1.Introduction
“If you want your children to be
intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you
want them to be more intelligent, read
them more fairy tales.”1
(Albert Einstein)
‘Once upon a time’ the German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein emphasised
the important role of fairy tales in children´s intellectual development. He assured that
the reading of such stories would have a positive effect on infantile intelligence.
Once told around the fireside with children and adults sharing the storytelling space,
fairy tales are among the oldest and most fascinating literary genres, which exude an
ineffable fascination.2 They refer to another unreal world and recover profound truths,
which are of exceeding importance, especially for children´s education. In the first half
of the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm pointed early to the pedagogic significance of
fairy tales.3 Particularly, the morals and virtues communicated within fairy tales may
help foster children´s education and the formation of their personality. However, since
fairy tales have been introduced didactically in class in the late 19th century by Tuiskon
Ziller, in dependence on Johann Friedrich Herbart, the assets and drawbacks of fairy
tales and their psychological aspects have been discussed controversially over years.4
Today, a vast variety of different fairy tales exists. The number of academic writings
analysing fairy tales with regard to language and content seems to be even larger.
Additionally, fairy tales appear constantly in daily life in advertisings or adapted for
adult audiences in newly created TV shows such as ABC´s Once upon a time.5
2.Theoretical Approach
2.1 Genre – Fairy tale
1
Stephan Winick: Einstein´s Folklore, URL: http://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2013/12/einsteins-folklore/
(last access 11/08/15).
2
Cf. Maria Tatar, ed.: Introduction, in: The Cambridge Companion to Fairy Tales (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2015) p. 1.
3
Cf. Oliver Geister: Kleine Pädagogik des Märchens. Begriff – Geschichte – Ideen für Erziehung und
Unterricht (Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 2010) p. 6.
4
Ibid. p. 50-51.
5
Cf. Tatar: Introduction p.2.
1
2.1.1 Definition
Fairy tales represent a sub-genre of general folktales, which also include myths, fables
and legends. The indistinct lines between those sub-genres make it difficult to
distinguish fairy tales properly from other literary types. Additionally, scholars lack a
sufficient definition that marks a work precisely as a fairy tale. Most definitions tend
to state various vague representative characteristics, which allow considerable dispute.
Originally, the term ‘fairy tale’ was translated from the French term ‘conte de fées’, a
terminology used in the literary tales of Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy in 1697, literally
meaning ‘tale of/about fairies’. However, both terms are somehow misleading, since,
as many scholars have pointed out, fairy tales do not necessarily include fairies.6
Another difficulty that comes with the abstract concept of ‘fairy tale’ is that it is a quite
blurred term, which on the one hand is too broad to comprise and on the other too
bounded. On this account, several scientists prefer the more distinctly defined German
term ‘Märchen’.7 Notably, the terminology by folklorist Stith Thompson dominates
the scientific field. In his work The Folktale 1977, he classifies ‘Märchen’ as “a tale
of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal
world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous.
In this never-land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry
princesses.”8
Regarding the absent heroine and the imprecise feature ‘some length’, one may
identify his characterisation insufficient. Yet, he specifies the three basic elements of
fairy tales still existent in current discussions: (1) The structure is episodic and
constructed primarily on motifs; (2) the genre is unabashedly fictional, the setting
indefinite, and the mode of reality in which the characters move is supernatural or
fantastic; and (3) the protagonists overcome obstacles to advance to rewards and a new
level of existence.9 To conclude, fairy tales are miraculous and mysterious narrations
from an indefinite time taking place in fantastic places. Within the unreal magical
world of fairy tales, natural laws are suspended and one might come across mythical
creatures such as witches, fairies, dwarfs and giants. The hero or heroine have to
accomplish tough challenges until in the end good wins over evil. After successfully
Cf. Donald Haase, ed.: “Fairy Tales”, in: Greenwood Encyclopedia of folktales and fairy tales, Vol. 1
(Westport: Greenwood Press, 2008) p. 322.
