Animal Tales by Liberal Party

ANIMAL TALES by

MADI{UBHASHINI DISANAYAKA

Illu str a te d by BANDUL A PIERIS

Published by the

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BC/CIDA,/E-ASL' .. J u n io r Re a d e r s"' Pr o je ct

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O B C/ CI DA , / E A S L J u n io r

Chief Editor:

Re a der s P r o je c t

Nir m a li He ttia r a ch ch i

Editorial

Team: M a d h u b h a sh in i Disa n a Yaka

Editorial

Board: Nih a l Co o r a y Nir m a li He ttia r a ch ch i Ra jiva Wije sin h a

M a la th i T h a lg o d a p itiya

ISBN 9 5 5 - 9 0 5 5 - 2 4 - 0

Animal Talesis at the fifth level of the Learning English . , seriespublishedby the Junior ReadersProjectof the tsritish Council,the CanadianInternationalDevelopmentAgency ' of Sri Lanka. and the EnglishAssociation i.

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CONTENTS

P age

Foreword

The Little Frog anclthe Swans

Friends in Need

LosesSelf Control The Uguduwa

FOREHORD I has, in In recent years the British Counci collaboration with the Canad'ianInternational Development Agencyor the Engli sh. Assoc'iationof Sri Lanka, produceda readers for studentsof English. The numberof supplementary jmmense popularity of these books can be seen f,romthe fact that they have gone into second or third ed'itions. This 'ind'icatesthe increasing demand for English in all areas of needfor suchmaterjal. the country and the tremendous Sjnce most reacl'ingmaterial producedelsewhereis relatively expensjvethe maiority find it difficult to buv what they require. Therefore the ma'lnprinciple underlying these publications has been that they should be affordable whiIe being aS attraCtive and "user-friendly" aS possible. These books are clesigned to appeal to senior st'udentsand young adults. They have been prepared with simpl'ified vocabulariesand sentencestructures and the subiect matter is carefully selected to be of a standardthat woulclhold the'iri nterest. As recent evaluat-ionsjn the ffi.in.istryof Eclucation have madecl ear there i s al so a need for su'itable material for youngerstudents. Wjth the increasingdesire for tnglish manystudents approachthe subiect for the first time in an environmenti n which Engl'ish Seemsal'ien. I t i s essential that learn.ingaids be madeavailable as wjdely as possible for them. It is to cater to such needsthat very basic readers have been devjSed, using words and s'ituations that have a ring of familiarity. Vjvid illustrations have been used to 'is that young enhancea senseof readTngrecognit'ion.The aim students should, from the start, be able to feel that the 4

langu agis e n ot a rem ot egoal, but r at her an ins t r um e ntth a t relatese asily to the ir o\ , vcnonc er ns . Samples of these bookshave beentnialled in remote efeas of the country such as Amparaiand Monenagala to ensure thBt thev will suit the most Bressingrequirementsnor,u" The enthusi astj c responseconfrrms the urgency of havjng *gfy l able, and !{e are grateful to Wch pateriai s readj l y ava-i the educat,i on of f i cers and the teachersurhoassi sted i n the trial, It shouldbe notedthat these bccksay"enot substitutes f,or texts but supplementary readers jntendecjto develop and sustajn jnterest. Glossarjesare providecjai_ the end o.f each chapter to assist learners with words that might 'injtial ly be unfami I aj r " Though some books contajn questions and suggesti ons for usageby t,eachei"s , j t cailnot be suff j cj enil y stressed that enjoyment, and ent,eri,ai nme:l-"should be thejr mainpurpose. The books are designedat five levels as indicated on the covers, The age of target groupsis howeverflexjble, and students and teachers should makeuse of books in terms of particular nequjrements, not as part of a general poljcy. As students' at5iI i ty i ncreases they shouI d of course n. encouragedto re'ad {nore, Later books 'in the seri es make uSe of adaptationsoir tales that have provedperennjally popular to developindivitlual initiative t,o read further. As the main appeal of a book I ies 'in jts capac jty to hold the jnterest of the reader, th'i s has been our chief airn when Freparing this series. Nirmali Hettiarachchi, Chief Editor, LearningEnglishSerjes

