ANIMAL TALES

by

MADI{UBHASHINI DISANAYAKA

I l lustratedby

BANDULA PIERIS

Publ ishedby the , . ;

BC/CIDA,/E-ASL ' . .Junior Readers " 'Project

' i . - ; -r r j : ! _ i

OBC/CIDA,/EASL

J unior Read e rs Project

Chief Editor: Nirmal i Hett iarachchi

Editorial Team: Madhubhashini DisanaYakaMalathi Thalgodapi t iya

Editorial Board: Nihal CoorayNirmal i Hett iarachchiRaj iva Wi jesinha

ISBN 955-9055-24-0

Animal Tales is at the fifth level of the Learning English. , series published by the Junior Readers Project of thetsritish Council, the Canadian International Development Agency' and the English Association of Sri Lanka.

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CONTENTS

Page

4Foreword

The Little Frog ancl the Swans

Friends in Need

The Uguduwa LosesSelf Control

7,

23

41

FOREHORD

In recent years the Br i t ish Counci I has, incol laborat ion with the Canad' ian Internat ional DevelopmentAgency or the Engl i sh. Assoc' iat ion of Sr i Lanka, produced anumber of supplementary readers for students of Engl ish. Thejmmense popularity of these books can be seen f,rom the factthat they have gone into second or third ed' i t ions. This' ind' icates the increasing demand for Engl ish in al l areas ofthe country and the tremendous need for such materjal.

Sjnce most reacl' ing material produced elsewhere isrelat ively expensjve the maior i ty f ind i t d i f f icul t to buvwhat they require. Therefore the ma' ln pr inciple underly ingthese publ icat ions has been that they should be affordablewhiIe being aS at t raCt ive and "user- f r iendly" aS possible.

These books are clesi gned to appeal to seni or st'udents andyoung adults. They have been prepared with simpl ' i f iedvocabular ies and sentence structures and the subiect matter

is careful ly selected to be of a standard that woulcl hold

the'i r i nterest.As recent evaluat- ions jn the f f i . in. istry of Eclucat ion

have made cl ear there i s al so a need for su' i tabl e mater i alfor younger students. Wjth the increasing desire for tngl ishmany students approach the subiect for the f i rst t ime in an

envi ronment i n whi ch Engl ' ish Seems al ' i en. I t i s essent i althat learn. ing aids be made avai lable as wjdely as possible

for them. I t is to cater to such needs that very basic readershave been devjSed, using words and s' i tuat ions that have a

r ing of fami l iar i ty. Vjv id i l lustrat ions have been used to

enhance a sense of readTng recognit ' ion. The aim ' is that young

students should, f rom the start , be able to feel that the4

language is not a remote goal , but rather an instrument thatrelates easi ly to their o\ ,vn concerns.

Samples of these books have been tnial led in remoteefeas of the country such as Amparai and Monenagala to ensurethBt thev wi l l sui t the most Bressing requirements nor,u" The*gfy enthusi ast j c response confr rms the urgency of havj ngWch pater i ai s read j l y ava-i l abl e, and !{e are grateful tothe educat, i on of f i cers and the teachers urho ass i sted i n thetr ia l , I t should be noted that these bccks ay"e not subst i tutesf,or texts but supplementary readers jntendecj to develop andsustajn jnterest . Glossar jes are providecj a i_ the end o. f eachchapter to assist learners wi th words that might ' in j t ia l lybe unfami I aj r " Though some books contaj n quest i ons andsuggest i ons for usage by t ,eachei"s , j t cai lnot be suff j c j eni l ystressed that enjoyment, and ent,er i ,ai nme:l-" should be the j rmain purpose.

The books are designed at f ive levels as indicatedon the covers, The age of target groups is however f lexjble,and students and teachers should make use of books in termsof part icular nequjrements, not as part of a general pol jcy.As students ' at5i I i ty i ncreases they shou I d of course n.encouraged to re'ad {nore, Later books ' i n the seri es make uSeof adaptat ions oir ta les that have proved perennjal ly popularto develop indiv i t lual in i t iat ive t ,o read further. As the mainappeal of a book I ies ' in j ts capac j ty to hold the jnterestof the reader, th ' i s has been our chi ef airn when Frepari ngthis ser ies.