7
Cf. Conny Eisfeld: How Fairy Tales live happily ever after. The art of adapting Fairy Tales (Hamburg:
Anchor Academic Publishing, 2014) p. 12.
8
Cf. Stith Thompson: The Folktale (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977) p. 8.
9
Cf. Haase: “Fairy Tales” p. 323.
6
2
passed all difficulties, the protagonists obtain marvellous treasures and a happy ending
with their loved ones and live happily ever after.10
2.1.2 History
The fairy tale describes a very old literary genre and is assumed to have existed for
thousands of years, long before written cultures even existed. In the Babylonian Epic
of Gilgamesh written 2100 BC fairy tale motives can already be found. Today, fairy
tales consist in oral and written form.11
However, in the old days, fairy tales were mostly told or acted out and handed down
orally from generation to generation. Since only the literary can survive, the history of
fairy tales is particularly difficult to trace. In the Western world, collecting stories
became common during the sixteenth and seventeenth century and was further
encouraged by advanced printing techniques. Renaissance writers such as Giovanni
Francesco Straparola and Neapolitan Giambattista Basile were among the first
collectors and marked the genre. Over one hundred years later, the Children´s and
Household Tales by the brothers Grimm became the world´s most famous fairy tale
collection. Their stories like Cinderella, The Frog King or Snow White fascinated
children and adults likewise up until today. The latter´s tales were highly influenced
by the work of Straparola (e.g. Iron John) and Basile (e.g. Rapunzel).12
2.1.3 Characteristics and Representatives
Originally, fairy tales were passed down orally. Not only parents told them to their
children, but also soldiers told them in camps, women told fairy tales in spinning rooms
and sailors on ships. Fairy tales are fictitious stories without correspondence to reality
although they aim to impart a deeper sense of truth. They took the position of poetry
of the poor and simple people, who usually couldn’t read and write and who were
happy to find some entertainment and solace in fairy tales. Thus the aspect of
identification is also the reason why fairy tales usually include heroes of humble homes
who will find love or wealth in the end of the tale.13
The narrative situation was often adapted to the expectations and needs of the hearers
and thus fairy tales probably have been modified strongly in the course of the centuries.
10
Cf. Geister: Kleine Pädagogik des Märchens p. 12.
Ibid. p. 13.
12
Cf. Eisfeld: How Fairy Tales live happily ever after p. 13.
13
Cf. Geister: Kleine Pädagogik des Märchens p. 25.
11
3
Due to the recording of many fairy tales, they could be prevented from sinking into
oblivion. The oldest preserved fairy tale book is ‘Arabian Nights’, also titled ‘One
Thousand and One Nights’, however, there are also several other collections of fairy
tales, including those of the Grimm Brothers, who published their ‘Children’s and
Household Tales’ in 1812.14
Usually fairy tales consist of several elements. There is often an indefinite setting and
fairy tales usually take place in utopian locations, such as magical kingdoms.
Furthermore, characters of the tales can be divided into good and bad, which makes
comprehension easier for children. In general, the stories include supernatural or
fantastic elements, for example witches or dwarfs or speaking animals, which are never
questioned. In particular the Grimms’ fairy tales often include recurrent phrases in the
beginning as well as in the ending (Once upon a time…). In addition, fairy tales often
include spells and other phrases to serve as a recognition value and typically symbols
are also included. Symbols can be items, like a well, but also numbers – often the
number three or seven.15 Further characteristics are motifs and protagonists who have
to prove themselves and finally get rewarded.
The genre is fictional. Researches often discuss the length of the genre, as some
consider it as a long narrative. This might be applicable, compared to other genres, like
jokes. However, there are fairy tales which comprise more than 200 pages and fairy
tales which consist only of approximately 180 words and thus it is difficult to define
the length of a fairy tale. The purpose of the genre is not only entertainment, but also
moral instruction and a typical characteristic of the fairy tale is also the happy ending.16
In contrast to myths or legends, fairy tales include a happy ending and thus not only
the protagonists get rewarded, but mostly their evil opponents get punished.17 Happy
endings restore justice and provide solace as well as optimism.18
There are several different types of fairy tales, however, generally fairy tales can be
divided into folk tales and literary fairy tales. Folk tales refer to the content, which was
passed down from one generation to another one. They have its source in the folk and
are told for the folk. Characteristically, folk tales consist of the simple language of
common people, sometimes even including dialect, and a linear narrative. They are
14
Ibid. p. 26.
