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3.3. Poetry corner.
Read the poem Thanksgiving Day written by L. Maria Child. Decide who tells the story and why the narrator is SO excited. And, by the way, what do we learn about Thanksgiving Day celebrations?
Over the river and through the wood,
To grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barn-yard gate.
We seem to go Extremely slow –
It's so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood –
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!
3.4. Project work: famous grandmothers.
Chris's granny called herself, jokingly, the Kitchen Queen. The grandmother in the photo was a real Queen in her time. In the last thirty years of the XX century the British nation knew her as Queen Mother. She was widely respected and became the most popular member of the Royal family.
Find more information about other famous grandmothers of the world. Use various sources of information and present your findings in class. Last but not least, tell about your own grandmother. She deserves to be remembered, we assure you.
SCHNITZLE, SCHNOTZLE, AND SCHNOOTZLE
I. PRE-READING
1.1. SHARE your experiences of the days of old when you used to read fairy-tales and magic tales. Did you love to do that?
1.2. DISCUSS some of the fairy-tale creatures that are especially popular in the English-speaking culture. Explain this popularity to the best of your ability.
1.3. DECIDE whether the following statement is right: "A good language teacher is a storyteller in the first place."
II. READING
2.1. Understanding the title.
The title of the story, written by Ruth Sawyer, sounds weird. What do you think it means? Is it a rhyme, a magic spell, or something else?
2.2. Reading for pleasure and enrichment.
Read the story and answer the question: Was King of the goblins really fierce? The following words will be useful for better understanding of the events.
Say grace — to say your prayers, usually before a meal
Spurt — a sudden pouring out of liquid or steam
Bulbous – fat, round and unattractive
Thong — a long piece of leather
Comfit — fruit preserved in sugar
Turn cartwheels – to move turning right over throwing your body sideways onto your hands
while bringing your legs over your head
Hoard — hidden wealth
Long ago there lived in one of the valleys in the Austrian Alps a very poor cobbler. His wife had died and left him with three children, all of them little boys — Fritzl, Franzl, and Hansl. They lived in a hut so small there was only room for the cobbler's bench, a hearth for cooking, a big bed full of straw, a table, and some stools. Sometimes the cobbler would mend the Sunday shoes of a farmer, and then there was good goats' milk to drink. Sometimes he would mend the holiday shoes of the baker, and then there was the good long crusty loaf of bread to eat. And 'sometimes he mended the shoes of the butcher, and then there was good meat stew.
When the cobbler gathered the little boys around the table, and they had said their grace, he would laugh and clap his hands and sometimes even dance.
"Ha-ha!" he would shout. "Today we have the good... what? Ah-h...today we eat... Schnitzle, Schnotzle, and Schnootzle!"
With that he would swing the kettle off the hook and fill every bowl brimming full. Ach, those were the good days — the days of having Schnitzle, Schnotzle, and Schnootzle. Of course, the cobbler was making up nonsense and nothing else, but the stew tasted so much better because of the nonsense.
Now, one very cold winter, war came, with workers taking up their guns and leaving mothers and children to care for themselves as best they could. And there was scant money to pay even a poor cobbler for mending shoes.
On the Eve of Christmas the cobbler came home, blowing his whiskers free of icicles, slapping his arms about his big body, trying to put warmth back into it. 'There is good news, children. The soldiers are marching into the village. They'll have boots that need mending. You shall see — tonight I will come home with... what?"
"Schnitzle, Schnotzle, and Schnootzle," they shouted together. Their father pulled his cap far down on his head. "It will be a night to freeze the ears off you," he said. "Now bolt the door after me and climb into the straw bed and pull the quilt over you. And let no one in!"
He was gone. They bolted the door; they climbed into the big bed, putting Hansl, the smallest, in the middle. They pulled up the quilt, such a thin quilt to keep out so much cold! Straight and still and close together they lay, looking up at the little spot of light the fire made on the ceiling, watching their breath go upward in icy spurts. With the going of the sun the wind rose. It roared its wintry breath through the cracks in the walls and under the door. And Fritzl, Franzl, and Hansl drew closer together and shivered.
"Whee... ooh... bang, bang! Whee... ooh... bang, bang!" "Is it the wind or someone knocking?" asked Franzl. "It is the wind," said Fritzl. "Whee... ooh... knock, knock!" "Is it the wind or someone knocking?" asked Hansl. "It is the wind and someone knocking!" said Fritzl, He rolled out of the bed and went to the window. Close to the hut stood a little man no bigger than Hansl. They could hear him calling: "Let me in! I tell you, let me in!" "Oh, don't, don't!" cried Hansl.
