DAILY TEST

CLASS/ SEMESTER: XI/1 THEME: FANTASY A3

Read the story and choose the right answer

The Rose and The Butterfly
A Butterfly once fell in love with a beautiful Rose. The Rose was not
indifferent, for the Butterfly's wings were powdered in a charming pattern of gold
and silver. And so, when he fluttered near and told how he loved her, she blushed
rosily and said yes. After much pretty love-making and many whispered vows of
constancy, the Butterfly took a tender leave of his sweetheart.
But alas! It was a long time before he came back to her.
"Is this your constancy?" she exclaimed tearfully. "It is ages since you went
away, and all the time, you have been carrying on with all sorts of flowers. I saw you
kiss Miss Geranium, and you fluttered around Miss Mignonette until Honey Bee
chased you away. I wish he had stung you!"
"Constancy!" laughed the Butterfly. "I had no sooner left you than I saw
Zephyr kissing you. You carried on scandalously with Mr. Bumble Bee and you made
eyes at every single Bug you could see. You can't expect any constancy from me!"
Do not expect constancy in others if you have none yourself.

1. Where does the complication start? When….

A. the Rose accepted the confession C. the butterfly had to leave E. butterfly fell in love with Rose
2. Who had an affair?
A. Butterfly B. Rose C. Butterfly and Rose D. Honey Bee E. the Bug
3. Why did the Rose get angry? Because ….
A. Butterfly went for a long time C. butterfly forgot to write her E. Miss Geranium seduced Butterfly
B. her boyfriend went for a long time and flirted D. Butterfly did not want to back to her again
4. The character of the Butterfly is ….
A. loyal B. faithful C. trustworthy D. flirtatious E. down-to-earth
5. What is the story about? It’s about ….
A. a couple who claimed to be loyal when none of them is.
B. the fight of a couple over constancy in loving when none of them is
C. the fight of lovers about the affair of the butterfly
D. the pledge of loyalty that turned into a catastrophe
E. Butterfly and a rose which have funny relationship with their friends around them.

Read the text and determine whether the statements are True or False
A hobgoblin created a mirror. It magnified ugly and evil things, and shrank good and pretty things. When
hobgoblin’s associates took the mirror up into the sky to see what the angels looked like in it, it fell and smashed into
millions of pieces. Some of these pieces got into people’s eyes and distorted their view of the world; some pieces became
windows; some pieces even made it into people’s hearts and turned those hearts as cold as ice. But many pieces were left
scattered about the world.
In a small village, there were two small children – a boy, named Kay, and a girl, named Gerda. One day, the
Snow Queen appeared outside Kay’s house and shortly after that, a piece of the hobgoblin’s magic mirror got caught in
his eye and reached his heart, turning it to ice. After that he started to behave badly towards Gerda and could only see the
ugliness in things.
Kay took his sledge into town. Suddenly the Snow Queen appeared and took him away. Gerda wondered what
happened to Kay. She was afraid if Kay was dead. She threw her prized red shoes into the river as an offering, in the hope
that Kay would come back in return. But it didn’t work, so Gerda got in a boat and soon drifted out into the world far
from her home, where she met an old lady who befriended her. Gerda talked to the flowers in the woman’s garden, in the
hope that they would tell her where Kay was, but they spoke to her in riddles.
Autumn came, and Gerda continued on her way in the world. She met a crow, who told her that Kay was in the
palace of a princess. But when Gerda travelled to the palace, the prince was not Kay. The prince and princess gave Gerda
a coach and warm coat, so she could continue her journey. However, some robbers caught Gerda, and took her to their
castle. There she met a little robber girl, whose doves told Gerda that Kay was taken by the Snow Queen to her palace
further north. The robber girl helped to free Gerda from the castle. With the help of a reindeer, Gerda travelled north to
the colder parts of Scandinavia, until she reached the palace of the Snow Queen. She had Kay under her spell. The only
way to free him from it was to remove the shard of the magic mirror that had turned his heart to ice. Kay was nearly blue
with cold, and it’s only the Snow Queen’s attention to him that kept him from freezing.
The Snow Queen flew away to warmer countries, left Kay alone. Gerda turned up and recognised Kay instantly
despite his changed appearance, but he sat still and cold and unresponsive. Upset, Gerda cried warm tears that drop onto
the frozen Kay, and seeped through to his heart, melting it.
When Gerda sang a song they both knew, he recognised her, and burst into tears. His tears washed out the grain
of glass from the magic mirror in his eye, and he returned to his old self. Reunited, Gerda and Kay returned home,
growing up together and yet retaining their childlike innocence, as spring turned into summer.
 6. The mirror would definitely turn people into evil if it got into them.
7. The flowers did not tell Gerda directly about Kay.
8. Gerda knew the location of Kay from the help of little robber’s pets.
9. Kay’s appearance stayed the same although his behaviour was not.
10. The climax of the story is when Gerda arrived in the Snow Queen’s palace and saw Kay.

