4. NARRATIVE TEXT

What is A NARRATIVE?

A narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience. The purpose of a narrative, other than providing entertainment, can be to make the audience think about an issue, teach them a lesson, or excite their emotions.

Written narratives often take the form of novels. The story is usually told by a narrator. If the narrator is one of the characters in the story, the story is said to be told in the first person. If a person outside the story is the narrator, then the story is being told in the third person.

Examples of narrative texts include:

myths
fairytales
Aboriginal dreaming stories
science fiction
historical fiction
romance novels

Constructing a narrative

The steps for constructing a narrative text are:

an orientation in which the narrator tells the audience about WHO is in the story, WHEN the story is taking place and WHERE the action is happening
a complication that sets off a chain of events that influences what will happen in the story
A sequence of events where the characters react to the complication
A resolution in which the characters solve the problem created in the complication
a coda that provides a comment or moral based on what has been learned from the story (an optional step).

Grammatical features of a narrative

Narratives usually include the following grammatical features:

nouns that identify the specific characters and places in the story
adjectives that provide accurate descriptions of the characters and settings
verbs that show the actions that occur in the story
time words that connect events, telling when they occurred.

The narrative scaffold

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1. Orientation

In this paragraph the narrator tells the audience who is in the story, when it is happening, where it is happening and what is going on.

2. Complication

This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the characters. The complication is the trigger.

3. Sequence of events

This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the complication. It includes their feelings and what they do. The events can be told in chronological order (the order in which they happen) or with flashbacks. The audience is given the narrator’s point of view.

4. Resolution

In this part of the narrative the complication is sorted out or the problem is solved

5. Coda

The narrator includes a coda if there is a moral or message to be learned from the story.

MODEL OF A NARRATIVE

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The Drover’s Wife

(adapted from a short story by Henry Lawson)

The two-roomed house is built of round timber, slabs and stringy-bark and floored with split slabs. Bush all round-bush with no horizon, for the country is flat. The drover, an ex-squatter, is away with sheep. His wife and children are left here alone. Four ragged, dried-up looking children are playing about the house. Suddenly one of them yells ‘Snake! Mother, here’s a snake!’

It is near sunset, and she knows the snake is there. She makes up beds for the children and sits down beside them to keep watch all night.

She has an eye on the corner and a green sapling club ready by her side. Alligator, the dog, lies nearby.

It must be one or two o’clock in the morning. The bush woman watches and listens, thinking about her life alone whilst her husband is gone.

It must be near daylight now. The hairs on Alligator’s neck begin to bristle. Between a crack in the slabs an evil pair of small, bead-like eyes glisten. The snake-a black one-comes slowly out.

Alligator springs. He has the snake now. Thud, thud as the woman strikes at the snake. The dog shakes and shakes the black snake. The snake’s back is broken. Thud, thud is head is crushed.

She lifts the mangled reptile and throws it on the fire. The eldest boy watches it burn and looks at his mother, seeing tears in her eyes.

He throws his arms around her and exclaims, ‘Mother, I won’t never go droving; blarst me if I do!’

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The Farmer and the Beet

Once upon a time, a farmer planted a beet. The beet grew and grew.One day the farmer pulled on the beet, but the beet did not come up. "Horse, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner," said the farmer. "Sure, I'll help you," said the horse. But the beet did not come up.

Then the farmer went to the cow. "Dear cow, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner," said the farmer. "Sure, I'll help," said the cow. But the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to a goat. "My lovely goat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner," said the farmer. "Sure, I'll help," said the goat. But the beet did not come up.

Next the farmer went to the cat. "Oh my dear cat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner," said the farmer. "Sure, I'll help," said the cat. But again the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to the mouse. "Lovely mouse, please help me pull up this beet," said the farmer. "Sure, I'll help," said the mouse. So the mouse pulled on the cat. The cat pulled on the goat, and the goat pulled on the cow.

The cow pulled on the horse, the horse pulled on the farmer, and the farmer pulled on the beet. And the beet came up! "Thank you, horse. Thank you cow Thank you, goat, Thank you, cat. And thank you mouse!" said the farmer. "Now we can all eat dinner and they did".