Nirmal i Hett iarachchi ,Chief Edi tor ,Learning Engl ish Ser jes

Raj ' iva Wi jesinha,Cultural Af fa j rs 0f f ic€fr ,Br i t ish Counci l

I

55

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THE LITTLE FROG AND THE S}IANS

Once upon a time there t,las a lake in a forest. The lakehacl clear blue water, There uere ihany lotus( 1) flowers init. Many treeq and flowers greb, on the banks 0f the lake too.It was a beautiful place.

There were many animals living in this lake. There terefish of rlifferent colours and frogs who jumped from Iotus

Jlower to lotus flower. And there urere swans(2) in it.

The suans were very beautiful. They had long slender(3)necks ancl smooth white wings. They could move verygraceful ly(4) in the water.

But there tras something wrong. The suans t,lerevery quiet. AII the other animals in the lake weretalking ancl laughing. The fish played with each otherthe water. The frogs sang together each night. But the

alwaysalwaysundersttJans

only swam about in s i lence(5).

There uas one animal who h,as always watching the swans.Xt t.las a litt1e frog. He thought that the sbrans were the mostbeautiful sight he had ever seen. AIl day long he sat on a'lotus leaf watching these beautiful animals swiruning aboutsi Ientl y( 5 ) .

Once the ]ittle frog asked his mother 'Why are the swansalurays so unhappy, mother?"

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The mother hras a wi se( 6 ) animal . she said 'l don'tthink they're unhappy son. It is true that thqy do not laughor play about like the others but that is because they'retoo proud(7)." After a litt le while she added 'Hovever,I don't think they're happy either. '

The little frog's mother rlas right. The swans were veryproud because they knew they hrere very beautiful. They didnot talk to the other animals in the pond. They thought thatthey were too grand and beautiful to talk to them.-The frogshrere not pretty enough ancl the fish were too small. The syansdid not speak to each other either. Each srran thought thathe t,las the most beautiful so he looked dourn on atl the othersbrans. That is why they could never talk to each other.

There lras a hunter(8) who came into the forest often(g).One day he came near the lake. He satr the swans swlmmlng inthe water and his eyes sparkled(10). ' l must catch.theseswans,' he thought. 'I must catch them without hurfing them.They're so beautiful that I wiII be able to sell them at agood price( 11 ) . 'r '

So the hunter came near the lake almost everyday carryinga large net. He hid behincl some rocks so that the swans coulrlnot see him, waiting patiently(lzl- ti11 he had a chance ofcatching them all together. The small animals could see thehunter for he took care to hide only from the swans.

'Look mother," said the litt le frog. 'That man is tryingto catch the swans.'

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'Yes,' said hls mother.

'l{hy don't you go and teII them to be careful?' askedti t t le frog.

'They have never spoken to me. Thy should I go and talkto them nou?' sald his mother.

The llttle frog asked the other frogs to tell them butthey yould not. He asked the eel(13) to tell them but he wouldnot elther, Then he asked the fish to tell them but they toowould not, The litt le frog was vorrled(l4)' He liked to watchthe beautlful suans go swimmJng past gracefully. But he felttoo scared(l5) to go and talk to them. They looked so proud

and looked at all the other anJmals so scornfullv(16) thatthe lltt le frog found lt difficult to f' lnd the courase(17)to go and tell them about the hunter and to ask them to becareful.

The next day it started to raJ[. It ralned very hard.The ulnd bley very strongly across the lake. The fish dived(18)under the rocks and the frogs went under the lotus flowers.The srdans were feeling uncomfortable(19). They did not likethe raln very much.

There rlas a small cave(2O) near the lake. It had onlya snall opening but it bras enough for the swans to go in.After a little while the swans went inslde the cave one byoflg.

The little frog watched them from under the lotus leaf.

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l-le felt very worried. He could see that the hunter tras stillvait ing by the lake with his big net,

The hunter had seen the slrans go into the cave. He feltvery happy. At Iast the chance that he tras wai'ting for allthis time had come. He ran forward quickly rdith his net. Thenhe threw it over the mouth of the cave. Oulckly he lookedfor the biggest stones that uere around and placecl them onthe corners of the net, above the smal] cave and below.

'Hil" my beauties!' he cried. 'At last I have caughtyou. Now you cannot get out. Tomorrow I w'll'l come with ahuge(2l) cage and take you away.'

