Collection of BRIGHT DREAMS

Collection of BRIGHT Dreams

ii


iii

A note from the Editor:

What you have in front of you is not just a book; rather it

is a collection of BRIGHT Dreams come true. I can still remember

that I was fourteen years old when I first dreamt of writing a book.

Passionate dreams always resurface. Here it is, that same dream

coming true thirteen years later; bigger, better and definitely

much brighter than I had ever imagined it being.

Last year one of my brightest dreams - of meeting and being with

the Tibetan students came true. Ever since then, I have sincerely

wished to do something for them and that is how the idea for this

book was conceived.

Being with the students, it was evident that their awareness of

various cultures, traditions of the world, Social and historic

happenings, human geography, and scientific principles needed

lot more development. This book is intended to address the

above. Along with creating awareness, this book was written to

increase the vocabulary, their ability to form sentences, think

critically and most importantly, to enhance their creativity and

imagination.

Whilst none of the contributors are writers by profession, with a

pure „Kun Long‟1

we have done our best in sharing three

fundamental values: knowledge; the ability to dream and an

attitude of never giving up.

1Kun Long in Tibetan means the inner motivation behind our actions


iv


v

A Collection of

BRIGHT DREAMS


vi

Collection of BRIGHT DREAMS

Sarah Printing and Publications, V.P.O. Sarah Tehsil, Dharmasala, Kangra District, India.

Website: http://sppsarah.blogspot.in/2012/06/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html

e-mail: [email protected], Ph.: 0091 98169 10556

Cover Design: Vinay Vivekanandh, Photograph: B.Venkat Prakash

Collection of BRIGHT DREAMS originally published in 2012

Printed and bound in India by Sarah Printing and Publication, Dharmasala.

Ordering information: Contact the editor or the publisher.

Collection of BRIGHT DREAMS by B.Venkat Prakash is licensed

under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0

Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at

[email protected].

Note: The page numbers in the actual hard copy and the

online version are different.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en_GB

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en_GB

http://creativecommons.org/choose/[email protected]


vii

This book is dedicated to all the suffering and peace-

loving brothers and sisters of Tibet and especially to my

dear Tibetan students from whom I personally learned a

great deal.

-Venkat.


viii


ix

Blessings from His Holiness the Dalai

Lama


x


xi

Foreword

Language is a gift that societies on this planet discovered many millennia past and it has enriched the lives of all those that have had the freedom to utilise it to its fullest extent. Amongst the multitude of languages in common use, the English language has emerged as one of the most expressive and beautiful of languages and this book sets about encouraging readers to discover more about its depth and diversity. The book is an inspiration in answer to the dreams of group of young Tibetan learners first encountered by the editing author on a teaching secondment to Northern India in 2011, but the inspiration to write a book as a collection of dreams is derived as much from the joy of teaching as it is from the joy of learning. The book is presented as a collection of stories from peoples of differing national origins and demonstrates how common the joy of teaching is to all communities on our earth. The authors all demonstrate a will to inspire the new generation and the few moments shared by readers with the dreams of each author do more than just inspire learning, as they also build bridges across cultural divides. This collection of dreams has been carefully woven into a text that goes beyond the simple dream of teaching English to foreign language learners as, by providing readers with an insight of the world derived from the varied perspectives of its contributing authors, it also breaks through barriers that limit our ability to dream. Andrew Fox Teacher


xii


xiii

Acknowledgements:

This book is not just the result of a single person‟s

Dream, rather it is a collection of various peoples‟ Dreams

coming true, to encourage Dreamers of the future.

I feel privileged and humbled to acknowledge all the friends

who have contributed their time, effort and intellectual abilities

for this book. Our friend Lamenda Kingdon has been an

immense source of encouragement right from the conception

of this idea. Whenever I mail her a story for editing, she would

reply with a long list of corrections, which sometimes meant

that the entire story had to be rewritten. Initially it was a bit

upsetting for me to do so much additional work. But, she has

made this book a much better one than it initially would have

been. Bravo and my sincere gratitude to her.

Tony has a special ability to bring out the essence of the

stories through his illustrations. Danicia‟s help in bringing

together her friends to do the illustrations cannot be over

emphasised. Also, I am very fortunate to have met Simona

and Little Juste in Lithuania. The inspiration they radiated

through their illustrations was hugely motivating for me.

Some of the Dreamers who have participated in this book are

my close friends and some I am yet to meet. It is very

surprising how a simple thought like this which occurred to me


xiv

whilst loitering over morning tea - has had such a domino

effect. More than forty people from fifteen different countries

have come together in this common cause. Almost half of our

friends when asked what made them contribute to this book

replied that, “It was their Dream” to be an author or an

illustrator. Especially through this book, their dream has been

realised. All such testimonials only serve to brighten up the

incandescent flicker of humility within me.

I would like to acknowledge all my family, friends and my

heroes His Holiness The Dalai Lama, my Parents and my

tutor Andrew Fox and for their inspiration. I would also like to

acknowledge the Tibetan school teachers, Karma and my

friend Kalsang for their efforts towards the book. Thanks to

Sarah publishers and to Yeshi for the enthusiasm they have

shown towards this book getting published.

Above all, I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to

my dear most Tibetan students who are the primary

inspiration for me to write this book.

Each one of you has made this book possible. Thank you for

making all our BRIGHT DREAMS come true. BRAVO.


xv

Contents

The Sharks of the Mangrove Forests ............................................ 1

Chapter 1: A Treasure from the Attic ........................................ 1

Chapter 2: Mangroves – The trees of life ................................ 11

Life in London .............................................................................. 19

Ma Ling and the Magic Paint Brush ............................................ 31

Ravi‟s Journey to Space ............................................................. 45

Chapter 1: The Preparation ..................................................... 45

Chapter 2: Ravi and Grandfather in Space ............................. 55

Chapter 3: Lessons about the Universe .................................. 61

Chapter 4: Lessons from the Universe ................................... 71

Engineers of Humanity ................................................................ 79

The Three Little Piggies .............................................................. 91

The £10 note ............................................................................. 101

The Story of the Steam Badger ................................................ 117

Misfortunes test the sincerity of friends ..................................... 133

My Haitian friend ....................................................................... 155

Writing on the floor .................................................................... 175

Jehanne, the Nun and I ............................................................. 185

Lakeside Survival ...................................................................... 207

Under the December Rain ........................................................ 215

Guidelines for performing a short story ..................................... 219

Maps………………………………………………………………...225

About the Dreamers………………………………………………..231

Index: ......................................................................................... 245


xvi

1

The Sharks of the Mangrove

Forests

Chapter 1: A Treasure from the Attic

Jana Rajnohova

“Mother, what is in the attic?” questioned the curious

twelve year old Anna.

“It is your Aunty Sheena‟s old books and belongings

stored up there” answered mother

Anna had never met her Aunty Sheena. She had passed away

before Anna was born. But Anna had heard that Aunty Sheena

was a scientist who had specialised in working with sharks.

„I have always wanted to know about Aunty Sheena.

Maybe I can go up into the attic and see what I can find‟

Sheena thought to herself.

“Mother, I am going up into the attic”

“Be careful and don‟t fall down,” Mother called loudly

from the kitchen.


2

Anna started climbing up the ladder to the attic. The attic was a

bit dusty and there were cobwebs in all the corners. It had been

a long time since any one had climbed up the attic. On one side,

there was a big shelf filled with big and bulky books. In front of

the shelf was a big wooden chest.

„Wow! What are all these books about?‟ Anna exclaimed

to herself as she dusted off the books.

There were numerous books about Sharks, Mangrove forests,

and various countries, philosophy and one book by the Dalai

Lama. Aunty Sheena must have been pretty clever if she had

read all of these, Anna thought to herself.

„I wonder what is inside this big wooden chest‟ she

thought to herself as she tried to lift up the heavy lid. It opened

with a creak. There were a curious collection of old toys, cloths,

some photographs of the sea side, a snorkel and a battered

notebook.

After looking at all the photographs, Anna opened the notebook.

She saw that many pages were missing. Some of the pages

were either torn or the ink had faded making them illegible. It

was all in Aunty Sheena‟s handwriting.


3

Illustra

tion: A

nn

a C

se

falv

ay


4

“Few pages in the middle of the book are clear enough

to read,” Anna said to herself as she sat down and started to

read it.

The first paragraph began like this,

“ “Day and weather: Today, as usual in the Bahamas2,

is a hot and sunny day. There is a perfect blue sky and the

fresh breeze is gently stirring the surface of the sea.

Activity: Watching Baby sharks and relaxing.

Associates: The twelve year old curious little Chris, a local

Bahamian boy who I have befriended.

Where: In a small boat in the calm blue sea around the eastern

part of the Bahamian island.

Chris was looking outside the boat into the sea

“Are you really going to show me sharks today?” he

asked.

“I am not sure, but let us try to find some. OK?”

“OK”

2 Bahamas: A group of Islands in the Atlantic Ocean near Central America.

See map 4.


5

The water was shallow enough and so very clear that we could

see the bottom of the ocean floor. It was almost an hour before

we were lucky enough to see movement in the water.

“Sheena, Sheena…shouted Chris, look to your right!

There is a shark!‟‟

“Aww, yeah… you are right! Wow, you have a great eye

Chris!”

When I saw it clearly, I could see that it was a „Lemon shark‟.

“Considering the size I would say it‟s a pregnant

female!” I said.

“Really? Is it going to deliver baby sharks?” asked Chris,

with intense surprise. I smiled and slowed the boat‟s engine so

that we did not disturb the shark. It was cruising around

following us, before moving gloriously towards the shore where

a lot of mangrove3 trees were growing.

As a marine biologist4, I understand that this „Lemon shark‟ is

searching for a suitable shelter to give birth to her babies. The

shallow warm waters and the shade offered by the Mangroves

trees provide an excellent shelter. As we observed the lemon

3 Mangroves are a kind of trees that grow to medium height near the coastal

environments. 4 A person who studies the creatures in the ocean.


6

shark, it started to deliver two baby lemon sharks. The little

ones seemed really adorable. It was a wonderful sight.

“Wow, this is amazing!” exclaimed Chris.

“Yes it certainly is Chris”

“Sheena, why are these sharks called Lemon sharks?

Are they named after a fruit?” Chris asked, laughing.

“Look at the baby sharks. Do you see how they look

very yellow in colour, similar to a lemon? That is the reason for

calling them „Lemon‟ sharks. Do you understand now?” I asked.

“Aww, O.K!” Chris agreed and was seemingly amused

by that information.

He smiled at me and asked, “Like the „Lemon‟ sharks, are there

any „Apple‟ sharks, or „Mango‟ sharks?”

“Ha,ha,ha! No, there are no Apple or Mango sharks,” I

said.

“What other types of sharks are there?”

“There are many types of sharks. Among them many are

Hammer head shark, Tiger shark, Caribbean Reef shark, the

Great white shark, the Zebra shark and the Bull sharks”


7

“Wow, there is a huge variety of sharks. Why are they

given these names?” Chris asked.

“The Hammerhead shark‟s head is in the shape of a

hammer. The Tiger sharks have glamorous stripes on their

body like a tiger. The flat nosed Bull shark is very broad, strong

and has unpredictable and aggressive behaviour like a bull.

Caribbean Reef sharks are common in the Bahamas. They are

found along the reefs5 of central and South America. Zebra

sharks have very beautiful patterns on their bodies. The Great

White sharks have a white belly. They grow very big and are the

most dangerous.”

Chris was very enthusiastic about sharks and the habitats they

live in and Sheena couldn‟t hide her joy in having such a great

companion.

Chris was still watching the two baby „Lemon sharks‟ swimming

in the shallow waters until they both disappeared into the dense

prop roots 6of the red Mangroves.

“These trees are a fantastic shelter for these young

fellows‟‟ I mentioned to Chris. “These mangrove trees are very

5 A rock or a sand bar that lies in shallow water.

6 Roots that are found above the soil. Example: Roots hanging from the

branches.


8

important for the coastal environment and its eco-system. Do

you want to know more about them?”

Chris said Yes.

” Anna was very interested in reading Aunty Sheena‟s notebook

in the attic.

“Anna! What are you still doing up there in the attic?”

interrupted her Mother‟s voice “Come down. Your father is here

and it is time for dinner.”

Anna wanted to continue reading the notebook. She took it

down with her and put it in her bedroom.

In a few minutes, the dinner was served. The meal was

delicious, but Anna‟s thoughts were all clouded about Aunty

Sheena, Chris and the sharks.


9

Glossary:

Fill in the blanks:

1. On the attic, Anna found books on __________, Mangroves, ___________ and _______.

2. Sheena was a Marine_______ by profession.

3. The associate of Aunty Sheena referred in her notebook is a local ___________ boy named __________.

4. The first shark Chris found in the sea was a___________

5. The most dangerous kind of shark is a ____________

Creative and Imaginative questions:

1. Imagine you are Chris, now write a letter to Sheena

thanking her for showing and explaining you about the

sharks. Write about the new types of sharks that you have

learnt.

Activity:

List all the new words that you have learnt in the above story.

Try to draw a picture that explains/relates to that particular word.


10


11

The Sharks of the Mangrove

Forests

Chapter 2: Mangroves – The trees of life

Jana Rajnohova

After dinner, Anna ran straight into her room and

continued to read through the notebook.

„Where did I stop reading? Ahh, yes, Aunty Sheena is

explaining the importance of Mangroves,‟ Anna thought to

herself as she started reading.

Sheena had written

“ Chris was very interested to know about the importance

of Mangroves for the coastal environment and I was pleased to

explain him all about it.

I explained, “Mangroves and the nearby sea-grass beds serve

as a home and nursery 7 for many species of fish, shrimps,

lobsters, crabs, sea snails and conch in the Bahamian islands.

A wide variety of organisms utilise Mangrove habitats, including

many endangered species 8such as Sawfish and Boa snakes.

7 Place where young children can grow in safety

8 Creatures that are at a high risk of becoming extinct.


12

The Mangroves provide both food and protection from

predators9 for the juveniles 10of these creatures.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Chris.

“There is more, the Mangrove leaves are eaten by all

kinds of creatures and more importantly, the Mangroves protect

the island by acting as a natural safe guard against storms and

hurricanes.”

“Amazing, it means that we are very lucky to have

Mangroves growing in the Bahamas!” said Chris. He is right. I

also told him about how the Mangrove trees grow and how it

takes many years for a seedling to become a big tree.

The temperature was around 36°C and there was a relentless

swarm of Mosquitoes in the air trying to bite our bare skin. I

thought that it was time for us to go snorkelling under water.

Chris and I got ready to jump under water with our snorkel,

underwater glass masks and fins for our feet.

When we jumped into the water, it is an entirely different world

altogether under water. The water was very clear. Chris pointed

out something to me to his left. We saw hundreds of small,

shiny fish swimming. There were a few green turtles that put on

an acrobatic performance for us as they graciously swam past.

9 An organism that hunts and feeds on another organism.

10 Children/ young ones.


13

It was an amazing experience. After an hour of snorkelling, we

went back to our boat and sailed quickly back to the shore so

as to avoid the mosquito swarm. Chris was still talking about

how wonderful it was below the sea as I anchored the boat.

We walked over the white sands of the beautiful beach. Even

though I have walked here so many times, I am always

fascinated by its beauty.

“Hello Sheena!” greeted a familiar voice from a distance.

It was Eddy, a local Bahamian fisherman.

“What are you doing here Eddy?” I asked.

“I am searching for big Conches,” said Eddy.

The Conches have a tasty creature living inside them. It is a

local Bahamian delicacy. Eddie, like other fishermen, comes to

these Mangrove forests to collect Conches to make his living.

Chris was listening to the conversation and seemed to be

amazed by the amount of organisms that swim, live and grow in

the Mangrove forests. His awareness on the importance of

Mangroves in the ecosystem was increasing! We bid good day

to Eddie and carried on.

As we approached the other side of the Mangrove forest beach,

there was something that did not fit into this „Green paradise‟.


14

Just across the lagoon, there were monstrous 11 bulldozers

cutting the Mangrove trees and polluting the surrounding water

with the dirt coming out of the trees being cut and the soil from

the uprooted trees.

“Sheena, what is it? What are they doing?” the young

Bahamian boy asked me, terrified. I had to tell Chris the sad

reality of what was happening in front of our eyes.

“Chris, these people are cutting down the Mangroves so

that they can construct a holiday resort near the beach.”

“Don‟t they know that the Mangroves are home for

hundreds of organisms? It is not fair that they destroy the home

of all those sea creatures”

“It is not good,” I said. I could see that he was upset. He

was silent for a while and asked,

“Sheena, what are the consequences12 of cutting down

these Mangrove trees?”

“Hundreds of creatures such as different types of fish,

sharks, conch and birds will lose their home! Furthermore, the

island and people in the island will be in danger from hurricanes.

The water will get polluted and organisms living in them will

die.”

11

Big, Massive 12

Result, an effect


15

“I do not want any of these things to happen. I want to

create awareness, for the Bahamians to know about the

importance of Mangroves and the need to protect them.”

I was happy to hear Chris‟s thoughts. This was an amazing

moment for me. I was very happy to see children being amazed

by the beauties of the ocean and for them to understand the

need for conservation of the Mangrove trees. I know that these

children need to be taught to love the sea and its creatures so

they learn to protect the environment and can continue to

inspire more people to do the same.

“Thanks Sheena, I have to leave now. See you

tomorrow!” Chris said as he ran towards his home, eager to

share his adventures with his friends and family.

The little Bahamian boy was so amazed by the magic of

Mangroves that he decided to organise a Mangrove planting

event with his schoolmates. They collected buckets and buckets

of Mangrove seeds and planted many seedlings which

eventually, after many years will grow into trees big enough to

become home for many creatures.

Chris was not aware of how much positive difference he was making to the environment and the community. By planting these Mangrove trees, he was planting the trees of life!

”


16

The other pages of the notebook were either torn or the ink had

faded too much to read. Anna felt very happy to had gone up to

the attic and found this treasure.

„This story inspires me to learn more about the sea

creatures and the Mangroves!‟ Anna thought to herself as she

started to fall asleep; a sleep full of sweet dreams of the

Bahamian Mangroves.


17

Glossary:

List of Characters:

Anna: A little girl who goes up the attic and finds her auntie‟s old belongings.

Aunty Sheena: A marine biologist who worked in the Bahamas for shark conservation projects.

Chris: A young Bahamian boy who befriends Sheena.

Eddy: A Bahamian fisherman. He collects conches for living.

Fill in the blanks:

1. The mangroves protect the island from ________ and ________.

2. The mangroves provide food and ________ for a lot of creatures.

3. Anna was not able to read the other pages as they were wither _______ or _________.

4. Anna and Chris went ____________ under water.

5. ___________ is a local Bahamian delicacy which has a tasty living creature inside.

Synonyms:

1. Hurricane - A storm with violent wind

2. Battered - Damaged

3. Snorkel - A breathing apparatus used by swimmers to swim under water

4. Lagoon - A shallow body of water near the sea

5. swarm - A huge crowd, moving group, army


18

Antonyms:

1. Fascinate X Bore, Disinterest.

2. Shallow X Deep.

3. Adorable X Hateful.

4. Pollute X Clean, Purify.

5. Delicious X Distasteful, Unpleasant.

Answer the following in 20 to 30 words:

1. List the various items that Anna found in the attic?

2. Why are the „Lemon sharks‟ named after the fruit lemon?

3. What are the different types of sharks that are included in this story?

4. What is the importance of mangroves?

5. What are the consequences of cutting down the Mangrove trees?

Creative and Imaginative questions:

1. In 250 to 200 words, write how Chris explained about sharks and mangroves to his family and friends after he left Sheena.

Activity:

Try to collect the pictures of various types of sea creatures and make a poster. Explain it to your friends.


19

Life in London

Kelsang Pawo

It was time for me to board the train to London13. I am a

Buddhist Monk living in the country sides of Essex in the U.K.

The place I live is full of nature and farm animals. His Holiness

the Dalai Lama was coming to London to deliver a public talk

and I am going there to attend his talk on „The Importance of

compassion‟, that is why I am boarding the train.

In the train people see me wearing the Buddhist robes and

come to talk to me. People in the UK are curious to know about

Buddhism and its values, thanks to His Holiness and the media.

People of various walks of life come to talk with me,

entertainers, family men, children and elderly people – all of

them. Similarly, even during this journey, an elderly gentleman

and his wife came to converse. We spoke of various things on

Buddhism their lives and how I became a Monk.

After five hours of journey, we are in London at last. The couple

and I exchange e-mails and we take a photograph together. As

the train enter Paddington station 14in London, we say goodbye

13

Capital city of England. See map 3 14

One of the main train stations in London.


20

to each other. How relaxed life is, I think to myself when each of

us have time for each other and care for each other.

As I step out of the train, life is completely different. Life in

London, like all large cities across the world, is very busy and

often hectic. Every person, it seems, is pushing against the

crowd to get quickly to their destination. It is hard to imagine so

many mobile phones, so many conversations and so many

deals to be made.

In the city, the noise levels everywhere seems to be immense.

„Mixed in one large blend of sound are the voices of a

million people!‟

The horns of bumper to bumper traffic of cars buses and

motorcycles and the loud music piped from shops to attract

people to make a purchase of something that they do not really

need is everywhere. There is a huge buzz, but how much of

such noise is really needed is questionable.

The tube trains that run under the city streets are packed and is

over flowing with those commuters who fight to surface like fish

rising for air in an over populated pool. The people do not wait

for each other or think of giving way to one another. They just

rush to get in and to finish their tasks. If such behaviour builds

into peoples‟ professional and personal lives, then in the years

to come, a concern for others will grow thinner, I think to myself.


21

As I walk through the pathways in the streets, it is as if that the

stress on people‟ faces make them look like they are wearing a

grotesque mask. They look in pain as though they are going to

explode from frustration at any moment. Whilst they are trying

to express a calm patience they are burying an anger they can

barely conceal.

I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes for a while.

In that short time, I was able to feel at least a hundred people to

have crossed me left and right, back and forwards; some even

complained why I am standing there. I was calm, just standing

with my eyes closed and breathing deeply.

I wondered why these stressfully looking people do not do the

same for a moment. I smiled to myself at this reflection and

walked along.

There I see in the pathway, among the insane rush for riches

that rarely materialise, the lonely road sweeper is trying

desperately to run his brush along the uneven pavements that

are engrained with blotches of chewing gum. It is his job to keep

the streets clean of lunch wrappers and plastic cups, but his

task is impossible as he is overwhelmed by a sea of entangled

people.


22

Illustration: Tony Toller


23

I smile at him warmly; initially he looks at me with some

suspicion. As I keep on radiating a genuine smile, he smiles

back and says hello.

We exchange a few pleasant words, for it is well known that

pleasant words are the ones that he seldom gets. I do not wish

to interrupt him in his work, so I wish him a good day and walk

on.

Near the cross streets in the Westminster road, the Police and

ambulance sirens bleat and cross the red traffic lights at great

speed. There are protesters waving slogans and carrying flags

march across the city before settling for the day in front of one

embassy or another. Today the march is for human rights and

tomorrow it will be for the rights of animals or the environment.

I wished that these protestors actually acted upon their values

and not just protest. It was evident that some traffic was being

blocked for the protestors. There is a police van with a few

officers trying to control the traffic.

As I walk slowly along the streets, I see the cranes hanging

over immense building constructions with giant steels swinging

overhead. But steel cranes appear to be the size of lolly sticks

as it is guided into place by construction workers who move

from one country to another in a relentless search for the next

tallest building for them to erect.


24

To my left are the newspaper vendors standing outside the

railway station shouting the news of the day. Bill boards display

the daily headlines of war and other tragedies. „Our young

soldiers killed in Afghanistan15, a British traveller lost in storm at

sea or the chancellor16 is to raise the taxes.‟ Always the news is

hard to bear. Never is it inspiring and seldom is it encouraging.

When I contemplate on such wars and tragic events, it is

usually the presumed self-importance of an individual, a leader

corrupt with and/or for power and control. These unethical

leaders always presume that they can leave behind a strong

and permanent mark in the history to come; alas, all that they

manage to leave behind are scars in the hearts of affected

people. „Why don‟t they understand the principle of

impermanence?‟ I think to myself and walk along in the busy

city.

It is a Friday evening; well a sense of joy fills the air as the

weekend approaches.

On Friday evenings after work all the employed leave their jobs

and head for the pubs and clubs. They would party until

Monday when work and the clockwork mundane routine of a

new week starts again.

15

See map 3 16

A person who is the Head of the state/Government.


25

Amidst the rush for such riches and instant pleasures, sit the

beggars and the buskers. Some of them are with signs written

on scraps of cardboard pleading for a few pennies whilst some

others sing the songs that remind the passers-by of their

memories of times gone by when their lives were different and

so not so frantic. I sometimes sense a deep hidden melancholy

in their voice.

I should admit that a very few people in our cities are able to

rest in peace. There is always something to think about and to

organise for later. All of them are caught up in a net that has

woven them into a life that holds no great satisfaction. Even at a

time of day that is theirs to express free will there are queues to

join and patience to be shown, but there is little patience with

the people to wait for their turn.

As I walk along such rush and roar of life, I arrive at the hall for

His Holiness‟ talk.

There I witness something that gives me great hope. The tickets

are on sale to see and hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The

Dalai Lama is to appear at the Royal Albert Hall. Great

excitement had already filled the streets.

I see that the crowd who wished to hear His wisdom formed into

an orderly queue reined over by silence and Buddhist values.

There is joy in the faces of people.


26

A sense of expectation borne out of this opportunity seemed to

have engulfed their hearts. „Such a contrast from what I had

seen before‟ I smile to myself. The air was filled with a sense of

hope as I joined the queue. This I thought was the proof that

even in the madness of commercialism there was an under

laying great common sense and a belief in the profound

meaning of compassion and in helping each other.

Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Glossary (Naveen Bolla and Karthikeyan P.S.)

