Scoala Gimnaziala Eselnita

Titlul opţionalului: ENGLISH THROUGH STORIES

Propunător: Afronie Carmen Georgiana
Clasa: VI,VII
Durata: 1 AN
Nivel: L1
Nr.ore/sapt: 1 ora

ARGUMENT:

Cu totii asculam povesti si toti iubim povestile inca din copilarie .Cursul opţional de faţă îşi
propune să reinvie intersul pe care copiii îl au pentru povesti,fie acestea spuse,ascultate sau citite.
Prin intermediul acestui curs elevii îşi vor înşuşi într-un mod plăcut şi uşor cunoştiintele de limbă
engleză. Am ales poveştile şi jocurile ca element generator al cursului deoarece acestea reprezintă
o sursă de educaţie afectivă, morală, socială într-un context atractiv. Pe de altă parte, povestea şi
jocurile reprezintăo realitate a culturii elevilor şi, prin urmare, un factor de motivaţie a învăţării.Prin
intermediul acestui curs optional,elevii isi vor dezvolta abilitatile de ascultare,vorbire ,citire si
scriere intr-un mod placut si amuzant.
Elevul va face cunoştiinţă cu personajele şi conţinutul poveştii, narată şi prezentată într-o
formă grafică deosebită, iar jocurile ce însoţesc povestea dezvoltă memoria, logica, spiritul de
observaţie, limbajul şi îndemănarea copilului în utilizarea calculatorului.
Majoritatea povestilor alese pentru acest curs sunt cunoscute copiilor din literature
romanesaca.Am incercat sa fac legatura intre povesti si noul vocabular.Voi incerca sa folosesc
tehnici moderne,bazandu-ma in deosebi pe vorbire.Sunt convinsa ca acest curs optional va avea o
influenta remarcabila asupra amintirii vocabularului studiat.Datorita acestui curs elevii vor avea
curajul sa impartasesca si sa schimbe informatii intre ei.

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Obiective de referinţă
1. să articuleze corect, în
cuvinte, sunete şi grupuri sonore
apropiate din punct de vedere
fonetic
2. Să recunoască mesajul global
al poveştii
3.. Să recunoască un cuvânt,
reperănd forma grafică precisă şi
să o reproducă scriind-o.
4.Să recunoască elementele
structurale ale poveştii
5. Să-şi însuşească nume,
obiecte, personaje, acţiuni,
expresii din povestea dată.
6. Să diferenţieze între
personajele pozitive şi negative
pe baza caracteristicilor
acestora.
7. Să distingă calităţile
obiectelor fermecate şi ale
animalelor fantastice.
OBIECTIVE DE REFERINŢĂ ŞI EXEMPLE
DE ACTIVITĂŢI DE ÎNVĂŢARE
Exemple de activităţi de învţare
Exerciţii de repetare după model
Exerciţii de discriminare fonetică
Exerciţii de tipul ‘Adevărat/Fals’
Exerciţii cu alegere multiplă
Exerciţii de răspuns la întrebări globale.
Exerciţii cu grile de cuvinte încricuşate
Exercitţii cu integrame
Exerciţii de identificare a ideilor principale
Exerciţii de ordonare pe paragrafe
Exerciţii cu alegere multiplă
Exerciţii de răspuns la întrebări globale.
Activitătţi de combinare a textului cu imaginea
Activităţi de pantomimă
Exerciţii de realizare de portrete prin desen însoţit de text sugestiv.
Exerciţii de asociere (între proprietăţile unui obiect şi calităţile magice din poveste, între
caracteristicile obişnuite ale animalelor şi cele fantastice)
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CONŢINUTURI :
1. Introductory lesson (1h)
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2h)
 Numbers
3. Little Red Riding Hood (2h)
 Colors
4. Cinderella (2h)
 My family
5. The Four Seasons (2h)
 The seasons
 The months of the year
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (2h)
 The days of the week
 Fruit
7. The Story of Baby Jesus (2h)
 Christmas greetings
8. Jake and the Beanstalk
 Vegetables
9. Revision (2h)

1. Revision (1h)
2. Three Little Pigs (2h)
 Farm animals I
3. The Ugly Duckling (2h)
 Farm birds II
4. How Bear Lost His Tail (2h)
 Forest animals
5. The Little Match Seller (2h)
 The body
6. The Easter Donkey (2h)
 Easter cards
7. The Shirt of a Happy Man (2h)
 Clothes
8. Final Revision (4h)

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MODALITĂŢI DE EVALUARE :
- Probe orale.
- Probe scrise.

BIBLIOGRAFIE :

Arthur, P. (1999).Why use video? A teacher’s perspective.