Raj'ivaWijesinha, Cultural Affajrs 0ffi câ&#x201A;Źfr, British Council 55

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ANDTHES}IANS THELITTLE FROG

Onceupona time there t,lasa lake in a forest. The lake haclclear blue water, There uere ihanylotus(1) flowers in it. Manytreeq and flowers greb,on the banks0f the lake too. It wasa beautiful place. Thereweremanyanimalsliving in this lake. Theretere fish of rlifferent colours and frogs who jumpedfrom Iotus Jlower to lotus flower. Andthere urereswans(2)in it. The suanswere very beautiful. Theyhad long slender(3) necks ancl smooth white wings. They could move very gracefully(4)in the water. But there tras something wrong. The suans t,lere always very quiet. AII the other animals in the lake were always talking ancl laughing. The fish played with each other under the water. The frogs sang together each night. But the sttJans

only swa m ab ou tin silenc e( 5) . Thereuas one animalwhoh,asalwayswatchingthe swans. werethe most Xt t.lasa litt1e frog. He thoughtthat the sbrans beautiful sight he had ever seen. AIl day long he sat on a 'lotus leaf watchingthese beautiful animals swiruningabout si Iently(5) . Oncethe ]ittle frog askedhis mother 'Whyare the swans mother?" aluraysso unhappy, 7

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The motherhrasa wise(6) animal . she said 'l don't think they're unhappy son. It is true that thqy do not laugh or play about like the others but that is becausethey're too proud(7)." After a little while she added 'Hovever, I don't think they're happyeither.' The little frog's motherrlas right. The swanswere very proud becausethey knewthey hrerevery beautiful. They did not talk to the other animalsin the pond. Theythoughtthat they were too grandand beautiful to talk to them.-Thefrogs hrerenot pretty enoughanclthe fish weretoo small. The syans did not speakto each other either. Each srranthought that he t,lasthe most beautiful so he looked dournon atl the other sbrans. That is whythey could nevertalk to eachother. Therelras a hunter(8) whocameinto the forest often(g). Oneday he camenear the lake. He satr the swansswlmmlng in the water and his eyes sparkled(10).'l must catch.these swans,' he thought. 'I must catch themwithout hurfing them. They're so beautiful that I wiII be able to sell themat a '

good price( 11) . 'r

So the hunter camenear the lake almosteverydaycarrying a large net. He hid behinclsomerocks so that the swanscoulrl not see him, waiting patiently(lzl- ti11 he had a chanceof catchingthem all together. The small animalscould see the hunterfor he took care to hide only from the swans. 'Look mother,"said the little to catchthe swans.' 9

frog. 'That manis trying

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'Yes,' said hls mother. 'l{hy don't you go and teII them to be careful?' asked tittle frog. 'They have never spokento me. Thy should I go and talk to themnou?' sald his mother. The llttle frog asked the other frogs to tell them but they yould not. He askedthe eel(13) to tell thembut he would not elther, Thenhe askedthe fish to tell thembut they too wouldnot, The little frog wasvorrled(l4)' He liked to watch past gracefully. But he felt the beautlful suansgo swimmJng too scared(l5) to go and talk to them. They looked so proud and looked at all the other anJmalsso scornfullv(16)that the llttle frog found lt difficult to f'lnd the courase(17) to go and tell them about the hunter and to ask them to be careful. The next day it started to raJ[. It ralned very hard. Theulnd bley very stronglyacrossthe lake. Thefish dived(18) under the rocks and the frogs went under the lotus flowers. They did not like The srdanswere feeling uncomfortable(19). the raln very much. Thererlas a small cave(2O) near the lake. It had only a snall openingbut it brasenoughfor the swansto go in. After a little while the swanswent inslde the cave one by oflg.

The little

frog watchedthem from under the lotus leaf. 11

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l-lefelt very worried. He could see that the hunter tras still vaiting by the lake with his big net, The hunter had seenthe slransgo into the cave. He felt very happy. At Iast the chancethat he tras wai'ting for all this time had come.He ran forwardquickly rdith his net. Then he threw it over the mouthof the cave. Oulckly he looked for the biggest stones that uere around and placeclthem on the cornersof the net, abovethe smal] caveandbelow. 'Hil" my beauties!' he cried. 'At last I have caught you. Nowyou cannot get out. TomorrowI w'll'l comewith a huge(2l) cageandtake you away.' The swans.stared at hlm in surprlse and fear. Thenthey stared at the net that uas covering the entrance. The hunter laughed.He laughedhappily as he ran aII the yay homein the rain. The swanswere scared. Stlll they did not talk to each other. Each one thought that the others were useless(22), so trhatrlasthe point of talking? One by one each suan triecl to get out, Each one went to the back of the cave and ran forrard to the net as fast as he could, trying to break the net ahrayfrom the entrance. But they could not do lt. The stonesweretoo heavyand each suancould not moveit alone. Soonthey uere very tired. The little frog vatchedthe hunter going away.He came from underthe lotus leOf whenthe raln had stopped.He looked 13

