Why the sun and the moon live in the sky

Many years ago, the sun and water were great friends, and they both lived on the earth togther. The sun very often used to visit the water, but the water never returned the visits.

At last the sun asked the water why he never visited. The water replied that the sun’s house was not big enough, and that if he came with all his people, he would drive the sun out of his home.

The water then said, “If you want me to visit you, you will have to build a very large house. But I warn you that it will have to be very large, as my people are numerous and take up a lot of room”.

The sun promised to build a very large house, and soon afterwards, he returned home to his wife, the moon, who greeted him with a broad smile.

The sun told the moon what he had promised the water, and the next day, they began building a large house to entertain the water and all his people.

When it was completed, the sun asked the water to come and visit him.

When the water arrived, one of his people called out to the sun, and asked him whether it would be safe for the water to enter, and the sun answered, “Yes, tell my friend to come in.”

The water began to flow in, followed by the fish and all the other water animals.

Very soon, the water was knee-deep in the house, so he asked the sun if it was still safe, and the sun again said, “Yes,” so more of them came in.

When the water was at the level of a man’s head, the water said to the sun, “Do you want more of my people to come?”

Not knowing any better, the sun and the moon both said, “Yes,”. More and more of the water’s people came in, until the sun and the moon had to sit on top of the roof.

The water once again asked the sun if it was still okay to keep coming in. The sun and moon answered yes, so more and more of the water’s people came in.

The water soon overflowed the top of the roof, and the sun and the moon were forced to go up into the sky.

…and they have been there ever since.

This is an African folktale

 

 

How the camel got its hump

This is an adaptation of a famous Rudyard Kipling story which explains how the camel got his hump. The story is set in Arabia, when the world was new and camels did not have humps.

In the beginning, when the world was new, all the animals were just starting to work for man. All the animals, that is, except the camel. He lived in the middle of a desert because he did not want to work. And when anyone spoke to him, all he said was “Humph.” He said that and nothing more.

One day, a horse with a saddle on his back came to see the camel.

HORSE: Camel, come and trot with us. There is much work to do.

CAMEL: Humph!

So the horse went to tell the man what he had found.

Next, a dog with a stick in his mouth arrived.

DOG: Camel, come and fetch and carry like the rest of us. We need your help.

CAMEL: Humph!

And the dog left to tell the man what the camel said.

Then an ox with a yoke around his neck stopped by to see the camel.

OX: Camel, you must come and plough with the other animals. There is work to be done.

CAMEL: Humph!

And the ox stomped away to inform the man.

MAN: I’m sorry for the three of you, but the camel in the desert will not work even though there is much work to do. So, you all must work harder to make up for his laziness.

The three animals were very angry with the camel, so they met at the edge of the desert to try to figure out what to do. The camel came and saw the meeting, but he didn’t care.

CAMEL: Humph! he laughed, and went back home.

After he left, the Wizard of All Deserts rolled in on a cloud of dust and joined the animals’ meeting.

WIZARD: What brings you good animals to this place today?

HORSE: Wizard, the world is new and there is much to do. Is it right to be lazy and not work?

WIZARD: Certainly not!

OX: But the camel in the desert refuses to help us.

DOG: And se must do more to make up for his laziness.

WIZARD: He will do nothing?

HORSE: He won’t trot.

DOG: Or fetch and carry.

OX: He never pulls a plough.

HORSE: When we ask, he will say only “Humph!”

WIZARD: I see. I will speak to the camel.

The wizard blew away in his cloud of dust and discovered the camel staring at his reflection in a pool of water.

WIZARD: Camel, why are you here when others are working?

CAMEL: Humph!

The wizard sat down and began to conjure a magnificent spell.

WIZARD: You have made the horse, dog, and ox do all the work.

CAMEL: Humph!

WIZARD: I would not say that once more if I were you.

CAMEL: Humph!

At that very moment, the camel noticed that his beautiful back, which he had been admiring in the reflection from the water, was now puffed up. Once straight and smooth, his back now formed a huge hump.

