Clever Cat

by

Illustrated by

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In my village lives Mister Kio. Mister Kio has a cat called Safi.

  1. Point out and name each of the strong colors on this page.
  2. Which has the least number of legs – the table, Mr. Kio, or Safi?
  3. How many of Safi’s legs can you see? How many can’t you see?
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When Mister Kio goes to work, he leaves the door open.

  1. Where are the two things that used to be hanging on the pegs by the door?
  2. Notice that Safi looks happy when Mr. Kio leaves?
  3. It is odd that Mr. Kio leaves the door open when he leaves.
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Safi sits in the doorway to watch over the house.

  1. A square is a shape like this page that has four equal sides. This floor is tiled with square tiles.
  2. Do you have tiles where you live? If so, what shape are they?
  3. Does Safi like being a house watcher?
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When the neighbor’s dog comes close, Safi scares him away.

  1. How can you tell that Safi is trying to scare the dog?
  2. Point at the circles of colors and name the colors. Those circles aren’t really in the house.
  3. Circles that share the same central point are called "concentric."
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The dog runs away.

  1. What is the dog feeling?
  2. Which animal is bigger, the cat or the dog?
  3. These bands of color going from yellow to orange give a sense of motion. Compare this to the concentric circles on the previous page.
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When a neighbor knocks at the door, Safi is ready to scratch.

  1. How can you tell that Safi is being scary? Is the neighbor scared?
  2. Does the neighbor need to be scared away, or is Safi doing too much?
  3. Point to and name different things in this picture that are in a group of 2, 3, or 4.
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The neighbor turns and runs away.

  1. Looking at the neighbor’s clothes, what is her favorite color?
  2. What is your favorite color?
  3. The neighbor is frightened by Safi. Have you ever been frightened by a cat or other small animal?
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When Safi is hungry, she closes the door.

  1. Safi should just close the door as soon as Mr. Kio leaves.
  2. Is little Safi big enough to close that big door?
  3. After the door closes, will Safi be able to reach the handle and open it?
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Safi eats her food.

  1. Point at the straight and curved lines in this picture.
  2. Does Safi look happy to be eating? Do you like to eat your food?
  3. Would you wait to eat if you were left with a plate of food you liked?
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Afterwards, Safi jumps onto the sofa and sleeps, “Purr! Purr! Purr!”

  1. Sometimes people feel sleepy after eating and sometimes it gives them fresh energy. What does it do to you?
  2. Is Safi dreaming? If so, what do you think Safi is dreaming about?
  3. What are some of the things you dream about?
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When Mister Kio returns, Safi stretches happily and welcomes him home.

  1. Point at the beautiful circle inside the orange square.
  2. Do you have some circles and squares where you are?
  3. Point together at the white circles Safi has on her back and belly.
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Mister Kio and Safi sit down, and each of them reads the newspaper.

  1. This is warm and cozy. Do cats read the newspaper?
  2. A rectangle is a shape with four straight sides with corners like this page. Point at the rectangles you see in this picture and around you.
  3. Most papers are shaped like rectangles. Mr. Kio’s paper is strangely shaped.

You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:

Clever cat
Author — Ursula Nafula
Translation — Ursula Nafula
Illustration — Catherine Groenewald
Language — English
Level — First sentences
© African Storybook Initiative 2014
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Source www.africanstorybook.org

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