around. All the other animalswere going about as usual. The fish brereswimm'ing and the frogs were hoppjnghere and there" Nobodyseemed to be bothered(23)about the swans. 'Aren't you going to do anWhjng about the swdns?"The little fi"og askedhis mother, the eel and the other fr=ogs. 'Hhy?" they asked. 'We would help a frienrl if he tgei"e in trouble. But the swansare not our friends. They uleretoo proudand they only thought about themselves"' Anclthe mothertold the little frog, 'Remember son, that you should be frienclly to everyoneall the time. You never knowwhenthey will be able to help you, no matter howlittle they might be.' The little frog felt sad. He hoppedslowly off the lotus leaf. Then he swamto the edge(24)of the lake and got out of the water. He went 6sppjn9 up. the rock in which the cave in through the net. was. Thenhe went and peeped(Zs) All the swanswere tired. They were all sitting on the ground. Their wings were dirty. They did not look shining and white. Their eyes did not shine. They all looked very tired. Notr they did not look so proud. So the little frog did not feel scared to talk to them. "l'lhat ls wrong?lJhy can't you comeout?'the ljttle askedthemthrough the net.

frog

The swans looked at him in surprise lfzil. It trlas after 15

a long time that anyonehad spokento them. 'Itho are you?' a shtanasked. ol ama frog. I live in the lake with you.r aI havenever noticed you.' said the swan.' 'Hor{ can you notice him?" asked another swan. 'Hâ&#x201A;Ź ls

so ug ly.' 'That is true.' said the sbran.'Aren't you worrled or sadaboutbeingso;uglv, little frog?" he askgdr 'No,' said the little frog. "You are caughtin the net you are beautiful. I amfree becauseI amnot." because The swansdid not say anything for sometime. Theywere that it tlas not so goodtp be beautiful all thinking sudclenly a fter a ll. :.. you.'said another swan.'Y'ou're the one 'I remember whomakessucha big noise in the night, singillg.' The liJt1e frog said 'I don't make all the noise by myself. Ufecannot sing so loutl alone. It is only whentre sing together thdrt hre can sing so loudly. My mother said that hre can only becomestrong lf Ue do somethingtogether. She said 'fPiends are very imPortant." .l

Again the swanssat thinking. Suddenlya'stran spoke up. 16

Hewasthe oldest among them. 'Frlends,' he said. AII the other swansIookedat him in surprise. They had not beencalleh by that nameby anyone for a ]ong time. But the o]d sbrancontinued(27).'Friends,' he said again, 'Did you hear what thjs ]itile frog sajd? He said that they can only sing ]oud whenthey sing together. In other wordsmy friends they can only be strong whenthey do somethlngtogether. The samething will happento us. If we do somethingtogether tre will be very strong too. I am sure that lf ue try to lift this net up together ue wilt be able to moveit.' 'Yes, yes,' cried the swans.'You are right. l{e coutd not movethe net alone becauseit t,tastoo heavy for one of us. But if lre all lift it together we nill all be able to get out." The swanswere happyand excitecl(28).Theyhad finally(291 realised how much they meant to each other. They all went to the back of the cave and stoorl in a line together, Then they all ran together towards the net. They ran fast: running straight into jt. The stones that were kept on the net rolled away and the swanswere able to fly right out of the cave altogether; carrylng the net with them. Theywere freel

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The ljttle frog sat on a stone and watchedthem flying abrayin the sunlight. They looked so beautiful anclgraceful. He felt happy watching them. But he also felt rather sad. He knew that now the swanswould never speak to him again. They would be free, proud and beautjful so that they would

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not want to talk to a little slowly back 'into the lake.

frog again. The little

frog hopped

But it t,lasthe little frog the swanslookeclfor as soon as they camedown to the lake. They had thrown off the net as they flew around. Notdthey were talking a lot with each other. They had so muchto talk about becausethey had not spokento each other for such a long t'ime. to look for the little frog. They talked The swanswâ&#x201A;Ź11,with him and laughedwith him. They met the Iittle frog'5 mother and the little frog's relations(30). They met the eel and talkecl to all the other fish. They hacl realisecl hov jmportant it htas to have friends. And the little frog was very very happy.

