Story Prism

The Alphabet Escapades of Letter P is a story that letter P tells as he witnesses a real adventure where two aerial friends help out their terrestrial friend. i

Free activity sheets and other downloadable resources available at www.rituvaish.com/alphabet-escapades-of-letter-p

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Transcript

Letter P was extremely adventurous and on one such adventure, he witnesses the friendship of three friends. This is the story letter P told:

Once there were three friends: a parrot, a pigeon, and a pig.

Pig lived in the small patch of muddy water and beside this muddy patch on the right was a big palm tree where lived a pigeon and to the left was a big banyan tree which was the home to a parrot.

Every day morning after wishing each other good morning, the two birds would fly away to the fields in search of food.

Children, what do you think the pig did while the birds flew away in the morning?

Yes! That’s right.

The pig would roll around in the mud. In the evening, all the three friends would talk about their day and wish each other good night and go to their homes.

It was the pig’s deep desire to be able to fly. Every day as the pigeon and the parrot flew away in search of food, the pig would think, “ Oh! How wonderful it would be to be able to fly.”

Finally, one day the pig said sadly to his two friends, “ You are so lucky to be able to fly. I wish I could fly too and enjoy with you both looking at the earth from far above.”

The parrot and the pigeon were sad that their good friend couldn’t fly and wanted to somehow help their friend fly.

 Children, can you think of some way that the pig can fly?

Ummm.. alright, listen ahead to find out.

 “We could both carry him," called out the pigeon.

“I wish we could, but the pig is way too heavy for us,” said the parrot sadly.

As they were discussing various ways to carry the pig, the parrot exclaimed, “I know what to do.”

 Children, any guesses as to what was on the parrot’s mind?

Listen ahead.

He muttered something in the pigeon’s ears, which brought an instant smile on the pigeon’s face.

They were both excited and wished each other and the pig good night, then they went to their respective trees.

The next morning, both the pigeon and the parrot went to the city nearby. They went to the shop that sold parachutes and explained their friend’s desire to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was excited as he imagined a pig flying and gave one parachute to the two birds. Parrot and pigeon thanked the shopkeeper and together took the parachute to the peak of a nearby mountain. Then they rushed to the pig and asked him to reach the peak of the mountain for a big surprise.

Once the pig reached the peak of the mountain, the two birds explained their plan.

The parrot exclaimed, “ We are going to tie the parachute to your body, then you  can run off the mountain and enjoy flying like the birds!”

“Oink! Oink! Let’s do it!” oinked the pig smiling from ear to ear.

Carefully the two birds tied the parachute

“5-3-3-2-l..run! Run pig run and jump!’ called out the two birds waving their wings. As for the pig, he ran and jumped off the mountain.

Lo and behold, he was flying.

Children, what all did he see as he flew?

Great!

He was excited to see the treetops, the rivers, and also his two bird friends who were flying with him.

And as he was still enjoying, the parachute came down, and down came the pig with a big thud and landed in a pumpkin patch.

The parrot and pigeon also flew down.

The three friends clapped and gave high-fives to each other.

“I am a pig! I am a flying pig! Yey, yey, yey!” oinked the pig.

“He is a pig! He’s a flying pig! Yey, yey, yey!” cooed the pigeon.

“He is a pig! He’s a flying pig! Yey, yey, yey!” squawked the parrot.

And they all did a jig.

“Thanks a lot, friends. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have never experienced flying!” said the pig with a big grin and a sparkle in his eyes.

“You are very welcome Let’s meet at home dear pig!” said the birds as they flew away.

The pig rolled a small pumpkin all the way home to treat his bird friend.

Children, isn’t that a nice way to say thanks?

That night all that the friends talked about was flying.

And the birds enjoyed the pumpkin.

Now, whenever the pig wants to fly, they all to the peak of the mountain and tie the parachute to the pig’s body and off he goes flying.

Hello Children! I am alphabet P. Hope you liked the story.

You know I make the sound: /p/ 

Let’s see what all words in the story started with the sound /p/.

Remember the names of the three friends?

/p/ pig

/p/pigeon

/p/parrot

The pigeon lived on a

/p/ palm tree

Now, what did the parrot and pigeon get from the shop?