The swans.stared at hlm in surprlse and fear. Then theystared at the net that uas covering the entrance. The hunterlaughed. He laughed happily as he ran aII the yay home inthe rain.

The swans were scared. Stlll they did notother. Each one thought that the others wereso trhat rlas the point of talking?

talk to eachusel ess(22),

One by one each suan triecl to get out, Each one wentto the back of the cave and ran forrard to the net as fastas he could, trying to break the net ahray from the entrance.But they could not do lt. The stones were too heavy and eachsuan could not move it alone. Soon they uere very tired.

The little frog vatched the hunter going away. He camefrom under the lotus leOf when the raln had stopped. He looked

13

around. Al l the other animals were going about as usual. Thefish brere swimm'ing and the frogs were hoppjng here and there"Nobody seemed to be bothered(23) about the swans.

'Aren't you going to do anWhjng about the swdns?" Thelitt le f i"og asked his mother, the eel and the other fr=ogs.

'Hhy?" they asked. 'We would hel p a frienrl if he tgei"ein trouble. But the swans are not our friends. They ulere tooproud and they only thought about themselves"'

Ancl the mother told the l itt le frog, 'Remember son, thatyou should be frienclly to everyone all the time. You neverknow when they wi l l be able to help you, no matter how l i t t lethey might be. '

The litt le frog felt sad. He hopped slowly off the lotusleaf. Then he swam to the edge(24) of the lake and got outof the water. He went 6sppjn9 up. the rock in which the cavewas. Then he went and peeped(Zs) in through the net.

All the swans were tired. They were all sitt ing on theground. Their wings were dir ty. They did not look shiningand white. Their eyes did not shine. They al l looked verytired. Notr they did not look so proud. So the l itt le frogdid not feel scared to talk to them.

"l ' lhat ls wrong? lJhy can't you come out?'the l jtt le frogasked them through the net.

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

15

a long time that anyone had spoken to them.

'Itho are you?' a shtan asked.

ol am a frog. I l ive in the lake with you.r

aI have never noticed you.' said the swan. '

'Hor{ can you notice him?" asked another swan. 'H€ lsso ugly. '

'That is true.' said the sbran. 'Aren't you worrled orsad about being so;uglv, l itt le frog?" he askgdr

'No,' said the litt le frog. "You are caught in the netbecause you are beautiful. I am free because I am not."

The swans did not say anything for some time. They wereall thinking sudclenly that it tlas not so good tp be beautifulaf ter a l l . :..

' I remember you. 'said another swan. 'Y'ou're the onewho makes such a big noise in the night, s ingi l lg. '

The liJt1e frog said 'I don't make all the noise bymyself. Ufe cannot sing so loutl alone. It is only when tre sing

. l

together thdrt hre can sing so loudly. My mother said that hrecan only become strong lf Ue do something together. She said'fPiends are very imPortant. "

Again the swans sat thinking. Suddenly a'stran spoke up.

16

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He was the oldest among them.

'Frlends,' he said. AII the other swans Iooked at himin surprise. They had not been calleh by that name by anyonefor a ]ong t ime. But the o]d sbran continued(27). 'Friends, 'he said again, 'Did you hear what thjs ]it i le frog sajd? Hesaid that they can only sing ]oud when they sing together.In other words my friends they can only be strong when theydo somethlng together. The same thing will happen to us. Ifwe do something together tre will be very strong too. I amsure that lf ue try to lift this net up together ue wilt beable to move it. '

'Yes, yes,' cried the swans. 'You are right. l{e coutdmove the net alone because it t,tas too heavy for one ofBut if lre all l ift it together we nill all be able toout. "

The swans were happy and excitecl(28). They had finally(291realised how much they meant to each other. They all wentto the back of the cave and stoorl in a line together, Thenthey all ran together towards the net. They ran fast: runningstraight into jt. The stones that were kept on the net rolledaway and the swans were able to fly right out of the cavealtogether; carrylng the net with them. They were freel

The ljtt le frog sat on a stone and watched them flyingabray in the sunlight. They looked so beautiful ancl graceful.He felt happy watching them. But he also felt rather sad.He knew that now the swans would never speak to him again.They would be free, proud and beautjful so that they would-+i ! ,

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not want to talk to a l itt le frog again. The litt le frog hoppedslowly back ' into the lake.

