Cat: | Miaoooowwwwww! |
Will: | Hello, I'm William. |
Graciela: | And I'm Graciela. Will, I hope you've brought that poor cat for a very good reason. It's terrified! |
Will: | Well I wanted to explain an English phrase. And I brought Whiskers to help. |
Cat: | Miaow. |
Graciela: | Well he's not very happy about being stuffed into that bag. You'd better hurry up and explain your phrase. |
Will: | Okay, okay. So, right. I'm going to tell you a very big secret. |
Graciela: | Oh? |
Cat: | Miaow? |
Will: | But you must promise never to let the cat out of the bag! |
Graciela: | No, we must let him out, he is unhappy, Will. |
Cat: | Miaow! |
Will: | No, no. I mean in English, when we say 'you mustn't let the cat out of the bag', it means that something is a secret and that you mustn't tell anyone. |
Graciela: | Ah, so it doesn't literally mean there is a cat in a bag. It just means that there's a secret that must be kept. |
Cat: | Miaow. |
Will: | Exactly. And I brought Whiskers in just to help you remember the expression. If you let the cat out of the bag, it means that you reveal a secret. Listen to some examples. |
| We need to keep this quiet! If anyone lets the cat out of the bag there'll be trouble! |
| We were going to have a surprise birthday for dad, but my silly brother let the cat out of the bag the day before. |
- Well the cat's out of the bag now. Everyone knows Amy will be given the lead role.
Graciela: | Okay I get it. |
Cat: | Miaow. |
Graciela: | But I'm not at all interested in secrets until we get this real cat out of this real bag. I'm going to let it out! |
Cat: | Miaoooowwwwww! |
Graciela: | Owwwwww! |
Will: | I actually meant it when I said don't let the cat out of the bag. Whiskers is a bit crazy. |
Graciela: | Your cat is berserk, get him off me! |
Cat: | Miaooowww! |
Will: | Well, now you'll remember not to let the cat out of the bag next time! |