#1 THE STORY OF LAKE TOBA

Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a simple hut in a farming field. They did some gardening and fishing for his daily life.One day, while the man was do fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the biggest catch which he ever had in his life. Surprisingly, this fish turned into a beautiful princess. He felt in love with her and proposed her to be his wife. She said; "Yes, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish, otherwise there will be a huge disaster". The man made the deal and they got married, lived happily and had a daughter.

Few years later, this daughter would help bringing lunch to her father out in the fields. One day, his daughter was so hungry and she ate his father’s lunch. Unfortunately, he found out and got furious, and shouted; “You damned daughter of a fish”. The daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying, felt sad that her husband had broke his promise.

Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to come. When her daughter left, she prayed. Soon there was a big earthquake followed by non-stop pouring rain. The whole area got flooded and became Toba Lake. She turned into a fish again and the man became the island of Samosir.

#2 THE LEGEND OF SURA AND BAYA

A long time ago, there were two animals, Sura and Baya. Sura was the name of a shark and Baya was a crocodile. They lived in a sea.Once Sura and Baya were looking for some food. Suddenly, Baya saw a goat.“Yummy, this is my lunch,” said Baya.“No way! This is my lunch. You are greedy” said Sura. Then they fought for the goat. After several hours, they were very tired.Feeling tired of fighting, they lived in the different places. Sura lived in the water and Baya lived in the land. The border was the beach, so they would never fight again. One day, Sura went to the land and looked for some food in the river. He was very hungry and there was not much food in the sea. Baya was very angry when he knew that Sura broke the promise.They fought again. They both hit each other. Sura bit Baya's tail. Baya did the same thing to Sura. He bit very hard until Sura finally gave up and Awent back to the sea. Baya was happy.

#3 THE STORY SANGKURIANG AND TANGKUBAN PERAHU MOUNTAIN

Once, there was a kingdom in Priangan Land. Lived a happy family. They were a father in form of dog,his name is Tumang, a mother which was called is Dayang Sumbi, and a child which was called Sangkuriang.One day, Dayang Sumbi asked her son to go hunting with his lovely dog, Tumang. After hunting all day, Sangkuriang began desperate and worried because he hunted no deer. Then he thought to shot his own dog. Then he took the dog liver and carried home.Soon Dayang Sumbi found out that it was not deer lever but Tumang's, his own dog. So, She was very angry and hit Sangkuriang's head. In that incident, Sangkuriang got wounded and scar then cast away from their home.Years go bye, Sangkuriang had travel many places and finally arrived at a village. He met a beautiful woman and felt in love with her. When they were discussing their wedding plans, The woman looked at the wound in Sangkuriang's head. It matched to her son's wound who had left severall years earlier. Soon she realized that she felt in love with her own son.

She couldn't marry him but how to say it. Then, she found the way. She needed a lake and a boat for celebrating their wedding day. Sangkuriang had to make them in one night. He built a lake. With a dawn just moment away and the boat was almost complete. Dayang Sumbi had to stop it. Then, she lit up the eastern horizon with flashes of light. It made the cock crowed for a new day.

Sangkuriang failed to marry her. She was very angry and kicked the boat. It felt over and became the mountain of Tangkuban Perahu Bandung.

#4 THE UGLY DUCKLING

One upon time, a mother duck sat on her eggs. She felt tired of sitting on them. She just wished the eggs would break out.Several days later, she got her wish. The eggs cracked and some cute little ducklings appeared. "Peep, peep" the little ducklings cried. "Quack, quack" their mother greeted in return.However the largest egg had not cracked. The mother duck sat on it for several days. Finally, it cracked and a huge ugly duckling waddled out. The mother duck looked at him in surprise. He was so big and very gray. He didn't look like the others at all. He was like a turkey

When the mother duck brought the children to the pond for their first swimming lesson. The huge grey duckling splashed and paddled about just as nicely as the other ducklings did. "That is not a turkey chick. He is my very own son and quite handsome" the mother said proudly

However, the other animals didn't agree. They hissed and made fun of him day by day. Even his own sisters and brothers were very unkind. "You are very ugly" they quacked.

