Mures et Cattus Horribilis: An Audabula

Mures et Cattus Horribilis is an audabula retelling a fable about a council of mice trying to solve the problem a cat that kept eating all of them. The moral of the fable is that it is far quicker and easier to come up with a solution than to implement, especially if it relies on individual sacrifice or risk. Here’s the link to Mures et Cattus: Pars Prima.

If you enjoy this audabula, please consider supporting my website and writing endeavors by purchasing a teaching set of materials associated with this audabula here for three dollars. In the digital download, you will receive the first and second part of the audabula, the scripts for the audabula, the tiered readings of the fable, and the dictionary for the final tier. You will also receive images useful for a picture talk in preteaching both parts of the fable.

Mures et Cattus Horribilis: Script for Pars Prima

Ōlim mūrēs cōnsultābant quia cattus horribilis erat. Cattus multōs mūrēs ēdit. Cattus parvōs mūrēs ēdit, et cattus magnōs mūrēs ēdit! Cattus multōs mūrēs ēdit! Mūrēs nōlēbant cattum edere eōs! Mūrēs dēfendere sē volēbant! Sed cattus horribilis et magnus erat… Quid mūrēs agere poterant?!

Prīmus mūs dīxit, “Nōs interficiāmus cattum!”

Omnēs mūrēs rīsērunt, HAHAHAHAE, quia quālis mūs posset interficere cattum?!

Secundus mūs dīxit, “Nōs edāmus cattum!”

Omnēs mūrēs rīsērunt, HAHAHAHAE, quia necesse erat interficere cattum ut ederent cattum. Et quālis mūs posset interficere cattum?!

Tertius mūs dīxit, “Nōs dēmus venēnum cattō!”

Omnēs mūrēs rīsērunt, HAHAHAHAE, quia necesse erat pōnere venēnum in cibō cattī. Et… quid erat cibus cattī? Mūrēs! Mūrēs nōlēbant edere venēnum ut darent venēnum cattō! Et mūrēs certē nōlēbant cattum edere eōs!

Quid mūrēs agere poterant? Cattus omnēs mūrēs paene ēderat!

Mures et Cattus Horribilis: The Original Fable

Dictum Citius Quam Factum

Mūrēs aliquandō cōnsultābant quōmodo sē ā fēle tuērī possent. Multa prōpōnēbantur ā singulīs mūribus, sed nihil placēbat. Postrēmō ūnus dīxit, “Tintinnābulum fēlī annectendum est; tum statim audiēmus cum veniet, facileque effugiēmus.” Omnēs mūrēs laetī praedicant prūdentem cōnsiliī auctōrem. “Iam tū,” inquiunt, “annecte tintinnābulum.” “Ego vērō,” respondet ille, “cōnsilium dedī; alius operam sūmat.” Irritum cōnsilium fuit, quoniam quī fēlī annecteret tintinnābulum nōn reperiēbātur.

Lesson Plan for Mūres et Cattus Horribilis: An Audabula

If you are only using the free audabula, you can use it as a stand-alone activity. These activities can be sequenced over multiple days. You can also have some levels of Latin complete all the activities or some levels complete only the simpler versions of the activities.

1. Project the images from the PowerPoint titled “Mūrēs & Cattus – Pars Prīma” or find supplementary images to preteach the vocabulary for venēnum and explore the relationship between cats and mice.
   1. Ask questions in Latin and circle the vocabulary and the relationship.
2. Play the prima pars of the audabula. Ask students to listen for understanding the first time.
   1. Here is the link to prima pars.
3. Play the audio again, asking students to do a particular task. You could ask them to draw what happens, write a summary of the story in Latin, or answer comprehension questions about the first part.
   1. Comprehension questions could be:
      1. Quid mūrēs volēbant? Cūr?
      2. Quid erant tria cōnsilia mūrum?
      3. Cūr haec cōnsilia agere non poterant?
4. Pass out the script to students and ask them to turn it into a comic strip with captions and speech bubbles.
5. Project the PowerPoint titled, “Mūrēs & Cattus – Pārs Secunda.”
   1. Complete the picture talk, circling the word bell. You can also find your own images, asking students to generate ideas about who wears bells and why.
6. Play the second part of the audabula. Ask students to listen for comprehension first.
7. Play the audio a second time, asking students to do a particular task. You could ask them to draw what happens, write a summary of the story in Latin, or answer comprehension questions.
   1. Comprehension questions might be:
      1. Quid erat consilium muris?
      2. Cur mures ponant tintinnabulum in catto?
      3. Quomodo mures se habebant? Cur?
      4. Quid erat difficultas?
      5. Describe finem audabulae.
8. Pass out the script to the students. Ask them to write a summary, do a Draw 1-2-3, or write a new ending to the story.
9. If students are at the appropriate level, they can next read the first tier of the original fable.
   1. Students can read independently first.
   2. You can preview the text by projecting it and asking if there are any unknown words.
   3. After students have read the text, have students partner with another to reread the story together to ensure comprehension.
10. Students can next read the second tier together.
    1. Have students change their groups so they are working with another partner.
11. Read the final tier of the story together as a choral reading.