The Fox - folksong

THE FOX as sung by Burl Ives



1.
The fox went out on a chase one night
Prayed to the moon to give him light
For he’d many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o, town-o town-o,
For he’d many a mile to go that night before he reached the town -o
2.
He ran 'til he came to a great big pen
Where the ducks and the geese were kept therein
Said, “A couple of you gonna grease my chin
Before I leave this town o, town o, town-o
Couple of you gonna grease my chin before I leave this town-o.”
3.
He grabbed the gray goose by the neck
Threw a duck across his back
He didn't mind the quack, quack quack
And the legs all dangling down-o, down-o, down-o
He didn’t mind the quack, quack quack and the legs all dangling down-o.
4.
Then old mother Flipper Flopper jumped out of bed
Out of the window she cocked her head
Cryin' ,“John, John the grey goose is gone
and the fox is on the town-o, town-o, town-o
Cryin’,“John, John the grey goose is gone and the fox is on the town-o”
5.
Then John he ran to the top of the hill,
blew his horn both loud and shrill.
Fox, he said, “I’d better flee with my kill
or they’ll soon be on my trail-o, trail-o, trail-o/
Fox, he said, “I’d better flee with my kill or they’ll soon be on my trail-o.
6.
Well, the fox he came to his cozy den
There were the little ones, eight, nine, ten
They said, “Daddy, better go back again
'cause it must be a mighty fine town-o, town-o, town-o
They said, “Daddy, better go back again cause it must be a mighty fine town-o.
7.
Well, the fox and his wife without any strife
Cut up the goose with a carving knife
They never had such a supper in their life
and the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o
They never had such a supper in their life and the little ones chewed on the bones-o.


VOCABULARY

Verse 1
1. “a chase” is (a) for some cheese (b) with his fox friends (c) on a hunt
2. “For he’d many a mile to go” “for” means what? __________________

Verse 2
3. “ ’til ” is short for “until [a preposition]. Can you use this word in a sentence?

4. “gonna” is slang, a sort of street talk (often used in songs and casual conversation)
It means “is or are going to . . .”

“A couple of you gonna [are going to ] grease my chin.” This means
(a) I’m going to eat you.
(b) shave my whiskers
(c) get oil on your clothes

Verse 3
5. “grabbed the gray goose”
“grabbed” is the past tense of the verb “to grab”. “Grabbed” means
(a) ran around
(b) ate
(c) held onto

6. “the legs all dangling down” “dangling” means
(a) stopping
(b) hanging
(c) throwing

Verse 4
7. “she cocked her head” means
(a) She bent her head sideways
(b) She cooked dinner
(c) She looked straight ahead

8. Who is old mother Flipper Flopper? and Who is John?


Verse 5
9. John “blew his horn both loud and shrill” “shrill” means
(a) a quiet sound
(b) a loud high sound
(c) thrilled
This is a common usage: She has a shrill voice.


10. “they’ll soon be on my trail” means
(a) people will go to jail
(b) people will come after me
(c) people will drive their car

11. “I’d better flee” means
(a) I must leave in a hurry
(b) I must kill you
(c) I must stay and eat

Verse 6
12. “The fox came to his cozy den.” “cozy” means
(a) crazy
(b) dark
(c) comfortable

13. “It must be a might fine town.” “mighty fine” means
(a) very strong
(b) very nice
(c) really small

Verse 7
14. “The fox and his wife without any strife” “strife means
(a) got married
(b) did not argue
(c) divorced his wife

GRAMMAR
15. In each verse, please underline every subject with one line, the verb with two lines and next to each verse, tell what tense the verb is.

16. RHYMES are words that have the SAME SOUNDS.
Some rhymes are “perfect rhymes”, as in VERSE 1 “light rhymes with “night”
Some rhymes are “sort of rhymes” as in VERSE 2
“pen” sort of rhymes with “therein” and “chin”,
but “therein” and “chin” are perfect rhymes

17. In VERSE 3, “neck” sort of rhymes with _______________ and ___________ ,
but “quack” rhymes with _____________________

18. In VERSE, “bed” rhymes with _______________ .
and _______________ sort of rhymes with ______________

19. In VERSE 5, “hill” rhymes with _______________ and ______________.

20. In VERSE 6, “ten” rhymes with with _______________ and ______________.
21. In VERSE 7, ”strife” rhymes with with _______________ and ______________.

22. In VERSE 5, “I’d better flee” and in VERSE 6, “Daddy, [you’d] better go back again” HAD BETTER means MUST and is used with the base form of the verb.
Here are sme examples:
(a) He’d better pay me back by tomorrow, or I’ll be very angry.
(b) I’d better go to school now, or I’ll be late.
(c) You’d better do your homework, or you won’t learn the lesson.
(d) Now, please write your own sentence using HAD BETTER.