/p/ parachute

And where did the birds’ asked the pig to meet

/p/ peak of the mountain

The pig landed on a 

/p/ pumpkin 

/p/ patch.

How Frogs Got Big Eyes is a folktale from Kenya about how a tiny frog scares an elephant but gets Big eyes in return.

Free activity sheet available at https://www.rituvaish.com/how-frogs-got-big-eyes

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

Why do people find frogs scary? Is it the sound of the frog’s croak that sends people away? Or is it the sight of its swollen stomach? Is it the way its skin feels when one holds it?

A long time ago, there lived a frog who had small eyes. His eyes were

like those of a goat, a bird, or even a person just like you.  Unable to see very well through those tiny eyes, he was always bumping into other animals and objects. “Sorry!” “Pardon me,”  he would say.

So he decided that instead of walking, he would hop and jump. One, two, three, hop... four, five, six, jump. That’s how he moved. Hopping and jumping was difficult, but at least he could avoid bumping into other animals.

Children, how to you like to move? Do you like to hop, jump, skip, or bounce?

That’s Great!

One day, Frog was hopping around. “... one, two, three,

hop...... four, five, six, jump... seven, eight, ouch!” He crashed into an object. “What is this?” He looked closely at the tunnel-like thing but could see only darkness inside. The object went up and then came down. And along with went Frog, up and down.

Children, what do you think this object was?

Let’s see

“It must be going up to heaven,” thought Frog.

What he did not know was that this was the trunk of an elephant!

It went up and down as Elephant drank water. But Frog didn’t know that and he was sure that finally, he could go to heaven.

He jumped, hopped, and pushed himself into the elephant’s trunk. It was dark and slippery. He thought of all the things he would wish for when he reached heaven. “A big house with a lot of food, and even bigger eyes so that I don’t have to jump all the time,” he thought to himself.

In the meantime, Elephant started to feel something tickling inside her trunk. “I will eat some of the tree leaves. They might stop the itch,” she thought.

Yet, the leaves did not work. “I must be really thirsty. Let me drink some water.”

 In the meantime, as Frog was struggling inside the trunk to climb deeper, he said, “Going to heaven is not that easy,”.

Elephant dipped her trunk in the river. The water shot through her trunk, nearly drowning Frog, but he held on tight.

Children, can you suggest something to the frog that would save him from downing inside the trunk?

Let’s listen ahead.

So, Elephant continued to draw water into her trunk until Frog could no longer hold on and fainted inside the trunk. As for  Elephant, after drinking water she felt better. She then started playing with water, as the elephants do, and blasted the water from her trunk, throwing Frog into the river.

Soon Frog woke up.  

“What is this?” he wondered as he looked at the giant animal. “I must scare this monster,” he thought. He made very loud noises, but Elephant did not react.

Children, can you suggest some way that Frog can scare the elephant?

Let’s see.

 “The bigger I am, the scarier I will be,” frog thought. So he held his breath, hoping it would make him look bigger. Elephant paid no heed and continued playing in the water. “I will open my mouth and eyes wider,” Frog schemed. He took another deep breath and held it. This time he opened his eyes wider and stared at Elephant, but she was too busy enjoying her bath.

Frog’s eyes became wider and wider until they started hurting. His stomach was almost bursting from holding his breath.

Suddenly, Frog let out a loud, “W-h-a-a-a-t!” Elephant jumped. She saw Frog with his big eyes and swollen stomach. She could not hide her fear. “What a scary little creature,” she thought as she hurried away.

“Oh dear,” sighed Frog, releasing the excess air from his lungs. Unfortunately, his eyes were left big and his mouth open. But, he still hops and jumps instead of walking.

He was too tired and drifted into a deep sleep.

Children, what makes you feel tired? And what do you do then?

Nice.

Late in the evening, some animals came to drink water from the river. Antelopes, cheetahs, warthogs, even hyenas. Their loud noises woke Frog. The animals noticed, his eyes were big and bulging, his mouth open wide. They were scared and they quickly drank their water and left.

The legend has it that this is how the frogs got big eyes.

Children’s Day, 14th November is the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister who loved children immensely. He was lovingly called Chacha Nehru by the little children.

Chacha Nehru once said: The children of today will make the India of tomorrow.

