a trick on us.”
Another monkey asked, “Why should he place such beautiful shoes by the side of the jar?”
As he spoke, he scratched his foot which began to itch. Yet a third monkey advised them, “We have not so far been caught by the hunter because we have been careful.”
The old monkey who was their leader said, “You’re right. We must be very careful. We don’t want the hunter to catch use.”
“Stupid old hunter!” he cried out loudly. “Do you really think you can catch us?”
All the other monkeys started to shout, “Silly old hunter! Stupid old hunter!” until their throats were quite dry. They all stood in a circle around the wine jar and red shoes. They did not know what to do. No one wanted to leave. Some of them licked their lips. Others scratched their feet.
“Can we taste just a little of the wine?” one of the monkeys asked.
“I would like to try on a pair of slippers,” another monkey cried. “They look so comfortable.”
Without saying anymore, all the monkeys rushed towards the wine jar and opened it.
“Ai-yaah! What a marvelous smell! We’re really very lucky! What wonderful wine!”
At first the monkeys tasted the wine with their tongues only. Soon they started to swallow large quantities of it.
Some of them put on the red shoes and jumped and danced in them. Others who had drunk too much wine fell to the ground.
Suddenly there was a loud noise from the forest. It was the hunter.
Some of the monkeys tried to run away. But they could not do so because the shoes were tied together.
It was very easy for the hunter to catch them. He tied all of them up.
“We’re really very unlucky,” one of the monkeys said. Another monkey answered, “We can only blame ourselves. We were too greedy.”
Read the story. Fill in the blanks.
1. Some monkeys lived…………..a forest. They liked……………….play. They always ran away………..the hunter. One day they came……………….of the forest. They saw some red shoes next…………..a wine jar. They put them……………….. They opened……………wine jar and drank some…………..the wine.
2. Write three or four more sentences to finish the story.
THE COUNTRY OF THE MICE
There was once a king who ruled a large country in which there lived a great number of mice. One year there was not enough rice. The mice were very hungry. The king of the mice put on his best clothes and went to see the king of the country.
“Good morning, Mr. Mouse,” said the king. “What can I do for you?”
“O King, we do not have enough rice. We would like to borrow some from you. If you can lend us what we need, we shall repay you next year.”
“How much do you want?”
“About one hundred bags,” answered the mouse.
“Your Majesty, we shall find a way.”
The king ordered one hundred bags of rice to be given to the mice. The mice bit through the bags. They carried away the rice in their mouths. When the king looked the next morning, he was surprised to find the rice had disappeared.
The next year, the king went to war with a neighboring country. His army was not very strong. It lost every battle. The army of the other country reached the opposite side of the river. They were ready to attack the capital.
“Who can help me?” asked the king. He sent for the king of the mice.
The mouse asked the king to place thousands of sticks each one-foot long, by the side of the river.
The next night, all the mice used these sticks as boas to carry them across the river. The soldiers of the other country were fast asleep when the mice quietly entered they camp. Some of them threw the soldiers swords and guns into the river. Others ate their food. Yet others bit their toes. The soldiers woke up. They did not know what had happened. They could not find their swords and guns and they thought they had been attacked by the king’s soldiers. They ran away as fast as they could.
The king quickly asked the king of the mice to come to see him.
“Mr. Mouse, you have saved my country,” he said. “Please tell me what you would like in return.”
The mouse replied, “O King, we only want to live in peace. Please send away all the cats from your country.”
The king did as he was asked. He gave orders for all the cats to leave immediately.
The king of the mice thanked the king. “Cats are our worst enemy,” he said. “We can now live very happily for the rest of our lives.”
Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
1. Mr. Mouse asked the king for some (money) (rice) (boats).
2. The mice helped the king fight his enemies because they were (grateful) (hungry) (amused).
3. The mice crossed the river by (ferry) (swimming) (floating on sticks).
THE SPARROW WITH NO TONGUE
Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was very kind but his wife was very fierce. The old man kept a sparrow in a cage in the kitchen. One day, the sparrow ate some rice which had been left in the kitchen. The old man’s wife was very angry. She immediately cut out the sparrow’s tongue. The sparrow flew away through an open window.
When her husband returned home, he found that the sparrow had gone. He asked his wife what had happened.
“Your sparrow stole some food. So I cut out its tongue to teach it a good lesson.”
The old man was very sad. He decided to try to find out where the sparrow had gone.
He traveled all over the country, calling out in a loud voice, “Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow! Where are you?”
Finally, he found out where the sparrow was living, and he went to see him. The sparrow asked him to come in to meet his wife and children.
“Please sit down and make yourself comfortable,” the sparrow said. “I hope you can stay to dinner.”
After dinner, the old man asked to be excused as he was living a long distance away.
Before he left, the sparrow brought out two boxes. He told him to choose one of them as a present. The old man chose the smaller of the two. When he arrived home, his wife scolded him. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.
