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Theseus and the Minotaur

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Activities

'l

What's the book about?

front of this book.You can see a man and a
picture.Then
write these words in the sentences.
Minotaur.Talk about the
Look at the picture on the

bad dark good knife room

name

1 They are in a smat[..........f99f"...""".""...

2 lt is.."..".."..".
in the room.
... is Theseus.
3 The young man's .........
4 He is a
."...."..... man.
5 The Minotaur is big and
6 The young man has a ................. in his hand.
.

What happens first?

What do you think? Number the picture s,1-.4.

11

CHAPTER

A King's Sword
'You haue two
fathers, Theseus,' his mother said. 'You are tle son of Posei.d.on,
the god of the sea, and the son of KingAegeus.'

with his mother in toezen, in Greece. He was a

clever, hrppy young man, but he did not knorv his father.
One da his mother said to him. 'Cor-ne u'ith n-re into the garden,
Theseus. Do you see that big rocki Cirn vou move it. mv son?'
heseus lived

Theseus was strong. He moved the rock rnd looked under it. There
was a sword

a king's swordl

god /god/ (n) Apollo was not a man. He was a Greek god.
king /kr4/ (n) The people in this country love their klng.
rock /rok/ (n) That rock is going to fall on his head.
sword /scrd/ (n) He was dead on the floor, with a srzord in his back.

Theseus and the Minotaur

'This is the sword of King Aegeus,' his mother said. 'And now it

is

yours.'
Theseus looked at her, and then at the sword. 'Mine?' he said. "Mhy
is

it mine?'
'You have two fathers, Theseus,' his mother said. 'You are the son

of

Poseidon, the god of the sea, and the son of King Aegeus. King Aegeus
lives in Athen. Gotto him now.

It

is time.'

That night, Theseus said goodbye to his mother.

'I am going to walk t my fatherk home,' he said to her.
'But it is a long and difficult walk,' his mother said.
'I am strong,'Theseus said. 'You know that, Mother. Dont cry for me.'

'.

cry lkratl (V past cried /krard4 Dont cry! Be happy.

2

Chapter

I -A

Kine's Srvord

Theseus walked for ten dar-s. There \\'.re man). bad men on the road.

But he fought them - and he killed rhem. Then he came to Athens, to

the home of King Aegeus.
ButAegeus had a ne.. r-ife. \fdea.

rnd she

had a son roo. She was

angry about Theseus.

'He is your father's firsr son,'

she said to her son-'Youare going
to be king after your father - nor
him.'
She wanted to killTheseus.
But Aegeus watched her and he
stopped her.

The king talked to Theseus.

'You moved the rock and you have
my sword,'he said. 'You are my
son.'
fight /fartl (V past fought

/f rt/) (n) Don'r fight himt He has a knife.

people for money.
wife /warf/ (n) My mother was my father's first wife.

kill /krl/ (v) They kil/

;u
A King Cries
'The Minotaur liues in d drk lnaze neltr its fnther\ house'
People go into tha mdze - but thelt do nttt clnte ont"

was
ne evening, Theseus went for a walk in the garden' His father
there and he looked verv unhaPPv.

'\Vhy are you crying, Father?'Theseus asked'

,Early
romorrow a boat is going to sail to the island of crete,' Aegeus
said.'Minos is king of Crete and his son is the Minotaur''
'\lhat is the Minotaur?'Theseus asked'

get out'
maze lmetzl(n) There are children in the maze and they can't
sails'
white
have
The
boats
boats.
sail /serV (v/n) I can saii those
island /'arland/ (n) They are on holiday on one of the Caribbean rslands'

\
Cihaprer2 AKineClries

'The Minotaur is half bull and half man. Minos had two sons,
but we killed one in a fight. Then we lost the fight. Now, eyery year,
fourteen young Athenians go to Crete. Th.y are food for the Minotaur.'
'The Minotaur eats people?'Theseus asked.
'Yes,' his father said. 'The Minotaur lives in a dark maze near its
father's house. People go into r1're
maze - bur rhey do not comc (,ut.
Theseus was angry. 'Father,'

'I can go tool I can fight

Minotaurl I can kill itl'
said.

h.

the

'How?' King Aegeus asked.

'I am strong

and cler.er,' Theseus

said. 'Tomorrow

I am going to sail

ro

the island of Cretel'

half lho:li (adj) He has got a hall bottle of water.

bull /bol/ (n) The bul/ is a big black animal.
lose ilurzl (V past lost/lnst/) I am angry because he /ost my book.

Activities

Were you right?

Look at your answers to
answers.

1
2
3
4
5

Activity 1.2 on page

ii. Then circle

The sword is under a big rock.

No

Theseus can't move the rock.

No

lt is Poseidon's sword.

No

Medea [oves Theseus.

No

Theseus is KingAegeus's son.

No

the right

What more did you learn?

Write the names under the pictures. Then talk about the people. Are they
good or bad?
'"..".1i-**

I KingAege,:,;

i Kilg_"Yi,9l_j l- Y:9q1j i3-:-:!9on i [..I1.":",:_ j

l

y,,,re

Poseidon
,

'

...

aood?
. . "el
....
".