Ibid. p. 14-17.
16
Cf. Haase: “Fairy Tales” p. 323-324.
17
Cf. Steven Jones Swann: The Fairy Tale (New York: Routledge, 2002) p.17.
18
Cf. Geister: Kleine Pädagogik des Märchens p. 14.
15
4
mostly adapted to the narrative situation by the storyteller. In contrast to the folk tales,
literary fairy tales can be traced back to a specific author, who either invented the fairy
tale or at least linguistically edited it and wrote it down. As literary fairy tales are
individual fictions, they are often more complex than folk tales and often include
metaphors. Famous authors are for example Hans Christian Andersen or Wilhelm
Hauff.19
The Grimm Brothers’ ‘Children’s and Household Tales’ comprises 200 fairy tales and
additionally 28 fairy tales in the appendix. They are usually considered as folk tales,
as they wrote them down according to the narratives of the folk. 20 However, not all
published fairy tales meet the above mentioned criteria of the genre and thus some
researches assign only 60 fairy tales as real fairy tales and consider the other ones to
be legends, fables or myths.21 Additionally, due to the editing of particularly Wilhelm
Grimm, researches often consider them to be in-between folk tales and literary fairy
tales.22 Remarkably, many female storytellers, particularly young and educated
women, were responsible for the fairy tale collection of the Grimm Brothers. Thus,
fairy tales like ‘Mother Holle’ or ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ were told by the daughter of
Dorothea Wild, Dortchen.23 Other famous fairy tale authors include Lewis Caroll, who
wrote Alice in Wonderland24, Charles Perrault wrote Little Red Riding Hood25 or
Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio.26
2.2 Authors – Brothers Grimm
Although always connected to fairy tales, the Grimm Brothers, consisting of Jacob and
Wilhelm Grimm, were actually philologists.27 Jacob Ludwig Karl was born in 1785 in
Hanau, his brother Wilhelm Karl was born one year afterwards. Two years after the
death of their father in 1796, the brothers lived with their aunt in Kassel. Both studied
19
Ibid. p. 33.
Ibid. p. 34.
21
Ibid. p. 28.
22
Ibid. p. 34.
23
Ibid. p. 29.
24
Cf. Roger Lancelyn Green: “Lewis Caroll”, in: Encyclopaedia Britannica, URL:
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Lewis-Carroll, 25.5.2015 (last access: 15/08/2015).
25
Cf. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Charles Perrault”, in: Encyclopaedia Britannica, URL:
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Perrault (last access: 15/08/2015).
26
Cf. MDR, Figaro, Das Kulturradio: Carlo Collodi: Pinochio – Die Geschichte vom hölzernen Bengele,
30.10.2014, URL: http://www.mdr.de/mdr-figaro/literatur/figarothek-pinocchio100.html (last access:
15/08/2015).