Jones, L.C. (2003). Supporting Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Acquisition with Multimedia Annotations:
The Students’ Voice. CALICO Journal
Joseph, A. W. (1985). Evaluating listening comprehension and speaking proficiency of prospective students’ teacher in
German.ADFL Bulletin,
Vandergrift, L. and Tafaghodtari, H. M. (2010). Teaching L2 learners how to listen does make a difference: An
empirical study. Language Learning
Tkachenko ,R. (1992) Storytelling in practice.MET 1

Poelmans, P. (2003). Developing second-language listening comprehension: Effects of training lower-order skills versus
higher-order strategy. Amsterdam : University of Amesterdam.

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Anexe :

Annex 1

Once upon a time . . . in a

great castle, a Prince's
daughter grew up happy and
contented, in spite of a
jealous stepmother. She was
very pretty, with blue eyes
and long black hair. Her
skin was delicate and fair,
and so she was called Snow
White. Everyone was.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall,

who is the loveliest lady in
the land?" The reply was
always; "You are, your
Majesty," until the dreadful
day when she heard it say,
"Snow White is the loveliest
in the land."

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The stepmother was furious and, wild with jealousy, began plotting to get rid of her rival. Calling
one of her trusty servants, she bribed him with a rich reward to take Snow White intc the forest, far
away from the Castle. Then, unseen, he was to put her to death. The greedy servant, attracted to the
reward, agreed to do this deed, and he led the innocent little girl away. However, when they came to
the fatal spot, the man's courage failed him and, leaving Snow White sitting beside a tree, he
mumbled an excuse and ran off. Snow White was all alone in the forest.

Night came, but the servant did not return. Snow White, alone in the dark forest, began to cry
bitterly. She thought she could feel terrible eyes spying on her, and she heard strange sounds and
rustlings that made her heart thump. At last, overcome by tiredness, she fell asleep curled under a
tree.

Snow White slept fitfully, wakening from time to time with a start and staring into the darkness
round her. Several times, she thought she felt something, or somebody touch her as she slept.

At last, dawn woke the forest to the song of the birds, and Snow
White too, awoke. A whole world was stirring to life and the
little girl was glad to see how silly her fears had been. However,
the thick trees were like a wall round her, and as she tried to find
out where she was, she came upon a path. She walked along it,
hopefully.

On she walked till she came to a clearing. There stood a strange cottage, with a tiny door, tiny
windows and a tiny chimney pot. Everything about the cottage was much tinier than it ought to be.

Snow White pushed the door open.

"l wonder who lives here?" she said to herself, peeping round the kitchen. "What tiny plates! And
spoons! There must be seven of them, the table's laid for seven people." Upstairs was a bedroom
with seven neat little beds. Going back to the kitchen, Snow White had an idea.

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 "I'll make them something
to eat. When they come
home, they'll be glad to find
a meal ready." Towards
dusk, seven tiny men
marched homewards
singing. But when they
opened the door, to their
surprise they found a bowl
of hot steaming soup on the
table, and the whole house
spick and span.

Upstairs was Snow White, fast asleep on one of the beds. The chief dwarf prodded her gently.

"Who are you?" he asked. Snow White told them her sad story, and tears sprang to the dwarfs' eyes.
Then one of them said, as he noisily blew his nose:

"Stay here with us!"

"Hooray! Hooray!" they cheered, dancing joyfully round the

little girl. The dwarfs said to Snow White:

"You can live here and tend to the house while we're down the mine. Don't worry about your
stepmother leaving you in the forest. We love you and we'll take care of you!" Snow White
gratefully accepted their hospitality, and next morning the dwarfs set off for work. But they warned
Snow White not to open the door to strangers.

Meanwhile, the servant had returned to the castle, with the heart of a roe deer. He gave it to the cruel
stepmother, telling her it belonged to Snow White, so that he could claim the reward. Highly
pleased, the stepmother turned again to the magic mirror. But her hopes were dashed, for the mirror
replied: "The loveliest in the land is still Snow White, who lives in the seven dwarfs' cottage, down
in the forest." The stepmother was beside herself with rage.

"She must die! She must die!" she screamed. Disguising herself
as an old peasant woman, she put a poisoned apple with the
others in her basket.

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Then, taking the quickest way into the forest, she crossed the swamp at the edge of the trees. She
reached the bank unseen, just as Snow White stood waving goodbye to the seven dwarfs on their
way to the mine.

Snow White was in the kitchen when she heard the sound at the door: KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who's there?" she called suspiciously, remembering the dwarfs advice.

"I'm an old peasant woman selling apples," came the reply.

"I don't need any apples, thank you," she replied.

"But they are beautiful apples and ever so juicy!" said the velvety voice from outside the door.