The little poor duckling was very unhappy. "I wish I looked like them" he thought to himself. One day, the ugly duckling run away and hid in the bushes. The sad duckling lived alone through the cold and snow winter. Finally the spring flowers began to bloom. While he was swimming in the pond, he saw three large white swans swimming toward him. "Oh, dear. these beautiful birds will laugh and peck me too" he said to himself. But the swans did not attack him. Instead, they swam around him and stroked him with their bills. As the ugly duckling bent his neck to speak to them, he saw his reflection in the water. He could not believe his eyes. "I am not an ugly duckling but a beautiful swam" he exclaimed.

He was very happy. From that day on, he swam and played with his new friends and was happier than he had never been.

#5 THE STORY OF SMART MONKEY AND DULL CROCODILE

One day there was a monkey. He wanted to cross a river. There he saw a crocodile so he asked the crocodile to take him across the other side of the river. The crocodile agree and told the monkey to jump on its back. Then the crocodile swam down the river with the monkey on his top.Unluckily, the crocodile was very hungry, he stopped in the middle of the river and said to the monkey, “My father is very sick. He has to eat the heart of the monkey. So he will be healthy again.”At the time, the monkey was in dangerous situation and he had to think hard. Then he had a good idea. He told the crocodile to swim back to the river bank. “What’s for?” asked the crocodile. “Because I don’t bring my heart,” said the monkey. “I left it under a tree, near some coconuts in the river bank.”The crocodile agreed and turned around. He swam back to the bank of the river. As soon as they reached the river bank, the monkey jumped off the crocodile’s back. Then he climbed up to the top of a tree.

“Where is your heart?” asked the crocodile. “You are foolish,” said the monkey to the crocodile. “Now I am free and I have my heart.”

#6 STORY OF RABBIT AND BEAR

Once upon a time, there lived as neighbours, a bear and a rabbit. The rabbit is a good shot. In contrary, the bear is always clumsy ad could not use the arrow to good advantage.One day, the bear called over the rabbit and asked the rabbit to take his bow and arrows and came with bear to the other side of the hill. The rabbit was fearing to arouse the bear's anger so he could not refuse it. He consented and went with the bear and shot enough buffalo to satisfy the hungry family. Indeed he shot and killed so many that there was lots of meat left after the bear and his family had loaded themselves and packed all they could carry home.

The bear was very gluttonous and did not want the rabbit to get any of the meat. Th e rabbit could not even taste the blood from the butchering as the bear would throw earth on the blood and dry it up. The poor rabbit would have to go home hungry after his hard day's work.

The bear was the father of five children. The youngest child was very kind to the rabbit. He was very hearty eater. The mother bear always gave him an extra large piece of meat but the youngest child did not eat it. He would take it outside with him and pretended to play ball with the meat. He kicked toward the rabbit's house and when he got close to the door he would give the meat with such a great kick. The meat would fly into the rabbit's house. In this way, the poor rabbit would get his meal unknown to the papa bear.

#7 THE SMARTEST PARROT

Once upon time, a man had a wonderful parrot. There was no other parrot like it. The parrot could say every word, except one word. The parrot would not say the name of the place where it was born. The name of the place was Catano.The man felt excited having the smartest parrot but he could not understand why the parrot would not say Catano. The man tried to teach the bird to say Catano however the bird kept not saying the word.

At the first, the man was very nice to the bird but then he got very angry. “You stupid bird!” pointed the man to the parrot. “Why can’t you say the word? Say Catano! Or I will kill you” the man said angrily. Although he tried hard to teach, the parrot would not say it. Then the man got so angry and shouted to the bird over and over; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”. The bird kept not to say the word of Catano.

One day, after he had been trying so many times to make the bird say Catano, the man really got very angry. He could not bear it. He picked the parrot and threw it into the chicken house. There were four old chickens for next dinner “You are as stupid as the chickens. Just stay with them” Said the man angrily. Then he continued to humble; “You know, I will cut the chicken for my meal. Next it will be your turn, I will eat you too, stupid parrot”. After that he left the chicken house.