27
Cf. Ruth Michaelis-Jena: “Oral Tradition and the Brothers Grimm”, in: Folklore Vol. 82, No. 4 (Winter
1971) 265-275, URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1260545 p. 265 (last access: 15/08/2015)
20
5
law in Marburg. However, Jacob was forced to quit his studies due to financial reasons
and became librarian. Nevertheless, he also became a professor of classical an ancient
studies in 1829 in Göttingen. Wilhelm, on the other hand, could not find a job after his
studies and became a library secretary in Kassel. He became professor in 1835 in
Göttingen. He married Dortchen Wild in 1825 and both lived together with Jacob
Grimm in a shared flat. Particularly Jacob Grimm is known as the founder of the
modern German philology and published works in literary studies and linguistics, as
well as myths and fairy tales. Wilhelm was the editor of the fairy tales.28
The collected fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers should first and foremost be a source
for their studies. However, they decided to publish their research materials as “Nursery
and Household Tales” in 1812. This version was criticised for various reasons, for
example the lack of illustrations. Nevertheless, children were enthusiastic consumers
of the publication. Thus several revised editions were published in the course of the
century. While Jacob was more interested in his linguistic studies, Wilhelm was
devoted to the fairy tales and edited them in different ways, for example he created
dialogues out of indirect speeches. Jacob insisted especially in preserving fairy tales
in their original dialect.29
The fairy tale The wolf and the seven little kids is within the collection of the Brothers
Grimm. It was most probably received from Family Hassenpflug from Hanau, who
might have known the fable collection of Jean de La Fontaines. However, in contrast
to its origin, the Grimm brothers changed the fairy tale by letting the wolf eat six of
the little goats. This change, among other changes, probably derived from ‘Die sieben
Gaislein’ from August Stöber.30
3. Didactic Considerations
3.1 Text – The wolf and the seven little kids
Once upon a time, there was a mother goat, who had seven little kids. One day she
wanted to go into the forest to get some food. So she said, "Children dear, I am going
into the forest. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all.
The wolf often pretends to be your mother, but you will recognize him at once by his
rough voice and his black feet." The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of
ourselves. You can go away without any worries."
28
Cf. Geister: Kleine Pädagogik des Märchens p. 26-27.
Cf. Michaelis-Jena: „Oral Tradition“ p. 266-267.
30
Cf. Hans Jörg Uther: Handbuch zu den Kinder- und Hausmärchen der Brüder Grimm: Entstehung –
Wirkung – Interpretation (Göttingen: De Gruyter, 2013) p. 11-12.
29
6
It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door,
children dear, your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you."
But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it was the wolf. "We will not open
the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft voice, but your voice
is rough. You are the wolf."
So the wolf went to a shop and bought a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his
voice soft. Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door,
children dear. Your mother is here and has brought something for each one of you."
The children saw the black paws and cried out, "We will not open the door. Our mother
does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."
So the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Put some white flour on my foot”. Them the
wolf went for a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me,
children. Your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you
something from the woods." The little kids recognized the soft voice and the white
paws and they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. It
was the wolf. They were terrified and all tried to hide. The youngest went into the
clock case. But the wolf found them all and he ate one after the other. However, he did
not find the youngest kid in the clock case. Afterwards the wolf went outside and lay
down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.
Soon afterward mother goat came home from the forest. The door stood wide open.
She looked for her children, but they were nowhere to be found. When she called the
youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother, I am hiding in the clock case.” She took it
out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the others.
She went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and
there lay the wolf by the tree. The mother goat sent the kid home to fetch scissors, and
a needle and thread, and then she cut open the wolf’s paunch. All six jumped out, and
they were all still alive. The mother said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We
will fill the wolf’s stomach with them while he is still asleep." The seven kids quickly
brought the stones, and they put them into his stomach. Then the mother sewed him
up again.
The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach
made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began
to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and
rattled. Then he cried out:
What rumbles and tumbles,
Inside of me.
I thought it was kids,
But it's stones that they be.
When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled
him in, and he drowned. When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and
cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced
for joy around about the well. The Family lived happily ever after.31
3.2 Analysis
The fairy tale The wolf and the seven little kids is one of many examples how children
can be educated by reading fairy tales. Basically, the story appeals to children´s
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm: “The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids”, in: University of Pittsburgh, The
Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales, URL: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm005.html
(edited and shortened) (last access: 15/08/2015).