Read the story and determine whether you agree or disagree with the statements based on the stor
Van Cheele was driving a departing guest to the train station. He was an artist whose name was
Cunningham. Suddenly his guest mentioned that there was a wild beast in his woods. Van Cheele asked what
he means by "a wild beast" but Cunningham would say nothing more.
That afternoon, while taking a walk through his woodland property, Van Cheele saw a boy of about
sixteen. He was drying his naked wet body on a stone near the pool. Van Cheele asked the boy where he lived,
and the boy replied that he lived in the woods. Van Cheele didn’t believe but the boy insisted and said he
hunted at night and fed on rabbits, wild fowl, poultry, lambs, and children – although it had been two months
since he caught a child. Van Cheele ignored that and ordered the boy out of his woods. The boy dived into the
pool then, but suddenly he popped up like an otter near Van Cheele. Van Cheele startled and fell back. The boy
laughed and then dived and disappeared.
On his way home, Van Cheele thought about some recent local incidents. Chickens and lambs had gone
missing in the woods. He also thought about the Miller's child who disappeared two months ago. People
thought he had been swept away by the millrace. His aunt noticed at dinner that night that Van Cheele was
unusually silent.
The following morning, Van Cheele walked into his morning room and found the boy sprawled on the
footstall. Van Cheele had just enough time to spread the Morning Post before his aunt enters. Van Cheele
desperately explained to his aunt that the boy had lost his way and his memory as well as his clothes. His aunt
decided they must take care of the boy and sent for some clothes. After the bathing, his aunt found the boy
sweet and declared they should call him "Gabriel-Ernest" until they learnt his real name.
In the mean time, Van Cheele's worry grew as he saw both his dog and his canary terribly frightened by
Gabriel-Ernest. He decided to take the train to the neighboring town to see Cunningham to find out what he saw
in the woods. He drove to the station and he leaf Gabriel-Ernest with his aunt who was preparing to entertain
children from her Sunday school class.
Cunningham didn’t want to talk at first, but he finally told Van Cheele what he saw on the last evening
of his stay. He said he was watching the sunset when he saw a naked boy standing on the hillside. The boy was
so picturesque that Cunningham wanted to make him as a model. Then the sun set and, to his astonishment, the
boy vanished and in his place stood a large wolf.
Even before Cunningham finished speaking, Van Cheele started running toward the train station. By the
time he arrived home, the sun was already beginning to set. He found his aunt putting away the jams and cake
which the children did not finish. Gabriel-Ernest was not there. His aunt said she asked the boy to take a small
child home because it was getting late. Van Cheele rushed out after the children along a narrow lane with the
millstream on one side and the hillside on the other. As he neared a curve, the sun set and darkness fell. Van
Cheele heard a scream and stopped running.
Only the clothes worn by Gabriel-Ernest were found in the road. It was assumed that the young child
fell into the stream and Gabriel-Ernest stripped and jumped in trying to save him. At the request of Van
Cheele's aunt, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the church to "Gabriel-Ernest, an unknown boy, who bravely
sacrificed his life for another." Van Cheele, however, had refused to subscribe to it.

