Methodology CM1-CM2-6ème - Annex workshop 5
Roberto, le jaguar et Mlle Lézard (Brésil)
Roberto the turtle fell in love with a certain Lizard. He decided to go find her to find out if she loved him too. Poor Roberto! When he arrived at his beloved’s home, the whole Lizard family swooned in admiration at the Jaguar.
How tall and rubbed! said Madame Lizard.
And what a beautiful coat! sighed Miss Lizard.
Indeed, Mr. Jaguar would be an ideal husband for our daughter, concludes Mr. Lizard.
Roberto reacted immediately.
You are right, Mr. Jaguar is very handsome, he says. But, in my opinion, he will never do much in life. He’s out just good at riding me on his back.
What? wondered Miss Lizard.
Absolutely, said Roberto. If you want an intelligent husband, I think I would do much better.
Roberto went home. He lay down on his bed and waited. Soon after, Mr. Jaguar burst into his room.
Roberto, you told lies about me! he scolded. Why did you tell Miss Lizard that I was riding you on my back?
Roberto then replied in a weak and trembling voice:
I know you would never let me do such a thing, Mr. Jaguar!
So come with me to Miss Lizard’s. You’ll admit yourself that you’ve never ridden on my back.
Roberto began to cough.
I’d love to follow you, but I’m too sick, he whined. We’ll go later, when I get better…if my condition improves. Unless you help me get there?
All right, get on my back, grunt the jaguar.
He bent down to allow Roberto to climb, then he set off for Miss Lizard’s home.
Ouch, ouch, ouch! cried Roberto. You have sharp bones, Mr. Jaguar. It hurts me terribly, let me down!
With one stroke of his teeth, the jaguar picked up a large, soft leaf. He handed it to Roberto, saying:
Sit on that and stop complaining.
Roberto sat comfortably on the leaf and the jaguar continued on its way.
Ouch, ouch, ouch! cried Roberto again. I’m afraid to fall, let me down!
The jaguar took a vine between his teeth and handed both ends to Roberto, saying:
Take this and stop complaining.
Ouch, ouch, ouch! cried Roberto.
What more? roars the jaguar.
There are flies everywhere and mosquitoes keep biting me! Turn around immediately, Mr Jaguar, and take me home!
With one bite, the jaguar broke a twig and handed it to Roberto, saying:
Chase them with that and stop complaining.
Roberto took the badine in his mouth and waved it in all directions. In doing so, he gave the jaguar a few lashes but he did not take care of them, as he was in such a hurry to arrive at Miss Lizard’s.
Lizard father, who was lounging on a tree trunk, saw the jaguar and his rider pass.
Come see, come all! So it’s true, Roberto is riding on Mr. Jaguar’s back!
The jaguar ran so fast and gasped so hard that he heard neither the screams nor the laughter that he triggered on his way. Arriving at Miss Lizard’s house, he declared:
Now speak, Roberto. Tell them that you lied and that I did not walk on my back!
Dear Miss Lizard, said Roberto, will you marry me? If you accept, my horse will take us to church right away.
Roberto slipped to the ground. It was time! The jaguar, shameful, flew like lightning to hide in the depths of the jungle. Miss Lizard and her parents agreed that Mr.Roberto Tortoise was definitely a much better match than this big beta jaguar-horse.
La Tortue et l’Homme de bois (Nigéria)
During a period of great drought, crops withered and withered. All humans and animals starved. The only one not to suffer was Iroko, the man of wood, because his garden was full of yams.
The turtle had become so thin that one could hear her bones rattling under her shell. She went to find the wooden man and said in a imploring tone:
Please, Iroko, give me a yam!
Here is one, he replied. Cook it and eat it. Tonight I will come to your house and give you a beating. A yam equals a blow.
The turtle took the yam and went home. Along the way, she came across a goat.
Will you share your yam with me? asked the goat.
With pleasure! replied the turtle.
And both went to the turtle to cook the yam and eat it.
Do you want to stay and sleep at home? suggested the turtle to the goat. You can sit near the door. I just have to have a package delivered to me tonight. When you hear the knock, all you have to do is open it and say, “Okay, give it to me.”
In the middle of the night the goat heard a knock on the door. She went to open and said:
All right, give it to me.
The wooden man gave her a big stick on her head, but he hit her on the horns, and she felt nothing at all.
‘This turtle is very strong,’ Iroko thought. ‘She didn’t even flinch when I hit her!’
The next day, the turtle went to find the wood man again. This time, she asked for two yams.
All right, he replied. But you know the market: two yams, two sticks.
On her way home with her two yams, the turtle met a warthog.
Will you share these yams with me? he asked him.
With pleasure! replied the turtle.
And both went to the turtle to cook the yams and eat them.
Do you want to stay at home? suggested the warthog turtle. You can sit near the door. They’re just delivering packages to me tonight. When you hear the knock, all you have to do is open it and say, “Okay, give it to me.”
In the middle of the night, the warthog heard a knock on the door. Half asleep, he went to open and said:
All right, give it to me.
Iroko says to himself: instead of hitting the turtle on the head like last time, I will hit it on each side. He gave a great blow to the right, a blow to the left, but his stick collided with the great tusks of the warthog and he felt nothing at all.
Decidedly, this turtle is very strong, growled Iroko.
The next day the tortoise went to the man of wood, and this time demanded seven yams.
