Little Peachling

Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old woodcutter and his wife. One fi ne morning the old man went off to the hills with his billhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while his wife went down to the river to wash the dirty clothes. When she came to the river, she saw a peach fl oating down the stream; so she picked it up, and carried it home with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he should come in.

The old man soon came down from the hills, and the good wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting him to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby was born into the world. So the old couple took the babe, and brought it up as their own; and, because it had been born in a peach, they called it Momotaro, or Little Peachling.

By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, and at last one day he said to his old foster parents:

"I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches that they have stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet dumplings for my journey."

So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings for him; and Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate leave of them, cheerfully set out on his travels.

As he was journeying on, he fell in with a monkey, who gibbered at him, and said: "Kia! Kia! Kia! Where are you off to, Little Peachling?"

"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure," answered Little Peachling.

"What are you carrying in your girdle?"

"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan."

"If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the monkey.

So Little Peachling gave one of his dump lings to the monkey, who received it and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he heard a pheasant calling: "Ken! Ken! Ken! Where are you off to, Master Peachling?"

Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, having begged and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his service, and followed him.

A little while after this, they met a dog, who cried: "Bow! Wow! Wow! Whither away, Master Peachling?"

"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure."

"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of yours, I will go with you," said the dog.

"With all my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went on his way, withthe monkey, the pheasant, and the dog following after him.

When they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant fl ew over the castle gate, and the monkey clambered over the castle wall, while Little Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, and got into the castle. Then they did battle with the ogres, and put them to fl ight, and took their king prisoner. So all the ogres paid homage to Little Peachling, and brought out the treasures which they had gathered. There were caps and coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which governed the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber, and tortoise shell, besides gold and silver. All these were laid before

Little Peachling by the conquered ogres. So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and maintained his foster parents in peace and plenty for the remainder of their lives.

Source: Developing English Competencies for Grade XI of Language Programme

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Teddy Bear Time

When a visitor to Bearborough last year forgot to put on her watch, she asked some local bears the time and she got some strange answers.

"Half past three," the bear who sells fruit and vegetables said, glancing up at the Town Hall clock.

"A quarter to nine," the bear in the bakery replied, looking at the clock high on the church.

"Nine minutes after fi ve," the bear who sells ice cream on the corner of the main street said, peering at the clock in front of the train station.

You have probably guessed that all the clocks in Bearborough were wrong. That was because old Mr Minim, the only clock mender in town, had become a little shaky on his legs. Although fi t and well in every other way, he simply could not face climbing up a ladder to mend clocks high up. As you can imagine, the clocks really were a problem. The trains were never on time, and the shopkeepers didn't know when to open their shops.

Then, one day, Bearborough had two very special visitors. They were bears called Alfred and his friend Jumble-who was an elephant! Now most bears in Bearborough had never seen an elephant before, so they all gathered round. And the elephant, pleased to show off his size and strength, wrapped his trunk around each of the little bears in turn and lifted them up high, squealing with excitement.

"Excuse me, Jumble," said Mr Minim, tapping him lightly on the toe with his walking stick. "Could you lift a grown-up bear, like me, for example?"

In seconds, Mr Minim found himself dangling above the crowd, yet he felt as safe as if he was standing on fi rm ground.

And that is why, if you visit Bearborough these days, all the clocks are exactly right, for Jumble visits every twelve months, and Mr Minim always says that's the highlight of his year!

Taken from My Treasury of Five Minute Stories, 2000

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The Four Friends

One day, a Mama Ostrich returned home from gathering food for her two dear chicks. She

looked and looked for them but could not fi nd them anywhere. Imagine her alarm when she

discovered lion tracks around her two-footed chicks’ tracks! Fearful but determined to fi nd her

babies, she followed the lion tracks.

The tracks led into the woods and fi nally ended at the den of Mama Lion. In the opening

through the cave there lay her own dear chicks in the arms of Mama Lion. The Mama Lion did not

want to give the chicks back. She said they were her cubs. Then she challenged Mama Ostrich.

She said to Mama Ostrich that if she can make an animal to look her in the eye and tell her that the chicks are not her cubs, she will give them back to her. Mama Ostrich agreed and set out to

her friends to ask for help.

She told all the animals that there is an important meeting and that they should come.

Then, when she came to mongoose she told him the story and he said that he had an idea. The

Mongoose told her to make a hole under an anthill, as a second exit. Then, Mama Ostrich did

just what the mongoose had told her to do.