Fill in the blanks:

1. The Buddhist monk is living in the country sides of ___________.

2. ___________was coming to London to deliver a public talk titled _____________.

3. The trains in London that run under the city streets are called ___________.

4. The ___________station was author‟s destination stop.

5. Some people ___________why I am standing there in the road with eyes closed.

6. Bill boards displayed the daily___________ and other_____________.

7. The Dalai Lama was to appear at the ___________hall.


27

Synonyms:

1. Buskers - Person entertaining people for money in public places

2. Frantic - Furious/Mad

3. Contemplate - Think deeply

4. Engulf - Swallow/Absorb

5. Blotch - Stain/Spot

Antonyms:

1. Melancholy X Glad

2. Immense X Insignificant

3. Grotesque X Beautiful

4. Impermanence X Small/Little

5. Profound X Permanence

Answer the following question in 10-20 words:

1. What were the conversations between author and elderly gentleman‟s family?

2. What was the author‟s reflection about the people as he is walking along the pathways of streets of London?

3. Who did author met on the on the pathway and what was his work?

4. What were Beggars and Buskers doing on the roads?

5. Describe how Londoners spend their weekends.


28

Answer the following questions in 20 – 50 words

1. Why did the author feel that life was completely different after stepping out of train?

2. Explain the situation near the cross streets of Westminster road?

3. Would you like to live in a village/city? Justify your answer with strong reasons.

4. What gives the great hope to the Monk?

5. What are the different places that you have learnt from this story?

Match the following synonyms:

1. Curious - Government Official 2. Hectic - Traveller 3. Commuter - Restless 4. Grotesque - Interested 5. Chancellor - Ugly

Imaginative and Creative Questions:

Look at the illustration in the next page and based on the illustration:

1. Make up a short story. Give your character names, place and a plot.

2. Write an essay in 250 words, critically analysing the illustration. (Say what is good and what needs improvement in the illustration. As a group, write an e-mail the illustrator about your thoughts.


29

Illustra

tion: J

uste

Bu

tku

te


30


31

Ma Ling and the Magic Paint

Brush

Constance Zhu

Once upon a time in ancient China, there was a boy

named Ma Ling. He was an orphan. His parents had passed

away when he was only little. So, in order to survive, he

chopped wood and cut grass. He was fascinated by the art of

painting, but since he was very poor he could not afford to buy

a paintbrush.

One day, when Ma Ling walked past a school, there through the

window he saw a teacher painting with a brush. Ma Ling stood

there for a long time in admiration of how the teacher painted.

Without a second thought; he walked straight into the classroom

saying,

“Master, I would love to learn painting! Can I borrow a

paintbrush from you?”

The teacher looked disapprovingly at the shabby boy and

sneered saying,

“What? A poor kid like you wants to learn painting? You

must be daydreaming! Go away!”


32

Feeling disappointed, Ma Ling walked away quietly. Even

though he was snubbed by an adult, he remained composed

and calm.

In his mind he thought „I do not believe that a poor child is not

good enough, or incapable of learning to paint.‟ He was

determined he would learn to paint on his own.

With a lot of positive attitude, he made use of every opportunity

to practise his painting skills. When he was cutting grass beside

the river, he would take a few moments to dip a reed into the

water and used it to sketch pictures of fish on the rocks. Whilst

he chopped wood in the forest, he would stop a while to draw

birds on the freshly cut surfaces of trees. At night, when he

returned home to his cave he would use a piece of charcoal

from his fire, to sketch on the walls all the beautiful things he

had seen during his hard-working day.

Ma Ling never gave up on his dream of learning how to paint.

Day after day, month after month, year after year, he used

every opportunity to draw and paint anything and everything he

could find in order to practise and develop his artistic skills. If he

could not find the physical means to draw or paint, then he

would draw and paint pictures in his mind. Eventually, every

inch of the walls of his cave was densely covered with his art.


33

His spirit and soul was completely filled with his dreams. Even

though he still did not have a paintbrush Ma Ling was

developing extraordinary skills.

For instance, when he drew a hen on the ground by the

entrance to his village, eagles hovered above. When he drew a

black wolf at the foot of the mountain, cows and sheep ran

away in fear.

One night, Ma Laing was beginning to fall asleep as he was

thinking about how great it would be to have a paintbrush to

work with, when a brilliant, bright light suddenly appeared. Out

of this intense light came a very kind voice saying,

“This is a magical paintbrush. Use it well.”

Ma Ling was awestruck. He could hardly breathe as he watched

the magical paintbrush appear out of thin air, shimmering with a

golden light as it fell into his hand. Before Ma Ling could

recollect his senses, the voice and the light had disappeared.

Ma Ling woke from what he thought was a fantastic dream. He

could not believe his eyes, when he looked down and saw the

glimmering and shimmering magical paintbrush actually in his

hand.


34

Illustra

tion

: Dav

e S

kin

ne

r


35

Very quickly recovering from his astonishment, he started to

use the brush to paint a bird. To his complete surprise, a real

bird started to flap its wings and flew out of the painting and into

the sky! When he painted a fish it started to wiggle its tail before

leaping through the air and landing in the nearby river.

“The voice is correct, this indeed is a magical paint

brush!” Ma ling leapt in joy.

With his huge kind heart, Ma Ling decided to use this magical

gift to help the poor people in his village. He painted things the

villagers desperately needed. He painted a cow for the family

that needed a cow; a stone mill for the family which needed a

stone mill and a waterwheel for the family who did not have one.

In turn, these families shared their new abundance of food and

drink with others in their village. Thanks to Ma Ling, there was a

sense of righteousness in the village.

Unfortunately, such good things can lead to envy which, in turn,

can lead to wrong-doing.

Very soon, the news about Ma Ling's magical paintbrush

spread to a wealthy and greedy local Landlord who sent two of

his bodyguards to bring Ma Ling to him. The Landlord ordered

Ma Ling to paint a mountain full of gold coins.

Ma Ling was a very strong-hearted boy and no matter how

much the Landlord threatened him, Ma Ling refused to obey.


36

The Landlord became so angry with Ma Ling he had him locked

up in a stable without any food or water.

It was a cold winter. Outside the stable the snow was several

feet deep. The Landlord thought it was just a matter of time

before the cold and hunger would make Ma Ling give in and

paint the mountain of gold, as he had demanded.

After two days, the Landlord decided he would check on Ma

Ling. As he approached the stable he could smell the aroma of

delicious food wafting out of every crack in the stable‟s

woodwork and a red glow was visible through the cracks in the

door.

In a rage he flung the stable door wide open. He was shocked

to see a very cheerful Ma Ling, sitting comfortably eating piping-

hot Chinese pancakes and by his side, a cooking pot of stew

was steaming over a warm fire!

The Landlord realised his stupidity in thinking that locking up Ma

Ling without any food or water would make him give in. He

realised that Ma Ling had drawn the food and the fire with his

magic paintbrush. Absolutely livid, the Landlord ordered his

henchmen to grab the magic paintbrush and kill the boy.

However, when a dozen of the Landlord‟s henchmen rushed

into the stable, ready to obey the Landlord‟s orders, Ma Ling

was nowhere to be found! With the magic paintbrush Ma Ling


37

had drawn a ladder and escaped through a window that he had

drawn! The Landlord and his men had started to follow Ma Ling

up the ladder, but when they had climbed just a few steps, the

ladder vanished and they all came crashing down onto the

stony ground. They could hear Ma Ling, outside the stable,

laughing at them.

Unfortunately, after only a few days of freedom, the Landlord‟s

henchmen had successfully followed Ma Ling‟s tracks and

recaptured him. This time, before Ma Ling was locked up, his

paintbrush was taken away and given to the Landlord.

The Landlord was extremely excited about having the

paintbrush in his possession. Now he held the means of getting

all that he ever dreamt of.

He started painting the mountain of gold that Ma Ling had

refused to paint for him. Then he drew another, and another; on

and on, painting one gold mountain on top of another until, to

his dismay, he noticed his sparkling golden mountains were not

remaining sparkling gold for very long. They were all turning into

piles of ash! Undeterred, the Landlord decided to paint gold

bricks. He painted each gold brick one by one. Deciding the

gold bricks were too small, he drew a very big, long gold brick

that would fill the length of the whole. However, the size of the


38

gold bricks made no difference; the result was the same as

before. All the shining golden bricks turned into ash.

The Landlord, realising he could not use the brush with the

same success as Ma Ling, ordered his henchmen to bring Ma

Ling to him. The Landlord had not given up the idea of

persuading Ma Ling to paint a mountain of gold for him.

This time, using a very kind, gentle and persuasive voice, he

told Ma Ling that if he would just paint a golden mountain for

him, he would set him free.

As Ma Ling wanted his magic paintbrush back, he pretended to

agree to the Landlord‟s demands.

The now very happy Landlord gave the magic paintbrush back

to Ma Ling, asking him, in his silky persuasive voice,

“Can you please be kind enough to first draw a tree that

blossomed golden flowers and bore golden fruits?”

Ma Ling raised his brush and waved it to the left and right. A

beautiful, brilliantly shining ocean, without a single ripple, like an

endless jade mirror, appeared before the Landlord. The

Landlord shouted angrily at Ma Ling,

"I wanted you to draw a golden tree and you have

painted me an ocean!"


39

Ma Ling drew an island in the middle of the ocean and on the

island, a big, tall tree.

"Is this not the golden tree you wished for?" Ma Ling

asked the Landlord. The Landlord started laughing.

"Quick! Quick!!! Draw me a boat! I want to reach that

golden tree!"

So, Ma Ling painted a wooden boat big enough for the Landlord

and all his henchmen to board. As the boat slowly started out

towards the island, the Landlord shouted,

"Faster! Faster!"

Ma Ling began to paint a few small ripples on the water and a

few broad strokes in the sky. Immediately, the wind started to

blow. The sails opened and the boat was urged faster forwards,

toward the island.

"More wind! More wind!" the Landlord demanded. With

his paintbrush Ma Ling added more brush strokes to the sky.

The stronger wind now fully extended the sails of the wooden

boat which began sailing ahead at full speed. The wind made

the waves to grow bigger and bigger, the boat began to toss

about uncontrollably and dangerously.

The Landlord realised that if this wind continued, the boat would

be in real danger of sinking. Now very frightened, the Landlord

waved his hands at Ma Ling signalling him to stop. He cried out,


40

"Enough! Enough! Ma Ling STOP the wind!"

Ma Ling was a very kind-hearted person. Even though the

greedy Landlord had been very unkind to him, Ma Ling wanted

to give him a second chance. He stopped the wind. In the calm

Ma Ling asked the Landlord,

“Is this all you want? I can draw anything and everything

you are desperate for. A golden mountain? A golden city, just

for you? But If I add more wind, what would happen? All that

you really want; all the gold you wish for, will not save you, will

it?”

At this moment, the Landlord realised how precious life is. He

could only have the joy of his possessions if he was alive. In

that storm he could have lost everything; his fortune and his life.

In that instant, he felt great shame about his colossal desire for

money and for what he had done to Ma Ling. Feeling both

frightened and ashamed, the Landlord said,

“Please forgive me Ma Ling. I now realise my mistake. I

do not want riches. Please, just take us all back home.”

Ma Ling could see that the Landlord had realised his mistake

and started to paint a calm sea for the Landlord and his men to

return home.

When they were all safely ashore, the Landlord cried tears of

relief. He held out his arms toward Ma Ling, asking him to


41

accept his apologies for his attitude and behaviour. Ma Ling,

holding the Landlord‟s hands in his, accepted his apology.

The Landlord invited Ma Ling to stay with him, at his home, for a

few days. Indeed, this was to be the start of a good friendship

between the two of them. The Landlord wanted to share his

fortune with Ma Ling, so that Ma Ling could buy many things.

Ma Ling refused the Landlord‟s offer, saying,

“I have my paintbrush, and that is more than enough for

me. If you want to share your money, please use it to do good

deeds for those who really are in great need.”

The Landlord promised Ma Ling that he would help all the poor

and needy people who came to him. After a few days, in spite of

the Landlord‟s repeated requests, Ma Ling left the Landlord‟s

house.

The story of Ma Ling and his magic paintbrush spread far and

wide. But nobody knows exactly where Ma Ling went. Some

say he went back to his hometown. Others say he travelled to

many places and that wherever he went he used his magic

paintbrush to provide warmth, shelter, food and clean drinking

water to anyone he found in such great need.


42

Glossary

List of Characters:

Ma Ling: A poor but kind hearted boy who gets the Magic paint brush The Landlord: A very rich but greedy man who captures Ma Ling and tries to seize the paint brush. The Henchmen: The Land lord‟s servants. Synonyms: 1. Snubbed - Disregarded 2. Stable - A shelter for animals 3. Persuade - Encourage, motivate, ask. 4. Colossal - Very big, immense. 5. Desperate - Very much in need of, Frantic

Fill in the blanks: 1. Ma Ling was very interested in learning how to

____________ 2. In order to survive from poverty Ma Ling _________ trees

and cut the ___________ 3. Ma Ling used the paintbrush to help the ___________ in his

village. 4. The Landlord compelled Ma Ling to draw a ________ full of

gold. 5. At the end Ma Ling helped the Landlord to understand his

faults and they became __________ Match the correct synonyms for the following words: 1. Poverty - Extremely desirous 2. Shabby - Regret


43

3. Glee - Worn 4. Greed - Poor 5. Apology - Delight

Answer the following questions in 10 to 20 words: 1. What was the master‟s response when Ma Ling asked him

for a paint brush?

2. List the various things that Ma Ling painted when he got the magic paintbrush?

3. How did Ma ling escape from the land lord?

4. Describe the events that made the land lord realise his

mistake. 5. What was Ma Ling‟s response when the Landlord

apologized and offered to share his fortune with Ma Ling? Creative and Imaginative questions: 1. If you had this magic paintbrush what would you want to

paint?

2. When your magic painting becomes a reality what will your life be like?

3. What can you do today that, like Ma Ling‟s „brush stroke‟ do one tiny thing, towards making that dream a bright future reality?

4. What things in your life are more important to you than „mountains of gold?‟


44

Activities:

1. In a small group discuss whether you think the Landlord fully changed his love of riches after this experience? What is your evidence for your opinion?

2. In a team of people write this story, „Ma Ling and the Magic Paintbrush,‟ as a Play.

The script will include what each character has to say. What each character will do and where each character will stand.

3. As a team work out how you will create the movement to

show the effect of the storm on the boat.


45

Ravi’s Journey to Space

Chapter 1: The Preparation

B. Venkat Prakash

“Everyone has passed the exam except Ravi, as usual,”

the physics teacher said. All the students turned to him and

giggled. Ravi was a bit ashamed of what the teacher had just

said, but he had heard it many times, from many teachers.

Ravi was glad that it was the beginning of the summer holidays.

While all the students were leaving the classroom the teacher

called Ravi and said,

“Do you know that you have not even passed one of

physics exams out of the three you‟ve taken this year?”

“Yes master” replied Ravi.

“I do not know if you will pass it next year or not. You

seem to be stupid. Next year if you fail in physics or in any other

subjects, I will recommend that you leave the school. I do not

want to see you sitting in the class and dreaming all the time.”

Ravi stood silently with his head bent down. He left the room

slowly wondering why none of the teachers ever understood


46

him. But as he left the room, all that mattered was the two

months summer holiday that was ahead.

„I can play for the whole time with my friends and

cousins; I don‟t have to do any homework. No teachers. No

sitting in the class for hours on end. No scolding and no study. I

am very happy‟ he thought to himself. He was very much

looking forward to meeting his grandparents, especially his

astronaut17 grandfather.

“Mother, can we visit grandfather? I will be a good boy

and behave myself and help grandfather in his experiments”

Ravi promised to his mother.

“OK, I will take you to grandfather‟s house next week”

she said.

Ravi was waiting for the week to pass by and as the next week

approached he got more and more excited. Ravi‟s grandfather

was an astronaut before retiring. He is now conducting his own

experiments and research in his private laboratory. Ravi was

always excited to visit his grandfather, even though he never

understood any of the theories or his experiments, he felt proud

assisting him.

The next day, Ravi and his mother took the bus to reach his

grandparents‟ town. Then they took a taxi to the grandparents‟

17

A person who travels to space.


47

house. As the taxi approached closer and closer to his

grandparents‟ house, Ravi‟s heart was beating faster, filling with

joy and he had a great sense of anticipation18 to be meeting his

grandparents.

As the taxi stopped, he jumped out and ran into the house

shouting “Grandmother, grandfather”.

His Grandmother was waiting for them and she was delighted to

see Ravi and hugged him.

“How are you Ravi?” she asked.

“I am good grandmother, how are you? Where is

grandfather?” He asked. “I want to see him” He was jumping

with joy.

“He is in his laboratory working on something. Go and

say hello to him” she said.

Ravi ran to his grandfather‟s laboratory. As he entered, he saw

the long slender figure of his grandfather bent over and working

on something that looked like a small rocket19. Ravi looked in

amazement at the small-room sized rocket and even forgot to

wish his grandfather hello.

He slowly approached his grandfather and asked

“Wow, what is this Grandfather?”

18

Expectation 19

A vehicle that is used for going to space, other planets.


48

“Hello Ravi, good to see you back” his grandfather

smiled at him.

“This is a new type of rocket that I am constructing and it

is almost finished”

Ravi‟s eyes were filled with awe as he asked

“Is this a real one? What does it do?” His grandfather

kept aside the equipment he was working on and turned to Ravi,

ruffling his hair said

“Yes Ravi, this is a real rocket. This will be useful for

astronauts to travel to space, the moon and even to other

planets”

“To other planets20? Wow!” Ravi could not believe what

he just heard.

His grandfather continued “The new feature in this rocket is that

it does not require any chemical fuel. It controls and uses the

Earth‟s magnetic field and solar power” Even though Ravi did

not understand it completely, he did not bother about it but just

looked with great interest at the rocket.

His grandfather continued “If this rocket is successfully

launched, it will revolutionize all future rocket launches”

20

A heavenly body (Like the Earth, mars, Jupiter) revolving around the sun or

any other star. See illustration on pg. 72


49

“Grandfather, you are a genius, when will you finish this

rocket?” Ravi asked.

“It will be ready by next week”

“Can I help you in your work?” Ravi asked for which his

grandfather gladly accepted.

“Now, hand me that equipment and let‟s test our rocket”

grandfather said. Ravi was very proud and happy to help his

grandfather.

The next day Ravi‟s mother left and gave him ample advice to

behave properly. He nodded his head in agreement to

everything. As soon as she left, he became the usual naughty

boy that he was. His grandmother prepared very delicious

sweets and he had no qualms about eating as much as he

wanted. His grandfather in spite of the grandmother‟s

complaints remained in the laboratory until long hours.

One day when Ravi was dining with his grandparents, he was

telling his grandmother how many new things he had learnt in

the last few days from grandfather. Grandfather was smiling at

Ravi‟s enthusiasm.

The next day Ravi was in the laboratory as usual, when he

heard his grandfather say “The rocket is finished, tested and

ready to fly”

“Is it really going to fly? How do you propose to test it?”

Ravi exclaimed once more in surprise!


50

“Yes Ravi, I am going to see if it works by flying in it to the moon

tomorrow”. Ravi was astounded to hear this and he asked

“Grandfather, can I come with you? I would really like to

come with you to the Moon!”

“I am not sure if your parents would approve of it”

“Then do not tell them about it” he smiled.

“I cannot do that. Maybe I can take you to outer space,

between the earth and the moon. Is that OK?”

“That is more than OK”

“If you go to outer space, you will be youngest person

ever to do that” grandfather said. He thought for a while and

asked “Ravi, are you sure that you want to go to space, It would

be a very different and difficult experience”

Before his grandfather could finish, Ravi was shouting “Yes, yes,

I want to come as well.” His grandfather was smiling as if he

was expecting such a reaction from Ravi.

“Can I wear my favourite shirt tomorrow?” Ravi asked

naively21.

“No, you should wear a spacesuit. Come let us find a

spacesuit for you” grandfather said.

“What is a spacesuit?” Ravi questioned.

21

Childishly


51

“A spacesuit is a special type of outfit that you should

wear while you are away from the earth.”

“Why do we need it?”

“Our body needs a specific temperature and pressure to

function properly. Space is a vacuum and it has no air. So, we

cannot breathe properly and since there is no air our body

cannot withstand such harsh pressure. The temperature in

space is either too hot or too cold and there is a lot of harmful

radiation from the sun.”

Grandfather continued “The spacesuit protects us from

all these dangers”. Even though Ravi did not understand it all,

he just nodded in acceptance. Grandfather took Ravi to his

chamber22 full of space suits of different sizes. After a while of

searching and fitting, they found a space-suit for Ravi.

“Sleep well tonight Ravi, we have a long journey

awaiting us tomorrow” said his Grandfather

That night Ravi could not sleep properly. He closed his eyes

and tried his best to sleep, but in vain.

He got out of bed and opened his window. Beneath the trees

there was the big crescent moon shining brightly. The Orion

constellation appeared bigger too. There were a lot more stars

than usual for him. „I wonder how many stars are there in space‟

22

Usually a room or a special place where thing are stored.


52

he thought to himself. Above him the Milky Way appeared

beautiful across the sky. It was a special night for Ravi.

“A long journey awaits me” Ravi said to himself as he

went back to bed.


53

Glossary:

Fill in the Blanks

1. Ravi was waiting for the week to _______ and as the next week was fast approaching, he was getting more and more ________.

2. Ravi‟s heart was very joyful and being with his grandparents gave him a great sense of _______.

3. As he entered the laboratory, he saw the long _______ figure of his grandfather bent over, working on something that looked like a small ________.

4. If this rocket is launched successfully, it would ________ future rocket launches.

5. Beneath the trees the big ______ moon was radiating brightly.

Find synonyms for the following words:

1. Astound -

2. Revolution -

3. Equipment -

4. Temperature -

5. Launch -

Find antonyms for the following words:

1. Construct X

2. Agree X

3. Properly X

4. Beneath X


54

5. Difficult X

Answer the following questions in 50 to 100 words:

1. Why did the students giggle at Ravi?

2. Do you think if it is kind to laugh or giggle at someone in such a situation?

3. Why was Ravi excited about his holiday?

4. What was the profession of Ravi‟s grandfather before he retired?

5. How does Ravi describe his Grandfather?

6. Why does Ravi‟s grandfather think his rocket will revolutionise future rocket launches?

7. What is a spacesuit and why is it important to wear one in space?

Creative question:

1. If you were Ravi, would you be willing to travel to space? If so why?

Activities:

1. Discuss in groups of four or five, Is it good or bad to giggle or laugh at a person for their failures.

(This is a very good exercise to invoke some thinking and let the students explore the emotional aspects of intimidating someone by laughing or giggling at them.)

2. Look out during the night and if possible write down all the constellations you can see in the sky.

3. Find out the names of these constellations.


55


Chapter 2: Ravi and Grandfather in Space

B. Venkat Prakash

The next day Ravi woke up earlier than the early bird.

Even though grandmother did not approve, Ravi and his

grandfather went ahead with their plans. Ravi went to his

grandmother, hugged her and said “Don‟t worry grandmother,

we will be fine and will be back very soon. Prepare me my

favourite drumstick curry when we are back”.

They wore their space suits and sat inside the rocket. There

were windows on all sides to look around. There were

numerous buttons of all colours everywhere.

“Ravi, do not touch any button without asking me”

grandfather said strictly.

“OK grandfather”

The countdown for the launch started!

5

4


56

3

2

1 and the mini rocket had started. The rocket slowly

lifted up and Ravi was able to feel that they were flying. Even

though Ravi seemed to be fervent he was very fearful inside.

“I am scared grandfather”

“It is common to feel a bit scared when a big dream

comes true”. His grandfather said and seemed to be looking at

the buttons and working of the rocket very carefully.

From the window, Ravi was able to see that they were slowly

flying and he could see the entire village from above.

„This is how a bird will see the village when it flies in the

sky‟ he thought to himself. The rocket was getting faster and

faster and both the passengers were being pushed back in their

seats. Now Ravi could see the entire landscape including the

hills and in a few minutes later he could see the sea.

„I am very far from home now‟ he thought to himself.

As they went up more and more, the bluish sky was turning

darker and darker. In a while the entire sky was fully black and

Ravi could see the earth as a big ball.

“Why is it very dark grandfather, is it night already?”

Ravi asked


57

“No Ravi, it is not night. It is very dark because we have

crossed the earth‟s atmosphere and the blue colour of the sky is

due to the atmosphere. Since we have crossed it now there is

no more blueness”.

“This is amazing” Ravi said.

At the same moment, a pencil the grandfather used started to

float. Ravi could feel as if he was floating inside the rocket too.

He could see that the equipment that were not attached started

to float.

Ravi‟s mouth was wide open with surprise when he saw this.

This is the first time he saw things to be floating.

“Why is everything floating?” Ravi asked.

“Haha, since we are far away from the earth, there is no

gravitational force here to attract everything downward. Gravity

(Gravitational force) is the reason why everything falls down in

the earth. Since there is no gravity here, everything floats”.

“Let me surprise you even further” grandfather said as

he took a bottle of water. “Ravi, tell me what will happen if I pour

the water from the bottle now?”

“The water will pour down and wet the seat” he laughed.

Grandfather did not answer, instead poured out the water from

the bottle. What a surprise!, the water did not fall down. Rather,


58

the water formed like a bubble and was floating in the air. Ravi

could not believe what he was seeing. He touched the floating

water bubble and it started to wobble like a jelly.

“This is the first time I see a floating globule of water. Is

it floating because of the absence of gravity?”

“Yes”

“Can I drink it?” Ravi asked

“Yes you can”

Ravi went near the floating water globule, placed his lips

against the water and sucked it to drink.

“Drinking water is pretty difficult in space, but we can be

sure that it won‟t spill” Ravi said, for which the grand father

started laughing.

“Our science teacher had taught us about gravity, but he

never said anything about floating” Ravi exclaimed.