The next day, the man came back to the chicken house. He opened the door and was very surprised. He could not believe what he saw at the chicken house. There were three death chickens on the floor. At the moment, the parrot was standing proudly and screaming at the last old chicken; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”.

#8 THE KING OF THE MICE AND THE WOODCUTTER

Once, there was a king of mice. He lived inside a banyan tree in a forest. He loved the tree as his home. He lived there happily.One day, a poor man wanted to cut down the banyan tree. The king of the mice was frightened so he asked the woodcutter to leave the tree standing. In result, he would give the woodcutter a gold every day. The woodcutter agreed.

Every evening, the king of the mice gave a piece of gold to the woodcutter. The gold was taken out from the roots of the banyan tree. The woodcutter was happy and took the gold home.

After a few days, the woodcutter's wife asked him, “Where does the gold come from?” So he replied, “The king of the mice gives me the golds from under the roots of the tree.” “Oh, you are stupid!” his wife said and suggested. “Why don’t you cut down the tree and take the golds all away?” The woodcutter would do as his wife said.

The following day, the woodcutter cut down the banyan tree. Unfortunately, he did not find any gold there instead the king of the mice had run away and crept up to the woodcutter’s house. The king of the mice took back all the golds.

#9 THE CAP SELLER AND THE MONKEYS

Once, a cap seller was passing through a jungle. He was very tired and needed to rest. Then, he stopped and spread a cloth under a tree. He placed his bag full of caps near him and lay down with his cap on his head. The cap seller had a sound sleep for one hour. When he got up, the first thing he did was to look into his bag. He was startled when he found all his caps were not there.

When he looked up the sky, he was very surprised to see monkeys sitting on the branches of a tree, each of the monkeys is wearing a cap of on its head. They had evidently done it to imitate him.

He decided to get his caps back by making a humble request to the monkeys. In return, the monkeys only made faces of him. When he begun to make gesture, the monkeys also imitated him.

At last he found a clever idea. " Monkeys are a great imitator," he thought. So he took off his own cap and threw it down on the ground. And as he had expected, all the monkeys took off the caps and threw the caps down on the ground. Quickly, he stood up and collected the caps, put them back into his bag and went away.

#10 ROMANTIC TRAGIC STORY OF ROMEO AND JULIET

There lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets', a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo's eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.The vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet's bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a "Montague", a name behind his own. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.

Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.

On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That qurreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake. Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.

In the other hand, Juliet's father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.

Unfortunately, The Friar's letter failed to reach Romeo. Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet's tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died.

#11 LOVE STORY OF ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Mark Antony became one of the three rulers of the Roman Empire, together with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, and was responsible for the eastern part of the empire. He fell in love with Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt.As his wife had just died Antony married Octavius’ sister, Octavia, in an attempt to heal the rift between the two emperors. When Cleopatra heard about Antony’s marriage she flew into a jealous rage as she knew that Antony did not love Octavia. Antony went to Athens when war broke out between Caesar and Pompey, Antony sent Octavia back to Rome and he returned to Egypt.

Caesar was very angry with Antony’s behaviour and he declared war on both Antony and Cleopatra. When the Romans arrived, Antony was offered a choice of how to fight. He chose to fight on sea. The Egyptian navy was inadequate. When Cleopatra’s navy turned and fled, Antony followed them. Caesar defeated him.

Antony got news that Cleopatra was dead. Antony was devastated and decided to kill himself. He wounded himself without dying. His followers took him to Cleopatra’s tomb, where he died in her arms.

#12 LOVE STORY NARUTO AND HINATA

Naruto was walking alone in the Konoha village, he saw Hinata and waved to her. Fortunately Hinata turned around and walked over to him. "Hey, Hinata, would you like to take a walk with me?" Naruto asked smilingly but Hinata blushed and looked down, quiet for a second. "Hm? What's wrong?" Naruto ask looking at her. "Oh! Um nothing Naruto kun. I... I love to.. walk with with you." Hinata said shyly. Naruto placed his hands behind his head and smiled. Hinata walked by him as the two were silent for a moment. "Hinata, why are you so quiet all the time?" Naruto broke the silent. Hinata didnt answer, then hesitated, "....I.... I've... always... been... that way." She said softly.