The swansdid not haveto woryyabout the hunter anymore. near the lake there The momentthat the man cameanywhene to comeand tell the swansto be caref,ul. woulclbe someone Thereforethe huntercould nevercatch them. So the lake always had many animals in it, colourful fjsh, playful frogs and the happy swanswho madethe lovely place look evenmorebeautiful. GLOSSARY

( 1) Lotus

a k'ind of flohter that grows in water

(2\ Swa ns

birds with long neckswhoswimin uater

(3) Slender

- t hin

(4) Gracefully

easily andbeautifully

(5) Sllence Si 1entl y

no noise withoutmakinga noise

(6 ) Uise

having knowledge throughexperience

(7) Proud

thinking a lot aboutthemselves

(8) Hunter

a manrlholooks for andkills animals

(9) 0ften

manytimes

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(10) Sparkled (1 1) Price

shone brightly - the amountof moneythat somethingis sold for

(2) Patiently

without hurrying

(13) Eel

a long fish like a snakethat lives in the water

( 14) ltorried

upsetaboutsomething

(15) Scared

to be afraid

(16) Scornfully

lookingdownon the others

(17) Couragq

strength

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( 18) Dived

- wentunder

(19) Uncomfortable-not at ease ( 20) Cave

a bi9 in a rock

(21) Huge

very big

(22) Useless

not any good

(23',)Bothered

worried, concerned

(24) Edge

corner

(2s)Peeped

lookedinto

(261 Surprise

- somethingunexpected

(27) Continued

wenton without stopping

(28) Excited

- to be eageraboutsomething

(2 e)Finally

- at last

( 30) Relations

to the samefamily - thoseconnected

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FRIENDS IN NEED

A deer t,lasgoing seeking(1) for water in the forest(2). He walkedand walked. He was very tired(3) but still he did not stop. He had to find somewater. He was so very thirsty( ). It had not rained in the forest for a long time and all the loles(5) and rivers had dried up. The animals in the forest were having a very hard time becausethere was no water to drink. Someof them were even about to die of thirst. The somehow so that he would deer vlantedto find water somewhere not die. The deer walked to the edge(6) of the forest. There was a huge rock there. The forest animalsdid not generally(7) go beyondthat rock. The deer stoppedand listened. He thought close he could hear the soft soundof running water somewhere by. Hopefully(8) he climbed up the rock. There betweentwo huge stones a little stream of water could be seen running down. The deer felt very very happy. He ran quickly downto the streamand drank all the water he wanted.Thenhe climbed up and went happily back to the forest. 0n his vlay back he met a hare(9). The hare looked at the deer carefully. 'You don't look so thirsty, mY frie'nd,' said the hare. 'You are looking happyand full, Did you find any water?Could you please tell me where I can fincl somewater too? I am so th'irsty that I can hardly hoP.' 23

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The deer felt sory for the hare. So he said 'Yes, I have founclwater. You can have a clrink from there too. Come tr will showyou the wdy.' So the deer took the hare to the tittle stream in the rocks. The hare drank all the trater he could. Thenhe said "Thankyou. Youare a goodfriend." The hare and the deer becamefriends after that. They went to the streameach day and had water. Oneday they were comingback whena crovl sawthem. He sat on a tree andwatchecl the two frlends laughingancltalking together. The crou said "No one can laugh in this heat unless he has found somewater to drink. If you have found any water coulclyou please showme the place too? I am so tired'after Iookingfor waterandmywingshurt me.o oYes,' said the deer. 'lle have found water. If you can follorl us wecan showyou the place.' So the crotr flew slowly behlndthem to the stream and he drank too. He becamefriends with the hare and the deer after that. whoasked Next lt rrasa Kerala(a kinclof woodpecker(10)) themfor water, So the deer, the hare, the crow and the Kerala werehappytogetherduring that time of trouble. Oneday a fox sau the four friends playing about in the

forest. He askedthem'Howcan you find the strength to play about like thls? you must knowwhere to find urater, Could you please showmethe place too? I'm nearly clying of thirst. If you showmethe placeyouwill alwaysbe myfriends." The Kerala told his friends 'This is a fox. A fox cannot be trusted(11 ).' The hare said'lt cannottrust.'