In today’s story, Children Lead-Brown to Green, two children show their resilience and act responsibly, proving that India is safe in the hands of these children.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/children-lead-brown-to-green

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

Ravin and Mini were 10- and 8-year-old siblings, and they both loved the outdoors. They enjoyed playing basketball, football, wave boarding, etc. Their mother was a professional hiker and had climbed many tall mountains. This attracted the siblings, and it was their dream to go hiking one day.

It was a week before Children’s Day., father got home and excitedly asked the siblings to open the shopping bags he got. Thrilled, they both ripped open the paper bags to reveal hiking gear, bug spray, caps, shoes, backpack, etc.

Children, why do you think the father bought all these?

That’s correct

The father got them hiking gear.

“So, when are we going?” enquired Ravin, looking at his father.

Father exclaimed, "It’s your special treat on Children’s Day.”

For the next few days, the siblings only talked about hiking.

Finally, it was Children’s Day. They all got ready in their hiking gear and drove to the starting point of the hike.

Children, do you think it’ll be an exciting day? Why? Why not?

The mountain was looking beautiful all clothed in green.

The siblings could not hold themselves back and started the hike with their parents following them.

On the hike, they saw innumerable insects, exotic wildflowers, and many varieties of animals. They were enchanted by the melodious chirping of birds and the gurgling of water.

The views of the valley were a treat to the eyes. All in all, the siblings really enjoyed themselves.

On their way back also wanted to climb another nearby hill. Looking at the excitement in the children, the parents agreed.

But it was different.

Children, can you guess what was different about this mountain?

Listen ahead.

The mountain was mostly brown and instead of the birds tweeting, they heard the sawing machines. Instead of the insects and other animals, they saw bare dusty rocks. They were curious to know why this was so different than the other mountain.

Father sat on a rock and explained, “See children, for insects, birds, animals to survive, they need the help of the trees and other plants as they act as their home and also give them food. Unfortunately, some people fell trees for building houses, making furniture, or even burning firewood. This leaves the mountain bare.”

The siblings weren’t very happy this time and kept thinking about it. They were determined to take some action and restore the mountain.

Children, can you suggest something that the siblings can do to restore the mountain?

That’s great.

Once home, they chalked out a plan.

They would plant saplings on the mountain.

For that, they first needed the saplings. Next, they needed volunteers to help plant them. Finally, they wanted the saplings to be looked after.

Now that was a great plan.

“Where would we get the saplings?” thought Mini loudly.

“Every problem has a solution,” mother encouraged them.

They thought of all the possible places they could get the saplings from. A plant nursery was their first thought. But that would be very expensive.

“Isn’t Mr. Rao a farmer?” Ravin said with twinkling eyes.

That’s right, Mr. Rao is a farmer. So, why don’t we go today and find if he could contribute some saplings for this bare mountain,” said Mini.

That evening they both visited Mr. Rao and expressed their desire to grow trees on the bare mountain.

Mr. Rao was delighted to see the enthusiasm of the children and pledged to give them 50 saplings. He further told them that he’ll even ask his farmer friends to donate some.

Thanking him, the siblings walked back home.

That evening during dinner Mini said sadly, “ I know the hill is small, but 50 saplings are too few.”

“Remember little drops make the mighty ocean,” father cheered them. “You start with 50 and I am sure soon Mr. Rao’s friends will pledge too.”

The siblings nodded in agreement.

Their next problem was getting volunteers to help them plant those saplings on the mountain.

“That’s easy,” said Ravin, “We will do a door-to-door campaign and educate all the friends about the importance of trees. We will surely get many volunteers”.

All this needed a lot of planning and hard work. The siblings got the ball rolling and started their campaign –‘ ‘1-2-3 Let’s plant a tree.'

Initially, many kids didn’t join. But that did not discourage the siblings.

Every weekend, Ravin and Mini with their few friends would hike with the shovels and saplings and plant those saplings. They would even have a small picnic.

The other friends saw all the fun of hiking, planting the saplings, and of course, the picnic that followed. that these volunteers were enjoying, and that motivated them too.

Very soon, all their determination and hard work paid off and they were a big group of volunteer children.

From that day there was no looking back. They planted many saplings and took care of them.

