Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option.
Mr Raven is a ____. (bird/frog)
Mr Raven is a bird.
The name of the fox is ____. (Raven/Reynard)
The name of the fox is Reynard.
Mr Raven had ____ in his beak. (a piece of food/ a bunch of leaves)
Mr Raven had a piece of food in his beak.
The Fox calls the Raven a ____ bird. (foolish/good-looking)
The Fox calls the Raven a good-looking bird.
The Fox asks the Raven to ____. (dance/sing)
The Fox asks the Raven to sing.
The Raven and the Fox live in the ____. (trees/woods)
The Raven and the Fox live in the woods.
The Raven ____ that he croaked. (remembered/forgot)
The Raven forgot that he croaked.
The Raven opened its beak to ____. (eat/sing)
The Raven opened its beak to sing.
The ____ fell down. (food/Raven)
The food fell down.
The Fox ____ at the Raven. (laughed/looked)
The Fox laughed at the Raven.
It is not ____ to be too proud of oneself. (wise/unwise)
It is not wise to be too proud of oneself.
The Raven learnt a ____. (lesson/teaching)
The Raven learnt a lesson.
Explanation
((a)(i)) The poem refers to Mr Raven as a bird with feathers and a beak. The first stanza establishes that he is perched on a limb (branch) and has a beak, confirming he is a bird. ((a)(ii)) The poem explicitly states 'Reynard the Fox looked up at him' in Stanza 1, giving the fox the name Reynard. ((a)(iii)) The poem mentions 'the Raven held in his great big beak, A morsel the Fox would go far to seek.' A morsel refers to a small piece of food. ((b)(i)) In Stanza 2, the Fox says 'Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird. Such feathers!' The word 'handsome' means good-looking. ((b)(ii)) The Fox says 'If you would only sing, The birds of these woods would call you King.' This is a request for the Raven to sing. ((b)(iii)) The Fox mentions 'The birds of these woods would call you King' in Stanza 2, indicating the setting is the woods. ((c)(i)) Stanza 3 states 'The Raven, who did not see the joke, Forgot that his voice was just a croak.' ((c)(ii)) The Fox had flattered the Raven by saying he could be King if he sang. Blinded by pride, the Raven opened his beak to sing, not realizing it would cause him to drop his food. ((c)(iii)) Stanza 3 states 'And down fell the morsel the Fox had eyed.' The morsel refers to the food. ((d)(i)) Stanza 4 begins with 'Ha-ha! laughed the Fox.' The Fox laughed at the Raven's foolishness. ((d)(ii)) The Fox says 'Pride, my friend, is rather unwise' in Stanza 4, meaning it is not wise to be proud. ((d)(iii)) While the Fox uses the word 'teaching' in the poem ('I'm sure this teaching is quite a surprise'), the common expression is that one 'learns a lesson' from such experiences.