Once there was a king whose minister was a talented artist. He could paint realistic portraits. People believed that his pictures came to life at night. When the king’s favourite horse was stolen, he asked the minister to paint its picture. The next day, the minister said, “Your Majesty, your horse is stuck in a […]
One morning, Rachel was playing in the garden. Her father came there with a huge sack and said, “Let’s play a game. Fill this sack with pebbles.” When Rachel had filled the sack, he asked her, “Is the sack full?” Rachel said, “Yes, Papa!” Then he shook the sack and asked her to fill it
When we look at the sky at night, we see millions of stars shining in the sky. They appear small to us because they are millions of miles away from us. They are great balls of gases. Stars form their own patterns. We can easily recognize some of them. The Great Bear is made of
Once there was a witch. She had two assistants named Connie and Lennie. Both were naughty. Once, the witch had to attend the Monthly Witches’ Conference. “Keep away from the cauldron,” she said, before flying away on her broomstick. The girls watched as she whooshed past the trees and shot up into the sky. They
Chloe and her father visited the countryside. Chloe was very excited. As they rode in a car, Chloe said, “Daddy, the air is so fresh here. Back home, there’s a lot of smoke from cars and buses.” Her father smiled and nodded. When their car passed by the river, Chloe again said, “Daddy, the people
The Austin family was on a night walk. They carried their torches along. There were many mosquitoes about as it was a warm summer evening. Suddenly, they saw something glowing. It was a glow-worm. They all looked at it in excitement. Daddy said, “Do you know that a glow-worm is not a worm but an
Evie had a mango orchard. One day, her neighbour, Elsa, asked her for a mango sapling. Evie was a kind woman. She gave Elsa a sapling. “Water it well and take good care of it,” she said. But Elsa was a selfish woman. She thought, ‘If I plant it in the garden, the passers-by will
Laura had taken up a part-time job to pay for her studies. She sold goods from door to door. One afternoon, Laura was feeling thirsty. She decided to ask for a glass of water when she reached the next house. When she rang the doorbell, a young lady opened the door. “Can I have a
Bertie was a milkmaid. Her brother was a cowherd. One day, her brother said, “Bertie, take the cows out for grazing today. Remember, we have ten cows.” Bertie was a simpleton. She kept counting the cows frequently to ensure there were ten of them. After reaching the meadow, she sat on a cow. Then she
Naomi’s father was a renowned doctor and he owned a hospital. One day, Naomi went running to her father and said, “Dad, Jane has hurt her leg. Please help her.” Jane was Naomi’s best friend. After the check-up, Naomi’s father said to her, “Jane’s leg is fractured. I have asked a nurse to take care
Mother and Father were having breakfast. Father asked, “Where is Ralph? He has not joined us for breakfast.” Mother replied, “That is not like Ralph at all. He always comes on time. Let me check up on him.” Mother went to Ralph’s room and asked him, “What is the matter, son?” Ralph replied, “I do
Kathleen was cleaning her garage one day, when she saw an old raincoat lying in a corner. She wanted to throw it away at first. But when she looked at it carefully, she saw that the raincoat was not torn. Just old. “It might be of use some day. I shall keep it.” Many days
Princess Qadira had a pet falcon. Once, she decided to visit her friend’s house, which was far beyond a great desert. As she was leaving the palace, her pet falcon swooped into her palanquin and sat beside her. “My trip will be so boring without you. Come along,” she said. Princess Qadira set off with
Emma was an expert rock climber. One day, when she was climbing a cliff above the sea, it began raining all of a sudden. Emma waited for the rain to stop. But soon the raindrops lashed against her face, making it difficult for her to hang on to the cliff. Little rocks around her crumbled
Once, there was a queen who gave away gold on one pretext or the other. One day, she said to her minister, “I want to find out whether the people of my kingdom are kind. Bring a bag of gold and come along with me.” The minister did as told. When they reached the road