The Farmer and his Sons

Tell a story (fable) in American Sign Language.

A wealthy old farmer, lying on his bed, sensed an approaching death. He called sons to his bedside.

"Please listen carefully to what I am about to say," said the old man. "I have some golden treasure somewhere hidden in the land of ours. I don't know where but I am certain you will find it out there somewhere. However, you must work hard seeking it without ever giving up. Spare no energy. Be persist in your labour and you will surely find it in your search.

The sons nodded, "Okay."

The father died. The sons began working right away. They dug and dug over every portion of the field from the corner to another corner. None was found. Again, they went through the second round. Yet still, none was found. Once more for the third time, they digged throughout again. Nothing again.

The crop grew richly in golden color at harvest time. It was harvested and sold. Profits were great. The boys realized the meaning of the father's message. They understood that labour brought the golden treasure in crop.

How to tell a title in ASL storytelling.

ASL storytelling
Illustration by Milo Winter, 1919.

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"Industry is itself a treasure." -- The Aesop for Children

"It is more attainable to try several new businesses that may fail than to buy many lotto tickets that may never win."

Related posts

Also see The Deer and his Reflection: a fable.

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New to sign language? "Where do I start?" or "How do I start learning sign language?" This ASL Rookie guide lists some selected links to the tutorials for ASL beginners to get started and keep rolling. It may be a useful review for intermediate-level learners and ASL students as well.

Some tutorial pages are a mix of free and premium versions. Access to premium content and links below are available in the PatronPlus subscription. More links/posts will be added from time to time.

Jump-starting

  1. How to fingerspell ABCs
  2. What is and what is not sign language?

Getting started

  1. Benefits of learning sign language
  2. Awareness quiz and Reflections
  3. Basic transcription symbols (glosses)

Language/Culture Fundamentals

  1. What is American Sign Language?
  2. Understanding variations
  3. Introducing audism
  4. Cultural appropriation

Learning first words

  1. Expressing greetings
  2. Introducing oneself and others
  3. Fingerspelling exercise
  4. Expressing goodbyes

ASL Basics

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. WH-questions
  4. Yes/no questions
  5. SVO sentence structure
  6. OSV sentence structure
  7. Numbers 1-10+
  8. Basic time: future, present, past

ASL Basics II

  1. Asking what the sign is for a word
  2. Spatial referencing
  3. Verb inflections
  4. Contrastive structure
  5. Listing and Ranking
  6. Classifier basics

Describing shapes

  1. Describing shapes + perspective
  2. Describing shapes + locations
  3. Describing shapes + sizes

Expressing needs and wants

  1. Making commands or requests

Talking about family

  1. Talking about family and pet
  2. Telling age
  3. Telling date

Making basic plans

  1. Review basic tenses
  2. Calendar: DAYS
  3. Calendar: MONTHS
  4. Transportation: basics

Shopping

  1. Telling prices in dollars and cents

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

Language and communication

Sentence types

Non-manual signals

Tenses

Numbers

Classifier classes

Describing

Stories, poems, performance arts, etc. in sign language.

Fables

Fables II

Poem Translations

Stories

Deaf Jokes

Parables

Performance and video arts

Techniques and Devices

This documentation project follows a child's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, from newborn to age five in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.

Language development

Baby Signing

Toddler Signing

Preschooler and Kinder

From baby to preschooler