23. “They never had SUCH A supper in their life” [lives]
SUCH A or SUCH AN is used with a noun
SUCH is used with plural and non-count nouns

For example, singular:
I read such an interesting book last weekend!
I read such a good book last weekend that I want to recommend it for you to read.

plural:
I saw such good movies in the theater that I have to buy the DVDs
They had such good food at the wedding that I wanted to write a thank-you note to the bride.

(a) Please write your own SUCH A/AN sentence.


(b) Try writing a sentence using SUCH


CONVERSATION (Talk to your partner)
1. What did the fox do? __________________________________________________
2. What did John do? ____________________________________________________
3. How many little foxes were in the den? What did they want their daddy to do? Why?



4. Do you think John and Mother Flipper Flopper should be angry at the fox or do you think the fox has the right to feed his family? Discuss what you think with your partner.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gati ©2008

The Fox and the Grapes

One day a hungry fox saw some beautiful grapes. They were hanging in great bunches from the vine, but they were high above the ground. The fox wanted to eat some so badly that he jumped and jumped, but he could not reach them. Angrily he walked away and said, “They may look beautiful, but I am sure that they are sour inside.

VOCABULARY
1. In this story, what does “great” mean? ______________

2. What’s a “bunch of grapes”? (a) a delicious dessert (b) grapes all together on a single stem (c) grape juice

3. What does “sour” mean? (a) very painful (b) very sweet (c) bitter
The word “sour” has two syllables. It rhymes with “hour” and “flower”.
Name one fruit that is always sour. _________________

GRAMMAR
1. Please look at the story and tell me the subjects, verbs, and what tenses?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)

2. Look at these phrases and write two sentences, one singular and one plural.
singular plural
a bunch of grapes bunches of grapes
a cup of coffee cups of coffee
a lb. of apples 5 lbs. of apples
a glass of water glasses of water
a bag of rice bags of rice
a bottle of wine bottles of wine
a dish of cereal dishes of cereal
a piece of paper/chalk pieces of paper/chalk/pizza/pie/cake
a piece of pizza/pie/cake
a box of cookies boxes of cookies
a herd of cattle (cows) herds of cattle
a flock of sheep flock of sheep
a pair of glasses/jeans/pants/shoes pairs of glasses/jeans/pants/shoes

a.

b.________________________________________________________________

3. “badly” is an adverb. Adverbs tell about (modify) VERBS, ADJECTIVES,and other ADVERBS. What does “badly” tell about in this sentence? The fox wanted to eat some grapes badly. ________________________________________
What does “angrily” tell about in this sentence? “Angrily he walked away and said . . .”
_______________________________________________________________
4. SO (adjective or adverb) THAT
examples:
a. I am SO cold THAT I have to put on a jacket.
b. I was SO tired THAT I couldn’t eat dinner.
c. He always drives SO fast THAT he gets a lot of tickets.
d. She drives SO slowly THAT people always honk their horns.
e. Mary did SO well on her test THAT she is going to UC Berkeley in the Spring.

Can you write a sentence with SO . . .THAT?


CONVERSATION
Talk to a partner. Why do you think the fox said that he was sure the grapes were sour? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Tortoise and the Hare

A hare was always making fun of a tortoise for his slow manner. One day, the tortoise challenged the hare to a race, and the hare quickly agreed.

They began, and soon the hare left the tortoise way behind. Midway through the race, though, she became bored and began to snack on some tasty grass. The noonday sun was high in the sky, and the hare grew quite warm. Seeing she was far ahead, she found a shady spot and went to sleep, thinking she could always catch up to the tortoise.

Meanwhile, the tortoise plugged along in his slow way, passing and then overtaking the sleeping hare.

The hare overslept and awoke from her nap realizing that the tortoise had passed her by. She then took off at full speed; but even though she ran as fast as she could, she could not catch up, and the tortoise reached the finish line first and won.

The moral of this story is this: Slow and steady wins the race.








VOCABULARY

1. “ to make fun of “ (in Paragraph I) means (a) to have a lot of fun (b) to tease (c) to make a joke

2. The tortoise challenged the hare to race with him.
He said, (a) “I want you to eat lunch with me.”
(b) “I want to eat you.”
(c) “Let’s see who is the fastest runner.”

