Belling the Cat from Aesop's Fables at LELB Society to learn English with fairy tales with podcast and new words

Belling the Cat – Learn English with Fairy Tales

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Belling the cat to learn English with fairy tales based on Aesop’s Fables with a podcast, list of new words and expressions for young English learners or beginners

Belling the Cat is now in the public domain available on Gutenberg Project.

Video of Belling the Cat

Belling the Cat

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe for ESL students with a podcast and vocabulary practice in real context

Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse - an Aesop's Fable at LELB Society to practice vocabulary and listening

“You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the cat.

آموزش زبان فارسی با داستان گربه و موشها برای کودکان و نوجوانان خارج از کشور به همراه ویدیو، لیست واژگان جدید و نسخه انگلیسی

By this means, we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood.” This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the cat?”

The Cat and the Mice from Aesop with a podcast and vocabulary practice for advanced ESL students

The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:

“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”

New words and expressions

  1. Council: assembly, meeting
  2. Outwit: outsmart, use trickery to get an advantage over someone, outfox
  3. Proposal: suggestion, plan
  4. Consist: contain, entail, involve
  5. Sly: crafty, cunning, furtive
  6. Procured: obtained, acquired
  7. Ribbon: band, tie, strip
  8. Retire: go to bed and relax
  9. Applause: clapping to show praise and appreciation
  10. Remedy: solution

Questions for discussion

  1. Why do the mice decide to hold a meeting in Aesop’s fable, “The Belling of the Cat”?
  2. In the fable, what is the solution proposed by the young mouse to avoid the cat?
  3. What key question does the old mouse ask that exposes a weakness in the young mouse’s plan?

2 thoughts on “Belling the Cat – Learn English with Fairy Tales”

  1. In this fable, the young mouse came up with a solution: to attach a bell to the cat’s neck. The challenging and important part was finding someone willing to take this responsibility. This was where everyone were silent.
    The conclusion is that it’s easier to talk than to take action.

    • With much appreciation! That’s exactly why in English we say:

      Actions speak louder than words.

      Feedback
      1. everyone was silent
      2. it’s easier to talk than take action.

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