There was once a dog who liked to nap on hot days in the cool barn. He liked to sleep in the manger, the long wooden box where hay was put for the farm animals to eat. One hot day after a long afternoon pulling the plow, the oxen returned to the barn, hungry for their dinner. But they couldn’t get to their food because the dog was lying in the manger taking a nap on the hay.
“Excuse me,” said one of the tired oxen, “would you please move so that I can eat my hay?” The dog, angry at being awakened from his nap, growled and barked at the ox.
“Please,” said the tired, hungry ox, “I’ve had a hard day, and I’m very hungry.” But the dog, who did not even eat hay, but only enjoyed it for its comfort, barked and snapped in response, and refused to budge. At last the poor oxen had to give up, and went away tired and hungry.
Activities:
1. Do you think the dog in this fable had a good reason to be angry at the ox? Why or why not? What should the ox do to get its food in the manger? Discuss with your partners in plain English.
2. The manger in the fable was a long wooden box. Suppose it was rectangular-shaped and eight meters long. Its width was half of its length. Find the manger’s width and perimeter in meters. Was this manger big enough that could be shared between the dog and the oxen?
3. What is the moral of this fable? Write several sentences and draw pictures to illustrate it. Then compare your illustrations with the following video.
