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Aesop Fables

The Bundle of Sticks

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a faggot of sticks, and said to his eldest son, "Break it." The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. "Untie the faggots," said the father, "and each of you take a stick." When they had done so, he called out to them, "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken. "You see my meaning," said their father.

Questions:

  1. Why did the sons get together?


  2. When did the sons manage to break the sticks?



  3. What moral did the father try to teach his sons?


    Transform the following sentence into reported speech.

  4. The father said to his eldest son, »Break the sticks.« -

    Change into a relative clause.

  5. The servant brought some sticks. The old man gave the sticks to his eldest son.
    The servant


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