is not goodto havea frlend whomyou

Andthe crov said'you shouldnot havea fox as a friend.' But the deer felt sorry for the fox. He said 'He must be thlrsty too. Let's help him. Evena fox might be grateful for the help that is doneto him.' so the deer took the fox to the water. The fox drank deeply. Thenhe told the deer 'Thankyou very much.you have savedmyllfe. NowI yitl alwaysbe your friend.' But the Kerala saJd again quieily, 'A fox cannot be trusted,' Nowthere was a hunter(.|2)living in this forest. He set traps(l3) for animalsand caughtthem. Eachevening he set these traps all over the forest and eachmornlnghe went to check(14)them. Oneday the deer tras walking in the forest. He stepped across a rope and suddenly,before he kney wherehe was, the 26

rope 14asholding him by the legs and a huge net had fallen on hjm. He wascaughtjn a trap! The deer screamed,struggling. All his friencls heard his shouts. The hare camerunning up to the trap. The crow ancl the Kerala flew down to him at once. Eventhe fox cameto see what the shouting vlasabout. 'The deer is caughtin a trapl' cried the crow. 'Quick. }{e must save him. t{hat are rlle to do?" asked the Kerala. The hare looked at the trap. He sau that the net tras held on to the groundbY thick ropes. '[rle must break these ropes. Then the deer can 1i ft the with strong teeth must bite through net off himself. Someone the ropes.' Saicl the hare. He looked at the fox. 'You have the strongest teeth. You should be able to bite the ropes and break themsoon.' The fox looked at the ropes. He knewthat he cquld bite through them easily but he thought "lf the hunter comesand kills the deer I urill get somefood too. The hunter vill cut the body into pieces and leave all the parts that he doesn't want. Then I will be able to have somegood food after a long timg.' So he'said "No, the rope is too strong for my teeth-' 'But you must try and bite it.' 27

cried the crou. 'That

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is the only wayin whichour friend can be saved"' "No, [0,'said the fox again.'My teeth will I try to b'ite the rope.'

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"Youare no friend of the deer,'said the Kerala angrily. "The deer saved your l'ife once but you are not even trying to help save his. I alwayssa'idthat you could not be trusted.' 'A friend w-ill always help another friend in trouble'" said the crow,, "There is no point in arguing(15)norl. That will not help the deer.' said the hare. 'l have very small teeth but I will try to bite throughthese ropes.' So the hare started biting the ropes. The crotll and the Kerala watchedhelplessly. The fox went and lay downunder a bush nearby. He wantedto wait there till the morningwhen the man would comeand kill the deer so that he could have a feast afterwards. Soon it, ltas night. The hare did not stop biting at the rope. The deer had stopped struggling and 11aslying on the ground. The other tuo friends stoorl by worrying as time went by, 'Mornlng is comifl9,'said the crou, Iooking up at the sky. "SoonLhe hunter will be here. Hotrmuchtime do you think you needto bite through the ropes?' he askedthe hare. 29

The hare stopped biting the ropes for a moment.'l need some fltore time. Someonewith strong teeth could break them easily noy. But I can't. It will take me sometime to chew(16) throughthem.'

The Kerala trent to the fox. 'l{on't you help us evennow? The hare has bitten throughthe ropes so that they havebecome thin. Youwill not hurt your teeth if you bite now.' to be asleep. But the fox pretended(17) The Keralawent to the crct*.'I'm goingto the hunter's housenow. Dawn(18)is breakingand he uill be here soon. I ' lI try to stop h im i f I c an. ' 'Howcan you clothat?" askedthe crou surprised" 'I have noticed somethingvery funny ahcut people. They thlnk it is very bad to hear my voice. So,"if,I go and stput near the man's house'in the morning,he may not want to go out.' said the Kerala and flew awayover the trees towards the hunter's house.The first rays(19) of the sun were just comingout, The hunter got up in the morning"He went to the well and washedhis hands. He ate hls breakfast and preparedto go out andcheckhis traBs. "l{ill you wait a little bit till I cook lunch and give it, to you to take?" askedtfie hunter's w'ife. 31