"I'm not supposed to open the door to anyone," said the little girl, who was reluctant to disobey her
friends.

"And quite right too! Good girl! If you promised not to open up to strangers, then of course you can't
buy. You are a good girl indeed!" Then the old woman went on.

"And as a reward for being good, I'm going to make you a gift of one of my apples!" Without a
further thought, Snow White opened the door just a tiny crack, to take the apple.

"There! Now isn't that a nice apple?" Snow White bit into the fruit, and as she did, fell to the ground
in a faint: the effect of the terrible poison left her lifeless instantaneously.

Now chuckling evilly, the wicked stepmother hurried off. But as she ran back across the swamp, she
tripped and fell into the quicksand. No one heard her cries for help, and she disappeared without a
trace.

Meanwhile, the dwarfs came out of the mine to find the sky had grown dark and stormy. Loud
thunder echoed through the valleys and streaks of lightning ripped the sky. Worried about Snow
White they ran as quickly as they could down the mountain to the cottage.

There they found Snow White, lying still and lifeless, the poisoned apple by her side. They did their
best to bring her around, but it was no use.

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They wept and wept for a long time. Then they laid her on a bed of rose petals, carried her into the
forest and put her in a crystal coffin.

Each day they laid a flower

there.

Then one evening, they discovered a strange young man admiring Snow White's lovely face through
the glass. After listening to the story, the Prince (for he was a prince!) made a suggestion.

"If you allow me to take her to the Castle, I'll call in famous doctors to waken her from this peculiar
sleep. She's so lovely . . . I'd love to kiss her. . . !" He did, and as though by magic, the Prince's kiss
broke the spell.

To everyone's astonishment, Snow White opened her eyes. She

had amazingly come back to life! Now in love, the Prince asked
Snow White to marry him, and the dwarfs reluctantly had to say
good bye to Snow White.

From that day on, Snow White lived happily in a great castle. But from time to time, she was drawn
back to visit the little cottage down in the forest.

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Annex 2

One day, Little Red Riding

Hood’s mother said to her,
“Take this basket of goodies
to your grandma’s cottage,
but don’t talk to strangers
on the way!” Promising not
to, Little Red Riding Hood
skipped off.

On her way she met the Big

Bad Wolf who asked,
“Where are you going, little
girl?” “To my grandma’s,
Mr. Wolf!” she answered.

The Big Bad Wolf then ran to her grandmother’s cottage much before Little Red Riding Hood, and
knocked on the door. When Grandma opened the door, he locked her up in the cupboard. The
wicked wolf then wore Grandma’s clothes and lay on her bed, waiting for Little Red Riding Hood.

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 When Little Red Riding Hood reached the cottage, she entered
and went to Grandma’s bedside. “My! What big eyes you have,
Grandma!” she said in surprise.

“All the better to see you with, my dear!” replied the wolf. “My! What big ears you have,
Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to hear you with, my dear!” said the wolf.
“What big teeth you have, Grandma!” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to eat you with!”
growled the wolf pouncing on her. Little Red Riding Hood screamed and the woodcutters in the
forest came running to the cottage. They beat the Big Bad Wolf and rescued Grandma from the
cupboard. Grandma hugged Little Red Riding Hood with joy. The Big Bad Wolf ran away never to
be seen again. Little Red Riding Hood had learnt her lesson and never spoke to strangers ever again.

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Annex 3

Once upon a time there lived an unhappy young girl. Her mother was dead and her father had
married a widow with two daughters. Her stepmother didn't like her one little bit. All her kind
thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. Nothing was too good for them - dresses,
shoes, delicious food, soft beds, and every home comfort.

But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No
dresses, only her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes,
nothing but scraps. No rest and no comfort. She had to work
hard all day. Only when evening came was she allowed to sit for
a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody
called her Cinderella.

Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said . Miaow. , which really
meant, Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters has and that is beauty.. It was quite
true. Cinderella, even dressed in old rags, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how
splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.

One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the house. A ball was to be held
tiredat and
the palace
very sleepy..
and Cinderella sigh
the stepsisters were getting ready to go. Cinderella didn't even dare ask Miaow.
if she could go too.
She knew very well what the answer would be: . You? You're staying at home to wash the
dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for your stepsisters. They will come home

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 Suddenly something
amazing happened. As
Cinderella was sitting all
alone, there was a burst of
light and a fairy appeared. .
Don't be alarmed,
Cinderella,. said the fairy. . I
know you would love to go
to the ball. And so you
shall!. . How can I, dressed
in rags?. Cinderella
replied. . The servants will
turn me away!

The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand Cinderella

found herself wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever
seen. . Now for your coach, said the fairy; "A real lady would
never go to a ball on foot! Quick! Get me a pumpkin! . Oh of
course, said Cinderella, rushing away. Then the fairy turned to
the cat. . You, bring me seven mice, and, remember they must
be alive!