"I must," said Fritzl. "He looks very cold." He drew the bolt and into the hut skipped the oddest little man they had ever seen. He had a great peaked cap tied onto his head with deer thongs. He had a round red face out of which stuck a bulbous nose, like a fat plum on a pudding. He had big ears. And his teeth were chattering so hard they made the stools dance. He shook his fist at the three little boys.
"Ach, kept me waiting. Wanted to keep all the good food, all the good fire to yourselves? That is no kind of hospitality."
He looked over at the little bit of a fire on the hearth, making hardly any heat in the hut. He looked at the empty table, not a bowl set or a spoon beside it. He took up the big pot, peered into it, turned it upside down to make sure nothing was clinging to the bottom, set it down with a bang. "So, you have already eaten it all. Greedy boys. But if you have saved no feast for me, you can at least warm me."
With that he climbed into the big straw bed with Franzl and Hansl, with his cap still tied under his chin.
"Roll over, roll over," the little man was shouting at the two in the bed. "Can't you see I have no room? Roll over and give me my half of the quilt."
Fritzl saw that he was pushing his brothers out of the bed.
"They are little, those two," he said. 'There is room for all if we but lie quiet." He started to climb into the bed himself, but the guest went on shouting: "Give me room, give me more quilt. Can't you see I'm cold?" He dug his elbow into the side of skinny little Hansl. Fritzl began to feel angry.
"Sir," he said, "sir, I pray you to be gentle with my little brother. Our father, the cobbler, has gone to mend shoes for the soldiers. When he returns we look for food. So if you will but lie still until he comes, I can promise you..."
The little man rolled over and stuck his elbow into Fritzl's ribs.
"Promise -promise. What good is a promise? Come get out of bed and give me your place." He drew up his knees, put his feet in the middle of Fritzl's back, and pushed with a great strength. The next moment the boy was spinning across the room.
"There you go," roared the little man after him. "If you must keep warm, turn cartwheels, turn them fast."
For a moment Fritzl stood sullenly by the small speck of fire. He felt bruised and very angry. He looked over at the bed. Sure enough, the greedy little man had rolled himself up in the quilt leaving only a short corner of it for the two younger boys.
Brrr... it was cold! Before he knew it, Fritzl was doing as he had been told, turning cartwheels around the room. He had rounded the table and was coming toward the bed when — plop! Plop — plop — plop! Things were falling out of his pockets every time his feet swung high over his head. Plop — plop — plop! In a circle about the room, Fritzl had left behind a golden trail of oranges. Such oranges — big as two fists! And sprinkled everywhere between were comfits wrapped in gold and silver paper. Fritzl stood and gaped at them. "Here, you, get out and keep warm yourself!" shouted the little man as he dug Franzl in the ribs. "Cartwheels for you, boy!"
And the next minute Franzl was whirling in cartwheels about the room. Plop — plop — plop — things were dropping out of his pockets: Christmas buns, Christmas cookies covered with icing, with plums, with anise and caraway seeds.
The little man was digging Hansl now in the ribs. "Lazy boy, greedy boy. Think you can have the bed to yourself now? I'll have it! Out you go!" and he put his feet against the littlest boy's back and pushed him onto the floor. "Cartwheels..." he began; but Fritzl, forgetting his amazement at what was happening, shouted: "But, sir, he is too little. He cannot turn..."
"Hold him up in the comer, then. Take a leg, each of you, and be quick about it."
So angry did the little man seem that Fritzl and Franzl hurried their little brother over to the chimney corner, stood him on his head, and each held a leg. What happened then! Whack — whack — whick-ety-whack! Whack — whack — whickety-whack! Pelting the floor like hail against the roof came silver and gold pieces, all pouring out of Hansl's pockets.
Fritzl began to shout, Franzl began to dance. Hansl began to shout: "Let me down, let me down!" When they did, the three little boys danced around the pile, taking hands, singing "Tra-la-la," and "Fiddle-de-dee," and "Ting-a-ling-a-ling," until their breath was gone and they could dance no longer. They looked over at the bed, but the little man had gone.
The three little boys were gathering up the things on the floor when their father came stamping and puffing through the door. He had brought bread, he had brought milk, and he had brought meat for the good stew — and noodles.
Such a wonder, such a clapping of hands, such a singing as they worked to get ready the Christmas feast! Fritzl began the story about their Christmas guest; Franzl told it mid-through; but little Hansl finished, making his brothers stand him in the corner again on his head to show j ust how it was that all the silver and gold had tumbled out of his pockets.
