Long ago, there was a man who raised a donkey. Every day, the donkey worked hard at the mill to grind wheat. Little by little the donkey became old using up his energy. The owner began to plan on putting the donkey away. The donkey ran away. He was overcome by the remembrance of the musicians in Bremen Town--just happiness!
On the road, the donkey ran into a dog lying by the side of the road yawning.
The donkey walked over to give greetings. "Brother dog, it seems you are weary?"
The dog said: "I am old, and can't go hunting anymore. My master will drive me away!"
"Come on, we can go to Bremen Town together; I'll play, and you can do the drums!" The donkey sympathized with the dog a great deal. The dog thought well of the idea and happily went with the donkey, continually wagging his tail.
On the way, they ran into a cat. The cat by the side of the road was very anxious!
The donkey asked: "Old Whiskers, did something unfortunate happen?"
The cat answered, "I'm old, and I love to sit next to the stove and snore. My mistress wants to drown me!"
"Let's go, we can all go to Bremen Town together; your singing of tunes isn't bad!" The donkey, dog, and cat went onward.
On the road, they all ran into a rooster. "Dear rooster, it looks as if you have also experienced something bad?" The donkey asked.
The rooster said: "My heartless lady said that she wants to kill and serve me to her guests."
"Let's go; we can go to Brennan town. You are a star tenor; receive our welcome!"
That evening, they entered a forest preparing to spend the night under a large tree. The rooster flew to the top of a tree; he saw off in the distance a flash of sparks. The four comrades had a discussion. They decided to go to the place of the light and find something to eat.
Introductory Animal Discussion
Can you name these four animals?
Which one would you most like to have as a pet? Why?
Which animal would be most useful in its old age? Why?
Which animal would be least useful in its old age? Why?
Which of these four animals could make the best musician? Why?
On the road, the donkey ran into a dog lying by the side of the road yawning.
The donkey walked over to give greetings. "Brother dog, it seems you are weary?"
The dog said: "I am old, and can't go hunting anymore. My master will drive me away!"
"Come on, we can go to Bremen Town together; I'll play, and you can do the drums!" The donkey sympathized with the dog a great deal. The dog thought well of the idea and happily went with the donkey, continually wagging his tail.
On the way, they ran into a cat. The cat by the side of the road was very anxious!
The donkey asked: "Old Whiskers, did something unfortunate happen?"
The cat answered, "I'm old, and I love to sit next to the stove and snore. My mistress wants to drown me!"
"Let's go, we can all go to Bremen Town together; your singing of tunes isn't bad!" The donkey, dog, and cat went onward.
On the road, they all ran into a rooster. "Dear rooster, it looks as if you have also experienced something bad?" The donkey asked.
The rooster said: "My heartless lady said that she wants to kill and serve me to her guests."
"Let's go; we can go to Brennan town. You are a star tenor; receive our welcome!"
That evening, they entered a forest preparing to spend the night under a large tree. The rooster flew to the top of a tree; he saw off in the distance a flash of sparks. The four comrades had a discussion. They decided to go to the place of the light and find something to eat.
Introductory Animal Discussion
Can you name these four animals?
Which one would you most like to have as a pet? Why?
Which animal would be most useful in its old age? Why?
Which animal would be least useful in its old age? Why?
Which of these four animals could make the best musician? Why?
Music Discussion
In pairs or groups, allow students to discuss music: their favorite, least favorite, singers they like/dislike, etc.
Synonym Matching
snore beside
putting away snuffle during sleep
ran into killing
by the side forward
weary to meet
anxious worried
unfortunate unhappy
onward tired
Antonym Matching
long ago head
worked hard nothing
ran away apart
happiness recently
old worked lazily
together bottom
tail rejected
top new
welcome sadness
something stayed home
Listening Blank Fill
Long ago, there was a man who raised a ___________. Every day, the donkey worked hard at the ________ to grind wheat. Little by little the donkey ___________ old using up his energy. The owner began to _________ on putting the donkey away. The donkey ran __________. He was overcome by the remembrance of the _________________ in Bremen Town--just happiness!
On the road, ________ donkey ran into a dog lying by the _________ of the road yawning.
The donkey walked over ______ give greetings. "Brother dog, it seems you are __________?"
The dog said: "I am old, and can't ______ hunting anymore. My master will drive me away!"
"__________ on, we can go to Bremen Town together; _______ play, and you can do the drums!" The donkey _______________ with the dog a great deal. The dog ____________ well of the idea and happily went with the donkey, _______________ wagging his tail.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
On the way, they ran into a cat. The cat by the _________ of the road was very anxious!
The donkey __________: "Old Whiskers, did something unfortunate ___________?"
The cat answered, "I'm old, and I love to sit next to the stove and __________. My mistress wants to drown me!"
"Let's go, we can all go to Bremen Town _____________; your singing of tunes isn't bad!" The donkey, dog, and cat went ___________.