“Oh!” replied her husband. “I discovered where the sparrow is living. He gave me this present.”
His wife opened the box. It was full of gold and silver.
She smiled and said to her husband, “I think I’ll also go to see the sparrow.”
When she arrived at the sparrow’s house, she called out, Mr. Sparrow! How are you? I’ve been worrying about you for a long time. I’m so pleased to see you again.”
The sparrow invited her inside for dinner. Mrs. Sparrow was very kind to the old lady. She cooked an excellent meal. Sparrow, perhaps you would like to give me a present to take away? I can then always remember you.”
The sparrow brought out two boxes. The greedy old woman chose the larger one.
When she reached home, she called out to her husband, “Come out! Hurry up! See what the sparrow has given me!”
When she opened the box, she found that it only contained stones.
Read the story. Choose the best answer from the brackets.
1. The old man kept (a sparrow) (some baby sparrows) (two sparrows).
2. The sparrow’s tongue was cut out by (the old man’s wife) (the old man) (a doctor).
3. The sparrow gave the old man (two boxes containing gold and silver) (one box containing stones) (one box containing gold and silver).
THE KING’S JUDGEMENT
Once upon a time, there was a poor man named Juan. He led a very hard life and often had no food to eat.
One day, when he was feeling very tired and hungry, he passed by the house of a rich merchant called Pedro. Pedro was cooking some food which smelled very good.
“Ah!” thought Juan, “The smell of that food makes me fell better.”
He went to thank Pedro for allowing him to smell the food.
“You have smelled my food,” said Pedro, “so you must pay me for it.”
“I’m sorry,” replied Juan, “but I don’t have any money.”
“I don’t care. You must pay me something.”
“All right,” said Juan. “Let’s go to see the king. We can ask him the settle the matter for us.”
They set out together for the king’s palace. On the way they met a young man named Manuel. He was trying to pull his horse out of a ditch.
“Please help me pull my horse out of the ditch,” he begged them.
Pedro did not want to help. But Juan helped Manuel by pulling the horse by its tail.
He pulled so hard that the tail came off in his hand.
“Look what you’ve done!” cried Manuel. “You’ll have to pay me for my horse’s tail or find a new tail.”
“I’m only a poor man,” said Juan. “How can I pay you any money or find a new tail for your horse? I was only trying to help you.”
“Please come with us to see the king. We can ask him to settle the matter.
When Juan, Pedro and Manuel arrived at the palace, Juan explained to the king what had happened.
The king kept quiet for some time. He then ordered one of his servants to bring in some silver coins. He placed them on the table in front of him.
“Smell them,” he ordered Pedro. “Juan was happy to smell your food. So you will have to be happy to smell the money.”
Pedro did as he was told. He afterwards left the palace without saying another word.
The king then turned to Manuel. “is it correct that you want Juan either to pay you some money or to find a new tail for your horse?” he asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“In that case,” said the King, “You must lend your horse to Juan until it grows a new tail.”
Juan was very pleased with the King’s decision. He left the palace riding the horse. Manuel walked home in silence.
Read the story. Choose the best answer and write it in the space.
1. Juan took Pedro and Manuel to (see the King) (have dinner) (the police station).
2. Juan took Manuel’s horse because he (wanted it) (was told to do so by the King) (was given it by Manuel).
3. Pedro wanted Juan to pay him some money because he (had tasted his food) (smelled his food) (was a rich man).
4. Juan wanted the King to settle the matter for him because he (thought the King would be fair) (was the King’s relative) (knew the King did not like either Manuel or Pedro).
THE MAGIC STICK
There was a very clear lake in Yunnan and some farmers living nearby kept cows. Every morning, they brought ninety-nine cows to the lake to drink. But, in some strange way, by midday there would be one hundred. A beautiful girl always appeared at the same time. Nobody knew where she came from. The farmers liked her very much. She knew many things and could tell them wonderful stories.
“There is a magic cow among your cattle,” she told them. “Water will part and make a road when it walks on it. It can also walk on top of water. A single hair from its body can carry a very heavy weight.”
The farmers asked her which one was the magic cow. She refused to tell them. “Anyway,” she added, “only an honest man can find out.”
One day, the cows were looking for some corn to eat. The old man looking after them chased them away with a stick. The stick was old and cracked, as he had been using it for many years. He did not notice that some cow’s hair had become caught in the cracks.
At the end of the day, when he got ready to return home, he hung two baskets of firewood on the stick. He was surprised to find it was so light to lift. “Eh!” he cried. “What has happened?” He added another basked at each end. It was just as light. He added more and more baskets. Still it was not difficult to lift. He ran all the way home.
From then on, the old man used to cut wood and take it to the city to sell every day. He got more money than the needed. He was able to save some money for the first time in his life.
One morning, when he was going to the city to sell his wood, he met a rich man. The rich man was surprised to see him carrying such a heavy load. “How can you carry such a heavy weight?” he asked.