"We are the lucky ones," said the cobbler. "Always I thought it was just a tale the grandfathers told the children. The saying goes that Lau rin, king of the goblins, comes every year at Christmas to one hut — one family — to play his tricks and share his treasure hoard."
"He was a very ugly little man," said Hansl. "He dug us in our ribs and took all the bed for himself."
"That was the king — that is the way he plays at being fierce. Say your graces now, and draw up the stools. Ah-h... what have we to eat?"
The little boys shouted the answer all together: "Schnitzle — Schnotzle — and Schnootzle!"
2.3. True or false?
1. The cobbler had a steady income and was able to provide for the family.
2. The cobbler knew enough magic to turn every meal into a feast.
3. On Christmas Eve the cobbler left his children behind in the house.
4. The night visitor looked very weird indeed.
5. The boys were ready to share everything with the guest.
6. The guest seemed to be very well-behaved and gentle.
7. The children were rewarded for their kindness.
2.4. Points of view.
Explain what they meant by saying so.
"Today we have the good... what? Ah-h... today we eat... Schnitzle, Schnotzle, and Schnootzle!"
"Ach, kept me waiting. Wanted to keep all the good food, all the good fire to yourselves? That is no kind of hospitality."
"Promise-promise. What good is a promise? Come get out of bed and give me your place."
"We are the lucky ones,"
"That was the king — that is the way he plays at being fierce.
2.5. Sounds in focus.
The tale you have read is full of motion and sound. Give equivalents in your native language to the following verbs denoting sounds. Make your own verbs imitating various sounds.
E.g. "Whee... ooh... bang, bang! Whee... ooh... bang, bang!"
Russian: "У-y-y!...O-o!.. Бум-бум!"
1. "Whee... ooh... knock, knock!"
2. He had rounded the table when — plop! Plop — plop —plop!
3. What happened then! Whack — whack — whickety-whack!
2.6. Storing vocabulary.
Fill in the gaps using the words given below.
1. When are you going to... that light in the hall?
2. The boy paid... consideration to his father's warning.
3. The prisoners were surrounded by armed guards and... dogs.
4. Even as a kid he'd never... his toys with his playmates.
5. Despite his friends' attempts to cheer him up the boy looked... around.
6. The bed looked lovely when covered with a multi-coloured....
7. Heavy rain and occasional... ruined the flowerbeds.
Choose from: scant, quilt, sullenly, fierce, hail, share, mend.
2.7. Grammar in focus.
Countable or uncountable? Choose the correct variant.
1. In the cobbler's hut there was (a room / room) for very little furniture.
2. There seems to be (a hair / hair) in my cooking.
3. I bought (a paper / paper) to read during the trip.
4. There is (a wood / wood) on the other bank of the river.
5. I can see (a light / light) in the window. Someone's home.
6. (A noise / noise) always annoys me very much.
2.8. Magic creatures quiz.
As you remember, the kids in the story were visited by the King of Goblins. Mythology knows many more creatures; each of them has quite an original character. Learn who's who in the fairy world by matching the names with their descriptions.
| Banshee | A small creature with pointed ears |
| Brownie | A creature who belongs to Irish mythology |
| Dwarf | A smallish good-natured fairy |
| Elf | A creature looking like a very small/large person |
| Leprechaun | A creature who looks like a very short man |
| Troll | A person who can turn into a wolf |
| Werewolf | A little playful spirit with a tail and horns |
III. POST-READING
3.1. Feelings.
Strangers in the night knocking on people's doors can be unwelcome guests. Describe how people would normally react when hearing someone banging on their door in the middle of the night, dark and tempestuous. Tell a hair-raising story!
e.g. Dark and tempestuous was the night. I was sitting alone (!) in the hall of my ancient castle (!!) when suddenly...
3.2. Dreams, dreams, dreams...
If King of Goblins (or Dwarves, or Elves, or Trolls) came and said to you, "Now that you are such a great student of English, I will grant any wish of yours connected with learning. Make your wish quickly!" What would you wish?
3.3. Poetry corner.
Read the following poem written by Walter de la Mare and say if you feel the atmosphere the author creates. By the way, how does he manage to do that?
SOME ONE
Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Some one came knocking,
I'm sure — sure — sure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But naught there was a-stirring
In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dewdrops fall,"
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all.
A TASTE OF HAPPINESS
I. PRE-READING
1.1. SHARE your ideas about meals and moods. Do you think there might be a connection between the two? How strong a connection?
1.2. DISCUSS the saying: "We eat to live, not live to eat." Do you think it was invented by the hungry or vice versa?
1.3. SHARE your recollections of the occasion when a delicious (or disgusting) meal helped you feel better (or worse).
II. READING
2.1. Understanding the title.
The title of the story written by Wayne Myers sounds self-contradictory: one cannot taste (or smell, or touch) happiness. Does the title suggest we should try to do that?
