Shadowing Practice: The Lion and The Mouse & Thirsty Frog Tiddalik | Fairy Tales and Stories for Kids - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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The Lion, the Mouse, and the Sleepy Bear Once upon a time,
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The Lion, the Mouse, and the Sleepy Bear Once upon a time,
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in a lush forest, there lived a small mouse.
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There was a huge bear who lived in a neighboring cave.
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The big bear, who had hibernated months ago,
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was still sleeping and snoring loudly.
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The little mouse went to him one day to wake the bear up,
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because he could not sleep all winter due to the bear's noisy snoring.
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Mr. Bear?
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Hey, Mr. Bear!
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Hey!
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Summer has come!
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You can wake up any time now!
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However, the bear still did not wake up.
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The little mouse came to the bear this time with a bugle.
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He blew vigorously into the bugle.
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But the bear continued to sleep.
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While the little mouse was wandering sleeplessly in the forest,
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he met several animal friends.
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What happened, little mouse?
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Why are you sad?
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Don't ask, guys.
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All winter I could not sleep because of the bear snoring.
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And he still won't wake up.
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Hmm, maybe the lion can help you.
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What?
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Why would I go talk to him?
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Because the lion roars so loud that everyone jumps up the instant I hear his loud voice.
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Though the little mouse was a little scared by the thought,
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he went to the lion,
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the king of the forest, to request his assistance.
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The lion was sleeping in front of his cave.
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The little mouse was terrified when he saw the mighty beast,
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so he decided to give up his plan and go back home.
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But when he accidentally stepped on a branch in front of him,
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the big cat woke up and a tiny,
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trembling voice reached his ears.
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Uhhhhhhhhh, what's that noise?
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What are you doing in front of my cave?
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Um, well, King of the Forest,
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sorry to wake you up.
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Well, I, um, came to ask for your help.
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You're not even big enough to be considered snack-sized, little mouse.
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Why should I help you?
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Dear fearsome lion, you have to wake up my neighbor,
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the big bear, who won't wake up from hibernation.
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Nothing I do seems to wake him.
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Since I am small, I have a little voice.
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But one roar from you can solve everything!
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Roar!
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I don't have time to spend for a tiny,
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little, useless mouse like you.
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I am king of the forest!
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The lion walked away without helping the mouse.
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He went to a corner where no one could see him he leaned against a tree and started to itch like crazy.
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The lion was so itchy that he didn't want anyone to see him like this
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because he was the king of the forest.
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The little mouse, on the other hand,
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was coming home sadly and heard wheezing from the depths of the forest.
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My back is so itchy.
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He went where the voice came from and he saw the lion.
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Moreover, the lion was itching himself non-stop and looking rather silly in the process.
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The mouse immediately approached the lion.
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When the lion saw him,
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he stopped itching, but it was clear he was still in pain and discomfort due to the itch.
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Mr. Lion, what happened to you?
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I don't know, Mouse.
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I don't know.
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I can't stop itching myself.
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Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
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You haven't seen or heard anything, Mouse.
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Are we clear?
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The mouse carefully fixed his tiny eyes on the lion and saw a bunch of tiny fleas jumping in his fur.
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The mouse understood why the mighty cat was itching so much.
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Aw, you have fleas.
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Let me help you.
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How can you help me?
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You're just a little mouse.
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Leave me alone.
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The little mouse bravely jumped on him,
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ignoring the lion's rude comments.
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What are you doing?
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Get off of me.
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The mouse started to crawl through the thick,
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scruffy fur and throw out all the fleas.
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But this made the lion's situation even worse.
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He started itching himself with his paws.
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The lion could not bear the itch and leaned his back against the tree.
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This time he started to rub right and left.
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Oh no!
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Oh, I was almost crushed.
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I can't stop.
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I can't stop.
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The more you run over me, the more I itch.
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Get off, mouse.
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The lion ran to a nearby lake.
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He quickly jumped into the water.
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The mouse on his back was nearly drowned.
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Mr. Lion, get out of the water right away or I'll drown.
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The lion came out of the lake,
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but then proceeded to shake himself dry.
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He was shaking his body so hard and so fast
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that the mouse barely was able to hang on to that thoughtless lion.
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I've almost got the itch taken care of, Mr. Lion.
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Just a little bit more to the left.
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The lion finally stopped himself.
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The mouse threw out the last few fleas that remained on the lion.
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How do you feel now?
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Well, it's like my itching is gone.
