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ISSUE 36
MAY 8, 2020
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EVER
WONDERED
HOW DRAGONS E TH
R DE E W O R LO NP T P U LO G EX A OF GI Y D R TO SIR HIS H T WI
CAME TO BE?
E TH
Y WA E T SI US VI CA S T' N GIA
T OU NG B FI A F I SN AD E B R M S BO AT R E TH
FOLKTALE
In a small village in China, lived a boy named Chi Yu with his mother. They lived in a tiny house surrounded by lovely green meadows covered with fresh, green grass. Every morning Chi Yu would go out in the meadows, cut the green grass and put it in a basket. He would then take it to the farmer Hieun Tse, who fed his cows with it. In return, Chi Yu got a jar of rice from the farmer. Suddenly, there were no rains in the region for two years in a row. All the green grass of the meadow turned brown and dry. Chi Yu looked everywhere for
How Dragons Came to Be
understood that the bead was the reason behind this miracle. He was very kind so he shared the rice with the entire village. All the people in the village were happy except for the farmer. His cows were starving without the grass
a single blade of grass anywhere. One day while searching for grass, he noticed a patch of fresh green
Chi Yu all his money, farm and house in exchange for the bead. But, Chi Yu did not agree. Hieun Tse, then, decided to steal the bead of gold. One night, while Chi Yu was sleeping, the farmer quietly entered his house and was about to steal the jar when Chi Yu woke up at the sound. Chi Yu rushed to the jar and swallowed the bead immediately. Chi Yu still did not feel better; he became hotter and hotter and
cut the green grass and took it to the farmer. Every day he would come there and cut the grass and it would grow back the next morning. A few days later, while slashing the grass he noticed a small shiny golden bead in the grass. Fascinated by its beauty, he took it home and hid it in an empty rice jar. The next day, he was surprised to see that the empty jar
out of his mouth. Chi Yu did not realize that it was an extremely unwise thing to do. The bead started burning inside him and he felt extremely thirsty. He drank up all the water in the house. He then drank up all the water from all the houses of the village. He then drank up all the water from the pond. He emptied the lakes and swallowed
live in the village and had to go far far away.
Match the missing pieces of the puzzle
2
Sam Visits the Giant's Causeway Discover A New Place
I’m working on my Irish accent! I’m at the Giant’s Causeway, or Giant’s Causey, as it’s called here, in the County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Made up of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, this is the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom as well as a UN World Heritage Site. It also happens to be an extremely popular tourist attraction. The structure is estimated to have been formed around 50-60 million years ago, due to severe volcanic activity and subsequent cooling down. Not that this in itself isn’t interesting enough, but the place has an even more interesting legend associated with it. Legend has it that the columns are actually the remnants of a causeway built by a giant. The Irish giant Finn MacCool -
lar with tourists ever since. There are plenty of interesting structures to see here, including the very innovatively designed Giant’s Causeway Visiting Centre, which blends perfectly with the landscape. It boasts beautiful glass walls supported by basalt columns, with award winning interior design. There
i nstant noddles are tasty but not
healthy!
spot ten differences
4
Unscramble the Letters to Name The Activity
Tickle your
funny
Why can't dragons play ice hockey? If they breathe fire, the ice melts.
Knock, knock! Who's there? Dragon! Dragon who?
bone
Why are dragons good storytellers? They all have tails.
AMUSING NEWS In Cambodia, rats are extensively being used to replace canines as
out landmines which could be deadly if touched by humans!
Pondering Corner
Do Dragons Exist?
Stories of dragons have existed since the time stories were told. Dragons generally are said to
nounced 'drakon' is from the Iliad by Homer.The Europeans early on thought of them as sea creatures and had maps depicting them waiting to eat unsuspecting sailors at the edge of the Earth. Generally, the dragons were thought of as bringers of destruction and terror often depicting them as hoarders of treasure or maidens or both. At the other side of the planet the Japawisdom, prosperity and good luck. Japanese dragons are water deities and celestial beings associated with rainfall and bodies of water and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and ausAncient people may have discovered dinosaur fossils and understandably misinterpreted them as the remains of dragons. Chang Qu, a Chinese historian from the 4th century B.C., mislabeled such a fossil and gave credibility to the myth of dragons. In a small town in Austria, they mistook the skeleton of the ancient Rhino and called it a dragon. A statue of a dragon still stands in the middle of the town square.
a comic story
sir dig-a-lot
History of Gunpowder On a Wednesday night Sir Dig-a-Lot was sitting with Rohan thinking about the next lesson he should teach Rohan. When he finally thought of a topic he said “I have told you about war and the superpowers, strong dynasties and great battles, dangerous weapons and nuclear bombs, do you know the history of the first chemical explosive?” Rohan jumped excitedly “No! But tell me!”