Cinderella soon returned with the pumpkin and the cat with seven mice he had caught in the cellar.
With a flick of the magic wand the pumpkin turned into a sparkling coach and the mice became six
white horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a coachman in a smart uniform and carrying a
whip. Cinderella could hardly believe her eyes.

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 Prince. s arms and ran down
the steps. As she ran she lost
one of her slippers, but not
for a moment did she dream
of stopping to pick it up! If
the last stroke of midnight
were to sound... oh... what a
Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball until she heard the disaster that would be! Out
first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had she fled and vanished into
said, and without a word of goodbye she slipped from the the night.

The Prince, who was now madly in love with her, picked up the slipper and said to his ministers,
“Go and search everywhere for the girl whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I
find her!”

So the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of every girl in the land until only Cinderella was left.

That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball,.
snapped the stepmother. . Tell the Prince he ought to marry one
of my two daughters! Can't you see how ugly Cinderella is?.
But, to everyone’ s amazement, the shoe fitted perfectly.

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Annex 4

Old Year: My dear daughters, it’s time to let you rule the country. Show me you can do it!

Spring: Father, you know I bring the sun in the blue sky,
the green grass and the beautiful flowers in the woods and the
birds singing in the trees. Children play in the park and they are
very happy.

Old Year: What can you promise me, child?

Summer: Do you like how I look? My clothes are as

gold and my hands are full with gifts for my people. The hot sun
makes the apricots, pears and apples get ripe; the wheat is ready
for the harvest and people gather the hay. I bring the holidays.
Children go to the seaside or to the mountains.

Autumn: People say I am proud, but hard working and

kind, too. I shake down the yellow and brown leaves and I like
the carpet they put on the ground. I fill the baskets with nuts,
plums and grapes and the kitchen with all kind of vegetables. I
tell children to get ready for the new school year.

Winter: I am the
frosty winter. I cover the
ground with a thick snow
carpet to keep warm to the
grass and I bring joy to
children. They love playing
with snow.

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 Old Year: Well…my dear children, you are all very smart and you can do good things. But,
it’s hard for me to make a decision. I think you’d better rule the country for three months each of
you.

Annex 5

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.

One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and pop! Out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry
caterpillar.

He started to look for some food.

On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry.

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On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.

On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.

On Thursday he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry.

On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry.

On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake , one ice-cream , one pickle

, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami , one lollipop , one piece of cherry pie

, one sausage , one cupcake and one slice of watermelon.

That night he had stomach ache!

The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt
much better.

Now he wasn’t hungry anymore- and he wasn’t a little caterpillar any more.

He was a big, fat caterpillar.

He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He

stayed inside for more than two weeks.

Then he nibbled a hole in

the cocoon, pushed his way
out ……… He was a
beautiful butterfly!
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Annex 6

A long time ago, in the town of Nazareth, lived a young woman named Mary. Mary did her chores,
was kind to others, and loved God very much. She was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a
carpenter.

One day, while Mary was at home cleaning her room, an angel suddenly appeared. Before Mary
could say anything the angel told Mary that she was favored by God, and that God was with her.

Mary was surprised. She was trying not to be afraid, but she
had never seen an angel before. After all, Mary was just a
regular lady like you or I. Why was this angel visiting her?
What did the angel want?

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The angel quickly tried to reassure Mary, "Do not be afraid!" the angel said. "God has found favor
with you. You will have a baby boy, and are to give him the name Jesus."

Mary was confused, she was not yet married to Joseph, so how could she have a baby? The angel
thought that this might concern Mary so he said, "The Holy Spirit will perform a miracle, and
because of this your baby will be called the Son of God."

To Mary's surprise the angel had more exciting news; "Even your cousin Elizabeth is going to have
a son in her old age. Many thought that she couldn't have children, but she is already pregnant.
Nothing is impossible with God."

Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing, she didn't know what to say. She realized that she was
trembling, and knelt down. When she was finally able to speak she said, "I am the Lord's servant,
and I hope everything you have said will come true."

The angel then disappeared, and Mary was left alone.

Soon after, Joseph found out that Mary was going to have a baby. Joseph was confused and upset
by this. But an angel came to him in a dream and said, "Joseph do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife. The child Mary is going to have is God's son, and you are to give him the name Jesus."

When Joseph woke up he remembered what the angel had said.

He knew that everything was okay, and he wasn't upset
anymore.

In those days the government decided that they should count everyone that lived in that area of the
world. So Joseph had to take Mary to his town, Bethlehem to register.

