The emperor Akbar had many hobbies. He liked playing chess and flying kites; He liked listening to stories of other lands; but his favorite hobby was collecting horses, good horses.
One day a horse dealer came to the palace. He had a team of horses to sell. The emperor came out and looked at the horses.
“They are very fine horses,” said Akbar. “I’ll buy them. Have got any more?”
“No sir,” said the dealer. “But if you give me some money, I will go to Afghanistan and buy some more.”
Akbar gave the horse dealer two hundred silver rupees for the team of horses, and two hundred rupees more to bring more horses from Afghanistan. He gave him the money but he did not ask him any questions. He did not ask what his name was, where he came from, or where he lived. The horse dealer took the money and went away.
A few days later, Akbar asked Birbal to make a list of the ten biggest fools in India. Birbal made the list very quickly, and took it to the emperor. As Akbar began to read it, his eyes opened wide. The emperor’s name was at the top of the list!
“What’s this, Birbal?” the emperor shouted. “Why is my name at the top of the list?”
“You deserve to be at the top,” Birbal explained. “You gave money to a stranger, and you didn’t ask who he was or were he came from. Isn’t that foolish?”
“But I gave him the money to buy horses,” said Akbar. “When he brings me back the horses, I’ll……..”
“When he brings you the horses, I’ll remove your name from the top of the list, and I’ll write his name there instead,” said Birbal.
Then Akbar realized he had indeed been foolish.
1a) Take the story of “The list of fools” and write as many questions as you can think of; use as many question types as you can for each of the five levels. Obviously, you would not use all of them in one lesson.
LEVEL ONE
1) What is the emperor’s name?
Answer : his name is Akbar
2) The emperor likes to play chess?
a) true b) false
Answer : true
3) Did the emperor buy horses?
Answer : Yes he did
4) How much did the emperor pay for the horses?
Answer : the emperor paid 200 silver rupees
acceptable answer : 200 silver rupees.
5) Did the emperor want to buy more horses?
a) Yes b) No
Answer : yes
LEVEL TWO
1) How many hobbies does the emperor have?
a) 1 b) 2 c) 4 d) 5
Answer : 4
2) Who came to the palace?
a) Birbal b) the horse dearler
Answer : the horse dealer
3) What is Akbar’s favourite hobby?
a) playing chess b) collecting horses
Answer : collecting horses
4) Did Akbar as k the horse dealer his name ?
Answer : no he didn’t
5) What is a fool?
a) someone silly b) someone intelligent
Answer : someone silly
LEVEL THREE
1) Where does Akbar live?
Answer : he lives in India
Acceptable answer : in India
2) What did Akbar ask Birbal to do?
Answer : He asked to make a list of fools
Acceptable answer : a list of fools
3) Where did the horse dealer say he was going?
Answer : he said he was going to Afghanistan
Acceptable answer : to Afghanistan
4) Did the horse dealer come back?
a) yes b) no
Answer : no
5) Who was on top of the “list of fools”?
Answer : It was Akbar
Acceptable answer : Akbar
LEVEL FOUR
1) Name all of Akbar’s hobbies?
Answer : playing chess, collecting horses, flying kites and listening to stories
Answers may not necessarily be in this particular order
2) What is a team of horses?
Answer : It is a group or a bunch of horses.
3) When did Akbar ask Birbal to make the list of fools?
Answer : A few days later
4) Why was Akbar surprised by Birbal’s list?
Answer : he was surprised because his name was at the top.
Acceptable answer : his name was on the list
5) Why did Birbal write the emperor’s name on the list?
Answer : He wrote the emperor’s name because the emperor gave money to a stranger without knowing his name or where he came from.
Acceptable answer : He gave money to a stranger
LEVEL FIVE
1) Who is wiser, Akbar or Birbal?
Answer : It is Birbal
2) Why did Akbar gave another 200 silver rupees to the horse dealer?
Answer : To buy another team of horses
Acceptable answer : to buy more horses
3) Do you think the horse dealer will come back ?
Answer : Much of this answer will depend on the students point of view.
a) The most obvious would be that the horse dealer is not going to come back and that he was smarter than the emperor.
b) Some students may want to answer yes, believing that the horse dealer is an honest man.