WIZARD: Do you see your back? That is a “humph” that you have brought upon yourself with your laziness. Now you will work!

CAMEL: But how can I work with this gigantic hump on my back?

WIZARD: That hump has a purpose. You let your friends carry your load. Because of your hump, you can now work for days without food. So you can carry a much bigger load. Go back to the animals and make up for your sloth.

So the camel joined the others and worked for the man. But even today, he wears a hump to remind him how to behave and he still says: Humph!

How The Whale Got His Throat

Did you know that whales which are so big in size, actually have a very small throat and can eat only small fishes? It was not like this before. Let me tell you the story of how the whales got his small throat.

Long long time ago whales used to eat fish literally every fish and shellfish in the ocean. There lived in the ocean a whale by name Henry and he was so hungry that he started eating all the fish in the sea except one. The only fish that was left was a small astute fish named Tingle. Tingle was very smart, unlike Henry. Tingle swam behind Henry’s right ear, and that was why he had not yet been eaten. One day, Henry stood up on his tail and bellowed, “I want some food!” When Henry realized that he had eaten all of the fish in the ocean, he began to thrash around, essentially throwing a tantrum. Tingle saw this as an opportunity to stop Henry from eating any more fish.

So Tingle smiled mischievously and whispered into Henry’s ear, “It seems you have eaten all of the fish in the sea, my dear whale. Why don’t you try eating a man?” Henry stopped thrashing about and thought for a moment. All he knew was that there were no more fish and he had never tasted man, so he agreed.

“Fine! Where are they so that I can eat them?” Henry asked as he started to thrash around again, this time in celebration of the promise of food. Henry normally thrashed around to express any sort of emotion.

“I suggest you eat one at a time. Any more than that might be bothersome,” Tingle said. “If you go to the middle of the ocean, I promise that waiting there is a ship-wrecked man on a raft wearing only a pair of breeches, a pair of suspenders (straps to hold the pants) and carrying a jack-knife. Also, I feel I should mention that he is incredibly resourceful, so be careful.”

So Henry swam to the middle of the ocean and sure enough, just as Tingle had said, there was a ship-wrecked man on a raft wearing only a pair of breeches, a pair of suspenders and carrying a jack-knife. Henry was so happy and so hungry that he immediately opened his mouth as wide as possible, and swallowed the ship-wrecked man, and his raft, and his breeches, and his suspenders, and his jack-knife.

When the resourceful man, whose name was George Michael Thornton, realized that he was inside of a whale he became very irritated. Since he was very resourceful, he developed a plan and began stomping around and yelling and generally being as annoying as possible. This made Henry very angry,

So Henry asked Tingle what he should do about the incredibly annoying, resourceful, man in his throat. Tingle suggested that Henry should tell the man to come out, as he hadn’t made it to the stomach yet. When Henry asked George Michael to come out, however, the man refused. George Michael told Henry that if he took him home to Great Britain, he might consider coming out, and then proceeded to dance around in Henry’s throat again. Tingle told Henry to do what the man said because, as he had warned Henry earlier, George Michael was extremely resourceful.

Deciding that it was probably his only option, and trusting the judgment of Tingle because he was smart, Henry swam to Great Britain to take George Michael home. While Henry was swimming, George Michael, because he was so resourceful, used his jack-knife to cut up his raft into a net-like grating (grill) and tied it with his suspenders. Then he stuck the net-like grating (grill), tied with the suspenders (straps), in Henry’s throat. When Henry reached Great Britain, he opened his mouth on the beach so that George Michael could walk onto the shore. George Michael left without saying goodbye and walked home, where his mother had been worried sick about him.

So, from that day on Henry had that grating in his throat that he could never cough up or swallow. Now he could only eat extremely small fish. In fact, he probably would have eaten Tingle, if Tingle had not hidden from him in the mud because he was afraid Henry might be mad at him.

From then whales have very small throat and can eat only small fishes.