Grandfather stopped the rocket and said

“Look at the stars”. They were both seemingly lost in the

beauty of the stars.


59

Glossary:

Fill in the blanks: 1. The next day Ravi woke up earlier than the ______.

2. Even though Ravi seemed to be ________ he was very

fearful inside.

3. _________ is the reason why everything on earth falls downwards.

4. It was the first time Ravi saw a floating _________ of water.

5. They were both seemingly lost in the ______ of the stars.

Find synonyms for the following words:

1. Difficult -

2. Strict -

3. Fervent -

4. Fear -

5. Globule -

Find antonyms for the following words:

1. Attract X

2. Belief X

3. Against X

4. Approved X

5. Different X


60

Write down the new scientific vocabulary that you have learnt from this chapter?


1. Describe the different things Ravi saw as the rocket flew up?

2. “It is common to feel a bit scared when big dreams come true” – Do you accept this statement? Give reasons for your answer including an example from your personal life.

3. Explain why everything was floating inside the rocket when it was in space?

4. Why is the sky blue?

5. Why did it become dark as the rocket flew away from the earth?

6. Describe what happened when Ravi‟s grandfather poured water from the bottle

Creative and imaginative questions:

1. Write in 100 to 150 words your understanding about gravity?

2. Give 5 examples of how gravity acts.

(Example: When I throw a ball up, it falls down because of gravity)


61


Chapter 3: Lessons about the Universe

B. Venkat Prakash

Ravi was writing all that he had learnt in a sheet of

paper. As the rocket travelled further from the earth, sky

became darker and darker. Behind them the earth was visible

as a full circle and was gradually growing smaller in size.

Around them the stars grew numerous in number. It looked as if

the entire sky was filled with stars. Grandfather stopped the

rocket and asked Ravi to look around.

“I have never seen so many stars in my life. Grandfather,

how many stars are there totally?” Ravi asked. “Have you ever

attempted to count them?”

“Once, when I was your age, I counted until seven

hundred and thirty stars, but stopped counting”

“Why?”

“I thought that there is a lot more to know about the stars

than just counting them” Grandfather was lost in his childhood

thoughts “It is because of my interests in the stars, I became an

astronaut”.


62

“How many starts are there in the universe?”

“No one knows exactly, but we know that there are

billions and billions of stars in the universe” said the grandfather.

“Which is the closest star to the Earth?” Ravi asked.

“The sun” said grandfather.

“The sun! I thought that the sun is different to the stars.

Sun appears much bigger than the twinkling stars. The sun is

visible during the day and the stars during the night time. How

can they be same?” asked Ravi. Grandfather smiled at Ravi

and answered

“The sun is a star. Since it is closer to us compared to

the other stars, it looks bigger. Even during the day time the

stars are there in the sky, but since the light from the sun is too

bright, the stars are not visible”

Ravi looked confused.

“Let Me explain in detail for you” Grandfather continued

“All the stars we see are also as big as the sun, most of them

are even bigger than the sun but since they are very far away

from earth they look smaller”

“Ah, I understand it. A tree looks smaller from far away,

but when we go closer to it, it looks bigger. Is it the same

concept with the stars looking smaller?”


63

An artist‟s interpretation of Ravi and Grandfather floating outside the rocket.

Illustration: Danica Pišteková


64

“Yes Ravi, you are correct”

“Wow! So if all the stars are like sun, then there must be

lots of suns”

“Yes Ravi there are billions and billions of suns in the

universe”.

“I am learning a lot today, science fascinates me” Ravi

said.

“What else do you want to know?” grandfather asked the

floating Ravi.

“If the sun is a star, what is the earth?”

“The earth is one of the nine planets that revolves

around the sun”

“What are the other planets then?”

“They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,

Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto.” Grandfather continued

“Mercury is the closest to the sun and Pluto the farthest”

“If the sun has nine planets and if the sun is just a star,

does it mean that even all the other stars that we look outside

also has planets?” questioned Ravi.

“Yes Ravi, most of the stars have planets revolving

around them” Grandfather said.


65

“If most of the stars have at least two or three planets

around them, does it mean that there are more planets in the

universe than the number of stars?”

“I am not sure, but according to your logic, yes, I think

so” Grandfather said.

“Do you think that in any one of those billions and

billions of planets there may be living creatures like us?” Ravi‟s

eyes gleamed!

“Yes Ravi, it is possible. Even though we do not know

for certain, but, if any planet has the right type of air, water and

light, then there is a very high possibility that there may be living

beings in some other planets as well.” answered grandfather.

“What are they called as?”

“They are called as „Extra-terrestrial life‟ or „Aliens‟”

“How do these aliens look like?”

“I do not know Ravi. They might look very different to us,

may be they might just look like you” grandfather laughed. Ravi

also started laughing.

“I have one more question, what is there beyond the

stars?” Ravi asked.


66

Illustration: Venkat Prakash


67

“In order to understand it, let us start from our sun. The

sun as I told you is just another star and around it nine planets

like earth revolves. Out of those nine planets most of them have

moons around them. For example, Jupiter has at least sixty

three moons. Saturn has sixty one moons and Uranus has

twenty seven known moons. Mars has two moons and the Earth

has only one moon.”

Grandfather continued “The Sun and all its planets together are

called as „The Solar System‟.

The Sun along with a collection of billions of stars form a

„Galaxy‟. Our Galaxy is called „The Milky way‟ galaxy. It is spiral

in shape. Millions of such galaxies of different shape combined

together forms „A cluster of Galaxies‟ and billions of such

clusters of galaxies form the Universe”

“Do you understand now what lies beyond these stars?”

“Yes”.

“I have learnt a lot today grandfather”


68

Glossary: Fill in the blanks: 1. As the rocket travelled further from the earth, the sky

became ____________. 2. The sun is a ______. Since it is closer to us compared to

the other stars, it looks ______. 3. Mercury is the closest ________to the sun and Pluto is the

______ planet. 4. Jupiter has ____ moons, Saturn has ______ moons,

Uranus has _____ moons, Mars has _____ moons and the Earth has only one moon.

5. The Sun and all its planets together are called the ________.

Find synonyms for the following words: 1. Attempt - 2. Appear - 3. Cluster - 4. Fascinate - 5. Gleam -

Find antonyms for the following words: 1. Smaller X 2. Visible X 3. Continued X 4. Farthest X 5. Possible X

Answer the following questions in 50 to 100 words: 1. What is the reason for the grandfather to have become an

astronaut?


69

2. What is meant by the „Solar System‟? List the nine planets in our Solar System.

3. List all the facts that you have learnt about the Sun? 4. Why does the stars appear smaller to us than they really

are? 5. What is an extra-terrestrial life or an Alien?

Creative and imaginative section: 1. Do you think that life exists outside the earth? Give

reasons for your answer. 2. Have you ever counted how many stars there are in the sky?

Try it with your friends one night. 3. Create a small album about aliens from various sources

such as newspapers, books, and internet and share it with your friends.

4. Draw a possible landscape with aliens. 5. Draw a close up picture of an alien.

Describe your picture to others in your group. From your description they each draw a picture of your alien. See whether their pictures are like yours.


70


71


Chapter 4: Lessons from the Universe

B. Venkat Prakash

For the next two hours, grandfather was performing a

few experiments with his equipment while Ravi was recollecting

all that he had learnt and was writing them down in the

notebook.

„I am surprised that I have understood most of what my

grandfather has taught me today. May be I am not that stupid

as my teachers think I am. I think that I now know even more

than any of my class students or even more than my teacher

itself. They have never been to space before, they have never

experienced floating, or seen such multitude of stars like me.

Now that I have much more experience than them, so in a way,

I am much better than them‟ Ravi‟s heart was getting filled with

pride. He thought that he was better than his teachers and was

making fun of them in his heart.

At that time, an alarm started ringing in the rocket.

“It is time to go home now” Grandfather said. It will take

us a few hours to reach the earth and your grandmother will be

waiting for us”


72

“Yes, I feel hungry as well” Ravi said.

Grandfather was very happy that his rocket had worked

successfully until now. When it reaches the earth safely, then

his rocket will be used by everyone. Grandfather was very busy

operating a lot of buttons.

“Ravi, get back to your seat” grandfather said. Ravi went

back floating to his seat and continued writing all the things he

had learnt on the note. The rocket started to move slowly and in

a few minutes, it accelerated towards the earth. The earth was

getting bigger and bigger.

“Grandfather, one last question”

“What is it Ravi?”

“What have you learnt from the universe?”

“I have learnt Humility”

“What do you mean?”

“Ravi, it is very important for you to know this as well

that Humility is the greatest lesson the universe teaches us”

“How?”

“Ravi, look how small the Earth and the Sun are

compared to the universe, whereas we humans often are

consumed by an illusion of great self-importance. We look down

at others and think that we are very special creatures. But when


73

I look at the universe, it is obvious that we human beings are

unquestionably insignificant in the universe or its functioning.”

Grandfather continued “Look at the earth from here, we see no

continents, no countries, not any people, no Indians, no

Americans, no Africans, no Islam, no Christianity, no politicians,

no geniuses or any stupid people, I neither see any great

emperors nor any cowards. The only thing I see is a small blue

planet. From here, all of the people are the same. Belonging to

one human family”

Grandfather looked at the earth and seemed to be in

serious contemplation when he said “It is disappointing, it is

very disappointing to see how the people of our one tiny planet

being segregated into many groups based on colour, nationality,

politics, race and religion, whilst all of them are the same. They

misunderstand each other, fight, wish to dominate and even kill

each other, where as we are all the same children of this one

tiny planet lost in the realms of this vast universe”

“Can you please explain me more?”

“Ravi, look at the earth, from here can you see the

whole earth as „One single Organism‟? It is essential for us all

to recognise that an organism that is in war with itself is

doomed”


74

Ravi listened very attentively to his grandfather. He felt as if

grandfather was shaking the foundations of Ravi‟s assumed

pride.

“It is of pertinent importance that we help each other and

develop together rather to holding onto the assumed self-

importance, pride and violence. We are all brothers and sisters

of this one planet” grandfather said.

“What a mistake I have made in thinking that I am better

than others” Ravi thought to himself.

Ravi‟s understanding grew further and a new consciousness

was developing in him.

“You are correct grandfather. I can now see that we are

all the same and my vanity of assumed self-importance is

vanishing, thanks to the lesson that you have learnt from the

universe.” Ravi concluded. “Now I will share this experience

with other people as well” He thought to himself.

Ravi‟s very curious mind and prideful heart was now more and

more filled with humility.

“Thank you grandfather” he hugged his grandfather tight.

Grandfather was clearly moved by Ravi‟s hug.

“Now, once more get back to your seat, we are

approaching the earth” grandfather reminded Ravi.


75

As Ravi looked out through the window, the stars looked so

beautiful.

“Just like me looking out into the space, I wonder if

someone else from another planet might be looking out and

wondering if I existed or not! How wonderful if we met? What

should I do in order to find out if there is life elsewhere?” Ravi

mumbled to himself. “I will study astronomy and explore the

stars; yes, that is what I will do in the future. It does not matter

what my teachers think, I want to know what lies beyond „Just

the beauty‟ of the stars, how it works, I want to know it all”

Ravi‟s eyes grew brighter.

The rocket descended to the earth slowly. The darkness of the

sky gradually started to fade and the sky became bluer.

Grandfather seemed to be busy operating buttons and leavers

in the rocket. After an hour of such decent, Ravi could see the

village re-appearing. By this time, the rocket was very slow and

reached the ground. There was a jerk as the rocket touched the

ground.

“Success, success” cried Grandfather. My rocket is

working properly. This journey was a success for Ravi as well,

for he had not only learnt science, but also humility.

“Come Ravi, let us go home. I don‟t want your

grandmother to wait for us” Saying this, grandfather opened the


76

rocket and both of them went into his laboratory and changed

their cloths.

During the dinner, Ravi was very enthusiastically describing all

that he had learnt and said “When I grow up, I want to be like

Grandfather, I want to study astronomy”

Grandmother looked at them both and said “Your grandfather

has rubbed on you as well. So, Ravi, what are you going to do

now for the rest of the holiday?”

“I want to collect pictures and make a small book on

space”

“What is the title of the book?”

“Secrets of Space”

“Secret? What is the secret that you have learnt?”

Ravi looked thoughtful and replied “Humility.”


77

Glossary

Synonyms: 1. Accelerate - Travel faster 2. Humility - Humbleness 3. Illusion - Misconception 4. Contemplation - Deep thought 5. Gradually - Slowly

Write the antonyms of the above words Fill in the blanks: 1. Ravi was ________ what he had learnt and was writing it

all down in a notebook. 2. The rocket started to move _____and just a few minutes

later it was accelerating towards the earth. 3. It is obvious that we human beings are unquestionably

_______ about the universe and its functioning. 4. The rocket __________ to the earth slowly. 5. The title of the book Ravi wished to write is ________

Answer the following in one sentence: 1. What was the reason Ravi thought he was much better

than his teachers? 2. What did Grandfather answer when Ravi asked, “What

have you learnt from the universe?” 3. Why did Ravi‟s Grandfather feel disappointed? 4. Why did Ravi‟s Grandfather say that we all belong to one

human family? 5. What was the new consciousness that Ravi developed?


78

Creative Questions: 1. What lessons have you learnt from this story?

2. “That night Ravi could not sleep properly. He closed his

eyes and tried his best to sleep, but in vain. He got out of bed and opened his window, beneath the trees there was the full big moon shining in bright radiance. Even though Ravi had seen the moon many times before, it looked very strange to him that night.”

If you were Ravi, what would your dream be that night?

In groups of three, discuss the dreams Ravi might have had.

Imagine you are „Ravi‟ travelling with grandfather in the Rocket, in a group, write a short play and present it in class. Activity: Prepare a chart for those who do not know anything about the Solar System. Label the planets and write three or four sentences about each of the planets. Exhibit the chart. As group consider making a model of the Solar System.


79

Engineers of Humanity

Xavier Quenin

(Translated to English by Marie-Stephanie Cahart)

Herve will not attend my birthday party tonight - that is

what Paul, his guide/carer has just told me.

It seemed that Herve was very upset during the whole day and

that tonight he is refusing to talk with anyone and is very sullen.

I can imagine him sitting on his sofa and not moving, answering

“No” to all the questions the guides of his care-home23ask him.

Herve‟s room and mine are close to each other, separated only

by a small garden. He has been living here for over twenty

years now. When I first came to the care-home a few months

ago, it was Herve and his guide Paul who came to welcome me

in the train station.

Herve is much older than me; he is fifty two years old. He is

mentally and physically disabled. He has a condition called

„Trisomia‟. Due to this condition, he has an abnormal shaped

23

The house that is shared by disabled people


80

head which is round, small and is flat at the back. Also his

physique and intellectual abilities are under-developed.

During the day Herve works with other disabled people in a

special work room in the care-home. They learn how to make

candles, to create multi-coloured necklaces with beads and to

make small mosaic ornaments.

We carers work with the disabled people during the day and

take them back to their rooms in the evening.

The care-home has four hostels. Each of the hostels has twelve

rooms each. Seven rooms are inhibited by disabled people and

the other five rooms are for their carers. Each of the hostels has

a big balcony with a plastic table large enough for twelve chairs,

so that everyone can sit around for meetings which are held

regularly.

My name is Fabien, I am 23 years old. I graduated in computer

engineering from the University a few months ago. I was born,

brought up and have lived in Paris24 all my life.

Yes, Paris, the city where arts flourish, where philosophy

students party along the river Seine with wine and guitars. The

city with a thousand historic buildings and yet remains at the

forefront of modern fashion and design. It is the city where the

24

Capital of France. See map.3


81

French, the European and all other international cultures meet.

To me Paris had everything that I could ask for, but deep inside

my heart I could feel that there was something missing. I

wanted to discover the world and explore around other places.

A few months ago, when I graduated, I was very scared about

my transition from the student world to that of entering the

professional world of work. Since I am a computer engineer, I

would have to spend the rest of my forty years sitting behind a

desk, in front of a computer all the time. Thinking of this, I felt as

if I was forty years older than what I was. I was suddenly scared

about getting old.

It was at this time, that one of my best friends told me about this

care-home and how young people can stay for one year as

carers/guides for mentally and physically disabled people. I did

not know a lot about „Disability‟ so I decided that I would go and

stay at the hostel for a year, to be a guide for the disabled

people with whom I have never spent time before.

Well, it has been seven months since I came here. I have been

sharing my daily life with them. We have developed a very good

friendship with each other. Every day in the morning my

disabled neighbour Alfred wishes me good morning with a

friendly but disjoint voice:


82

“„ello „abien! „s a „eautiful sunny „ay „oday” (Hello Fabian,

it‟s a beautiful sunny day today)

Even if the sky is grey and raining outside, Alfred always says

that it is a beautiful sunny day today. For Alfred, every morning

is a moment of happiness as it is the beginning of a new day in

which he will be doing a lot of things with his other friends in the

care-home.

“T‟day am „going to „ake a „ndle” (Today I am going to

make a candle) Alfred usually says with happiness.

Today is my Birthday and I am going to be 24 years old. It

seems everyone in my hostel has a surprise for me this evening,

so, they do not allow me to enter the dining room.

Clothilde and Marie, two disabled ladies living in my hostel, play

cards with me on the balcony. This was to make sure I‟m not

tempted to have a look at what is being cooked for dinner in the

dining room for the party. My birthday party is a surprise, so it

should be kept as a surprise.

I think that being forced to play cards is the first gift I received

that evening. Clothilde and Marie, even though they do not like

loosing the card games they are always laughing a lot and

make these simple moments be real moments of happiness.


83

Suddenly Alfred was coming inside the room and walked

towards me with a big smile. Alfred looks to be very well

dressed; he is wearing a suit and a tie.

He came near me and said “ „abien, „o „nd have a „ower”

(Fabien, go and have a shower !).

- But I have already taken a shower! Do you think I smell

bad?”, I reply with a big smile to him

- “Go „nd „gt „ressed „legantly” (Go and get dressed

elegantly) Alfred says laughing

- “Do you think that I am badly dressed?” I ask

- “Yes”! Alfred says.

The next moment, Alfred took me by my arm and led me to my

room. I am laughing: I should admit that I really like his honesty,

placid and good character. These are some of the qualities that

are often found in people with mental disabilities.

I open my closet and decide to change my round-neck T-shirt to

the more elegant Light yellow shirt. I also take two or three ties

and show them to Alfred:

“Which one should I wear, Alfred, please choose the tie for

me”?

- “„he „ed one” ! (The red one!)


84

-

Illustra

tion: S

imo

na S

kliu

taite


85

- The red one? Are you sure that the red tie match well

with the light yellow shirt that I am wearing? I am going

to look like a clown!

- Yes, „own and „eautiful „own! (Yes, clown, and beautiful

clown!) He says with a big smile.

And so, I wear the red tie. I comb my hair, and I go back to the

dining room. At this moment, all the disabled people and their

guides are standing in the room. They are all well groomed, well

dressed and they all invite me to enter the dining room.

As I enter the room, I see that the room is completely decorated

with balloons and garlands of colourful flowers.

On the big round table, they have put a new paper table-cloth.

On this paper tablecloth each of the people has either written

birthday wishes or has drawn something.

They know that I like the sea and the beach a lot, so they have

decorated the table with sea-shells. The table has two candles

on it. They ask me to sit in a special seat reserved for me. I can

see that they have made a small candle for me. I think that it

was Alfred who had made it that morning.

We all sit around the table and the dinner is served, it is

excellent. The other guides in the hostel have cooked these

dishes with assistance from Pierre and Andre, two other


86

disabled people in the hostel. Pierre brought out the starter

„Asparagus with mayonnaise‟.

Then Andre brought in the main dish „Beef and home grown

vegetables‟, later on we were served „Camembert‟ a typical

French cheese, and finally a chocolate cake with bananas…

and red wine from the region of Bordeaux25 (From the south

west of France). After dinner we all sit and everyone expresses

their appreciation to the cook.

I blow out the 24 candles on the birthday cake and then it‟s

nearly time to receive gifts.

One of the guides in the hostel asks each of the people present

in the room to say a birthday message for me. As each of them

starts to talk about me, I feel as if it is a magical moment. I am

so touched that I am about to cry. Their words are very sincere!

Their words show the value of friendship they are having with

me and how important friends are in our life. What better gift

can we receive than knowing how much we are being valued?

Now they ask me to say something. I say,

“I don‟t know how to thank you for all that you have said.

I am really touched in my heart. Thank you”.

25

A region in the southwest of France.


87

I am very emotional that I had to be silent a few seconds before

I continue speaking:

“I am very happy to be with you all this year. You have

such great human values and I am overwhelmed with the

wealth of humanity you show to me. Thanks a lot to all of you

for your kindness not just for today but every day”.

My birthday ends with gifts from everyone: drawings from the

disabled people and a photo-album from the entire hostel. In

this book there are around thirty pictures of some of the

different activities I have done with them during the seven

months I have been at the hostel. The pictures include a visit to

the zoo, a weekend at the seaside, a sail in the canoe,

Christmas party during which Alfred was disguised as Santa-

Clause etc.

Below the last photograph, something is written:

“There are twenty pages that have been left empty. We have

left them blank, so that you can recall other memories you will

have with us during the rest of this year. We wish you to

continue this beautiful journey Fabien”

Under these few lines everybody has signed their names with

colour pens. It looks like a rainbow.

This gift is very meaningful and I thank them all very warmly.


88

My name is Fabien. I am 24 years old tonight. I am a computer

engineer, but I am very lucky to be spending such a great year

with these people in the hostel. They are engineers of love,

simplicity and sincerity. I consider myself lucky to live for a year

with people. They are said to be disabled because they are

intellectually below average.

But I do not consider them disabled. They have all understood

about the value of life!

Glossary: (By Karthikeyan P.S.) List of Characters: 1. Herve: A Disabled person living in the care home. He suffers

from a condition called „Trisomia‟ otherwise called as „Down‟ Syndrome.

2. Paul: Herve‟s carer/guide. 3. Fabien: The narrator of the story. He is a computer engineer

who came to work for the care-home.


89

4. Alfred: A disabled person living in the same hostel as Fabien. Alfred is unable to articulate consonants and speaks in a disjointed manner.

5. Clothilde and Marie: Two disabled ladies living in the care-home who played cards with Fabien on his birthday.

6. Pierre and Andre: Two disabled men who helped the guides/carers cook the dinner for Fabien‟s birthday.

Synonyms: 1. Guide/Care – A person who takes care of

disabled people 2. Sullen – Silent and irritable 3. Ornament – Something used for decoration 4. Flourish – To prosper, to develop in a

healthy way 5. Asparagus – A spring vegetable popular in

Europe. 6. Canoe – A small narrow boat usually

powered by one paddle. (It is commonly human powered for sailing.)

Fill in the blanks: 1. Herve is suffering from a condition called

________________ 2. The disabled people in the care-home learn how to make

________and multi-coloured __________with beads. 3. Paris is the city where ______flourish. 4. Bordeaux is a located in the ______________region of

France. 5. The profession of the author who describes this story is

________________


90

Match the following synonyms: 1. Closet - Accessory 2. Ornament - Boat 3. Garland - Amaze 4. Overwhelm - Bouquet 5. Canoe - A small cupboard

Answer the following in 50 to 100 words: 1. How does the author describe Herve‟s condition and its

influence on him? 2. How does the author describe Paris? 3. Why did the author decide to work as a carer/guide in the

care-home? 4. What gifts did the disabled people present to the author? 5. How does the author describe the disabled people and his

experience of living with them? Imaginative and Creative Questions:

1. Have you ever had any experience with disabled people? In 200-300 words describe your experience in detail. If

you do not have any experience with disabled people, then make up an imaginative story about disabled people.

Activity: 1. Working as a team, create a play based on this story. Write

a script so that each character can act out their part in the play.


91

The Three Little Piggies

Jianbin Zhou

“Once upon a time”, began the old tale-teller, as the

little children sat around the fire-place in the winter

evening. The children were listening carefully to each of

the words and the gestures of the old tale-teller as she

went on with her story.

“There were three piggy siblings named Tom, Tim and

Tank. They lived in the thick forests of Finland26. They

were quite lazy and were fully dependent on their mother

even though they were fully grown up.

One day, the mother of the piggies spoke to them:

“My dear sons, you are all adults now and it is time

to be independent. It is not good depending on me for all

your everyday needs. First of all, you should all build your

own house to find a job.”

Although the three piggy siblings where very unwilling,

they had no choice, so they ventured out to build their own

homes.

26

See map 3


92

The oldest piggy, Tom, was the laziest of the three. He

wanted to live by his wits. So, he decided to build his

house using hay and straw. He thought of the fastest and

the easiest way to build his new house. He went into the

forest and found enough straw. He tied ropes around the

straws to build his house. His house was built up quickly,

but honestly, it was not a strong house.

The second piggy, Tim, was lazy as well. But he thought

that straw was not strong enough so he decided to use

wood to build his house. He went into the forest to pick

lots of wood for his house. He spent much longer time

than Tom his elder brother to build his house. When the

house was built, he moved into his new house happily.

Although the wooden house was by far stronger relative to

a straw house, the youngest piggy, Tank, was still not

satisfied with using wood to build a house. He had made

up his mind to build the strongest house, a house that was

strong enough to defend against any attacks from the

beasts of the forest.

The youngest piggy Tank was a hard worker compared to

his other brothers. He decided to build to a solid house for


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himself no matter how long it took. After many days of

serious thinking, he decided to use brick and cement to

build his house. He built his house brick by brick, adding

cement and stones carefully. It took him a very long time

to finish.

The piggy siblings lived happily for a few days, but this

happiness did not last long.

One day, these three piggy siblings were having dinner at

Tom‟s straw house. At this time, a starving wolf wandered

around and he could sniff the piggies from afar. He

decided to prey on them all and to satisfy his hunger.

Unaware of the impending danger, the three piggies were

enjoying their dinner.