It took Mary and Joseph a long time to get to Bethlehem. They didn't have cars back then, so it
probably took them a lot longer to get there. This was very tiring for Mary because she was soon
going to have a baby.
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When they reached the town, all the hotels were full and there was nowhere that they could stay.
Finally, someone felt bad for them, and offered them a place to stay.

The Bible doesn't say for sure where they stayed but
most people think that they stayed in a small barn where animals were kept. In any case, doesn't it
seem strange that Jesus, the King of the Jews wasn't born in a fancy palace or even a hospital?

Mary and Joseph were thankful that they at least had a place to lay down. It was warm, and there
was plenty of straw to lay on.

That night an exciting,

wonderful thing happened.
Mary and Joseph had a
baby! But it wasn't just any
baby, it was Baby Jesus!
The creator of the whole
world, the King of Kings,
the one who would save the
world.

The little baby boy fell asleep in Mary's arms and she wrapped
him in cloths and laid him in a manger on some clean straw.

Mary and Joseph soon fell asleep, they were so glad to have this special baby join their family.

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Annex 7

Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her son Jack.
One day, Jack’s mother told him to sell their only cow. Jack
went to the market and on the way he met a man who wanted to
buy his cow. Jack asked, “What will you give me in return for
my cow?” The man answered, “I will give you five magic
beans!” Jack took the magic beans and gave the man the cow.
But when he reached home, Jack’s mother was very angry. She
said, “You fool! He took away your cow and gave you some
beans!” She threw the beans out of the window. Jack was very
sad and went to sleep without dinner.

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 The next day, when Jack woke up in the morning and looked out
of the window, he saw that a huge beanstalk had grown from his
magic beans! He climbed up the beanstalk and reached a
kingdom in the sky. There lived a giant and his wife. Jack went
inside the house and found the giant’s wife in the kitchen. Jack
said, “Could you please give me something to eat? I am so
hungry!” The kind wife gave him bread and some milk.

While he was eating, the giant came home. The giant was very big and looked very fearsome. Jack
was terrified and went and hid inside. The giant cried, “Fee-fifo-fum, I smell the blood of an
Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said,
“There is no boy in here!” So, the giant ate his food and then went to his room. He took out his
sacks of gold coins, counted them and kept them aside. Then he went to sleep. In the night, Jack
crept out of his hiding place, took one sack of gold coins and climbed down the beanstalk. At home,
he gave the coins to his mother. His mother was very happy and they lived well for sometime.

He climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s house again.

Once again, Jack asked the giant’s wife for food, but while he
was eating the giant returned. Jack leapt up in fright and went
and hid under the bed. The giant cried, “Fee-fifo-fum, I smell
the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll
grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said, “There is no
boy in here!”

The giant ate his food and went to his room. There, he took out a hen. He shouted, “Lay!” and the
hen laid a golden egg. When the giant fell asleep, Jack took the hen and climbed down the beanstalk.
Jack’s mother was very happy with him.

After some days, Jack once again climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s castle. For the third
time, Jack met the giant’s wife and asked for some food. Once again, the giant’s wife gave him
bread and milk. But while Jack was eating, the giant came home. “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood
of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” cried the
giant. “Don’t be silly! There is no boy in here!” said his wife.

The giant had a magical harp that could play beautiful songs.
While the giant slept, Jack took the harp and was about to leave.
Suddenly, the magic harp cried, “Help master! A boy is stealing
me!” The giant woke up and saw Jack with the harp. Furious, he
ran after Jack. But Jack was too fast for him. He ran down the
beanstalk and reached home. The giant followed him down.
Jack quickly ran inside his house and fetched an axe. He began
to chop the beanstalk. The giant fell and died.

Jack and his mother were now very rich and they lived happily ever after.

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Annex 8

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. One pig built a
house of straw while the second pig built his house with sticks.
They built their houses very quickly and then sang and danced
all day because they were lazy. The third little pig worked hard
all day and built his house with bricks.

A big bad wolf saw the two big bad wolf went to the first house and huffed and puffed and
little pigs while they danced blew the house down in minutes.
and played and thought,
“What juicy tender meals
they will make!” He chased
the two pigs and they ran
and hid in their houses. The

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The frightened little pig ran to the second pig’s house that was
made of sticks. The big bad wolf now came to this house and
huffed and puffed and blew the house down in hardly any time.
Now, the two little pigs were terrified and ran to the third pig’s
house that was made of bricks.

The big bad wolf tried to a big pot of water and kept it below the chimney. The wolf fell
huff and puff and blow the into it and died.
house down, but he could
not. He kept trying for hours
but the house was very
strong and the little pigs
were safe inside. He tried to
enter through the chimney
but the third little pig boiled

The two little pigs now felt sorry for having been so lazy. They too built their houses with bricks
and lived happily ever after.