On the road, they all ran _________ a rooster. "Dear rooster, it looks as if you have also experienced something bad?" The donkey ____________.
The rooster said: "My heartless lady said that she wants to kill and serve me to her ___________."
"Let's go; we can go to Brennan __________. You are a star tenor; receive our welcome!"
That evening, they entered a forest preparing to spend the night under a large _________. The rooster flew to the ________ of a tree; he saw off in the distance a flash of sparks. The four comrades had a discussion. They decided to go to the place of the light and __________ something to eat.
together
asked
tree
into
side
happen
snore
onward
asked
guests
top
town
find
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
How does the donkey want to enjoy the last years of his life?
What would you like to do during your retirement?
Would it be fun to try to change jobs and become a musician? Why or why not?
Have you ever had one of these animals? What was it like?
Do yo like the forest? Would you like to spend the night in one?
B
Do you have any retirement plans? What are they?
What do you think should be done for animals that grow old?
If you could change carreers, what carreer would you choose?
Have you ever had one of these animals? What was it like?
Is there any place you remember that makes you feel happy? Can you decribe the place?
Story Word Puzzle
Across
1. We like to sing and play instuments.
2. I like to catch mice.
3. I am small but can carry a heavy load.
4. We are visitors.
Down
1. A useful word that means a thing.
2. I am sometimes called man's best friend.
3. I like to wake people up in the morning.
In pairs or groups, allow students to discuss music: their favorite, least favorite, singers they like/dislike, etc.
Synonym Matching
snore beside
putting away snuffle during sleep
ran into killing
by the side forward
weary to meet
anxious worried
unfortunate unhappy
onward tired
Antonym Matching
long ago head
worked hard nothing
ran away apart
happiness recently
old worked lazily
together bottom
tail rejected
top new
welcome sadness
something stayed home
Listening Blank Fill
Long ago, there was a man who raised a ___________. Every day, the donkey worked hard at the ________ to grind wheat. Little by little the donkey ___________ old using up his energy. The owner began to _________ on putting the donkey away. The donkey ran __________. He was overcome by the remembrance of the _________________ in Bremen Town--just happiness!
On the road, ________ donkey ran into a dog lying by the _________ of the road yawning.
The donkey walked over ______ give greetings. "Brother dog, it seems you are __________?"
The dog said: "I am old, and can't ______ hunting anymore. My master will drive me away!"
"__________ on, we can go to Bremen Town together; _______ play, and you can do the drums!" The donkey _______________ with the dog a great deal. The dog ____________ well of the idea and happily went with the donkey, _______________ wagging his tail.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
On the way, they ran into a cat. The cat by the _________ of the road was very anxious!
The donkey __________: "Old Whiskers, did something unfortunate ___________?"
The cat answered, "I'm old, and I love to sit next to the stove and __________. My mistress wants to drown me!"
"Let's go, we can all go to Bremen Town _____________; your singing of tunes isn't bad!" The donkey, dog, and cat went ___________.
On the road, they all ran _________ a rooster. "Dear rooster, it looks as if you have also experienced something bad?" The donkey ____________.
The rooster said: "My heartless lady said that she wants to kill and serve me to her ___________."
"Let's go; we can go to Brennan __________. You are a star tenor; receive our welcome!"
That evening, they entered a forest preparing to spend the night under a large _________. The rooster flew to the ________ of a tree; he saw off in the distance a flash of sparks. The four comrades had a discussion. They decided to go to the place of the light and __________ something to eat.
together
asked
tree
into
side
happen
snore
onward
asked
guests
top
town
find
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
How does the donkey want to enjoy the last years of his life?
What would you like to do during your retirement?
Would it be fun to try to change jobs and become a musician? Why or why not?
Have you ever had one of these animals? What was it like?
Do yo like the forest? Would you like to spend the night in one?
B
Do you have any retirement plans? What are they?
What do you think should be done for animals that grow old?
If you could change carreers, what carreer would you choose?
Have you ever had one of these animals? What was it like?
Is there any place you remember that makes you feel happy? Can you decribe the place?
Story Word Puzzle
Across
1. We like to sing and play instuments.
2. I like to catch mice.
3. I am small but can carry a heavy load.
4. We are visitors.
Down
1. A useful word that means a thing.
2. I am sometimes called man's best friend.
3. I like to wake people up in the morning.
Debate
Divide the class into teams.
Team A believes cats make the best pets.
Team B believes dogs make the best pets.
Allow teams time to develop their arguments.
Each team takes turns presenting their arguments.
The team with the best and most arguments wins!
Writing
Using their imaginations, instruct students to write a creative conclusion to this story. They should be prepared to share it next class.
(Chinese Version)
从前有一个人 , 养了一头驴子 , 驴子每天辛苦地在磨仿里磨麦子. 驴子渐渐老了 , 力气用完了 , 主人便打算
把它杀掉. 驴子逃跑了, 它想到不来梅镇上当音乐家 , 那才开心呢! 半路上 , 驴子遇到了一条狗 , 正躺在路边打呵欠. "狗兄弟 , 看样子你挺疲乏?" 驴子走上去打招呼. 狗说: "我老了, 不能去打猎 , 主人就把我赶出来了!