The starving wolf tracked the smell and came to Tom‟s

straw house. He saw the straw house and started to laugh

as he knew that it was „A piece of cake‟ for him to

demolish He blew air so hard that the roof of the straw

house was blown away. He then blew again and the straw

house collapsed totally.

These three piggies were so scared to see the big wolf

snaring at them.


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The wolf was distracted by the very tasty food the Piggies

had cooked and started eating that food. Sensing the

opportunity, the piggies ran out the destroyed straw house

and ran very quickly into their mother‟s house for shelter.

Tom was heartbroken about his house being destroyed.

His mother tried to comfort him, saying:

“My sweet heart, your house being destroyed might be

a blessing in disguise, the most important is that you are

alright and you have to learn from this incident.”

Apparently, Tom did not understand the meaning of his

mother‟s words and remained upset.

A few days passed by and the piggies forgot all about the

attack.

Tom lived in Tank‟s house for a few of day before he

finished rebuilding his house. He again decided to use hay

and straw to build his house. He forgot all about how weak

his earlier straw house was.

All that he wanted to do was to save time and energy in

rebuilding his house.


95

Illustra

tion: M

aria

nn

a M

ac

zo

va


96

A few days later, the piggies were having dinner at Tank‟s

brick house. The starving wolf came once more and all

piggies were scared.

The wolf thought that even Tank‟s house would not be

difficult to break. The wolf blew air hardly at the brick

house, but the brick house was still. The wolf blew again

and again, but he only grew tired. He then ran up and hit

the house as hard as he could, the house was still. The

wolf was injured and was bleeding.

The wolf was inflamed with anger, he kept hitting the

house several times but it just left him injured more and

more. The house was not damaged at all. After a few

more attempts, the wolf was badly injured and limped

towards the forest.

The three piggy siblings felt lucky that they had a solid

house to defend from the attacking wolf. The three piggies

cheered as the solid brick house had saved them.

After these events, Tom and Tim were deep in thoughts.

They wondered if a straw or wood house would protect

them from an attack or not. They realised that them being


97

lazy today could cost their lives tomorrow. So, all of them

decided to build a solid house.

Their mother heard they had been under attacked again,

so she paid them a visit to check how they were. The

three piggies were very happy to see their mother again.

Tom and Tim couldn't wait to tell their mother about their

decision to build a solid brick house, even though they

knew this would be a hard job and would take long time to

build.

Their mother was really happy to hear about Tom and

Tim‟s realisations. She was able to see that had matured.

The three little piggies built solid house and lived happily”

Finished the old tale-teller.

The children listening to the stories were very happy to

hear a story before going to sleep.

“So, what do you understand from this story”

questioned the tale-teller to the children around.

“We must never build a house with hay and straw”

Shouted one child.

“If a hungry wolf comes to attack us, we can divert

him by delicious food” concluded another child.


98

The tale-teller smiled at them and asked “What is the

moral of the story?”

“We must never be lazy and work hard, even it

takes a long time” smiled one child.

“Good” the story teller said.

She could see that one of the children had already fallen

asleep. “Let us go to sleep now, I will tell you all a story

tomorrow” she said as the children went to their bed.

Glossary:

List of characters:

1. Tale-Teller: The old woman who tells the story to the children.

2. Tom: The eldest among the three piggy brothers and the laziest among the three.

3. Tim: The second born piggy among the three piggy brothers and a bit lazy.

4. Tank: The youngest among the three piggy brothers and hard worker.

5. Wolf: Hungry wolf who tried to eat the three piggy brothers. 6. Mother Pig: The mother of three piggy brothers.

Synonyms:

1. Gesture - An expression/Signal or Movement. 2. Tale-teller - Story teller 3. Wits - Intellect/Reasoning/Conclusion 4. Starving - Very hungry


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5. Collapse - Breakdown/Crash

Fill in the blanks:

1. The three piggies were very ______on their mother 2. The mother asked the three piggies to construct their own

individual ____________ 3. The house built by Tim was made of __________ 4. Tank built his house using ________and ____________ 5. The hungry wolf was able to________the smell of the

piggies from afar.

Answer the Following in 100 words:

1. From the different parts of the story, describe the characteristics of the three piggies?

2. Write about the contrasting methods the three piggies used to construct their houses.

3. Describe the first attempt made by the hungry wolf to eat the piggies?

4. Describe the happenings when the wolf tried to break Tank‟s house?

5. What is the moral of the story?

Creative and Imaginative Section: If you were to be one of the three piggies, who would you be

and why? What would have you done differently when the wolf attacked you?

Activity: Write your own scripts and create a play based on the story.

Each of you can take a specific role and enact a play to the rest of the class.


100

Find the words: Based on the story „I still believe in Miracles‟ by

Zofia Dobrakowska


101

The £10 note

Bozena Wielgoszewska

Hi! Let me start my story by introducing myself. I am

one year old, British, and my name is...? Well, I don‟t have a

name. I‟m a £10 note, that is what I am called. I was printed by

the Bank of England just over a year ago and looking back, I

can see how excited I was to start my journey in this world. Let

me share with you my journey and the adventures that I have

had during this year.

I was first taken out of an ATM cash machine by a very rich

man named Lee, on the New Year‟s Eve. He wanted money for

a bottle of very expensive Champagne for a New Year‟s party.

But he never bought the Champagne, because, by the time he

had arrived at the bar to order his drink, all his friends had

already left.

During my first few days in his wallet I was very impressed with

Lee‟s lifestyle. I thought to myself, „He must be a very happy

man! He can afford all that he needs, craves and desires.‟ He

ate lunch and dinner at expensive, posh restaurants and drank


102

vintage wines.

An artist‟s interpretation of the story: Kasia Skrucha

He hired taxies to travel wherever he went. I do not know the

reason why he did not drive himself, even though he owned two

cars. I presume that maybe it was because he was usually


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under the influence of alcohol or maybe he considered it too

much effort to drive. He always wore designer clothes,

overpriced jewellery and smoked the finest cigarettes. He spent

money on a whole lot of other things that I did not even know

existed. The best thing I liked about Lee was the smell of his

luxury aftershave.

At first, I thought to myself that I did not mean anything to him.

But very soon, I realised that I, „Money,‟ was all that he had.

Lee did not even have an interesting hobby. He lived on the

money that his parents and grandparents had earned.

Lee woke up and went to bed all alone. Occasionally, he met

his friends for lunch or dinner, but whenever I overheard their

conversations, they were usually shallow and pointless. Lee

and his friends usually bragged about how much money they

had spent. How little spending money meant to them. I thought

that it was more or less like a competition between Lee and his

friends, deciding who had the most unnecessary things; the

largest house, the best cars and the most luxurious lifestyle. I

questioned myself, is this all that humans do?

It was at a dinner he gave me away, as a tip to a waitress, to

impress his friends.


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“Don‟t worry about the change darling! Get yourself

some sweets!” Lee said to the waitress, winking his eye at her

and asking, “Can you get me a bottle of that whisky, please?”

I could see her blushing as she looked down on the tip tray.

That is probably the biggest tip she had ever received. I think

that she was embarrassed to have to wait on Lee and his

friends. She rushed back bringing the bottle Lee had ordered.

After a few drinks Lee and his friends got a little drunk. They

became very loud and disrespectful towards the surrounding

environment and the people sitting nearby. The manager of the

restaurant came to Lee‟s table and politely asked them to be

quiet. But Lee and his friends started to talk down to the

manager. Lee and his friends assumed that the fact that they

had more money made them in some way better than others.

Their behaviour did not surprise me, but I confess I was

ashamed of being with Lee.

The securities had to come to escort Lee and his friends out of

the restaurant. With each step Lee took away from me, I was

feeling happier and happier that I would no longer have to be

part of his meaningless life.

The waitress picked me up and put me in her pocket. Her name

was Ina. “Ah! New owner, new adventures” I thought to myself. I


105

spent a few excellent months with her. Ina was very kind with

everyone and in contrast to Lee, she spent her money very

carefully. She lived with her brother in a small flat and I can still

remember that their house was always filled with the fragrance

of brightly coloured flowers.

Once, in an Italian shop, she saw a dress which I should say

she really adored. She was talking about that dress to her

friends for weeks, wondering if she should buy it or not. Her

friends advised her to buy it as it might go out of stock. She

even went to the shop twice and tried it on. I looked at her in

the mirror and even I admired her in that dress.

“One day!” I heard Ina take a deep breath and give out a

long sigh before whispering to herself,

“One day I will have enough money to spend on this

dress. But this month, I need money to pay for my brother‟s

college fees,” as Ina decided against the purchase.

The friendly shop keeper smiled at her, and said, “Next time you

should buy this!” Ina returned the smile and left the shop.

I felt upset for her. She always worked very hard and still could

not afford to buy what she wanted! In addition to her job as a

waitress in the restaurant, she also had to take care of the

house. Even though her brother helped her in the day to day


106

activities, she did most of the cleaning, tidying up, vacuuming

and washing the cloths. She definitely deserved the dress, but

she had to spend most of her money on the rent, bills, food for

her and her brother. Ina cooked absolutely delicious food.

When she would serve the food, the entire room would be filled

with aroma.

Although Ina lived a simple life, she remained happy. She loved

her brother a lot and they spent most of their free time together.

They went for long walks, had interesting conversations about

various things, including their dreams and ambitions in life. Ina

often asked her brother for advice and guidance and he always

seemed to have an answer for any of her questions. When Ina

was anxious about the uncertainties of the future, he would say,

with a smile,

“Don‟t worry Ina! If life gives you problems, it will offer

you solutions as well.”

I found it very interesting to see that Ina managed to appreciate

all the aspects of her life. If it was a sunny day, she would sit in

the sun and read her favourite novels in the park. If it rained,

she would say “Rain is good for the plants. I don‟t have to water

them today!” She was happy to go to work because she knew

that she could earn some money. She was even happy during


107

the holiday as she could spend time with those she loved. I

seldom saw her being upset; Ina was always positive and

cheerful.

There was a day, in which someone else appreciated her too. It

was almost the mid-day in the work when her boss called her.

“Ina, you have been working very hard. Here is a small

gift for you,” he said, handing her an envelope.

She was very surprised and thanked him for the gift. When she

opened it, she saw that her boss had given her a bonus. She

felt very valued and her eyes became quite wet, with tears of

joy. I felt overwhelmed too.

At last Ina could buy the dress she really liked so much. That

same day she went to the shop and exchanged me and a few

other notes for that much desired dress.

“I have bought the dress now!” She said to the shop-

keeper with a gleam in her eyes.

The shopkeeper replied, “I am very sure you will like it.”

On my part, I had mixed feelings. I was glad for Ina as she now

has the dress she so much wanted, but also, I felt disappointed

about having to leave her.


108

The next few days I spent in the cashier till of the dress shop.

The shop keeper took me out and placed me in his wallet. My

new owner was an Italian named Fabio. His parents had

immigrated to the UK when he was very young. I soon

recognised him to be an extremely lively and friendly person;

the typical character of a successful shop keeper.

He would often say, “Smile warmly and have a lively

conversation with people. That is how you get more customers!”

He practised what he preached. He always engaged in

humorous conversations with all his customers.

He was such an energetic person. It came to me as a

Himalayan surprise when I overheard that he was suffering from

terminal blood cancer. The Doctors had said that he had very

few months to live. Maybe that was the reason he was so active

and spontaneous. I presume that he just wanted to make sure

he made the most of every moment he had left to live.

He always used to say,

“Don‟t wait for the perfect moment, take a moment and

make it perfect!”

He was living with his wife, son and daughter. He did not sleep

much. As soon as the sun turned up on the horizon, he was up

and it wasn‟t until late he was going to bed.


109

My favourite part of the day was the dinner time. The whole

family would sit together around the table and talk about what

they did during the day.

The daughter usually spoke about her boyfriend. The son

usually told stories about his adventures in the school or with

his friends. Each of the family members was different, but they

all accepted and appreciated each other just the way they were.

Fabio loved them all very much.

To me, they were a perfect family and Fabio seemed like a

perfect husband and father. Almost perfect, except for that

„Horrible cancer‟ that will separate him from his family.

I thought to myself, “If only people could BUY health...”

On a sunny day Fabio and his family went to the beach. I had

never been to a beach before that, so I was very excited. The

squeak of the sand under their feet, the quiet hum of the ever-

occurring waves, the warm sun shining above their heads and

cooling wind-breeze ruffling through peoples‟ hair.

Fabio and his family were running around the beach and

playing games for the whole day.


110

In the evening, they all went to a coffee shop next to the beach.

Fabio exchanged me for a few cold beverages for his kids and

some food for him and his wife.

I was very glad that I had a chance to be a part of that family for

a while. But I am also happy to move on to a different owner

and excited about what life has in store for me. The lady who

ran the coffee shop was my new owner. I vaguely recall that her

name was Emily.

I was getting used to being passed from hand to hand; from one

person to another. I understood that I am not permanently with

one person.

She was very different to all my previous owners. She had a big

family and many friends. I don‟t know how many brothers and

sisters she had in total. She had a husband, but I don‟t even

remember his name. I hardly saw any of them. She was

working all the time and never had time for anything or anybody

else. All she had time for was to earn more money. She spent

all her days in her shop and she did not even have time to

spend what she had earned. She just wanted to earn more.

I could not understand her purpose of wanting to earn more and

more money. Even though her coffee shop was pretty close to

the amazing beach Fabio took me to, I never once remember


111

her going to the beach and relaxing there for a while.

Sometimes her family came to say hello to her, but she seemed

not to have any time for them. She was so pre-occupied with

making sure all her customers spent as much money as they

could in her shop. She was neither happy, nor sad. She was

just busy. Too busy to stop, take a breath and reflect on her life.

If only she could spend a day with Ina and Fabio, maybe she

might realise that money is not the way to find happiness. If only

she could spend a day with Fabio and his family, maybe she

would realise how important it is for her to spend time with her

family. If only I could talk and tell her what I know.

One December evening, when Emily was walking home from

work, I noticed that there was a celebratory atmosphere around.

The shops were all decorated and everyone seemed to be

happy. People were singing and dancing in the streets which

were full of good cheer and joy. That is when I realised that it

was the New Year‟s Eve again.

Emily stopped and looked at the fireworks blasting high up into

the sky. Crowds of people looked up at the burgundy and

turquoise coloured rockets with awe. This was like a different

world to me. Everyone in the street stood with their friends and

family, but the „Busy‟ Emily was standing all alone.


112

I do not profess to shed light upon the thoughts that were

occurring inside her head, but I could see that she was

reflecting on something. May be she was thinking of her happy

childhood days in which she always played with her friends.

May be it brought to her some sense of inner peace or wonder.

Maybe she was wondering how much she was missing in her

life due to her being so busy. I do not really know what her

thoughts were.

All I could say was that she might have been contemplating on

how little I was really worth in comparison to her family, health,

happiness.

„At last she has realised‟ I thought to myself.

She looked around her and saw a homeless man shivering in

the cold, asking people for money. Emily took me out of her

pocket and gave me to him.

“Thank you madam! Happy new year!” he said.

Emily smiled back at him and left. I wished that she enjoys the

rest of her life spending more of her time with her family.


113

Illustration:Simona Skliutaite


114

The homeless person looked at me and squeezed me really

hard as if he had not seen a £10 note for a long time. Clearly,

even though he didn‟t have any money and seemed hungry, he

was cheerfully enjoying that moment looking up at the sky to

see the fireworks. Now he could buy himself some food and

appreciate the atmosphere of the New Year‟s Eve party even

more.

“Ough, wait a minute! I know this homeless person!” I

thought to myself,

“I know him! Guess who? It was Lee!!!... I couldn‟t help

but wonder about impermanence of life and things.


115

Glossary: List of Characters: 1. Lee – The rich person who wastes money and loses

his fortunes. 2. Ina – The waitress, she is the second owner of the

£10 note and lives with her brother. 3. Fabio – The Italian emigrant who owns clothing shop,

he suffers from cancer. 4. Emily – The busy restraint owner.

Out of the two options (a) and (b) Choose which is the synonym and the antonym of the words: 1) To be impressed

a) To be amazed b) To be indifferent 2) Posh

a) high-class b) common 3) Occasionally

a) Seldom b) Frequently 4) Meaningless

a) Worthless b) Valuable 5) Busy

a) Preoccupied b) Carefree Answer the following in 10 to 20 words: 1. Why did Lee take the £10 note from the ATM? 2. What did Ina really want to buy? 3. Which country was Fabio from? 4. Where is Emily‟s coffee shop located? 5. Join all the first letters of all the different owners of the £10

note, what word do you get?


116

Answer the following in a 50 to 100 words: 1. Why did the £10 note not like Lee? 2. What do you understand about Ina‟s character? 3. Write about the note‟s feelings about Fabio‟s family? 4. Why did the note like the beach? 5. Describe the occurrences on the New Year‟s Eve?

Creative and Imaginative section: This story talks about the journey of a £10 note and it observes other people and talks about their life. Similarly, Write an imaginative story about a

1) A bench in a park, or 2) A floating cloud or 3) A butterfly etc. trying to observe people and their emotions

and actions. Write a short story based on the above. Try to write your own scripts and make it into a play. The Word Game:

Sit around in circle in a group of 4 or 5. One person has to say a word (Eg. Apple) now the next person should say a word starting with the last letter (e) of the first word (Eg. Elephant). Now the next person says a word that begins with „T‟ (eg. Teeth) and the game goes on. Note: If any one hears a new word, note it down with its‟ meaning in a sheet of paper. Change this game‟s rules according to your wish and try to improve your vocabulary.


117

The Story of the Steam Badger

Lamenda Kingdon

Once upon a time, there was a mean, miserable,

impatient, crotchety old man who lived in a poorly kept hut at

the top of a hill. The hut was surrounded by magnificent

countryside. Beautiful green woodland covered the hill slopes

all the way down to a bubbling mountain river that ran through

the valley below. Did this mean the miserable, crotchety old

man appreciate the beauty of his surroundings? He did not. He

had dropped into a very bad habit of thinking negatively.

He grumbled about anything that came into his mind, day in and

day out. This man was a pessimist. He was not a good

company to be with and it is no surprise that people no longer

bothered to climb the hill to visit this man.

One wet, windy and grey day he had just woken up, grumbling

to himself about his aches and pains. It had been raining

overnight and the morning was cold, damp and the sky was

overcast. He decided to light a fire and make himself a warm

drink. He quickly lit the fire and hung a pot of water over it. He

sat by his fireside and watched and waited for his pot of water

to boil.


118

There‟s a well-known saying in England, „A watched pot never

boils.‟ But the old man sat, bent over, watching the pot hanging

over the fire. He was muttering and mumbling to himself about

the water taking so long to boil.

He said to himself, “This water is taking ages this morning.”

Eventually the water did start to steam and he thought, “At last!”

As he looked through the steam he thought he saw a creature.

Was he dreaming? Had he spent too many years alone and

started to go mad? He thought he could see what looked like a

Badger. Yes! He could see the long black and white striped

head of a Badger.

The Badger lifted his head up and put first one paw and then

another paw over the edge of the pot and suddenly sprang out!

The Badger stood up on his hind legs with steam rising from his

wet fur.

The Badger shook himself dry and started to dance a little jig.

He danced, springing from one foot to another. First he crossed

his right back leg in front of his left back leg and then his left

back leg in front of his right back leg.

As he danced he started to sing in a deep, rich baritone voice.


119

Illustra

tion: T

on

y T

olle

r


120

In his deep melodious voice he sang,

“Hello I‟m the Steam Badger and I‟m here to play and

I‟m here to stay for a year and a day!”

The old man was shocked. Had the years of being on his own

sent him completely mad? But no, this Badger was real. The

wet patch on the floor was real and no doubt the Badger‟s

intention to play and stay for a year and a day was real too!

The old man did NOT want the „Steam Badger‟ playing, dancing

and making his hut wet.

“I do not want you here, playing, dancing, singing and

making my hut wet. Go away!” He shouted at the Steam Badger.

The Steam Badger stopped singing and dancing. The Badger

looked surprised and then despondent. The Steam Badger

checked that he had heard the old man correctly,

“Don‟t you want me to sing, dance and play? Don‟t you

want me to stay here for a year and a day?” asked the Steam

Badger.

“No! I do NOT.” The old man replied.

With that the Badger seemed to instantly evaporate and was

only just visible jumping back into the pot.


121

Now, just at that moment, as luck would have it, a Tinker; a rag

and bone man, who trudged the ancient countryside ringing a

bell and crying out

“Rag and Bone…..Rag and Bone….. Rag and B. o. O.

ne,” could be heard coming up the hill through the woodland.

Between each cry he‟d ring his old bell. The mean, miserable

old man immediately thought of a cunning plan. He would give

the pot with its unwanted Steam Badger to the Tinker. And that

is exactly what he did. When the Tinker reached the hut and

knocked on the door for any rags or bones, the mean old man

was ready with the pot, which, through a half-opened door, he

thrust it into the Tinker‟s hands.

But, being the mean old man he was, he told the Tinker he

wanted the pot returned to him in precisely one year and one

day. The Tinker, who never missed an opportunity, agreed he

would return the pot in precisely one year and one day.

So off went the rag and bone man, happy that he had been

given this lovely big pot for a year and a day. The rain and wind

had stopped and there was a warm sunshine. He had enjoyed

his climb up the hill and before walking back down again he

stopped to look at one of the most beautiful views in all the land.

He could see the bubbling river in the valley below.


122

He decided that he would use his new pot to get some water

from the river which he could heat on a fire built on the

riverbank. As he walked down through the wooded hillside, he

swung his old bell in one hand and his new pot in the other. He

felt it was good to be alive on this day, listening to the sound of

the birds and seeing the pretty woodland flowers.

When he got to the side of the river he quickly made a little fire,

then dipped the pot into the flowing water and put it into the

flaming and crackling fire to heat. He sat on the bank at the side

of the river waiting for the water to boil. While he was waiting,

he watched trout swimming in the shallow waters of the river.

There were cows in the meadow nearby and sheep on the

distant hills. Eventually, steam started rising from his new pot.

The Tinker rubbed his eyes. Was he dreaming? Was there a

creature in this pot? He could hardly believe his eyes as he

saw what looked like a Badger! Yes, the black and white

striped head was unmistakable! Just like before, the Steam

Badger lifted his head up and popped out first one paw and

then the other before leaping out of the pot and starting to

dance his jig and sing in his deep, rich baritone voice,

“Hello I‟m the „Steam Badger‟ and I‟m here to play and

I‟m here to stay for a year and a day!”


123

The Tinker‟s reaction to the Steam Badger was very different to

that of the mean old man‟s at the top of the hill. The Tinker

thought the Steam Badger was enchanting. He gently took hold

of one of the Badger‟s front paws and they danced a jig

together on the banks of that sparkling river. The Tinker and the

Steam Badger were both happy to have found a new friend.

After their dance the Tinker made his warm drink. He sat on the

river bank sipping his drink whilst the Steam Badger happily

rolled over from side to side on his back.

Soon it was time for the Tinker to start making his way to the

next village. The village people would be expecting him to come

and collect their old “Rag and bones.” Steam Badger held on to

the Tinker‟s hand as they danced off together towards the next

village.

The children were the first to see the Tinker, hand in paw, with

the Steam Badger, walking towards the village. Some ran off to

tell their friends. Soon a crowd of children had gathered to see

such an unusual sight. The Steam Badger was not at all shy

and started to sing and dance for this new audience. The

children clapped and cheered with delight. Adults, wondering

what all the fuss was about, started to gather round to see what

was going on. They were amazed at the sight of a Badger


124

dancing and singing and they started to clap and join in with the

Steam Badger‟s singing and dancing.

News about the singing and dancing Steam Badger soon

travelled. By the time the Tinker and the Badger arrived at the

next village people were waiting for them and when they moved

on to other village‟s people were running out to meet them!

Now, it was at this time the King and Queen of the land were

growing very concerned about their daughter‟s welfare. Their

daughter, the Princess was 21 years old and had been a very

beautiful, rosy-cheeked Princess before she had been struck by

a severe melancholy. Now, her face was pale grey; her eyes

dull and sunken. Her head drooped down towards her chest in

a very sad way. She hadn‟t smiled for many months.

Her loving parents decided that as the well-being of their

daughter was more important than any of their possessions,

they would offer their kingdom as a reward to anyone who could

cure their daughter of this melancholy.

The Tinker heard about the King and Queen‟s offer and decided

to go and see them in their castle. He felt sure that the Steam

Badger‟s singing and dancing would cure the Princess.

He and the Steam Badger, paw in hand, danced all the way to

the royal castle. When they reached the castle‟s huge golden


125

gate, the Badger jumped back into the pot. The Tinker walked

up the long path to the grand entrance with the Steam Badger

in the pot which was swinging from his hand.

The Tinker reached out to the door knocker and made two loud

knocks. The door slowly opened. There was a tall, thin Butler

who looked like a penguin in his black suit and white shirt. The

Butler looked down at the Tinker and in a tight-throated voice,

rudely asked,

“What do you want?” Without waiting for a reply, the

Butler started to close the door in the Tinker‟s face.

“Wait a minute!” the Tinker cried out and pushed the

door wide open to make enough space for him to quickly slip

past the Butler. He ran towards the three Royal people he could

see sitting on their thrones down the end of a long corridor.

The King and Queen were much more polite to the Tinker than

their butler had been. They listened when the Tinker asked for

their permission to make a small fire to heat up the water in his

pot. He explained to them that his would provide the cure for

their daughter‟s melancholy.

The King and Queen had seen many people offering strange

cures for their daughter‟s melancholy. Among them were

Doctors, but all to no avail. This Tinker with his request to heat


126

a pot of water was the most extraordinary of all. Nothing else

had helped their daughter so they thought they might as well

allow the Tinker to heat his pot.

The head of the Princess, with her pale grey face and dull eyes,

was leaning down on one side with a look of great boredom and

misery.

