Let me tell you some words about this story first. This story A Dog and a Lion is not my story. I didnt write it. I mean I am not the person who is the author, the creator of the story. No, no, no, no. This story is not mine. I learned the story from a Buddhist monk. It was when I was travelling in Perth, Australia, because that time I was very much interested in Buddhism. And I visited there a Buddhist Temple, a Buddhist monastery. There was a monk there and his name was Ajman Braham. He told me this story. And I liked the story very much and I asked him, Ajman Braham, can I use this story while teaching my students English? And he said, Yes, sure, Alex, you can do it. So that is why you have this wonderful, fantastic and extremely instructive story to learn.
So lets jump into the vocabulary lesson.
Our fist expression for today is to make a good dinner. It comes from the sentence: That dog will make a good dinner.
So the lion says to himself, That dog will make a good dinner. The lion thinks to himself that the dog is good to eat. This is a healthy dog. Actually, it looks like healthy. The dog doesnt look sick. And the dog is easy to catch and easy to eat. And that is why the lion thinks if he catches the dog, he can cook the dog and then can eat the dog. So he thought, That dog will make a good dinner. So the dinner is going to be nice, fantastic and very tasty.
But from the story we know that the dog is a mind-reader. He reads the lions mind. Oops!
You see. So as you already understand the dog can read ones mind. So a mind-reader is someone who can read ones mind. The dog can understand the lion. He can understand what the lion is thinking about now. He can read his mind. He can understand his thoughts. Actually, it is not difficult for the dog to see what the lion is thinking about and what he wants to do. The dog is a mind reader.
And then you see the dog questioning himself. He is asking himself How can a dog escape from a lion? Its very difficult. They are very big, very strong, and very fast. the dog thought. But that dog is a very smart dog. I think he is a Buddhist.
Okay, our next word is to manage. You may know this word, but one more time let me talk a little bit about this useful word. To manage. To manage means to succeed in doing something. So the dog succeeds in finding some bones. He gets lucky. He finds some bones. The dog manages to find some bones.
The next word is unafraid. The dog sits in front of the bones with his back towards the lion totally unafraid. Unafraid simply means brave or not afraid. The dog is brave, right? He is not afraid of the lion. The dog is totally unafraid.
He sits with his back towards the lion and that means the dog cannot see the lion, of course. He sits so that he cannot see the lion. He can see the bones, yes, which are in front of him, because he is sitting in front of them, but he cannot see the lion because his back is turned to the lion. The dog sits with his back towards the lion.
Our next word is to pounce. To pounce actually means to be ready to quickly jump on someone from behind. The lion was about to attack, to jump on the dog from behind. The lion was about to pounce on the dog.
In this lesson we also have the word vicious. Vicious means extremely cruel, unkind and violent. So the dog is extremely violent. The dog is extremely cruel and unkind. He is a vicious dog.
Okay. So here we have an expression to get away with something. We use this expression when you managed to do something (usually bad) and you are not caught, you are not punished. In our case, the dog makes the lion believe that he is vicious. The dog manages to make the lion believe that he indeed eats lions. And he does it by tricking this lion. The dog uses a trick. He pretends to be vicious and he cheats the lion. That is why the monkey says, I am not going that dog to get away with tricking this lion. So the monkey says: I am not going to let the dog cheat the lion. As you understand the monkey wants the dog to be punished. The monkey wants the dog to be caught.
And the monkey runs to that lion and he says, Youve been tricked. You are a fool. This dog cannot eat lions. He has just set it to scare you away!
Let me talk about this sentence Youve been tricked. This means that the dog has cheated you. The monkey says, You are a fool., which means you are not smart. You are silly. And it is easy to cheat you. Or simply to say, it is easy to make you believe that the dog can eat lions. And finally the monkey says, He has set it to scare you away.
So now lets focus on the expression to set something. Here to set something means to organize something so that you believe that it is true, when it is not true.