This served a dual purpose, one of making the dry and brown hill green, and the second, was the fun of hiking, and not to miss the picnic each weekend.

It was 14th November again, yet another Children’s Day. It was the day that Ravin and Mini had decided to make the hill green. And to celebrate all the children invited their parents and even their teachers for a lovely picnic among the trees, which were not very tall yet, but the children took pride to be amongst the trees they had planted themselves.

Everybody applauded the children’s efforts and encouraged them.

It took a few years; children grew taller and so did the trees.

The birds, insects, and other animals slowly made it their habitat.

Now the brown hill was all dressed in green.

Every Children’s Day, the siblings along with all the volunteer friends have a picnic on the hill which is completely green now.

It was Ravin and Mini’s initiative that made the dry and brown hill all green now.

Welcome to the Friends Tales

The Elephant and friends is a story about how all the animals tell the elephant that he is too big to be their friend and finally understand that friends come in all sizes and shapes

Free activity sheets and other downloadable resources are available at www.rituvaish.com/elephant-and-friends

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

Once in a big forest there lived an elephant. He was very lonesome as he didn’t have any friends. The lonely elephant wandered the forest looking for friends.

She came across a monkey swinging in the trees and asked, “Will you be my friend, monkey?” 

“Oh! No no. You are too big and cannot swing on trees as I do. So I cannot be your friend,” said the monkey and ran away.

The elephant was sad that he couldn’t swing on the trees.

Well, the elephant walked ahead.

He saw a rabbit. He called out, “Hey rabbit would you be my friend?”

“Oh, no, no. You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend,” replied the rabbit and scampered off.

The elephant sadly thought to himself, “Why am I so big that I cannot fit in rabbit’s burrow and play with him?”

Thinking that he plodded ahead. 

Children, whom do you think he will meet next?

Listen ahead.

Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could be her friend. The frog said, “Oh, no, no! You are too big and heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be my friend”.

Now the elephant was losing hope of finding a friend.

Children, where do you meet your friends?

That’s nice.

As he wandered ahead, he met a fox. The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. 

Children, do you think the elephant is sad or happy now?

Yes indeed, he was very sad.

As the sun was setting and the sky was getting darker, the sad and lonely elephant went home. 

The next day, he saw all the animals in the forest running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was happening. He was told that a tiger has been attacking all the animals and they were all very fearful of him.

The elephant had a heart of gold and wanted to save the other weak animals.

He decided to meet the tiger. He went to the tiger’s lair and said “Please sir, leave my friends alone. Do not eat them”. 

The tiger replied, “ You mind your own business.”

Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant kicked the tiger so hard that the tiger got scared and ran away from that forest. 

The news of the elephant scaring the tiger reached all the animals in the forest, and they were delighted and thanked the elephant. They all shouted together in unison, “ You are just the right size to be our friend”. And everybody became a good friend of the elephant.

Moral

Friends come in all shapes and sizes!

The Alphabet Escapades of Letter M is a story about a curious monkey who desires to go to the moon.

Free activity sheets and other downloadable resources available at www.rituvaish.com/alphabet-escapades-letter-m

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

There was once a big mango orchard on the outskirts of a city. Next to the orchard lived a troop of monkeys. A troop of monkeys is a group of monkeys living together. The mango season was their favourite and they would always be found hanging on the mango tree eating the delicious mangoes-chomp chomp-chomp!slurp-slurp slurp

When it wasn't the mango season, they would just make the orchard their playground jumping from tree to tree and playing together.

Amongst them was one baby monkey, who was really curious, and everybody called him -the curious monkey.  His friend was letter M who had made himself comfortable on the curious monkey’s back and would not leave him even for a moment.

The curious monkey was most fascinated by the night sky. Every night, he used to climb to the topmost branch of the tallest tree and gaze at the star and the moon. He was most fascinated by the changing size of the moon, sometimes it was a beautiful full circle, then it would keep becoming smaller and smaller until one day however hard he looked, he couldn’t find it. Slowly, he developed a deep desire to go to the moon.

He told the letter M, “ Why can’t I touch the beautiful moon?’

“I don’t know! But if ever you go there, I am coming with you!" said letter M.

“Of course! You live on my back, do I ever ask you to leave?” Letter M gave a hug to the curious monkey. “Awww! Thank you curious monkey!”