This is an abridged version of the story by Rudyard Kipling

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW THE TORTOISE GOT ITS CROOKED SHELL

 

A long time ago, a terrible famine hit an ancient animal kingdom. It had not rained for two whole years and all of the crops were dying. The animals hoped and prayed for an end to the terrible drought, but the sky was no longer able to gather enough clouds, and the rains did not come.

Ijapa, the cunning tortoise, lived on the outskirts of the village with his wife and two sons.

The famine was very bad and was already having a devastating effect on all the animals, so Ijapa could no longer trick them into parting with what little rations of food they possessed.

One morning, very tired and hungry, Ijapa left his house with the intention of searching the marketplace for scraps of food, but there was no food in the market, and so the tortoise remained as hungry as ever.

However, just as the tortoise was about to return home he saw Ehoro, the rabbit, hopping towards the marketplace. There was something strange about Ehoro. He looked radiant, well fed, and full of exuberance. Ijapa was curious. ‘Why is Ehoro looking so well and I am so hungry?’ he thought.  So he approached the rabbit with his head bowed as if he were in mourning. Then he began to cry.

When Ehoro saw Ijapa, he rushed to meet him. ‘What is it, my friend?’ asked the kind rabbit.

Ijapa answered, ‘My father is ill in hospital. My wife is expecting our third child but she is so hungry that I fear for her health.  And only last night I heard that my mother-in-law is dying of starvation because she does not have enough food to eat! I feel terrible because there is nothing I can do!’

Ehoro was suspicious because it was well known that the tortoise was very sly and could not always be trusted. But Ijapa was an excellent performer and soon won the rabbit’s sympathy.

‘Meet me at Ore Brook after dark,’ said Ehoro. ‘I will help you in spite of my doubts. I just hope that I do not regret this.’

Soon it was night, and Ijapa set out into the darkness to find Ehoro waiting at the brook. Once they had said their hellos, both animals made their way into the deep forest: the rabbit leading the way while the tortoise followed closely behind.

Before long, they came to a narrow path that led to an open clearing among the trees in the middle of the forest.

The rabbit stopped and pulled the tortoise to his side. ‘What you are about to see must be kept a secret, do you understand?’ The tortoise nodded in agreement and the rabbit cupped his hands around his mouth and began to sing…

Suddenly, a long, white rope descended from the sky. Ehoro grabbed the rope and began to climb.  After hesitating for just a moment, Ijapa also took a hold of the rope and followed the rabbit up into the night The rabbit and the tortoise climbed and climbed until they got to the very top of the rope where there was a magnificent, fluffy cloud shaped like a door. The door opened, and there stood a kindly old rabbit with a smile upon her face.

‘Mother!’ exclaimed Ehoro in a joyful voice as he embraced the old rabbit. ‘This is my friend Ijapa who has come for supper.’

Ehoro’s mother held out her hand and gave the tortoise a warm handshake. ‘Come in and eat with us. I have just set the table.’

The sight that met Ijapa’s eyes made him gasp. There was a large table laden with the most sumptuous foods he had ever seen. There were exotic fruits and fresh fish of all types marinated and cooked with herbs. There was also rice and yam and mouth watering soups. The hungry tortoise dug in immediately and ate everything that he could get his hands on.

‘Don’t eat too much,’ Ehoro cautioned, ‘or you will not be able to climb back down the rope and walk back to the village.’

The tortoise continued to eat until eventually he slumped back in his chair and gazed sheepishly around the room, his belly protruding like a huge balloon.

After they had rested for a while, Ehoro decided that it was time to return home.  Ijapa rubbed his large belly, got to his feet very slowly, and made his way to the door.

‘Aren’t you going to take some food back home for your family?’ Ehoro’s mother asked , ‘No thank you,’ replied Ijapa, ‘I am too full in my belly to carry any food with me.’

And so Ehoro’s mother let down the rope and the rabbit and the tortoise descended back into the forest and went their separate ways home.