"I see. You need to talk more-- how am I supposed to know more about you, if you don't talk. You're always acting weird around me." Naruto pointed out.

Hinata looked at him shyly then looked down looking ashamed. "S.......sorry. I--"

"Hm?" Naruto replied not opening his mouth.

"I..... I l--li.....like y.. you!" She said finally committing her feelings. Her face blushed a deep red.

Naruto stopped walking. He didn't know what to say. Silence took ove the moment.

Tears filled in Hinata's eyes "S-sorry!" She said in a quiet tone as she took off running, ashamed. Tears flew from her eyes as she ran passed.

Naruto ran after her. But Hinata ran fast. Suddenly She tripped on a tree stump. Her face implanted in the dirt, as her hands clenched the grass and dirt. She sobbed quietly.

Naruto finally caught up to her. He crouched down, placed his hand, shaking on Hinatas shoulder. "Hinata... do... do you really like me?" He asked in his quiet tone.

Under her muffled crying voice, Hinata answered, "y...yes..."

Naruto didn't answer for a moment, then he replied, "Well... I have...feelings for you too.... I like you, Hinata"

#13 THE MYTH OD MALIN KUNDANG

A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother.Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town. One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.

An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both sadness and angriness.

Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.

In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone.

#14 A FARMER AND A BOX

Once time, there was a poor farmer. He lived with his wife. One day, he dug up his field and found a big box. He then kept it in their house.One sunny morning, his wife dropped an apple in the box. Suddenly, the box begun filled with apples. No matter how many apples were taken out, more apples took place in the box.One day, the framer dropped a gold coin into that box. At once, apples disappeared and the box begun filled up with gold coins. Soon the farmer became rich.Having heard that his son got rich, the framer's father visited the couple. His father was not very strong. He could not go out to work anymore. So the farmer asked his old father to help him take the gold coins out of the box.

His father worked hard, took the gold coins out of the box. When he told that he was very tired and wanted to have a rest, the farmer shouted at him; "Why are you so lazy? Why can't you work harder?. The old man said nothing and continued to work. Suddenly the old man fell into the box, he died. At once the gold coins disappeared and the box begun filled up with dead men.

The framer had to pull out and burried. To do this, the farmer had to spend all the money which he had collected before. When he had used up all his money, the box broke. The farmer was just as poor as before.

#15 QUEEN OF ARABIA AND THREE SHEIKS

Maura, who like to be thought of as the most beautiful and powerful queen of Arabia, had many suitors. One by one she discarded them, until her list was reduced to just three sheiks. The three sheiks were all equally young and handsome. They were also rich and strong. It was very hard to decide who would be the best of them. One evening, Maura disguised herself and went to the camp of the three sheiks. As they were about to have dinner, Maura asked them for something to eat. The first gave her some left over food. The second Sheik gave her some unappetizing camel’s tail. The third sheik, who was called Hakim, offered her some of the most tender and tasty meat. After dinner, the disguised queen left the sheik’s camp.

The following day, the queen invited the three sheiks to dinner at her palace. She ordered her servant to give each one exactly what they had given her the evening before. Hakim, who received a plate of delicious meat, refused to eat it if the other two sheiks could not share it with him.

This Sheik Hakim’s act finally convinced Queen Maura that he was the man for her. “Without question, Hakim is the most generous of you” she announced her choice to the sheiks. “So it is Hakim I will marry”.

#16. KITE’S TALE

The sun shone brightly and the west breeze blew. The kite was flying this way and that way tied to her string. Suddenly the string snapped. The kite was free. She soared high in the air until she could see far, far away. The kite followed some parrots who took her to see the rainforests. The air was cool and the kite got wet. The kite followed some crocodiles who took her to see the rivers. The air was misty and the kite caught a fish.The kite followed some wallabies who took her to see the deserts. The air was hot and the kite got tired.So the kite followed the sun who took her back home, right to her string.

