Page 68 - Exercise 1B

Unit 6 - Relationships

Page 68 - Exercise 1B

Friends

One day, an antelope and a monkey were walking along.

‘I feel tired,’ said the monkey. ‘All this walking is wearing me out. It’s easier for you.

You’ve got long legs. Mine are very short. ‘If you climb on my back, I’ll carry you,’ said the antelope. ‘Thank you,’ said the monkey. ‘Don’t mention it, my friend,’ said the antelope. ‘I know that if I need anything, you’ll look after me.’ ‘Of course,’ said the monkey and climbed onto the antelope’s back.

The two friends walked on until they came to a tree. The monkey jumped down and they both sat down in the shade. While they were sitting there, however, they saw a lion coming towards them. ‘Oh no,’ said the monkey. ‘If that lion catches us, he’ll eat us up.’ ‘Perhaps he’s already had his dinner,’ said the antelope. ‘If he isn’t hungry, he’ll leave us alone. ‘Yes, but we can’t find out if he’s hungry or not,’ said the monkey. ‘Quick. I’ll get on your back again and we can escape. Hurry up! ‘That’s no good,’ said his friend. ‘I won’t be able to run very fast if you’re on my back.

The lion will easily catch up with me. All the time the lion was getting closer. ‘But we must think of something,’ said the monkey. ‘We can’t just give up.’

‘Well, I’m sorry,’ said the antelope, ‘but I’ve run out of ideas.’ ‘I know,’ said the monkey. ‘He won’t get us if we climb this tree.’ ‘But I can’t climb trees,’ said the antelope. ‘I can!’ said the monkey, and he jumped up into the tree and sat on one of the branches.

The lion was very close. ‘I can’t run away now,’ thought the antelope. ‘That lion can run a lot faster than I can. So the antelope lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead.

The lion came to the tree. He looked up and saw the monkey sitting on a branch. Then he walked up to the antelope. He bent down and sniffed the antelope’s ear for a few moments. Then he walked away.

When the lion was gone, the monkey came down the tree and the antelope stood up. ‘Phew!’ said the monkey. ‘That was scary, but what was the lion doing? I saw him sniffing your ear. ‘He was talking to me,’ said the antelope. ‘Really? said the monkey. ‘What did he say? ‘He said, you should choose your friends more carefully.’