Friii:,$-relt--i-

Theseus and the Minotaur

Language in use
'Tomorrow I am going to

Look at the words on the right.Then

put going o in the right place in these

sailto the istand of Crete.

sentences.

1 'l am walk to my father's home.'

'You are be king after your father.'

Medea's son is not be king.

ls

the Minotaur eat the Athenians?

' ;::;;l :::: ::;;: ;J;::::

What's next?
What are you going to read now? Write

or X.

CHAPTER

A Lost Ri.g
Ariadne looked at

bedutiful face ruith loue . She ttonted to ltelp him

She uanted to be his utifi.

Theset.tis

f am going to make a promise to you,'Theseus said to his father in

I,h. morning. 'I am going ro come back again. Look at the sails of

this boat. They are black. But we have white sails on the boat tcio. I am
going to kill the Minotaur and we are going ro come home again. Then
our boat is going to have white sails. \7atch for those white sails.'
'I am going to watch for them all day and all night,' King Aegeus
said. 'Remember your promise!'

'The boat is going to sail now,'Theseus said. 'Goodbye, Father!'

help /help/ (vin) 5he has got a problem. Please help her.
promise /'promrs/ (n/v) | am gong to write to you every day' That's a promise.
B

Chaptcr3_ALostRin;

The boat sailed quickly across the

blue Aegean Sea to Crete.
King Minos a,d his daughter Ariadne
waited for the boat. The young
Athenians were very unhappy. Only
one man did nor cry.
are
you?'
King
Minos asked Theseus.
"/ho
'I am Theseus,'he said. 'I am
the son of KingAegeus. But I am
the
son of Poseidon, king of the sea, roo.,
Minos smiled. 'You arc rhe son oi.l
eoclr \7hat can you do? Let,s see!
My ring is in the sea. S*.im do*,n ancl
irr,l ir fbr mel,
Theser-rs r'venr inro rhe *'arer
anil asked for he1p. r.o *.hite dorphins
came ro him uirh rhc rirrq.
'Here is your rins,' he
saicl ro King -\linos.
Ariadne looked ar Trreseus's r,.".,,iti
l iice *,irr-r ror e . She *.anted ro
help hirn. She u.anted ro be his u.ile.
Theseus and the Arhenians *,ent
*'irh rhe king\ n-ien. There was one
small, dark room For Theseus urd
one room for the -{rhe nians.
'The Minotaur had food
toda' King N{inos said. '\bu ca, sreep.,
But the visitors did not sleep.

flng /nrr'(n) The girls have beautiful

rings on their hands
dolphin ,dnltrn (n) Dolphins swim near
the boats.

W
CHAPTER

Iti
tl

A \7oman's Help
'rhe Minotaur

ts steeping

n",*;,,'l'li,','nir,!r'I

kitt it

before morning'

ffrii,to

hat evening, Aiadne went to Theseus's room.

'I want to talk to him,' she said to the men at the door. Thg men
opened the door for her.

Under her dress she had a knife

and some string. 'Take these,'
she said quietly to Theseus.

'Kill

the Minotaur with the knife. But

it

very dark in the maze. Put

one end of the string under a
is

rock near the door. Then take the

string into the maze with you.'
string /strr/ (n) Close the bag with some sfring.
end /end/ (n) We walk to the school at the end of the road
10

Chapter4 A\loman'sHelp

'\Vhy

are you helping me?'Theseus asked.

'I don't like my father,'Ariadne

said. And

I dont like Crete. Kill the

Minotaur, but take me away with you. Promisel'

'I promise,'

Theseus said.

He did not want to wait for the morning.

'The Minotaur is sleeping nou.,'Theseus said. 'I am going to kill it
before morning. Then we can all go brck to ,{thens. Please, Ariadne,
help my friends. Tke the )or1ns Athenians ro the boat.'
'Yes,' said Ariadne, and she u-ent.
First, Theseus killed the nro n.re n t rhe door r,r'ith his krife. Then he
went to rhe Nlinotartr'. m.tz..

11
a

Theseus and the

youngAthenians

'

to Crete'

2 Their boat has btack

3

Ariadne

4 She wants to
5 The Minotaur

6 Theseus

Theseus'

him'
any Athenians that day'

doesn't

in a smatt' dark room'

What more did You learn?

Who

istatking?

again''

'l am going to come back

'Remember Your

Promisel'

'MY ring is in the

sea''

'You can steeP.'

'Kitt the Minotaur with the knife''

'Take the youngAthenians

d* &

tr ffi
t
tr

trffi

ffi
ffi

" %

ffi

to the boat"

EM
@

tr6N
!47

Theseus and the Minotaur

Language in use
Look at the words on the right. Then write
promise or promised in these sentences.
I
I

1
2
3
4

'Remember your

;.......,

'l am going to make

Promse to you.'
'l promise.'

1'

'Kittthe Minotaur, but take me away with you.

'l am going to kitlthe Minotaur.
She is going

to

to saiI away from

my father.'

Ci-ete. That is Theseus's

,,

her.

5 What did

Theseus

........ Ariadne?

