Back to the story

A. How much did you understand?

A man met a snake on the road. They talked to each other.

Put sentences 1, 2 and 3 in the right order.

1. "Get off my head now. I have carried you a long way."
2. "You can go fast along the road. But I don't have legs."
3. "It’s not easy for you. I will carry you on my head."

The snake wanted to stay on the man's head. They quarrelled.

Put sentences 4, 5 and 6 in the right order.

4. "But the snake didn’t thank me for it. He is ungrateful."
5. "Please don't bite me. Let's go and find a judge."
6. "Don't try to take me off. If you do, I will bite you."

The man asked for advice from other animals.

Put sentences 7, 8 and 9 in the right order.

7. "You invited him to sit on your head. You cannot ask him to go."
8. "I don't agree with you. Look, there is the leopard. We'll ask him."
9. "I don't want to be his enemy. He will come and bite me when I am asleep."

The man asked the fox for his advice.

Put sentences 10, 11 and 12 in the right order.

10. "I can't hear you. You can't talk easily with the snake on your head."
11. "You have saved my life. What can I give you? Do you want a sheep?"
12. "I was sorry for the snake. I picked him up and carried him on my head."

B. Who is speaking?

In sentences 1, 2 and 3 there are two speakers. Who are they?

In sentences 4, 5 and 6 there are two speakers. Who are they?

In sentences 7, 8 and 9 there are three speakers. Who are they?

In sentences 10, 11 and 12 there are two speakers. Who are they?

C. What were they feeling?

Fill the gaps in these sentences with words from the story to show what the man and the animals were feeling.

1. The snake looked up at the man and said to him, "The stones hurt me, and I am very …..."
2. The man said, "I can't carry you any more." The snake was ……
3. The man could see the snake's small angry eyes, and the snake's long tongue. He was ……
4. "The snake is right," the elephant said at last. The snake was ……
5. So the man and the snake told their story to the leopard, and to the hyena, to the baboon and to the buffalo. All of them were …… of the snake.
6. "I was …… for the snake," said the man. "I picked him up and carried him on my head.
7. The man said, "What can I give you. Do you want a sheep?" The fox was ……

D. What do you think?

Was the man right to feel sorry for the snake?

Was the snake right to be angry when the man was tired?

Was the elephant's advice to the man foolish?

Were the other animals right to be afraid of the snake?

Was the man wrong to break his promise?

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