唉......" "走 吧 , 我们一同到不 来梅镇上去 , 我弹琴 , 你打鼓!" 驴子很同情狗.
狗非常乐意地跟着驴子走了 , 它高兴得直摇尾巴. 路上它们又遇到一只猫 , 猫正在路边发愁呢! 驴子问: "长胡子老兄 , 你有什么不顺心的事吗?" 猫说:"我老了 , 爱坐在火炉边打呼噜 , 主人要淹死我呢!" "走吧 , 我们一同去不来梅镇 , 你的小曲唱得很不错!" 驴子，狗，猫一同往前走去。
路上，它们又遇到 一只公鸡。“红冠子先生，你好像也有不如意的事儿吧?”驴子问。公鸡说：“狠心的主妇说了，要杀我招待客人呢!” “走吧，到不来梅镇上去吧，你是男高音歌星，准受欢迎！”
晚上，它们来到了一个森林里，准备在一棵大树下过夜。公鸡飞到树尖上，它看见远处有一点火星在闪光。四个伙伴经过一番商量，决定到有亮光的地方去找点吃的。
Exercise Answers:
Synonym Matching: snore-->snuffle during sleep, putting away-->killing, ran into-->to meet, by the side-->beside, weary-->tired, anxious-->worried, unfortunate-->unhappy, onward-->forward.
Antonym Matching: long ago-->recently, worked hard-->worked lazily, ran away-->stayed home, happiness-->sadness, old-->new, together-->apart, tail-->head, top-->bottom, welcome-->rejected, something-->nothing.
Listening Blank Fill: donkey, mill, became, plan, away, musicians, the, side, to, weary, go, Come, I'll, sympathyzed, thought, continually.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: side, asked, happen, snore, together, onward, into, asked, guests, town, tree, top, find.
Story Word Puzzle: Across: 1. musicians 2. cat 3. donkey 4. guests
Down: 1. something 2. dog 3. rooster
Divide the class into teams.
Team A believes cats make the best pets.
Team B believes dogs make the best pets.
Allow teams time to develop their arguments.
Each team takes turns presenting their arguments.
The team with the best and most arguments wins!
Writing
Using their imaginations, instruct students to write a creative conclusion to this story. They should be prepared to share it next class.
(Chinese Version)
从前有一个人 , 养了一头驴子 , 驴子每天辛苦地在磨仿里磨麦子. 驴子渐渐老了 , 力气用完了 , 主人便打算
把它杀掉. 驴子逃跑了, 它想到不来梅镇上当音乐家 , 那才开心呢! 半路上 , 驴子遇到了一条狗 , 正躺在路边打呵欠. "狗兄弟 , 看样子你挺疲乏?" 驴子走上去打招呼. 狗说: "我老了, 不能去打猎 , 主人就把我赶出来了!
唉......" "走 吧 , 我们一同到不 来梅镇上去 , 我弹琴 , 你打鼓!" 驴子很同情狗.
狗非常乐意地跟着驴子走了 , 它高兴得直摇尾巴. 路上它们又遇到一只猫 , 猫正在路边发愁呢! 驴子问: "长胡子老兄 , 你有什么不顺心的事吗?" 猫说:"我老了 , 爱坐在火炉边打呼噜 , 主人要淹死我呢!" "走吧 , 我们一同去不来梅镇 , 你的小曲唱得很不错!" 驴子，狗，猫一同往前走去。
路上，它们又遇到 一只公鸡。“红冠子先生，你好像也有不如意的事儿吧?”驴子问。公鸡说：“狠心的主妇说了，要杀我招待客人呢!” “走吧，到不来梅镇上去吧，你是男高音歌星，准受欢迎！”
晚上，它们来到了一个森林里，准备在一棵大树下过夜。公鸡飞到树尖上，它看见远处有一点火星在闪光。四个伙伴经过一番商量，决定到有亮光的地方去找点吃的。
Exercise Answers:
Synonym Matching: snore-->snuffle during sleep, putting away-->killing, ran into-->to meet, by the side-->beside, weary-->tired, anxious-->worried, unfortunate-->unhappy, onward-->forward.
Antonym Matching: long ago-->recently, worked hard-->worked lazily, ran away-->stayed home, happiness-->sadness, old-->new, together-->apart, tail-->head, top-->bottom, welcome-->rejected, something-->nothing.
Listening Blank Fill: donkey, mill, became, plan, away, musicians, the, side, to, weary, go, Come, I'll, sympathyzed, thought, continually.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: side, asked, happen, snore, together, onward, into, asked, guests, town, tree, top, find.
Story Word Puzzle: Across: 1. musicians 2. cat 3. donkey 4. guests
Down: 1. something 2. dog 3. rooster
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