The steam started to rise from the pot and, just like before, the

Badger began to appear. First his head popped up above the

rim of the pot. Then one front paw and then other hung over the

edge. The Princess opened her eyes wide. She lifted her head

up in surprise when the Steam Badger sprang out of the

steaming pot. When the Steam Badger started to dance his jig,

there was the slightest twitch of a smile in one corner of her

mouth. When he sang in his rich, baritone voice, that twitch

started to spread into a wide smile, and then a giggle. She

seemed to have forgotten her melancholy as she stepped down

from her throne and joined the Badger in a dance.

The King and Queen were overjoyed to see, at last, that their

daughter had finally been cured of her melancholy.

The King and Queen were pleased to offer the Tinker the

reward of all the land in their kingdom for curing their daughter‟s

melancholy.


127

The Tinker replied,“Your Royal Majesties, I thank you for your

kind and generous offer of all the land in your kingdom, but I

have fallen in love with your beautiful daughter, the Princess,

and I would ask, that instead of all the land in your kingdom, I

have the hand of your daughter in marriage.”

The King and Queen knew deep in their hearts that this Tinker

would love and care for their daughter. The Princess also fell in

love with the Tinker in the meantime. So the king and queen

were happy to agree to this Royal Wedding.

The couple were married the very next day. After the ceremony

and the celebrations the Princess, the Tinker and the Steam

Badger danced off to the very next village where they delighted

the villagers with Badger‟s singing and dancing.

So this is how the Princess, the Tinker and the Badger lived

happily, travelling from village to village sharing their joy of life

with others…………….

That is, until it was time to return the pot back to the mean, old

man at the top of the beautiful wooded hill. On the day, that was

precisely one year and one day from the day the Tinker

promised to return the pot, the Princess, the Steam Badger and

the Tinker danced their way up the beautiful hill.


128

At the top the Tinker, the Princess and the Badger stopped to

look, for the last time together, at the fabulous view across the

valley. They reflected on and were grateful for the happy days

and joyful time they had spent together during the last year.

Then the Steam Badger disappeared. The Tinker drew a deep

breath as he knocked on the wooden door of the old man‟s hut.

The mean old man pulled the door half open and reached out

for his pot with his skinny arm. Without a word of thanks, he

snatched his pot back and slammed the door shut. The

Princess and the Tinker turned to make their way back down

towards the valley.

Once again the Tinker rang his bell and started to cry out,

“Rag and Bone…Rag and Bone,” as they made their

way back down the hill towards the next village.

Although they knew their life would be very different without the

Steam Badger, they still had their love for each other and the

love of their life together.


129

Glossary:

List of Characters

1. Tinker - A positive person who is ready to embrace any opportunity to make life better for himself and others

2. Princess - The daughter of the King and Queen. She broke out of her depressed state by connecting with her sense of humour and her love of music and dance.

3. The Steam Badger- This magical creature wanted nothing more than to serve others and bring them joy by using his talents for singing and dancing.

4. The Miserable Old Man - Had such a negative attitude he missed opportunities for happiness.

5. The King and Queen - The Monarchs of this mythical country value their daughter‟s happiness more than all the land in their kingdom.

6. The Butler - Is the senior servant. Full of pride and arrogance, he feels superior which is why he talks „down‟ to others.

Synonyms: 1. Avail - Benefit, help 2. Despondent - Sad, very unhappy and

unmotivated 3. Evaporate - vaporise 4. Vanish - No longer visible, invisible,

disappear 5. Pessimist - A negative thinker 6. Tinker - A man who survives by collecting

rags and bones from people and selling them to manufacturers, Tinkers were also known as rag and bone men.


130

Write two more words with a similar meaning for each of the following:

1. Optimism - A positive person 2. Laugh - A physical way the body expresses

amusement 3. Despondent - A feeling of no hope

Give the antonyms of the three words above


1. What did the Tinker cry out? 2. If you were writing this story, what names would you give

the characters and the country where these characters lived?

3. How did the Tinker earn his living before he met the badger? 4. What is meant by, „A watched pot never boils?‟ 5. What was the miserable man‟s attitude to life?

Answer the following in 50 – 100 words:

1. What were the old man‟s reactions on seeing the badger dance?

2. What were the tinker‟s reactions on seeing the badger dance?

3. Describe how the tinker and the badger entertained the villagers?

4. Write in detail what was wrong with the princess? 5. Summarise the events on how the badger helped the

princess regain her happiness.

Answer the following in 100 – 150 words:

1. In what ways did the badger change the Tinker‟s life? 2. How did the miserable man‟s attitude impact on the quality

of his life?


131

Imaginative and creative section:

1. Discussing with your friends, write an alternative ending to the story.

2. With the help of books or Internet, find out at least 5 facts about badgers.

3. Formulate at least two questions from each page for others in your class to answer.

Activities

1. Draw an illustration of your own, based on one of the scenes from the story.

2. What are the little details that you think should be added to this story to make it more interesting?

3. Create a play. (Refer to Guide to play) The play can be read for others to hear or it can be acted. You can design and make costumes for the characters.


132


133

Misfortunes test the sincerity of

friends

Chia-Hsun Chang

Detailed by Marie-Stephanie Cahart

“Ahhh! Help me, the thief is running away with my purse,

catch him!”

An old woman was screaming in a market in Rome27. It seems

that theft, particularly pick pocketing is normal in this city. To my

surprise everyone were still carrying on with what they were

doing - completely ignoring that helpless old woman. I was

touring Italy and visiting Rome for three days. I could not just

stand there and witness a thief running away while a woman

was screaming for help.

I ran behind him to catch the burglar. As he ran across the road

a man stood in front of the burglar to block his way. The burglar

in his frenzy did not expect this blockage, he dashed on the

other man and tried to escape, but I trapped him from behind.

The burglar was startled and he lost his balance. He and the

other man fell down. The purse and a few other things from the

burglar‟s back-pack scattered over the pavement

27

Capital of Italy. See map.3


134

The thief somehow managed to free himself from our grip and

run away, leaving the stolen goods behind.

I helped the other man to his feet. He seemed to be South

American28. The lady came running towards us. I picked the

purse up from the roadside and gave it back to her. She

thanked us a hundred times in Italian saying,

“Grazie mille29! Grazie mille!” and left us.

When I got up from the floor, I saw the other person who had

tried to catch the thief. He looked at me and I helped him to get

up as well. He smiled at me and said,

“The thief has run away!”

I said that pick-pocketing and burglary is a common thing in

Rome. He nodded his head and said that theft is common in

most cities.

After the lady had left us, the South American and I gathered up

all the things the thief had dropped. I introduced myself.

“Hello. My name is Chang and I am from Taiwan30.

What is your name?” I asked him.

28

See map.5 29

Thank you in Italian 30

See map.2


135

“My name is Lucas and I am from Argentina31, in South

America” He said.

I said that I was visiting Italy and Lucas said he was visiting too.

We smiled at each other and shook hands.

“What are we to do with these things the thief has

dropped?” He asked me. I said that maybe they were stolen

goods too and best to hand them to the Police. Lucas agreed. I

put the thief‟s things; a few watches, a couple of necklaces,

some money and a chain into my bag and we started walking

towards the nearest Police station.

“Hey Chang, I am very glad to see that there are at least

a few people who have a sense of justice. It was very

courageous of you to run after the thief that no-one else was

taking any notice of,” Lucas said.

“You tried to catch him too, so I think we both have a

sense of justice. In Taiwan, we never abandon someone in

trouble,” I said.

Lucas smiled and said that it is the same in Argentina as well. “I

think we have a lot more in common. If you are free, maybe we

can go to a café and celebrate our meeting. What do you

think?” Lucas asked me.

31

See map 5


136

“Good idea! I‟ll pay.” said I.

Rome is filled with a gamut of touristic cafes and so it was very

easy to find one. We went inside an ancient looking café. The

mid-day sun was pouring its rays into the room, making it look

even better. The café was crowded, as usual in Rome, but we

were able to find a table in a corner. As we sat down, the waiter

came to us with the menu and greeted us with a smile, saying,

“Buon giorno, Signore 32 .” Seeing we were not Italians, he

quickly changed to talking in English.

Passing us a menu, in a heavy Italian accent, he asked,

“What can I get you to eat and drink, Signore?”

Lucas was looking through the menu, trying hard to understand

the Italian. I asked the waiter what dishes and drink are

specialities of the region.

Lucas looked at me and said, “That is a good idea my friend, let

us have the speciality of this region”

The waiter smiled at us again and said that the speciality in this

part of Italy is the Roma espresso coffee. I did not understand

what an espresso coffee was and so I asked the waiter. He said

that it was a type of concentrated coffee and that the Italians

32

“Good day sir” in Italian.


137

are very proud of this coffee. He also suggested that we try

another special dish called „Tiramisu‟.

“What is that?” Lucas asked.

The waiter said that it is a special Italian cake made up of

chocolate, coffee and cheese. The waiter also said that

Tiramisu also means „pick me up‟ in Italian.

Lucas asked, “Shall we try these Chang?” and I agreed.

“Your dish will be ready in another 5 minutes Signores,”

the waiter said and left us.

Lucas turned to me and asked, “You said that you are from

Taiwan, tell me about Taiwan. Is it a city in China?”

I was a bit disappointed that he thought of Taiwan as a city in

China.

“No Lucas, not at all. Taiwan is an independent island

east of China and south of Japan33,” I replied.

“Oh, I am very sorry Chang. Please forgive my ignorance,”

Lucas apologised to me.

33

See map 2


138

I do not blame him for this mistake. Many foreigners think of

Taiwan as being a part of China. It is a common mistake, many

people make. I also told him China claims that Taiwan belongs

to China, but we are independent of China.

“Really?” Lucas asked me in disbelief.

“Yes,” I said. “For more than 50 years China has

claimed that Taiwan belongs to them, but we Taiwanese people

do not accept this. We have our own language and currency,

flag; our own Government and President.

“I thought that China claims only Tibet to be a part of

China,” Lucas said.

I said that China claims Tibet, Taiwan, a part of India, a part of

Vietnam, some Japanese islands, parts of South Korea,

Philippines, Bhutan and Indonesia34!

Lucas was listening to me silently and there was a sense of

disappointment in his face as he said,

“My grandmother always told me that the more you want,

the more you end up arguing, the more your friendship

becomes tainted and the result is suffering.”

34

See map 2


139

I agreed with him and suggested we talk of something lighter.

Lucas agreed with me and asked, “Tell me Chang, if I wanted to

travel to Taiwan, which time of the year is good?”

“I would recommend you visit Taiwan around the end of

February. That is when we celebrate the Lantern Festival.”

“What do you all do during that celebration?” Lucas

asked.

“During the celebration, we eat a special food made of

Rice balls. The dish is called „Yuan-xiao‟ in Taiwanese. Some of

these rice balls are sweet, whereas some of them are salty. We

meet all our relatives and wish everyone good luck. Some

people go to the temple or a monastery to pray to God. The

speciality of the celebration is that during the evening, when it is

dark, all the people will go out into the street and fly lanterns”.

“Sounds interesting but what is meant by a lantern?”

Lucas asked me.

“A lantern is like a balloon. Like an upside down paper

bag, with a candle inside it. When the candle inside the lantern

is lit, the small burning flame at the bottom causes the paper

lantern to fly up. We write our wishes on the paper lanterns and

it is believed that the lanterns will make our wishes come true. It


140

is an amazing sight to see thousands of such colourful paper

lanterns slowly rising up into the sky and flying far away into the

distance together.

I said, “It is as if the bright colours of these flying lanterns light

up the entire sky.”

“It sounds amazing and lots of fun. If possible, I will try to

visit Taiwan next year” Lucas said.

I do not know exactly why, but I was very excited to hear this

and said that he should definitely come and visit; that I would be

happy to accommodate him and show him around Taiwan.

Lucas, as if expecting an invitation from me, thanked me with a

smile.

“Signore, your dish is ready,” the waiter interrupted us

with the food.

Even though he said that the food would be ready in five

minutes, he had taken more than half an hour to bring it. We did

not mind the delay as we were enjoying our interesting

conversation with each other.

“The food looks very good,” Lucas said. “Let us drink to

our friendship. I am very glad to have met you Lucas,” I said,

raising my coffee cup. Lucas and I said “Cheers” and started


141

tasting the food. I should admit that both the Tiramisu and the

espresso coffee were good.

“I have always wanted to visit Argentina,” I said.

“You should visit Argentina. If possible, you should travel

from the north of the country, which has tropical weather, all the

way down to the southern, very cold, Antartic islands. The

natural scenery is spectacular!” He looked at me and with a

small smile said, “I can accommodate you if you come.”

We began laughing at how both of us had invited each other to

our home country almost at opposite sides of the world.

We were excited to talk with each other and to have each

other‟s company. Even though Lucas and I had just met a

couple of hours ago, we seemed to have known each other for

a long time.

“Is this the first time for you in Rome?” I asked.

“Yes, this is my first time in Rome, what about you?”

Lucas asked.

“Me, as well,” I replied

“Maybe we should explore Rome together. What say

you?”


142

“It is a very good idea,” I replied to Lucas‟ proposal and

asked him if we could go to the Roman Colosseum building first.

“Hmmm, I want to go around other places first and then

go to the Roman Colosseum building in the evening,” Lucas

replied.

I accepted to his proposal. Lucas and I were so very interested

in our conversation that we did not immediately notice quite a

big and rough looking man staring at us from the corner of the

café. When I looked over at him, he took out his phone and

started talking in Italian. When I started talking with Lucas again,

I could still feel that the stranger was staring at us.

It was late in the morning when we left the café to go to the

police station to hand in the thief‟s stolen goods and start our

tour of Rome together. The warm colours of the buildings and

houses – yellow, orange, red – were lovely. Rome has a rich

mixture of history, art, culture and architecture, filled with

inspirational museums, evocative ruins and beautiful bridges.

There were tourists everywhere and I could see that there were

a lot of people standing near a particular water fountain. People

of all ages were throwing coins into that fountain. Lucas started

walking towards the fountain. He asked me why were people

throwing money into the fountain. I said that people believe that


143

if you throw a coin into this fountain, you will certainly return to

Rome again. Saying this, I took a coin from my pocket and

threw it into the fountain. Lucas laughed at me, saying

sarcastically, that he thought I had wasted my money.

“I don‟t believe in such nonsense,” Lucas said with a

hardening face.

I was a bit shocked at his frankness and a bit hurt but I did not

let it bother me.

As we kept walking, Lucas turned to me and said, “Let us take

this street. It looks very beautiful.”

“It is the opposite side of the police station,” I reminded

Lucas.

“Well, I am sure that we can hand in the stolen things to

the police later on. I am sure that the thief‟s items are safe with

you,” Lucas smiled.

I did not know what to reply. As we walked through that narrow

cobble-stoned street, we saw a sign saying „Vatican five

hundred metres.‟


144

“Let us go to the Vatican35 in St. Peter‟s square) Piazza

San Pietro, in Italian.) We can see the Basilica where the Pope

lives,” Lucas said.

The Pope is the religious leader of Roman Catholic Christians.

An interesting fact is that Vatican City is the smallest

state/country in the world. When we went there, we could see

that there were a lot of Christian monks and nuns who visited

this place. They all looked in anticipation towards the Basilica

hoping to have a glance of the Pope if he comes out onto the

balcony.

I wanted us to take a guided tour around the Basilica, but Lucas

insisted that we walk around on our own. After a bit of

persuasion, he agreed we could take a guided tour.

Our guide was a tall and beautiful lady. She explained the

history of the Basilica to us both. It seems that this building was

built over the tomb of Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. It

seems there are eleven museums inside the Basilica and took

us around them all.

It was amazing to know the history of the place, which is said to

date back approximately two thousand years. When the tour

35

The smallest state/ country of the world. Located in Rome, Italy. See map 3


145

was over, Lucas turned to me and said that it was well worth

going for the guided tour.

It was late afternoon when we finished the guided tour. As we

were walking, Lucas asked me what the name was of the big

building, standing in front of us with a triangular roof, many

huge, vertical pillars and a spectacular, very tall dome.

I looked through my guidebook and found it was „The

Pantheon,‟ famous for its architecture and its history. There was

a detailed description about the Pantheon in the book. It said

that it was constructed for all the Roman Gods and Goddesses

of ancient Roman times. We went in and explored the building.

It was almost late evening when we reached the spectacular

Colosseum. Turning, I noticed the same strange, rough looking

man I had seen back in the café.

“Lucas, look! That man is following us!”

Without, looking back Lucas said,

“Don‟t be silly, there is no-one who would follow us

Chang,” he exclaimed playfully.

I was a bit upset about him rejecting my caution. I said,

“No! I‟m serious, Lucas!”


146

Lucas looked back and said, “I do not see anyone. Stop

imagining things Chang” and chuckled.

I was a bit offended. I said nothing but decided to keep a

watchful eye on all sides.

We entered the Colosseum. This famous amphitheatre36 was

completed during 80 AD. The Colosseum allowed easy access

to fifty thousand spectators, who, in the days of the Roman

Empire, were seated according to rank. It is an elliptical

structure, one hundred and eighty eight metres long and one

hundred and fifty six metres wide. During ancient times, it was

used for public spectacles such as gladiatorial contests. The

most famous shows were the „Venatios‟, which involved the

hunting and slaying of wild animals.

The evening wore on to early night. The lights were switched on

and in the light, the Colosseum seemed even more beautiful

and its structures more enigmatic.

„It‟s amazing! Do you feel that?‟ I asked Lucas.

Lucas did not answer. He was too interested in taking

photographs of the Colosseum. All of a sudden, Lucas

36

A stadium, an open air place where sports, entertainments take place.


147

appeared to be an entirely different person. He was no longer

the friendly person I had imagined him to be.

I did not wait for him. I went underground into the „Hypogeum.‟

Hypogeum literally means „underground.‟ The Hypogeum

consists of a two-level underground network of tunnels. These

tunnels were used by the gladiators and animals to enter the

performance stage. There are many scratches left by the

gladiators and the animals still visible on the stones of the

tunnels. It was strange that no one else were there at that time

in the hypogeum.

After a few minutes, Lucas came in behind me and asked,

“Why did you leave me alone? That stranger might have

attacked me!” He started to laugh at me and my fears.

I was very irritated and lost my temper.

“Please stop it” I said firmly. “I have been very patient

with you Lucas. Please stop,” I said firmly.

“Hey, DON‟T speak to me like that! Lucas said angrily.

“You, yourself can assess how your behaviour and

words have been since we left the café” I said.


148

Illustra

tion: M

aria

nn

a M

ac

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va


149

“I have had enough of you. I am leaving.” Saying this,

he started to walk away. I was sure that I had said the right

thing. I did not want to lose my dignity, so I turned back,

pretending to look at the walls of the Hypogeum instead. I could

hear Lucas walking away from me.

As Lucas left, a low and bantering voice suddenly came out

from the dark corner. Three people, who looked like thugs,

came out from the shadow. One of them was the thief who

Lucas and I had tried to catch that morning. The other was the

big man, from the café, who had been following us.

The other accomplice was a taller, skinnier man with dark curly

hair.

My fears were correct. They had been following us all day

waiting for the right moment.

All three of them came towards me, rolling their sleeves up as

they came closer and closer. They were muttering to each other

in Italian. I turned to run away, but it was a dead end. I was

trapped.

“What do you want? Why have you been following us?” I

asked. They did not answer, but came closer to me, step by

step, until I was surrounded. Two of them tried to punch me. I

tried to defend myself as much as I could, but three against one


150

is always going to be difficult. I was about to shout for help

when a blow to my face caused me to fall to the ground,

unconscious.

After a few minutes, when I regained consciousness, Lucas was

there leaning over me, taking care of me.

“Hey, Chang, are you OK?” he asked.

“I do not know. What is happening?”

“Well, when I left, I heard some strange noise. I thought I

will check it out. I came here and saw the three thugs hitting you.

When I started shouting for help, they just ran away”

“Are you OK?” Lucas asked again. I could see that he

was genuinely concerned about me. It was reflected in his eyes.

“I think so,” I replied.

He helped me get back up onto my feet and said,

“Chang, I am very sorry about my childish behaviour and

for making fun of you. I should have believed you.”

“It‟s OK, at least you came back and saved me from the

thugs hitting me any further. I am glad that you are back!”


151

“I really am sorry,” Lucas apologised as he held me by

the shoulder. He gave me his bottle of water to drink. It took me

ten minutes to recover.

“Let us leave this place,” I said. When I looked for my

bag, it was all open. The thugs had stolen the goods that we

had initially planned to hand in to the Police.

As we walked out of the Hypogeum, I saw something

glimmering on the floor. It was one of the stolen goods that the

thugs had dropped whilst running away. I picked it up and put it

in my pocket. We went straight to the Police station and handed

in this one remaining item and told our story. The Police

showed us the pictures of different thugs and pick-pockets in

Rome and it was easy to identify these three people. The Police

immediately filed a report about the three men attacking me.

The Police drove us back to each of our hostels and told us to

take care. Lucas apologised a hundred times. I forgave him and

we made plans for the places we would visit the next day.

A few days later, I read in the newspaper that these thugs had

been caught and imprisoned.

Lucas and I became good friends and next year I am visiting

Argentina.


152

Glossary:

List of Characters:

Chang – A Taiwanese tourist who befriends Lucas.

Lucas - An Argentinian tourist travelling in Rome.

The waiter – The person who suggests local food.

Other Characters - The old lady whose purse is stolen, The tall beautiful guide and the three thugs.

Fill in the blanks:

1. The author of this story is from a country named___________

2. _________is the religious leader of Roman Catholic Christians and he lives in ______________.

3. The colosseum was built during ___________ and it can accommodate nearly ___________ spectators.

4. Hypogeum literally means ____________

5. _________was constructed for all Roman Gods and Goddesses of ancient Rome.

Synonyms:

1. Burglar - Robber

2. Abandon - Carelessly disregard

3. Tainted - Ruined, contaminated

4. Sarcastic - Mocking or making fun in speech

5. Gladiator - Combatant,Fighter


153

Answer the following:

1. How did Chang manage to catch the thief and who helped him to catch the thief?

2. What is meant by the „Lantern Festival‟? When, where and how is it celebrated?

3. What are the different countries with which China has border issues?

4. Describe what you have learnt about the Colosseum?

5. What happened when Lucas went away from the hypogeum after having a bad argument with the author?

Questions on geography and cultures:

1. Write the names of the different countries you have learnt from this story. Locate them on the world map.

2. Describe in detail what have your learnt about Argentina.

3. Describe in detail about what you have learnt about Taiwan

4. Describe in detail about Rome and the various places in Rome.

5. Go around your town and see what the different places are and write an essay describing those places in your town.

Creative and Imaginative Questions:

Imagine you are Lucas and write a letter to Chang inviting him to Argentina.

Think of yourself as the burglar in the story. Write down in no less than 200 words the story from his point of view.


154

Search for the given words in the puzzle below:

Created with www.armoredpenguin.com/


155

My Haitian friend

Marie-Stephanie and Venkat Prakash

It was a Sunday afternoon, during the end of June in

2011. My mother was very adamant that I packed everything for

my trip to Haiti37 the next week. In a week‟s time, I will be in

Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, visiting my uncle.

My name is Flora, a sixteen year old American girl living

in San Francisco38. My parents are from the USA, I was born

when they went to work in Haiti for a few years. We lived in Haiti

until I was ten years old, but after that I moved back with my

parents to the USA. Ever since, my parents took me to Haiti

every year during the summer holidays to visit my uncle who

still lives there. But after the earthquake in the year 2010, we

stopped visiting Haiti.

It was around 4pm : the doorbell rang. When I opened

the door, it was my best friends Jane and Susan standing there,

smiling. They are here to play tennis. We play tennis every

Sunday afternoon. They look very excited. They came inside

the house and sat on the couch. Susan asked:

37

See map.4 38

A city in USA.


156

“Flora, your mother told us you are travelling to Haiti to

meet your uncle, is it true?”

“Yes, I am flying next week.”

“We are very bored in America and we would like to

discover a new place. Can we come with you? We heard that

there are a lot of beautiful beaches in Haiti,” said Jane.

I told them that I had no idea how Haiti looks like after the

earthquake and the cholera epidemic39. But they seemed to

have made up their mind that they wanted to visit Haiti.

“OK, if you are very keen to come there, of course I will

be very glad to take you both along” I told them. I (myself) was

a bit excited that I could show them the place where I was born.

“Tell us about Haiti” Susan asked with a curious voice.

“Even though Haiti is very small, and is the poorest

country in the southern hemisphere, it is very special to me. It is

a country filled with culture and tradition. It has a beautiful

natural environment. The market places are very colourful. Most

of the people of Haiti are warm-hearted and are full of

confidence. It is like a paradise to me.”

“Tell us about the earthquake” Susan asked.

39

A disease that affects a large area, state or a country.


157

“There was „Trouble in Paradise‟ as they say. During

January 2010; there was a magnitude 7 earthquake that shook

the nation. More than 300,000 people were killed and more

than 10,00,000 people were left homeless. Most of the buildings

including hospitals, schools, churches and universities were

destroyed. When I heard the news, my whole family was heart-

broken. This is a short introduction to Haiti,” I said.

Jane was pretending to listen while she was actually

texting other people in her mobile phone. Susan looked at me

and said,

“It seems that life is pretty difficult out there.”

“Yes, it is”

Susan said that she will re-consider if she wants to come to

Haiti or not. She was reluctant to leave behind all the comforts

she could find in the USA.

The next week, as I expected, Susan did not come to

Haiti. I guess she was scared about coming there. So, it was

just Jane and I who went to Haiti.

When we landed in Haiti, it was very hot. My uncle and

his assistant Emmanuel a native Haitian were waiting for us in

the airport. We hugged each other and spoke for half an hour

before leaving the airport. Jane looked very excited.


158

“Both of you girls are going to stay with me in Port-au-

Prince for a few days and then you can visit Jacmel40, the place

you were born - so you can meet your old friends,” my uncle

said.