The next morning, the entire animals gathered near the anthill. Then, Mama Ostrich told

them the story and asked one of them to stare the Mama Lion in her eyes and say that the chicks

were not her cubs. The animals wanted to help her but they didn’t want to risk their life. One by

one they said that the chicks were her cubs. Mama Ostrich was disappointed that her friends

would not help her.

When it was the mongoose’s turn he said, “Have you ever seen a mama with fur has babies

that have feathers? Think of what you are saying. Mama Lion has fur! The chicks have feathers!

They belong to the ostrich!” having said that, Mongoose jumped down the hole under the anthill,

and escaped out the other end.

At once, Mama Lion jumped after him, and when she did so the two ostrich chicks were

freed. Mama Lion could not escape from the anthill and had to stay there for a long time.

Taken from: Interlanguage: English for Senior High School Students XI

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Kyai Jegod

Once upon a time there was a king
who ruled Mataram Kingdom. His name is
Amangkurat IV. He was the grandfather of
Sultan. He often meditated in a nearby forest,
called Garjitawati.
One day, when a gardener was gathering
grass for his cattle in the forest, he looked for
some water because it was so hot. He found a
small pond and when he was going to drink some water from it, a dragon came out of the underwater,
but it was so friendly to him. The dragon said that if Sultan wanted to build his palace, it
was supposed to be located in that forest. Then it disappeared.
Then Sultan started to build the palace in that forest. He demanded strong and old woods
and the forest where those woods lied was said to be home of genies and spirits. His lumberjacks
could not nd anything to eat and the only thing they could have were some rice and water for
three days, or sometimes they could not have anything.
Then Sultan ordered that the main pole in the palace’s hall had to be built from special
wood, which would give strong impression. One night, a servant who was sleeping in the forest
heard loud and deep voice. The voice introduced itself as Kyai Jegod. The servant saw that Kyai
Jegod was an old, tall, and massive tree. He said that he would voluntarily let himself be cut to
make the main pole so that he could stay inside it forever.
The servant told it to Sultan and Sultan let Kyai Jegod stay inside it forever, while Kyai Jegod
became the protector of that palace since then.

I’m Delighted to Hear That.

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The Chipmunk That Ran Away

Once upon a time, there was a nervous little chipmunk. She was always afraid

that something bad happened to her.

One day, she heard a little noise. It was really only an apple that fell to the ground.

But the little Chipmunk was afraid and said “The sky is falling in.” Then she ran

away as fast as she could go.

Soon she met an old brother Chipmunk, who asked, “Where are you running

to, little Chipmunk?”

And the little Chipmunk answered, “The sky is falling in, and I am running

away.”

“The sky is falling in?” said the old brother Chipmunk. And he told the story

to his brother chipmunk, until at last there were a hundred brother Chipmunks

shouting, ”The sky is falling in.”

Soon the larger animals heard what the Chipmunks were saying. The Deer,

Unit 8 - Long, Long Time Ago, There Was ... 127

the Sheep, the Pig, the Camel, the Tiger, and the Elephant began to say, “The sky

is falling in.”

Then the wise Lion heard all the noise and wanted to know what was

happening. He stopped all the animals and asked, “What are you saying?” The

brother Chipmunks said, “Oh we heard it from that little Chipmunk!” And the

Lion said, “Little Chipmunk, what made you say that the sky was falling in?”

And the little Chipmunk said, “I saw it there near the tree.”

“Well,” said the Lion, “Come with me and I will show you how something”.

“Now get on my back.” The Lion took her on his back, and asked the animals to

stay where they were until they returned. Then he showed the little Chipmunk

that the apple had fallen to the ground. This made the noise that had made her

afraid. The little Chipmunk said, “Oh, I see. The sky is not falling in.”

The Lion said, “Let’s go back and tell the other animals.”

So they went back. At last all the animals knew that the sky was not falling in.

(Source: Dit. PSMP, 2006)

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Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba was such a poor man that he had only one shoe for his two feet. Even the mice in his house were hungry.
One day, his wife said, "We have no food in the house. No rice. No potatoes. Go and collect leaves in the forest so that I can make a soup."
Ali was a lazy man. He looked for leaves for about ten minutes and then he climbed a tree to sleep. He was afraid of wolves. When he woke up, he was surprised to see forty thieves on forty horses. They stopped in front of a big rock.
"Open Sesame!" shouted the leader.
A door on the rock opened. The thieves carried sacks full of gold into the cave. When they had finished, the leader shouted.
"Close Sesame!" and the door closed. As soon as the thieves had disappeared Ali Baba jumped down from the tree, said, "Open Sesame" and went into the cave.
There were shelves all around the walls. The shelves were full of sacks. And the sacks were full of gold. Ali took a sack home with him.
Unfortunately, one of the thieves saw Ali's footprints on the sand. He followed them to Ali's home. He took out his knife and made a cross on the door.
"Now I shall know which house it is," he said.
He rode off to get the other thieves. But Ali had seen the thief.                 
He and his wife took brooms and swept away the footprints. Then he made crosses on every door at the street. When the forty thieves arrived they had their knives between their teeth. But they couldn't fi nd either Ali – or the gold. And Ali and his wife lived happily ever after.
Taken from Addison–Wesley Kids 4, 1990