Sir Dig-a-Lot spoke “Gunpowder was discovered by the Chinese as the first chemical propellant. It is popularly listed as one of the four great inventions of the Chinese. For many years gunpowder was the only explosive warfare chemical. The invention of gunpowder was perhaps made by the Tang dynasty, about which I'll talk about later.
8
As a result of conquests and wars, the knowledge of making gunpowder spread to other parts of the world. It was only used as a fumigant to kill insects or to treat skin diseases, before its use in weapons which happened only in the 15th century. The development of gunpowder had begun during the Han dynasty but the studies were only completed by the Tang.
Initially gunpowder was used in rockets made out of bamboo tubes and launched with bows. It was only later that the Chinese realized that the tubes could launch themselves on their own when gunpowder was lit and gas escaped.”
“The gunpowder was further developed by the Arabs and in Europe and India. It used in firearms, cannons and huge guns in the 17th century by the Mughals. Hyder Ali, the price of Mysore, developed rockets further using metal pipes which were popularized further by his son Tipu Sultan.
9
Apart from weapons, gunpowder was later realized to be useful in many other domains such as mining, building canals and building tunnels. The first canal to be built with large scale use of gunpowder was Canal Du Midi in France.”
“Gunpowder was replaced with sophisticated explosives like mercury, later. There were several problems with the use of gunpowder in weapons. Moisture from the air would make it unusable. The loading of gunpowder was a clumsy process. Development of bullets or cartridges made it easier to use gunpowder in weapons.”
“That was an interesting lesson on the beginning of weapons in warfare. I guess I should sleep now.” said Rohan. “Well said Rohan! Good Night” said Sir Dig-a-Lot as he left.
10
stories in rhyme
THE RAT AND
THE OYSTER
A rat of little wit, Once grew tired of his father’s house, And quietly left it. Set out to travel, left his hole, And he said just as soon as he was out, “How large and spacious on the whole Is this great country spread about. Here are the Apeninnes, and there Caucasus.” The smallest mole hill is a mountain. At the end of some days our traveller arrives At a certain canton where every oyster thrives, And our famed traveller turned very pale, Thinking he saw great vessels setting sail “Mercy,” said he, “My father was a dunce, He did not dare to travel even once, While I have seen already, The maritime empire, And travelled to my heart’s desire.” From a certain learned man, The rat had heard of such things, And thinks he has seen all he can. Among the many oysters closed, There was one open, which reposed, Mouth gaping, in the sun, The learned, travelled man, The rat, approached, thinking to make An excellent feast, and began to take Whereupon closing on our rat, The oyster caught him tight And held him with all its might. An so we know that those mistake, Who think that all they know: When knowing nothing of the world, Their giddy brain is quickly whirled. And hence this moral let us make, That he is caught, who thinks to take.
11
The elves of Winterdrop Land always feared one thing above all else. Dragons. They were known to have a sharp eyesight which could spot an elf from miles away. Then they would quickly swoop down and pick up the elves; who were never to be seen again. Early one morning, an elf named Ila was searching for wood, wandering through the forest. As she was walking, she stumbled into a large, dark brown tree trunk. She gasped when she realized it wasn't a tree trunk, but a sleeping dragon!
Complete
the Story...
fun facts
with Hamlet the Hamster To know or not to know,
that is the question! Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
Facts about Rats A rat can go longer than a camel without having a drink of water. When happy, rats have been observed to chatter or grind their teeth. This is often accompanied by vibrating eyes. Rats’ tails help them to balance, communicate and regulate their body temperature. The rat is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
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Help the Dragon Find the Coins
The Team Editor
Assistant and Copy Editor
Aryaa Naik Dalmiya
Contributing Writers Kaniz Fatima Khan
Priyanka Garegat
Deepti Raavi
Ekta Bhatnagar
Raunaq Amarnani
Rituparna Chatterjee
Archana Rajagopal
Content
Lavanya Khare
Layout and Design Walmik Pawar
Artists
Kalpana Siromani
Amol Padwal Shailendra Havane Sujith VS
Distribution
Rohini Dusane Sitanshu Bhartiya Atul Wankhade
Digital Marketing
Archana Rajagopal Bharat Pillai
Dnyanesh Thombre
Tushar Rokade
Prashant Kini Shekhar Ramaiah
Creator Jesh Krishnamurti
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