Into the box below write the words and word combinations which can characterize a crow and a hawk.

How the Kangaroo Got a Long Tail and the Wombat a Flat Forehead

Key words and expressions:

ash

surely

to refuse

to chill

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

You have already seen a photo of a wombat and a kangaroo at the beginning of this book. How do you think if a wombat and a kangaroo could be good friends?

Reading

Many years ago, Mirram the kangaroo and Warreen the wombat were both men. They were very friendly, and hunted and lived together in the same camping-ground. Warreen had a very comfortable gunyah made of bark and soft leaves, but Mirram who was a careless fellow-did not trouble to build a home. He was content to sleep in the open, by the side of a big fire, with the blue sky for a cover, and the green grass for a couch. This open air life was very nice in fine weather, when the stars twinkled in the sky like golden fire-flies, but it was extremely uncomfortable in the rainy season.

One night a great storm arose. The wind howled eerily, and rocked the tall trees to and fro as though they were shaken by the strong arms of an invisible giant. The rain fell in torrents, and darkness covered the light of the stars. The rain quickly quenched the glowing embers of Mirram's fire, and he was left to the mercy of the storm. After shivering in the cold for some time, he decided to seek the hospitality of Warreen. "Surely my friend would not refuse me shelter on such a night as this," he thought. "I will ask him."

Feeling very cold and miserable, he crept to the opening of Warreen's tent, and seeing there was sufficient space for both of them to sleep comfortably, he woke him and said: "The storm has killed my fire. I am very wet, and the cold wind has chilled me to the bone. May I sleep in the corner of your tent?" Warreen blinked his eyes sleepily and answered in a gruff voice: "No. I want to place my head in that corner. There isn't any room." With this rude remark he moved into the corner, but, as he could not occupy the whole space of the tent, another corner became vacant. Mirram went away and sat by the wet ashes of his fire, and his thoughts were as miserable as the weather. The fury of the storm increased and looking on his friend, he decided to approach Warreen again. He entered the shelter, and, touching Warreen gently on the shoulder, said: “The wind is very cold, and as biting as the teeth of the wild dog. The rain is falling heavily and will not cease. I should be grateful if you would allow me to sleep in that corner. I will not disturb you.” Warreen raised his head, listened to the moaning of the storm outside, and then replied: “I will not have you here; there isn’t any room. Go outside and do not keep waking me.” “But,” replied Mirram, “there is room in that corner. Surely you wouldn’t drive me out into the storm to die!”

Thereupon, Warreen moved one leg into the corner and again a space became vacant. Seeing he could no longer hoodwink Mirram and hide from him his selfish intentions, he grew very angry and yelled: “Get out! Get out! I won’t have you in my tent. I don’t care where you die.” This harsh treatment exasperated Mirram and he left the tent in a terrible rage. Outside the tent, he groped around in the dark until he found a large flat stone. Then he crept silently to the gunyah. By the sound of heavy breathing he knew Warreen was asleep. Moving very silently, he entered the tent, and, raising the stone high in his arms, dashed it on the head of the sleeper. The terrible blow did not kill Warreen but flattened his forehead. When he had recovered from his pained surprise, he heard the mocking voice of Mirram saying: “That is your reward for treating a friend so cruelly. You and your children and their children’s children will wander through the land with flat foreheads that men may know them for your selfishness.” As Warreen was no match for his opponent, he did not answer, but nursed his sore head and some very bad thoughts.

From that moment, he was always planning revenge for his injury. Some time later, Warreen was hunting in the forest, and, through the shadow of the trees, he saw Mirram a short distance ahead. He crept noiselessly towards him, and, when Mirram was looking for the marks of a possum on the bark of a tree, he threw a spear at him with all his strength. The spear struck Mirram at the bottom of the back, and so deeply did it enter that he could not pull it out. While he was struggling with the spear, Warreen walked up to him, and, in a bantering voice, said: “Aha! My turn has come at last. I have waited long to repay you. You will always carry the spear in your back and wander without a home while you live. Your children will carry the spear and be homeless for ever. By these tokens, men will always remember your attempt to kill me while I slept.”

From that time the kangaroo has had a long tail, which makes a low, thudding sound as he wanders homeless through the bush, and the wombat still has a very flat forehead as an everlasting sign of selfishness.

Comprehension check

1. Retell the legend as if you were a kangaroo.

2. Say which of the characters of the story (a wombat or a kangaroo) you like the best. Why?

WRITIHG

Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.

The Fire on the Hill

Key words and expressions:

to climb

a servant

a judge

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

How do you think? What does «mother’s love» mean?

Reading

Long, long ago there was a lake of cold water in Australia. At night many animals came there to drink. But people never came to the lake at night: the wild animals might kill and eat them.

Now, a rich man who had a beautiful daughter, once said: "The young man, who will go to the lake in the evening and stay in the cold water till morning will have my daughter for his wife".

One poor young man loved the rich man's daughter very much, and she loved him. He said to his mother, "I shall try to stay at night in the lake and then marry the dear girl".

"No, no", the mother said, "you are my only son. The water in the lake is very cold, and the animals will eat you. Don't go there!"