When Ijapa got home his family were still sleeping, so he crept into his bed, covered himself up with his blanket, and fell into a deep sleep for twelve hours.

When he eventually awoke, Ijapa was very hungry. ‘I need food,’ he thought to himself. ‘I need food and I need it now.’

It was then that Ijapa had an idea. ‘I will go back to Ehoro’s house while he is still at work. I will think of some lies to tell his mother when she let’s down the rope, and I will fill my belly once again.’

When Ijapa arrived at the open space in the forest, he cleared his throat and began to sing the same song that Ehoro had sung the previous night…

The trouble was, Ijapa had a rather husky voice and the song did not sound as beautiful or as heartfelt as when it was sung by Ehoro.

‘That does not sound like my son,’ thought Ehoro’s mother. The old rabbit hesitated for a moment, but eventually she decided to let down the rope. ‘Perhaps he has caught a cold,’ she thought, as she lowered the rope into the clearing below.

The mischievous tortoise was delighted to see the rope fall to the ground and he quickly grabbed it with both hands and began to climb as fast as he could.

Ijapa was half way up the rope when he heard a voice shouting from the forest below.

‘Hey, where do you think you’re going? Come back down at once!’

It was Ehoro, and he sounded very angry. ‘Mother, we’ve been tricked!’ shouted the rabbit.  Still Ijapa continued to climb the rope, his mind full of thoughts of the feast awaiting him above.

Ehoro called out to his mother again, but again nothing happened.  And so the tortoise continued to climb up the rope into the clouds.

Ehoro cleared his throat, took a very deep breath, and began to sing to his mother up in the clouds… 

When Ehoro’s mother heard her son’s voice she exclaimed, ‘now that is my son! But who was the first caller?’ The old rabbit peeped through the clouds to see what was happening below. That was when she saw the tortoise climbing up the rope towards her.

Mother,’ shouted Ehoro from far below, ‘cut the rope!’

The old rabbit fetched a large carving knife and began to cut at the rope. At first it seemed as if the rope was made of iron and that the knife would have no effect at all. But Ehoro’s mother continued to hack at the rope with all her might and soon there was only a very thin strand left for the tortoise to hang onto. Then the old rabbit gave the rope a final hack with the knife and whooooaaaahhhh! Ijapa went tumbling down towards the forest below.

The winds carried Ijapa back and forth, tossing him around in the sky until he landed heavily on his back in the forest. Unfortunately for him, the only thing to cushion his fall was a big rock that was sitting on the forest floor. When he landed on the rock, Ijapa’s shell cracked in so many places that it ended up looking like a jigsaw puzzle.

The tortoise awoke many hours later.  He was very dazed, but he was able to move and found that he was not in very much pain after all.  But his shell remained like a jigsaw puzzle and would never again return to the lovely, smooth, round shape it was before.

 A Nigerian folk tale.

 

HOW THE ELEPHANT GOT ITS TRUNK

Long, long ago, elephants did not have trunks. They had lumpy black noses instead.

At that time, a very little elephant lived with his family in Africa. The little elephant asked questions about everything.

He asked Aunt Ostrich why her tail feathers grew the way they did. Aunt ostrich said,” Oh, Little Elephant! Go on your way!”

He asked Uncle Giraffe why he had spots. Uncle giraffe said ,” What a silly question, young man”.

One morning, the little elephant asked the bird “What does the crocodile eat for dinner?” The bird said,” You ask too many questions! Go to the river and find out for yourself”.

Little Elephant had never seen a crocodile before, but off he went to find one. Just as Little Elephant got to the river — THUNK! — he tripped over a log. At least, that’s what he thought he tripped over. But the log turned out to be the wily crocodile himself.