But it t,las the little frog the swans lookecl for as soonas they came down to the lake. They had thrown off the netas they flew around. Notd they were talking a lot with eachother. They had so much to talk about because they had notspoken to each other for such a long t'ime.

The swans w€11,- to look for the little frog. They talkedwith him and laughed with him. They met the I i t t le frog'5mother and the l itt le frog's relations(30). They met the eeland talkecl to all the other fish. They hacl realisecl hovjmportant it htas to have friends. And the little frog wasvery very happy.

The swans did not have to woryy about the hunter anymore.The moment that the man came anywhene near the lake therewoulcl be someone to come and tell the swans to be caref,ul.Therefore the hunter could never catch them.

So the lake always had many animals in it, colourfulf jsh, playful frogs and the happy swans who made the lovelyplace look even more beautiful.

( 1 ) Lotus

GLOSSARY

a k'ind of flohter that grows in water

birds with long necks who swim in uater

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(2\ Swans

(3) Slender

(4) Graceful ly

(5) Sl lenceSi 1 entl y. ;:::

(6) Uise

(7) Proud

(8) Hunter

(9) 0ften\

(10) Sparkled

(11 ) Pr ice

- th in

easi ly and beauti ful ly

no noisewithout making a noise

having knowledge through experience

thinking a lot about themselves

a man rlho looks for and kills animals

many times

shone brightly

- the amount of money that something issold for

(2) Pat ient ly

(13 ) Eel

( 14) ltorried

(15) Scared

(16) Scornful ly

(17) Couragq

without hurrying

a long f ish l ike a snake that l ives inthe water

upset about something

to be afraid

looking down on the others

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(19)

( 20)

(21)

(22)

(23',)

(24)

(2s)

(261

(27 )

(28)

(2e)

( 30)

Dived - went under

Uncomfortable- not at ease

Cave

Huge

Usel ess

Bothered

Edge

Peeped

Surpri se

Continued

Excited

Final ly

Relations

- a bi9 in a rock

- very big

- not any good

- worried, concerned

- corner

- looked into

- something unexpected

went on without stopping

- to be eager about something

- at last

- those connected to the same family

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FRIENDS IN NEED

A deer t , las going seeking(1) for water in the forest(2).He walked and walked. He was very t i red(3) but st i l l he didnot stop. He had to find some water. He was so very thirsty( ).

I t had not rained in the forest for a long t ime and al lthe loles(5) and r ivers had dr ied up. The animals in theforest were having a very hard time because there was no waterto drink. Some of them were even about to die of thirst. Thedeer vlanted to find water somewhere somehow so that he wouldnot die.

The deer walked to the edge(6) of the forest. There wasa huge rock there. The forest animals did not general ly(7)go beyond that rock. The deer stopped and listened. He thoughthe could hear the soft sound of running water somewhere closeby. Hopefully(8) he climbed up the rock. There between twohuge stones a l itt le stream of water could be seen runningdown. The deer felt very very happy. He ran quickly down tothe stream and drank all the water he wanted. Then he climbedup and went happily back to the forest.

0n his vlay back he metthe deer careful ly.

a hare(9). The hare looked at

'You don't look so thirsty, mY'You are looking happy and ful l , Didyou please tell me where I can finclth ' i rsty that I can hardly hoP. '

f r ie 'nd, ' said the hare.you find any water? Couldsome water too? I am so

23

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The deer felt sory for the hare. So he said 'Yes, Ihave founcl water. You can have a clrink from there too. Cometr will show you the wdy.'

So the deer took the hare to the tittle stream in therocks. The hare drank all the trater he could. Then he said"Thank you. You are a good friend."

The hare and the deer became friends after that. Theywent to the stream each day and had water. One day they werecoming back when a crovl saw them. He sat on a tree and watcheclthe two frlends laughing ancl talking together.

The crou said "No one can laugh in this heat unless hehas found some water to drink. If you have found any watercoulcl you please show me the place too? I am so tired'afterIooking for water and my wings hurt me.o

oYes,' said the deer. 'lle have found water. If you canfollorl us we can show you the place.'

So the crotr flew slowly behlnd them to the stream andhe drank too. He became friends with the hare and the deerafter that.