She cried and cried, but her son said, "Mother, don't cry, I must try. I love her so much!"

So the young man went to the girl's father. He told him that he wanted to go to the lake and stay in the cold water all night. The rich man sent his servants to a place from which they could watch the young man.

When night came, the young man went to the lake. His mother followed him, but he didn't see her. There was a hill forty paces from the place where the young man entered the water. The woman climbed up the hill and made up a fire there. The wild animals saw the fire and were afraid to go near that place.

The young man saw the fire too. He understood that his mother was there. He thought of his mother's love and it was easier for him to stay all night in the very cold water.

Morning came. The young man went to the rich man's house. The rich man saw him and said, "My servants say that there was a fire on the hill forty paces from the lake. It warmed you, and that is why you could stay all night in the water. So you can't marry my daughter. Good-bye". The young man was very angry. He went to the judge.

"Well", the judge said, "this is a very simple case".

The next morning the young man with his mother and the rich man with his servants came before the judge. There were many people there who wanted to hear the case.

The judge asked for a pot of cold water. Then he walked forty paces from the pot and made a fire. "Now", he said, "we shall wait a little until the water is warm". The people cried, "But the fire is so far away, it can't warm the water in the pot".

The judge said, "And how could that young man warm himself at a fire forty paces away?" So the case was over, and the young man married the rich man's daughter. They lived happily for many years.

Comprehension check

Retell the legend as if you were a poor young man.

WRITIHG

Compose ten questions on the legend and ask them your classmates.

A Careless Tongue

Key words and expressions:

impossible

to make up a story

to go from mouth to mouth

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

Try to explain the expression «It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all».

Reading

There was a young woman who liked to tell stories about her neighbors. Some stories were good, some stories were funny and the young woman told them to make people laugh. As always happens in such cases, the people who heard the stories, told them to their friends trying to make them funnier and funnier. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.

An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it. He wanted to make her stop telling stories about her neighbors. He did not know how to do it, but then he thought of a good plan.

"Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me. I have here a bag of small stones. On your way home throw them as far as you can in all sides. When you do it, come back and tell me."

The young woman was surprised to hear it. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.

When the young woman came back, the old man said: "Daughter, I want to ask you to do one more thing for me. Go along the same road and pick up all the stones that you have thrown away."

"But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman. "I can find some of the stones and bring them back to you, but I cannot find all of them."

"That's true," said the old man. "Those stones are like the stories that you tell about your neighbors. It's not difficult to throw around small stones but it's impossible to find them all. It's easy to make up stories about your neighbors, but it's impossible to call them back, because they go from mouth to mouth and become worse and worse. Remember this! First think, then speak! Remember this always!"

The young woman remembered it all her life.

Comprehension check

Put the following events (A-F) in the right order. Number them (1-6).

A."Daughter," he said when he met her one day. "I want to ask you to do one thing for me.

B. "But, father, it is impossible!" said the young woman.

C. An old man of the village where the young woman lived knew about it.

D. "That's true," said the old man.

E. But it was easy and she agreed to do what the old man asked.

F. As a result many good people suffered because of those stories.

WRITIHG

Write an article of about 30-50 words to express your point of view on the legend.

The Sacred Python

Key words and expressions:

a slave-trader

to give a terrible scream

an arrow

Make up sentences with new words

Pre-reading task

Tell what do you know about pythons. Where do they live? How do they look like?

Reading

Many years ago a group of men went out hunting. They walked in the forest all day long. In the evening they were far from home.

"We will have to sleep in the forest tonight", said their leader. "Quickly look for a good place to sleep".

The hunters had to be careful. In those days there were many slave-traders all about the country, and they might attack the hunters at any moment.

Late in the evening they found a good place to sleep. After supper the hunters lay down on the ground and were soon all asleep.

When the weary men were asleep, a group of slave-traders surrounded them. They were to attack the sleeping men.

Suddenly something big and heavy fell from one of the trees on one of the young hunters. The hunter woke up, looked down at his body and gave a terrible scream: a huge python was lying on him! He jumped to his feet, but his comrades were already awake. In a moment they were ready to fight.

The slave-traders fired their guns. But the hunters hid behind the trees. The fight continued for a long time. When the hunters had no more arrows they fought with stones and even sticks.

The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the attackers were killed. The others had to run away.

After the fight was over the hunters came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"

"It was a python", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".

"It was a sign specially for us", the leader said.» You can see that the python is now our friend. From this day on no man, woman or child in our clan will ever kill or eat a python".

To this day the people who live in those places remember the words of that man. If you go to their houses in the rainy season, you will find pythons there. In the daytime they sleep in holes under the houses, but at night they crawl about the rooms.

The people never harm the pythons and the pythons never harm the people.

Comprehension check

Some words are missing from the text. Choose the most appropriate answer from the box for each gap (1-6) in the text. Do not change the words. There is one word which you do not need to use.

The slave-traders could do nothing against the hunters. Some of the ____________ were killed. The others had to run away.

After the fight was over the _________ came together round their leader. The leader looked at the young man and said: "What made you wake up?"

"It was a _________", the boy said. "It fell on me from the tree".