Crocodile showed Little Elephant his large toothy mouth. LITTLE ELEPHANT asked “Excuse me. Have you seen a crocodile around here?” The crocodile replied, “I am a crocodile. What do you want?” The little elephant said, “Really? I’ve been looking for you!! Will you please answer my question: What do you eat for dinner?”. The crocodile replied,” Come here, little one. I’ll whisper the answer in your ear.” The Little Elephant got down on his knees, put his head near Crocodile’s large toothy mouth, and…

CHOMP! Crocodile grabbed Little Elephant by his lumpy black nose and said “I think I’ll eat a little elephant for dinner today!”

The little elephant said, “Ow! Let go! That hurts!”

A slithering snake heard Little Elephant holler. He stopped to see what was the matter. The snake told the elephant  “ Well, Little Elephant, I s-s-see you’ve gotten yourself into a mes-s-s. Pull back! Pull back hard or Crocodile will drag you into the river and eat you!”

Hearing that, Little Elephant pulled back as hard as he could. He pulled so hard that his nose began to stretch. The harder he pulled, the longer his nose became. Suddenly, Little Elephant began slipping into the water. Snake quickly wrapped his body around Little Elephant and began to pull back too. The snake said, “Pull, Little Elephant. Pull!” The Crocodile pulled hard on Little Elephant’s nose. Little Elephant and Snake pulled back. Together, Snake and Little Elephant were stronger than Crocodile. Finally, Crocodile let go.

Little Elephant was saved from Crocodile. But his nose! His nose was now five feet long!

LITTLE ELEPHANT said, “Thank you, Snake. You saved my life! Now, I will sit here for a while and wait for my nose to shrink.”.

But Little Elephant’s nose didn’t shrink. Crocodile had pulled it into a long trunk! At first, Little Elephant was sad. But soon he discovered many ways to use his new nose.

LITTLE ELEPHANT said, “ Wow! That fly on my shoulder flew away when I hit it with my trunk. The snake said, “You could not have done that with a short nose”.

LITTLE ELEPHANT said “ Look! I can eat this big bunch of grass without bending down”. FROG said, “ You could not have done that with a short nose”.

LITTLE ELEPHANT said , “Hey! Watch me scoop up this cool mud and plop it on my head”. HIPPO said, “You could not have done that with a short nose”.

Little Elephant knew the animals were right. So he went home happily swinging his new trunk.

When he got there, his family was waiting. FATHER, MOTHER, AND SISTER ELEPHANT asked him, “Where did you get that long nose?”. LITTLE ELEPHANT said, “I got it from the Crocodile. He gave it to me to keep.

MOTHER ELEPHANT said, “I’m not sure I like it”

FATHER ELEPHANT said, “You don’t look like yourself, son”.

SISTER ELEPHANT said, “You look really weird!”.

LITTLE ELEPHANT said, “My new trunk might look strange, But please do not be fooled. From picking fruit to keeping cool, My trunk’s a very useful tool!”

When they saw how useful Little Elephant’s trunk was, all the elephants wanted one. One-by-one, they went to the river to get a new nose from the Crocodile.

And that’s why today, all elephants have trunks instead of lumpy noses.

My version of the Rudyard Kipling’s story ‘The elephant child’.

 

 

 

POURQUOI STORIES (a fun tool for creative writing)

A pourquoi story (“pourquoi” means “why” in French), also known as an origin story, pourquoi tale or an etiological tale, is a fictional narrative that explains why something is the way it is, for example why a snake has no legs, or why a tiger has stripes. Many legends and folk tales are pourquoi stories.

The next few stories I am going to share are such stories which either have been written by well known authors or are folk tales. Enjoy reading them and inculcate the spirit of creative writing in children and let their imagination fly high with these topics

How the leopard got its spots?	How the tiger got its stripes?
How the bear lost its tail	Why do chameleons change colour?
Why the sun and moon live in the sky?	Why is the ocean blue?
Why the sea is salty?	How do the birds get their feathers
Why rainbows are arched	Why snakes have no legs
How did the giraffe get a long neck?	Why can’t fish live on land?
How the elephant got its big ears?	Why lions have manes?
How bulls got their horns?	Why animals cannot speak words?
Why is a signal red and green?	How did the human beings lose their tail?
Why are school buses yellow?	Why are dogs and cats enemies?
Why did the camel get a hump?	Why can’t penguins fly?
Why don’t owls sleep in the night?	Why do waves make noise?
Why are squirrels afraid?	Why do cars have horns?

