Charlotte’s Web

Vote with your feet. Go to one side of the classroom if you agree, and move to the other side if you disagree with these statements.

• An animal can be your friend. • Animals understand how we feel. • Dogs are better than cats. • I am afraid of birds. • Spiders are scary. • A pet can change your life.

Elwyn Brooks White (1899–1985) was an American writer of children’s books. ! hoghouse grisehus replied svarte Remember! You don’t have to understand all the words in a story to enjoy it. E.B. WHITE Charlotte’s Web Before Breakfast “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. “Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.” “I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight. “Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt. It’s very small and weak, and it will never amount to Vurderingseksemplar continued fortsatte a runt den minste, anything. So your father has decided to do away with it.” en spjæling “Do away with it?” shrieked Fern. “You mean kill it? Just never amount to any thing aldri bli because it’s smaller than the others?” til noe Mrs. Arable put a pitcher of cream on the table. “Don’t do away with kvitte seg med, drepe yell, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would pitcher mugge probably die anyway.” cream fløte yell rop Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The sneakers joggesko grass was wet and the earth smelled of springtime. Fern’s sopping gjennomvåte caught up with sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her innhentet, tok igjen father. sobbed hulket unfair urettferdig “Please don’t kill it!” she sobbed. “It’s unfair.” Mr. Arable stopped walking.

“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.” “Control myself?” yelled Fern. “This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand. “Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble. Now run along!” “But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?” Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another.” “I see no difference,” replied Fern, still hanging on to the ax. “This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of.”

VurderingseksemplarDakota Fanning as Fern in the film Charlotte’s Web from 2006. gently forsiktig raising ale opp litter of pigs grisekull weakling svekling runty liten, svak injustice urettferdighet

queer underlig carton eske set for dekket til damp plaster fuktig mur stove ovnen sink vask roller towel her: kjøkkenhåndkle approached nærmet seg wobbled vippet lid lokk shone (shine) skinte untimely her: for tidlig foolishness dumskap heavily armed tungt bevæpnet wooden dagger tredolk demanded krevde å få vite miserable ynkelige specimen eksemplar distribute dele ut to rid å frigjøre injustice urettferdighet nevertheless likevel promptly straks

A queer look came over John Arable’s face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself. “All right,” he said. “You go back to the house and I will bring the runt when I come in. I’ll let you start it on a bottle, like a baby. Then you’ll see what trouble a pig can be.” When Mr. Arable returned to the house half an hour later, he carried a carton under his arm. Fern was upstairs changing her sneakers. The kitchen table was set for breakfast, and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, damp plaster, and wood smoke from the stove. “Put it on her chair!” said Mrs. Arable. Mr. Arable set the carton down at Fern’s place. Then he walked to the sink and washed his hands and dried them on the roller towel. Fern came slowly down the stairs. Her eyes were red from crying. As she approached her chair, the carton wobbled, and there was a scratching noise. Fern looked at her father. Then she lifted the lid of the carton. There, inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig. It was a white one. The morning light shone through its ears, turning them pink. “He’s yours,” said Mr. Arable. “Saved from an untimely death. And may the good Lord forgive me for this foolishness.” Fern couldn’t take her eyes off the tiny pig. “Oh,” she whispered. “Oh, look at him! He’s absolutely perfect.” She closed the carton carefully. First she kissed her father, then she kissed her mother. Then she opened the lid again, lifted the pig out, and held it against her cheek. At this moment her brother Avery came into the room. Avery was ten. He was heavily armed – an air rifle in one hand, a wooden dagger in the other. “What’s that?” he demanded. “What’s Fern got?” “She’s got a guest for breakfast,” said Mrs. Arable. Vurderingseksemplar

“Wash your hands and face, Avery.” “Let’s see it!” said Avery, setting his gun down. “You call that miserable thing a pig? That’s a fine specimen of a pig – it’s no bigger than a white rat.” “Wash up and eat your breakfast, Avery!” said his mother.

“The school bus will be along in half an hour.” “Can I have a pig, too, Pop?” asked Avery. “No, I only distribute pigs to early risers,” said Mr. Arable.

“Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice.

As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to be sure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly. Let’s eat!”

