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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Miss Mole Catches a Ghost

Quite often Miss Mole would look after the young ones who lived in the woodland, when their parents went out in the evening.
"I just love baby-sitting," sighed Miss Mole, as she gazed at the little animals, "you're all such darlings!"
"But we're not babies," grumbled the fieldmice twins, "we're almost grown up!"
"Well you'll always be babies to me," giggled Miss Mole, as she gave them all a great big hug.
But one evening when Miss Mole was baby-sitting, something very strange happened ...


All the little animals had walked over to Miss Mole's house just before dark. They were laughing and joking
and making lots of noise as they went along. All of a sudden one of the rabbits heard a strange sound. Then one or two of the little animals saw something move near the top of the trees.
"What was that?" gasped a baby badger as he grabbed one of the squirrels.


Then, as the wind rustled the leaves on the tree ... they all saw it ... a spooky white thing fl ying through the
branches!
"It's a ghost!" screamed a small hedgehog. And everyone ran as fast as they could and landed on a heap at Miss Mole's front door.
"Whatever is wrong?" cried Miss Mole as she opened her door, and in fell all the little animals.
"We've seen a ghost!" sobbed the rabbit. "It's chased us all the way through the wood, and now it's up in
that tree!"
Miss Mole put on her extra strong glasses and took a good look.
"Goodness me," she gasped, "there it is!"
Right then and there, brave Miss Mole reached for her longest broom and pulled something out of the branches above.
"Here's your ghost," laughed Miss Mole. "It's a plastic bag. I lost it on my way back from the woodland
supermarket!"
All the little animals breathed a big sigh of relief as Miss Mole took them inside and closed the door.
"Gather round and I'll tell you a story," she said kindly.
"As long as it's not a ghost story," whispered the baby badger.


soure:Developing English Competencies for Grade XI of Language Programme

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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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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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It Could Be Worse

I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had just lost £50 and I felt very upset. "I left the money in my room,' I said, "and it's not there now.' The manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing. ‘Everyone's losing money these days,' he said. He started to complain about this wicked world but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained £50. "I found this outside this gentleman's room,' she said. "Well,' I said to the manager, "there is still some honesty in this world!'

Taken from Practice and Progress, 1994

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The Wolf and the Dog

Once there was a wolf who was nearly dead with hunger. He was very thin, so that the outline of his bones could be seen clearly beneath his thinning coat of hair. With hardly enough energy to walk, the wolf had little hope of finding food. As he lay beneath a large tree, a dog out for a walk noticed him. Seeing how thin and hungry looking the wolf was, the dog felt sorry for him and said, "You are in terrible shape! You look as if you haven't eaten for many days."

"You're right," said the wolf. "I haven't eaten because you and your friends are doing such a good job of guarding the sheep. Now I am so weak that I have little hope of finding food. I think I will surely die."

Then why not join us? Asked the dog. "I work regularly and I eat regularly. You could do the same. I will arrange it. You can help me and the other dogs guard the sheep. In that way, we won't have to worry about your stealing the sheep any more and you won't have to worry about going hungry any more. It's a good deal for both of us."

The wolf thought it over for a few minutes and then decided that the dog was right. So they went off together toward the ranch house where the dog lived. But, as they were walking, the wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the dog's neck was very thin. He was curious about this, for the dog had such a beautiful coat every where else. Finally, he asked the dog about it.

"Oh, don't worry about that," said the dog. "It's the place where the collar rubs on my neck when my master chains me up at night."

 "Chained up!" cried the wolf, "Do you mean that you are chained up at night? If I come to live with you, will I be chained up at night too?"

That's right," answered the dog. "But, You'll get used to it soon enough. I hardly think about it anymore."

"But, if I am chained up, then I won't be able to walk when I want to take a walk or to run where I want to run," the wolf said. "If I come to live with you, I won't be free anymore." After saying this, the wolf turned and ran away.

"The dog called after the wolf, saying, "Wait! Come back! I may not be able to do everything I want to do, but I'm healthy, well-fed, and I have a warm place to sleep. You are too worried about keeping alive to enjoy  life. I'm more free than you are."

Taken from Opportunities Elementary, 2003

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A Story about Red

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

If you were tall enough, you might have seen a little splash of red in the tall grass. And if you had looked closer you might have seen a small girl wearing a red ribbon.

Rosaura was hiding from her mother and father. It was her favourite game. She crouched quietly, listening to the faint sound of her mother's voice. All Rosaura could see were the swaying green stalks of the corn. They rustled above her head where the sky stretched clear and blue. Suddenly, a bright yellow butterfly darted by. Rosaura jumped up to chase the butterfly, forgetting all about her hiding game.

"Rosaura! There you are," called her mother. "It's time for lunch."