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Annex 9

It is a beautiful summer day. The sun shines warmly on an old

house near a river. Behind the house a mother duck is sitting on
ten eggs. "Tchick." One by one all the eggs break open.

All except one. This one is the biggest egg of all.

Mother duck sits and sits on the big egg. At last it breaks open, "Tchick, tchick!"

Out jumps the last baby duck. It looks big and strong. It is grey and ugly.

The next day mother duck the river. She jumps into it. All her baby ducks jump in. The big
takes all her little ducks to ugly duckling jumps in too.
25
They all swim and play together. The ugly duckling swims better than all the other ducklings.

- Quack, quack! Come with me to the farm yard! - says mother duck to her baby ducks and they all
follow her there.

The farm yard is very noisy.

The poor duckling is so
unhappy there. The hens
peck him, the rooster flies at
him, the ducks bite him, the
farmer kicks him.

At last one day he runs away. He comes to a river. He sees many beautiful big birds swimming
there. Their feathers are so white, their necks so long, their wings so pretty. The little duckling looks
and looks at them. He wants to be with them. He wants to stay and watch them. He knows they are
swans. Oh, how he wants to be beautiful like them.

Now it is winter. Everything is white with snow. The river is covered with ice. The ugly duckling is
very cold and unhappy.

Spring comes once again. The sun shines warmly. Everything is fresh and green.

One morning the ugly duckling sees the beautiful swans again.
He knows them. He wants so much to swim with them in the
river. But he is afraid of them. He wants to die. So he runs into
the river. He looks into the water. There in the water he sees a
beautiful swan. It is he! He is no more an ugly duckling. He is a
beautiful white swan.

26
Annex 10

Back in the old days, Bear had a tail which was his proudest
possession. It was long and black and glossy and Bear used to
wave it around just so that people would look at it. Fox saw this.
Fox, as everyone knows, is a trickster and likes nothing better
than fooling others.

So it was that he decided to play a trick on Bear. It was the time of year when Hatho, the Spirit of
Frost, had swept across the land, covering the lakes with ice and pounding on the trees with his big
hammer. Fox made a hole in the ice, right near a place where Bear liked to walk. By the time Bear
came by, all around Fox, in a big circle, were big trout and fat perch. Just as Bear was about to ask

27
Fox what he was doing, Fox twitched his tail which he had sticking through that hole in the ice and
pulled out a huge trout.
'Greetings, Brother,' said Fox. 'How are you this fine day?'
'Greetings,' answered Bear, looking at the big circle of fat fish. ' I am well, Brother. But what are
you doing?
'I am fishing,' answered Fox. 'Would you like to try?'

'Oh, yes,' said Bear, as he started to lumber over to Fox's fishing hole.
But Fox stopped him. 'Wait, Brother,' he said, 'This place will not be good. As you can see, I have
already caught all the fish. Let us make you a new fishing spot where you can catch many big trout.'
Bear agreed and so he followed Fox to the new place, a place where, as Fox knew very well, the
lake was too shallow to catch the winter fish:which always stay in the deepest water when Hatho has
covered their ponds. Bear watched as Fox made the hole in the ice, already tasting the fine fish he
would soon catch. 'Now,' Fox said, 'you must do just as I tell you. Clear your mind of all thoughts of
fish. Do not even think of a song or the fish will hear you. Turn your back to the hole and place your
tail inside it. Soon a fish will come and grab your tail and you can pull him out.'
'But how will I know if a fish has grabbed my tail if my back is turned?' asked Bear.
'I will hide over here where the fish cannot see me,' said Fox. 'When a fish grabs your tail, I will
shout. Then you must pull as hard as you can to catch your fish. But you must be very patient. Do
not move at all until I tell you.'
Bear nodded, 'I will do exactly as you say.' He sat down next to the hole, placed his long beautiful
black tail in the icy water and turned his back.
Fox watched for a time to make sure that Bear was doing as he was told and then, very quietly,
sneaked back to his own house and went to bed. The next morning he woke up and thought of Bear.
'I wonder if he is still there,' Fox said to himself. 'I'll just go and check.'

covered pond and what do you think he saw? He saw what

looked like a little white hill in the middle of the ice. It had
snowed during the night and covered Bear, who had fallen
asleep while waiting for Fox to tell him to pull his tail and catch
a fish. And Bear was snoring. His snores were so loud that the
ice was shaking. It was so funny that Fox rolled with laughter.

