ABA Journal The digital English academy
Hello!
Today we have a different type of post: we are going to read a fable.
Do you know what a fable is? A fable is a short story that usually is about animals and that is intended to teach a lesson.
Fable
A farmer had only one horse. One day, his horse ran away.
All the neighbors came by saying, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.” The man just said, “We’ll see.”
A few days later, his horse came back with twenty wild horses. The man and his son corraled all 21 horses.
All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!” The man just said, “We’ll see.”
One of the wild horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs.
All the neighbors came by saying, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.” The man just said, “We’ll see.”
The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.
All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!” The man just said, “We’ll see.”
Vocabulary
Wild – living in nature without human control or care : not tame.
Corraled – to gather and put (cows, horses, etc.) into a corral. A corral is an area that is surrounded by a fence and that is used for holding animals (such as cows and horses) on a farm or ranch.
Able-bodied – having a healthy and strong body : physically fit.
Drafted – a system in which young people are required to join the armed forces of a country for a period of service.
Spared – to prevent (someone or something) from experiencing or being affected by something unpleasant, harmful, etc.
Prevented – to stop (something) from happening or existing
Did you understand the fable? Do you know any fables? Let us know!
If you’d like to listen to an awesome song about this fable, click here and listen to Derek Sivers.
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I love fables a lot and this one, even short, is full of contents: in this case it teaches us that nothing is what it seems to be, because everything changes. Life is an endless change and all of us are in a continuous vortex of events.. I my opinion that farmer should have been thankful to God for his good luck, but he preferred to be prudent and wait for the future events…..eh eh eh
My favourite fables are the Disney’s films, where I dreamed when I was a kid and I continue dreaming nowadays when I watch them: yes because I still feel a boy……I’d love to study English with fables…. it would be a fantastic method, wouldn’t it?
It would be Roberto! Maybe we will use some more this week 🙂