It was dark and cool in the cottage where Rosaura lived with her parents. Rosaura ate her meal quickly. She wanted to go back into the sunshine to play. As soon as she had finished her food she slipped down from her chair.

"Rosaura, where are you going?" called her mother.

She caught a glimpse of Rosaura's

red ribbon disappearing around the door. But Rosaura was already through the gate, and heading for the fields.

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

Was that the sound of her mother calling, or the wind whispering in the corn? Rosaura was not sure. All day long through the hot summers she loved to run in the fields. Her feet were scratched and her toes bruised on stones as she chased after the mice hiding in the corn stalks. Her skin was brown as a nut from the sun. In her tangled black hair, her red ribbon fluttered.

The afternoon stretched out long and hot. As the sun reached the far side of the field, Rosaura's father walked back to the cottage. His eyes scanned the fields for Rosaura's red ribbon. But it was nowhere to be seen.

"Hasn't Rosaura come back yet?" asked her father as he came through the door.

"Not yet," said her mother, "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

But the supper was ready and still there was no sign of Rosaura. Now the sun had set, casting a red glow over the fields. Rosaura's mother and father stood at the door of their cottage, staring over the field, looking for the red ribbon.

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

Soon the shadows were deep blue in the yard. It was too dark to see the red ribbon now. Rosaura's parents began to walk and call for her in the field. As night fell, they fetched lamp that lit up patches of corn and grass and startled the sleeping mice. But they could find no red ribbon.

Rosaura's parents called and called all through the night. In the dawn, they stood alone and sad amongst the corn. The red morning sun lit up their tired faces.

"Look!" cried Rosaura's mother suddenly. "There she is!"

 They began to run towards the red ribbon that she had spotted among the corn. But oh! It wasn't Rosaura's ribbon at all, but the red petals of a flower. Rosaura's mother and father had never seen such a flower before. Her father looked away in disappointment.

"I see her!" he cried.

And again they ran towards the dear red ribbon. But it was another red flower. As the sun came up bright and strong, Rosaura's mother and father looked around the field. It was filled with red flowers swaying and fluttering in the tall grass. Rosaura's mother and father felt so sad.

"Rosaura won't be coming home anymore," said her mother. "She was always happier in the fields."

"But the spirits have left us these flowers to remind us of her," said Rosaura's father. "They will stay with us!" Every year, when the corn ripened and the evenings grew long,

Rosaura's parents stood at the edge of the fields and watched the red flowers dancing under the sun. And that, say the Indians, is how the red poppy came to be.

Taken from Childcraft: World of Colour, 2003

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Three Foolish Sons

There was a rich man who had three sons. They lived in a large house in the town of Keelung in northern Taiwan.

 One day, he said to his sons, "You are no longer children. You must do something to earn your own living. When I die, I am not going to leave you very much money. I started with nothing and made a fortune by working hard. You must do the same. Now, here is two hundred dollars for each of you. You can use it to start your own

business."

The three sons went off separately. The eldest son met a hunter. He thought that hunting would be fine so he bought a gun from him for two hundred dollars. The second son met a basketmaker. He bought a set of tools from him so that he could make baskets. The third son met a doctor who told him that he had a medicine which could cure all diseases. He bought it from him for two hundred dollars.

When the rich man heard what his sons had done with the money he had given them, he was very angry. "What stupid sons I have!" He said.

One day, the eldest son tried to shoot a fly on his father's forehead. Instead, he killed his father. The second son picked up his tools and tried to repair the damage to his father's head. The third son tried to cure his father with medicine which he had bought.

Everyone said that the three sons were very foolish. They had spent all their money uselessly.

Taken from Favourite Stories from Taiwan, 2000

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Blind Listening

A stupid man was sent by his father to sell salt. He first went to a mining area but nobody there wanted his salt. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had helped the miners to dig, they would have bought his salt.

The man next went to a house where a wedding was taking place. There he dug a huge hole. This made the people angry and they chased him away. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had beaten a drum and danced instead, the people there would have bought salt from him.

 Then, he went to a village where there happened to be a fire. Rushing to the place, he started drumming and dancing, only to be thrown out by the people. His father told him that he should have poured water on the fire instead, if he wanted to sell salt there.

 In the next place he went to, a couple were fighting with each other. The foolish man poured a bucketful of water on them, again to be chased away. His father later told him that he should have tried to settle the quarrel, in which case they would have bought salt from him. In the final event, the man saw two bulls fighting with each other. He stepped in to stop the fight and was gored to death by angry bulls.