So Fox went back to the ice

But when he was through laughing, he decided the time had come to wake up poor Bear. He crept
very close to Bear's ear, took a deep breath, and then shouted: 'Now, Bear!!!' Bear woke up with a
28
start and pulled his long tail hard as he could. But his tail had been caught in the ice which had
frozen over during the night and as he pulled, it broke off : Whack! : just like that. Bear turned
around to look at the fish he had caught and instead saw his long lovely tail caught in the ice.
'Ohhh,' he moaned, 'ohhh, Fox. I will get you for this.' But Fox, even though he was laughing fit to
kill was still faster than Bear and he leaped aside and was gone.

he went back to his cave and did not come out until spring. So it
is that even to this day Bears have short tails, hibernate all
winter, and have no love at all for Fox. And if you ever hear a
bear moaning, it is probably because he remembers the trick Fox
played on him long ago and he is mourning for his lost tail.

Bear was so embarrassed,

Annex 11

29
 It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.
Evening came on, the last evening of the year. In the cold and
gloom a poor little girl, bareheaded and barefoot, was walking
through the streets. Of course when she had left her house she'd
had slippers on, but what good had they been? They were very
big slippers, way too big for her, for they belonged to her
mother.

The little girl had lost them running across the road, where two carriages had rattled by terribly fast.
One slipper she'd not been able to find again, and a boy had run off with the other, saying he could
use it very well as a cradle some day when he had children of his own. And so the little girl walked
on her naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried several
packages of matches, and she held a box of them in her hand. No one had bought any from her all
day long, and no one had given her a cent.

Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along, a picture of

misery, poor little girl! The snowflakes fell on her long fair hair,
which hung in pretty curls over her neck. In all the windows
lights were shining, and there was a wonderful smell of roast
goose, for it was New Year's eve. Yes, she thought of that!

In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected farther out into the street than the other,
she sat down and drew up her little feet under her. She was getting colder and colder, but did not
dare to go home, for she had sold no matches, nor earned a single cent, and her father would surely
beat her. Besides, it was cold at home, for they had nothing over them but a roof through which the
wind whistled even though the biggest cracks had been stuffed with straw and rags.

Her hands were almost dead with cold. Oh, how much one little
match might warm her! If she could only take one from the box
and rub it against the wall and warm her hands. She drew one
out. R-r-ratch! How it sputtered and burned! It made a warm,
bright flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over it;
but it gave a strange light! It really seemed to the little girl as if
she were sitting before a great iron stove with shining brass
knobs and a brass cover. How wonderfully the fire burned! How
comfortable it was! The youngster stretched out her feet to
warm them too; then the little flame went out, the stove
vanished, and she had only the remains of the burnt match in her
hand.

She struck another match against the wall. It burned brightly, and when the light fell upon the wall it
became transparent like a thin veil, and she could see through it into a room. On the table a snow-
white cloth was spread, and on it stood a shining dinner service. The roast goose steamed gloriously,
stuffed with apples and prunes. And what was still better, the goose jumped down from the dish and
waddled along the floor with a knife and fork in its breast, right over to the little girl. Then the
match went out, and she could see only the thick, cold wall. She lighted another match. Then she
was sitting under the most beautiful Christmas tree. It was much larger and much more beautiful
than the one she had seen last Christmas through the glass door at the rich merchant's home.
30
Thousands of candles burned on the green branches, and colored pictures like those in the printshops
looked down at her. The little girl reached both her hands toward them. Then the match went out.
But the Christmas lights mounted higher. She saw them now as bright stars in the sky. One of them
fell down, forming a long line of fire.

"Now someone is dying," thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only person who had
loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star fell down a soul went up to God.

She rubbed another match against the wall. It became bright again, and in the glow the old
grandmother stood clear and shining, kind and lovely.

"Grandmother!" cried the child. "Oh, take me with you! I know

you will disappear when the match is burned out. You will
vanish like the warm stove, the wonderful roast goose and the
beautiful big Christmas tree!"

And she quickly struck the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother with
her. And the matches burned with such a glow that it became brighter than daylight. Grandmother
had never been so grand and beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and both of them flew in
brightness and joy above the earth, very, very high, and up there was neither cold, nor hunger, nor
fear-they were with God.

But in the corner, leaning against the wall, sat the little girl with red cheeks and smiling mouth,
frozen to death on the last evening of the old year. The New Year's sun rose upon a little pathetic
figure. The child sat there, stiff and cold, holding the matches, of which one bundle was almost
burned.

"She wanted to warm herself," the people said. No one imagined

what beautiful things she had seen, and how happily she had
gone with her old grandmother into the bright New Year.

Annex 12

31
 Once upon a time there lived just outside of Bethany, a good
and kind young boy named Nun. Who was his father’s pride and
joy.

When Nun turned 13, his father bought him a Donkey.