“This is a magic stick.”
The rich man did not believe him. He asked the old man to let him try. It was true! It was very light. “I’ll give you five hundred pieces of gold for the stick,” he said.
The old man took the money. It was enough for him for the rest of his life. He gave the rich man the magic stick.
The rich man was very happy. He noticed, however, that the stick was cracked. He took it to a carpenter and asked him to repair it. The carpenter used an axe to cut off the part which was cracked. He cut away the magic cow hairs at the same time.
The rich man told his wife that evening about the magic stick. He asked her to try it. He put a weight at each end of the stick. His wife tried to lift it but she could not. “What kind of magic stick is this?” she cried. “You’re dreaming. It’s just like any other stick.”
“Women!” said the rich man. “They know nothing.” He tried to lift but he was unable to do so. The magic had left the stick for ever.
Read the story. Now answer the following questions.
1. How many cows did the farmers bring to the lake every morning?
2. Why were there one hundred cows by twelve o’clock?
3. Why were the baskets of firewood so easy to lift?
4. Why did the old man sell the magic stick to the rich man?
5. What happened to the stick afterwards?
6. What was the reason for this?
HOW THE FROG DEFEATED THE GIANT
A giant lived by himself in a hut in the forest. One night, it was raining very heavily. The giant could not sleep because some frogs were making a loud noise. “Ong!” “Ang!” “Ong!” “Ang!” “Ong!”
He became very angry. He rushed outside to find them. It was so dark, he could not see where he was going. He stepped on some red ants and killed them. At the same time, he stepped on a snake and broke its back. With his arm, he knocked down a bird from a tee and broke its beak.
A last, he found the frogs. They were having a party near a river. He quickly killed them. He then returned home and slept until morning.
There was, however, a lady frog who had not been killed. She had been in a hole looking after her eggs when he had killed the other frogs.
She thought, “the giant is so wicked! He will certainly kill my children when they grow up. I must do something now to stop him.”
She hopped out from the hole to look for her friends.
Soon she met Mr. Red Ant who was crying.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Red Ant?” she asked him.
“It’s the giant. He’s killed all my friends and relatives. I am the only ant left.”
“It’s the same with me,” Mrs. Frog told him. “I’m all alone in the world except for my babies. We must do something to teach the giant a good lesson.”
Not long afterwards, Mrs. Frog and Mr. Red Ant met the snake with the broken back and the bird with the broken beak. She listened to their story. They both agreed to go with them to punish the giant.
“But we’re all too small and weak to fight the giant,” Mrs. Frog said. “We must obtain help from our stronger and bigger friends like Mr. Tiger and Mr. Elephant.”
Mrs. Frog, followed by Mr. Red Ant, Mr. Snake and Mr. Bird, went to see Mr. Tiger.
Mr. Tiger greeted her warmly,, “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Frog. What can I do for you?”
“I would really like to help you but I’m getting too old to fight. I fought with the giant once before but he was too strong for me. But I shall ask my son to help you.”
He called his son. “Yes, father,” answered his son, looking hungrily at Mrs. Frog. “Do you want me to swallow Mrs. Frog?”
“Don’t talk like that,” his father replied. “Mrs. Frog is an old friend. I want you to help her fight the giant.”
Mrs. Frog followed by Mr. Red Ant, Mr. Snake, Mr. Bird and Master Tiger then went to see Mr. Elephant.
“I shall be very glad to help you,” promised the elephant.
“The giant has always been very wicked to me. whenever I meet him, he twists my tail. It’s very painful.”
Mrs. Frog gathered all her friends around her. She told them exactly what to do. After she had finished, she said, “We shall have to wait until it’s dark. The giant will not be able to see us coming then.”
After sunset, they all went to giant’s hut.
The red ant ran inside the front door. The snake and the bird entered by the back door. The snake hid himself in the kitchen behind a jar of water and the bird near he fire. The tiger and elephant waited outside.
The red ant climbed straight into the giant’s ear. He bit it as hard as he could. The giant screamed in pain. He ran into the kitchen to find a light so that he could see what had happened to him. As he bent down over the fire, the bird threw some dust into his eyes. He was blinded. He wanted to wash his eyes in the jar of water but snake bit his hand. The elephant then shook the hut. It seemed as if it would fall down.
The giant was very frightened. He did not know what to do. He ran out of the back of the hut, towards the river. The tiger ran after him. Although the tiger jumped on him, the giant was too strong for him and he escaped. But he ran so fast that he slipped and fell into the river. Eh was carried away by the water and never seen again.
Read the story. Now answer the following questions.
1. Did the giant live by himself?
2. Why was the giant angry with the frogs?
3. Why did Mr. Tiger not go with Mrs. Frog?
4. What did the red ant do to the giant?
5. How did the giant die?
Semoga Bermanfaat
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