Let me philosophize a little bit here. So the dog manages to find some bones, and he sits in frond of the bones. Actually, he pretends to be brave. He pretends to be extremely violent and super unkind. Because he wants the lion to believe that the he is really vicious and he really can eat lions.
But the monkey tells the lion that you dont have to believe that dog. He is a good actor. He has set it to scare you away.
Here we use the expression to scare someone away.To scare someone away means to make you feel so afraid or so worried that you run away. So again the monkey says that the dog is a great actor. He is a great pretender. You should not believe him. He is cheating you. He is trying to make you feel so afraid, so worried that you run away from him.
And so the lion gets upset and he gets wild, right? And he is ready to eat, to kill the dog. And the lion is going to eat that dog, as I said. And the monkey said: Ah, I cant wait to come with you to watch.
Our next sentence is I cant wait to do something. Whats it mean? What it means is I really really really really want to do it now and I dont want to wait and I cant wait. Actually, the monkey says, I cant wait to come with you to watch. In other words, now we have to go now. Lets go. I really want to come with you, and I really want to watch you eat the dog, the money says.
And our last word for our vocabulary lesson is damn. You may know this word from movies or talk shows. Some people use this word a lot. I am talking about the people who are rude, impolite and the people who use bad language. So the dog wants to know where that damn, bad, rude, vicious monkey is. The dog says, Where is that damn monkey? He promised to bring me another lion. Oops! By saying that he lets the lion understand that the monkey has brought him here to be eaten. The monkey is extremely bad and cruel. The monkey is vicious, not the dog.
The moral of the story, I mean the lesson what we can learn from the story is mind your own business. Dont get into other peoples business, because you may get hurt. You may get into troubles or you may pay a high, very high price.
This the end of the vocabulary lesson for A Dog and a Lion. The vocabulary gives you a quick little lesson about some of the words and phrases. And it also liberates you from and it liberates from the story. It certainly gives you that freedom you need to express yourself better and to feel more confident when you speak English. Moreover it surely helps you to get automatic respect from people every time when you speak English.
This the end of the vocabulary lesson for A Dog and a Lion. The vocabulary gives you a quick little lesson about some of the words and phrases. And it also liberates you from and it liberates from the story. It certainly gives you that freedom you need to express yourself better and to feel more confident when you speak English. Moreover it surely helps you to get automatic respect from people every time when you speak English.
Okay, I will see you in the next lesson.
The Mini-Story Lesson
Hello, my superstar student. This is Alex again. Welcome to the mini-story for A Dog and a Lion. Are you feeling good? Are you moving your body? Breathing deeply? Smiling big? Good posture? I hope so. Lets get started.
Once upon a time there was a dog who went for a walk in a forest in Africa. And a lion saw the dog.
Where was it? In Canada?
No, not in Canada. In Africa. The forest was in Africa.
Okay. Who went for a walk in a forest in Africa?
A dog. A dog went for a walk in a forest in Africa.
And who saw the dog?
Right! A lion saw the dog.
Did the dog see the lion?
No, the dog didnt see the lion, but the lion did see the dog.
And the lion thought, That dog will make a good dinner.
Did the lion want to eat the dog?
Yes, he did. The lion wanted to eat the dog. He thought, That dog will make a good dinner.
Did the dog know about that?
Yes, the dog knew that the lion wanted to eat him.
How did the dog know about it?
He knew about it because the dog was a mind-reader. So he just read the lions mind.
Oh, it is interesting. So the dog thought. Well, actually, we asked himself. How can a dog escape from a lion in Africa? Its very difficult. They are very big, very strong, and very fast.
Is it difficult or is it easy for a dog to escape from a lion?
It is difficult. It is very difficult for a dog escape from a lion.
Why is it very difficult for a dog escape from a lion in Africa?
Because they are very big, they are very strong and very fast. That is why it is very difficult for a dog escape from a lion.
Did the dog know what to do?