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Because I have cleaned all the fleas for you, sir.
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The lion was very embarrassed with how rude he was.
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When you asked for help,
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I looked down on you, Mouse.
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But you still did everything in your power to save me from this difficult situation.
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Thank you.
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You're welcome, Mr. Lion.
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Come on, hop on my back and I'll take you home.
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When the little mouse and the big lion arrived at the mouse's home,
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they heard loud snoring sounds flooding out of the big bear's cave.
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Huh?
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What's that noise?
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They then entered the cave.
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Ah, you were right, Mouse.
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Summer has come.
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The big bear is still sleeping.
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The lion, the king of the forest,
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took a deep breath and roared
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so powerfully right into the ears of the big bear that the stone floor of his cave shook.
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Thanks to this powerful roar,
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the bear finally woke up and ran out of the cave.
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Huh?
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What happened?
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Is there something wrong?
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What happened?
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Did the sun come out?
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Is it summer?
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Where is it?
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While all the forest animals laughed at the big silly bear.
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He he he he he he!
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Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!
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Little Mouse was also very happy that the snoring was finally over.
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Once upon a time, in a forest far away,
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there was a tiny frog named Tiddalick.
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Tiddalake loved to play in sunny weather.
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He met some of his friends by the lake,
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and he jumped on the lotus flowers with them.
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BLEEP!
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8...
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9.. and 10!
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I win, I win, ha ha ha!
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I made it to 10!
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I win, I win, I win.
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Bravo, Tiddalick, you did it again.
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Bleh!
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This jumping game of the frog friends made them very tired,
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and therefore they were very thirsty.
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Come on, let's drink some water.
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Grok.
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The three frog friends met on a big leaf and started to drink water.
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Tidilic was drinking so fast that the other frogs warned him.
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Tidilic, be slow, you'll bloat your belly.
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But I am very thirsty.
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I'd want to drink even more.
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Umm, I think we should stop him.
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After a while, Tiddalik, whose stomach was swollen with water, suddenly stopped.
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Because there was not even a drop of water left in the lake to drink.
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Huh?
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There was a lot of water here just now.
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Where did it go?
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Because you drank it all, Chiddleick.
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Crow.
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What?
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Okay, but I feel like I haven't drunk water at all.
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How can you still want to drink more water?
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Where else can I find water in this forest?
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Tell me quickly.
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There's a creek behind those giant trees.
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Hush, why do you say that?
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What if he dries up the creek now?
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Tidilic, with a swollen belly,
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hopped away from his friends.
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The frog friends, who were staring in surprise,
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immediately went to inform the giant hippo.
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At that time, the giant hippo was resting under a tree,
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and his assistant, Fox, was on watch right in front of him.
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Hello, Fox.
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We urgently want to talk to the giant hippo.
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He is in a deep sleep right now.
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You better wake him up.
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It's very important.
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What can you say that is more important than his sleep, little frogs?
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Fox, hurry up!
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Bleep!
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Otherwise we will not have a drop of water to drink or to wash!
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Bleep!
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When the fox saw the frogs fear and urgency,
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he woke the giant hippo up.
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The hippo opened his eyes wide.
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and bent over the two frog friends.
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The frogs told what had happened,
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and then they jumped on the giant hippo's head and went in search of Tiddalik.
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If we run out of all our water,
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it will be a disaster for the jungle animals.
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At that moment, the bloated Tiddalik arrived at the creek.
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Here is the water.
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So good!
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A rabbit, who saw the frog Tiddalik drinking water by the creek,
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was going to come to the edge and drink water.
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But the frog warned him.
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Hey rabbit, all the water here is mine.
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Go drink water from somewhere else.
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But there is no other water around here.
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Even the lake has dried up.
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The frog drank all the water from the creek without listening to what the rabbit said.
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Now he has an even bigger belly than before.
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Where else can I find water here?
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The rabbit's eyes widened in surprise.
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You finished the water of the creek before I could take a sip,
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and you still want to drink water?
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Yeah!
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I drank the lake, I fished the creek,
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I'll drink all the water!
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Tidalik continued to search for water in the forest,
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with his big belly growing larger by the gulp.
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Wherever he saw a small puddle,
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he started to drink and drink it.
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The inhabitants of the forest were very surprised.
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When they saw the dried lake and the creek that no longer flowed,
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neither an owl could find water, nor a gazelle.
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Finally, the giant hippo and little frog friends saw the sad rabbit standing by the creek.