Taken from English Bestseller 12, 2001

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The Fox and the Crow

 

A crow, perched in a tree with a piece of cheese in his beak, attracted the eye and nose of a fox. "If you can sing as prettily as you sit," said the fox, "then you are the prettiest singer within my scent and sight." The fox had read somewhere, and somewhere, and somewhere else, that praising the voice of a crow with a cheese in his beak would make him drop the cheese and sing. But this is not what happened to this particular crow in this particular case.

 "They say you are sly and they say you are crazy," said the crow, having carefully removed the cheese from his beak with the claws of one foot, "but you must be nearsighted as well. Warblers wear gay hats and colored jackets and bright vest, and they are a dollar a hundred. I wear black and I am unique.

 "I am sure you are," said the fox, who was neither crazy nor nearsighted, but sly. "I recognize you, now that I look more closely, as the most famed and talented of all birds, and I fain would hear you tell about yourself, but I am hungry and must go."

 "Tarry awhile," said the crow quickly, "and share my lunch with me." Whereupon he tossed the cunning fox the lion's share of the cheese, and began to tell about himself. "A ship that sails without a crow's nest sails to doom," he said. "Bars may come and bars may go, but crow bars last forever. I am the pioneer of flight, I am the map maker. Last, but never least, my flight is known to scientists and engineers, geometricians, and scholar, as the shortest distance between two points. Any two points," he concluded arrogantly.

 "Oh, every two points, I am sure," said the fox. "And thank you for the lion's share of what I know you could not spare." And with this he trotted away into the woods, his appetite appeased, leaving the hungry crow perched forlornly in the tree.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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The Tiger Who Would Be King

One morning the tiger woke up in the jungle and told his mate that he was king of beasts.

 "Leo, the lion, is king of beasts," she said.

 "We need a change," said the tiger. "The creatures are crying for a change."

 The tigress listened but she could hear no crying, except that of her cubs.

 "I'll be king of beasts by the time the moon rises," said the tiger. "It will be a yellow moon with black stripes, in my honour."

"Oh sure," said the tigress as she went to look after her young, one of whom, a male, very like his father, had got an imaginary thorn in his paw.

 The tiger prowled through the jungle till he came to the lion's den. "Come out," he roared," and greet the king of beasts! The king is dead, long live the king!"

 Inside the den, the lioness woke her mate. "The king is here to see you," she said.

 "What king?" he inquired, sleepily.

 "The king of beasts," she said.

 "I am the king of beasts," roared Leo and he charged out of the den to defend his crown against the pretender.

 It was a terrible fight and it lasted until the setting of the sun. All the animals of the jungle joined in, some taking the side of the tiger and others the side of the lion. Every creature from the aardvark to the zebra took part in the struggle to overthrow the lion or to repulse the tiger, and some did not knot know which they were fighting for, and some fought for both, and some fought whoever was nearest and some foughtfor the sake of fighting.

"What are we fighting for?" someone asked the aardvark.

 "The old order," said the aardvark.

 "What are we dying for?" someone asked the zebra.

 "The new order," said the zebra.

When the moon rose, fevered and gibbous, it shone upon a jungle in which nothing stirred except a macaw and a cockatoo, screaming in horror. All the beasts were dead except the tiger, and his days were numbered and his time was ticking away. He was monarch of all he surveyed, but it didn't seem to mean anything.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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The Miser

A miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements.

He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there.

 It will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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Buggy Races

             Once upon a time there lived two best friends, the hare and the tortoise. They liked to race against each other, but the hare always won.

One day, the hare asked the tortoise to race down to the beach. The tortoise refused, he said that he will loose anyway. The hare replied in a kind voice that he felt sorry about it.

But the next day, the hare found a way to race the tortoise that would be fair and lots of fun too. He asked the tortoise to come with him. The tortoise was slowly plodding over the sandhill towards the beach. Now the two friends can race against each other all day and something tells me that the tortoise might win this time.

Adapted from 50 Bedtime Stories, 2002

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Botanical Garden

I went to a botanical garden. It was large, landscaped parks where plants were grown for scientific purposes and for public display. People could stroll down flowers bordered paths or sat on benches and admired the beautiful plants. Most of the plants were labelled with their popular as well as their scientific names.

 In greenhouses, long, low buildings made of glass and artificially heated; the more delicate plants were cultivated.

One of the greatest botanical gardens in the world today is the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, England. It is commonly known as Kew Gardens. One of the largest botanical gardens in the United States is the New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, New York, which contains 13,000 species varieties of plants.

Taken from: English in Focus Grade VIII

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The Frog Princess

             Long ago, in a far away land, a prince lived with his mother, a queen, and his father, a king. The prince was a happy boy. He played with other boys and girls. He went to school with them . when the prince was sixteen, he asked to the queen and the king, ‘Can I get married?’

                ‘Yes’ said the queen, ‘You can get married when you meet the right girl.’