As we stepped out of the airport, the atmosphere was

completely different. The entire place looked very dusty. There

were many people standing in front of the airport asking to carry

our bags to our car. It was as if they were fighting over who

would carry our bags. Jane was scared presuming that these

people might steal her bags or kidnap her. She held close to me

and gripped her bag tightly. My uncle and Emmanuel said that

we did not need any help carrying the bags and forced their

way through the squabbling crowd.

When we entered the car, Jane slammed the door shut

as quickly as possible.

“Don‟t be scared Jane” Emmanuel assured her.

The car started moving. Outside the airport there were a lot of

cars standing as if in a mesh. Most of the buildings on the

wayside were all destroyed in the earthquake. Many buildings

were cracked. Many cars on the road side were left abandoned,

smashed by the rubble that fell down on them during the

40

See map 4


159

earthquake. We could still see that there were cars trapped

inside the rubble.

It has been a year and a half since the earthquake, but

still its tragic wounds have not yet healed. What I saw outside

revealed more about the earthquake than all the news that I

saw or heard in T.V. But the people still looked very busy,

carrying out their everyday work as usual. That is what I like

about the Haitians; they are hard workers, very hard workers.

I could see that Jane was very upset to see the devastation all

around us.

“Are you OK?” I asked her.

“There is only rubble, heaps and heaps of rubble piled

everywhere. How can people possibly live here?” Jane said

incredulously.

There was silence in the car. Jane realised understood she had

hurt our feelings so she also kept quiet.

I could see that the way Jane saw Haiti was very different to

how I have known it to be. To me Haiti is a place filled with

warm hearted, positive and friendly people with faces full of

smiles. Whereas, to her, Haiti was just rubble filled with poverty

and desperation. I knew that if she could meet my friends and

talk to the Haitian people, her opinions and pre-conceptions

might change. If she could see beneath the rubble and into the


160

hearts of the people, I knew that it would give her a better

understanding of Haiti and its people.

We reached my uncle‟s house and had dinner. We fell

asleep at once dinner was finished.

“Ouch! What is it?” Jane screamed in the middle of the

night.

I switched on the light. It was a mosquito biting her. There were

a lot of them in the room. Jane was scared that she might be

infected by transmittable diseases such as Malaria. We

switched on the mosquito repellent and fell asleep.

The next two days, we stayed in my Uncle‟s house. He

had a big swimming pool and we often swam. Whenever I

suggested that we go out, Jane disapproved of the idea.

“Jane, you have to meet the people, only then will your

fears and pre-conceptions shall change,” I said.

She just pretended not to be scared or to have any pre-

conceptions and made several excuses to stay indoors.

I went outside with Emmanuel. He showed me the damaged

Presidential palace and explained me about the tragic events of

the earthquake. It was very hard listening to it all.

The next day, I suggested to Jane that we meet my old friends

in „Jacmel‟ that is two hours by car. I was born there and I


161

wanted to visit my old house, which I heard was only partially

destroyed by the earthquake. I also wanted to show it to Jane.

She admitted that she had been a bit childish in staying indoors

and reluctantly accepted to the idea of coming along.

Emmanuel drove us to Jacmel. The roads were damaged and

old. On the way, we saw the colourfully painted „Tap Tap‟

busses, which are the major means of transportation in Haiti.

The car travelled very slowly as there were children playing in

the road and there were stray animals which blocked the road.

We were about to reach Jacmel, when we came across a lot of

tents densely filling both sides of the road.

“What are these?” Jane asked.

Emmanuel explained that after the earthquake, most of the

people lost their homes and had to live in tents like this. Since

the Government has not yet made any arrangements for the

people to have a proper place to live, they continue to live in

these „Tent towns‟. He added that there are a lot of Non-

Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that help these people.

Jane was both shocked and disappointed to see the way these

people lived. Suddenly, the car stopped.

“What‟s happened?” I asked.

“I don‟t know. Let me check,” Emmanuel said as he got

out of the car to examine the wheels.


162

In the meantime, I asked Jane if she wanted to get out

and have a closer look at the Tent town.

Jane looked nervous and said, “I am sorry to ask this, but is it

safe to stop here?”

“What do you mean Jane?” I asked her.

“The people living in the tents have no home; they might

be starving and might be dangerous. These people are poor

and might want our money. They might see two „White‟ girls and

attempt to kidnap us. Moreover, this place is so filthy I‟m sure

we are at risk of disease.”

“No, they won‟t kidnap us or steal our money. They

might be poor and desperate, but they are good people. Trust

me,” I said.

“I trust you. Not them!”

I was pretty disappointed at what she said. Since I did not want

to show my emotions, I looked out through the window on the

other side of the car and said nothing. A man smiled at us from

the road side. It was very good to see how the Haitians manage

to smile even amidst such chaos. Jane was just too scared to

smile back.

“Allo, tout bagay anform?” the man shouted.

“Is he asking for money?” Jane asked.


163

“No Jane, he is asking if everything is OK with us. He is

speaking in Creole, the Native Haitian language. Creole and

French are the most popular languages spoken here.”

“Oui” I shouted back to him. He smiled and walked away

into the Tent town.

In half an hour, the car was fixed and we moved on.

When we reached Jacmel the car stopped outside my

old house. The earthquake had caused a big crack down the

side of the house.

We looked all the way round the outside of the house to check it

was safe enough to go inside. It looked as if the roof might fall

down anytime. Since no one lived there anymore the house

was very dusty and dark. My Uncle was making arrangements

to reconstruct the house next month.

The old house brought back a lot of memories which I shared

with Jane. I showed her where my room used to be and the

kitchen and the living room (etc.) after a while, we went to the

garden. There were a few trees and a lot of flowers when I lived

there, but no more. The garden looked more like waste ground

covered in weeds now. My neighbours‟ houses were all

destroyed. I walked back inside, whilst Jane stayed in the

garden.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Jane screamed.


164

Emmanuel and I both went running to her.

“What‟s happened Jane?”

Jane was down on the ground and seemed to be in a lot

of pain. She said that there was a small hole in the ground and

she had accidentally fallen. There was a big swelling in her leg.

I feared that she might have a fracture. I didn‟t know what to do

about it. Emmanuel said that we should take her to the hospital.

I asked him where the nearest hospital was. He said that the

main hospital in Jacmel had been destroyed in the earthquake

and the nearest one is in the Tent town.

Jane looked at me and said “Flora, I don‟t want to go to the

Tent town again. Please find another solution.”

“I‟m sorry Jane. I know you are afraid about going there,

but we have no other choice now. If it is a fracture, it will need

urgent medical attention,” I said.

Jane understood the seriousness of the situation and agreed to

going to the Tent town. Emmanuel and I drove to the Tent town.

The journey took half an hour. We parked the car in the road

side and helped Jane to walk to the hospital. Now we were able

to have a closer view of the Tent town. The tents were made of

cloths, tarpaulins41, wooden sticks, and all possible materials.

41

A sheet of strong, flexible and water resistant material.


165

“This place smells bad,” Jane said amidst her pain. We

could not find the way to the tent hospital. A little boy and a girl

showed us the way. As we entered the hospital we noticed we

were the only white people in there. The hospital itself was in a

very big tent. There were a few bandaged patients lying down

on their sides.

“The Doctor will be here in a minute,” a nurse said as

she asked us to wait. Jane‟s pain seemed to be increasing.

Eventually the doctor came.

“Let us see what is wrong” the Doctor came into the tent

with a big smile. It was the same man who had asked us if

everything was ok a few hours ago when we our car stopped in

the Tent town.

“We meet again” He smiled at us. Jane was surprised on

seeing him. He examined Jane‟s leg thoroughly, for almost ten

minutes.

“It is just a sprain. You have just twisted your muscle. It

is not a fracture, don‟t worry” he smiled at her. “With an injection,

you will be O.K. Wait there, I‟II be back in a moment with pain

killer and anti-inflammatory cream” saying this he left us.

In the meantime, there were at least ten people who

came to us to ask if everything was O.K. The people were very

friendly. They all smiled at us and reassured us that Jane will be


166

OK in a while. I guess that Jane was not as scared of the

Haitians now as she had been initially.

Suddenly I recognised a familiar face, my childhood

Haitian friend and next door neighbour, Variola.

“Hey Variola” I yelled out. “What are you doing in this

hospital?”

She turned and the next moment she came running towards me.

We were very happy to see each other after a long time.

“Flora! What a surprise! I am working here as a

volunteer nurse. When did you come to Haiti and what brings

you here?”

I explained to her all that had happened earlier and introduced

Jane and Emmanuel.

“Don‟t worry Jane! The Doctor who treated you is very

good. He studied Medicine at The Cambridge University. He

came back to Haiti after the earthquake to serve us here,”

Variola said.

“Wow! This doctor must be clever and very dedicated,”

we exclaimed.

The Doctor came back and whilst he was treating Jane with

medicine, Variola and I chatted. Variola told us about post-

earthquake Haiti.


167

A few minutes later, the Doctor said that Jane should take care

of her leg, and not walk a lot for a week. As we left the hospital,

the other patients were smiling and waved us goodbye.

“The Haitian Doctor was very kind! The other patients

are so very friendly. I never expected them to be so warm-

hearted!” Jane said.

Variola came along with us as she had finished her day‟s work.

She invited us all to her tent and we all accepted her invitation.

We all decided to visit her tent.

The second tent to the hospital was where Variola and her

family stayed. When we were children, I remember that Variola

and I lived close to each other. She lived in a big house with a

garden, but now she was living in a blue tent with the name of

the charity who donated it, written in large letters across both

sides.

As we entered the tent, I could see that there were very few

things inside; a few cloths hanging around, and some kitchen

utensils, that‟s all. In one corner was a picture of her family”

“Where is your mother?” I asked.

“She died during the earthquake,” Variola said sadly.

“I am very sorry Variola, tell me everything about it,” I

said


168

“It was during the night of the earthquake in 2010. We

were sleeping. The earth shook and there was much noise. I

thought I was having a nightmare. I could feel my father lifting

me and running out to the street with me in his arms. My mother

picked up my little sister and tried to follow us, but she did not

make it. Before my mother and my sister could escape the

house collapsed. We did not know what to do. All the buildings

in the street were just rubbles. Everyone were either screaming

or crying. That is when I realised that it was not a nightmare, but

real. I could not believe it. Hundreds of people in our street were

dead.”

There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. She continued,

“We were a very content family, but in just a few

seconds we went from having almost everything we needed to

having nothing.”

“I am sorry Variola” I said, hugging my shabbily dressed

old friend. I remember Variola‟s mother was a very gentle lady.

When we were children she would offer us fruits from her

garden and even play with us.

“My father and I were very sad. We tried very hard to

remove the rubble and to save our mother, but the rubble was

so heavy that only after three days, the rescue workers were

able to remove the rubbles.”


169

Variola continued, “It‟s OK, we live on. A charity organisation

donated this tent to us. Since our school was destroyed, I

decided to volunteer at this hospital until a new school is built.”

Variola wiped her tears and said, with a smile, “Guess what?

Along with the Doctor, I have saved many lives now.”

Jane was in uncontrollable tears. “You are amazing Variola. If I

were you, I am not sure if I might be as strong hearted, gentle

and virtuous as you are.”

Jane was able to feel the sufferings of the Haitians, their strong

yet tender heart and their courage amidst adversity. She came

closer and hugged the „Smelly‟ Haitian friend of mine and said,

“Variola, I could not even bare the pain of a twisted

muscle, but you have gone through a lot of physical and

emotional suffering, but still you are very strong in heart” Variola

was very touched by this gesture. After a while, Variola made

us a cup of tea in her tent.

“I would like to stay here as a volunteer in the hospital

with you,” Jane said.

I was thoroughly surprised at this. I understood that Variola has

finally seen beneath the rubble of her own self-assumptions and

into the real heart of the Haitians. I was proud of her.


170

Illustra

tion: J

uste

Bu

tku

te


171

After getting permission from our Uncle, everyday Emmanuel

dropped us both in the Tent town in the morning. We

volunteered in the hospital alongside Variola. Even though it

was smelly, even though there were no basic facilities there

were good people around us. Emmanuel would take us both

back to my Uncle‟s home every evening. We brought food and

clothes to Variola and others in the Tent town. We played with

the children and made a lot of Haitian friends.

When it was time to go back to USA, all we wanted to do was to

stay longer.

“We will come back next year,” Jane and I shouted as

we left those amazing people who lived in the tents of the Tent

town.


172

Glossary:

List of Characters:

1. Flora – A Haitian born American girl. She takes her friend Jane to visit Haiti.

2. Jane – Flora‟s American friend, she travels with Flora to Haiti.

3. Variola – Flora‟s childhood neighbour and friend from Haiti. She works as a volunteer in a hospital.

4. Emmanuel – A local Haitian who works for Flora‟s uncle. 5. Susan – An American friend of Flora and Jane, who

decides not to travel to Haiti. 6. The Doctor – A Haitian who finished his degree in

medicine at the Cambridge University and is serving in Haiti after the earthquake.

7. The Uncle – Flora‟s uncle who lives in Haiti.

Write 5 synonyms and Antonyms based on the story

Fill in the blanks:

1. Flora was travelling to a country called _________. The capital of that country is _____________ and Flora was born in a town called ______________.

2. The busses in Haiti are called as ____________ and these are the major means of __________.

3. ______________ is the native Haitian language. The next popular language is __________.

4. The doctor had graduated in the field of ___________from the _______________ University.

5. Jane said that Variola was strong hearted, _________ and __________.


173


1. How many people were affected by the earthquake and in what ways?

2. What are the characteristics that Flora likes about the Haitian people?

3. Why did the car travel slowly from Port-au-Prince to Jacmel? 4. Why did Variola decide to volunteer at the hospital? 5. Describe the tent hospital in a few lines. 6. What are the various geographical locations you have

learnt from this story? Write the different countries and the towns.


1. Explain in detail how Haiti looks after the earthquake. 2. Describe Jane‟s fears as the car stopped near the tent town. 3. Describe in detail about the „Tent Town‟, what are they,

who are living there and explain the conditions in the tent towns.

4. Describe the earthquake on Jan 2010 according to Variola. 5. Summarise Jane‟s thought process right from the beginning

to the end of the story and how it changes.

Creative and Imaginative section:

1. Find out what are the various diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes, air and water? Find out the ways in which the spreading of these diseases can be prevented.

2. In your own words, describe and analyse the three main characters of the story – Flora, Jane and Variola.

3. Write your own scripts in both English and Tibetan based on the story and enact a play to the other classes. Ask your teacher to help you in this.


174


175

Writing on the floor Kathleen Joyce Hutchings

"Keep a green branch in your heart and the singing bird will

come."

“Cait, don‟t you think that you need a new gate for your

garden?” asked my neighbour when I opened the creaking old

wooden gate to let the cat outside.

“Yes, you are correct, this gate is very old” I said.

“I need some wood for my fireplace, maybe I can have

the wood from the gate for fire”, my neighbour laughed with her

usual Irish sense of humour.

We had a good laugh about it. But I knew that she was correct

and that I needed a new gate for my garden, I myself have

been thinking of it lately.

The next day I went to the forge of the local village blacksmith.

His name is Joe.

“Hello Cait, how are you?” Joe asked me as he met me

in the road in front of the shop.

“I am very good, I came to see you Joe” I said and

explained him that I needed a gate for my garden. He asked me

how big and what design I wanted the gate to be. I tried to

explain him in words but it was very difficult to describe the


176

exact idea I had in my mind to him. Joe was able to see that I

was struggling to describe my thoughts.

“Cait Come into the shop, if you want a gate, a gate you

will have”, he said cheerfully and took me into his shop.

As we entered, I could see all the tools and equipment that Joe

and his assistants use in the forge. It was pretty warm inside the

shop, thanks to the fire they used for bending and smashing

metal bars and rods. We discussed about the size and the

measurements of the gate that I wanted.

After that he went to a corner and brought a lump of chalk to me

and said:

“There you are, Cait. Draw on the floor the design of the

gate you want”.

“Draw on the floor?” I asked him in an utter surprise.

I would have imagined that he might bring a pen and a paper or

may be use a computer, but he gave me a chalk lump to draw

on the floor!

It reminded me of my childhood. My grandmother would give

me a piece of chalk to draw on the floor. I would draw pictures

of a cat or sun or a tree and she always appreciated all that I

drew. I was thus remembering the fond memories of my

childhood when Joe‟s voice interrupted saying:


177

“Cait, what are you thinking about?”

I smiled at him and said “Nothing.”

I bent down the floor to draw the design of the gate I wanted. As

I started drawing, I was very happy as this brought out such

happy memories of how I used to spent time with my

Grandmother whenever she came to visit us.

Thus being lost in my childhood thoughts, I would have drawn a

cat or a mouse on the floor, but I knew that I was talking to a

serious blacksmith and I concentrated on drawing the gate and

the design I had in mind.

“The gate should to be tall enough to discourage the

cats from jumping over it and going to the road, durable enough

to last as long for at least another thirty years or so, and simple

enough to fit in with the tone of the neighbourhood.” I said to

myself.

After twenty minutes of concentrated drawing on the workshop

floor, I was about to finish the picture of the gate, when Joe

announced that he knew exactly what I wanted from my

drawing.

He was a little surprised that I took up the challenge to draw my

design on the floor of the forge.


178

“It was a joke that I asked you to draw on the floor, Cait”,

Joe said smiling. “But you took it as a challenge and I did not

want to stop you”.

“I have already drawn on the floor you see, but a long

time ago”, I told Joe laughing. In my heart I was very happy that

I had drawn on the floor after almost fifty five years since I did it

the last time.

“Your gate will be ready in two weeks” Joe said and he

also assured me that he himself would personally deliver the

door and help me to fit it.

As I was walking along the road to my house, memories of my

childhood kept flowing into my mind. I went into the house,

made myself a cup of tea and sat down the couch.

It was more than fifty five years ago, I was called „Naughty Little

Cait‟, and well that is what my family called me. We lived in a

remote hamlet named Shanbally in Ireland42, a little island next

to the United Kingdom. At that time there were 11 houses and

50 people in Shanbally, whereas there are only 10 houses and

14 people living there now.

My grandmother „Ma Fannon‟ lived in a town called

„Glenamaddy‟ which is around 8 miles far from Shanbally. I still

remember that at that time, my mother had just given birth to

42

See map 3


179

my sister and was considerably weak. My elder sister was ill

and needed constant nursing. I was just a three year old child

and I was always running around everywhere. Ma Fannon

came regularly to visit us in Shanbally, to help my mother and to

take care of the children.

Her visits were a source of great delight for me and the whole

household. My mother was much relieved that Ma Fannon can

take care of the household when she rested.

Since I was naughty, Ma Fannon wanted to find a way to keep

me occupied. She tried putting me to sleep, letting me play in

the garden or to give me toys to play with, but none of them

worked. So, one day she gave me a piece of chalk and asked

me to draw a cow on the floor. I remember drawing something

like a cow, but she praised me a lot for it. Then she asked me to

draw a cat which I did, she praised me a lot for it as well. I was

full of smile to have her appreciation. From that time onwards I

always remember drawing pictures on the cement floor of my

house.

I remember that one day there was no more chalk for me to

draw. I went to my grandmother and asked her for some more

chalk. We searched for some chalk in the house together but in

futile.


180

Suddenly Ma Fannon took me by hand and walked into the

living room. Up in that room there was a very big white chalk

statue of the Virgin Mary. It was hollow and had a small hole in

the back near the base.

Ma Fannon took the statue out of its place and with the skill of a

craftsperson she tapped the statue on the backside. A small

piece of the statue fell down. She took that piece and gave it to

me.

Down we went lying on the cement floor and we drew a lot of

things, a flower, garden, a hill, a space-craft, the earth, a man,

fish and what not?

From that time onwards, it was impossible to take me away

from drawing and writing.

When I grew up, I became a writer and an artist which I

presume that I should attribute to the creativity inspired by my

grandmother.

After marriage I moved to England43 with my husband and my

family no longer lived in Shanbally. That statue of the Virgin

Mary was the statue to which our family prayed to everyday and

I still cannot believe that my Grandmother broke a little piece of

it for me to. Draw.

43

See map 3


181

I was always amazed to think that she valued my imagination

and creativity to that of a piece of the Virgin Mary‟s statue.

Illustration: Tinta Fina.

My grandmother died just before I was seven years old and her

funeral was on my birthday.


182

I do not suppose that she ever imagined that her great kindness

to me would be still making a difference after all these years. I

do not know what ever happened to the statue in Shanbally. I

would be very happy if the statue went for other children as

chalk for them to draw and explore their imagination, or perhaps

for the children to draw hopscotch squares in the road during

the long summer evenings that we thought would go on forever.

It has been fifty five years since I drew my first drawing on the

floor.

“They are very happy and thoughtful memories” I said to

myself.

After almost a week, Joe the blacksmith came with a big smile.

“Hello Cait, your gate is ready and it is exactly to your

drawing” he said.

When I looked at the gate, it did not look familiar at all although

it was a fine gate. The designs I had drawn and the gate he

brought were very different. I was about to argue that I had no

recollection of the design, but I forgave him for bringing back my

happy memories by asking me to draw on the floor.

The next day my son phoned me and said he is coming to visit

me with his wife and my two little grandchildren.

I exactly know what I am going to do with my grandchildren.


183

Glossary

Synonyms:

1. Humor - Comedy 2. Lump - Piece 3. Hamlet - Small village 4. Presume - Believe/ Assume 5. Tapped - Hit lightly

Fill in the blanks:

1. Cait went to the local village blacksmith to buy a gate for her ______________.

2. When the blacksmith gave a chalk to Cait to draw on the floor, it reminded Cait of her ___________.

3. Cait felt very happy to draw on the floor after _________ years which brought her beautiful memories back.

4. During childhood, Cait lived with her family in a remote hamlet called ___________ in the country _____________.

5. When „Naughty little Cait‟ had no chalk to draw, her grandmother broke a piece of__________ statue.


1. How did Cait come to know that she had to change the gate of her garden?

2. Describe the event that brought back Cait‟s childhood memories?

3. How does Cait describe about the place where she was brought up?

4. What did Cait‟s grandmother „Ma Fannon‟ do to keep Cait occupied?


184

5. What did Cait become when she grew up and who inspired her?

Answer the following in 100 words each: 1. Write the list of characters in the story and describe about

them in one line each. 2. Summarise the conversations between Cait and the

blacksmith. 3. How does Cait describe the place she was born, describe it

in detail 4. Describe in detail how „Ma Fannon‟ inspired little Cait? 5. Write the names of all the geographical places you have

learnt from this story. Write them in order of countries, towns and villages.


1) Write in 200 words an incident that brought back your childhood memories and read it to your friend.

2) Write down all the new words you have learnt from this story and write their synonyms.


185

Jehanne, the Nun and I Constance Zhu and Venkat Prakash

“Welcome to China!” Andy and I cried tears of joy, as

Jehanne, came out of the airport in Beijing44. We were so

excited to have our friend from Belgium45 staying with us for a

month. It has been two long years since we studied at the

Universitie Belgique together.

Jehanne shouted, “Hey! How are you? Woohoo! How‟s

married life?” She congratulated both of us as she walked

towards us and gave us a big hug.

“How was your flight Jehanne?” enquired Andy.

“It was good. Thanks for asking,” she replied.

My (English) name is Constance, and I would like to tell you all

about our experience having my friend Jehanne staying with

Andy and me in our new home in Beijing. We walked to our car

and Andy drove us home. It was night and the street lights had

been lit. Jehanne was looking through the car window. She

looked as excited as a child in a candy shop.

44

Capital of China. See map 2 45

See map 3


186

She kept on exclaiming, “Wow, this looks different!” She

wanted me to tell her about all the things she saw.

She questioned, “What is that building?” “What does this

symbol mean?”

Ha,ha,ha, why not ask lots of questions? I was pleased to

answer them all. It was a great pleasure having her stay.

Through her eyes, I was able to rediscover Beijing for myself.

There is a time difference of eight hours between Beijing and

Belgium during winter, so it was understandable that she was

suffering from jet-lag 46and needed to rest for the whole of the

next day. We reassured her that there was plenty of time for her

to discover China. In the mean time we had a lot of catching up

to do as we had not met for almost two years. The usual chatter

of news and gossip interspersed with looking at wedding

pictures, cooking dumplings, rice noodles and other traditional

Chinese dishes was to occupy most of the evenings that week.

Andy and I had already made our list of all the places we

wanted to take her, but we asked her if she had any place in

her mind she would like to visit.

“Oh oui47!” She smiled.

46

Discomfort a person feels after travelling for long distances, due to changes in sleeping times etc. Usually from country to country. 47

Yes in Belgian and French.


187

“The Great Wall of China, Shanghai, Hong Kong, some

rural villages and of course Tibet!”

“Great idea, but where is Tibet?” Andy asked, much to

Jehanne‟s surprise.

“It is Xizang.” I had to clarify to Andy. I said that in

Chinese we call Tibet as Xizang Province, only then Jehanne‟s

surprised look relaxed.

“Calling Tibet as Xizang, is it just a language difference

or what?” Jehanne asked.

“The reason are both the language difference and very

political” I said. “The Chinese Government wants us all to know

Tibet as Xizang”

“Why?” Jehanne questioned.

Andy noticed that the conversation is turning very political,

which he did not like, so he interrupted by asking “By the way,

what are we going to have for dinner?”

“We are going to prepare some traditional food. It is

called a hot-pot. It is a pot filled with spicy sauce and we cook

vegetables and meat in it”. I said.

Jehanne came into the kitchen and helped me in the

preparation, she chopped the vegetables and crushed the

spices and made the sauce but I knew that in the back of her


188

head - the question about Tibet remained, yet she pretended

not to be thinking of it.

After an hour, we all sat around the dinner table. Jehanne found

it very difficult to use chop-sticks for the first time. We could see

her taking the meat carefully from the pot, but dropping it with

laugh. After some training, she became good in using chop-

sticks. The dinner was mouth-watering.