11. The complication starts when Van Cheele saw a boy in his property.
12. Gabriel-Ernest ate the young child in the end of the story.
13. Cunningham suspected that Gabriel-Ernest was an evil spirit pretending to be human.
14. The author leads the reader to believe Gabriel Ernest was wicked when he was not.
15. Van Cheele’s aunt asked to make a plague for the Gabriel -Ernest and the young child who drowned.
 DAILY TEST
CLASS/ SEMESTER: XI/1 THEME: FANTASY A2

Read the story and choose the right answer

Belling the Cat
The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their
enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was
coming, so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for
they lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their
dens by night or day.
Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last
a very young Mouse got up and said:
"I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful.
All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat's neck. When we hear the bell
ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming."
All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan
before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose
and said:
"I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one
question: Who will bell the Cat?"
It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.

1. The story tells us about ….

A. a group of mice which wanted to get revenge .
B. mice which planned to kill a cat
C. some mice which came up with a plan to bell their enemy, the cat.
D. Some mice which devised a plan to know the position of cat
E. the evil plan of mice which did not turn into a success.
2. Which part is the climax of the story? When …
A. the old mouse said, “Who will bell the Cat?” D. the old Mouse arose
B. the young mouse suggested a plan. E. there was no climax in the story
C. the mice were in awe of the plan
3. Why did the mice have a meeting? Because they ….
A. wanted to made a trap for the Cat D. wanted to find a way to know when the cat was near
B. they were sick with the Cat which always killed their child
C. wanted to catch the Cat E. wanted to consult their plan to the elders in their community
4. The character of the old mouse is ….
A. brave B. sharp C. boring D. annoying E. slow
5. What was suggested by the very young mouse? It suggested that ….
A. they put a trap near their den D. they rang a bell when the cat showed up
B. they pull the bell near the den when the cat is near E. they dangle a bell around the Cat’s neck
C. they put the bell near the trap that they set up

Read the text and determine whether the statements are True or False
A hobgoblin created a mirror. It magnified ugly and evil things, and shrank good and pretty things.
When hobgoblin’s associates took the mirror up into the sky to see what the angels looked like in it, it fell and
smashed into millions of pieces. Some of these pieces got into people’s eyes and distorted their view of the
world; some pieces became windows; some pieces even made it into people’s hearts and turned those hearts as
cold as ice. But many pieces were left scattered about the world.
In a small village, there were two small children – a boy, named Kay, and a girl, named Gerda. One day,
the Snow Queen appeared outside Kay’s house and shortly after that, a piece of the hobgoblin’s magic mirror
got caught in his eye and reached his heart, turning it to ice. After that he started to behave badly towards Gerda
and could only see the ugliness in things.
Kay took his sledge into town. Suddenly the Snow Queen appeared and took him away. Gerda
wondered what happened to Kay. She was afraid if Kay was dead. She threw her prized red shoes into the river
as an offering, in the hope that Kay would come back in return. But it didn’t work, so Gerda got in a boat and
soon drifted out into the world far from her home, where she met an old lady who befriended her. Gerda talked
to the flowers in the woman’s garden, in the hope that they would tell her where Kay was, but they spoke to her
in riddles.
Autumn came, and Gerda continued on her way in the world. She met a crow, who told her that Kay
was in the palace of a princess. But when Gerda travelled to the palace, the prince was not Kay. The prince and
princess gave Gerda a coach and warm coat, so she could continue her journey. However, some robbers caught
Gerda, and took her to their castle. There she met a little robber girl, whose doves told Gerda that Kay was
taken by the Snow Queen to her palace further north. The robber girl helped to free Gerda from the castle. With
the help of a reindeer, Gerda travelled north to the colder parts of Scandinavia, until she reached the palace of
the Snow Queen. She had Kay under her spell. The only way to free him from it was to remove the shard of the
magic mirror that had turned his heart to ice. Kay was nearly blue with cold, and it’s only the Snow Queen’s
attention to him that kept him from freezing.
The Snow Queen flew away to warmer countries, left Kay alone. Gerda turned up and recognised Kay
instantly despite his changed appearance, but he sat still and cold and unresponsive. Upset, Gerda cried warm
tears that drop onto the frozen Kay, and seeped through to his heart, melting it.
When Gerda sang a song they both knew, he recognised her, and burst into tears. His tears washed out
the grain of glass from the magic mirror in his eye, and he returned to his old self. Reunited, Gerda and Kay
returned home, growing up together and yet retaining their childlike innocence, as spring turned into summer.

