44 THE ANIMALS THAT FOUND A HOME

I

Once upon a time there was a ram that was being fed so that he would become fat.

One day when the man brought him food he said, “Eat all you want, poor ram. You will not be here long. Soon you will be mutton.”

“I think I shall have something to say about that, ”said the ram, “I would rather be ram than mutton.”

So he ate all the food he could. Then he put his head down and ran against the door. He struck it with his horns, and it flew open.

“Now I am free! ”said the ram, “I will find my friend, the pig.”

The pig was in the pen, eating from a pail full of corn. He looked very fat.

“Good-day, and thanks for your kindness last time we met, ”said the ram to the pig.

“Good-day, and thanks to you, ”said the pig, “I am very glad to see you.”

“Do you know why they feed you so well? ”asked the ram.

“No, ”said the pig; “can you tell me? ”

“Well, eat all you want now, poor pig. You will not be here long. Soon you will be pork.”said the ram.

“I think I shall have something to say about that, ”said the pig, “I would rather be pig than pork.”

“Then come with me, ”said the ram, “We will go to the woods and build a house and live by ourselves.”

“Very well, ”said the pig, “This is a good time to start.”

When they had gone a little way, they met a goose. The goose was very fat, too. She was eating meal as fast as she could.

“Good-day, and thanks for your kindness last time we met.”said the ram.

“Good-day, and thanks to you.”said the goose.

“Do you know why they feed you so well? ”asked the ram.

“No, ”said the goose, “can you tell me? ”

“Well, eat all you want now, poor goose. Soon you will be a roasted goose.”

“I think I shall have something to say about that, ”said the goose, “I would rather be a live goose than a roasted goose. Where are you going? ”

“We are going to the woods to build a house.”said the ram.

“Let me go with you. I will help you.”said the goose.

“Gabbling and quacking will not build a house, ”said the pig, “What can you do? ”

“I can gather moss and fill the cracks.”said the goose.

“Well, you may come with us, ”said the pig, “I like to be warm.”

When they had gone a little farther, they saw a cock. He was eating grain.

“Good-day, and thanks for your kindness last time we met.”said the ram.

“Good-day, and thanks to you.”said the cock.

“Do you know why they feed you so well? ”asked the ram.

“No, ”said the cock, “can you tell me? ”

“Well, eat all you want now, poor cock. Soon you will be soup.”

“I think I shall have something to say about that, ”said the cock, “I would rather be a cock than soup. Where are you and the pig and the goose going? ”

“We are going to the woods to build a house.”said the ram.

“May I go with you? ”said the cock, “I will help you to build your house.”

“Flapping and crowing will not build a house, ”said the pig,“What can you do? ”

“I am early to rise and early to crow, ”said the cock, “I can wake you early in the morning.”

“You may go with us, ”said the pig, “It is hard for me to wake up. You may come and crow for us.

“Early to rise,

Makes you wealthy and wise.”

II

So they all set off to the woods together and built the house.

The ram and the pig were strong. They did the hard work. The goose gathered moss and filled the cracks. The cock crowed to get them up early.

Soon the house was ready. The roof was covered with bark, and they had a snug little home. They were very happy together.

Two hungry wolves lived in the woods nearby. When they first saw the little house, one of them said, “We have neighbours. I wonder what they are like.”

“I will go to see, ”said the other, “Maybe I can get some breakfast.”He went to the little house, opened the door, and walked in.

Now the ram and his friends had been expecting the wolf. They knew what kind of breakfast he liked.

As soon as he came in, the ram ran against him and struck him with his strong horns. The pig snapped and bit. The goose nipped and pecked. The cock flew up to the housetop and crowed.

They threw the wolf out of the house. He ran back to his home as fast as he could go.

“How do you like our new neighbours? ”asked the other wolf.

“Our neighbours! ”cried the wolf, “Nice neighbours they are! A great giant came and struck me with his head.

“Then a troll tried to eat me up, while a witch with scissors snipped off bits of my toes, and someone on the roof called out, ‘Throw him up to me! Throw him up to me! ’You may be sure that I will never go to that house again.”

So the wolves kept away, and the ram and his friends were happy in the little home, and ate all they wanted.

“Now we can get as fat as we please.”said the pig.

(Old Norse Tale)

Word list

mutton: meat from a ram

gabbling: talking strangely

wealthy: rich

snug: comfortable

nipped: bit lightly

snipped: cut

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What is the setting at the beginning of the story? How do you know?

2) Why did the man want the ram to get fat?

3) Why doesn't the ram want to be mutton?

4) How did the ram escape?

5) What other characters left with the ram?

6) Why did the animals go to the woods to build a house?

B) Problem and solution—In your own words, write the problem and solution for this story. Then draw what you think the inside of the animals' house looked like.

1) The problem in the story is ___________________________________________________________________________________________________.

2) The solution is ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

3) Picture:

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The ram escaped because he didn't want to be eaten.

2) _____ The wolf killed the goose.

3) _____ The animals were happy in their new home.

4) _____ The pig helped the ram build the house.

5) _____ The wolves often visited the animals at their house.