Exercises for The Farmer and the Leopard
A. How much did you understand?
Two hunters were chasing a leopard. The leopard heard a farmer singing as he ploughed his field and he asked the farmer for help.
Put sentences 1, 2 and 3 in the right order.
- "Did a leopard come this way?"
- "You can hide in my grain store."
- "The hunters are chasing me. They want to catch me and kill me."
Who said sentence 1?
Who said sentence 2?
Who said sentence 3?
The farmer told the hunters that the leopard had run away into the mountains. It was safe now for the leopard to come out of hiding. The leopard wanted to eat the farmer.
Put sentences 4, 5, and 6 in the right order.
- “I know you are hungry, and you want to eat, but I'm a happy man, and I want to live.”
- "Bring me a sheep," he said. "I want to eat."
- "I saved your life," he said. "Why don't you thank me? Why do you want to kill me?"
Who said sentence 4?
Who said sentence 5?
Who said sentence 6?
The farmer asked three animals to help him decide if the leopard’s wishes were more important than the farmer’s. The three animals each gave their answer.
Put sentences 7, 8 and 9 in the right order.
- “He puts heavy loads on my back. He hits me with his big stick. I work for him, and he never thanks me.”
- "I don't understand," he said at last. "You are only a man. The leopard is bigger and heavier than you.”
- “I work hard for this man,” he thought. "I pull his plough and break up the hard earth for him. But he never thanks me.”
Who said sentence 7?
Who said sentence 8?
Who said sentence 9?
The fox tricked the leopard and made him jump into the grain store. So the farmer killed the leopard at once.
Put sentences 10, 11 and 12 in the right order.
- "The man is as bad as the leopard," he said to himself. "He is cruel and ungrateful, too."
- "Then you can give me a sheep."
- "You saved me. How can I thank you?"
Who said sentence 10?
Who said sentence 11?
Who said sentence 12?
B. What were they feeling?
- The leopard ran up to the farmer. "Oh, please, please help me!" he said. "The hunters are chasing me.”
What was the farmer feeling? - The leopard said, "Bring me a sheep. I want to eat."
What was the farmer feeling now? - "Then I will eat you," said the leopard.
What was the farmer feeling now? - “I must eat soon or I will die. I want to eat the farmer.”
What was the leopard feeling as he talked to the ox?
C. The Ox and the Donkey
The ox and the donkey did not want to save the farmer’s life. They gave their reasons. Which sentences show the ox’s reasons and which sentences show the donkey’s reasons?
- “I don't want the leopard to be angry with me.”
- "If he eats the farmer, he will go away. If he doesn't, perhaps he will eat me."
- "I pull his plough and break up the hard earth for him. But he never thanks me."
- "I work for him, and he never thanks me."
- "I work hard for this man," he thought.
- "He hits me with his big stick."
D. What do you think?
Do you think it was right for the farmer to protect the leopard?
Do you think that the wishes of the leopard were more important than the farmer’s?
Do think that the ox and the donkey were good judges?
Do you think that the farmer was cruel and ungrateful?