One day, the curious monkey reached the market area playing with his friends.

He overheard a girl at a shop, “May I have a map please?”

“And where are you going this time?” asked the shopkeeper.

“Just wanted to know the distance and the way to my aunt’s house, so I can plan a trip to visit her,” the girl said.

“Find the way…” were the words that stuck in the curious monkey’s mind.

The shopkeeper gave her a big, rolled paper and when she opened it, the monkey could see a lot of blue colour and some others too.  Little monkeys' eyes sparkled and decided to get a map for himself to find a way to the moon.

He said to letter M, “Get ready, we are soon going to the moon dear friend!”

"Yipee!" said M.

The monkey smiled and already imagined himself on the moon. His lovely thoughts were broken by the shopkeeper shooing him, “Go away! Go away!!” 

“Oh! How mean is that shopkeeper, allowing the little girl, but not me!” thought the baby monkey. Letter M said, “Looks like humans do not like animals!”

He jumped to the tree next to the shop thinking about how to get the map. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He remembered his little friend mouse. He knew mouse, being very tiny, could creep into the shop unnoticed and get the map for sure.

That night the baby monkey saw the moon, which was now a crescent, that shouted, “I am visiting you soon Mr. Moon!”

 “And me too!” M exclaimed,

Early next morning, the monkey waited at the mouth of the mouse's home i.e. the mouse hole. When he came out, the monkey explained the plan.

Monkey explained, “You know how I want to go to the moon!”

“Not just me, but the whole town knows that you want to visit the moon!”

“So, please help me by getting the map from the shop!”

The mouse was excited and agreed to help, but on one condition that the monkey would have to take the mouse to the moon too!  The monkey readily agreed.

Well! That day the mouse sneaked into the shop and got the map. Then they opened that big piece of paper and lay it on the floor, removing all the creases.

Then they started the hunt for moon on the map. Letter M said, “ I see lots of names that start with my sound…mmmmm. Like Malaysia, Malii, Madagascar…ummm but can’t find mmmm moom!”

The mouse and the monkey’s paws ripped the map into pieces very soon but of course, moon wasn't there!

The monkey scratching his head said, “ I’ll have to come up with another plan.”

Disappointed and with heavy eyes, the friends just slept off.

At night, the monkey decided to go to the nearby mountain and jump so high that no monkey had ever jumped. He woke up the mouse and told the plan.

Mouse sadly squeaked, “But I can’t jump!”

Monkey was a good friend and suggested that the mouse should latch on to his tail tightly when the monkey jumped!

The monkey, mouse, and letter M did a little jig-  -1-2 cha-cha-cha! We are going to the moon -Cha cha cha!!

And off they went to the peak of the mountain. Once they reached the peak of the mountain, the mouse clung on to the tail and the monkey jumped so high…..so high….so high that he landed at the base of the moon crescent.

 'Welcome!' they heard a pleasant sound. It was the moon. The monkey, mouse, and letter M were on top of the world. The mouse made it a slide and the monkey was jumping all along the curve of the crescent.

The moon smiled and let the three friends have a good time.

Suddenly, monkey heard, “Wake up, curious monkey! You and your friends have made such a lot of mess of that paper. Bits of paper are scattered all over. Come on! Help me clean up.”

“Oh!” heartbroken, the monkey sadly said, “So, was it  just a dream?" Reluctantly the friends swept and collected the pieces of the map!

“How can we go on the moon, mother?” enquired the monkey. “I have heard that humans go on the moon in a rocket!” replied the mother.

That gave the curious monkey another idea!

And to this day, the monkey and his friends are still trying to find a rocket so they can go to the moon.

Welcome to the Turtle Tales series.

The story-The Turtle and the Bird is about what makes a house a home.

Free activity sheets and other downloadable resources are available at www.rituvaish.com/the-turtle-and-the-bird

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

A turtle was resting under a tree. Right above, a bird had built its nest in that tree.  She was singing a melodious song to her fledglings. And the fledglings were tweeting back to her in their soft voices.

Children, what do you think mumma bird gives to her babies to eat?

That’s right! She gave them little worms to eat.

The turtle spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks so crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much better than your pathetic nest”.

