farmer son horse
To Market
Vocabulary
| town | get on | sell/sold/sold |
| side | pass by | begin/began/begun |
| waste | opposite | nowadays |
| later | laundry | place (2) |
| laugh | surface | shame on you |
| shout | get off | put on (2) |
| elder | respect | ought to |
| pull | poor (2) | river bank |
| decide | imagine | eventually |
| cruel | creature | feel sorry for |
| arm | pick up | come upon |
| gasp | shame | ashamed |
| wet | splash | approach |
| twist | notice | swim/swam/swum |
The Farm
Fritz lived on a farm with his wife and young son.
One day he decided to sell his horse.
So he, his son, and horse began walking to the town market.
Some Boys
Soon they passed by a village. Some boys were playing on the side of the road.
“Look at those two,” said one of the boys. “They have a horse; but they’re walking. What a waste!”
Fritz then stopped. He got on his horse and rode it while his son walked behind.
Several Women
Later they came upon several women washing laundry.
“Look at that man!” said a woman. “He’s riding that horse, while his poor boy must walk. SHAME on you!” she shouted at Fritz.
And so Fritz stopped his horse and got off. He put his son on the horse. They continued down the road.
Soon they approached a house.
Old Man
“My goodness! Young people nowadays!” said an old man working in his garden.
“They have no respect for their elders! You ought to be ashamed of yourself young man,” he said to Fritz’s son. “Riding a horse while your poor father walks.”
Fritz then pulled his son up onto the horse and placed him in front of himself.
They continued towards town.
A Group of Girls
Eventually they came across a group of girls walking from the opposite direction.
“Can you imagine that? Two people riding a horse!” said a girl. “How cruel! I feel so sorry for that poor creature.”
And so Fritz and his son got off the horse. They then picked up their horse and held him in their arms — and walked down the road.
“My…you’re….very….very…heavy….,” said Fritz to his horse.
The Bridge
They soon came to a bridge over a river.
“We’re . . . almost . . . there . . .” gasped Fritz, as they began to cross it.
Some people fishing from the bridge noticed them. “Look at that!” said one of them. Everyone laughed at Fritz, his son, and their horse.
Twisting and Turning
Then the horse began twisting and turning. “Wow! Wow! Easy now, easy!” cried Fritz. “Oh…. I’m losing my balancccccceeeeeeee.”
There was a big splash in the river below. The horse, Fritz and his son surfaced and swam to the other side of the river bank.
They came out of the water all wet.
1. Fritz and his son went to town to buy foodstuff: vegetables, fruits, meat and cheese. True or false?
2. How did they travel in the beginning?
3. What happened with the boys, women, old man and girls?
4. What happened in the end? In the end . . .
5. Is Fritz an independent thinker? Is he and individualist or a conformist?
6. Is there a moral or lesson to this story? What is the lesson or moral of the story? The moral of the story is . . . .
A. Give examples of this story in real life.
B. Which is “better”, being an individualist, a conformist, both, in-between, or it depends?
C. Is your town, city or country, are people conformist or independent in their attitudes, beliefs, values and ideals, in the middle, or both? Give examples. Which do you prefer?
D. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a maverick? A conformist?
E. What have been the trend over the years?
F. What will happen in the future?
