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

D_SLEEK.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

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

Think Sleek

In an earlier activity, you may have met Aesop's fox in a tight spot with a cat. Here the fox meets up with a stork. Has he learned anything, you wonder? Is the stork a good match for him? Let's find out.

The Fox and the Stork

One day a fox invited a stork to have dinner with him, and the stork accepted. The fox, who enjoyed some reputation as a practical joker, provided nothing for dinner but some thin soup in a shallow dish. This the fox lapped up very readily while the stork, unable to gain a mouthful with her long bill, was as hungry at the end of the dinner as when she began.

As they were parting, the fox professed his regret that his guest had eaten so sparingly, and feared that the dish was not seasoned to her satisfaction. The stork replied: "Please do not apologize, friend fox, I have had the most interesting evening. Will you not do me the honor one week hence to return the visit and dine with me?"

True to his appointment the fox arrived, and the stork ordered the dinner to be brought in. But when it was served up, the fox found to his dismay that it was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth. The stork readily thrust her long bill into the jar and enjoyed her dinner, while the fox was obliged to content himself with licking the neck of the jar. As the fox said good-bye with as much grace as he could muster, the stork said dryly: "I hope you do not expect an apology for the dinner."

The End


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Foiled again! The fox probably had some words to say, or did he? At the angle brackets below, add a few lines to the story. Think of what the fox would do, or say, to the stork and how his face would look at the story's end.

Ending the Story:

<  >


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

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Now, think about the fable again. Can you explain what the moral is? Who tricked whom? Who got the last laugh? Talk it over with your writing partners. Let each partner state the moral in his or her own words below.

<  >

<  >

<  >


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Have you ever had experience with practical jokes? Who were you like, the fox or the stork?

Talk about practical joke experiences with your writing partners. Choose one of the experiences and work together to write it down.

Once I experienced a practical joke. <  >


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The scribe we met in the earlier activities thinks he now knows everything about sentences! He thinks sentence combining means making sentences as long as possible! What he produced are overstuffed sentences, as you will see. Think sleek instead of stuffed, and try to slim down the scribe's work. You can delete repetitious words, add connecting words, change the form of words, or add punctuation and capitalization to shape new sentences. The only rule is: keep all the important ideas.

Read what the scribe wrote below. Then, edit his work.

The Scribe's Fable:

So then true to his appointment the fox arrived, and so the stork ordered the dinner to be brought in, and when it was served up, the fox found to his dismay that it was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth which the stork readily thrust her long bill into -- the jar, that is -- and enjoyed her dinner, while the fox was obliged to content himself with licking the neck of the jar and so as the fox said good-bye with as much grace as he could muster, the stork said dryly: "I hope you do not expect an apology for the dinner."

Copy to Edit:

So then true to his appointment the fox arrived, and so the stork ordered the dinner to be brought in, and when it was served up, the fox found to his dismay that it was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth which the stork readily thrust her long bill into -- the jar, that is -- and enjoyed her dinner, while the fox was obliged to content himself with licking the neck of the jar and so as the fox said good-bye with as much grace as he could muster, the stork said dryly: "I hope you do not expect an apology for the dinner."


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Now you know something about Aesop's fox, since you've met him in two fables. Write a character description of him. Imagine you're the director of a play. You want the actor playing the fox to get all the details right and to make the fox come alive.

Write some notes first. Use descriptive words to create pictures in the reader's mind for the fox's:

costume: <  >

makeup: <  >

movements: <  >

voice: <  >

words and way of speaking: <  >

favorite friends: <  >

hobbies and entertainment: <  >

Copy your notes to the angle brackets below and turn them into sleek sentences. Add, move, delete, or change words or punctuation.

The Fox: <  >


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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