After dinner, Jehanne wanted to go for a walk, but I warned her

that the outdoor air is much polluted in the evenings because of

the density of people and traffic. So we chose to stay indoors

and chat with each other and share our old memories.

The next day we travelled around Beijing, looking at various

places. I must admit that Jehanne has an incandescent curiosity

and obviously found great happiness taking hundreds of

photographs. Armed with her camera, she shot almost

everything in sight; the street fruit sellers, the big markets,

temples, children eating ice cream, the chaotic traffic and of

course pictures of both of us as well. She wanted to converse

with the common people around whereas they always wanted

to sell her something! I enjoyed being her unofficial translator.

“What do you think of your adventure today?” I asked.


189

“It was really interesting and so very different from

Belgium. The country is so very colourful. I am going to upload

these pictures onto Facebook now,” she said.

“No Jehanne, you can‟t use Facebook in China. It is

banned!” I said.

“Why?” Jehanne questioned.

“Our Government has shielded some of the websites

and web pages which contain sensitive information about China

and its propaganda.” I said.

She was sunk in deep thought for the rest of the evening. When

we went home, she asked me, “Is there no freedom of

information here?”

Andy looked at her and said “Well Jehanne, we know what we

need to know and the information that is available is good

enough for the economic progress of the country and for us.”

I knew that Andy was beating around the bush, so I had to

interrupt and say “No, there is no freedom of information or

speech about a variety of sensitive topics in China. The

Government controls the media.”

A deep concern furrowed her brows and filled her face as she

asked, “How do you know what is the truth then?”


190

I was just silent. She understood what my silence meant and so

to cheer up the mood, she started showing the pictures she had

taken on that day to Andy and me.

Andy had to go to work for the reminder of the week, so we girls

were on our own enjoying each other‟s company. Our next two

days were spent travelling in and around Beijing, visiting the

museums and historic places. We spent two days visiting the

Great Wall of China. The following week, we travelled to

Shanghai and Hubei Province where I was born. It was a great

pleasure just being with her. I could see that Jehanne‟s

enthusiasm had also rubbed off onto me. She conversed with

the small local merchants, beggars and many children. It was

unusual for me as I had never cared to converse with those of

lower status before. Just by being her translator I was able to

get glimpses of their lives, but, I must confess, I was still feeling

reluctant to converse with such people.

The next day Jehanne and I went to Hong-Kong to stay for a

few days with my aunt in the family home. Hong Kong is an

autonomous, densely populated region of China.

My aunty and uncle gave us a warm welcome. Jehanne and my

aunty became friends in a jiffy48, thanks to my translations! My

aunty asked us to be ready early the next morning as she had

48

Very quickly, in a moment.


191

planned to take us to the temple of Avalokitesvara, the goddess

of compassion. I was surprised, as I thought that Avalokitesvara

is a male Deity! But my aunty told me that Avalokitesvara takes

both male and female forms.

My aunty said “We are going to a temple monastery on

the Emeishan Mountain, located in Sichuan Province. We shall

travel there to celebrate Avalokitesvara‟s birthday and also see

an old friend of mine. We will stay there for three days and I am

sure your Belgian friend will enjoy it too.”

Until a year ago, my aunty had been an atheist, but then she

became a Buddhist, a Han Buddhist, to be precise.

“What made her become a Buddhist?” Jehanne

enquired. Since it is a long story, I told her that I will explain it to

her in the following days.

The next day we travelled to the monastery town high up into

the mountains. It was a long journey of around ten hours by

various means. When we reached the town, we saw that it was

very calm and quiet; very few people lived there. It was a

complete contrast to Beijing and Hong-Kong.

We rested the next day. In the late noon, Jehanne and I took a

walk alongside the small brook. We sat down near the river

bank in silence. We watched a lone farmer driving her cattle

back home. Her singing was soothing as we listened to her


192

voice merging with the ripples of the clean river water lapping its

own melodies beside our feet. It was a warm evening with

masses of colourful blossoms waving in a blissful breeze gently

blowing from the South Western plateau.

“The nature looks very beautiful, does it not” I asked.

But Jehanne was not listening to my question. Evoked by the

amazing scenery, she was caught in the reveries from her own

web of imaginations. The yellow sunset started to engulf the

whole sky with the colour of a Monk's robes, drawing our

imagination even more.

„How often silent imagination and contemplation is far

better than talking‟ I thought and joined her in admiring the

magnificent sunset.

Half an hour later, Jehanne pointed a building on the hill top

and asked “What is that?”

“That is the monastery we will be going tomorrow. I added that

the temples are usually located in the mountains, so that the

monks and Buddhist nuns can have a quiet place to learn

Buddhism and contemplate, strive to achieve nirvana; far from

the materialistic society with its many insatiable desires.

It was in this monastery last year, that my Aunty became

a Buddhist following a curious incident,” I said.


193

“Tell me more about your aunty and how her faith

changed after visiting this monastery,” Jehanne asked.

I could see a sense of brightness in Jehanne‟s eyes as I

continued explaining that my aunty was an atheist until last year.

My aunty and her friends came to this monastery last year for

tourism and that is where she encountered this curious incident.

I said.

“Stop building the surprise; tell me what happened last

year” Jehanne said.

I smiled and said that when my aunty and her friends visited

that monastery temple, they spent a long time looking around

enjoying the peace and quietness. As the morning wore on to

noon, they began to grow hungry.Unfortunately; there were no

restaurants near the temple.

Luckily, just at that moment there was an elderly nun passing

them by.

“Excuse me Madam” one of my auntie‟s friends called

out to her.

The elderly nun smiled at them warmly and bowed to them and

said “Hello”

My aunty and her friends were so moved by her humility that

they bowed to her as well. My aunty could sense peace in the

old lady‟s face. My aunty asked the old nun,


194

“Mother (said as a mark of respect), can you tell us

where to find some food here? We are hungry”

The nun looked at them and said, “There are no restaurants

nearby, but if you are very hungry, I can cook some food for you

all”

No one expected such a kind reply. My aunty and her friends

looked at each other and decided to accept the food she offered

and to pay her for it. She cooked lunch for them and it seems

that it was very delicious. All of them enjoyed the food but the

nun refused to accept their money. My auntie and her friends

persuaded her to at least accept the cost of the vegetables she

had used.

After the meal, the old nun took them around the temple and to

the nearby shrines. My auntie became very interested to know

more about the nun. She was about 90 years old and had been

living in the temple for nearly sixteen years. She had joined the

temple because her children, who lived in the city, did not take

care of her properly. My aunty felt a bit sad to hear the old

lady‟s story.

The next day, my aunty went to the temple once more to see

the nun. The nun cooked food for her again and they spoke for

a long time. My aunty told me that she felt very peaceful when

talking with the nun. My aunty visited the nun yet again and


195

stayed in the temple for two more days. They became very

good friends.

“Wow! This story is very interesting. It‟s a good example

of how friendship can develop in an instant” Jehanne exclaimed.

“Yes. My aunty was very impressed by the nun‟s

humility and simplicity”

“Is she the reason your aunty became a Buddhist?”

Jehanne asked.

“Yes, my auntie‟s deep reflections on their conversations

led her to choose Buddhism.”

“Are we going to meet that nun tomorrow?” Jehanne

asked.

“Yes, we will meet her.”

On hearing this, Jehanne‟s face lit up.

The next day, as the sun rose in the sky, we all got ready,

excited to visit the temple and especially to meet my auntie‟s

friend, the old nun.

We climbed the steep hill up to the temple. After prayers in the

temple, we made our way to the nun‟s hostel. She was not

there. After a few minutes of searching the area, we saw an old

man sitting in a corner. We enquired of him about the old nun‟s

whereabouts. He looked at us with surprise and asked us,


196

“Don‟t you know that she passed away a few months

ago?”

In one voice, we said, “No!” We were all deeply saddened.

“How did she pass away?” My aunty asked him. The

man said that old age was the reason. He added that a few

months ago, while she was offering her prayers to the statue of

Avalokitesvara she passed away in front of the statue. When

she passed away, she was on her knees, praying sincerely with

her eyes closed and her knees on the ground. She did not

make it to standing up again.

I could see a teardrop slowly trickling down along my auntie‟s

face. Jehanne reached out to hold her hand.

The man added that when she was cremated, there was a red

light flashing Sharipu (Sarira) amidst the ashes.

“What is Sharipu?” I asked the man. He explained,

“Sharipu is a bead or more beads found in the ashes

during the cremation of some devout Buddhists. Sharipu cannot

be found in the ashes of all theBuddhists‟, finding a Sharipu is

very rare as only people with pure spirits have it.”


197

Illustration: Danny Tan


198

He said. “Even though there are many monks and nuns in

China, only very few of them have had Sharipu found in their

ashes.”

The man also said that had he witnessed this by himself and

that he would not have believed it if he had not seen it by

himself. Saying this, the man left us.

My aunty was silent and sat down on a nearby bench. After an

hour of such profound silence, she looked at us and said,

“Girls, the reason that the old nun had Sharipu in her

ashes is because she had such a strong faith in the Buddha

and had attained an excellent practise of Buddhism, her heart

was filled with kindness and compassion.”

She looked at us and said, “I am sad not to be able to

see the nun again, but I am happy for her that she has found

peace.”

Even the next day, my aunty still seemed to be sad.

Jehanne asked me, “What are the Chinese people‟s thoughts

on religion and faith?”

“Predominantly, there are three religions in China which

has great influence on the Han people. They are Confucianism,

Taoism and Buddhism, whereas, on an average, now a day -

most Chinese people are atheists. Even though some of the

people have Buddhist beliefs, their faith is not strong” I said.


199

“Why is that?” Jehanne asked me.

“There are two major reasons. One is that the Chinese

people are becoming more materialistic and want to be very

practical in their religious beliefs; the second reason is very

political.” I said.

Jehanne‟s questioning eyes suggested that she wanted more

details.

“OK” I said, “Firstly, the Chinese pray to God for some

practical benefits, such as wanting to get rich, passing their

exam, getting married soon etc. When we Chinese fail to attain

such „Reasonable‟ rewards, then they do not bother to believe

in God. They fail to recognise that Buddhism is about liberating

ourselves from such materialistic thoughts and finding peace,

not wanting more and more possessions” Hearing this, Jehanne

nodded her head accepting what I said thoughtfully.

“How does Politics influence the Chinese people‟s

religious beliefs?” Jehanne questioned.

I said to her that it is a sensitive topic in China “Communistic

ideology does not allow religious beliefs. It is because

Communism is an ideology according to which there is no God

or Buddha in this world and that there is no need for the

existence of God. Chinese Government prefer its people to be


200

atheists and communists rather than be Buddhist, Muslim or

Christians.”

Jehanne was listening carefully and said, “I am sorry about that.

Is this propaganda also reflected in education?”

“Yes, most of our textbooks used in schools are

concerned about Marxism, Communism and General Mao and

not about moral or ethical values as the religions teach and

preach.” I said.

“It is sad how the Communist Government biases the

peoples‟ thoughts, religion and media to its own advantage.”

She replied. “Now I can understand why Andy referred to Tibet

as Xizang”.

She was correct, I thought to myself. But what can I do to

change the system? I do not know if any change is possible at

all.

“What is your view on faith?” Jehanne asked me. I was

expecting this question from her.

“For me, I do not have any religious belief, but after I

heard about the old nun and her story, I would like to have a

religious faith.”

Jehanne asked me why?


201

“Even though the old nun was poor and led a simple life,

she found happiness. Faith and warm-heartedness are all that

she had. After hearing her story I think that warm-heartedness

and strong faith could give us the persistence needed to

overcome life‟s challenges and to be happy” I said.

“You are correct. People who run after riches and fame

do not always experience happiness, but people who are warm-

hearted and those with strong faith are usually happy.

Materialistic People tend to search for happiness externally,

they seek happiness from other people to „Make them happy‟ or

material possessions. But others or material possessions does

not provide the happiness they are seeking because happiness

comes from within oneself not outside. This is something that

the old nun already knew – to seek happiness from within

ourselves”. She said giving me a hug.

The night was darkening outside, but I could see my heart

getting brighter as I thought over a lot of questions about myself.

Jehanne will return to Belgium in a couple of weeks‟ time, but

the conversations that we have been having had already

affected me a lot.

I could not sleep that night. I had hundreds of questions within

myself that I had to answer. Talking with Jehanne was like

questioning my own inner self. I had always wanted to serve


202

other people and wanted to be useful to society, but what have I

become now? I questioned myself further.

The Chinese way of living, search for money, social status,

wanting more luxury products, its politics, the communist

policies and the biased information from the media has driven

materialistic views deep into the heart of our Chinese society.

But will such a materialistic outlook bring real happiness to our

future? I do not think so.

We in China are usually looking for more; wanting to acquire

more, in terms of money, fame and power. In the dire search for

such riches, we lose our dreams and frequently our moral and

ethical values. In this way, we lose our sense of peace and

inner happiness.

My questions and reflections were getting deeper and deeper.

Such thoughts I know are not for a newlywed girl, but these are

important questions that I had to ask myself. Thanks to Jehanne,

my life might not be the same again.

Only one question lingered in my heart:

“What should I do differently from now on?”


203

Note:

This story is based on the various conversations that Consance and I had when she was studying at the University of Plymouth. Initially there were a lot of differences in our opinions and points of view. It is quite amazing how our friendship has evolved. The major strength of our friendship is that we were both open hearted. Bravo Mrs.Constance.

-Venkat.

Glossary (Constance Zhu)

List of Characters:

Constance – The author/story teller from China

Jehanne – A Belgian friend of Constance who comes to visit Constance.

Andy – Constance‟s husband

Aunty – Constance‟s aunty who is a friend of the old Nun

The old Nun – Friend of aunty and whose ashes has Sharipu.

Fill in the blanks:

1. Jehanne was unable to go out for a walk because the air was____________

2. Jehanne was not able to log onto YouTube or Facebook because of the ___________ of the media.


204

3. Jehanne was suffering from ___________ and needed to___________ because of the time difference between China and Belgium.

4. The monastery temple is located in the ________ Mountain. 5. After the old nun was cremated, _________ was found

amidst her________ Match the synonyms: 1) Furrow - A feeling of excitement 2) Enthusiasm - State or Announce 3) Exclaim - Frown 4) Predominant - Disorderly 5) Chaotic - Prevailing Match the antonyms: 1) Upload X Fall behind 2) Ban X Download 3) Progress X Approve 4) Gentle X Willing 5) Reluctant X Rough Answer the questions in 10 to 20 words: 1. What did Constance explain to Jehanne about the freedom of information in China? 2. What are the major religious beliefs of the Chinese people? 3. What is the reason for the monastery temples to be usually located in the mountains? 4. Write about the reasons why Constance‟s aunty became a Buddhist in faith? 5. What is Sharipu? At what condition can the Sharipu be found?


205

Answer in 100 to 150 words:

1. Write 10 different things that you have learnt about the Han people from this story.

2. Write about the friendship between the Aunty and the Nun.

3. Constance says “I could not sleep that night. I had hundreds of questions within myself that I had to answer.” What does she mean? What questions does she have in her mind?


1. Why do you think that this story has been included in this book?

Discuss with your friends and write an essay as a group on the reasons that I have written and included this story.


206

This word search is based on the story titled „In the Name of Frente‟ by Jason Searing.


207

Lakeside Survival John Cutts

Kii, the Osprey49 was hungry. She knew that her young

birds would be hungry too. She carefully scanned the lake with

her keen, mobile eyes. Her posture and the movements of her

head showed how eager she was to fly down to the lake but it

was beginning to get dark. It was too late for anymore fishing

tonight. Slowly and silently, with wings like ermine, a barn owl

drifted past the crag. With its night vision the owl was able to

pick out a vole on the shore of the lake below.

The Osprey sat still, covering the bony bodies of the chicks

beneath her.

Carefully, she nestled down and allowed herself to fall into a

silent sleep. She was woken by the sound of nearby crows

chattering noisily.

She felt the cool wind of the early dawn. The chicks were

hungry and they needed some fluid too. Although they were

eighteen days old they were still mostly skin and bone. Each

day, as they grew, their appearance was changing from fluff to

feathers.

49

A type of eagle that lives near a lake or a sea. This bird is also called as sea hawk or a fish eagle.


208

Kii looked left and right pictures formed in her primitive brain.

She gazed at the black ragged shapes of the rooks50, scouring

their surroundings as they left their nearby rookery looking for

an easy meal. She zoomed her focus forward and down and

spied a piece of cloth waving in the wind in the far distance

below. She swooped down landing just beside it. She reached

out with her claws and collected up a woolly jumper51 from Half-

way up the cliff. She jumped sideways tugging the woollen

fabric free and simultaneously opened her flight feathers wide.

Then, rising up on a thermal, she travelled swiftly and silently

back up towards her chicks that were waiting for her return.

The morning sun grew flaming hot, pouring warmth on to the

crag. With short neat movements Kii dragged the newly found

jumper across the nest making a kind of tent that would protect

her chicks whilst she was away. The young birds flapped about

helplessly under the cover of the wool.

Without a backward glance Kii leaped off the cliff-edge

swooping through the air and dropping down with great ease.

Gliding forward she made her way towards the far end of the

lake. From there the surface of the water below looked like a

huge liquid glass mirror. She dived down closer. She could see

50

Crow 51

Sweater


209

the moving shapes of fish below the surface. She turned and

swooped across the water low enough to reach down with her

scaly claws. The water splashed and rippled as the surface

broke open. But her talons were still empty.

She flew up and circled round to make a second pass. Had the

noise she had just made scared the fish away? No. The fish

were still there. Her final pass was perfect; the razor sharp

hooks of her talons flashed through the silvery water and

emerged with a salmon attached to her claws. This salmon was

so heavy that she had to climb in spirals to reach the top of the

crag where her chicks were waiting.

She circled up through the morning air, the world spinning

round her whilst holding a tight grip of her prey until she could

see the eyrie with the tent she had left earlier, protecting her

young.

She folded over her wings to drop down onto the nest. As she

wheeled round to home in, she saw a black jerky movement

down beside the tent-like jumper. She folded her wings back

closer to go into a dive.

Her steep drop gave her a clear view of a rook trying to drag

one of her chicks off the nest. Kii screamed out in fury at the

black shape and angled her wings to reduce her speed for

landing. The salmon suddenly struggled, and escaped her


210

grasp. The movement unbalanced Kii and she slipped sideways,

her body banking round like an aeroplane landing.

The fish fell free and dropped, spinning, and cannoning right

into the invading Rook which staggered back off the edge of the

cliff, letting go of the little Osprey chick. A crowd of fellow

robbing rooks buzzed past over them, screeching eerie calls

and cackles. The stunned little chick, escaping from the

marauding rooks on unsteady legs, had reached the cliff edge

and fallen about a metre below onto a lower ledge. Dazed it

was now crawling dangerously near the edge of this ledge.

Ka, the father of the chicks was down by the lakeside lazily and

contentedly eating an eel. He had flown miles that morning

dipping and wheeling in the bright early sunlight. He heard the

commotion on the cliffs above him and saw the crows

repeatedly diving around the crag where Kii and the young

chicks were.

Ka saw there was a problem. Ka rose and dived forward fast

into the breeze. Ka called to Kii. She flapped her wings and

called back in a distressed tone.

The rooks were undeterred by Kii as she was on her own. They

were mobbing the little Osprey chick on the ledge. Now Ka and

Kii were flying together.


211

Illustration: Veronika Trnovská

They flew up high and dived back down at great speed showing

they were masters of flight. The rooks flapped sideways to

avoid the plummeting Ospreys. Both the Ospreys repeatedly

soared and dived disturbing the flock of crows whose cries of

alarm echoed around the lake.


212

The crows did not like this unexpected expression of solidarity.

Ka dived powerfully through the ragged pack of bullies. His

flight path dipped up and down like a roller coaster ride as he

swooped towards the rook that was on the low ledge next to the

defenceless chick.

The rooks cried out angrily and hopped to one side to avoid

Ospreys knocking it off the ledge. The Ospreys determination to

protect their young intensified and the remaining rooks soon

realised they were no match for them. They fled back to their

rookery uttering their strange cries of dismay. The two Ospreys

went back to their eyrie at the top of the crag and stood guard

over their nest of young.

And so it was that peace and quiet was restored to the lakeside

that day.


213

Glossary

Synonyms:

1. Crag - Steep rock, cliff, mountain

2. Zooming - Moving from distance to close up

3. Swoop - A fast downward movement

4. Fabric - Cloth

5. Updraft - Air blowing upward from the sea below,

6. Jerky - Movement that is not smooth

Fill in the missing word(s):

1. The food given to the young birds is usually ____

2. Although the birds have very good sight, they cannot hunt at __________

3. When Kii left the nest to hunt, she protected the chicks with a ________________________

4. Kaa came back to the nest when ____________a commotion.

5. The Crows knew the Ospreys would strongly defend their young when the parent birds showed such ________and _________ as they were flying.

Match the following Synonyms

1. Robbers - Thermal

2. Talons - Thieves

3. Dive - Claws

4. Air current - Swoop

5. Salmon - A type of fish


214

Answer the following questions using 50 to 100 words

1. Why did Kii protect the young birds before leaving to hunt for food?

2. Why was it difficult for Kii to bring food back to the nest?

3. What difference did it make when both parents defended their chicks?

4. How did animals which you have watched behave?

Activity

Rewrite this story as if you are one of the chicks, or Kii, or Kaa or one of the crows. Read your story to others.


215

Under the December Rain

B.Venkat Prakash

Instead of me writing a story, I am going to give you all a

plot (Story line) two illustrations and some points related to the

plot. Based on all the above, I want you to write a story either as

a group or individually.

Plot: Paul is living in Paris. He is very depressed and he thinks

dreams do not come true and he thinks that life is not worth

living. One day, he reads about the story of „Madam Curie‟ and

gets inspired. He starts working towards his dreams and his

dreams come true. He walks happily in the December rain.

Points to note about Depression:

It is a psychological condition in which the person feels as if

they are worthless, empty and hopeless.

In extreme cases they might even commit suicide

Points about Madam Curie:

She is a very famous scientist who discovered elements

such as „Radium‟ and „Polonium‟. She discovered

Radioactivity and played a major in the development of

physics.

She was born in Poland and could not go to university there

as women were not allowed to go to Universities.


216

So she went to France and studied there

When she was studying, she lived in a very poor condition.

She did not have electricity, enough coal for heating the

room or even enough food to eat. She even fainted a few

times in hunger.

Even though she lacked a lot of basic facilities, she never

gave up her dreams and her love for science.

She always dreamt, believed in her dreams and never gave

up in spite of all the obstacles.

She won the Nobel prize twice.

Now based on the above points and the illustrations in the

next two pages, write your own story, create your own

characters, develop your own story, where and when did

the story take place etc.

This is a fun activity for you.


217

Illustra

tion: J

uste

Bu

tku

te


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Illustra

tion: J

uste

Bu

tku

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Guidelines for performing a

short story

Stefan Andersson

There are a few simple steps that you can follow to

create a performance/play out of the stories in the book. By

following these simple steps, you can create a play which will

enhance the understanding of the story even better.

The simple steps are:

1. Warm up before the start

2. Trail play with the story

3. Divide the story into parts or scenes

4. Identify roles and dialogues

5. Improvise with the story

6. Composition

7. Play with/ change the text

8. Perform the play

First have a complete understanding of the story.

In a short story, you often have,


220

An anonymous storyteller,

Few main characters/roles and

Some minor characters/roles.

Let us use „Ma Liang and the Magic Paintbrush‟ story as an

example.

Playing and releasing creativity are both a good way of making

art and learning.

1. Warm-Up

Before you start, I suggest that you all warm up together, both

physically and in voice. It‟s important to get ready and a warm-

up is a good way to focus as a group. You can, for example

(find your favorite ways): Play, dance to music, sing, talk, do

yoga, etc.

2. Trail play with the story

Read the text together as a whole group. I suggest that you

stand in a circle and read the story as a group.

When a character in the story has a line, whoever feels like

performing the role, it step in to the middle of the circle and play

that character. You can also perform movements and physical

sequences together. These actions can be like Ma Ling walking

or drawing in his cave or the wind blowing etc. Make sure that

everybody gets something to say and do, take care of each

other.


221

3. Divide the text in to parts or scenes

Now as a group, divide the story into scenes or parts. You can

either choose to work just a small part of the story or with the

full story on the whole.

Create different scenes for the story. A scene can be one

situation or a dialogue or what is happening in a certain place.

For example, Ma ling walking past a school and asking the

teacher for paint brush and the teacher refusing to give him can

be one scene.

Start working with something that you feel is easy and fun.

4. Identify roles and dialogues

In this short story, Ma Liang is the main character and the

landlord is also a big role, then we have the teacher as a minor

role and villagers and henchmen as background figures. And

the whole story is being told by an anonymous voice.

Similarly, you have to divide the stories into main characters,

minor characters and background figures. You can choose to

work with a storyteller, for example:

Storyteller: One day, Ma Liang walked past a school and saw a teacher painting with a brush. Without any consideration, Ma Liang just walked into the classroom and asked the teacher: Ma Liang: “I want to learn painting. Can I borrow a paint brush from you?”


222

Storyteller: The teacher glared at the shabby boy and sneered: Teacher: “What? A poor kid like you wants to learn painting? You must be daydreaming! Go away!” Storyteller: Quietly, Ma Liang walked away. He had just been snubbed by an adult but he remained composed and calm. In his mind he was thinking: “I just don't believe a poor child is not good enough to learn painting.” You can do the same scene as: Ma Liang, (to the audience): One day, I walked past a school and saw a teacher painting with a brush. Without any consideration, I just walked into the classroom and asked, (to the teacher): “I want to learn painting. Can I borrow a paint brush from you?” Teacher (to the audience): I glared at the shabby boy and sneered (to Ma Liang): “What? A poor kid like you wants to learn painting? You must be daydreaming! Go away!” Ma Liang (to the audience): Quietly, I walked away. I had just been snubbed by an adult but I remained calm. I thought: “I just don't believe a poor child is not good enough to learn painting.”

