184 Nursery Rhymes and Fables: Supplemental Guide 10A | The Lion and the Mouse
was, and there he saw the lion. The lion was caught in a hunter’s net
and could not get out.
[Ask students, “What do you think the mouse will do?” Call on two students to
answer.]
The mouse remembered his promise to the lion, and he began
gnawing the ropes of the net with his sharp little teeth.
[Tell students, “Gnawing means chewing.”]
He kept gnawing until he had made a hole in the net big enough for
the lion to get free.
Show image 10A-4: Lion is free
“You laughed when I said I would repay you for letting me go,” said
the mouse. “But now you see that even a little mouse can help a lion.”
So, the moral of the story is: “Little friends may be great friends.”
[Have students repeat: “Little friends may be great friends.”]
Discussing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Comprehension Questions
If students have difficulty responding to questions, reread pertinent lines
of the fable and/or refer to the images. Encourage students to answer in
complete sentences. Model answers using complete sentences.
- Literal What is the title of this fable?
- The title of this fable is “The Lion and the Mouse.”
- Literal Who are the characters in this fable?
- The lion and the mouse are the characters in this fable.
- Literal At the beginning of the fable, what does the mouse do?
- The mouse runs over the lion’s back and wakes him up.
- Inferential How does the lion feel about being woken up? What does
the lion plan to do?- The lion is upset and plans to eat the mouse.
- Inferential Does the lion eat the mouse? Why not?
- The lion does not eat the mouse because the mouse promises that he
will do the lion a favor someday.
- The lion does not eat the mouse because the mouse promises that he