The Elementary Spelling Book, being an Improvement on the American Spelling Book · Fable II · Part 9: Reading lessons and fables
114. Fable II: The Country Maid and her Milk Pail
Goal: Your child reads the fable aloud, follows the maid's daydream step by step, and says what it teaches.
You'll need
- The book, open to this reading lesson
- A slate or paper and pencil
What's in the book
Fable II opens with its lesson about letting the imagination run ahead of real work. A country maid carrying milk on her head dreams of eggs, chickens and fine things, tosses her head, and spills the milk. The fable ends at the top of the next page.
The lesson, step by step
Before you read
Ask: Have you ever daydreamed about what you would do with money you did not have yet? Tell your child to listen for each step of the maid's plan.
Read it aloud
Read the whole piece aloud while your child follows with a finger. Then your child reads it to you, a few sentences at a time. Help with hard words without fuss. Here is how it goes:
A country maid was walking very deliberately with a pail of milk upon her head,
The money for which I shall sell this milk, will enable me to increase my stock of eggs to three hundred.
down came the pail of milk, and with it all her imaginary happiness.
Talk about it
The fable states its lesson at the start: people who amuse themselves with distant, uncertain plans often lose what is in front of them. Ask: What was the real thing the maid had? What made her lose it?
Tell it back
Your child tells the maid's plan as a chain: milk, then eggs, then chickens... then what happened. Drawing the chain as little pictures helps.
Spell a few words
Pick a few words from the piece. Your child spells them aloud by syllables, then writes them: country, chickens, imaginary, happiness.
Tip
The old saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" comes from stories like this one. Share it after the reading.