6 Ariadne is happy becauseTheseus

l*

What's next?
Look at the pictures. What are these people going to do? Write sentences.

13

CHAPTER

The End of the Minotaur

The

Minotduri

el,es opened

Tleseus

frheseus

and

it

utls on

moued quickly. Suddenly,

the

floor.

arrived at the door to the Minotaurt maze. It was very

dark, but Theseus remembered the string. He started it at the door

of the maze. Then he walked slowly into the maze and listened for the
Minotaur.
There was no noise.

t4

Chaprcr

The End of rhe Minotaur

Theseus walked ar-rd s'alked in the cold, dark maze. The end of the
string was always in his hand.

And then he sees it - rhe Minotaurl His hand goes ro his knife and the
string falls to the floor. But his foot hits a small rock. 'fhe Minotaur's eyes
open at the noise and

it

moves quicldy. Suddenl Theseus is on the floor.

i5

I hese us and thc Minotrur

But Theseus is voung and strong and he has his knife. Again and
again, his knife goes ir-)to the lr4inotaur's head. It is a long and difficult

fight. But in the end the Minotaur is on the foor.

It

is dead.

But it was yery dark in the maze. \Zhere was the door? Theseus
rernembered the string. He walked back to the door and then to the
bort

and there were Ariadne and the young Athenians.

'Quicklyl' Theseus said. 'The Minotaur is dead. Let's sail for Athensl'

..,

r.:r:i:tti.r,it,l

l'',,..1'lll:::lll.::

&

t16

Chapter 5

The Elcl of thc N'linotaur

'Theseus, remember your

promisel'Ariadne said. 'Take me

with youl'
Theseus, Ariadne and the

young Athenians sailed for

Athens, but first the boat sropped
ar rhe island o[ Naxo:.

'You cannot go to Arhens r,,'irh

us,'Theseus said ro Ariadne

'Please get

off here.'
'But I u'rn Io go ro -\rr.nsl
Ariadne criecl. 'l lcre -.-i.-r -.r: I
\\'allt tO bq r.,LLr u l:r.'
'I did not promise you that,'Theseus said. 'You wanted to get away
from Crete. You can live here.'
'Theseus, you promised!'Ariadne said. She was very angry.'Now you
are going to be very unhappy too.'

17

CHAPTER

Black Sails, \/hite Sails

'The sails,t'Thesetts suddenll, said. 'Take dotun the bLtck sails
and Put uP the white saik!'

h.re,.rs and the young Athenians sailed home to Athens' They

talked about Theseust fight with the Minotaur and they were very

h"ppy.They did not talk about fuiadne. she was the daughter of King
Minos. They did not want her on their boat'
They sailed all day and watched the white dolphins in the sea near
the boat. In the evening, the lights ofAthens were in front of them.
They all smiled.
,The
sails!'Theseus suddenly said. 'Thke down the black sails and put
up the white sails! I promised my father. Do it quickly, or he is not going

to know about the Minotaur.'

The white sails went up, but the boat was very near Athens'

18

Chapter 6

Black Srils, White Sails

The same dar', r'rg -\ge us \\-as in his garden. He watched the
There was the boarl -\rd rhere u-ere the black sails!
'Oh, Theseus, m\'son. did rhe Minoraur kill you?'he cried.

A short time later. ,\r-9iuS 's

dead.

Theseus and his bo,rr rrir-ed

in Athens. The people oi-\rl-rens

were happy because rheir children
were home again. But tl'Lev s-ere

very unhappy about the old kins.

Theseus was unhappv roo. He u.as

the killer of the Minotaur and the

new King of Athens - but he cried

for his father.

r9

sea.

Work with a friend. Ask and answer these questions.

did f send
Theseus fo

V1/hy

Why is Ariadne
in our boat?

Why amT on
Naxos2

Crele?

1n/btt

t.n

n\l

*1 l{?ltl

Why is Theseus
in ,4fhens
eg*in?

You are Ariadne. Now you live on Naxos. Are you angry? Do you have
questions? \7rite a letter to Theseus.

20

nnswer the questions.

Who did Theseus make a promise to?

2 What was the promise?

Did he do it?

4 What do you think? Was he right?

Wno is right? Why? Read the words and tatk to your friends.

_____{_

----{Same pramses frre

Promises are not

importanf. They're
only words.

promise, then
you do

it.

-=-_s-

important. S*rne
promises cre nof.

Wt o do we make promises to? And what do we say? Look at these

pictures. Write the promises.
to love you
all time.

T'rn gong

{er

tr prcmise.

-'" .:''
WhalS fniS/

'
Don't be latelj

2t

Ar" you an angry person? Do rou get up late? Do you watch TV for a
[ong time every evening? Now is the time! Be a new person!Write your
promises in the box. Here are some words for your promises.

mvl@ fr"t" I l yei l m fLqlrl E rel Lrer

I

s"t"j"bl f-ftr''ye'!l i-ryelrl-

Lsrl fqrer i .yrl

ruow tatk to your friends about your promises. ln one week, look again
at a friend's promises. Did he/she do we[l?
22