31
7
obedience. In particular, the mother warns her children not to open the door to any
strangers, which means in this case not to open the door to the dangerous wolf. In
contrast to the original version, the Grimm brothers highlight the important role of the
mother goat as saviour and educator. Although she deliberately creates an awareness
of the wolf´s danger, six of the little goats seem not to have internalised the mother´s
warning. Only when the caring mother returns home, she is able to save her kids and
take care of the wolf. However, this development is solely possible due to the survival
of the youngest goat.32
Additionally, the fairy tale represents the external threat and how it can be defended
successfully. Nevertheless, the children cannot handle the situation by themselves
without the parental care and help of mother goat. Consequently, the little children
gained valuable experiences in handling precarious situations, which might protect
them of imprudent future decisions.33
Moreover, the wolf can only be defeated because of his incautiousness after he has
eaten the goats. Hence, carelessness can be the undoing of even the strongest.34
To conclude, due to their strong pedagogic function, fairy tales can support
disciplinary measures of both, parents as well as teachers. As children may learn moral
behaviour and understand the importance of educational instructions, fairy tales are
utterly suitable to deal with them in class.
3.3 Procedure
Lesson Plan
Synopsis
Topics
Level
Time
The wolf and the seven little kids
Fairy Tale,
Grade 6
45 minutes
Procedure
1) Lead -In (7 min)

„Who am I?“: Post-Its with fairy-tale figures on them
 What do the figures have in common?
2)Pre -Reading (4 min)

Predicting from picture
32
Cf. Uther: Handbuch zu den Kinder- und Hausmärchen p. 12-13.
Ibid. p. 15.
34
Ibid. p. 14.
33
8
 Describe the picture. What could the fairy tale be about? What do you
expect? Does anybody know the fairy tale?
3)While -Reading

Jumbled Lines (12 min)
 Put the jumbled lines into the right order (group work)
 Correction in class (OHP)

First Reading: Story Reading (teacher) for global understanding (6 min)
 Are there any unknown words? What is the story about? Regarding the
previous picture, did you expect the story to end like this?

Second Reading: Silent reading (students) for detailed understanding (11 min)
 Answer the questions about the text
4)Post -Reading

(Freiarbeit: Students can choose one out of three tasks) (5 min)
Creating Text
 Picture Story: Describe the pictures in two sentences
 Alternative ending: Delete the ending and write an alternative one

Media Transfer
 Short message: Summarize what happened in a short message
5)Homewor k

Finishing exercises
As narrative texts, fairy tales fulfil different moral, pedagogic and didactic functions.
Due to identification with the protagonists, fairy tales highly foster students’
personality development. In a playful manner children indirectly adopt moral
behaviour.35
The unit is constructed according to the global-to-detail approach, which aims to
improve the receptive competences like reading and listening, and consists of six steps
in which the lead-in is followed by reading the text twice.36
4.Conclusion
In a playful manner fairy tales are suited for moral and disciplinary education,
however, there is a risk of black pedagogy by using fairy tales for education. The term
is used to describe education by breaking the child’s will by emphasizing strict
35
Cf. Ansgar Nünning: Englische Literatur unterrichten. Grundlagen und Methoden (Seelze-Velber:
Erhard Friedrich Verlag GmbH, 2006) p. 195.
36
Cf. Engelbert Thaler: Englisch Unterrichten (Berlin: Cornelsen 2012) p. 92.
9
obedience to authorities.37 This might also apply to The wolf and the seven little kids,
as the moral of the fairy tale sets priorities on obedience. Thus some scholars consider
fairy tales not up to date to use them for education. Oliver Geister, on the other hand,
argues that children are able to understand the symbolism in fairy tales. 38 Moreover,
warnings and demonstrating consequences are not completely inappropriate even in
today’s education.39
A big advantage of fairy tales in English classes is the pre-existing knowledge of most
children. Usually learners already know the fairy tales in their native language and
hence also know the plot along general lines, which makes it easier to work with them
even for younger children. Fairy tales can be used to introduce a variety of new
vocabulary, but also to introduce new grammar such as the simple past.40 There are
also many possibilities of tasks, which can be used before, while and after reading and
which can include different traditional, but also new media. In a nutshell, fairy tales
are excellently applicable to use them in class, when keeping in mind the preliminary
work, which has to be done beforehand by the teacher.
