Unit 07
The River Angel and the Lumberjack
[classic fairy tale]
Getting Started
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A lumberjack was chopping down a tree on the bank of a river when his ax, glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and into the water. As he stood by the water's edge with a sad look on his face, an angel appeared and asked him the reason for his sadness. The man replied that he had lost his ax so now it would be difficult for him to make a living.

When the angel heard what had happened, she had pity on the man because of his bad circumstance. The river angel dove into the river and brought up an ax made of gold and asked him if that was his ax. The lumberjack replied that it was not. The angel then dove in a second time and brought up an ax made of silver and asked the man if that was his ax. “No, that is not mine either,” said the man.

Again, the river angel dove into the water and this time she brought up the real missing ax. The lumberjack was overjoyed at recovering his property and thanked the angel wholeheartedly. The angel was so pleased with the lumberjack's honesty that she presented the other two axes to him as a reward for his honesty.

Later, the lumberjack told his story to a friend of his. His friend decided to try out his own luck so he went to the same river and pretended to let his ax slip from his hands into the water. The river angel appeared as before and asked the man what happened. The man told the angel that he needed his ax in order to support his family. So the angel dove into the water and brought up a golden ax just as she had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting to be asked whether or not it was his, the man cried out, “That's mine.”

The angel was so disgusted at the man's dishonesty the she immediately turned him into a stone statue.

So you see, honesty is the best policy.

Comprehension Questions
  1. What happened after the ax fell into the water?
  2. In response to the angel's question about the lost ax, why did the man say he needed his ax?
  3. How many axes did the angel bring to the surface. Explain each case.
  4. Why did the angel want to reward the man?
  5. How did the angel reward the man?
  6. After hearing the story, what idea did the lumberjack's friend have?
  7. When the angel presented the golden ax to the friend, what did the man do?
  8. Why was the angel disgusted?
  9. What was the man's punishment for trying to cheat the angel?
Discussion
  1. You are getting off a train in a subway. You see a big bag of money sitting by a bench. No one is around. You wait ten minutes. No one shows. What do you do?
  2. In some places, lost items can be turned in to the local police. If no one claims the item within 60 to 90 days, the item becomes the property of the person who found it. What laws apply in your area for lost items that have been turned in?
  3. A stranger approaches you and says he will give you  $200,00 U.S. dollars if you take his briefcase to a certain location and leave it there and walk away. He asks you not to look inside the case. He will give you half the money now and the other half later at another specified place. What will you do?