3. “midway” means (a) in the middle of the road (b) in the middle of the race (c) middle age

4. “to snack” means (a) to eat something between meals (b) to get sick after eating (c) to eat a snake

5. In paragraph 2 where it says “grew quite warm,” what is a synonym for “quite”? _____________________________

6. What does “grew” mean in the verb phrase “grew quite warm”? _______________________________________

7. “shady” means (a) sunshine (b) dirty (c) not in the sun

8. What’s a synonym for “spot” in the phrase “a shady spot”? ________________________________________

9. “catch up” means (a) a tomato sauce we use on hamburgers (b) to sing with other people
(c) when someone is no longer behind or later than others

10. In paragraph 3, “meanwhile” means (a) at the same time something else is happening (b) the definition or meaning
(c) many things

11. “The tortoise plugged along in his slow way.” means (a) stopped along the way (b) kept going slowly
(c) went back to the beginning slowly

12 “overtaking” means (a) talking it over (b) jumping and hopping (c) going past

13. In paragraph 4, “to oversleep” means (a) to sleep over at someone’s house (b) to pull blankets over your head
(c) to sleep past the time you’re supposed to get up

14. What does this sentence mean? “She took off at full speed.”
(a) She ran as fast as she could. (b) She ate until she was full. (c) She took off all her clothes.

GRAMMAR
Please write every subject, verb, and what tense
1.
2.
3.
4
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25. Choose three past tense verbs and write your own sentences.
a.
b.
c.

26. “quickly” is an adverb. “quick” is an adjective
Write two sentences using both words. _________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

27. “quite” is another word for “very” or “really” and is used with an adjective. For example, “I feel quite tired.”
Write your own sentence using “quite.” _____________________________________________________

28. “as fast as” is a way to use an adjective to compare two things or people or ideas that are the same.
For example, She is as tall as I. This means we are the same height.
He is as bad at English as I am. This means his Engish is the same as mine.
Her building is as big as mine. Both buildings are the same size.

You write a sentence using “as (adjective) as” ________________________________________________







CONVERSATION

1. Who are the main characters in this story? ________________________________________________
2. Who was behind? Why? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What did the tortoise win? ______________________________________________________________
4. Please explain what “Slow and steady wins the race” means?



5. Can you give a personal example when this statement was true for you or for someone you know?


_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Potluck weddings aren't so bad

“Dear Abby” is a daily advice column. Readers who have problems write to Abby for advice, and Abby advises them. She gives advice on how to solve the problems. She also includes readers’ opinions about her advice.

There are other columnists who give advice. “Miss Manners” gives advice on how to be polite and how to act in social situations. “Beth” gives teenagers advice on teen problems.

One important note is this: People who write their letters to Abby never sign their real names. Instead, they sometimes sign the place they live in along with a made-up name referring to the problem.

Potluck weddings aren’t so bad is from the San Francisco Chronicle is a “Dear Abby” from Thu., July 17, 2008.

(1) Look at the headline: POTLUCK WEDDINGS AREN’T SO BAD.

(2) Ask yourself, “Are there any new words? What are they?
Do you know what a “potluck” is? What is a “potluck”? _______________________________________

(3) Is this headline a complete sentence? _______ What’s the verb? What’s the subject? ________ _______

(4) This headline sounds like a conversation? Try this with a partner.

A: I think potluck weddings are a bad idea.
B: You think they’re a bad idea?
A: I sure do.
B: In my opinion, potluck weddings aren’t so bad. I think they’re a good idea.
A: Why do you say that?
B: Potluck weddings can save the bride and groom a lot of money.
A: Maybe you’re right.


VOCABULARY (words and expressions)

(1) “I had to laugh” doesn’t have anything to do with “funny” and “laughing.” It really means –“Ha, you’re kidding. How can you think that? I disagree with her.”

(2) What word from the article means “to pause” or “not to do something right away.” _______________________________

(3) “a potluck” is (a) dutch treat (b) lucky money (c) a party for which every guest brings something (usually food) .

(4) “Wedding clothes” is the same as “wedding ________________.”
For work, we wear work clothes or work ________________
For swimming, we wear “swim wear” or swim clothes or swimming _______________
For school, we wear school clothes or school ________________

For example, Party dresses and high-heel shoes are not proper school attire.
Bathing suits are swimming attire.
Jeans and T-shirts are proper work attire.

(5) a. “Let your hair down.” = Don’t be so proper. Don’t follow all the rules. Relax and enjoy yourself.

b. “Get with the program.” = Come on. Do what everybody else is doing.

c. “a hoot” = a lot of fun (and a little bit different from the ordinary kind). “The wedding was a hoot.
but

d. another meaning . . . “I don’t give a hoot.” = I don’t care about that. It’s not interesting to me at all.

