The Three Bears

A long time ago three bears lived in the forest. There were two little bears and one big bear.

One day the big bear caught a fox by the tail and started to swing the fox around and around.

The two little bears said to the big bear, “Don’t hurt the fox! She did not do anything to us. Let her go.”

What do you think?

Guess which character is saying the following line of dialogue. Your choices are (A) one of the two little bears, (B) the big bear, or (C) the fox:

“Ouch! My tail hurts.”

“I am so big and strong, I can do anything I want!”

“We don’t want to live with a mean bear.”

The big bear told the two little bears that he wanted the fox to respect him. “If she says she respects me, I will let her go.”

The fox answered, “I respect you! I respect you! Please let me go.” The big bear let the fox go.

On another day, the big bear caught a wolf. The big bear started to bend the wolf’s paws and pull on the wolf’s ears.

The two little bears asked the big bear to let the wolf go. But the big bear wanted the wolf to respect him.

“I respect you! I respect you!” said the wolf. “Please let me go.”

The big bear let the wolf go.

Finally, the two little bears and the big bear could not live together any more. The big bear went to live by himself in the forest. One day, he met a whole pack of wolves.

“Remember me?” asked one of the wolves. “Now we are all going to attack you!”

The bear got scared and climbed up to the top of a tree. He stayed in the tree until all the wolves left. After the bear carefully climbed down, he met the fox.

“Big bear, who frightened you?” asked the fox.

“Oh! A whole pack of wolves!” answered the big bear.

“There are more wolves in the forest,” said the fox. “Go in that direction.”

The big bear went where the fox showed him to go, but he ended up in a swamp.

“Remember, big bear, how you swung me by my tail?” asked the fox. “Now I have taught you a lesson!”

The big bear wandered around the swamp for a long time. When he finally made it out of the swamp, he met the two little bears.

What do you think?

If you were one of the two little bears, what would you say to the big bear? What was the lesson the big bear needed to learn? Write down what you think. Then share your ideas with your classmates.

The Wolf, the Fox and the Donkey

Once the wolf and the fox and the donkey were hanging out together.

“Let’s tell each other some of the good and bad things we have done,” said the fox.

“ If I tell about my bad deeds, will that make me feel less guilty?” asked the wolf.

The fox nodded her head and flicked her tail. “Yes. But you have to tell us everything.”

“Okay. Once, I went into the forest,” said the wolf. “I was very hungry. I was so hungry my stomach growled. In the heart of the forest, I saw a boar. I jumped on her and bit her in the neck. And then I ate her. What else could I do? I was so hungry. But then I felt sorry for the boar’s small children. How would they live without their mother? And what a bad mother that boar was to leave her children alone! So I had to eat all of them too. Do you think I did the right thing?” the wolf asked the fox.

“ Of course! You did exactly the right thing!” answered the fox.

“I am so glad you think so. And you were right. Now I feel much better,” said the wolf.

“You know, that reminds me of something that I did once,” said the fox. “Once I thought about catching a rooster and biting him in the neck to make him stop crowing. He was so noisy all the time! And so I did. Then what else could I do but eat him? So I did. Then I felt sorry for all his children. What would these baby chicks do without their father? They would miss him so much. So I ate them too. Do you think I did the right thing?” asked the fox.

“Yes! Absolutely! What else could you have done? This proves you have a very kind heart,” said the wolf.

“Oh, thank you! I feel much better. Now it’s the donkey’s turn to talk,” said the fox.

“I don’t know what to talk about,” said the donkey.

“Surely you have done something that you need to tell us about,” said the wolf.

“ Well, once after I finished working, my master tied me to a tree. And I was very hungry and tired. I looked around for some grass to eat, but there wasn’t any. And then I saw a stack of hay nearby, so I ate some of the hay. Ever since that time, I have felt bad about it. Do you think I did the right thing?”

“No!” said the fox. “You stole your master’s straw! Your master trusted you and you betrayed him! That is the worse crime I have ever heard of!”

“Yes! You are a terrible criminal!” said the wolf. “You must be punished!”

“Yes! You must be punished!” said the fox.

What do you think?

If you were the donkey, what would you say to the wolf and the fox? How do you want this story to end?