Although Albert Einstein surely related to fairy tales in native language, which also
supports a variety of different skills, his quote is also suitable to fairy tales in a foreign
language. Therefore, not only reading children fairy tales, but also letting them read
them on their own and work with them in different ways, will stimulate their
intelligence by improving manifold skills and competences.
Attachment 1 – lead-in
I.Who am I?
37
Cf. Elaine Ostry: Social Dreaming: Dickens and the Fairy Tale, (New York: Routledge 2002), p. 140.
Cf. Saskia Hödl: „Märchen sind von gestern“, 19.10.2013 in: taz, Der Sonntagsstreit, URL:
http://www.taz.de/Der-sonntaz-Streit/!5056813/ (last access 15/08/2015).
39
Cf. Oliver Geister: Achtung böse! Die zehn grausamsten Märchen der Brüder Grimm, URL:
www.maerchenpaedagogik.de/geister_achtung_boese.pdf, p. 8 (last access 15/08/2015).
40
Cf. Jo Bertrand: Fairy Tales, 2009, URL: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/fairy-tales (last
access 15/08/2015).
38
10
II.Predicting from picture
Tasks
1. Describe the picture.
2. What do you expect the fairy tale to be about?
3. Which fairy tale could the picture refer to?
Attachment 2 – jumbled lines
So the wolf went to a shop and bought a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft. Then he
came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother is here and has
brought something for each one of you." The children saw the black paws and cried out, "We will not open the
door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf.
It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear, your mother
is here, and has brought something for each one of you." But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it
was the wolf. "We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft voice, but
your voice is rough. You are the wolf."
The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he
wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach
knocked against each other and rattled. Then he cried out:
What rumbles and tumbles,
Inside of me.
11
I thought it was kids,
But it's stones that they be.
When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he drowned.
When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is
dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well. The Family lived happily ever after .
So the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Put some white flour on my foot”. Them the wolf went for a third time
to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little mother has come home,
and has brought every one of you something from the woods." The little kids recognized the soft voice and the
white paws and they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. It was the wolf. They
were terrified and all tried to hide. The youngest went into the clock case. But the wolf found them all and he
ate one after the other. However, he did not find the youngest kid in the clock case. Afterwards the wolf went
outside and lay down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.
Once upon a time there was a mother goat, who had seven little kids. One day she wanted to go into the forest
to get some food. So she said, "Children dear, I am going into the forest. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he
gets in, he will eat up all of you all. The wolf often pretends to be your mother, but you will recognize him at
once by his rough voice and his black feet." The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of ourselves. You
can go away without any worries.”
Soon afterward mother goat came home from the forest. The door stood wide open. She looked for her
children, but they were nowhere to be found. When she called the youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother, I
am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the
others. She went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the wolf
by the tree. The mother goat sent the kid home to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and then she cut
open the wolf’s paunch. All six jumped out, and they were all still alive. The mother said, "Go now and look
for some big stones. We will fill the wolf’s stomach with them while he is still asleep." The seven kids
quickly brought the stones, and they put them into his stomach. Then the mother sewed him up again.
Attachment 3 – picture cards
12
„The wolf and the seven
little kids“
Attachement
4 –
worksheet
text
Once upon a
time there was a
mother
goat,
who had seven
little kids. One
day she wanted
to go into the
forest to get
some food. So
she said, "Children dear, I am going into the forest. Be on your guard for the wolf.
If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all. The wolf often pretends
to be your mother, but you will recognize him at once by his rough
voice and his black feet." The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take
care of ourselves. You can go away without any worries."
It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear,
your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you." But the little kids knew from
the rough voice that it was the wolf. "We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our
mother. She has a soft voice, but your voice is rough. You are the wolf."
So the wolf went to a shop and bought a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft.
Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother
is here and has brought something for each one of you." The children saw the black paws and cried
out, "We will not open the door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."