 

THE LITTLE RED HEN

The little red hen loved to keep her home and surroundings neat and tidy. ‘bak bak….’she went sweeping her garden. ‘Wow!! What is that?? It was not there yesterday when I was sweeping. Oh! It is a grain of wheat.” She looked around and found some more grains. She picked them.  She did not want to throw them away as she always hated wasting anything. She got an idea.

She went ‘bak bak…’to her friend The pig. The pig was standing in her sty doing nothing. The little red hen went to the pig and said ‘Hey! Look what I got . ‘ Very casually and in a disinterested voice the pig looked and said ‘it is a grain of wheat, what is the big deal’.

The little red hen excitedly requested the pig to come and help her sow the wheat grains. The pig said ‘can’t you see ? I am taking rest. I cannot help you’. The little red hen looked at her lazy friend, took the grains of wheat and went in search of her other friend The Cat.

The cat was busy cleaning herself and the little red hen thought to herself ‘whenever I see the cat, I see her cleaning herself. She does no work. Any way let me ask whether she would help’. To her question the cat replied ‘Can’t you see I am busy ? I cannot help you’.

The little red hen then went to the pond where she saw her friend The Duck playing. She asked the duck to help her sow the grains of wheat. The duck said ‘Can’t you see I am busy playing? I cannot help you’.

The little red hen decided that she would sow the grains of wheat by herself. She dug the ground and placed the grains inside the ground and then covered the ground . She then sprinkled some water. Every day she sprinkled water and then one day she noticed small plants coming out of the ground. She was very happy. She took good care of the plants as they grew.  After sometime the little red hen decided that the plants had to be cut and again she went to her three friends for help.

‘Not I’ Said the pig. ‘Not I’ said the cat and ‘Not I said the duck.

“Then I will,” said the little red hen. So the little red hen cut the wheat all by herself.
When all the wheat was cut, the little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to be ground into flour?”

“Not I,” grunted the lazy pig. “Not I,” purred the sleepy cat. “Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck

“Then I will,” said the little red hen. So the little red hen  brought the wheat  to the mill  all by herself, ground the wheat  into flour , and carried the heavy sack  of flour  back to the farm .
The tired little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me bake the bread?”

“Not I,” grunted the lazy pig. “Not I,” purred the sleepy cat. “Not I,” quacked the noisy yellow duck.

“Then I will,” said the little red hen. So the little red hen baked the bread all by herself.
When the bread was finished, the tired little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me eat the bread?”

“I will,” grunted the lazy pig

“I will,” purred the sleepy cat.
“I will,” quacked the noisy yellow duck.”

No!” said the little red hen. “I will.”

But then she felt sorry for her friends and called them home for lunch.

She made lovely sandwiches with the bread and shared with her friends.

 

 

BUDDHA AND HIS DISCIPLE

Once, a disciple of Lord Buddha approached him and asked if he could have a new set of robes since his set was old. The Lord readily gave his consent.

After some time, the Buddha asked the disciple, “How are your new robes? Do you need anything else?”

Disciple: These robes are really nice. I don’t need anything else 

Buddha: What did you do with your old robes?

Disciple: I’m using them as a spread to lie down upon.

Buddha: Did you throw away your old spread?
Disciple: No, I’m using it as a curtain. 

Buddha: What did you did with your old curtain?
Disciple: I’m using it as a rag in the kitchen for carrying hot vessels.

Buddha: What did you do with the old rag?
Disciple: O Lord, it was terribly worn out and torn in many places. Since it could not be used elsewhere, I’m using it as a wick to light the lamp for reading at night.

Hearing this, the Lord smiled and went to his room.

From this story, we can learn the principle that there is nothing in the universe that is absolutely useless.