(6) What idiom in the story means “to help do something”? ________________________________

(7) “In today’s economy” = (a) in our house (b) the amount of money we have to spend nowadays (c) today I went shopping


(8) We say, “do dishes” (or “do the dishes”. We also use “do” when we say “do laundry,” “do gardening,” “do homework,” “do shopping,” and “do the cooking,“ and “do ____________________”
Please write two sentences, using these expressions: ______________________________________________________________

In Abby’s response “Dear Quaker Girl,”
(9) Potluck weddings “have become the norm” means (a) morning weddings (b) normal or common (c) Norman’s wedding

GRAMMAR

(1) hesitate about ( ing noun)
She hesitated about attending the wedding.

or hesitate to do something (to = infinitive)
She hesitated to say anything bad.

You write a sentence using hesitate .

______________________________________________________


CONVERSATION
1. Have you ever been to a potluck? What did you bring?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of people get married at the courthouse?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the usual Western wedding attire for the bride and groom?

4. What is the usual wedding attire for the bride and groom in your native country?
______________________________________________________________________________________

5. How would you feel if the bride asked you to bring food and help do the dishes at the wedding?
(insulted? comfortable? uncomfortable? happy to do it? )

I_______________________________________________________________. #2 & #3 DEAR ABBY

VOCABULARY
(1) “have the good sense” means
a. have a lot of cents
b. be a good senator
c. capable of knowing what to do

(2) “spend a fortune” means
a. fortune cookies are good
b. pay a lot of money
c. feel lucky

(3) “lavish” is an adjective. It describes the wedding reception as
a. inexpensive’
b. fancy and expensive
c. lovely

(4) “practical” means
a. useful
b. perfect
c. practice

#4 DEAR ABBY
VOCABULARY
(1) What do we call the place where the reception takes place? the _______________________

(2) In a formal wedding, who usually gives the rings to the bride and groom, and how does he deliver them to the couple?
_________________________________________________________________________
(3) What are the gifts that the couple gives to the guests? ________________________________________

CONVERSATION
1. What’s the difference between a close friend and a casual acquaintance?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you think having a POTLUCK WEDDING is “a money issue” or do you think the couple wants to “share their values” with their guests?

3. What’s the Mexican wedding tradition regarding guests paying for things?



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

#5 DEAR ABBY
VOCABULARY
1. What is a “catered” wedding?
a. you pay someone to make the food
b. a terrible wedding
c. a wedding in a chapel


#6 DEAR ABBY
CONVERSATION

“cheap is a word when describing things means either “inexpensive” or “made of poor quality materials.”

“cheap” is a word when describing people means that they are people who don’t like to spend money.
They are “thrifty” and “frugal.”

(1) Do you think that a bride and groom who have a potluck wedding are “cheap”? Why or why not?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(2) What is your opinion of elaborate (expensive) weddings? Could you afford an expensive wedding?

If you are married, what was your wedding like?

If you are not married, what kind of wedding would you like?

The Hares and the Frogs

THE HARES AND THE FROGS

Some hares gathered together to complain about their unhappiness. They complained about the dangers that they were always exposed to from their enemies -- men, dogs, birds and bears, and they talked about their lack of strength and courage. They said that all their enemies were always killing and devouring them. Because they were so unhappy, they were determined to end their lives; so they rushed to a neighboring pond, intending to drown themselves.

On the bank of the pond were a number of frogs, who, hearing the noise of the hares, leaped into the water and hid themselves there.

Then one of the older, wiser hares cried out, “Stop, friend hares. Take heart. Don’t let us destroy ourselves because here are creatures who are afraid of us and who must be more timid than we are.”

The moral of this story is this:
“There are always others worse off than you are.”






I Vocabulary
1. What’s a word that means “rabbits”? _________________
2. “unhappy “ is an adjective. What’s the non-count noun? _______________
3. “dangerous” is an adjective. What the plural (count) noun? _________________
4. “strong” is an adjective. What’s the non-count noun? ____________________
5. “courageous” is an adjective. What’s the non-count noun? ________________

6. Please write the singular nouns for these plural nouns.
a. _____________________ enemies
b.______________________ men
c. ______________________ dogs
d. ______________________ bears
7. What word means to eat up greedily? _to____________________
8. What word means “strong-minded” and “persistent”? ________________________
9. What phrase means “to commit suicide”? _________________________________
10. In this story, what is another word for “shore”? ____________________________
11. Is “a number of frogs” (a) a lot or (b) a few ?
12. What idiom means “to feel confident or courageous “ _______________________
13. What word mean “shy” ? ______________
14. What’s another word (a synonym) for “creatures”? ____________________
15. When someone doesn’t have as much as you do, they are ________________ than you.