#17 THE STORY OF HARE AND TORTOISE

There was once an arrogant hare who wanted to prove that he was better than everybody else, so he chose the slowest animal in the county, the tortoise, and invited him to a five mile race. The tortoise accepted his challenge and trained hard for the event, while the hare walked around boasting that he was going to humiliate the tortoise and make him look stupid.

The day of the race dawned. The tortoise set off at a slow and steady pace, while the hare was dancing around laughing at him; other animals were laughing too, including the rabbit, the badger, and even the little hedgehog.

The hare became exhausted from all his dancing around, so he decided to have a nap. When he awoke, he realised that a few hours had passed and the tortoise was nowhere to be seen. The hare panicked and ran the whole course as fast as he could, which was very fast indeed.

As he reached the top of the final hill, he could see the finish line in the distance, with the tortoise walking slowly across it, the victor.

#18 THE STORY OF A MOUSE AND A FROG

Once, there was a mouse which made of close friendship with a frog.One day, the frog said to the mouse; "Let's bind ourselves together with a string so that we may never get separated". The mouse agreed. Both tied themselves together leg to leg. It went quite well on land. When they came to a small pool, it was a tragic for the mouse.In the end, the frog kept swimming across the small pool dragging the mouse with him. Soon, the mouse drowned and floated on the surface of the pool.

#19 THE STORY OF THUMBELINA

Once upon time, there was a very poor woman. There was not a boy or a daughter who lived with her. She wished very much to have a child.

One day, the poor woman went to a fairy god mother. The fairy lived near the green meadow in the valley. The poor woman received a barleycorn seed from the fairy. She went home and planted it in a flower pot. Several days latter, the seed grew up into a large beautiful flower.

Surprisingly, the woman saw a little girl inside the flower. The sweet little girl was as long as a thumb.The woman gave her the name of Thumbelina because she was so small.

#20 THE STORY OF JOAN AND AMY

There was once an arrogant girl called Amy, who wanted to prove that she was the best student in the class. So she chose the weakest student, Joan, and challenged her to a contest; both had to make a toy windmill out of lolly sticks. Whoever got the highest mark from their teacher would be the winner. Joan accepted and a deadline of one week was set for the completion of each model. Joan began collecting lolly sticks straight away, but Amy messed about, visited her friends, and told them how she was better than Joan, and how Joan’s windmill would inevitably suck.

It was the night before the deadline, and Amy, so confident that she would win the contest, hadn’t even begun building yet.

At 10 pm she decided that she had better get started, but she was so tired from visiting her friends that she fell asleep before she had even opened a tube of wood glue. The day of the contest dawned, and the teacher wanted to see both windmills.

Joan presented her model, which was small, leaned slightly to one side, and looked a little odd, due to the fact that the lolly sticks were all dirty and used. Joan explained that she had collected them from all around town. Next came Amy’s turn. Her name was called, but she wasn’t there.

The teacher was about to award the prize to Joan, when her rival burst into the classroom, red in the face, holding aloft a beautifully-crafted and lovingly-painted toy windmill made out of brand new lolly sticks. The teacher and all the students were astonished, and Amy’s face glowed with pride. The only problem was the price tag, which read $25. It was still visible for everybody to see, dangling beneath Amy’s model. Amy was humiliated, but Joan was named the winner of the contest, and placed her model on the teacher’s desk nervously.

The Tricky Fox and the Foolish Goat

A fox fell into a well and couldn’t get out. By and by a thirsty goat came along. Seeing the fox in the well it asked if the water was good. “Good”, said the fox “It’s the best water I’ve tasted in all my life. Come down and try it yourself.” The goat was thirsty so he got into the well. When he had drunk enough, he looked around but there was no way to get out. Then the fox said, “I have a good idea. You stand on your hind legs and put your forelegs against the side of the well. Then I’ll climb on your back, from there. I’ll step on your horns, and I can get out. And when I’m out, I’ll help you out of the well.” The goat did as he was asked and the fox got on his back and climbed out of the well. Then he coolly walked away. The goat called out loudly after him and reminded him of his promise to help him out. The fox merely turned to him and said; “If you only had thought carefully about getting out, you wouldn’t have jumped into the well.”