Yes, he did.
How do you know?
I know it because the dog was a very smart dog.
And what he did?
He managed to find some bones. And he sat in front of the bones with his back towards the lion, totally unafraid.
Who managed to find some bones?
The dog did. The dog managed to find some bones.
Did the dog succeed in finding any bones?
Yes, he did. The dog succeeded in finding some bones. He managed to find some bones.
And what did the dog do after he found some bones?
He sat in front of the bones with his back towards the lion, totally unafraid.
Could the dog see the lion when he sat in front of the bones?
No, he couldnt. The dog couldnt see the lion when he sat in front of the bones.
Why?
Because he sat with his back towards the lion.
Where were the bones? In front of the dog or behind the dog?
In front of the dog, of course. The dog sat in front of the bones. He was in front of the bones. The dog sat in front of the bones with his back towards the lion.
Did the lion see the dogs back?
Yes, he did. The lion saw the dogs back.
Could the lion see the dogs face?
No, he couldnt.
Why couldnt the lion see the dogs face?
He couldnt see the dogs face, because the dog sat with his back towards him. Not with his face towards him. No, no, no.
I see. Was the dog afraid of the lion?
No, he wasnt afraid of him. He was totally unafraid. He sat in front of the bones with his back towards the lion totally unafraid. He was a very brave dog.
And? Was the lion ready to jump quickly on the dog?
Yes, he was. The lion was ready to jump quickly on the dog. He was about to pounce on the dog.
What did the dog do when the lion was about to pounce on him?
As the lion was about to pounce, the dog licked his lips and said, Mm, what a delicious meal! These local lions are very, very, very tasty! I wonder when I can get my next lion to eat.
Did the lion lick his lips?
No, not the lion. The dog licked his lips and the dog said, Mm, what a delicious meal! These local lions are very, very, very tasty! I wonder when I can get my next lion to eat.
Did the lion hear what the dog said?
Oh, yes, he did. The lion heard what the dog said. He heard every single word very well.
Did the lion like what he heard?
No, of course, not. The lion didnt like it at all. The lion said, Oh, my goodness! That must be a really vicious dog. Hes eaten another lion and I am not going to be his dinner. No, no, no
What did the lion say?
The lion said, Oh, my goodness! That must be a really vicious dog. Hes eaten another lion and I am not going to be his dinner.
Did the lion think that the dog was extremely cruel, unkind and violent?
Exactly. The lion thought that the dog was extremely cruel, unkind and violent. The lion thought that the dog was vicious.
Because he has eaten another lion?
Correct. The lion thought that the dog had eaten a lion. And that is why he didnt want to be his dinner. The lion said, No, I am not going to be his dinner. No, no, no.
When the lion said that, what did he do then? Did the lion stay or did he run away?
He ran away. The lion turned around and he ran away. And this is the end of the story.
The end of the story?
No, of course, not. It is not the end of the story.
What next? What happened next?
Wait. Wait. Wait. Okay. There was a monkey there.
A monkey?
Yes, there was a monkey there. And that monkey saw that conversation.
Okay. So what next?
Then the monkey said: I am not going that dog to get away with tricking this lion.
Did the monkey say that he was not going to let the dog cheat the lion?
Yes, exactly. He said, I am not going that dog to get away with tricking the lion.
Did the monkey want the dog to be punished?
Yes, he did. The monkey wanted the dog to be punished.
Did the monkey want the dog to be caught?
Yes, he did. He wanted the dog to be caught.
And the monkey ran to that lion and he said, Youve been tricked. You are a fool. This dog cant eat lions. He has just set it to scare you away!
Oh, my Goodness! I cant believe he did it.
Yes, he did it. He ran to the lion and he said, Youve been tricked. You are a fool. This dog cannot eat lions. He has just set it to scare you away!
Could the dog really eat lions?
No, of course, not. The dog couldnt eat lions. The dog tricked the lion. The dog cheated the lion.