Myths and Legends—British Isles

By

Gelert and the baby

The castle of Prince Llywelyn stood in the Welsh mountains,near Mount Snowdon,next to a dark forest full of wild animals.(1)____,and there were three things that he loved most in the world: his wife,his baby son,who one day would become prince,and his dog,Gelert.Gelert was a strong,brave dog (2)____.Gelert loved the baby boy and each night slept beneath his bed to protect him.

One day,Llywelyn and his wife had to leave the castle early in the morning.Llywelyn told the dog to look after the baby carefully while he was away.At the end of a long day,Llywelyn and his wife returned to the castle (3)____.As Llywelyn walked into the baby’s bedroom,he saw that the walls were covered in blood,and he could not see the baby anywhere.Whatever had happened? Gelert too was covered in blood.Llywelyn’s first thought was that the jealous dog had killed the baby.Terribly angry,he immediately (4)_____ and killed the dog he had loved so much.

It was then that he saw his baby alive and well and sleeping under a blanket.The dead body of a huge wild dog lay next to him.Gelert had not killed the baby but had killed the wild dog which had tried to attack the baby.Llywelyn realised what a terrible mistake he had made.The prince buried Gelert under the castle wall (5)____,and his story is still told today.

Activity 1

Match the phrases (a-e)to the gaps (1-5)in the text.

a.so people would always remember how brave Gelert had been

b.took out his sharp knife

c.as the sun was going down

d.Llywelyn led a happy life,however

e.who followed the prince wherever he went and listened to his every word

Activity 2

Answer questions 1–5.

1.Why was the forest dangerous?

2.Where did Gelert sleep every night? Why?

3.What instructions did Llywelyn give his dog before he left?

4.Why did Llywelyn think his dog had killed the baby?

5.What did Llywelyn do to make sure no one forget his brave dog?

Activity 3

Read these sentences from the story:

Past simple:He saw his baby alive and well.The dead body of a huge wild dog lay next to him.

Past perfect:Gelert had not killed the baby but had killed the wild dog.

We use the past simple to describe events in the past.

We use the past perfect to describe events which happenedbeforea fixed time in the past.

Change each verb 1–8 in the description of the story below into the past simple or the past perfect.An example has been done for you.

Itwas(be)early evening.Llywelyn (1)____ (be)away all day and he was tired.As he (2)____ (walk)into his baby’s bedroom,he had a horrible surprise.During the day,a large wild dog (3)____ (enter)the room but brave Gelert (4)____ (protect)the baby.Llywelyn (5)____ (think)it was Gelert who (6)____(attack)the baby and he immediately (7)____ (kill)the dog he loved.Seconds later,when he saw his baby was safe,he realised he (8)____ (make)a terrible mistake.

Activity 4

Llywelyn made a terrible mistake.Have you ever made a mistake that made other people unhappy in some way? How can we make sure we don’t make mistakes that hurt other people?

Answers

Activity 1

1.d;2.e;3.c;4.b;5.a

Activity 2

1.Because it was full of wild animals.

2.Under the baby’s bed,to guard him

3.To look after the baby carefully

4.Because the dog was jealous./ Because the walls were covered in blood.

5.He buried him under the castle wall.

Activity 3

1.had been

2.walked

3.had entered

4.had protected

5.thought

6.had attacked

7.killed

8.had made