6. The complication of the story starts when one day Snow Queen appeared outside Kay’s house.
7. A reindeer had been helping Gerda in travelling all around the country to search for Kay.
8. Gerda’s sincerity succeeded in defeating Snow Queen.
9. Kay didn’t freeze because Snow Queen was still with him.
10. The crow and the flowers were Snow Queen’s subordinates.

Read the story and determine whether you agree or disagree with the statements based on the stor
Van Cheele was driving a departing guest to the train station. He was an artist whose name was
Cunningham. Suddenly his guest mentioned that there was a wild beast in his woods. Van Cheele asked what
he means by "a wild beast" but Cunningham would say nothing more.
That afternoon, while taking a walk through his woodland property, Van Cheele saw a boy of about
sixteen. He was drying his naked wet body on a stone near the pool. Van Cheele asked the boy where he lived,
and the boy replied that he lived in the woods. Van Cheele didn’t believe but the boy insisted and said he
hunted at night and fed on rabbits, wild fowl, poultry, lambs, and children – although it had been two months
since he caught a child. Van Cheele ignored that and ordered the boy out of his woods. The boy dived into the
pool then, but suddenly he popped up like an otter near Van Cheele. Van Cheele startled and fell back. The boy
laughed and then dived and disappeared.
On his way home, Van Cheele thought about some recent local incidents. Chickens and lambs had gone
missing in the woods. He also thought about the Miller's child who disappeared two months ago. People
thought he had been swept away by the millrace. His aunt noticed at dinner that night that Van Cheele was
unusually silent.
The following morning, Van Cheele walked into his morning room and found the boy sprawled on the
footstall. Van Cheele had just enough time to spread the Morning Post before his aunt enters. Van Cheele
desperately explained to his aunt that the boy had lost his way and his memory as well as his clothes. His aunt
decided they must take care of the boy and sent for some clothes. After the bathing, his aunt found the boy
sweet and declared they should call him "Gabriel-Ernest" until they learnt his real name.
In the mean time, Van Cheele's worry grew as he saw both his dog and his canary terribly frightened by
Gabriel-Ernest. He decided to take the train to the neighboring town to see Cunningham to find out what he saw
in the woods. He drove to the station and he leaf Gabriel-Ernest with his aunt who was preparing to entertain
children from her Sunday school class.
Cunningham didn’t want to talk at first, but he finally told Van Cheele what he saw on the last evening
of his stay. He said he was watching the sunset when he saw a naked boy standing on the hillside. The boy was
so picturesque that Cunningham wanted to make him as a model. Then the sun set and, to his astonishment, the
boy vanished and in his place stood a large wolf.
Even before Cunningham finished speaking, Van Cheele started running toward the train station. By the
time he arrived home, the sun was already beginning to set. He found his aunt putting away the jams and cake
which the children did not finish. Gabriel-Ernest was not there. His aunt said she asked the boy to take a small
child home because it was getting late. Van Cheele rushed out after the children along a narrow lane with the
millstream on one side and the hillside on the other. As he neared a curve, the sun set and darkness fell. Van
Cheele heard a scream and stopped running.
Only the clothes worn by Gabriel-Ernest were found in the road. It was assumed that the young child
fell into the stream and Gabriel-Ernest stripped and jumped in trying to save him. At the request of Van
Cheele's aunt, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the church to "Gabriel-Ernest, an unknown boy, who bravely
sacrificed his life for another." Van Cheele, however, had refused to subscribe to it.

11. The climax of the story is the people found the clothes of Gabriel-Ernest.
12. Van Cheele’s aunt suspicion and his pets strengthened his conclusion about Gabriel-Ernest.
13. Gabriel-Ernest was actually a child who was raised by wolf.
14. Two children were died because of Gabriel-Ernest.
15. Van Cheele’s ran after Gabriel-Ernest who took a small child home because he knew something bad would
happen.
 DAILY TEST
CLASS/ SEMESTER: XI/1 THEME: FANTASY A1

Read the story and choose the right answer

A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarrelling among
themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind
for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead
them to misfortune.
One day when the quarrelling had been much more violent than usual and each
of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a
bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to
try to break it. But although each one tried his best; none was able to do so.
The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his sons to break one
by one. This they did very easily.
"My Sons," said the Father, "do you not see how certain it is that if you agree
with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure
you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single
stick in that bundle."
In unity is strength.