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Goldilocks And The Three Bears

Once there were three bears that lived in a house in the woods: a papa bear, a mama bear, and a baby bear. One morning they decided to take a walk before breakfast to let their porridge cool.

A little girl named Goldilocks lived with her mother nearby. Goldilocks took a walk through the woods and found the bear’s house. She smelled the porridge in the kitchen and went inside. Goldilocks tasted the porridge in each bowl and finally ate up the porridge in the small bowl.

Then she sat on a big chair, but she didn’t like it, because it was hard.

Afterwards she sat on the small chair, and it was just right. But while she was sitting on it she broke it. After eating the porridge, Goldilocks felt full and sleepy, and then she went upstairs. There she found a small bed. She lay down on it and fell asleep.

While she was sleeping, the three bears came home. When they went into the kitchen, they got very surprised. Someone had tasted their porridge, even eaten up baby bear’s porridge, while they were taking a walk. Moreover the poor baby bear was upset when he found that his little chair broke into pieces. When they went upstairs, they found out that Goldilocks was sleeping. Baby bear cried out,

“Someone has been sleeping in my bed and here she is!”

Goldilocks woke up when she saw the three bears; she jumped out of bed and ran out of the house to her home. Never again did she make herself at home in anyone else’s house.

(Source: Dit. PSMP, 2006)

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The Little Girl and the Wolf James Thurber

One afternoon, a big wolf waited in the dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally, the little girl came along and she was carrying a basket of food. "Are you carrying that basket to your grandmother?" asked the wolf. The little girl said yes she was. So the wolf asked her where her grandmother lived and the little girl told him and he disappeared into the woods.

When the little girl opened the door of her grand mother's house, she saw there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown on. She had approached no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when she saw that it was not her grandmother but the wolf, for even in a nightcap a wolf doesn't look anymore like your grandmother than Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge. So the little girl took an automatic out of her basket and shot the wolf dead.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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Live Chicken for Dinner?

A landowner from Seoul went to visit his farmer in the countryside and was treated to a grand dinner of boiled chicken.

 In the course of the meal, the farmer's youngest son ran in, shouting, "There it is! He's eating the dead chicken.' The landowner thought that he had been served a long-dead chicken. So he put down his chopsticks and told the servant to clear the table, politely saying,

 "This is enough for me. My stomach can't take any more food.'

Just then, the boy started eating the chicken's legs greedily, saying at the same time, "Oh, this is really delicious.'

"Why are you eating the dead chicken?' asked the surprised landowner.

"Who eats live chickens?' replied the boy.

Taken from English Bestseller 12, 2001

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Shadow Puppet Show: Durna's Trap

The story started with Durna who was teaching the art of archery to the children of Hastina Kingdom at the palace's yard. From far away, a young man watched the practice. He was Ekalaya, the crown prince of Parang Gelung Kingdom.

Ekalaya wanted to study with Durna but was rejected, since the man promised only to teach children of Pandawa and Kurawa. Still Ekalaya was neither angry nor revengeful. His strong will to study from Durna influenced him go to the forest and create a statue of Durna as a symbol of Durna's presence. With this statue as his ima ginative teacher, Ekalaya learned how to shoot arrows by himself. The result was astonishing; Ekalaya turned very skillfull in shooting arrows just like Arjuna, Durna's favourite student.

Ekalaya finally encountered Arjuna, who was hunting in the forest. Arjuna was surprised to find that an arrow struck the animal he was hunting. It turned out the arrow belonged to Ekalaya. Innocently, Ekalaya said he was Durna's student.

Durna was surprised when Arjuna told him about Ekalaya. When he met Ekalaya, Durna trapped him saying he would admit Ekalaya as his student if he cut off the thumb of his right hand as evidence of his loyalty to his master.

 Ekalaya followed the request but then rea lised he had been cheated. Angry and disappoin ted, he knew Durna did not want anybody to rival Arjuna. Ekalaya became angrier when he was told by his wife that Arjuna was in love with her and challenged Arjuna to a duel.

Taken from Childcraft: World of Colour, 2003

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