You know what it’s gonna cost you, right?
Yes, she said. Seven yams, seven sticks.
On the way back, she met a civet.
Will you share these yams with me? asked the civet.
But of course! replied the turtle.
And they both went to cook and eat the yams.
If you want, you can spend the night at my house, suggested the turtle to the civet. You can settle near the door. They have to deliver packages to me tonight. When you hear the knock, all you have to do is open it and say, “Okay, give it to me.”
Now, the civet had a very heavy sleep. When the wooden man came knocking at the door, she heard nothing.
Hey! Civette, wake up! the turtle whispered.
The civet did not open an eye. The wooden man struck again, even harder, but she continued to sleep like a stump.
Hey! Civette, go open! cried the turtle.
Iroko suddenly understood that the turtle had arranged for other animals to be hit in its place. He pushed open the door with all his strength and entered the house. The turtle, in haste, took refuge inside his shell. The man of wood groped for her and struck her seven times with a stick.
It is since that night that the shell of the turtle is all cracked.
La magie des souris (Japon)
A good man and his wife, both very old, once lived on a farm. Every morning, the old lady prepared delicious cakes called dango. Before going to work in the fields, the old man always carried some dango in a small box. One day when he was sitting on a stone, he dropped one on the ground. The dango left rolling, rolled, rolled, rolled, then suddenly disappeared.
The old man went on all fours to look for him, but in vain. It was then that he heard tiny voices escaping from a tiny hole.
Suddenly, shaaaam! The hole widened and became so big that he could slide his head. And what did he discover? The magical kingdom of mice! They were happily busy in their underground. Some were cooking, others weaving, others painting, others music. Still others danced around the dango singing:
“All the cats are gone,
We have the good life!”
May the cats leave your beautiful kingdom in peace, said the brave old man.
The tallest mouse looked up at him.
Thank you for the delicious dango, she said. In exchange, let me offer you this magic hammer. You just have to pound the ground and fortune will smile at you.
The old man thanked the mouse, and as soon as he got home, he told his wife of his adventure. The mouse had told the truth. Every time he hit the ground with the hammer, knock, knock, knock, gold coins appeared as if by magic!
But soon their neighbour heard the news. He was a stingy and wicked man. He visited the good old man and said:
What is this magic hammer thing?
The old man told him of his adventure.
The next morning, the bad guy went to the field with a dango of his own making and he dropped it on the ground. The cake rolled, rolled, rolled, rolled, then disappeared suddenly. The evil man got down on all fours and soon discovered the den of mice. He bent over and stuck his eye in the hole. Suddenly, shaaaam! the hole widened and became so large that he could slide his head into it. And what did he discover? The magical kingdom of mice! They were happily busy in their underground. Some were cooking, others weaving, others painting, others music. Still others danced around the dango singing:
“All the cats are gone,
We have the good life!”
But this man was so evil that he began to meow like a cat, meow, meow, meow! Immediately, the mice fled, squealing with fright and…shaaaaaamm! The hole closed abruptly. The trouble is, the bad guy still had his head in it. No matter how much he pulled, pushed, stormed and struggled with all his strength, it was impossible to let go!
All the people of the neighborhood rushed to his cries and they laughed at him for a while. Finally, they helped him get out by digging the ground with their tools. The evil man hurried home…and without saying thank you. The mice never gave him a magic hammer. The good old man, for his part, continued to spend happy days with his wife.
Au pays des longues cuillères
This man had travelled extensively. Throughout his life, he had visited hundreds of real and imagined countries…
One of his most memorable trips was his short visit to the Land of Long Spoons.
He had arrived at the border by chance: on the way from Uvilandia to Paris, there was a small deviation that went towards this country. As he loved to explore, he took this path. The winding road stopped at a huge isolated house. On approaching, he noticed that the house seemed divided into two pavilions: a west wing and an east wing. He parked his car and approached the house. At the door a sign announced:
“Land of Long Spoons: This small country has only two dwellings, named Black and White. To walk through it you have to walk down the corridor to where it divides and turn right if you want to visit the Black, left if it is the white you want to know.”
The man advanced into the corridor, and chance made him turn first to the right. A new corridor of about fifty meters led to a door. From the first steps he received ‘ouch’ and ‘ouille’ from the black room.
For a moment, exclamations of suffering and groans made him hesitate, but he decided to continue. He arrived at the door, opened it and entered. Seated around a huge table were hundreds of people. In the center of the table were arranged the most exquisite dishes that it was possible to imagine and, although all had a spoon allowing them to reach the dishes laid in the center, they were starving! The reason was that the spoons, twice as long as their arms, were attached to their hands. All could therefore serve themselves, but none had the possibility of bringing the food to his mouth.
The situation was so desperate and the cries so heartbreaking that the man turned around and ran out of the room.
He returned to the central branch and took the left corridor that led to the white room. A corridor exactly like the previous one led to an identical door. The only difference was that on the way there were no complaints or lamentations. Arriving at the door, the explorer turned the handle and entered the room.
Hundreds of people were also seated around a table similar to that of the black room. In the center there were also exquisite dishes, and all the people carried a long spoon attached to their hand.
But here no one complained or lamented. No one was starving, because everyone was feeding each other!
The man smiled, turned around and left the white room. When he heard the “click” of the door closing, he suddenly, mysteriously, found himself driving on the road to Paris.