Reading

To practice some of the language items you willneed for planning and doing your presentation, you are going to talk about responsibilities.

You will start by reading and reflecting on a Japanese legend.

The Blue Butterfly

Once upon a time, there was a man who became a widower and was left with his two young daughters. Both ginls were very smart, curious, and always wanted to learn everything about the world. They were constantly asking their father all kinds of complex questions.Usually, the man was able to provide an answer; but there were many times when he wasn't sure how he should respond.

As a solution, he had the idea of sending his daughters to spend some time with a wise man who lived on top of a hill and who surely would be able to provide answers to all the questions the girls asked without hesitation. And he did, whatever the girls asked, he always had an answer: But, one day, the ginls devised a plan to challenge the wise man and ask him a question he wouldn't be able to answer:

To carry out their plan, the older ginl caught a blue butterfly and explained to her sister:'Tomorrow, while I hold the butterfly in my hands, we will ask him whether the butterfly is alive or dead. If he says that it's alive, I'llpress my hands together and kil it. But, if he says that it's dead, I'll open my hands and the butterfly will fly away. This way, he will be wrong.regardless of his answer'

The next morning, the girls approached the wise man, the butterfly clasped in the older ginl's hands, and asked him the question. The man just smiled and, with a shrug, he answered:"It's up to you: It's in your hands."

1. In communities, discuss this question: What does this legend teach us about responsibility?

2. When you finish, share your thoughts with the rest of the classroom community.



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