A fox invites a stork to dinner, and serves soup on a flat plate.
Aesop’s Fables · Part 3 · Reflexive pronouns and each other
The Fox and the Stork
Myself, yourself, himself, ourselves, themselves, and each other: the grammar of doing things to yourself, by yourself, or to one another, with a rude Fox and a clever Stork.
🦩 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are the Stork.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Ha! I’d enjoy myself at that dinner.
The fable
After Aesop
A Fox invited a Stork to dinner. He served soup on two flat plates. “Help yourself!” he said, and ate his own soup, lapping it up with his tongue. The Stork, with her long beak, could not get a drop. She went home by herself, hungry.
A few days later, the Stork invited the Fox to dinner. She served a delicious stew in two tall jars with long, narrow necks. “Help yourself!” she said, and ate hers easily with her long beak.
The Fox could not reach a single piece. The two of them looked at each other across the table. “I deserved that,” said the Fox.
One bad turn deserves another.
Myself, yourself, himself…
DEMETRIA
The Fox ate all the soup himself. And she went home by herself.
SOPHIA
Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. For emphasis (he did it himself), for the object when it is the same person (she hurt herself), and by + reflexive = alone.
Fixed phrases, and verbs that are NOT reflexive
PHILO
In Spanish we say ‘relajarse’, ‘sentarse’, ‘levantarse’. In English?
SOPHIA
Good question, Philo. In English, many of these are not reflexive: relax, sit down, get up, wake up, feel, meet, concentrate. But some phrases are: help yourself, enjoy yourself, behave yourself, make yourself at home.
Each other
MARCOS
They looked at themselves across the table?
SOPHIA
No, Marcos: they looked at each other. Each other (or one another) = A to B and B to A. Themselves = each one to himself or herself, as in a mirror.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the fable |
|---|---|---|
| myself, yourself, himself… | object = the same person; emphasis | The Fox ate it all himself. |
| by + reflexive | alone, without help | She walked home by herself. |
| help yourself, enjoy yourself | fixed phrases | Help yourself to soup! |
| relax, sit down, get up | not reflexive in English | She sat down and relaxed. |
| each other | A ↔ B | They looked at each other. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best answer
Choose the right word.
1. Please help ___ to some cake!
2. They looked at ___ and smiled.
3. He made the jar ___.
4. Did you enjoy ___ at the party?
5. After dinner, they sat down and ___.
6. She lives by ___.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing word or words.
7. We painted the house .
8. The children hurt in the garden.
9. The two friends write to each every week.
10. I taught to swim.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “I washed myself the hands.”
12. “They love each other.”
13. “Please make yourself at home.”
Now be the Stork yourself. What will you serve the Fox?Play the gamebook →