داستان کوتاه

Faith Gap - Mini Story

Hello and welcome to our mini story for this month’s lesson.

For the past several years, Melvin the mountain lion has been clean and sober.

What has he been?

He has been clean and sober.

‘Clean and sober’ means he does not drink alcohol or use drugs. He has avoided doing that.

So who has been clean and sober?

Melvin. Melvin has been clean and sober.

And what is Melvin?

Melvin is a mountain lion who has been clean and sober.

Has he been drunk or has he been clean and sober?

He has been clean and sober.

For how long has Melvin the mountain lion been clean and sober?

For the past several years. For the past several years, Melvin the mountain lion has been clean and sober. In fact, he has been on the wagon and hasn’t drunk any alcohol during that time.

‘On the wagon’ has a similar meaning. ‘On the wagon’ means avoiding drinking. Not drinking alcohol. It’s used for people who have maybe a problem with alcohol, maybe an alcoholic and then when they stop drinking, they say I’m on the wagon. It’s a little bit of an idiom. He has been on the wagon and hasn’t drunk any alcohol during that time.

So has he been on the wagon or did he fall off the wagon and start drinking?

He has been on the wagon. He has been sober and he hasn’t drunk any alcohol during that time.

Who has been on the wagon?

Melvin the mountain lion has been on the wagon.

He has been happy because he has been living with his girlfriend in Athens, Georgia.

Where has he been living?

In the Town of Athens in the State of Georgia.

Georgia in the United States not the country. He has been happy because he has been living with his girlfriend in Athens, Georgia.

One day, however, his girlfriend says to him “It’s over. I’m bored and I’m leaving you. Have a good life.”

What does his girlfriend do?

Leaves him. His girlfriend leaves him.

Whose girlfriend leaves him?

Melvin’s. Melvin’s girlfriend leaves him.

Does he leave his girlfriend or does his girlfriend leave him?

His girlfriend leaves him. She says “It’s over. I’m bored and I’m leaving you. Have a good life.”

Poor Melvin. Melvin becomes extremely depressed. In fact, he falls off the wagon and begins to drink again.

‘To fall off the wagon’ is slang and it means to start drinking again.

So who falls off the wagon?

Melvin the mountain lion falls off the wagon and begins to drink again.

Why does he fall off the wagon?

Because he’s depressed, because his girlfriend left him.

Does he fall off the wagon or does he remain clean and sober?

He falls off the wagon. Melvin the mountain lion falls off the wagon and begins to drink again.

Where does he go?

Well, he goes to the Georgia Bar and orders 26 beers and 30 shots of tequila.

He chugs the beer and slams the shots and quickly becomes drunk.

‘To chug’ means to drink very quickly. It means to drink a lot in a short time, to chug. So he chugs the beer. He drinks a lot of the beer very, very, very fast. ‘To slam a shot’ has the same idea. A shot is a small amount of alcohol and to slam it means to, again, drink it very, very fast, very quickly.

So what does he do with the beer?

He chugs the beer.

Does he drink the beer slowly or does he chug it?

He chugs the beer.

Who chugs the beer?

Melvin. Melvin the mountain lion chugs the beer.

What does he do with the shots?

He slams the shots.

Does he slam the shots or does he sip the shots?

He slams the shots. He drinks them very quickly, all at one time.

‘To sip’ means to drink very slowly. He does not sip the shots. He slams the shots. He slams the tequila.

So which one does he chug?

The beer. He chugs the beer.

How many beers does he chug?

Twenty-six. He chugs 26 beers.

And how many shots of tequila does he slam?

Thirty. He slams 30 shots of tequila.

And then what happens?

He quickly becomes drunk.

Now, unfortunately, Melvin is a bad drunk. When he gets drunk, he always shoots his mouth off.

‘To shoot your mouth off’ means to say insulting things to people. It means you have no control over what you say. You say bad things to people.

Who shoots his mouth off?

Melvin. Melvin the mountain lion shoots his mouth off. He says a lot of bad things to people when he’s drunk.

There’s a big black bear at the bar and Melvin shoots his mouth off to the bear.