Children, which house do you think is better?  The turtle’s or the bird’s nest?

Listen ahead

“Yes, I agree, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby, and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it,” the bird said proudly.

“Oh well, I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the turtle.

“You must be jealous of my shell, though.”

“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you have a better house. But I have a better home, and that’s what matters,” said the bird happily.

The turtle didn’t know where to look. He realized that indeed his house was just a house, whereas the bird’s house was a home.

Today’s story: The Four Friends is an adapted folktale from India. It’s a story about 4 animal friends who save each other from the hunters.

Free activity sheet available at https://www.rituvaish.com/the-four-friends

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

Once in India, in a beautiful jungle, there lived a crow, a mouse, and a turtle who were the best of friends. The three met every day by the pond to talk and sing. They were always ready to help each other. Isn’t that what friends are for?

Children, I am sure you also help your friends. Can you please share an incident where you helped a friend?

One day while they sat together, a gold spotted deer ran up, her eyes huge with fear. In a frightened voice, she cried, “Help me, please! The hunters are coming to kill me.”

At once, Turtle pointed to some tall grass. Deer bent her head and slipped into the green grass. Within seconds she was hidden. The three friends then moved around to cover her tracks.

 Children, why did they cover the deer’s tracks?

 Yes, so that the hunters would not be able to trace them.

 And that’s what happened. When the hunters came, they glanced over and when they couldn’t find the deer, they rode away.

“It is safe now,” called Mouse after the hunters had left.. Deer came out, thanked the three, and stayed to talk and play with them.  She enjoyed herself and decided to live near her new friends.

 Children, how many friends they are now?

That’s right, now they are 4 friends.

Many days passed happily. Everything was peaceful, and the forest was a happy place for them. Then one morning, Crow, Mouse, and Turtle met as usual. But their friend Deer did not come. They waited for hours and hours. When still she didn't come they grew worried

“We must go and search,” said Crow and flew off at once. Suddenly, the high-flying crow saw Deer below in a nearby clearing. Her leg was caught in a hunter’s trap and she could not move. Crow quickly called his friends and they came to help.

“Don't worry, dear friend,” said the Turtle kindly. “We won't leave you. We'll all think of a way to help you.” Turtle talked and talked comforting Deer, while Mouse quickly nibbled through the rope and freed her.

Into the woods jumped Deer as Crow flew off and Mouse scampered away. But while slow-moving Turtle crawled to safety the hunter returned.

“Oh, My deer has escaped,” he shouted furiously. “But at least I have a Turtle.” He picked up poor Turtle, tied a rope around his leg, and started towards home.  Crow looked down as he flew and saw his poor friend being carried away.

He quickly found Deer and Mouse and worriedly said, “Now we must save Turtle.”

And the friends quickly hatched a plan.

Deer, with Mouse on her back, ran swiftly ahead of the hunter. Then she laid down in the path, as still as could be, while Mouse hid. Crow perched right on Deer’s face and looked like he was pecking at the dead body.

 Children, can you guess the friends’ plan?

Listen ahead.

The hunter came up. He smiled when he saw the deer, thinking, “Ah, the deer didn't go too far. I'll just scare off that hungry crow and take my dinner home. It will be better than old turtle's meat.”

He tossed Turtle, took out his knife, and walked eagerly towards Deer. Meanwhile, Mouse ran right up and chewed off Turtle’s rope. Turtle slipped into a nearby pond and Mouse scurried under a stone.

When the hunter was about 3 feet away, Deer suddenly jumped up and ran away to safety. At the same time, Crow flew off, leaving the hunter alone. He waved his hands and stomped his feet in a rage.

“Well, at least I have the turtle,” he said after a while. He turned back but Turtle was gone. He looked all around but never found him.

The hunter was now alone in the silent forest. And very-very mad. But there wasn't anything he could do. So at last he walked home, with a frown on his face and nothing in his hands.

When his footsteps had faded and the woods were safe again, the four best friends met together at the pond. They had a grand time talking about their adventures while they celebrated both freedom and friendship.

Today’s story, Judge Rabbit and Tiger is an adapted folktale from Cambodia. The story is about a witty and clever rabbit who tricks Tiger.

