Y05W28RC Empathy Check-In

This week, you are thinking about how kindness and respect can shape what happens next. In this reading, you will follow a short classic story and notice what it teaches about feelings, choices and help. Keep an eye on how one gentle action can change everything.

Canonical classroom classics — Fable and parable

A fable or parable is a short story that teaches a lesson about how people should think or act. Writers use this kind of story to pass on wisdom in a simple, memorable way. You will often find a few clear characters, one important event, a problem that changes and a final lesson or moral. Sometimes the characters are animals, but the message is really about human behaviour and choices. As you read, you should follow what happens, notice why the characters act as they do and think about the lesson the story leaves behind.

Before You Read

  • Read the title and the context box carefully so you know this is an old teaching story with a lesson.
  • Think about how someone who seems small or quiet can still matter in an important moment.
  • Get ready to read a short narrative that leads to one clear moral at the end.

While You Read

  • Follow the order of events closely so you can see how the problem changes.
  • Pay attention to what each character says and does, because those choices reveal feelings and motives.
  • Use the context box and the moral line as reading aids, since they help frame the story’s purpose.
  • If a character’s reaction changes, pause and notice what caused that shift.

Read With Purpose

  • Notice the lesson the story teaches about kindness and respect.
  • Pay attention to how the lion and the mouse might be feeling at different moments.
  • Watch for how one action of mercy leads to a different response later.

Now read

The fable

~2 min read · ~239 words

The Lion and the Mouse (Aesop)

Context This is a well-known fable from Aesop, a storyteller from long ago. Fables are short stories that teach a lesson.

One warm afternoon, a great lion lay sleeping in the shade. His paws were stretched out, and his tail rested in the dust. A small mouse came ‘wandering’ through the grass and, without meaning to, ran across the lion’s nose.

The lion woke with a sudden ‘roar’ and placed one heavy paw over the mouse. The tiny creature trembled. ‘Please let me go,’ the mouse ‘pleaded’. ‘I did not mean to disturb you. One day I may help you.’

The lion almost laughed at the thought. How could such a little animal help a mighty lion? Yet he was in a generous mood, so he lifted his paw and let the mouse hurry away.

Not many days later, the lion was caught in a hunter’s ‘net’. He pulled and twisted, but the ropes held fast. His angry roars rolled through the trees.

The mouse heard the sound and hurried back. Seeing the lion trapped, the mouse set to work at once. With tiny sharp teeth, it ‘gnawed’ through the ropes, strand by strand, until the net fell loose.

The lion stepped free and looked down at the small mouse with new respect.

‘You were right,’ he said. ‘Even a little friend can give great help.’

Moral Kindness is never wasted, and even the small may help the strong.

Check your vocabulary knowledge

wandering v.
moving without a clear path
roar n.
a very loud animal sound
pleaded v.
begged in an urgent way
net n.
ropes tied together to catch something
gnawed v.
chewed again and again