Next lt rras a Kerala (a kincl of woodpecker(10)) who askedthem for water, So the deer, the hare, the crow and the Keralawere happy together during that time of trouble.

One day a fox sau the four friends playing about in the

If you show me the place you will always be my friends."

The Kerala told his friends 'This is a fox. A fox cannotbe trusted(11 ). '

The hare said'lt is not good to have a frlend whom youcannot trust.'

And the crov said'you should not have a fox as a friend.'

But the deer felt sorry for the fox. He said 'He mustbe thlrsty too. Let's help him. Even a fox might be gratefulfor the help that is done to him.'

so the deer took the fox to the water. The fox drankdeeply. Then he told the deer 'Thank you very much. you havesaved my llfe. Now I yitl always be your friend.'

But the Kerala saJd again quieily, 'A fox cannot betrusted,'

Now there was a hunter(.|2) l iving in this forest. Heset traps(l3) for animals and caught them. Each evening heset these traps all over the forest and each mornlng he wentto check(14) them.

forest. He asked themabout l ike thls? youyou please show me the

One day the deer tras walkingacross a rope and suddenly, before

'How can you find the strength to playmust know where to find urater, Couldplace too? I'm nearly clying of thirst.

inhe

the forest. He steppedkney where he was, the

26

rope 14as holding him by the legs and a huge net had fallenon hjm. He was caught jn a trap! The deer screamed, struggling.

Al l his fr iencls heard his shouts. The hare came runningup to the trap. The crow ancl the Kerala flew down to himat once. Even the fox came to see what the shouting vlas about.

'The deer is caught in a trapl' cried the crow.

'Quick. }{e must save him. t{hat are rlle to do?" asked theKeral a.

The hare looked at the trap. He sau that the net trasheld on to the ground bY thick ropes.

'[rle must break these ropes. Then the deer can 1 i ft thenet off himself. Someone with strong teeth must bite throughthe ropes.' Saicl the hare. He looked at the fox. 'You have

the strongest teeth. You should be able to bite the ropes

and break them soon.'

The fox looked at the ropes. He knew that he cquld bite

through them easily but he thought "lf the hunter comes andkil ls the deer I uri l l get some food too. The hunter vil l cut

the body into pieces and leave all the parts that he doesn'twant. Then I will be able to have some good food after a long

t img. '

So he'said "No, the rope is too strong for my teeth-'

'But you must try and bite it.' cried the crou. 'That

27

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is the only way in which our fr iend can be saved" '

"No, [0, 'said the fox again. 'My teeth wi l l break i f

I try to b'ite the rope.'

"You are no fr iend of the deer, 'said the Kerala angri ly.

"The deer saved your l'ife once but you are not even trying

to help save his. I always sa'id that you could not be trusted.'

'A fr iend w-i l l a lways help another fr iend in trouble'"

said the crow, ,

"There is no point in arguing(15) norl . That wi l l not

help the deer.' said the hare. ' l have very small teeth but

I wil l try to bite through these ropes.'

So the hare started biting the ropes. The crotll and the

Kerala watched helplessly. The fox went and lay down under

a bush nearby. He wanted to wait there till the morning when

the man would come and kill the deer so that he could have

a feast afterwards.

Soon it, l tas night. The hare did not stop biting at the

rope. The deer had stopped struggling and 11as lying on theground. The other tuo friends stoorl by worrying as time went

by,

'Mornlng is comif l9, 'said the crou, Iooking up at the

sky. "Soon Lhe hunter will be here. Hotr much time do you thinkyou need to bite through the ropes?' he asked the hare.

29

The hare stopped biting the ropes for a moment. 'l needsome fltore time. Someone with strong teeth could break themeasi ly noy. But I can' t . I t wi l l take me somethrough them.'

t ime to chew(16)

The Kerala trent to theThe hare has bitten throughthin. You wil l not hurt your

fox. 'l{on't you help us even now?the ropes so that they have becometeeth if you bite now.'

But the fox pretended(17) to be asleep.