4) In your opinion, why do you think Akbar never asked the horse dealer’s name or where he came from?
Answer : Because Akbar trusted the horse dealer
5) Why did Akbar interrupt Birbal?
Answer : because Akbar was angry to see his name on the list
Acceptable answer : he was angry
1b) When you have done this, decide the approximate age and level of a class of students with whom you could use the story.
i) Assume you are using it for listening comprehension, and make a selection from the above – say, 20 questions for oral question and answer. Give the answers that you expect from the students and which you would find acceptable.
This is a class of young adults at a pre-intermediate level. The passage “The list of fools” is being used for listening comprehension and speaking practice. A list of twenty questions has been set.
What is the emperor’s name?
Answer : His name is Akbar
Where is the emperor’s palace?
Answer : the palace is in India
What is Akbar’s favorite hobby ?
Answer : his favorite hobby is collecting horses
What kind of horses does the emperor like ?
Answer : he likes fine horses.
Who came to the palace?
Answer : the horse dealer
Did the emperor like the horses ?
Answer : yes he did
What makes you think the emperor liked the horses?
Answer : because he wanted to buy more horses
How much in total did the emperor pay the horse dealer?
Answer : he paid in total 400 silver rupees
Where was the horse dealer going :
Answer : he was going to Afghanistan
What is the horse dealer’s name ?
Answer : it was never mentioned
Do you think the horse dealer will come back ?
Answer : The answer will vary according to the students, some may choose to believe the horse dealer is an honest man, while others may believe the dealer is dishonest and will not come back.
Who is Birbal in the story ?
Answer : he is the court adjuster, or like the Prime Minister.
Why do you think the emperor never asked the horse dealer any questions?
Answer : The answer will vary according to the students, some may think the emperor trusted the horse dealer, while others may believe the emperor was not very smart.
What did the emperor ask Birbal to do?
Answer : he asked him to make o list of the ten biggest fools in India
What is a “fool” ?
Answer : a silly person or someone who has done something silly
In the story, what do you think the expression “His eyes opened wide” mean?
Answer : It expresses the emperor’s surprise when he saw his name at the top of the list of fools.
Explain why was the emperor surprised to see his name on the list of fools ?
Answer : The answer will generate multiple answers. The main answer will be, as the emperor he should be not be included as he is the ruler of India.
Who do you think is smarter? The emperor or the horse dealer?
Answer : the horse dealer for taking the money.
Why did the Emperor shout at Birbal?
Answer : He felt insulted to be at the top of the list
Why did Birbal interrupt the Emperor at the end of the story ?
Answer : to make the Emperor realize that he had been foolish for trusting a total stranger with money.
1b) When you have done this, decide the approximate age and level of a class of students with whom you could use the story.
Now assume you are using the story for intensive reading. Prepare a worksheet of 10 questions testing comprehension and vocabulary. (Some but not all may be similar to those in i.) Include at least 2 multiple-choice questions and two WH questions. Indicate the answers you would find acceptable.
This is a class of young adults at a pre-intermediate level. The passage “The list of fools” is being used for intensive reading. A worksheet of ten (10) questions has been set to test the comprehension and vocabulary.
What is an Emperor ?
Answer : He is a man who is the ruler of an empire / a ruler, a royal leader
In the sentence “A team of horses”, The word “team” can be replaced by :
players
group
crew
company
Answer : b) a group of horses
Where does the story take place ?
Answer : the story takes place in India
Find and list all the proper nouns from the story :
Answer : Akbar, Birbal, Afghanistan, India
What type of stories did the Emperor like ?
Answer : He liked stories of other lands
In the sentence ” Isn’t that foolish?” The word “foolish” can be replaced by :
Wise
Clever
Silly
Sensible
Answer : c) silly
In the sentence : “He liked listening to stories of other lands” What does other lands means ?
Answer : It means other countries.
What are hobbies ?
Answer : an activity that you enjoy doing in your free time ( interest, pastime)
Was the horse dealer an honest person and why ?
Answer : No he was not honest because he did not come back with more horses.
Why did the horse dealer come to the palace ?
Answer : He came to sell horses.
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