'There js no time for me to wa'it t'ill you cook food.' said the hunter. 'l liiee to go and checkthe traps early in the morning.' So he took a large axq{20} and steppedout of the house. Just then he heard the call of a Kerala. He stoorl and looked up. Just above him ggjgled(Zl) on a branch of a tree was a Kerala. "0h my goodnessl' said t,he hunter. 'l heard the cal I of a Kerala just as I steppedout of the house. That'is a (22'). I mustwait for sometime very bad omen before I set out.' The man went back inlo his houseand sat on a bench. 'You better cook me somef*od to take for lunch. I have time to wait till the food is ready.' he told h'is wife. TheKeralacalled whenthe wife washecl the rice. He called again ulhenshe cookedthe rice and again when she wrapped the footl into a neat lunch packet. He called each tjme he sattrthe man trying to leave his home.But finally the man got tired of waiting. He got his axe and his lunch packet and went out of t,he house. He was going towardsthe trap that the deer wascaughtin. Whenthe Kerala sat.l him go he flew to his frjends at once. 'The hunter is comi[9," he tolcl the hare. 'Howmuchmore time do you need?"

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The hare lookeclup from the ropes, His friends could see that his mouthwasbleeding. 'l neediust a ]jttle will be enough.'

moretime,' he said, "A few moments

They could hear the footsteps of the hunter getting nearer. The crow went to the fox. 'Please, please help us norlrt.The hunter is comingand you can snap the rgpe easily ngw. It, is the last chance1'1e haveto save our friend.' But the fox tvas th'inking about the food that he would 9et to eat soon. So he dicl not even bother to answer' The crow flew to a branchof a tree and ulatcheflthe hunter comingcloser. The man savl from afar that the deer lllas caught in the trap. 'At last I have caughta fine animall' he cried 1'16ppi1YHe could not see the hare bitjng at the ropes on the other sicle. He hung the bag with his lunch on a branch and helcl his axe with both handsand beganto walk to the trap. Suddenly a crot,l flew straight at the lunch packet, cawing(23)loudly. He beganto fly roundand roundthe food. 'Shoo, shoo!' cried the hunter runningback. He chased(24) 33

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tln crw and started to (to to his trap again.

nft UE cnx YaS back at the food. He cawed anct began b reck at the bag. The hunter looked back and ran to his ltldt angri I Y. Andall this time the hare kept biting at the rope. you leave my lunch alone!' cried the hunter' But 'Iill UE cnou never left it alone. He avoided(25) the blows of UE axe that the hunter uas aining(26) at him and kept coming Ek to peck(27) at the food. .,hrstthen the hare bit through the last part of the rope' fh deer got to his feet, shaking the net off easily. He 11as f?Ge!

Then the deer and the hare ran away into the forest' Xerala flew to the crow.

'That's enough,my friend,' ls ftte.'

said the Kerala' 'The deer

'Right. Let's get at{ayfrom here" said the crow' 'Just a minute. Thereis somethingthat I must do first" sairl the Kerala. He perchedon a high branch and waited and Ur croy also waited rrith him, wonderingwhat his friend uas ging to do. fhen the hunter saw that the crow had gone atrayhe turned 35

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back to the trap. Then he sat,l it lying broken and empty on the ground. He was very very angry. 'l have lost the animal I caught.My lunch is spoilt(2g). Nothing is going right today!'he shoutedfuriously(291.'lt is all becauseof that Kerala who shoutednear my housethis morniog.' The Kerala hearcl this and he flew down and perched on the bush that the fox t.las lying under. The manwas so angry that.he took the axe and threw it at the Kerala. The Kerala flew awaybefore it struck him. But the axe urentand knocked on the head of the fox who rlas lying there dreamingabout his foorl. He yelped(30) in pain and ran screaminginto the forest. The Kerala flew to the crow laughing. 'l wantedto teach a lesson to someone whodoesn't stick by his friends.' he said. Together, the two friends fleur towards the forest urhere the deer and the hare were waiting for them. The four friends livecl together happily after that. They never saw the fox again. Perhapshe did not want to meet the friencls whomhe hacllet downin times of trouble. GLOSSARY ( 1) Seeking

