Before you read

You may know that the dog and the wolf are closely related. You may also know something about how over the centuries, human beings have domesticated and tamed wild animals. Here is a story about how the dog became a tame animal.

1. Dogs were once their own masters and lived the way wolves do, in freedom, until a dog was born who was ill pleased with this way of life. He was sick and tired of wandering about by himself

looking for food and being frightened of those who were stronger than he.

ill pleased: (old-fashioned way of saying) not happy

2. He thought it over and decided that the best thing for him to do was to become the servant of one who was stronger than anyone on earth, and he set out to find such a master.

3. He walked and he walked and he met a kinsman of his, a big wolf who was as strong as he was fierce.

“Where are you going, Dog?” the Wolf asked.

“I am looking for someone to take up service with. Would you like to be my master, Wolf?”

“I don’t see why not!” the Wolf said, and this agreed upon, the two of them went on together.

insman: (old-fashioned word for) a relative fierce: violent; frightening
take up service with: become the servant of

4. They walked and they walked, and all of a sudden the Wolf lifted his nose, sniffed, darted quickly off the path and into the bushes and crept deeper into the forest. The Dog was much surprised.

“What’s come over you, master?” he asked. “What has frightened you so?”

“Can’t you see? There’s a Bear out there, and he might eat up both of us - you and me.”

darted: moved quickly, suddenly
come over you: affected you

5. Seeing that the Bear was stronger than the Wolf, the Dog decided to take up service with him, and he left the Wolf and asked the Bear to be his master. The Bear agreed to this readily

6. They walked on and soon saw a herd of cows, but just as they were about to come up to it they were stopped by a terrible noise. The cows were mooing loudly and running in a panic in all directions.

7. The Bear looked out from behind a tree, and then he too ran hastily deeper into the forest.

“Now, why did I have to come here!” said he to the Dog. “It is the Lion who rules the forest in these parts.”

“The Lion? Who’s he?”

“Don’t you know? He is the strongest beast on earth!”

“Well, then, I’ll say goodbye to you, Bear. I want a master who is stronger than anyone on earth!”

8. And off the Dog went to ask the Lion to be his master.

The Lion agreed to it, and the Dog stayed with him and served him for a long, long time. It was a good life, and he had nothing to complain of, for there was no stronger beast in the forest than the Lion, and no one dared touch the Dog or offend him in any way.

dared: to be brave enough to do something

9. But one day the two of them were walking side by side along a path that ran amid bare cliffs when all of a sudden the Lion stopped. He gave a great roar and struck the ground angrily with his paw with such force that a hole formed there. Then he began to back away very quietly.

“What is it, Master, is anything wrong?” asked the Dog, surprised.

“I smell a man coming this way,” the Lion said. “We’d better run for it or we’ll be in trouble.”

“Oh, well, then I’ll say goodbye to you, Lion. I want a master who is stronger than anyone on earth!”

cliff: a steep, high rock (often at the edge of the sea)

10. And off the Dog went to join the man and he stayed with him and served him faithfully. This happened long, long ago, but to this day the dog is man’s most loyal servant and knows no other master.

WORKING WITH THE TEXT

A. Discuss these questions in pairs before you write the answers.

1. Why did the dog feel the need for a master? $(1,2)$
2. Who did he first choose as his master? Why did he leave that master? (3)
3. Who did he choose next? (5)
4. Why did he serve the Lion for a long time?
5. Who did he finally choose as his master and why? $(9,10)$

B. A summary of the story is given below. Fill in the blanks to complete it taking appropriate phrases from the box.

$\begin{array}{|l|} \hline \text{a dog } \quad \text{stronger than anyone else} \\ \text{the strongest of all} \quad \text{a wolf} \quad \text{the bear} \\ \text{afraid of man} \quad \text{his own master} \quad \text{a lion} \\ \hline \end{array}$

This is the story of ___________ who used to be ___________ .He decided to find a master ___________ . First he found ___________ but the wolf was afraid of ___________ . The dog thought that the bear was ___________ . After some time the dog met ___________ , who seemed the strongest. He stayed with the lion for a long time. One day he realised that the lion was ___________ . To this day, the dog remains man’s best friend.

WORKING WITH LANGUAGE

A. Each word in the box given below indicates a large number of… For example,‘a herd of cows’ refers to many cows.

Complete each of the following phrases with a suitable word from the box.

$\begin{array}{|llllllll|} \hline \text{school } & \text{fleet} & \text{brood} & \text{bundle} & \text{bunch} & \text{pack} & \text{flock} & \text{herd} \\ \hline \end{array}$

1. a ___________ of ships
2. a ___________ of sticks
3. a ___________ of flowers
4. a ___________ of sheep
5. a ___________ of chicks
6. a ___________ of fish
7. a ___________ of cattle
8. a ___________ of wolves

B. Make nouns from the words given below by adding -ness or ity. (For some words we need to add just - ty, or $-y$. )

1. honest ___________
2. kind ___________
3. cruel ___________
4. calm ___________
5. sad ___________
6. active ___________
7. creative ___________
8. sincere ___________
9. cheerful ___________
10. bitter ___________
11. sensitive ___________
12. great ___________

C. Wordsearch

• There are twelve words hidden in this table.
• Six can be found horizontally and the remaining six vertically.
• All of them are describing words like ‘good’, ‘happy’, etc.
• The first letters of the words are given below:

$\begin{array}{llllllll} \text{Horizontal:} & \text{H} & \text{R} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{S} & \text{G} \\ \text{Vertical:} & \text{A} & \text{W} & \text{S} & \text{F} & \text{L} & \text{Q} \\ \end{array}$

SPEAKING

Here are some points from a similar story that you might have heard in another language. Dividing the class into two groups try and tell the story in English. One person from each group can speak alternately. Your teacher will help you. As you tell it, one of you may write it down on the board.

A Mouse Maiden

• mouse changed into a girl by a magician…
• wants to marry the strongest person…
• asks whether sun or cloud stronger (why?)…
• but mountain stronger than clouds (how?)…
• but mouse stronger than mountain (how?)…
• girl asks to marry mouse, becomes a mouse again.

The Last Ride Together

There was a young man of Niger Who went for a ride on a tiger. They returned from their ride, With the man inside, And a smile on the face of the tiger.