Les moyens de déplacement
Primary 4 · French
Les moyens de déplacement
Lesson 2 of 4
35 min
When a car comes along the road, a dog often runs after it. A goat runs away. And a cow? She just keeps walking, slowly, as if the car were not there.
Why? An old African story gives a funny answer. It all began with a taxi ride.
This is a short retelling in the present tense. You can see the original with pictures and listen to it in French. The recording reads the original, which tells the story in the past, so some words are different.
Chèvre, Chien et Vache sont de très bons amis. Un jour, ils font un voyage en taxi.
À la fin du voyage, le chauffeur dit : « Payez, s'il vous plaît ! » Vache paie son ticket.
Chien paie un peu plus, parce qu'il n'a pas la monnaie exacte.
Le chauffeur cherche la monnaie pour Chien. Mais Chèvre part en courant, sans payer !
Le chauffeur est très fâché. Il part vite, et il ne rend pas la monnaie à Chien.
Voilà pourquoi, aujourd'hui encore, Chien court vers les voitures. Il regarde à l'intérieur : il cherche le chauffeur qui a sa monnaie !
Chèvre, elle, court quand elle entend une voiture. Elle a peur, parce qu'elle n'a pas payé.
Et Vache ? Vache traverse la route lentement. Elle n'a pas peur : elle a payé son ticket.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un voyage | a trip, a journey |
| payer (il paie) | to pay (he pays) |
| le ticket | the ticket, the fare |
| la monnaie | the change (money given back) |
| sans payer | without paying |
| fâché | angry |
| avoir peur | to be afraid |
| lentement | slowly |
| il court | he runs |
| elle n'a pas payé | she did not pay |
To make a sentence negative, make a sandwich: put ne before the verb and pas after it.
Talk with a partner, in English or Kinyarwanda first, then try a French sentence: Who was honest in the story? Who was not? Why must every passenger pay the moto or bus driver?
Tip
The ne … pas sandwich. The verb is the filling. Ne is the top slice, pas is the bottom slice. No filling without both slices: Je ne cours pas.
Who pays a little bit more than the fare, and why?
Answer: Chien, because he does not have the exact change.
Make it negative: Vache court.
Answer: Vache ne court pas.
Make it negative: Le chauffeur est fâché.
Answer: Le chauffeur n'est pas fâché (ne becomes n' before est).
What does lentement mean?
Answer: slowly.
Why does Chèvre run away from cars?
Answer: She is afraid, because she did not pay her fare.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
In the story, who runs away without paying?
