1. ASManager2.zip Driver
2. C_FOX.txt File Contents

C_FOX.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >

Fox Flow

Picture that flowing stream of ideas that we called "fluency" in an earlier activity. Many stories you know (ones you liked to hear and have read to you when you were younger) were probably written that way; the ideas bubbled and gurgled, but they flowed smoothly -- the way a stream flows.

You're going to see several different sentence styles in the activities ahead. Not all of them will be fluent, and you'll be asked to improve them. That's what an editor does.

First, here is a story that is full of clever characters, bubbling ideas, and smooth flowing sentences. It is one of Aesop's fables, stories told by a slave in ancient Greece. A fable generally has a moral -- a kind of lesson. Think about what the moral might be as you read the fable.

The Cat and the Fox

A cat and a fox were off on a trip together. They got on very well until one day the fox started boasting.

"I am far more clever than you," he said. "Why, I have a whole bagful of tricks."

"That may be," replied the cat. "I admit that I have only one trick, but I am willing to bet it is worth a dozen of yours."

Just as he said this, a hunting horn sounded close by, and a pack of hunting dogs came over the hill. The cat at once ran up a tree. "This is my trick," he called down to the fox. "Now let's see yours."

The fox had so many plans of escape that he didn't know which one to choose. So he tried one after another. He ran in zigzags. Then he doubled back on his tracks, and he ran into one end of a hollow log and out at the other. Finally he dived into burrow after burrow, but the dogs saw through all his tricks. They kept right at his heels, and at last they caught him.

The cat looked down from his tree branch and smiled.

The End

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Well, foxes are supposed to be clever, but maybe the cat knew something the fox didn't.

Talk with your writing partners about the moral of the story "The Cat and the Fox." Scroll back and read it again if you wish. Let each partner write the moral of the story in his or her own words at the < > markers below.

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Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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There are many ways to say the same thing. Does the moral that you wrote mean the same as any of the statements below?

Too many plans spoil the escape.

One sure plan is worth a dozen that aren't.

Cats have more escapes than foxes do.

Using one thing you know about is better than guessing at many.


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A scribe who heard a story wrote it down from memory. But he didn't know about sentence combining. Read the scribe's version below and then edit the copy below it.

The Scribe's Fable:

"I admit that I have only one trick. I am willing to bet something. I bet it's worth a dozen of yours." He said this. A hunting horn sounded close by. A pack of dogs came there. They were hunting dogs. They came over the hill.

Now edit the scribe's version, combining sentences so the ideas flow.

Copy to Edit:

"I admit that I have only one trick. I am willing to bet something. I bet it's worth a dozen of yours." He said this. A hunting horn sounded close by. A pack of dogs came there. They were hunting dogs. They came over the hill.


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Edit these sentences, too. The scribe missed several chances to connect ideas and make them flow.

The Scribe's Fable:

The fox had many plans. The plans were for escape. He didn't know which one to choose. He tried one after another. The dogs saw through all his tricks. They kept right at his heels. At last they caught him.

Copy to Edit:

The fox had many plans. The plans were for escape. He didn't know which one to choose. He tried one after another. The dogs saw through all his tricks. They kept right at his heels. At last they caught him.


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Remember how the fable ended?

The cat looked down . . . and smiled.

Imagine how smug the cat must have felt at this point. How might he have looked and behaved? What more might he have said to the fox?

Add your ideas to this simple sentence to make the final scene come alive for the reader.

The cat looked down . . . and smiled. < >


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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end of activity
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