2.2. Reading for pleasure and enrichment..
Read and answer the following question: Which will be the name of that day in the Walsh family chronicle — Grasshoppers Day, Lost Crops Day, or Unexpected Feast Day? The following words will be useful for better understanding of the events.
Hand-me-down — clothing used by one family member, and then another one
Mite — a little
Tend — to look after
Horde — a large crowd moving in a uncontrolled way noisy and
Spirit from — to remove in a secret or mysterious way
Foam — to make a mass of small bubbles
Mope — to feel sorry for oneself
More than anything else in the world, Anna wanted a new dress. Anna was supposed to be sound asleep, like her sister Kitty beside her. But on long winter nights she often lay awake thinking... or wishing.
If just once she could have something new, not another hand-me-down!
Mary.-their grown-up sister, had once told her, "Wish on a shooting star, and your wish will come true!"
Silently Anna crept out of bed and went to the window. Oh, for a shooting star! She heard Mother's voice from the kitchen below.
"Tom, we need a cash crop this summer. You and Jim work so hard already, I hate to ask."
Anna knew that ever since Pa died and her brother Tom had taken over, things had gone from bad to worse. Two years running, the Missouri River had flooded their fields. Last year it washed away some of their best land. Tom did his best. They had enough to eat, but never any money left for something new-like dress material.
"Ma, we'll plant you some cabbages," Anna heard Tom say. "Anna and Kitty can help you weed and tend them. Cabbages will bring in cash for sure."
As soon as the frost was past, Tom and Jim plowed a piece of ground near the house. Mother Walsh and the girls planted the seeds. Spring rains, sunshine, and endless weeding helped the seeds to sprout and grow, and soon the field was filled with plants.
One day Anna asked her mother if she could go into town with her. She knew that while Ma was buying provisions, she could edge down the counter of O'Neil's General Store to inspect the bolts of dress material. She might find something pretty.
"Ma, did you see this beautiful blue print?"
Frowning, her mother came over and fingered the cloth.
"Anna, you know we don't have any money for new clothes." Anna could feel her cheeks getting hot. Mother Walsh looked away, then back at her daughter.
"Maybe... just maybe, mind you!... if our cabbages do well enough, we might look at material together. But I can't promise."
After that Anna prayed nightly for the cabbages. Hot, steamy weather hit south- eastern Dakota Territory and hung on for weeks. The old men who sat in front of O'Neil's store talked about nothing else, until the day someone reported a cloud of grasshoppers over in Dixon County.
At the farm, Anna and Kitty stayed close to the house because of the heat. They pestered Ma for something to do.
"Anna, you take Kitty and play under the apple tree where it's a mite cooler!"
"Come on. Kitty! Let's play make-believe." Anna was tired of her sister, but she knew Mother meant business. While crossing the yard, she checked the cabbages and smiled to herself. Each stalk held a big cabbage wrapped inside its bonnet of blue leaves.
As the girls wandered down to the shady side of the barn, Tom passed them on his way to the house.
"What's that dark cloud, Tom?" Mother asked as he came into the kitchen. "Suppose there's a prairie fire?"
"Must be some fool plowin'."
"Plowing in this heat? I don't believe it!"
Moments later Anna flew into the kitchen, Kitty at her heels. They opened their fists.
"Ma! Ma! Look!"
"They're comin' up from the river! Lots and lots of grasshoppers!"
The grownups rushed outside. Grasshoppers were everywhere. "Anna, run and find Jim!" cried their mother. "It's' hoppers, all right. Oh, Tom, my beautiful cabbages!"
By the time Anna got back with Jim, grasshoppers were arriving in hordes. And the cloud, black as thunder, was still a mile downriver.
"Children! Hurry!" Mother Walsh cried. "Get every blanket you can find! We're going to cover the cabbages." Anna couldn't believe her ears.
"Ma, right off the beds?"
"Yes, child, off the beds! Hurry!"
Mother Walsh ran inside and darted out again, arms loaded. She began to lay a bumpy carpet of quilts on top of the cabbages. Back and forth they ran. As the dark cloud neared, they abandoned their colorful, crazy-quilt field. Their frantic mother grabbed and shoved the last child inside.
Hot as it was, Jim ran to shut all the windows. Tom pushed old rags under the doors. Every crack was stuffed with old socks, old pants, anything to keep the grasshoppers out.