We must strive as much as possible to recycle and reuse waste, and thus create a world without waste—let that be our aim

HELLO MR BUNNY RABBIT

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some carrots ?

Oh No Thank you not for me !”

Bunny Rabbit was very sad. He hated being a bunny.

His ears were too long. His teeth were too big.

He had too many brothers and sisters. His house was always very very crowded.

Worst of all …his mom made him eat carrots for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

He HATED carrots !

So he decided, he didnt want to be a rabbit anymore. So he packed his bags and left his home.

He went and sat on a rock and said thought…hmmm what can i be ?

Then he looked up at the mountains in front of him and remembered his friend the bear. The bear family lived up in the mountains in a cave. So he decided.. I WANT to be a BEAR.

He went up the mountains and joined them. The bears were so happy to welcome him and asked him to join them for dinner.

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some honey?

Oh yes thank you…it is sooo yummy !”

He loved the honey and slurped it with relish and went to bed thinking ..I love being a bear.

The next day…he joined the bears as they went hunting for honey. The bears started climbing a tree which had a BIG honey comb. The bees got angry and started stinging everyone around. The bears had thick grizzly coat so they were able to ward off the honey bees..but poor bunny rabbit…he got hurt very badly…. oooo ouchhh… he kept crying and decided that “ I dont want to be a bear anymore…it hurts….ooo ouch”

So when he saw a beautiful bird flying past him…he decided …now i am going to be a BIRD. So he asked the bird if he can join him. The bird welcomed him and introduced him to the other birds sitting int he branch. Then they offered him a meal.

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some worms?

Oh No Thank you not for me !”

Oh in that case, you come with me we will help you find some berries. So the birds started flapping their wings and got ready to fly. So did Bunny Rabbit, but when he flapped his hands….whoosh ! He fell down from the branch.

Ohh ohhh… i cant be a Bird…if i cannot fly.

So he went and joined his friend mouse in his hole in a mouse. I want to be a mouse. But the mouses house smelled of old stale food and the bunny rabbit couldnt stand it.

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some Old cheese ?

Sniff Sniff…yuck…..Oh No Thank you not for me !”

Soon, they heard a noise….meow meow… the cat was looking for the mouse and started chasing them… the mouse ran and then the bunny rabbit also ran….ran ran…

huffng and puffing …he said.. i dont want to be a mouse any more…it is too much of danger….

So he went next door to the farm where the pigs stayed. The pigs welcomed him to their sty and said..

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some Potatoes ?

Oh yes thank you…it is soo yummy”

He was so hungry..so he ate all the potatoes. Yumm…Slurp. Then the pigs said.. come lets go roll over in the mud….

Roll over in the mud… snort.. Bunny rabbit did not like to get dirty….so he said… oh no…i dont like to roll over in mud…. so i dont think i can be a PIG.

So away he went back to the forest…he was so sad…then heard a loud noise…..pawooooooooooo…the elephants were coming that way…. hey i could be a elephant….so he went and joined them….

The elephants offered him some food….

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some bannans ?

Oh yes thank you…it is soo yummy”

But the elephants made a lot of noise…trampling around, going pawooom…. it was hard for the rabbit to manage and if he was not carefull he could even get crushed under their foot… he got tired of being careful…..so decided he didnt want to be an elephant any more.

Then he went away and then he met a fox, who invited him to come and stay with him.

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some roasted rabbit ?

Oh no thank you not for me !”

and he ran away from there. He ran and ran and ran and ran…. till he reached his HOME.

He had never been so happy to see his small crowded home and his big brood of borhters and sisters. He said to himself.

I dont want to be a BEAR, a BIRD, a MOUSE, a PIG, a ELEPHANT, a FOX

I just want to be myself ….a bunny RABBIT with big long ears and big teeth. Then he went to play with his brothers and sisters and they had so much fun together.

That night for dinner… his mama remembered how he hates carrots so she asked him.

