Garde 1 - Read-Aloud Supplemental Guide

Fables and Stories: Supplemental Guide 4A | The Dog in the Manger 71

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, would you please move so that I can eat my hay?”

[Ask students which character said that line. (the ox) Ask students whether an
ox can speak in real life.]

The dog, angry at being awakened from his nap, growled and barked

at the ox.

[Have students act out the dog growling and barking. Ask students whether a
dog growls and barks in real life. Say to students: “Tell your partner what the
dog might be saying instead of growling and barking.” Allow fifteen seconds for
students to talk. Call on two partner pairs to share. Have students point to this
scene on Response Card 4.]

“Please, I’ve had a hard day, and I’m very hungry.”

[Ask students which character said that line. (the ox) Ask students whether an
ox can speak in real life.]

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.

[Have students act out barking. Ask students whether a dog barks in real life. Say
to students: “Tell your partner what the dog might be saying instead of barking.”
Allow fifteen seconds for students to talk. Call on two partner pairs to share.]

At last the poor oxen had to give up, and went away tired and hungry.

What is the moral of this story?

[You may wish to have partner pairs discuss. Call on two volunteers to share
the moral of this story in their own words. Write their paraphrase under the
image of the fable.]

Moral: You should be nice and share, especially when someone else

needs something more than you do.