The Kerala went to the crct*. ' I 'm going to the hunter 'shouse now. Dawn(18) is breaking and he ui l l be here soon.I ' l I t ry to stop him i f I can. '

'How can you clo that?" asked the crou surprised"

'I have noticed something very funny ahcut people. Theythlnk it is very bad to hear my voice. So,"if, I go and stputnear the man's house 'in the morning, he may not want to goout.' said the Kerala and flew away over the trees towardsthe hunter's house. The first rays(19) of the sun were justcoming out,

The hunter got up in the morning" He went to the welland washed his hands. He ate hls breakfast and prepared togo out and check his traBs.

" l { i l l you wait a l i t t le bi t t i l l I cook lunch and give

it, to you to take?" asked tf ie hunter's w'ife.

31

'There js no time for me to wa'it t ' i l l you cook food.'said the hunter. ' l l i iee to go and check the traps early inthe morning. '

So he took a large axq{20} and stepped out of the house.Just then he heard the call of a Kerala. He stoorl and lookedup. Just above him ggjgled(Zl ) on a branch of a tree wasa Kerala.

32

"0h my goodnessl'of a Kerala just as Ivery bad omen (22') . I must

The man went back'You better cook me someto wait t i l l the food is

said t,he hunter. ' l heard the cal Istepped out of the house. That ' is await for sometime before I set out. '

in lo his house and sat on a bench.f*od to take for lunch. I have time

ready. ' he told h' is wife.

The Kerala cal led when the wife washecl the r ice. He cal ledagain ulhen she cooked the rice and again when she wrappedthe footl into a neat lunch packet. He called each tjme hesattr the man trying to leave his home. But f inally the mangot t i red of wait ing. He got his axe and his lunch packetand went out of t,he house. He was going towards the trap thatthe deer was caught in.

When the Kerala sat.l him go he flew to his frjends atonce.

'The hunter is comi[9," he tolcl the hare. 'How much moretime do you need?"

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The hare lookecl up from the ropes, His friends couldsee that his mouth was bleeding.

' l need iust a ] j t t le more t ime, ' he said, "A few momentswi l l be enough. '

They could hear the footsteps of the hunter gettingnearer. The crow went to the fox.

'Please, please help us norlrt. The hunter is coming andyou can snap the rgpe easily ngw. It, is the last chance 1'1ehave to 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 branch of a tree and ulatchefl the huntercoming closer.

The man savl from afar that the deer lllas caught in thetrap.

'At last I have caught a f ine animal l ' he cr ied 1'16ppi1Y-He could not see the hare bitjng at the ropes on the othersicle. He hung the bag with his lunch on a branch and helclhis axe with both hands and began to walk to the trap.

Suddenly a crot,l f lew straight at the lunch packet,

cawing(23) loudly. He began to f ly round and round the food.

'Shoo, shoo! ' cr ied the hunter running back. He chased(24)

33

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t

ru 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.

And all this time the hare kept biting at the rope.

'I i l l you leave my lunch alone!' cried the hunter' But

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.

.,hrst then 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'

fh Xerala flew to the crow.

'That's enough, my friend,' said the Kerala' 'The deer

ls ftte.'

'Right. Let's get at{ay from here" said the crow'

'Just a minute. There is something that I must do first"

sairl the Kerala. He perched on a high branch and waited and

Ur croy also waited rrith him, wondering what his friend uas

ging to do.

fhen the hunter saw that the crow had gone atray he turned

35

-- ---:

back to the trap. Then he sat,l it lying broken and empty onthe ground. He was very very angry.

' l have lost the animal I caught. My lunch is spoi l t (2g).Nothing is going r ight today! 'he shouted fur iously(291. ' l tis all because of that Kerala who shouted near my house thismorni og. '

The Kerala hearcl this and he flew down and perched onthe bush that the fox t.las lying under. The man was so angrythat.he took the axe and threw it at the Kerala. The Keralaflew away before it struck him. But the axe urent and knockedon the head of the fox who rlas lying there dreaming abouthis foorl. He yelped(30) in pain and ran screaming into theforest. The Kerala flew to the crow laughing.

' l wanted to teach a lesson to someone who doesn't stickby his f r iends. ' he said.

Together, the two friends fleur towards the forest urherethe deer and the hare were waiting for them.

The four friends livecl together happily after that. Theynever saw the fox again. Perhaps he did not want to meet thefriencls whom he hacl let down in times of trouble.