II. Grammar
1. What’s the plural of “myself”? ____________________________
2. What’s the plural of “himself” or “herself” ? ___________________________







3.Comparisons of adjectives are made in English by telling what is different.
Write two sentences using the comparative under each picture.

1. one-syllable adjectives ADD ER + THAN
short and tall
Bob Joe
a.__________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

2. adjectives ending in “y” CHANGE THE “Y” to “i” and add “er” + “than”.


pretty and ugly
Betty Martha
a.__________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________



3. 2 or more syllable adjectives ADD MORE + ADJECTIVE + THAN
beautiful and expensive
the necklace the ring

a.__________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________

4. You must memorize some irregular comparisons.
adjective comparison
good better (than)

bad worse (than)

far farther (than)

a.__________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________








5. Please finish these sentences.
a. My brother is older than (I/me).
b. Cindy is heavier than (they/them).
c. Brittany is more beautiful than (she/her).
d. My children are (younger/more young) than her children.
e. That cat is (dumber/more dumb) than that dog.
f. Her sister is (intelligenter, more intelligent) than her brothers.
g. Her new dress is (prettier/ more pretty) than her old one.
h. He is 5 years (old/older) than his sister.

6. Please write your own sentences.
a. a single-syllable comparison
______________________________________________________________________
b. a “y” adjective
______________________________________________________________________
c. a 2- or 3-syllable adjective


IV. Conversation

1. What animals were very unhappy? and why?


2. Who were their enemies and what did they do to them?

3. What did they decide to do about this terrible problem?

4. What creatures made them change their minds? Why?


5. Please explain this sentence:
“There are always others worse off than you are.”

The Fisherman and the Little Fish

THE FISHERMAN AND THE LITTLE FISH

A fisherman cast his net into the sea; and when he drew it up again, it contained nothing but a single tiny fish that begged to be put back into the water.
“I’m only a little fish now, “ it said, “but I will grow big one day, and then if you catch me again, I’ll be of more use to you.”
The fisherman listened, but he replied, “Oh, no, I’m going to keep you now that I’ve got you. If I put you back, it is very unlikely that I’ll ever see you again. “
The moral of this story: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

I. Vocabulary
1. What verb means to throw, to fling, or to hurl ? _________________
2. “nothing but” means (a) nothing
(b) everything
(c) only
3. What phrase means “to be helpful” ? _________________________
4. What word means “probably will not be successful” _______________


II. Verbs
subject verb tense
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
III. Conversation Talk to your partner.
1. Who went fishing?
2. Where was the fisherman fishing?
3. How many fish did he catch?
4. What did the little fish want?
5. What did the farmer do with the little fish?
6. Write what you think “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” means.

The Milkmaid and the Pail

The Milkmaid and her Pail
A milkmaid was going to the market carrying a pail of milk on her head. As she was walking along, she began to think of what she could do with the money that she would get from selling the milk.
“I’ll buy some chickens,” she thought, “and they will lay eggs every morning. Then I will sell the eggs. When I have enough money, I will buy a new dress and hat. Then when I go to the market, all the boys will notice me, and the other girls will be jealous; but I won’t care because I will just look at them like this. I’ll toss my head in the air and go on my way.”
Just as she said that, she tossed her head back and the pail and all the milk spilled onto the ground.
The moral of the story is this: DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH.

I. VOCABULARY:
nouns
a. What’s a young girl who milks cows called? ____ __________________
b. What’s a place where food is sold? ____ _____________________
c. What’s a receptacle with a handle to carry milk or water or sand ? __ _________
d. What’s a lesson you learn from a story? ___ __________________
adjectives
a. What’s a synonym in the story for envious or resentful ?_______________
idioms:
a. It won’t bother me = __________________________________
b. I’ll move my head back and forth = ________________________
c. I’ll just keep walking. = __________________________________
verbs:
a. What’s a verb that means to see = _______________
b. When baby chicks come out of their shells, they _________________ .

II. VERB TENSES
present present progressive past past progressive future conditional
am/is/are + verbING was/were + verbING will + base form would/could + base form

go/goes am/is/are going went was/were going will go would/could go
carry/carries am/is/are carrying carried was/were carrying will carry
begin/begins began will begin
A. Identify all the verbs in the story.
subject verb tense
1. a milkmaid was walking past continuous
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.

IV. Conversation:
1. Who was carrying a pail of milk on her head?
2. Where was she going?
3. What was she going to sell? Why?
4. Why was she going to buy chickens?
5. Why was she going to buy a new dress and hat?
6. What happened when she tossed her head back?
7. What do you think the moral (“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”) means?

Gati©2008