درسنامه داستان کوتاه

Pilgrimage – Mini Story

Welcome to the mini story for this month’s lesson. Let’s begin.

There is a little boy. He’s only three years old and his name is Makun. Makun is not a normal little boy. In fact, even though his name is Makun, everyone just calls him ‘mushroom boy’, because he loves mushrooms. No one knows why, but ever since he was a tiny baby, Makun has loved mushrooms. He has always been fascinated by mushrooms. He has enjoyed looking at them and holding them.

What has Makun always loved?

He has always loved mushrooms.

Has he always loved cars?

No. He hasn’t always loved cars.

What has he always loved?

He has always loved mushrooms.

He has always been fascinated by mushrooms. He has enjoyed looking at them and holding them. And now, every day mushroom boy bugs his mother to go outside and collect mushrooms. Mom, mom, mom let’s go outside and find mushrooms.

What does mushroom boy do to his mom?

He bugs her. Mushroom boy bugs her.

(What does bug mean, to bug? It’s a kind of idiom or slang. To bug means to bother. To annoy, to harass, but in a minor way, a small way)

So mushroom boy bugs his mother.

Why does mushroom boy bug his mother?

Because he wants to go outside and collect mushrooms.

When he bugs his mother, when he bothers his mother, what does mushroom say?

He said, ‘let’s go outside and find mushrooms.’ Mom, mom, mom let’s go outside and find mushrooms.

Even though she’s busy his mom takes him into the woods to search for mushrooms. Every day mushroom boy collects mushrooms. When he gets home he looks in a mushroom book and identifies each mushroom.

What does he do after he collects them?

He looks in a book and identifies each mushroom.

Where does he identify each mushroom?

In a mushroom book.

Of course, Makun can’t read yet so his mother must read the names to him. Mushroom boy also dissects the mushrooms, studies them and eats the edible ones.

What does he do first? What does he do with the mushrooms?

He dissects them.

(To dissect something means to cut it open, cut something open. Usually for studying, so you can dissect a dead animal. You cut it open to study it. He dissects mushrooms, he cuts them open to study them)

What does mushroom dissect?

Mushrooms. Mushroom boy dissects mushrooms.

Why does he dissect mushrooms?

Because he wants to study them. He wants to study inside them.

Does he dissect animals?

No. Mushroom boy doesn’t dissect animals, he dissects mushrooms.

After he dissects and studies them, what does he do?

He eats them, but he only eats the edible ones. He only eats the edible mushrooms.

(Edible means eatable, able to be eaten. Edible means they’re not poisonous. Some mushrooms are not edible)

Which mushrooms does he eat?

The edible ones, the ones that are safe to eat. The edible ones. Mushroom boy only eats edible mushrooms.

Are all mushrooms edible?

No. All mushrooms are not edible. Some mushrooms are poisonous. Only some are edible. He eats the edible ones of course.

Well finally, when he gets a little older, mushroom boy goes to school. During his first class the teacher opens a textbook and gives worksheets to the students. Mushroom boy is bored. He says to the teacher, ‘I want to go outside to find mushrooms.’ The teacher says, ‘mushrooms aren’t important. You need to study important things so you can get a good job when you grow up.’ Well, mushroom boy is skeptical.

(Skeptical means that you don’t agree with something. That you’re not sure about something. You say I’m skeptical about that, it means I’m not sure about it. I don’t completely agree with it. I’m wary about it.)

So is mushroom boy skeptical about what the teacher says? Is he skeptical or does he agree completely?

Mushroom boy is skeptical. He doesn’t really agree with it.

Does he agree or is he skeptical?

He’s skeptical. He’s not very sure. He thinks maybe it’s wrong.

He thinks to himself, after all, what could be more important than mushrooms. As he grows older he continues to be fascinated with mushrooms. When he learns to read he checks out every mushroom book in the library. He reads websites about mushrooms too and he continues to collect and identify mushrooms with his mother. When he enters high school, Makun’s mother goes to a parent/teacher conference. (That’s where the parent talks to the teacher) The teacher says to his mother, ‘Makun needs to get his priorities straight. Mushrooms are not important. He needs to focus on improving his test scores.’

What does Makun need to do, according to the teacher?

Get his priorities straight.

(To get your priorities straight means to understand what is most important. To decide what is most important. To know what is most important.)

Makun thinks what is most important?

Mushrooms. Makun thinks mushrooms are the most important thing in the world.

Does the teacher agree with these priorities?

No. The teacher does not agree with Makun’s priorities. The teacher says, ‘Makun needs to get his priorities straight.’ He needs to improve his priorities.

Mushroom boys mom second guesses herself.

(To second guess yourself means to doubt yourself. To second guess means to doubt)

So mushroom boy second guesses herself. She wonders, ‘should I stop encouraging him? Should I stop him from collecting mushrooms?’ But, when she sees how happy he is collecting mushrooms she decides to ignore the teacher’s advice. Eventually, mushroom boy manages to enter college. Of course, he majors in mushroom science. All the career counselors at the college tell him he’s crazy.

(To major in something means to study it. It means it’s your number one focus of study. If you major in journalism then it means you get a journalism degree. If you major in economics then it means you’re trying to get an economics degree.

What does mushroom boy major in?

Mushroom boy majors in mushroom science, of course. He majors in mushroom science in college. He studies mushroom science.

Do the career counselors think it’s a good idea to major in mushroom science?

No, they tell him he’s crazy.

The career counselors say, ‘you should choose a useful major, like business or computer programming.’ But, Makun ignores them. He studies mushrooms every day. He grows them in his dorm. He eats them. He cooks them. He writes papers about them. After he graduates everyone tells mushroom boy, now it’s time to get serious and find a real job. Instead, mushroom boy goes on a round the world trip. He travels the world. His goal is to discover new mushrooms and study them. Everyone, except his mom, thinks he’s crazy.

After many years of travel and learning mushroom boy discovers an amazing new mushroom. This mushroom cures disease and makes people stronger and healthier. Mushroom boy cultivates (grows), harvests (collects) and dehydrates

(dries) this special mushroom and then he sells it on the Internet for a reasonable price. What does he do with this special mushroom?

First he cultivates it, he grows it.

Does he cultivate it or does he kill it?

He cultivates it. He grows it.

What does mushroom boy cultivate?

He cultivates a special mushroom.

After it grows, after he grows it, after he cultivates it he harvests it. He collects it. And finally, he dehydrates it. He dries it.

What does he dehydrate?

The special mushroom.

Why does he dehydrate the mushroom?

So he can sell it more easily. He dehydrates the special mushroom so he can sell it more easily.

Where does he sell the dehydrated mushrooms?

On the Internet.

His mushrooms become very popular, everyone loves them and mushroom boy’s company grows and grows. He becomes very wealthy. He buys a nice new home for his mother. And, he starts a new charity to help sick people.

That is the end of our mini story. As usual smile, have your shoulders back, be energetic when you listen to this story. Move around if you can and when you answer the questions, pause and shout your answers with energy.

See you next time. Have a great day.