Lesson 6

The Broken Pot

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 Introduction
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian
folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer
of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of
English folklore.

Jacobs was born in Sydney to a Jewish family. His work went on to

popularize some of the world's best known versions of English fairy
tales including "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Goldilocks and the three
bears", "The Three Little Pigs", "Jack the Giant Killer" and "The
History of Tom Thumb". He published his English fairy tale
collections: English Fairy Tales in 1890 and More English Fairy Tales
in 1893[a] but also went on after and in between both books to publish
fairy tales collected from continental Europe as well as Jewish, Celtic
and Indian fairytales which made him one of the most popular writers
of fairytales for the English language. Jacobs was also an editor for
journals and books on the subject of folklore which included editing
the Fables of Bidpai and the Fables of Aesop, as well as articles on the
migration of Jewish folklore. He also edited editions of The Thousand
and One Nights. He went on to join The Folklore Society in England and became an editor of the society
journal Folklore. Joseph Jacobs also contributed to The Jewish Encyclopedia. During his lifetime, Jacobs came
to be regarded as one of the foremost experts on English folklore.

Jacobs edited the journal Folklore from 1899 to 1900 and from 1890 to 1916 he edited multiple collections of
fairy tales that were published with illustrations by John Dickson Batten: English Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy
Tales, Indian Fairy Tales, More English Fairy Tales, More Celtic Fairy Tales (all 1890 to 1895) and Europa's
Fairy Book (also issued as European Folk and Fairy Tales) in 1916.He was inspired in this by the Brothers
Grimm and the romantic nationalism common in folklorists of his age; he wished English children to have
access to English fairy tales, whereas they were chiefly reading French and German tales; in his own words,
"What Perrault began, the Grimms completed."

The Broken Pot

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 Joseph Jacobs

There lived in a certain place a Brahman, whose name was Svabhavak_ri_pa_n_a, which means “a born miser.”
He had collected a quantity of rice by begging, and after having dined off it, he filled a pot with what was left
over. He hung the pot on a peg on the wall, placed his couch beneath, and looking intently at it all the night, he
thought, “Ah, that pot is indeed brimful of rice. Now, if there should be a famine, I should certainly make a
hundred rupees by it. With this I shall buy a couple of goats. They will have young ones every six months, and
thus I shall have a whole herd of goats. Then, with the goats, I shall buy cows. As soon as they have calved, I
shall sell the calves. Then, with the calves, I shall buy buffaloes; with the buffaloes, mares. When the mares
have foaled, I shall have plenty of horses; and when I sell them, plenty of gold.

With that gold I shall get a house with four wings. And then a Brahman will come to my house, and will give
me his beautiful daughter, with a large dowry. She will have a son, and I shall call him Somasarman. When he
is old enough to be danced on his father’s knee, I shall sit with a book at the back of the stable, and while I am
reading, the boy will see me, jump from his mother’s lap, and run towards me to be danced on my knee. He will
come too near the horse’s hoof, and, full of anger, I shall call to my wife, ‘Take the baby; take him!’ But she,
distracted by some domestic work, does not hear me. Then I get up, and give her such a kick with my foot.”
While he thought this, he gave a kick with his foot, and broke the pot. All the rice fell over him, and made him
quite white. Therefore, I say, “He who makes foolish plans for the future will be white all over, like the father
of Somasarman.”

Guide Questions:

1. What is the moral of the story? Explaine.

2. Why did the man kick the pot?
3. What is the meaning of Svabhavak_ri_pa_n_a?
4. What does he do for a living ?
5. Who is Somasarman?
6. When did the man start his plan for his future?
7. What did the man said “He who makes foolish plans for the future will be white all over?”
8. What do you think the characteristic of the man in the story?
9. Does planning for your future is important? why or why not?
10. Give at least 2 plan you want to do in future?

Group Activity:

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 The class will be divided into two groups. Each group will make a roleplay for the story but for a twist,
choose the ending of the story. Explain why you want to change that particular scene and how it will affect the
story as you change that scene. The group will be graded through the Role-play Rubric.

Role-Play Rubric

Group: ______________________________ Date: _____________________

Activity: ________________________ Role played: _____________________
Assessment done by: ______________________________________________

Criteria: Rating:

Speech was clear with appropriate volume and inflection. 54321

Role was played in a convincing, consistent manner. 54321
Arguments and viewpoints expressed fit role played. 54321
Costumes and props were effectively used. 54321
Role-play was well prepared and organized. 54321
Role-play captured and maintained audience interest. 54321

Additional Criteria:
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Comments:
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 Journal

In a whole sheet of paper make a list of plan for your life in the future explain how you
will achieve it and why did you want that plan and write when do you want to achieve it
Eg: in two years I will finish highschool.

My plan for the future

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Prepared by:
Won, Maria Evelyn O.