But Fern couldn’t eat until her pig had had a drink of milk. Mrs. Arable found a baby’s nursing bottle and a rubber nipple. She poured warm milk into the bottle, fitted the nipple over the top, and handed it to Fern. “Give him his breakfast!” she said. A minute later, Fern was seated on the floor in the corner of the kitchen with her infant between her knees, teaching it to suck from the bottle. The pig, although tiny, had a good appetite and caught on quickly. The school bus honked from the road. “Run!” commanded Mrs. Arable, taking the pig from Fern and slipping a doughnut into her hand. Avery grabbed his gun and another doughnut. The children ran out to the road and climbed into the bus. Fern took no notice of the others in the bus. She just sat and stared out of the window, thinking what a blissful world it was and how lucky she was to have entire charge of a pig. By the time the bus reached school, Fern had named her pet, selecting the most beautiful name she could think of. “Its name is Wilbur,” she whispered to herself. She was still thinking about the pig when the teacher said: “Fern, what is the capital of Pennsylvania?” “Wilbur,” said Fern, dreamily. The pupils giggled. Fern blushed. Excerpt from Charlotte’s Web

nursing bottle tåteflaske rubber nipple smokk fitted skrudde infant spebarn caught on lærte det, klarte det honked tutet doughnut smultring blissful herlig have entire charge of ha hele ansvaret for pet kjæledyr giggled kniste blushed rødmet

UNDERSTANDING

d: Vurderingseksemplar

1 True or false? If the statement is false, write what is true. a Fern is 10 years old. b Fern’s father plans to kill the smallest and weakest pig. c It is summer. d Mr. Arable is taking a gun to the hoghouse. e The pig has milk for breakfast. f The pig is pink with white ears. g The father says Avery cannot have a pig because he overslept. h Fern is sad on the way to school.

VIEWPOINTS

2 Discuss the questions. a What do you think Fern’s father means when he says that a small, weak pig only makes trouble? b Why do you think the father changes his mind about killing the pig? c What do you think will happen later? Do you think Fern will be able to take care of the pig?

VOCABULARY

3 Last Man Standing You need a ball for this game. Form a circle with your classmates. If your class is big, form two circles and use two balls. Decide a category of words, for example “animals”. One pupil starts the game by holding the ball and saying a word within the category, for example “duck”. The pupil throws the ball to another pupil, who has to say another animal. If the pupil says an animal that has been mentioned before, or can’t think of an animal, he/she sits down. The last pupil standing is the winner of the game. CREATIVE CORNER 4 Work in pairs or groups and role-play a scene from the story. LANGUAGE LAB 5 Phrasal verbs. Vurderingseksemplar

Here are some expressions from the text. Use each of them in the sentences below. do away with – catch up with – take hold of – wash up – catch on – take notice of a Fern did not take notice of any other children on the school bus. b Mr. Arable wanted to ___ the small, weak runt. c Fern tried to ___ the ax. d Mrs. Arable asked Avery to ___. e Wilbur is quick to ___ when Fern feeds him from a bottle. f Fern runs towards the hoghouse, trying to ___ her father.

6 Spelling though, through, tough, thought Translate into English: a gjennom b tenkte/trodde c tøff d enda/selv om

7 Find the missing word: though, tough, thought or through. Pay extra attention to spelling. a Wilbur’s ears looked pink when the morning light shone through them. b Fern was ___ when she argued with her father. c Her father ___ about what Fern said about injustice. d Fern could not stop thinking about Wilbur, ___ she was at school. e ___ Mr. Arable is probably used to it, doing away with small pigs must be a ___ job. f Fern could not accept the ___ of a small pig that would die because it was small and weak. g Mrs. Arable smiled when she saw Mr. Arable walk ___ the door with the carton.

8 The present simple Find the correct form of the verb in the present simple. a Mrs. Arable tells (tell) Fern that some pigs were born last night. b Fern ___ (do) not understand why her father needs an axe. c One of the newborn pigs ___ (be) very small and weak. d The pigs ___ (be) in the hoghouse. e Tears ___ (run) down Ferns cheeks when she ___ (try) to make her father save the little pig. f Her father ___ (do) not kill the little pig. g The parents ___ (decide) to let her keep the pig. h They ___ (explain) that the pig ___ (be) Fern’s responsibility. i She ___ (have) to take care of it. j Mrs. Arable ___ (find) a baby’s nursing bottle and ___ (fill) it with warm milk. k Fern and her brother ___ (take) the bus to school. l She ___ (do) not give the right answer to the teacher’s question. m She ___ (be) thinking about Wilbur, who ___ (be) at home.