Basic English
A flock of goats lives on the side of a mountain. There is an Eagle who
lives high above them. One day he gets hungry and attacks one of the goats.
He kills and eats the goat and finds it delicious. Every day for the next week
he kills and eats another goat.
Finally, the goats get together to decide what to do about their problem.
One of the goats suggests that they go into the valley and ask the Wolf to
protect them. The Wolf is unwilling at first, but the goats are so determined
that he agrees.
The next day, the Eagle comes for his meal and the Wolf surprises him.
The Wolf attacks and hurts the Eagle so badly that the Eagle decides to
make his home on another mountain. But when the goats gather to thank the
wolf for his work, the Wolf tells them he is hungry, and in one day he kills
and eats 20 of the flock: far more than the Eagle.
Intermediate English
There once was a flock of goats living on the side of a mountain with an
Eagle living high on the mountain above them. One day the Eagle started
feeling hungry, and he decided to try out some goat meat for a change. He
killed and ate one of the goats and found it delicious. Every day for the next
week, he dined on another goat.
After a time, the goats got together to decide what they should do about
their problem. One of them suggested that they go into the valley and ask
the Wolf to protect them. At first, the Wolf was unwilling to lend his
services, but the goats convinced him at last that he was strong enough to
defend them from the Eagle.
The next day, when the Eagle came for his meal, the Wolf surprised him.
In the attack, the Eagle was so badly injured that he decided to move his
home to another mountain. But when the goats gathered to thank the Wolf
for his efforts, the Wolf took one look at them and began licking his lips.
Before they could do anything, he had fallen upon them, and in one day he
had eaten up 20 of them-far more than what the Eagle had ever done.
Advanced English
There once was a flock of goats living on the side of a mountain. High
above them in his eyrie a broad-winged eagle made his home. For some
time, they lived together in peace until one day the Eagle got it into his head
to try some goat meat for a change. He seized one of them by the neck and
snapped it. He made a quick meal of the poor victim and pronounced it
delicious. Every day for a week he dined on a different member of the flock.
Seeing no end to the massacre, the goats assembled to debate a course of
action. One of them piped up saying, "Let's ask the wolf in the valley to
help." At first, the Wolf was unwilling to lend a paw in their defense, but
the helpless creatures pleaded so strongly, insisting that only the wolf had
the power to stand up to the Eagle, that he began to sense an opportunity.
The next day, when the Eagle came for his meal, the Wolf ambushed him
from behind a boulder. In the attack, the Eagle was so badly wounded that
he flew away before the wolf could finish him off. "I'll make my home
elsewhere," he said as he flew off. "There are other mountains for me to
nest on!"
The goats came bounding up to thank the Wolf for saving them, but the
Wolf turned on them, baring his fangs. "Did you think I would stop once the
Eagle had left?" he asked them. "Now there's nothing standing in my way!"
Before any of the flock could respond, he fell upon them left and right-in
one afternoon slaughtering dozens more than the Eagle could have managed
in a month.