Or, you can also do it like:

Scene X, A classroom in a school: Ma Liang: Hello teacher, excuse me…. Teacher: Yes, who are you?


223

Ma Liang: “My name is Ma Liang and I want to learn painting. Can I borrow a paint brush from you?” Teacher: “What? A poor kid like you wants to learn painting? Ma Liang: Yes, I really want to learn that… Teacher: Look at you, you are so shabby, you must be daydreaming! Ma Liang: “I just don't believe a poor child is not good enough to learn painting.” Teacher: Enough. Go away! Do you see? Try to include a lot of actions/gestures in the play.

5. Improvise

Try to change the dialogues and add more emotions to the

story. According to what the character wants to do – (For

example: Borrowing a paint brush, helping the poor people etc.)

create your own way of expressing them.

6. Composition

When you have identified the scenes or parts of the story, (and

have practiced them) you can elaborate with shuffling them.

They don‟t need to be in the same order as the story. You can

have the ending first or anywhere else in the story. You can


224

also incorporate visual and physical scenes that you‟ve devised

from the story or that you feel connects to the material.

7. Use the text as inspiration

You can also use the situations in the story as inspiration for

creating other stories with similar themes, sense-moral or

politics. For example: A poor person or a person from a

minority group wants to achieve something, but due to

preconceptions from authorities the person is turned down, but

then has a meeting with someone and is being blessed with a

special gift etc.

8. Perform the play

Finally, make sure that you all know your roles, memorise the

dialogues and play in in front of an audience. Ask help from

your teachers and entertain others with different costumes

based on the characters.

Make sure that others understand your play. Perform the

play in both English and your own regional language.


225

Maps

Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

1.World map


226

2. Asia Political



227

3. Europe Political



228

4. Central America



229

5.South America



230

6.Tibet Map


231

About the Dreamers

Anna Csefalvay

I am from Slovakia and currently am studying in Wien. I love to ask questions of all sorts. The answers I believe are already around us. I love to listen. Everything and everyone has a story to tell, though in different ways and contexts, they all have something to share. I love reading others‟ stories weather happy or sad. I love to draw, to capture a moment of an endless story. That is what I have done in

my illustration. Capture moments of a long story.

Bozena Wielgoszewska

I am from Poland and moved to UK when I was 18 years old. I‟m currently working at the Plymouth University. I love to travel, enjoy meeting people from different walks of life and doing all kinds of extreme sports and activities. I wrote this story to draw attention to the fact that money can be easily and unfortunately be mistaken for

happiness. I think that instead of setting earning money as our life‟s objective, we should set our objective to be happiness and the rest will follow. Enjoy life, strive to be happy!

Mail: [email protected]


232

Catherine Hutchings

I was born in Shanbally, a little hamlet in Ireland, the second of seven children. I always wanted to be a writer but ended up doing all sorts of other things. I am a retired Nurse now. Now I live in a small coastal town called Penryn in the UK. I came here with my delightful husband Stuart, who is sadly dead now for five

years. He taught me a love of nature.

When Venkat revealed about the book 'Bright Dreams', I was very excited and my dream of becoming a writer surfaced back in me again. This story reminds me of how important it is for a person to know that they are being loved. I wish to read the stories from the Tibetan students one day. Mail: [email protected]

Chia-Hsun Chang

I am from Taiwan and I am currently a PhD candidate at the Plymouth Business School. My speciality is in shipping management, and I always feel excited when I visit some ports or vessels. It is amazing to see these big “Ships” in operation if you know there are almost 90% of international trade that are delivered by ships. Venkat is my best friend in Plymouth and I

am happy to write a story for Tibetan students when he had this idea. I have been to several countries for travelling and I think that will be a good idea if I can combine my story with my travel experience. Friendship is important for me, and I think no one can live without friends. Therefore, I hope my story can deliver my core thinking –


233

friendship – to you, and hope you will enjoy my story. Wish all of you can get several best friends in your life and learn how to company with them. Mail: [email protected]

Constance Zhu

I am from central China. I am an opened-minded person and I like befriending people from different countries. It offers an opportunity to know other cultures and traditions.

It is my honour to know you all Tibetan students through this book. I know you are far from your family and Tibet for many political reasons. I know that there are many issues between Chinese Government

and Tibet. There are many misunderstanding between Han people and you Tibetans. Maybe I can do something to clear few of the misunderstandings. When Venkat told me his idea about the book, I accepted to it immediately. I am very willing to make friends with you all lovely people there. I hope you all are doing well in India. I pray that the Buddha will bless you and your family. I believe that Buddhism gives you strong faith to conquer any difficulties.

“Where there is a will, there is a way!” Mail: [email protected]

Danica Pistekova

I am from Slovakia. I love architecture even

though I don´t understand it sometimes.

When I see a building, it is not just what we

see. It is a science, it is an art, and it is like a

crossword, which you can´t leave unfinished.

One thing I would like to say is never give up your dreams and desires, fight and go for it.


234

Read a lot and be open to the world and the many ideas. Listen to yourself, follow your heart and question everything. This book, I would say was a part of my journey in which I have tried to follow my dreams.


Danny Tan

Warm greetings to you all from Malaysia, I am Malaysian but of Chinese origin. I studied Civil engineering at the University of Plymouth, UK where I met Venkat. We were house mates for two years during which he noticed my love for illustration.

My love for illustration began during my childhood, by the graphic novel „Manga‟. Ever since, my love for illustration has gradually

turned to passion. I am glad and thankful to all of you for the opportunity to participate and express my passion in such a meaningful project. Finally, I hope that this book will be of some use to improve and educate the Tibetan students not only in terms of language but also enhance and broaden their perspective of the world.


David Skinner

I'm an artist, graphic designer and music producer. I live in Saltash, Cornwall in the UK. I was approached by a good friend of mine and colleague of Venkat's, Tony Toller. He asked if I would be interested in doing an illustration for a book of short stories. He explained what Venkat was putting together and I was happy to oblige for such a worthy cause. The story I was allocated to illustrate was Ma Ling and the magic

paint brush, about a Chinese boy and a magic paint brush that makes everything come to life.


235

Deepak Dharan Padmini

I am from India and currently I work with the

International Centre at the Plymouth University. I

look after the administration of the English

Language Centre within the Plymouth Business

School. I am a strong believer of „Empowerment

through education', I think that with the right level

of support and hard work, all of us can develop

our skills and intellect. I wish this book will help

you all to get ready for your lifelong learning Journey.

Jana Rajnohova

I have just graduated in Marine Biology and

Coastal Ecology. I love exploring the world,

meeting new people and sharing the experience! I

am always very passionate about what I am doing

and make sure I can achieve my aims. Sometimes

choosing difficult, challenging paths is much more

rewarding and enjoyable for me than those easy ones. During

summer, I love enjoying myself in the waters of the Bahamas (my

adopted home) where I work in shark research & conservation. I

believe that the sharing of knowledge and the experience is the key

towards progressive education.

Hope you will enjoy my story about the beauties of the “Magic” trees

called mangroves and will fall in love with them as much as I did

several years ago. Mail: [email protected]


236

Jason Searing

I am an educator from London, England I work and set up projects within a variety of educational settings, mostly with young people. I have lived in Spain, Greece, Israel, Hong Kong, Thailand and most recently in Nicaragua where I have been involved in environmental projects. My recent experience in Nicaragua and passion for encouraging people to see themselves and their world in a new light inspired me to write my

story. My favourite interests are spending time in nature, sharing food and laughing. I also love riding motorcycles off road and enjoy meditation and yoga. I am currently continuing my research in holistic and spiritual education. Mail: [email protected]

Jianbin Zhou

Hello to all Tibetan students, my Chinese name is

Jianbin Zhou (Ben) and from southern China. I

have known Venkat for a long time, and when I

knew he is going to publish a story book for Tibetan

students to improve their English, I thought that was

a great idea as English is an international language.

It is an advantage if you can speak fluent English to both of your life

and career, this is my feelings when I got a chance to study and live in

UK, language is very important. At last, hope all you Tibetan students

can enjoy this book and have a good life.


237

John Cutts

All through my life, the natural world around us has held a fascination for me. In my middle years I embarked on a life with horses. Now a student of Alexander Technique at a college in Devon, England, I work as a part time as a Trainer of Clean Language and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

I have worked as a teacher, riding instructor and change consultant - using NLP and other techniques to allow people to shed unhelpful behaviours.

I am also a keen amateur musician with a continued interest in classical guitar.

Juste Butkute

I live in Lithuania, in Klaipėda city, near the Baltic Sea. I‟m 17 years old and am studying in gymnasium. I still am not sure what I would like to do in my future, but am sure that I am going to link it with art. During my free time I spend in a theatre “Rozete” and the youth club.

I came to know about Venkat from my Theatre director Simona. He attended my drawing premier in Lithuania and invited me to join in this book and asked me to create some Illustrations. I am glad that I could contribute my skills and opportunities for the Tibetan students. I hope that this book will give you all as good an experience as I got. Mail: [email protected]


238

Karthikeyan P.S.

Hi Friends! I Am Karthik from India. I have just finished my Masters in Networking from the Plymouth University, UK. I should thank you all, along with my friend Venkat for giving me this wonderful opportunity of being able to be a part of this book. Ever since I started working on this book, I have gained a whole lot of knowledge about

different cultures and experiences of friends from different background.

Hope this book helps you in all the ways to develop your knowledge and creative skills. Be curious my friends. Keep on asking questions even if it is silly, because even the great laws of gravity were discovered by a silly question that came to the mind of Newton “Why did the apple fall on my head?”Mail: [email protected]

Kelsang Pawo

I am a Buddhist monk and founder of the „Gesar Foundation for children‟. I believe in the potential of prosperity for all living beings and think action is greater than prayer. Though we all pray for the happiness and success of others it is our actions on behalf of those in need that truly counts and makes an immediate difference. Wisdom and compassion are of little use without action where it is needed. It is our human responsibility to help where we are able and to be patient where we are not.

It is my wish for this book to be of great use and comfort to the Tibetan children who read and learn by it. May all living beings know the causes of happiness and find success and prosperity in their lives. Bless you all and remember the virtue of patience. Mail: [email protected]


239

Lamenda Kingdon

I was a Teacher who has worked with people

of all ages. I specialised in helping people to

overcome their difficulties in learning to read

and write. For seven years I was in Charge of

a unit for children with Dyslexia and later in my

career I was in charge of a unit for Profoundly

Deaf Teenagers. In April 2011, I shared my

research findings on optimistic mind-set with the Professors and

Students in South India. I was accompanied on this amazing tour by

my colleague John Cutts.

I now teach Applied Neuro Lingustic Programming as a means of helping people overcome adversity to achieve their potential. Mail: [email protected]

Marianna Maczova

My name is Marianna which is a name made out of Mary and Anna, two common names in Slovakia, a small country in the centre of Europe where I am from. I am an architecture student. Once I travelled to Rome to look at the architecture over there, to look and learn about the European history, which is very well conserved in the buildings of Rome. That is where the illustration I have drawn is placed. I

hope my picture will help you to travel as far as you wish to, using your imagination. Mail: [email protected]


240

Marie-Stephanie Cahart

I am studying economics and psychology at the Sorbonne University in Paris. I have always been very interested in understanding human beings in a deeper level and in learning from them. Editing this book was an opportunity for me to share something meaningful with you all. I hope that this book will give you a better understanding about various cultures of the world, more

vocabulary in English and imaginative skills. I wish to have the opportunity to know more about you all one day.

Naveen Bolla

I am from Andhra-Pradesh in India. I completed my masters in Network systems engineering at the Plymouth University in UK. I am very happy to be a part of this amazing book. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to utilise my skills for the benefit of the Tibetan students. This is the first time that

I am writing something like this for a book. Hope that you all enjoy the stories. Mail: [email protected]

Simona Skliutaite

I am a 24 years old and director of a theatre called „Rozete‟ in Lithuania, a very beautiful country near The Baltic Sea. I‟m working with young people where we do a lot of activities such as acting, improvising and playing on the stage. So, creativity and imagination are important things in our activity. I‟m glad that my piece of work will help you to find your creativity and imagination – the most important things in any person‟s life.


241

I was inspired to contribute to this book my dear friend Venkat

Prakash, when he visited Lithuania. His history about you excited me

a lot. Thank You for opportunity to be a part of this book. Mail:

[email protected]

Stefan Andersson

I am from Sweden. I work as a theatre-maker, performer, director, and also hold workshops and courses in my field. My particular interest is devising a performance from a theme that interests me, with a group or as solo. I‟ve studied theatre and performing at schools in Sweden and in the U.K. I live in Gothenburg, Sweden. I‟m very interested

in politics and philosophy. I believe that theatre can affect and transform both individuals and societies. In this book I‟ve written the guidelines in how to perform a short story.

Tinta Fina

I'm from Barcelona, Spain. It's a very nice Mediterranean city full of colours and a lot of opportunities to meet very different and interesting people with crazy stories.

This is the "World" I wish to reflect whenever I am illustrating and it was the same sensation I had whilst working for this project from a distance. That is what I love about it, all communications were made online.

I finished my degree in fine arts 2010 at the University of Barcelona and did an Erasmus in Plymouth. I am now a masters and research student and am working with renowned artists


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Tony Toller

My name is Tony Toller. I live in Cornwall, England and work as a music teacher at Plymouth College. This is where I met Venkat as we were both studying teacher training at the same time. What a guy!

During teacher training, Venkat noticed that I am always doodling in my notebook and approached me to get involved with the book by contributing some illustrations.

Venkat‟s kind and generous nature was my inspiration to get involved with this exciting project, of which I am very proud to be part of.

I really hope you all enjoy the book and hope that the stories and drawings bring you joy!

Veronika Trnovska

I am from a small country in the middle of Europe called Slovakia. I am currently studying architecture. I love hiking, the time when trees are blooming, and exploring of unidentified objects. My whole self is filled with Dreams. A secret Dream is to be a book illustrator. I always thought that it was not going to come true, but thanks to this book „Bright Dreams‟ my Dream comes true. This is my first illustration ever!

I hope that this book will help you to get closer to your dreams as well as it has done for me. Mail: [email protected]


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Vinay Vivekananth:

I am a Product Designer graduated from Indian Institute of Science. I am from south India. Venkat and I studied under-graduation together and that is how we know each other. I am very passionate about design and have worked on numerous innovative design projects. I am very glad to be involved in the making of this book.

When Venkat asked me to design the front cover for this book, it took me a long time to

think of a design that would bring together elements of Tibetan students, Bright Dreams and Short Stories together. I have tried my best and hope you all enjoy it. If there is be any opportunity for me to help you in design, please feel free to contact me. Mail: [email protected]

Xavier Quernin

I am from Paris and I attained a State Diploma of Specialist Educator in 2008. I have spent seven months in Quebec (Canada) and then two years at Nantes, in L'Arche communities. There I accompanied young people with intellectual disabilities in their daily life and living with them in a home.

Currently I am in charge of the mission of the disability Institute „Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais‟. As such it supports students with disabilities so that they are well integrated into the school process and student life on campus. My first novel, Journey of a young geek was published in November 2012.

Tibetan students can contact me if they are interested.

Mail: [email protected].


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Zofia Dobrakowska

I am from Poland. I am a Photography student at the College of Art in Plymouth, UK. I have a strong passion for portraiture, documentary and wedding photography.

I have decided to write the story, so you could find out more about someone like you, someone with hopes, dreams,

desires, someone who have been failing, falling down, and keep getting up again. Never look back. Look to the future, look straight up to the sun. Look up for miracles, and they will happen.

The most important of all for me is to be in peace with myself.


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Index:

Adorable, 6 Afford, 31, 101, 105 Afghanistan, 24 Agreement, 49 Air, 12, 20, 24, 26, 33, 35,

51, 58, 65, 93, 96, 188, 203, 208, 209

Alcohol, 103 Alfred, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87,

89 Aliens, 65, 69 Amphitheatre, 146 Angry, 36 Anna, 1 Anticipation, 47 Anxious, 106 Apology, 41 Appreciate, 106, 114, 117 Approve, 50, 55 Architecture, 142, 145, 233,

239, 242 Argentina, 135, 141, 151 Argue, 182 Asparagus, 86, 89 Astronaut, 46, 61, 68 Atlantic islands, 141 Atmosphere, 57, 111, 114 Attic, 1, 2, 8, 16, 17 Attribute, 180 Aunty, 1, 2, 8, 11, 17, 192 Avalokitesvara, 191 Awe, 48, 111 Badger, 117

Bahamas, 4, 7, 12, 17, 235 Baritone, 118, 122, 126 Basilica, 144 Beach, 13, 14, 85, 109, 110,

116 Behaviour, 7, 20, 41, 104 Beijing, 185 Belgium, 185, 186, 189,

201, 204 Bhutan, 138 Bill boards, 24 Blacksmith, 175, 177, 182,

183, 184 Boa snakes, 11 Bordeaux, 86, 89 Breathe, 51 Brick and cement, 93 Bright, 33, 43, 62, 78, 210 Brook, 191 Bull sharks, 6 Bumper, 20 Burgundy, 111 Busy, 20, 24, 72, 75, 111,

112, 115 Button, 55 Buzz, 20 Calm, 4, 21, 32, 40, 191 Cambridge university, 166 Camembert, 86 Cancer, 108, 109, 115 Canoe, 89, 90 Care-home, 79, 80, 81, 82,

88, 89, 90


246

Caribbean reef shark, 6 Cashier, 108 Castle, 124 Champagne, 101 Cheer, 111, 190 Chemical fuel, 48 Children, 15, 19, 73, 91, 97,

98, 123, 179, 182, 188, 190, 194

China, 31, 185, 187, 190, 204

Cholera, 156 Clever, 2 Clown, 85 Coastal environment, 11 Cobwebs, 2 Colossal, 40 Community, 15 Compassion, 19, 26, 191,

198 Competition, 103 Conceal, 21 Concept, 62 Conch, 11, 14 Confidence, 156 Consciousness, 74, 77 Contemplation, 73, 192 Continents, 73 Contrast, 26, 105, 191 Couch, 178 Countryside, 117, 121 Creativity, 180, 181 Creole, 163 Crotchety, 117 Cunning, 121

Curiosity, 188 Curious, 1, 2, 4, 17, 19, 74,

192, 193, 238 Dalai lama, ix, xiv, 2, 19, 25,

26 Decorate, 85 Defend, 92, 96 Delicious, 8, 36, 49, 97, 106,

194 Demolish, 93 Density, 188 Destination, 20, 26 Devastation, 159 Disabled, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85,

86, 87, 88, 89, 90 Dominate, 73 Dream, iii, xiv, 32, 33, 43,

56, 78 Dumplings, 186 Earth, 50, 51, 56, 57, 59, 60,

61, 62, 64, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 180

Earthquake, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168, 172, 173

Eel, 210 Elegantly, 83 Endangered species, 11 Energy, 94 Engineer, 81, 88 England, 101, 118, 180 Enthusiasm, xiv, 49, 190 Envelope, 107


247

Environment, 8, 11, 15, 23, 104

Epidemic, 156 Equipment, 48, 49, 57, 71,

176 Ermine, 207 Escort, 104 Excellent, 5, 85, 105, 198 Expectation, 26 Expensive, 101 Experience, 13, 44, 50, 71,

74, 90, 185, 201 Experiments, 46, 71 Fabien, 80, 83, 87, 88, 89 Favourite, 50, 55, 106, 109 Fervent, 56 Fisherman, 13, 17 Float, 57 Flora, 155 Flourish, 89 Forest, 13, 32, 92, 96 Forge, 175 French, 81, 86, 163 Friday, 24 Friendship, 41, 81, 86, 195 Frustration, 21 Galaxy, 67 Garden, 79, 175, 179, 180,

183 Genius, 49 Gestures, 91 Giggled, 45 Glad, 45, 107, 110 Glenamaddy, 178 Globule, 58

Gravitational force, 57 Great white shark, 6 Groomed, 85 Grotesque mask, 21 Haiti, 155 Hamlet, 178, 183 Hammer head shark, 6 Happy, 15, 16, 38, 46, 49,

72, 87, 97, 101, 106, 110, 111, 112, 121, 123, 127, 128, 177, 182, 183, 198, 201

Herve, 79, 80, 88, 89, 90 History, 24, 239, 241 Hobby, 103 Homework, 46 Honesty, 83 Hong kong, 187, 190 Hostel, 81, 82, 85, 86, 87,

88, 89, 195 Hubei, 190 Humanity, 87 Hungry, 72, 97, 98, 99, 114,

193, 194, 207 Hurricanes, 12, 14 Husband, 109, 110, 180 Hypogeum, 147, 149, 151 Illegible, 2 Imagination, 181, 182, 192 Impermanence, 24, 114 Incident, 94 Independent, 91 India, 138, 233, 235, 238,

239, 240 Indonesia, 138


248

Information, 6, 189, 202, 204

Inspiration, xiii, xiv Interest, 48, 61 Ireland, 178 Italy, 133, 135, 136 Jacmel, 158, 160, 161, 163,

164, 173 Jane, 155 Japan, 137 Jehanne, 185 Jewellery, 103 Journey, 19, 51, 52, 75, 87,

101, 191 Joy, 185 Jupiter, 64, 67, 68 Justice, 135 Juveniles, 12 Kii, 207 Kill, 36, 73 Laboratory, 46, 47, 49, 53,

76 Lagoon, 14 Landlord, 35 Lantern festival, 139 Lazy, 91, 92, 97, 98 Lemon shark, 5 London, 19, 20, 26, 27 Luxury, 103 Ma fannon, 178 Ma liang, 220, 221, 222,

223 Mad, 120 Magnetic field, 48 Magnificent, 117, 192

Malaria, 160 Mangrove, 1, 2, 11, 12, 13,

14, 15 Mars, 64, 67, 68 Meadow, 122 Melancholy, 25, 124, 125,

126 Milky way, 52 Miserable, 117, 121, 130 Monastery, 191, 192, 193,

204 Moon, 48, 50, 51, 53, 67,

68, 78 Mountain, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38,

40, 117 Naughty, 178, 183 Neighbour, 81, 175 Noise, 20, 209 Numerous, 2, 55, 61 Nursery, 11 Obey, 35, 36 Ocean, 5, 15, 38, 39 Orion constellation, 51 Ornaments, 80 Osprey, 207, 210 Overwhelmed, 87, 107 Paddington station, 19 Paintbrush, 31 Pantheon, 145 Paradise, 13, 156 Paris, 80, 89, 90 Pavement, 133 Peace, vii, 25, 112, 193,

198, 199, 202, 212, 244 Pessimist, 117


249

Philippines, 138 Physics, 45 Placid, 83 Planet, 68, 73, 74, 75 Pleasant, 23 Politics, 73, 202 Polluted, 188 Pope, 144 Port-au-prince, 155, 158,

173 Posture, 207 Practise, 32 Precious, 40 Pregnant, 5 Pressure, 51 Presume, 24, 102, 108, 180 Princess, 124 Private, 46 Proud, 46, 49 Purchase, 105 Qualms, 49 Radiation, 51 Rag and bo, 121 Recollect, 33 Reflection, 21, 27 Relief, 40 Reluctant, 157, 190 Righteousness, 35 Rocket, 47, 48, 49, 53, 54,

55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76, 77

Roman colosseum, 142 Rome, 133, 134, 136, 141,

142, 143, 145, 151, 239 Rooks, 208, 210, 212

Royal albert hall, 25 Rubble, 158, 159, 168, 169 Ruins, 142 Salmon, 209 San francisco, 155 Satisfaction, 25 Saturn, 64, 67, 68 Sawfish, 11 Seaside, 87 Seine, 80 Shabby, 31 Shallow, 5, 7, 103, 122 Shanbally, 178, 180, 182 Shanghai, 187, 190 Sharipu, 196, 198, 204 Sharks, 1, 2, 11 Sheena, 1 Shore, 5, 13, 207 Sibling, 91 Sincere, xiii, xiv, 86 Slender, 47 Snorkel, 2, 12 Solar power, 48 South america, 7 South korea, 138 Space, 45, 51, 55, 61, 71,

76 Spacesuit, 50, 51, 54 Sprain, 165 St. Peter‟s square, 144 Stable, 36 Stars, 51, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64,

65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 75 Stock, 105 Storms, 12


250

Straw, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97 Stupid, 45, 71, 73 Success, 75 Sullen, 79 Surprise, 5, 35, 49, 57, 82,

104, 108, 117, 126, 176, 187, 195

Surrounding, 14, 104 Susan, 155 Taiwan, 134, 135, 137, 138,

139, 140 Tap tap, 161 Taxi, 46, 47 Temperature, 12, 51 Tent town, 161 The galaxy cluster, 67 The milky way, 67 The solar system, 67 The traffic, 23 Tibet, vii, 138, 187, 188,

200, 233 Tiger shark, 6 Tiramisu, 137 Traffic, 20, 23, 188 Treasure, 16 Trisomia, 79, 88 Turquoise, 111 Twitch, 126 United kingdom, 178 Universe, 67, 71 Uranus, 64, 67, 68

Vacuum, 51 Variola, 166, 167, 168, 169,

171, 172, 173 Vatican, 143, 144 Venatios, 146 Vietnam, 138 Village, 28, 33, 35, 42, 56,

75, 123, 124, 127, 128, 175, 183

Vintage, 102 Virgin mary, 180 Visible, 36, 61, 62, 120, 129 Waitress, 103, 104, 105,

115 Wallet, 101, 108 Warm-hearted, 201 Waterwheel, 35 Wiggle, 35 Window, 31, 37, 51, 56, 75,

78, 185 Winter, 36, 91, 186 Wisdom, 25 Wolf, 33, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98,

99 Woodland, 117, 121, 122 World, 12, 20, 81, 101, 111,

199, 209, 234, 235, 237, 241

Xizang, 187, 200 Zebra shark, 6


251

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