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Have you seen a frog that is greedy for water here, rabbit?
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Yeah, he went that way.
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He even drinks tiny puddles formed by rain.
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The giant hippo sprinted with all his might and followed Tiddleick's trail.
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And other forest animals followed after him.
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The frog, Tidilic, was just about to drink the last puddle he found
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when the hippo and dehydrated forest dwellers appeared before him.
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Tidilic, stop!
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You drank all the water in the forest and left us no water to drink!
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You must give back the water of the lake and creek!
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Your frog friends are telling the truth, Tidilic.
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A huge hippo like me and that tiny bird you see need water too.
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Even plants, trees, insects need water.
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Please open your mouth and give us back the water you filled in your stomach.
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Even though the inhabitants of the forest begged Tidilic,
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whose belly was full of water, full of water.
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He was not willing to give back the water he drank.
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What are we going to do?
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Hmm, if we can make him laugh,
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he can't hold back any longer and he'll give back all the water.
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Yeah, great idea!
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Besides, Tiddalick loves to laugh!
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The rabbit found a hat and started entertaining the frog.
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Although Tidilic found the rabbit funny,
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he managed to restrain himself not to laugh.
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This time, the panda was on the stage.
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He started dancing so funny that everyone in the forest started laughing at him.
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But Tidilic didn't laugh at the panda's dance either.
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Then the little squirrel quickly started to draw a picture.
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The forest dwellers began to wait in anticipation.
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Everyone laughed when the squirrel showed him the picture he made.
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But Tidilic didn't.
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In the end, the giant hippo was on the stage not to make them laugh,
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but in anger.
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Now I am very angry, Tidilic.
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The giant hippo started with his huge body,
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jumping and grunting like a frog nervously.
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All the animals were laughing because whatever the hippo was doing looked funny.
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Finally, the frog Tidilic could not stand it and started laughing like the others at the hippo.
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Just as his mouth was opened,
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all the water he drank gushed out everywhere.
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The lake has returned to its original state.
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The creek started to flow again,
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and even small puddles have finally filled their place.
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As Tiddalick laughed, his belly shrunk.
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He's back to his old, cute frog form.
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Well done, Tiddalick.
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You didn't leave all us many forest dwellers thirsty.
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You don't have a big belly anymore.
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You can easily jump on lotus leaves.
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Oh, I had a huge belly.
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Now I feel so relieved.
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The next time you feel thirsty, think about others.
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Everyone else in this forest needs water as much as you.
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For example, I need to go and take a shower right now.
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You are right, my friends.
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The forest dwellers were very happy to have water again.
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Because water is the most valuable part of the forest.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will practice their English speaking skills through an engaging story featuring a lion, a mouse, and a sleepy bear. The narrative not only captivates young audiences but also builds essential vocabulary and phrase structures. Through repetition and shadowing techniques, learners will gain confidence in their pronunciation and fluency. This exercise aims to help you effectively communicate your thoughts while enhancing your ability to listen and respond naturally in conversations.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- snoring - the sound made while sleeping, often loud and disruptive.
- hibernate - to spend a prolonged period in a dormant state, typically during winter.
- terrified - feeling extreme fear.
- neighbor - a person living near another; often refers to someone nearby.
- King of the Forest - a title often given to the lion, symbolizing strength and authority.
- roar - a loud deep sound made by a lion, used to express dominance or assertiveness.
- tiny voice - a soft, small sound made by the mouse, emphasizing its small stature.
- help - to assist or lend support to someone in need.
Practice Tips
To make the most out of this lesson, try using shadowspeak techniques while listening to the story of "The Lion and The Mouse." Begin by playing the video at a comfortable speed, preferably slower if necessary. As you listen, focus on identifying key phrases and their pronunciations. This will help you grasp the natural rhythm and intonation of spoken English.
Once you feel familiar with the content, start to engage in shadow speech. Repeat phrases immediately after the characters say them to mirror their tone and expression. The shadowing app feature can be particularly beneficial, allowing you to practice as many times as you need. If you feel brave, narration can also be beneficial; listen to the story without visuals to hone your listening comprehension. Aim to be both accurate and expressive, showcasing the emotional context behind the words.
As you become comfortable, experiment with the speed. Trying both normal and slower speeds will help you adapt to different speaking styles. Remember, the goal of shadowspeaks is to improve not just your pronunciation but also your fluency and confidence in speaking English.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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