5 minute read
The Snake in the Cup
Story 2
46
(Adapted from a traditional Chinese fable)
Correlated with Unit 5 61
Glossary
relative: (n.) family member. Many, many years ago, a man called Le Guang lived in Ancient China. He was a relative of the emperor and was very, very rich. He lived in a beautiful house.
Beats!
Le Guang’s house was beautiful and he had many beautiful things in it.
There were many paintings and a lot of beautiful vases, full of sweet smelling flowers. Statues of dragons guarded every room. Le Guang wore beautiful jade jewelry, and he always carried and exotic fan. Glossary
jade: (n.) a hard green precious stone.
Correlated with Unit 5 63
Le Guang was a kind man, and he had a lot of friends. He liked to invite his friends to parties in his beautiful house. His best friend was a man called Yan Shun.
One morning Le Guang woke up and thought “Today I am going to invite Yan Shun to come and drink wine with me.”
So, he wrote a message and sent it to Yan Shun’s house.
Beats!
It was a lovely sunny day, and Yan Shun was happy to visit his friend Le Guang.
“Come in, my friend,” said Le Guang. “Come in and sit down.” He led Yan Shun to a small table in his splendid house.
Yan Shun and Le Guang sat down at the table on cushions on the floor, and Le Guang served his friend wine in a beautiful drinking cup. Glossary
cushions: (n.) a pillow stuffed with soft material used for sitting.
Correlated with Unit 5 65
Yan Shun picked up the beautiful drinking cup and looked at the wine. Suddenly he turned very white. He dropped the beautiful drinking cup on the floor and jumped up! “I’m sorry, my friend,” he said. “I can’t drink your wine.”
Le Guang was very worried. “Are you sick?” he asked.
“Yes…..Yes…..” said Yan Shun, and ran out of Le Guang’s house and went home.
Beats!
Days passed. But Yan Shun didn’t come to visit his friend Le Guang again. Le Guang was very worried.
After two weeks, he sent another message to his friend’s house:
At first there was no answer. Then, a messenger came with an answer from Yan Shun.
Correlated with Unit 5 67
Glossary
puzzle: (n.) to be or feel confused about something you can't understand. Le Guang was very puzzled. “Please prepare tea for my friend, Yan Shun,” he told his servants. “He’s very sick, and he can’t drink wine.”
So, the servants prepared tea for Yan Shun.
Yan Shun arrived. He was still very white in the face, and looked nervous and sick.
“What’s the matter my dear friend?” asked Le Guang.
Correlated with Unit 5 69
“I’m sick,” said Yan Shun. “It was the snake,” he said.
“What snake?” asked Le Guang surprised.
“The snake in the drinking cup,” said Yan Shun.
Beats!
“That’s impossible, my friend,” said Le Guang. “There are no snakes in my house!”
“There was a red snake in my wine,” Yan Shun insisted. “It was at the bottom of my drinking cup. I saw it there! It made me sick!” Glossary
bottom: (n.) the lowest or deepest part of an object.
Le Guang looked around his beautiful room. Then he saw it! There was a snake. But it wasn’t a real snake! There was a snake on a vase on a shelf!
Correlated with Unit 5 71
Le Guang started to think. “Was it a sunny day when you saw the snake in your drinking cup, Yan Shun?” he asked suddenly.
“Yes, it was,” he said. “It was a lovely, sunny day.” Answered Yan Shun.
“Ah!” said Le Guang. “Stop drinking that tea, my friend. I’m going to give you some wine.”
“But…..” Yan Shun started to say. But Le Guang wasn’t listening. He gave his friend a drinking cup full of red wine.
Beats!
Yan Shun looked at the wine. “Oh no!” he said. “Look! I was right! There is a snake in the wine. There’s a red snake in this drinking cup of wine, too!”
And he put the drinking cup down very quickly.
Correlated with Unit 5 73
“But it isn’t a real snake,” said Le Guang. It’s the reflection of a snake. The sun’s shining on the snake on that vase. You can see the reflection of the snake on the vase in your wine, my friend.” “But that snake is black,” protested Yan Shun. “The snake in the wine is red, and it’s moving!” “The wine is red,” explained Le Guang. “And your hand is moving the drinking cup! The snake isn’t moving. The reflection is. Drink your wine, my friend.” People in China tell this fable from one generation to the next one because of the moral. The moral of the fable is: ‘Don’t be suspicious.
Think, before you jump to conclusions!’
Go to page 112 in your Activity book and discuss your thoughts about trust and friendship with your group. Beats!
