The Elephant and the Monkey

T he elephant and the monkey were friends. One was big and strong and the other was small and nimble. One day they argued. The elephant said he was better than the monkey because it was better to be strong than to be nimble. The monkey said she was better than the elephant because it is better to be nimble than to be strong.

Do you know what nimble means?

Put the correct words in the blanks.

The elephant is big and________________(strong/nimble) because he can __________.

a. pull a tree out of the ground.

b. jump from one tree to another tree.

The monkey is small and _______________(strong/nimble) because she can __________.

a. pull a tree out of the ground.

b. jump from one tree to another tree.

What do you think?

Would you rather be big and strong or small and nimble? In pairs, create a dialogue between the monkey and the elephant.

The elephant and the monkey went to the eagle owl and asked him to decide who was better. “I cannot decide now,” said the eagle owl. “First you must cross that big river. Then you must pick an apple growing on the tree. Then bring me the apple. After I look at the apple, I will decide.”

The monkey and the elephant went to the river. But the river was very wide. The water was moving very fast.“I cannot cross the river,” said the monkey.

“Don’t be sad,” said the elephant. “Climb on my back. I am big and strong. I can cross the river.”

Together, they crossed the river. Then they found the tree, but the apple was at the top of the tree.

“The apple is too high,” said the elephant. “I cannot reach it with my trunk.”

“Don’t worry,” said the monkey. “I am small and nimble. I can climb the tree and pick the apple.”

The monkey climbed up the tree, picked the apple, and then climbed down the tree. Then the monkey climbed onto the elephant’s back, and they crossed the river. They returned to the eagle owl. They again asked who was better.

What do you think? What do you think the eagle owl said to the monkey and the elephant? Write a dialogue between the elephant, the monkey and eagle owl.

The Nightingale, the Spider, and the Bat

The nightingale sings about everything that is good. He sings about happiness

a nd joy. He sings about the sunbeams that shine on the earth. And when he sings, life becomes even more beautiful. As the sun rises, the nightingale’s voice fills the air, and all the butterflies and dragonflies and bees hear the nightingale’s song with pleasure.

But not everyone loves the nightingale. Not everyone loves the beautiful warm sunlight. There are some animals that stay inside during the day in cold, dark places, like the bat. The bat spends her days inside a dark cave where she hangs upside down. She hates the sunlight. And that is why she hates the nightingale.

Once, a long time ago, the bat hated the nightingale so much that she wanted to hurt the nightingale. So she asked the black poisonous spider to help her. “Dear spider,” said the bat. “You and I are friends. We both love the darkness. We both love to suck the blood of other animals. All the animals are afraid of us. Even the camel is afraid of your bite.”

“ What do you want me to do?” asked the spider.

“I want you to bite the nightingale,” said the bat, and she begged and pleaded with the spider until the spider finally agreed.

The spider crawled along the branch where the nightingale was sitting. The spider crawled closer and closer. Suddenly, the nightingale saw the poisonous spider.

What do you think?

If you were the nightingale, and you knew the spider wanted to bite and kill you, what would you say to the spider?

“Oh, spider!” said the nightingale. “All of my life I have tried to do only good. My song is an example of goodness. Maybe you want to do something bad to me. Maybe you want to bite me, who knows? If so, before I die, I want to do something good for you. What have you seen of the world as you have crawled along the bare earth? Hold onto my tail. I will take you up into the sky, and I will show you how beautiful this world is.”

The spider agreed and held onto the nightingale’s tail. And as the nightingale flew through the air, he sang about the beauty of the sunshine and of the earth. The music from the nightingale’s song melted the spider’s heart. He decided not to bite the nightingale.

What do you think?

What did the spider tell the bat when he returned to the cave? Create a dialogue between the spider and the bat.