Suddenly it was dark. Outside grasshoppers were everywhere. They clung to the windows. No one could see through their squirming bodies. The stifling heat worsened. Anna felt sick. Mother Walsh sat in Pa's rocker. "Lord, deliver us!" she prayed.
Anna and Kitty climbed onto her lap. Jim, big as he was, leaned near her, close to tears. Tom put his hand on her shoulder. No one said a word for a long time.
Well, that's the end of the cabbages, Anna thought, and my new dress, too!
Jim finally broke the silence.
"Ma, they're starting to fly off!"
Millions became thousands, then thousands became hundreds. For the most part they were gone, every green leaf shredded in their path. The family tore outside to inspect the damage. Across the field the many-hued quilts and blankets still showed the bumps of cabbage plants. Each bump was clearly visible, row after row.
"Ma!" Jim was all smiles. "I think the blankets saved the cabbages."
Everyone watched Mother Walsh as she came out to the fence. "I don't think so, children... but, we'll see. Tom, take off the covers!"
"Oh...oh-oh-oh!"
They groaned as they lifted the blankets. Each quilt hid the same sorry sight.
The bumps were made by the bare stocks of the cabbage plants. Every single cabbage had been eaten down to the stem. The grasshoppers were gone, and it felt even hotter. The girls moped in the shade of the side porch. The apple tree stood naked, except for a few shredded leaves. Anna kept eyeing the 'hopper-stripped field. She had counted on those cabbages. She and her ma had both counted on them.
"Well, Anna, are you feeling as bad as I do?" Mother Walsh hugged Anna tightly. "You'll get your new dress sometime —
I promise."
Anna couldn't understand it. The cabbages were gone, and the hoped-for cash. Yet Mother was humming one of her gay Irish songs. How could she be happy when things were so bad?
"The way 1 see it," Mother said, answering her thoughts, "is that whenever things get to the worst, it's time to do something special to chase the blues away. Will you help?"
"I don't know what to do."
Anna wondered what could ever make up for all they had lost.
"Tell Jim to fetch a bucket of water. Tell him to pump 'til it comes up cold. Then hurry back and help me."
The message delivered, Anna hurried back', still puzzled.
"Get out the good linen and set the table. Use the pretty little cake plates, the ones from Aunt Emma. And the good glasses."
Mother Walsh disappeared into the pantry as Kitty helped Anna
set the places.
"Where is that boy with the water?" Mother wiped off a jar of grape juice. She held it up to the window, and Anna could see its rich purple glow. She watched Mother pour the thick, foaming liquid into her best pitcher.
Jim delivered a full bucket of water to the little sink. Ma tested its coldness, sipping from the dipper. Then she ladled out just enough to thin the rich juice and make it cold. The smell of grapes filled the
kitchen.
"Come along, children! Jim, see if you can locate Tom. I wish Mary weren't away working. Then she could share our surprise, too."
Tom and Jim came in.
"Ma, is this a party... today?"
Tom grinned a boyish grin.
"Yes, Tom. We've stored enough food in the root cellar and pantry to carry us through the winter, cabbages or no cabbages. But, for today, I figure we all need a little taste of happiness." As they sat down, Anna saw Mother uncover a plate of sugar cookies spirited from some secret hiding place. Anna ate her cookie slowly, savoring the sweet, lemony treat. Kitty gobbled hers down. Then she drank deeply of the cool juice and came up for air with a purple face.
"Kitty's got a mustache! Kitty's got a mustache!" Jim began to tease her, but Mother raised her hand, and he stopped. Anna felt better. She looked around at the others, eating and laughing. Then at Mother, who smiled back at her.
"Anna, that's the last we'll see of 'hoppers for years. Next spring let's try watermelons. They're always a good cash crop."
Now I know why she was humming before, thought Anna. Ma knew just how to get us over being sad!
2.3. True of false?
1. Mother wouldn't buy a new dress for Anna because she didn't deserve one.
2. Everybody on the farm did their share of work.
3. Anna was a greedy person thoughtful only of her own needs.
4. The hordes of grasshoppers were a real disaster for the family.
5. Mother Walsh used every trick she knew to save the harvest.
6. The disaster was really great, but it wasn't the end of the world.
7. Anna continued hoping against hope for a new dress.
2.4. Points of view.
Remember the exact verbs introducing the following statements.
Choose from: smile, warn, pray, moan, wonder, explain, argue, order, shout.
1. Anna: "I wish to have something of my own, something new."
2. Mother: "We don't have any money for new clothes."
3. Anna: "Our cabbages are gone and so is my new dress."
4. Anna: "How can Mum be happy when things are so bad?"
5. Mother: "Whenever things come to their worst it's time to do something special to chase the blues away."
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