1.4 The power of speech  (Page 2/2)

I command that you be struck dumb from now onwardsand that your gift go from you and into the head ofthat poor horse that is being abused so badly by his owner.It is time that he expressed his feelings and that his owner heard him.”

And there sat the Prince, unable to speak at all.He soon lost all his friends, who lost patience with his tantrums.His family found it increasingly difficult to cope with himand it was not long before he realized what he had done.He became a lonely, miserable little boy.

  

In the meantime, the horse that was being abused,turned around to his owner one day(when he was being beaten unfairly, laden with too muchand expected to do too much without proper fodder or adequate water), and spokeclearly, honestly, rationally and calmly,“Neigh, this will not do. I should like to ask youto consider how I feel too.

I know that you do not mean to be unkind to me, but you must realize that I help you with earning your living and so deserve to be treated better. After all, we are in this business together, so let us work out a plan together. Please give me enough food and water, do not over­load me, nor expect me to do too much in one day. Then I shall work for you until the day I drop and will give you good service and help your business to grow. Then we can both benefit.”

The owner was so surprised by the unselfish and wise attitude of his horse that he listened

to the calm words of his work horse, changed his habits and became a better owner.

And he and his horse lived happily ever after.

As for the Prince, he realized the folly of his ways and was luckily given another chance and today is a wise and well-loved King, who says what he means and means what he says.

He knows when to keep his mouth wide shut and when to speak.He is a good listener. A wise decision-maker.And people come from far and wide to see how he has learnt to use the gift of language so well.

THE END

We hope you enjoyed this story! Why not draw an illustration to suit this story:

Now, from the story, extract the following information:

1. Give EIGHT good reasons for using language well.

What kind of problem can be solved by the good use of language? HOW should one speak, in general? Draw up the invitation to the above party and write the reply.

Write a good narrative essay of your own (Use extra paper of your own, if necessary) of about 250/300 words (1 ½ - 2 pgs) about:

A special boy / girl who had trouble expressing him- / herself e.g.

A shy person . . . It does not have to be a fairy story.

Use the following checklist to guide you with the essay-writing and the invitation.

Now, do some peer-editing where a friend or partner checks your work too

EXTRA ROUGH NOTES

Opening paragraph idea (to attract the attention of the reader):

Closing paragraph

FINAL ESSAY

Reminder: Hand in your rough work / rough draft with the final essay.

Now, in about 10 – 12 sentences, summarise ‘The Power of the Word’.

Assessment