- looking for

(2) Forest

a place where manytrees and bushesgrob, andwild animalslive

(3) Tirecl

to have no strength to go on

(4) Thirsty

to needwater to drink

(5) Lakes

areas of water sumoundedby lancl

(6) Edse

corner

(71 Generally

usually

( 8 ) Hopefuily

with hope,expectingsomething

(9) Hare

an animallike a rabbit

( 10) Woodpecker a bird whopeckstrees (11) Trusted

to havefaith in

(12) Hunter

a mantrholooks for and kills animals

( 13) Traps

structures for catching animals

fi4) Check

look over

( 15) Argujng

di sagreeing

(16) Chew

bi te

( 17) Pretendecl-

tried to be something one is not

( 18) Dawn

early morn'ing

(19) Rays

beams

(20) Axe

- a tool for cutting and chopping

(21) Perched

sat

(22) Omen

sign (usually of something bad)

(23) Cawins

the sounda crob, makes

(24) Chased

shooedaway

(25) Avoided

did not meet

(26) Aiming

pointing at

(27) Peck

to hit with the beak

(28) Spoilt

got bad

(29) Furiously

very angr.ily

(30) Yelped

shouted

b * t

r}i 'a

;

THEUGUDIJHA LOSESSELFCONTROL

The uguduvauas slck. His stomach(1)hurt very badly. It hurt so muchthat his tail droopecl(2) and even his ears could not standup. TheUguduua wasfeeling very sad. He could only ualk about slowly in the night. BUt he sti l1 cI imbed up the mangotree to eat somewirrr n:angoes, The Uguduwa liked mangoes very much. He wantedto eat them evenwhenhe ulassick, It wasthe mango season(3), so he could not wait withoutgoingto the mango tree at this time. 0n top of the mangotree the Uguduwa alwaysmet the otrl. Theybrerefriends becausethey both went out only at right. Theymet here becausethe uguduwa climbedup the tree to eat mangoes and the owl cameto sit on a branch and say .'Hfitrfin, * Hrflm.

NoYl,the owl vlas a very vise animal. He knewmanythings about animals, plants and fruits in the forest. Whenany animal had a problem(4 ), thev usualI y asked the owl for allviqe(5 . ) so the uguduwa told him that he wasnot feeling r*ell. 'My stomachis makingall sorts of noises ancl it hurts very much.what can I do about it?" askedthe uguduwa. 'hlhat clirl you eat yesterday?" askedthe owl. The uguduwa scratcheclbehindhis ear and thought. 41

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-.f=-v-----^

_____ Y ----)-----_.._____{-

'hleJl, in the morning I cameup here and had somewild mangoes.'he said. 'In the afternoon I thought I wirt. come up here agajn and have mangoesfor lunch. And for ctinner I only hacltrlo or three t*ilcl mangoes.,he said. The oyl closed his eyes and thought. He thought for so Iong that the ugucluwd thoughtthat he might havefallen asleep. But at last he said. 'r think I know your probrem. you must not eat wirrl mangoes anynore. Too manywird mangoes are not good for anyone -eat and, noh,that your stomachis upset, you must not mangoes agajn for a long time. The Ugurluwafelt very unhappy. He loved mangoesvery much. But his stomachhurt Very muchtoo. So he said ,AIl right" and got rrownthe tree slow]y and warkecr sadry away. So the Ugurluwa ate ripe papaws. He chaseclafter small animals and ate them up. Each time he passed the mangotree he rooked the other way. He trietr not to breathe too creepry whenhe passedthe tree, so that he woulcl not get the lovely smell of the wild mangoes. it got too difficult, the Uduguvaavoidecl(6)the mango''hen tree altogether. He went to the stream to drink water by another tray so that he would not have to see the ripe mangoeshanging on the branches. The Uguduwabehavedwell and did not eat any mangoes.So his stomachclirt not hurt any moreanclhe became well. Nowthat the Uguduwa was well, he often thought of the mangoesand lickecl 'his lips. He got tired of eating papaus 43