GLOSSARY

- looking for( 1 ) Seeking

37

(2) Forest

(3) Tirecl

(4) Thirsty

(5) Lakes

(6) Edse

(71 General ly

( 8 ) Hopefuily

(9) Hare

( 10) Woodpecker

(11 ) Trusted

(12) Hunter

( 13) Traps

fi4) Check

( 15) Argujng

(16) Chew

a place where many trees and bushes grob,and wi ld animals l ive

to have no strength to go on

to need water to drink

areas of water sumounded by lancl

corner

usual ly

with hope, expecting something

an animal l ike a rabbi t

a bird who pecks trees

to have faith in

a man trho looks for and ki l ls animals

structures for catching animals

look over

di sagreei ng

bi te

3B

i

( 17 ) Pretendecl

( 18) Dawn

(19) Rays

(20) Axe

(21) Perched

(22) Omen

(23) Cawins

(24) Chased

(25) Avoided

(26) Aiming

(27) Peck

(28) Spoi l t

(29) Fur iously

(30) Yelped

- tried to be something one is not

- early morn'ing

- beams

- a tool for cutting and chopping

sat

sign (usual ly of something bad)

the sound a crob, makes

shooed away

did not meet

point ing at

to hit with the beak

got bad

very angr.i ly

shouted

39

b*t

F.r} i'a

e;

THE UGUDIJHA LOSES SELF CONTROL

The uguduva uas slck. His stomach(1) hurt very badly.It hurt so much that his tail droopecl(2) and even his earscould not stand up. The Uguduua was feeling very sad.

He could only ualk about slowly in the night. BUt hesti l1 cI imbed up the mango tree to eat some wi rrr n:angoes,The Uguduwa liked mangoes very much. He wanted to eat themeven when he ulas sick, It was the mango season(3), so he couldnot wait without going to the mango tree at this time.

0n top of the mango tree the Uguduwa always met the otrl.They brere friends because they both went out only at right.They met here because the uguduwa climbed up the tree to eatmangoes and the owl came to sit on a branch and say .'Hfitrfin,Hrflm. *

NoYl, the owl vlas a very vise animal. He knew many thingsabout animals, plants and fruits in the forest. When any animalhad a probl em( 4 ), thev usual I y asked the owl for allviqe( 5 ) .so the uguduwa told him that he was not feeling r*ell.

'My stomach is making all sorts of noises ancl it hurtsvery much. what can I do about it?" asked the uguduwa.

'hlhat clirl you eat yesterday?" asked the owl .

The uguduwa scratchecl behind his ear and thought.

41

_r- _____

A---f-('

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

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

'hleJl, in the morning I came up here and had some wildmangoes.' he said. 'In the afternoon I thought I wirt. comeup here agajn and have mangoes for lunch. And for ctinner Ionly hacl trlo or three t*i lcl mangoes., he said.

The oyl closed his eyes and thought. He thought for soIong that the ugucluwd thought that he might have fallen asleep.But at last he said.

'r think I know your probrem. you must not eat wirrlmangoes anynore. Too many wird mangoes are not good for anyoneand, noh, that your stomach is upset, you must not -eat

mangoesagajn for a long t ime.

The Ugurluwa felt very unhappy. He loved mangoes verymuch. But his stomach hurt Very much too. So he said ,AIlright" and got rrown the tree slow]y and warkecr sadry away.

So the Ugurluwa ate ripe papaws. He chasecl after smallanimals and ate them up. Each time he passed the mango treehe rooked the other way. He trietr not to breathe too creeprywhen he passed the tree, so that he woulcl not get the lovelysmell of the wild mangoes. ' 'hen

it got too diff icult, theUduguva avoidecl(6) the mango tree altogether. He went to thestream to drink water by another tray so that he would nothave to see the ripe mangoes hanging on the branches. TheUguduwa behaved well and did not eat any mangoes. So hisstomach clirt not hurt any more ancl he became well.

Now that the Uguduwa was well,mangoes and lickecl 'his

l ips. He gothe often thought of thetired of eating papaus

43

and plantains and l i t t le animals. But he thought. "No. I wi l lnot eat wi ld mangoes anymore. It rri I I make me s jck. But Ithink I wil l just pass by the mango tree when I go to thestream. The net,t t, lay js long and jt is sil ly not to go theshorter way. l{hat harm can there be jn just going by the mangotree? I r*i 1 I not even I ook up at the mangoes . "

So the Uguduwa ulent by the mango tree. Ilhen he passedthe mango tree he got the lovely smell of mangoes. The Uguduwasat down and stared at the grass. He scratched his stomach.Final ly he thought. "We11, I suppose I could look up at themangoes just once."