Who does he shoot his mouth off to?

A black bear, who’s sitting at the bar.

He yells at the bear “Hey, you’re ugly.” The bear gets angry and slugs Melvin, knocking him out.

‘To slug’ means to hit, to punch.

Does Melvin slug the bear?

No, Melvin does not slug the bear. The bear slugs Melvin.

Why does the bear slug Melvin?

Well, because Melvin insulted him. Melvin shot his mouth off to the bear. The bear got angry and slugged Melvin, knocking him out.

The next night, Melvin goes to the Globe, another bar. This time he drinks 52 beers in just 20 minutes. He gets hammered and once again shoots his mouth off in the bar. He insults everyone.

‘To get hammered’ means to get drunk. Again, it’s slang. ‘To get hammered’ or ‘to be hammered’ means to be drunk.

Does the black bear get hammered?

Nope, the black bear doesn’t get hammered, doesn’t get drunk.

Who gets hammered?

Melvin the mountain lion gets hammered again.

After he gets hammered, what does he do again?

Shoots his mouth off. He insults everyone in the bar.

When does he shoot his mouth off?

When he gets hammered. When he gets drunk.

And who gets hammered?

Melvin. Melvin the mountain lion gets hammered; gets drunk once again.

The bouncer hears Melvin harassing everyone. He grabs Melvin and throws him out of the bar. Melvin passes out in the street.

‘To pass out’ means to become unconscious, like sleeping. It’s because of alcohol usually or maybe some other reason, but it’s from drinking too much. You pass out means you kind of fall asleep. You fall unconscious.

So who passes out in the street?

Melvin passes out in the street.

Where does he pass out?

In the street. He passes out in the street.

Why does Melvin pass out in the street?

Because he’s hammered. Because he’s so drunk.

Why in the street? Why does he pass out in the street, why not in the bar?

Because the bouncer throws him onto the street. And then he passes out.

For the next five months Melvin continues to get drunk every night and continues to get in trouble. Finally, he realizes that he must stop drowning his sorrows.

‘To drown your sorrows’ is an idiom. It means to drink to avoid your problems.. It means to drink to feel better. It means when you’re sad, you feel bad, then you drink something, you drink alcohol and then you feel better. It’s called drowning your sorrows.

So who must stop drowning his sorrows?

Melvin. Melvin must stop drowning his sorrows.

Why was he drowning his sorrows?

Because he was depressed when his girlfriend left him.

Was he drinking to be happy or was he drowning his sorrows?

He was drowning his sorrows. He was drowning his bad feelings with alcohol.

Melvin decides to leave town, to go into the mountains and to quit cold turkey.

‘To quit cold turkey’ means to quit suddenly. Not gradually, totally and suddenly.

Does he quit drinking cold turkey or does he quit drinking very slowly and gradually?

He quits cold turkey, very suddenly.

Who quits cold turkey?

Melvin the mountain lion quits cold turkey.

What does he quit cold turkey?

He quits drinking alcohol cold turkey, very suddenly.

Why does he quit cold turkey?

Well, because he realizes that he must stop drowning his sorrows.

And where does he quit cold turkey?

In the mountains. He goes into the mountains and he quits drinking cold turkey.

The first few days without drinking are miserable. Melvin feels sick, but after one week he feels much better. He enjoys being in the mountains. He enjoys the clean air. Each day, Melvin gets happier and stronger.

How does he feel each day?

Happier and stronger.

Why does he feel happier and stronger each day?

Because he quits drinking cold turkey.

Finally, he decides to continue living a simple and natural life in the mountains.

He remains clean, sober and happy the rest of his life.

How does he remain the rest of his life?

Clean, sober and happy.

And that is the end of our mini story. With the mini story, as always, listen to it each day one or more times. Pause after each question and shout your answer to the question.

You can just use one or two words when you answer the question. You don’t need to practice in full sentences. You don’t need to shout full sentence answers. Just a few little words, one, two words, yes, no. Have your shoulders back, smile. Use a lot of energy when you do this, when possible.

Okay, I’ll see you later. Have a great day. Bye for now.