1. The story tells us about ….

A. a happy family who tried to solve a problem D. sons who learn about unity in cruel way
B. sons who tried to solve a problem together E. a father who has a problem with his sons
C. a father who tried to teach his sons about unity
2. Which part is the climax of the story? When …
A. the sons tried to break the bundle D. the father explained his purpose
B. the father untied the bundle E. when the sons broke the stick one by one
C. the father asked the sons to bring him a bundle of sticks
3. Why did the father give the mission to his son? Because ….
A. his sons always fight. D. their sons always had different opinion
B. they had many enemies, so they should work together.
C. he wanted to divide his property E. he did not want his family to break apart
4. The character of the father is ….
A. proud B. wise C. boring D. annoying E. witty
5. What was the task that was given to the son?
A. to break one stick together D. to come up with a solution to cut the bundle of stick
B. to plant the stick and pull it up E. to pull a bundle of sticks from the land one by one.
C. to break a bundle of sticks one by one

Read the text and determine whether the statements are True or False
A hobgoblin created a mirror. It magnified ugly and evil things, and shrank good and pretty things.
When hobgoblin’s associates took the mirror up into the sky to see what the angels looked like in it, it fell and
smashed into millions of pieces. Some of these pieces got into people’s eyes and distorted their view of the
world; some pieces became windows; some pieces even made it into people’s hearts and turned those hearts as
cold as ice. But many pieces were left scattered about the world.
In a small village, there were two small children – a boy, named Kay, and a girl, named Gerda. One day,
the Snow Queen appeared outside Kay’s house and shortly after that, a piece of the hobgoblin’s magic mirror
got caught in his eye and reached his heart, turning it to ice. After that he started to behave badly towards Gerda
and could only see the ugliness in things.
Kay took his sledge into town. Suddenly the Snow Queen appeared and took him away. Gerda
wondered what happened to Kay. She was afraid if Kay was dead. She threw her prized red shoes into the river
as an offering, in the hope that Kay would come back in return. But it didn’t work, so Gerda got in a boat and
soon drifted out into the world far from her home, where she met an old lady who befriended her. Gerda talked
to the flowers in the woman’s garden, in the hope that they would tell her where Kay was, but they spoke to her
in riddles.
Autumn came, and Gerda continued on her way in the world. She met a crow, who told her that Kay
was in the palace of a princess. But when Gerda travelled to the palace, the prince was not Kay. The prince and
princess gave Gerda a coach and warm coat, so she could continue her journey. However, some robbers caught
Gerda, and took her to their castle. There she met a little robber girl, whose doves told Gerda that Kay was
taken by the Snow Queen to her palace further north. The robber girl helped to free Gerda from the castle. With
the help of a reindeer, Gerda travelled north to the colder parts of Scandinavia, until she reached the palace of
the Snow Queen. She had Kay under her spell. The only way to free him from it was to remove the shard of the
magic mirror that had turned his heart to ice. Kay was nearly blue with cold, and it’s only the Snow Queen’s
attention to him that kept him from freezing.
The Snow Queen flew away to warmer countries, left Kay alone. Gerda turned up and recognised Kay
instantly despite his changed appearance, but he sat still and cold and unresponsive. Upset, Gerda cried warm
tears that drop onto the frozen Kay, and seeped through to his heart, melting it.
When Gerda sang a song they both knew, he recognised her, and burst into tears. His tears washed out
the grain of glass from the magic mirror in his eye, and he returned to his old self. Reunited, Gerda and Kay
returned home, growing up together and yet retaining their childlike innocence, as spring turned into summer.

6. The climax of the story is when Gerda cried and the tears melted Kay’s cold heart.
7. The goblin’s colleagues brought the mirror to peep what the angels were saying and doing.
8. The flowers of the old lady were working for the Snow Queen.
9. Gerda arrived at to the Snow Queen’s palace at the right time when she was not at home.
10. Kay recognized Gerda when she sang the song that they both knew.