Free activity sheet available at https://www.rituvaish.com/judge-rabbit-and-tiger

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

Tiger was mad. Judge Rabbit had tricked him again. Poor Tiger’s tail hurt because of that trick. So, he was chasing Rabbit to teach him a lesson.

“I'll get you, Rabbit,” he roared, running through the forest. Rabbit ran and ran and ran as quickly as he could. But he heard Tiger close behind.

Children, do you think the tiger would eat the Rabbit?

“Tiger runs fast,” thought Judge Rabbit.

“So I'll have to think even faster.”

Just then Rabbit saw a bee’s nest in the tree. He climbed quickly up and sat next to it. Carefully he took a leaf licked it and put it over the door hole, so it stuck.

 Children, why did he do it?

That’s because he had a trick up his sleeve.

With the leaf stuck over the hole, angry bees were suddenly trapped inside the nest. They wanted to get out. They buzzed and buzzed very, very loudly. And the buzzing sounded like a special kind of drum.

Judge Rabbit pulled back his arm, then swung it almost to the nest. He pretended to hit the nest, but of course, he was most careful not to. Back and forth his arm waved as if beating a fine steady sound on a drum.

Tiger came and stood under the tree.

“I ‘ve got you now, Rabbit,” he growled.

“And I am going to eat you up.”

“Not now, Tiger, “ Cried Judge Rabbit.

“Later you can eat me. Right now I’m too busy.”

“Busy Doing what?” asked Tiger as he watched Rabbit, who seemed to be hitting something.

 “I am playing the drum for the angels above,” he replied, “They love this music and  they will give me a grand gifts.”

Tiger listened carefully.

Buzzz.. Buzzz…Buzzz.

It did sound quite nice, like a finely tuned drum.

Children, can you guess what was going on in the tiger’s mind? 

He was only thinking about the gifts. He didn't think about bees. He didn't recognise the bee’s nest. He just thought about all the gifts Rabbit was getting.

The tiger felt jealous.

“Rabbit, I want to play the drum and get gifts,” he said.

Judge Rabbit knew his plan was working.

“Sorry Tiger,” said Rabbit. It's my turn.”

“Please,  Rabbit,” pleaded Tiger. “Please let me play.”

“But if you come up here, you will eat me,” Rabbit replied.

“No, no, I promise I won't,”  said Tiger. “Let me play and I'll be your friend forever.”

“Well ,” said Rabbit. “Pleeeeese,” begged Tiger.

“Oh! alright,” said Rabbit. “I'll go find another drum, you climb up here and watch me. When I jump up and down three times, hit that drum as hard as you can. The angels will love it !”

“Akoon, Akoon!” said Tiger, thanking Judge Rabbit again and again.

Then Rabbit came down and started to run.

Tiger climbed up slowly and sat next to the drum. He watched and waited for Rabbit’s signal. At last, he saw the three big jumps, with the grin and dreams of gifts, he took his hand and gave the drum one huge hit.

Buzzzzzz Buzzzzz…Buzzzzz.

The nest broke. Hundreds of furious bees raced out. Tiger jumped down and tried to run. But the bees followed right behind. Those angry bees chased him for a long- long time.

As for Rabbit, he was far, far away, and quite safe.

He wiggled his ears, munched his favourite cucumbers, and thought about poor tiger, tricked again.

Today’s story, ‘Friends Forever’ is a folktale from Ghana. It’s a story that proves an old African proverb: ‘Do not dig too deep a pit for your enemy because you may fall into it yourself.’

Free activity sheet available at https://www.rituvaish.com/friends-forver

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

There once lived a mouse and frog who were very good friends. Every morning the frog would go to visit the mouse who lived in a hole inside a tree. They would play different games and have fun. But the mouse was lazy and never wanted to leave his hole.

Children, what games do you think these two friends played?

The mouse very much enjoyed the company of the frog, but the mouse did not realize that the frog was growing increasingly frustrated because it was always him who had to visit the mouse and never the other way around.

The lazy little mouse did not know it at the time, but he was slowly making an enemy of his good friend, the frog.

One afternoon, after visiting the mouse, when it was time for the frog to return home.  The frog decided that he had had enough of this one-sided friendship. And so the frog tied one end of a piece of string to his leg, and then tied the other end of the piece of string to the little mouse’s tail without him noticing.