Nun loved that Donkey very much. He washed and brushed him every day, and took him for long
walks to show him off to his friends. Nun would not let anyone ride him. Some times when his
friends asked to ride him and Nun would not let them, they would get mad at Nun and would not
talk to him for days.

Every day Nun told his Donkey he was special. Nun could sense the Donkey knew he was special
because he would smile at Nun.

One day when Nuns parents had gone into town to do some shopping, two men came by and began
undoing the rope from the post the Donkey was tied to. The Donkey did not resist as he always did
around strangers but went willingly.

Some people standing there

asked, "What are you doing,
untying that Donkey"?

They said, "The Master

needs him, we will return
him shortly."

Not long after wards, Nun and his family heard a lot of noise
some distance away. So they went to see what all the noise was
about. Riding on Nun's Donkey was Jesus. People were
spreading Blankets and Palms in front of Nuns Donkey. The
Donkey looked at Nun with a big proud smile. Now Nun knew
why his Donkey was so special.
32
 Annex 13

Once there was a king named Giphad. He ruled over a very

peaceful yet powerful kingdom. His people all loved and adored
him. All was perfect in his kingdom.
Except for his son, Jonash. The king's son was very unhappy for
no known reason.
He would always sit in his room staring blankly out the window
over the lands, frowning.

The king addressed his son: "What on earth has upset you, Jonash? What is it that you lack? What is
making you so distraught?"
The young prince only shrugged.
"Could there be a girl, a certain women that has caught your eye? Tell me her name and I'll move
mountains to have you two married at once!"
"No, it's not a girl. I don't know why. I'm just so unhappy."
The king nodded and walked off. If this state of affairs continued the king feared his son would die
of melancholy.
Deciding he needed more help, the king issued a decree to have all the top physicians, astrologers,
and wise men of the kingdom come to him. When they arrived the king showed them to his son.
After three days the astrologers had finally come up with a solution.
"Your Majesty," Janklo, the head astrologer, spoke. "We have given the matter close thought. In
order to help your son you must find a happy man. A man that is happy through and through."
The king raised an eyebrow at this. "I must find a happy man?!?"
"Yes, and when you find the happy man you must trade his shirt for your son's shirt, then all will be
well."
The king agreed and dismissed them. He called in his ambassador to the throne room, and told them
to go out and find for him a truly happy man. He had notices placed all over the kingdom offering a
handsome reward to anyone who could find a truly happy man.
The first person to be shown before the king was a priest.
"Are you happy?" The king's question was simple and to the point.
"Yes, milord, I am very happy."
33
"Well then, how would you like to be my bishop?" at this, the priest perked up. "Oh yes, your
majesty, nothing would bring me greater joy!"

"Get thee hence from my

palace before I have you
enprisoned!" Yelled the
now furious king. "You are
no happy man so much as a
liar, and only looking to
better himself. Out of my
castle!
The search continued. Not a
week went by but there was
news of a neighboring king
who was described as a real
happy man. He had a lovely
wife and many children. He
has no enemies and he too
has a peaceful but powerful
kingdom. Thinking this was
his solution, the king sent
his ambassador to inquire
after him.

34
"It is true that I have all I could ever want, but I fear that I will die soon and lose it all. Every
night I lie in bed thinking of what I will lose."
With this answer the ambassador thought it wise not to take the kings shirt. When he was told
the news, King Giphad was furious. He had no clue what to do next. His son was going to die
sad and depressed. In desperate need of fresh air the king went off on a hunting trip.
In the fields, the king shot out at a hare a few meters away. The arrow only grazed the hare,
and it escaped into the woods. Following quickly, the king moved far away from the rest of
his party. After a few minutes he gave up looking for the hare and made to head back but
suddenly stopped. There was a noise coming from his left. As he drew closer the king realized
that it was someone whistling a small tune. Reaching the noise he saw
a dashingly handsome blond youth lying in the reeds. The lad was on his back gazing up at
the many clouds in the sky.
"You there! Boy! Tell me...how would you like to be appointed to the highest position in the
land as the king's personal advisor?"
"Advisor eh?" the youth sat up and scratched his chin. "Such a troublesome position. Sorry I'll
have to pass. I'm fine enough as I am."
The king beamed at this answer.
"You're the one! Quickly! On your feet, boy!" He grabbed the youth and ran back to the men
and his camp. "My son is saved! My son is saved!"
He turned to the young man and gestured warmly: "You, boy, may have from me whatever it
is you wish. But I need...I need..."
The youth looked at the king strangely. "You need what?"
"My son the prince is dying and only you can save him. Come closer."
The king grabbed the youth, smiling his brightest smile and quickly began to unbutton the
youth's jacket, then suddenly stopped. His arms drooped to his sides.
The happy man wore no shirt.