Read the story and determine whether you agree or disagree with the statements based on the stor
Van Cheele was driving a departing guest to the train station. He was an artist whose name was
Cunningham. Suddenly his guest mentioned that there was a wild beast in his woods. Van Cheele asked what
he means by "a wild beast" but Cunningham would say nothing more.
That afternoon, while taking a walk through his woodland property, Van Cheele saw a boy of about
sixteen. He was drying his naked wet body on a stone near the pool. Van Cheele asked the boy where he lived,
and the boy replied that he lived in the woods. Van Cheele didn’t believe but the boy insisted and said he
hunted at night and fed on rabbits, wild fowl, poultry, lambs, and children – although it had been two months
since he caught a child. Van Cheele ignored that and ordered the boy out of his woods. The boy dived into the
pool then, but suddenly he popped up like an otter near Van Cheele. Van Cheele startled and fell back. The boy
laughed and then dived and disappeared.
On his way home, Van Cheele thought about some recent local incidents. Chickens and lambs had gone
missing in the woods. He also thought about the Miller's child who disappeared two months ago. People
thought he had been swept away by the millrace. His aunt noticed at dinner that night that Van Cheele was
unusually silent.
The following morning, Van Cheele walked into his morning room and found the boy sprawled on the
footstall. Van Cheele had just enough time to spread the Morning Post before his aunt enters. Van Cheele
desperately explained to his aunt that the boy had lost his way and his memory as well as his clothes. His aunt
decided they must take care of the boy and sent for some clothes. After the bathing, his aunt found the boy
sweet and declared they should call him "Gabriel-Ernest" until they learnt his real name.
In the mean time, Van Cheele's worry grew as he saw both his dog and his canary terribly frightened by
Gabriel-Ernest. He decided to take the train to the neighboring town to see Cunningham to find out what he saw
in the woods. He drove to the station and he leaf Gabriel-Ernest with his aunt who was preparing to entertain
children from her Sunday school class.
Cunningham didn’t want to talk at first, but he finally told Van Cheele what he saw on the last evening
of his stay. He said he was watching the sunset when he saw a naked boy standing on the hillside. The boy was
so picturesque that Cunningham wanted to make him as a model. Then the sun set and, to his astonishment, the
boy vanished and in his place stood a large wolf.
Even before Cunningham finished speaking, Van Cheele started running toward the train station. By the
time he arrived home, the sun was already beginning to set. He found his aunt putting away the jams and cake
which the children did not finish. Gabriel-Ernest was not there. His aunt said she asked the boy to take a small
child home because it was getting late. Van Cheele rushed out after the children along a narrow lane with the
millstream on one side and the hillside on the other. As he neared a curve, the sun set and darkness fell. Van
Cheele heard a scream and stopped running.
Only the clothes worn by Gabriel-Ernest were found in the road. It was assumed that the young child
fell into the stream and Gabriel-Ernest stripped and jumped in trying to save him. At the request of Van
Cheele's aunt, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the church to "Gabriel-Ernest, an unknown boy, who bravely
sacrificed his life for another." Van Cheele, however, had refused to subscribe to it.

11. Gabriel-Ernest lost his memory.

12. The climax od the story is when Van Cheele heard who Gabriel-Ernest was.
13. Gabriel-Ernest lied to Van Cheele
14. Cunningham didn’t tell about Gabriel-Ernest because he was not sure.
15. The truth was the Miller’s child was not drown in millrace.
The Frog Who wished for a King
The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had
spoiled them, and they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing
for a government that could entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule
them in a way to make them know they were being ruled. No milk and water government for
them, they declared. So they sent a petition to Jupiter asking for a king.
Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and
make them think they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a
great splash. The Frogs hid themselves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king
to be some fearful giant. But they soon discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was.
In a short time the younger Frogs were using him for a diving platform, while the older
Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to Jupiter about the
government.
To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a Crane to be king of
Frogland. The Crane proved to be a very different sort of king from old King Log. He
gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left and they soon saw what fools they had been. In
mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the cruel tyrant before they should all be
destroyed.
"How now!" cried Jupiter "Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for
and so you have only yourselves to blame for your misfortunes."
Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change.