The frog waved goodbye to the mouse and then dived into the pond at the foot of the tree far below. All at once, completely to his surprise, the string pulled tight on the mouse’s tail and he was dragged from the safety of his tree and sent tumbling into the air towards the pond below. Splash!

Children, do you think the mouse can swim?

Let’s listen ahead

The poor little mouse could not swim, and as much as he struggled and struggled to free his tail, he could not untie the piece of string. After much splashing and struggling, the poor mouse finally drowned in the pond.

‘That will teach you to make a fool out of me, you lazy mouse,’ thought the frog.

But this misdeed did not go unnoticed: high up in the sky, a hungry hawk spotted the little mouse floating in the water below. And so the hungry hawk swooped down towards the pond to grab the little mouse for its dinner.

It was only when the hawk grasped a hold of the mouse with its sharp talons that the frog remembered he was still tied to the mouse by the piece of string.

Children, what would the frog do now?

Up, up soared the hawk, along with the mouse and the frog hanging beneath. Finally, the hawk came to rest in the tallest branch of a nearby tree. It was then that the frog realized the error of his ways. In setting a trap for his friend, the frog had also set a trap for himself and sealed his own fate. And now he too would be eaten by the hawk because of his wicked plan.

There is an old African proverb that goes: Do not dig too deep a pit for your enemy because you may fall into it yourself.

Welcome to the Turtle Tales series.

The Singing Turtle is an adapted folktale from Japan where a turtle helps a hard-working man to earn money by singing.

Free activity sheets and other downloadable resources are available at www.rituvaish.com/the-singing-turtle

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Once upon a time, there lived two brothers. These two brothers lived with their mother a little further away from the city. Now, one of them was a hard worker.   He worked hard and did not waste his time being lazy.

Whereas, the other brother was a lazy bone and did not work at all. He preferred to sleep in his bed all day long.

Their mother had been sick and the family had always been poor. The hard-working brother's earnings were always spent by the lazy brother. Every day the hard-working brother went to the town with his lunch and came back in late the evening. During his lunch break, the hard-working brother would go to the river and have his lunch by the river.

One day, the hard-working brother told his brother that he's going to the city, “I’ll be back late in the night. There are some sticks I have gathered. I will sell them and make some money,” saying that, he left.

But as luck would have it he could not sell even a single stick by lunchtime.

The poor brother was upset. He knew his brother and mother were relying on him.

Children, what should the hard-working brother do now?

So, as usual, during the lunch hour, he went to the river. But instead of having his lunch, he started weeping. When he was weeping, the hard-working brother heard a voice.

“Why are you crying?”  asked the voice.

The hard-working brother looked down wondering where the voice was coming from.

Then the voice asked him to look down. When the hard-working brother did so, he saw the voice was that of a turtle.

He was even more surprised when the turtle said, “I would like to help you. I am a singing turtle and if you take me to the market,  I can help you fetch good money.”

The hard-working brother was confused and wondered, “But  why would you help  me?”

“I have been eating the crumbs you left behind after your lunch. I am indebted to you,” said the turtle politely.

The hard-working brother thanked the singing turtle for extending help and took him to the market. He was able to earn a handsome amount as people were excited to hear a turtle sing.

 Children, can you imagine what songs he sang?

That’s good.

The hard-working brother took his earnings and the turtle to his house. He narrated the entire story to his family. The next day when he was washing up the turtle, the lazy brother snatched the turtle and said, “I can earn more than you can.”

With that,  the lazy brother took the turtle to the market. The lazy brother ordered and ordered the turtles to sing but that only made the turtle go back into his shell. The townspeople blamed the man for lying to them and said that it was an ordinary turtle anyway and not a singing turtle.

Angrily, the lazy brother left him in the market and stomped his way home.

Children, is that a good thing to do?

 The turtle slowly made his way back to the hut. Once home,  the turtle told everything to the hard-working brother and the mother.

Upon hearing the story that mother told both the brothers, “Bad habits chase away the good things in life. You should be nice and polite to everyone.”

The Lazy brother apologized and promised to be polite and also work hard.

The hard-working brother and the turtle were delighted by this change of heart of the lazy brother.