13
So the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Put some white flour on my foot”. Them the wolf went for
a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little
mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something from the woods." The little kids
recognized the soft voice and the white paws and they believed that everything he said was true, and
they opened the door. It was the wolf. They were terrified and all tried to hide. The youngest went
into the clock case. But the wolf found them all and he ate one after the other. However, he did not
find the youngest kid in the clock case. Afterwards the wolf went outside and lay down under a tree
in the green meadow and fell asleep.
Soon afterward mother goat came home from the forest. The door stood wide open. She looked for
her children, but they were nowhere to be found. When she called the youngest, a soft voice cried
out, "Mother, I am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come
and had eaten up all the others.
She went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the
wolf by the tree. The mother goat sent the kid home to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and
then she cut open the wolf’s paunch. All six jumped out, and they were all still alive. The mother
said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We will fill the wolf’s stomach with them while he is
still asleep." The seven kids quickly brought the stones, and they put them into his stomach. Then
the mother sewed him up again.
The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very
thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the
stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then he cried out:
What rumbles and tumbles,
Inside of me.
I thought it was kids,
But it's stones that they be.
When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he
drowned. When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead!
The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well. The Family
lived happily ever after.
Questions on the text
1) How could the wolf convince the kids to open the door?
2) How could the youngest goat survive?
3) Moral of the story?
Attachment 5 – post-reading exercises
„The wolf and the seven little kids“
Vocabulary Box
a Miller
flour
a chalk
a paw
a meadow
to fetch sth
to be terrified
to drown
ein Müller
Mehl
eine Kreide
eine Pfote
eine Wiese
etw. herbeiholen
Angst haben
ertrinken
to be on one´s guard
to pretend to be sth
a clock case
scissors
a thread
a paunch
a well
to sew up sth
auf sich aufpassen
vorgeben etw. zu sein
ein Uhrgehäuse
Schere
ein Faden, Garn
ein dicker Bauch
ein Brunnen
etw. vernähen
Task
Look at the pictures below. Describe each picture in two sentences and rewrite the story
of “The wolf and the seven little goats”. You may use the words in the Vocabulary Box.
14
Example
Once upon a time, there was a goat and her seven little
_________________________________________________
children. They lived in a white house near the forest.
_________________________________________________
1
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
2
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
3
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
4
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
5
_________________________________________________
„The wolf and the seven little kids“
Vocabulary Box
a Miller
flour
a chalk
a paw
a meadow
to fetch sth
to be terrified
to drown
ein Müller
Mehl
eine Kreide
eine Pfote
eine Wiese
etw. herbeiholen
Angst haben
ertrinken
to be on one´s guard
to pretend to be sth
a clock case
scissors
a thread
a paunch
a well
to sew up sth
auf sich aufpassen
vorgeben etw. zu sein
ein Uhrgehäuse
Schere
ein Faden, Garn
ein dicker Bauch
ein Brunnen
etw. vernähen
Task
You´ve read the ending in which the wolf was defeated when he was thrown into the
fountain. Think of an alternative ending (about 5-6 sentences) and write it in the lines
below.
Guiding questions:
1)Who could have helped the little goats instead?
2)Can you think of an alternative way to defeat the wolf?
15
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
„The wolf and the seven little kids“
Vocabulary Box
a Miller
flour
a chalk
a paw
a meadow
to fetch sth
to be terrified
to drown
ein Müller
Mehl
eine Kreide
eine Pfote
eine Wiese
etw. herbeiholen
Angst haben
ertrinken
to be on one´s guard
to pretend to be sth
a clock case
scissors
a thread
a paunch
a well
to sew sth up
auf sich aufpassen
vorgeben etw. zu sein
ein Uhrgehäuse
Schere
ein Faden, Garn
ein dicker Bauch
ein Brunnen
etw. vernähen
Task
You´ve witnessed what happened to the seven little goats. Complete the short message
(SMS) in which you summarize what happened. Try to be as brief as possible. Write the
message (4-5 sentences only) into the display of the mobile phone below.
16
Hi Sarah,
something incredible happened:
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