The goat felt very sad. He called out loudly. An old man walking nearby heard him and put a plank into the well. The goat got out and thanked the old man.

WORD POWER

1. recount

narrate or give a detailed account of

2. text

the words of something written

3. event

something that happens at a given place and time

4. occur

come to pass

5. purpose

what something is used for

6. provide

give something useful or necessary to

7. audience

a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance

8. description

the act of describing something

9. example

an item of information that is typical of a class or group

10. include

have as a part, be made up out of

11. report

to give an account or representation of in words

12. construct

make by combining materials and parts

13. section

one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object

14. paragraph

one of several distinct subdivisions of a text intended to separate ideas; the beginning is usually marked by a new indented line

15. background

the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground

16. orientation

the act of orienting

17. series

similar things placed in order or happening one after another

18. concluding

occurring at or forming an end or termination

19. grammatical

of or pertaining to grammar

20. feature

a prominent attribute or aspect of something

21. proper

marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness

22. proper noun

a noun that denotes a particular thing; usually capitalized

23. noun

a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action

24. identify

recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something

25. involved

connected by participation or association or use

26. descriptive

serving to describe or inform or characterized by description

27. tense

taut or rigid; stretched tight

28. scaffold

a temporary arrangement erected around a building for convenience of workers

29. model

representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale)

30. sequence

a following of one thing after another in time

31. conclusion

a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration

32. holiday

leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure

33. coast

the shore of a sea or ocean

34. disappear

become invisible or unnoticeable

35. lethal

of an instrument of certain death

36. academy

a learned establishment for the advancement of knowledge

37. queue

a line of people or vehicles waiting for something

38. tour

a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area

39. travelling

the act of going from one place to another

40. comfortable

providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (`comfy' is informal)

41. explain

make plain and comprehensible

42. cultural

of or relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society

43. souvenir

something of sentimental value

44. enjoy

derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in

1. narrative

a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

2. text

the words of something written

3. entertain

provide entertainment for

4. audience

a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance

5. purpose

what something is used for

6. provide

give something useful or necessary to

7. entertainment

an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention

8. issue

some situation or event that is thought about

9. emotion

any strong feeling

10. novel

an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story

11. narrator

someone who tells a story

12. character

a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something

13. example

an item of information that is typical of a class or group

14. include

have as a part, be made up out of

15. myth

a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people

16. aboriginal

having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state

17. science fiction

literary fantasy involving the imagined impact of science on society

18. fiction

a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact

19. romance

a relationship between two lovers

20. construct

make by combining materials and parts

21. orientation

the act of orienting

22. event

something that happens at a given place and time

23. influence

a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc

24. sequence

a following of one thing after another in time

25. react

show a response or a reaction to something

26. resolution

finding a solution to a problem

27. solve

find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of

28. problem

a question raised for consideration or solution

29. create

bring into existence

30. coda

the closing section of a musical composition

31. comment

a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information

32. moral

concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles

33. base

lowest support of a structure

34. learned

having or showing profound knowledge

35. optional

possible but not necessary; left to personal choice

36. grammatical

of or pertaining to grammar

37. feature

a prominent attribute or aspect of something

38. noun

a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action

39. identify

recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something

40. specific

stated explicitly or in detail

41. accurate

(of ideas, images, representations, expressions) characterized by perfect conformity to fact or truth ; strictly correct

42. description

the act of describing something

43. setting

the physical position of something

44. verb

a content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence

45. occur

come to pass

46. connect

connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces

47. scaffold

a temporary arrangement erected around a building for convenience of workers

48. paragraph

one of several distinct subdivisions of a text intended to separate ideas; the beginning is usually marked by a new indented line

49. affect

have an effect upon

50. trigger

lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun

51. chronological

relating to or arranged according to temporal order

52. flashback

a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story

53. point of view

a mental position from which things are viewed

54. message

a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled

55. model

representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale)

56. adapt

make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose

57. timber

the wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material

58. split

separate into parts or portions