The Owl and the Grasshopper

The Owl always takes her sleep during the day. Then after sundown, when the rosy
light fades from the sky and the shadows rise slowly through the wood, out she comes
ruffling and blinking from the old hollow tree. Now her weird "hoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo" echoes
through the quiet wood, and she begins her hunt for the bugs and beetles, frogs and mice
she likes so well to eat.
Now there was a certain old Owl who had become very cross and hard to please as
she grew older, especially if anything disturbed her daily slumbers. One warm summer
afternoon as she dozed away in her den in the old oak tree, a Grasshopper nearby began a
joyous but very raspy song. Out popped the old Owl's head from the opening in the tree
that served her both for door and for window.
"Get away from here, sir," she said to the Grasshopper. "Have you no manners? You
should at least respect my age and leave me to sleep in quiet!"
But the Grasshopper answered saucily that he had as much right to his place in the
sun as the Owl had to her place in the old oak. Then he struck up a louder and still more
rasping tune.
The wise old Owl knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the
Grasshopper, nor with anybody else for that matter. Besides, her eyes were not sharp
enough by day to permit her to punish the Grasshopper as he deserved. So she laid aside all
hard words and spoke very kindly to him.
"Well sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I am going to settle right down to enjoy
your singing. Now that I think of it, I have a wonderful wine here, sent me from Olympus,
of which I am told Apollo drinks before he sings to the high gods. Please come up and
taste this delicious drink with me. I know it will make you sing like Apollo himself."
The foolish Grasshopper was taken in by the Owl's flattering words. Up he jumped to
the Owl's den, but as soon as he was near enough so the old Owl could see him clearly, she
pounced upon him and ate him up.
Flattery is not a proof of true admiration. Do not let flattery throw you off your guard against an enemy.

The Boys and the Frogs

 Some Boys were playing one day at the edge of a pond in which lived a family of
Frogs. The Boys amused themselves by throwing stones into the pond so as to make them
skip on top of the water.
The stones were flying thick and fast and the Boys were enjoying themselves very
much; but the poor Frogs in the pond were trembling with fear.
At last one of the Frogs, the oldest and bravest, put his head out of the water, and
said, "Oh, please, dear children, stop your cruel play! Though it may be fun for you, it
means death to us!"
Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another's unhappiness.
Belling the Cat
The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free themselves of their
enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find some way of knowing when she was coming,
so they might have time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they lived in
such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared stir from their dens by night or day.
Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good enough. At last a
very young Mouse got up and said:
"I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be successful.
All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat's neck. When we hear the bell
ringing we will know immediately that our enemy is coming."
All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of such a plan before.
But in the midst of the rejoicing over their good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:
"I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let me ask one
question: Who will bell the Cat?"
It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.

