A Wise Lion

Once upon a time， a wise lion lived in the jungle. He was always respected for his intelligence and kindness. All the animals loved him and said that he was the best king they could ever have.

There was an empty cave a few miles away from the jungle. One day， a monster went to the cave and lived there. He was very evil and wanted to eat the animals. He had a bad idea.

The monster would invite some animals to the cave for a party and later eat them. The monster knew the lion was very wise and would not allow any animal to come to the party， so he did not invite the lion. He also knew how brave and strong the lion was. In fact， the monster was really scared of him.

All the animals accepted the monster’s invitation. A zebra found that their king of the jungle wasn’t invited， so he went to the lion to ask him to go with them. When the zebra told him about the party， the lion immediately understood the monster’s plan. The lion told all the animals to wait outside the cave and he went into the cave alone.

Seeing the lion， the monster got really scared and tried to run away， but the lion caught him. The monster asked for forgiveness， but the lion wouldn’t forgive him unless he left the cave and never came back. So， the monster agreed and left.

All the animals thanked the lion for saving them from the monster.

词语链接：

1. once upon a time 意思是“很久很久以前，曾经，从前”，相关短语还有：

upon a time 从前；once a while 时时，时不时；once a month 每月一次；once a week 每周一次；all a once 全局的； every once in a while 偶尔；once in a life time 一生难得的；once in a lifetime 千载难逢（的好机会）；once in a century 百年不遇的；once over lightly 草率的工作（如打扫或整理）；once over 浏览一遍，大略调查，草草看一遍；at once payment 立即付款；once firing 一次烧成

2. invite的用法：

invite作及物动词，意思是“邀请，招待”。其过去式为 invited；过去分词为 invited；现在分词为 inviting。常用结构为：

invite sb. 邀请某人。如：

He invite me to dinner. 他邀请我去吃晚饭。

invite sb. to do sth. 邀请某人做某事。如：

I should invite them to join us. 我应邀请他们加入我们。

invite sb. to sw. 邀请某人去某地。如：

I have invited him to my home. 我已经邀请他来我家。

invite名词形式为invitation，相关短语有：

accept an invitation 接受邀请；make an invitation 制定邀请；turn down an invitation 拒绝邀请

跟踪练习：

1. What does the underlined word “evil” mean in Chinese？

A.可爱的 B.勇猛的

C.腼腆的 D.邪恶的

2. Why did the monster invite the animals to the party？

A. Because he wanted to make friends with them.

B. Because he wanted them to go to the cave and eat them.

C. Because he wanted to share the cave with them.

D. Because he is bored.

3. How did the lion know about the monster’s plan？

A. The monster told him.

B. By going to the cave.

C. By attending the party.

D. By listening to the zebra.

4. What would happen at the end of the story？

A. The monster left the cave without eating animals.

B. The monster was killed by the lion.

C. The monster lived in the cave and never came out.

D. The monster made friends with all the animals.

5. Which of the following can’t be used to describe the lion？

A. Brave. B. Kind.

C. Cruel. D. Smart.