The Raven and the Fox

by

Let us do these activities before we read

  1. We know that frogs croak. Did you know that ravens also croak?
    Answer: Yes. Ravens croak too.

  2. Which animal is shown to be cunning in stories? Circle the correct answer.
    (a) tiger (b) fox (c) bear
    Answer: (b) fox

Let us discuss

1 Fill‑in‑the‑blanks

(a) Stanza 1

  • (i) Mr Raven is a ___ (bird / frog). → bird

  • (ii) The name of the fox is ___ (Raven / Reynard). → Reynard

  • (iii) Mr Raven had ___ in his beak. (a piece of food / a bunch of leaves). → a piece of food

(b) Stanza 2

  • (i) The Fox calls the Raven a ___ bird. (foolish / good‑looking). → good‑looking

  • (ii) The Fox asks the Raven to ___ (dance / sing). → sing

  • (iii) The Raven and the Fox live in the ___ (trees / woods). → woods

(c) Stanza 3

  • (i) The Raven ___ that he croaked. (remembered / forgot). → forgot

  • (ii) The Raven opened its beak to ___ (eat / sing). → sing

  • (iii) The ___ fell down. (food / Raven). → food

(d) Stanza 4

  • (i) The Fox ___ at the Raven. (laughed / looked). → laughed

  • (ii) It is not ___ to be too proud of oneself. (wise / unwise). → wise

  • (iii) The Raven learnt a ___ (lesson / teaching). → lesson

2 Match the words

Column A Column B → meaning
1 perched (d) sat on a branch
2 morsel (a) a small piece of food
3 seek (e) to look for something
4 pride (c) feeling that you are better than others
5 eyed (b) looked with interest at something
6 limb (g) branch of a tree
7 woods (f) a smaller area of forest with similar kinds of trees

Let us think and reflect

  1. Number the pictures in the order they happen.
    Answer (typical order):
    1 Raven sits on branch with food → 2 Fox praises the Raven → 3 Raven sings and food drops → 4 Fox picks up the food and laughs.

  2. Read the lines and answer.

(a) Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird…

  • (i) ‘Such feathers’ refer to ___ feathers. → a. shiny and beautiful

  • (ii) Why would the birds call the Raven “King”?
    Because, if he could sing as nicely as he looks, other birds would think he is the best.

  • (iii) Why does the Fox address the Raven as “Sir”?
    To flatter him and sound polite so the Raven will listen.

(b) The Raven, who did not see the joke…

  • (i) Why did the Raven open his beak?
    He wanted to sing after the Fox’s praise.

  • (ii) Fox : clever :: Raven : ___ → foolish

  1. Why does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak?
    The sweet praise makes him proud and he forgets his real croaky voice.

  2. How does Reynard make the Raven sing?
    He flatters the Raven’s looks and promises he will be king if he sings.

  3. Why does Reynard say that pride is not wise?
    Because the Raven’s pride made him lose his food.

  4. Give one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise.
    It is surprising that the tricky Fox gives a good moral at the end.

  5. Imagine someone praises you too much. How would you react?
    I would thank them politely but stay humble and careful.

Let us learn

1 Rhyming words

Stanza Pair (a) Pair (b)
 1 limb – him beak – seek
 2 word – bird sing – King
 3 joke – croak pride – eyed
 4 know – glow unwise – surprise

2 Alliteration example from Stanza 2

woods would – both words start with /w/ sound.

3 Opposites table

Word Opposite
perched flew
forgot remembered
foolish wise
pride humility
laughed cried
ignore notice
glow dim

Four sample sentences

  1. The bird flew away quickly.

  2. I remembered to finish my homework.

  3. It is wise to tell the truth.

  4. A night‑light is dim, not bright.

Let us listen – True / False

Statement True / False
(a) The crow was unhappy that he lost his food. True
(b) The crow thought his lovely feathers made him smart. False
(c) The crow wanted to tell his friends not to be proud. True

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