I was a little sad to take down the huge old beech, a wolf tree three times as large as anything else around. Most
likely, it stood there when the woods were fields—a marker between properties or just a spot for the cows to graze
out of the sun—and it had remained after the farmers left and the fields gave way to forest once again. It seemed a
shame, somehow, to cut it down, but it was dying, and besides, a tree that size was worth more than a cord of
firewood.
By the next winter I had it cut, stacked, and dried inside my shed, but it was buried near back, behind three other
rows, and it wasn’t until January that I’d burned enough of the other wood to actually get at it. That’s when a strange
thing started happening.
At first, I thought I was imagining it. I’d go out to the shed in the morning, and the stack of wood would look lower,
as though someone had come in the night to steal the logs. It seemed crazy: Who would drive a mile down my rutted
driveway in the middle of the night just to make off with an armload of firewood? I told myself I was imagining it.
But when you rely on wood to cook your food, to keep you warm, to stop the pipes from freezing, you know how
high your pile is, almost down to the last log, and someone, I decided after three more days of this, was taking my
wood.
I caught him the next night. I stayed up late, waiting inside until full dark, then pulling on my coat and boots to go
stand guard. It was cold enough that the snow squeaked. The stars were knife-sharp. I waited with my hands stuffed
in my pockets, shivering and feeling foolish. I was about to head inside when I heard him coming, huffing and
cursing and muttering as he made his way up out of the woods, struggling through the deep drifts toward my shed.
It was obvious at once that he was a goblin. I’d never seen one, of course. They weren’t supposed to be real, but
what other creature is greeny-brown, pointy-eared and knobbly-fingered, barely taller than my knee? I watched,
amazed, as he hopped up on the stack of wood, dragged a single log off the top, and headed off back into the snow,
dragging his spoils behind him. I’d never noticed his tracks, but then, it had been snowing off and on for days, and
the wind had been blowing to beat the band.
I’d planned to confront the thief, but instead I found myself following him out into the woods. The moonlight
through the pines was bright enough to see by, and it was easy to follow the goblin. The log—almost as big as he
was—slowed him down. He carried it on his humped little shoulder, mostly. Sometimes it would slip off and drop
into the snow. He’d dig it out, kick at it irritably for a while, then pick it up again, forcing his way deeper into the
forest.
The slashes of shadow and moonlight made everything look strange. I lost my bearings for a while, but when we
finally started climbing up a gradual hill, all at once I knew exactly where we were. And I knew where we were
going.
There, at the crest of the rise, like a round wooden table poking through the snow, was the stump of the great old
beech tree. And there, piled in front of it, was my firewood, dozens of split logs arranged in some sort of insane
scaffolding. I watched from the woods as the goblin entered the small clearing, approached his hoard of firewood,
and, with surprising care, placed the fruits of his latest thievery on top. It was an oddly reverential gesture, after all
the kicking and the cursing.
Another night I might have waited longer, watched more, tried to understand what was happening. Despite the long
walk, however, I was cold, and tired, and as the goblin turned away from his pile, heading back for another log, I
stepped from the shadows.
“Why are you taking my wood?” I asked, somewhat mildly, given that I was the one who had been wronged.
He jumped into the air, then bared his crooked little teeth and glared at me.
“Your wood? Your wood?”
“My wood,” I said. “I own this land. I cut down the tree. I bucked it. I hauled it out and split it for the winter. My
wood.” It was, I thought, an argument that would stand up well in any court of law, but the only judge or jury in the
clearing that night was the bright, silent moon, and the goblin just made a sound like a growl in his scrawny throat.
“Killin’ a thing,” he declared, “don’t make it yours.”
“It was dying already,” I protested.
“So’re you!” he said, stabbing a finger at me. “Doesn’t mean I come in yer house at night to chop you down.”
I frowned, suddenly all turned around by the strange conversation. “Are you claiming that the tree is yours?”
“What I’m claimin’ is that the tree matters more to them that’s buried beneath it than it ever did ta you.”
I blinked. “There’s a body . . .”
“Two of ’em,” he snapped impatiently. “They courted beneath the beech as kids, made half their babies here, said
everything that needed sayin’ to each other under the old branches, and they’re buried . . .” he stabbed a stick
straight down, gouging at the frozen ground, “. . . right here. The tree is theirs, even if it’s dead. Even if it’s all
chopped up. And it ain’t your place to go stealin’ the fire.”
“But they’re dead, too,” I said, unsettled to discover these unmarked graves in the middle of my land.
“And ya think the dead don’t wanna be warm?” He raised the thicket of his brows in disbelief.
I stared at him, then shook my head. “Why do you care?”
He looked at me a while, then back to the pile of wood he’d made. “I liked the way she sang,” he muttered, “when
she was in the fields. She sang even when she was alone, like she knew I was there. And him.” He nodded at the
memory. “When he went out with a bucket for berries, he always left a bush unpicked. For the birds, he said, but I
figured he meant me.”
Then he was quiet for a long time. We both were, just sitting there like we’d known each other all our lives, like I
hadn’t just caught him stealing from my pile. The ground looked so cold.
“All right,” I said finally. “I’ll help you haul the rest of the wood.”
It took most of the night, and both of us were wiped when we finished. The pile was pretty haphazard, but it was
good wood, that old beech, and it was dry. I only had to light one match and it went up like kindling. We sat on the
stump—it was wide enough to hold the both of us—and watched the sparks fly up, small as the stars, but hot enough
to burn.
“What were their names?” I asked, gazing into the fire.
“Leave the names alone,” the goblin snapped.
I turned to him, taken aback. “I thought I might place a gravestone here, now that the tree is gone.”
“Whadda they need a gravestone for?” He gestured with a gnarled hand. “They got a fire.”
“But a fire . . .” I said, shaking my head. “It’s so short.”
He looked at me, then held his twiggy hands out to the flame. “But it’s warm.”