Why the Mole
Lives Underground
Level: TBD
Aims: reading comprehension,
dictionary lookup skills, recitation skills, reading in context, exposure to
American culture
Time: 90 mins
Materials: photocopies of
the story, dictionary
Introduction: Why the Mole Lives Underground is a tale from
the Cherokee Indian tribe in
Have the
students read the story silently for 10 minutes, using their dictionaries.
Then, go around the classroom, having students recite paragraphs from the text
aloud. Work on fluency in recitation. Next, go through Text of the Story with
Notes, and follow this with Discussion Questions.
Text
of the Story
Why the Mole Lives Underground (Cherokee)
A man was in love with a
woman who disliked him and wanted nothing to do with him. He tried every way to
win her favor, but with no success. As last he grew discouraged and made himself
sick thinking about it.
Mole came along, and finding the man so low in his mind, asked what the trouble
was. The man told him the whole story, and when he had finished, the Mole said:
"I can help. Not only will she like you, but she'll come to you of her own
free will."
That night burrowing underground to the place where the girl was in bed asleep,
Mole took out her heart. He came back by the same way and gave the heart to the
discouraged lover, who couldn't see it even when it was in his hand. "There,"
said Mole. "Swallow it, and she will be so drawn to you that she has to
come."
The man swallowed the heart, and when the girl woke up she somehow thought of
him at once. She felt a strange desire to be with him, to go to him that
minute. She couldn't understand it, because she had always disliked him, now
the feelings grew so strong she was compelled to find the man and tell him that
she loved him and wanted to be his wife. And so they were married.
All those who knew them both were surprised and wondered how it had come about.
When they found out it was the work of Mole, whom they had always thought too
insignificant to notice, they were jealous and threatened to kill him. That's
why Mole hid under the ground and still doesn't dare to come up.
Text of the Story with
Notes
Why the Mole Lives Underground (Cherokee)
A man was in love with a
woman who disliked him and wanted nothing to do with him. He tried every way to
win her favor, but with no success. As last he grew discouraged and made
himself sick thinking about it.
Mole came along, and finding the man so low in his mind, asked what the trouble
was. The man told him the whole story, and when he had finished, the Mole said:
"I can help. Not only will she like you, but she'll come to you of her own
free will."
That night burrowing underground to the place where the girl was in bed asleep,
Mole took out her heart. He came back by the same way and gave the heart to the
discouraged lover, who couldn't see it even when it was in his hand. "There,"
said Mole. "Swallow it, and she will be so drawn to you that she has to
come."
The man swallowed the heart, and when the girl woke up she somehow thought of
him at once. She felt a strange desire to be with him, to go to him that
minute. She couldn't understand it, because she had always disliked him, now
the feelings grew so strong she was compelled to find the man and tell him that
she loved him and wanted to be his wife. And so they were married.
All those who knew them both were surprised and wondered how it had come about.
When they found out it was the work of Mole, whom they had always thought too
insignificant to notice, they were jealous and threatened to kill him. That's
why Mole hid under the ground and still doesn't dare to come up.