and plantains and little animals.But he thought. "No. I will not eat wi ld mangoesanymore. It rriI I makeme sjck. But I think I will just pass by the mangotree whenI go to the stream. The net,tt,lay js long and jt is silly not to go the shorter way. l{hat harmcan there be jn just going by the mango tree? I r*i1I not even I ook up at the mangoes ." So the Uguduwa ulent by the mangotree. Ilhen he passed the mangotree he got the lovely smell of mangoes. The Uguduwa grass. sat downand stared at the He scratched his stomach. Finally he thought. "We11,I supposeI could look up at the just once." mangoes So the Uguduwalooked up. He satr large bunches(7)of ripe mangoes hangingabovehim. Thenhe looked ah,ay.He looked at the grass again. He took hi s tai I i n h'is pawsand washed it. But soon he looked up at the mangoes oncemore. 'I think I will climb up the mangotree. There can't be any harm(8) in that now, can there?" the Uguduwaasked himself.'If I don't eat them, there can't be any harm in sitting close to them.rr The Uguduwa climbed up the mangotree. He went and sat near a large bunchof mangoes.It was a very beautiful bunch of mangoes.The Iovely smell madethe Uguduwa lick his lips very often. After waiting for Sometime, the Ugucluwa touched the mangoeswith his pattl. He thought that there coulcl be nothing wrong in just touching them. He had almost forgotten what 44

they felt like to the paw. He did not meanto pluck any mangoes, of course, but soonone had got loose and t,,aslying underhis paw. 'HeIl, well,' thoughtthe Ugucluwa. 'This mango must have beenabout to fall. That is rrhy it broke off so easily and cameto mypaw.' The Uguduwa sat holding the mangowith his pau for some tlme. Thenhe thought. 'l wonderif the inside of the mango still looks as beautiful and golden as it used to. I have not seen an unpeeled(9)mangofor such a long time that I havealmost forgotten what it looks like, I better peel thls and have a look. I can alwaysthrow it awaywithout eat'ing it.' peeledthe mango So the Uguduwa with his teeth. Themango gleamed(I0)a bright orangeunderthe peel(l1). The Uguduura llcked his Iip s. 'l supposeI coulcljust bite off a little piece to see if the mangoes are as soft as they used to be." thought the Ugurluva after a little uhile. He thought it was a pity to throw arlay the mangowlthout checking(1?) that up. He rlas not golng to swallowit. If he did not svallow it he would not be eating it, so then he woultlnot be doing anythingwrong. took a tlttle bite of the mango.He triecl So the Uguduwa it. to only keepit in his mouth,but of coursehe swallowed And then he ate and ate and ate! He licked his paus, t

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E lr

,/,

'r't

/t,

\... \'. \ \.' --i >..

he Iicked his lips and he pluckedmangoafter mango.Soon the bunches of mangoes disappeared, After somedavs, the owl reali?ed(13) that he had not seen the uguduwa for sometime. so he went to ask about him from someof his friends. 'The Ugucluwa is sick.' said the parrot. He had flown near the uguduwa's homeand had heard him groaning(14)and ruraning( 14) inside. 'He says tfrai his stomachis hurting very badly. perhaps he has eaten somethingthat he shoulclnot have eaten.' said the deer, rlho hadmet the Uguduwa at the stream. 'Hhat could he have eaten?' wondered the hare. 'l don't think he knowswhat he shoulrl eat and should not eat.' 'Hlrm, hmrn.'said the otrl. He thoughtof the mangotree that had maRybunchesof mangoes missing. Nou he knewwhat had happened to them, So he said 'l think, my friends, that he just doesnot knowwhatself control(1s)isl" And then he flew arlay over the trees, towards the Uguduwa'shome,to see if, once again, he could be of any help to hls sick friend. GLOSSARY (1 )

Stomach

the part of the body where the food goes after it is put in the mouth

s'i 4 s

(2) Drooped

- hungdoyn

(3) Season

- the particular time of year for something to happen

(4) Problem

something wrong

( 5 ) Arlvice

help whichtells someone whatto do

(6) Avoided

- did not comenear

(7) Bunches

groups,clusters

(8) Harm

that causeshurt - something

( 9 ) Unpeelecl - where the outer covering has not been removed ( 10) Gleamed (11) Peel (1U Checking

- shone - the outer covering makingsure

(13) Realized

- cameto knowor see

( 14) Groaning Floanirfg

-makingnoises that showpain

(15) Self control - having the ability to control or stop oneself 49

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