Reality Check
In today’s story, with his signature humour, Lincoln revealed a deeper truth about labels and reality.
Abraham Lincoln once asked an audience how many legs a dog has if you count the tail as a leg.
When they answered “five,” Lincoln corrected them, saying, “The answer is four. O facto de chamarem pata à cauda não faz dela uma pata.The fact that you call the tail a leg does not make it a leg."
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Click the sentence again to see the Portuguese
The Plus version of this story
Abraham Lincoln perguntou uma vez a uma plateia quantas patas tem um cão se contarmos a cauda como uma pata.Quando responderam "cinco," Lincoln corrigiu-os, dizendo: "A resposta é quatro. O facto de chamarem pata à cauda não faz dela uma pata."Abraham Lincoln once asked an audience how many legs a dog has if you count the tail as a leg.When they answered 'five,' Lincoln corrected them, saying, “The answer is four. The fact that you call the tail a leg does not make it a leg."
✨ Today's vocabulary
👫 Plateia [femin. noun]: Audience🐕 Pata [femin. noun]: Paw, animal leg🐶 Cão [masc. noun]: Dog🐒 Cauda [femin. noun]: Tail🖊️ Corrigir: To correct🔍 Facto [masc. noun]: Fact 🗣️ Chamar: To call
There is a Plus version of this story
The same story, taken further, for DailyNata Plus members. This one works on question words.
- The whole story in Portuguese, and its English
- The words in it, explained, with examples
- One more recording
- 2 interactive exercises
Written for level A2–B1. Every story has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.