“Hello Mr. Bunny Rabbit …would you like some tea ?

Guess what he replied ?

Oh No Thank you not for me !

I would rather have a carrot but will not have any tea”

Source: Adapted to suit from a story called There is something funny about being a Bunny

Gecko’s Complaint

One night a village Chief was awakened out of a deep sleep by five calls of “Geck-o, Geck-o, Geck-o, Geck-o, Geck-o.” It was, of course, Gecko, the Lizard, and he wanted to see the Chief, a wise and kind man, who received him with pleasure, even though it was the middle of the night.

Gecko had come to lodge a complaint. He was very disturbed and unhappy, he said.  To the rest of God’s creatures, it might have seemed that Gecko ought to have no reason at all to complain. He could do so many things that other creatures could not, such as walk on the  wall, or upside down on the ceiling. He could do this because he had little pads on the tip of each of his toes. Not only that, if his tail should be lost in a battle with another lizard, he would be able to grow another one, just as good as, if not better than, the old one. His smaller cousin, Cicak,  was much more active and mobile, darting across the wall as he chased his mate, sometimes stopping for a short climb up a sideboard to sample some sweet or other, while Gecko expended a minimum of energy, sitting lazily up in the rafters, going out at night in search of mosquitoes, filling the night with his raucous calls. What would Gecko ever have to complain about?

But now Gecko was upset. For several weeks he had not been able to sleep because of Firefly.  Night after night the black lightning beetle with red and yellow spots flew around and about him, glowing like sparks of fire, flashing his light into Gecko’s eyes.  The Chief, who really did not like his sleep to be disturbed either, was sympathetic, and promised to make an investigation. He asked Gecko to come back to see him in a week or so.

The next day the Chief called Firefly and told him about Gecko’ complaint. “Is it only Gecko you are disturbing?” he asked, “or is it possible that others are also bothered by your light flashing  into their eyes?”

Firefly’ light was out now, as he spoke very humbly to the Chief. “I meant no harm, sir. In fact, I thought I was doing something good. I heard the drumming of Woodpecker as he struck his bill on the tree trunk, and I thought it was akulkul calling villagers to get up and gather. I was only flashing my light to pass on the message.”

The Chief then decided to ask Woodpecker about this. He found him and told him what Firefly  had said. “I too was only passing on a warning, sir,” said Woodpecker. “I heard the kwak-kwak-kwak of Frog in the rice paddies, and I thought it was a warning that an earthquake was coming. So I  just passed on the message.”

Now the chief went in search of Frog, who meanwhile had heard that he would be interrogated. “The reason I was kwak-kwak-kwaking more and louder than usual,” he explained, “is that I saw Black Beetle walking down the road carrying filth, which I thought was so dirty and so unhygienic that I had to stop him.”

“That is indeed bad,” thought the Chief. “I must speak to Beetle at once.”Black Beetle, plump and gleaming like polished copper, was also very humble and respectful, as he explained the situation.  “You see, sir, Water Buffalo comes by dropping his pat in the middle of the road, and I just thought it was my duty to clean it up.”  The Chief was now beginning to lose patience. “Tell Water Buffalo I wish to see him!” he ordered.

When Water Buffalo appeared, he was polite, but he expressed his displeasure with Beetle’s report.  “It is clear,” he said, “that I am not appreciated. Rain washes away all the stones in the road, and I fill up the holes. Who else does that, I ask you?”  By this time the Village Chief was tired, but he had to hear Rain’s story. And Rain was angry.  “Complaining  about ME?” he asked. “Who asks the gods for Rain, even makes offerings to them so they will send Rain? Without ME there are no mosquitoes, and if there are no mosquitoes, Gecko is hungry and unhappy. Don’t speak to me. Speak to Gecko!”

When Gecko returned to the home of the Chief as he had been requested to do, the Chief spoke  to him very sternly indeed.

“Gecko, say no more. We all have our problems. Go home, and live at peace with all your neighbours!”

This is a folktale from Bali.