Introduction
When the King of Jungle let a lippy little mouse go, he had no idea that he was saving his own life too.
A LION who had caught a mouse was on the point of eating it, when the little rascal spoke up. ‘Your proper prey is deer’ he squeaked crossly, ‘and creatures with horns. A meal of mouse would be no more than a grain of salt on your lips.’
The lion found him amusing, and let him go.
As fate would have it, that same day the lion fell into a pit dug by a hunter, and became entangled in a net. He let out a great roar, and struggled with all his might, but the cords held him fast.
By and by, he heard a soft scratching sound. There was the little mouse, gnawing on the ropes. At last the cords fell away, and the mighty lion could scramble out into the light.
And the moral of that is, that it is well worth taking care of the weak among us, even when we have no thought of return.
Précis
A lion was on the point of eating a mouse, but thought better of it. Later, the lion got caught in a trap, and the grateful mouse gnawed through the ropes. So you never know when your acts of kindness will repay you. (43 / 60 words)
A lion was on the point of eating a mouse, but thought better of it. Later, the lion got caught in a trap, and the grateful mouse gnawed through the ropes. So you never know when your acts of kindness will repay you.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 40 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, if, just, not, until, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Become. Grain. Well.
2 Even. Hold. Spoke.
3 Creature. Fall. Same.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
blsh (5)
abolish. blueish. bluish. blush. bolshie.
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Email Support.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