So the Uguduwa looked up. He satr large bunches(7) ofripe mangoes hanging above him. Then he looked ah,ay. He lookedat the grass agai n. He took hi s tai I i n h'is paws and washedit. But soon he looked up at the mangoes once more.

' I th ink I wi l l c l imb up the mango tree. There can' tbe any harm(8) in that now, can there?" the Uguduwa askedhimsel f . ' I f I don' t eat them, there can' t be any harm insitt ing close to them.rr

The Uguduwa climbed up the mango tree. He went and satnear a large bunch of mangoes. It was a very beautiful bunchof mangoes. The Iovely smell made the Uguduwa lick his l ipsvery often.

After waiting for Some time, the Ugucluwa touched themangoes with his pattl. He thought that there coulcl be nothingwrong in just touching them. He had almost forgotten what

44

they felt like to the paw. He did not mean to pluck anymangoes, of course, but soon one had got loose and t,,as lyingunder his paw.

'HeIl, well, ' thought the Ugucluwa. 'This mango must havebeen about to fall. That is rrhy it broke off so easily andcame to my paw.'

The Uguduwa sat holding the mango with his pau for sometlme. Then he thought. ' l wonder if the inside of the mangostil l looks as beautiful and golden as it used to. I havenot seen an unpeeled(9) mango for such a long time that Ihave almost forgotten what it looks like, I better peel thlsand have a look. I can always throw it away without eat'ingi t . '

So the Uguduwa peeled the mango with his teeth. The mangogleamed(I0) a bright orange under the peel(l1). The Uguduural lcked his I ips.

'l suppose I coulcl just bite off a litt le piece to seeif the mangoes are as soft as they used to be." thought theUgurluva after a litt le uhile. He thought it was a pity tothrow arlay the mango wlthout checking(1?) that up. He rlasnot golng to swallow it. If he did not svallow it he wouldnot be eating it, so then he woultl not be doing anything wrong.

So the Uguduwa took a tlttle bite of the mango. He trieclto only keep it in his mouth, but of course he swallowed it.

And then he ate and ate and ate! He licked his paus,

t;,Ft

Elr#

I

,/,

/ 'r'-

/ t , t

\ . . .

\ ' .

\

\ . '- - i>. .

he Iicked his lips and he plucked mango after mango. Soonthe bunches of mangoes disappeared,

After some davs, the owl reali?ed(13) that he had notseen the uguduwa for some time. so he went to ask about himfrom some of his friends.

'The Ugucluwa is sick.' said the parrot. He had flownnear the uguduwa's home and had heard him groaning(14) andruraning( 14) inside.

'He says tfrai his stomach is hurting very badly. perhapshe has eaten something that he shoulcl not have eaten.' saidthe deer, rlho had met the Uguduwa at the stream.

'Hhat could he have eaten?' wondered the hare. 'l don'tthink he knows what he shoulrl eat and should not eat.'

'Hlrm, hmrn.'said the otrl . He thought of the mango treethat had maRy bunches of mangoes missing. Nou he knew whathad happened to them, So he said 'l think, my friends, thathe just does not know what self control(1s) isl"

And then he flew arlay over the trees, towards theUguduwa's home, to see if, once again, he could be of anyhelp to hls sick fr iend.

(1 ) Stomach

GLOSSARY

the part of the body where the food goesafter it is put in the mouth

t

rSs'i4s

I

48

(2) Drooped

(3) Season

(4) Problem

( 5 ) Arlvice

(6) Avoided

(7) Bunches

(8) Harm

( 9 ) Unpeelecl

- hung doyn

- the particular time of year for somethingto happen

something wrong

help which tells someone what to do

- did not come near

groups, clusters

- something that causes hurt

- where the outer covering has not beenremoved

( 10) Gleamed - shone

(11) Peel - the outer covering

(1U Checking making sure

(13) Realized - came to know or see

( 14) GroaningFloanirfg -making noises that show pain

(15) Self control - having the abi l i ty to control or stoponeself

49

?. . !

:>';*-t .' t

t