                ‘I found the right the right girl today. Her name is Sally,’ Said the prince.

                ‘Oh, no!’ said the king, ‘You can’t marry Sally. She is not a princess. You must marry a princess.’

                ‘But there are no princess in our land,’ said the prince.

                ‘No, a long time ago before you were born, a witch spelled the entire little princess into frogs,’ said the queen.

                ‘But how can I change these frog into princess?’ asked the prince.

                ‘You must kiss the frog. That is the only way,’ said the king,’ But remember, all princess are frogs, but not all frogs are princess,’ said the king.

                So the prince went to the countryside and kissed many frogs, but nothing happened. Finally he found a frog that looked different. This frog was very beautiful. So he picked up the frog and kissed it and ‘Bang!’ ‘Flash!’ the frog turned into a beautiful princess.

                ‘Oh, will you marry me?’ asked the prince.

                ‘Marry you?’ asked the princess, ‘Of course not! I can’t marry a prince who kisses frogs.’ Then she ran away.

                                                 Adapted from: Winner in Smart Steps For Junior High School

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Cupid

Cupid is the chubby little boy with wings that we see on Valentine’s day cards. He carries a bowl and arrow and is a symbol of romance. In ancient Greece and Rome, Cupid (The Greeks called him Eros) was the God of love. He was invisible and flew around shooting people with his arrows. The people who he shoot fell in love with the first person they met. Sometimes, Cupid played cruel jokes on people and made them fall in love with animals or the people they hated.

Once Cupid cut himself with his own arrow by accident and fell in love with a human named psyche. She became his wife, and after many problems they had a child called Pleasure.

Today, Cupid is still making people happy and sad, breaking hearts and causing problems. Just the same, most of us think that love is worth all the trouble.

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Momotaro

           Once upon a time, there lived in Japan a peasant and his wife. They were sad couple because they had no children. They kept praying to their God to give them a child.

While cutting wood by  a stream one day, the man saw the large peach floating on the water. He run to pick it up. His wife excited because she had neever seen such a large peach before. They were about  to cut the peach when they heard a voice from inside.

The couple were too surprised to do  anything. The peach then cracked, and there was a beautiful baby boy inside. The couple were very happy, of course. They named the baby Momotaro, which meant  ‘Peach Boy’.

Momotaro grew up to be a clever, courageous young man. His ‘parents’ loved him very much.

One day, Momotaro told his parents that he was going to fight the pirates who always attacked their village. These pirates lived on an island a few kilometers away. Momotaro’s mother packed his food, and his father gave him a sword. Having blessed Momotaro, they sent him off of his journey.

Sailing on his boat, Momotaro met an eagle going n the same direction. They became good friends, soon, both of them arrived on the island of the pirates.

Momotaro drew out the sacred sword his father had given him and began to fight the pirates. The eagle flew over theves’ heads, pecking at their eyes. Finally, the pirates were defeated.

Momotaro brought home all the goods that pirates had stolen. His parents were proud of him. And they were overjoyed at his victory and safe return.

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The Legend of ‘Lau Kawar”

           Once upon the time, there was a big feast in ‘Kanwar’ village, Tanah Karo. The villagers celebrated their successful harvest. They were singing and dancing during the feast.

Meanwhile, an old woman was alone at home. She didn’t go to the party because she was sick. When she felt hungry, she went to the kitchen. But there was no food there. She was very sad.

In the party , the son remembered his mother was at home. He wrapped some rice and a fried fish for his mother. Then he asked his daughter to give the food to her grandma.

The little girl ran home. But on her way, she stopped and ate the food. After eating the food, she wrapped the food again. When she arrived home, she gave the food to the old woman.

The old woman unwrapped the food and felt very disappointed. There was only very little rice and a fishbone.

She cried and prayed to God, ‘Oh God! I beg you to eliminate this place and all the people her because they have forgotten an aold woman, like me!’

Suddenly, thunder came. The sky turned dark. The land was shaking and then turned into a big crater. The rain was pouring on it. It didn’t stop for several days. When it stopped, the village disappeared. There was a large lake replaced it. People called it ‘Lau Kawar’. It means Kanwar lake.

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A Bowl of Magic Flour

One upon a time, there was a farmer living in a small village in England. His name was jack. He was a kind and wise man. He liked to help his neighbors.

Jack had a mill machine. People came to his place to mill their grain. Jack served him happily. However, his wife was very stingy, mean woman. She often complained. She was angry every time jack spared some food to the neighbors.

One day, a fairy dropped at their house. The fairy gave them a bowl of magic flour. The wife took half and cooked it porridge. She was eating it and said, ‘i wish all the flour at this place turned into gold.’ From that moment, all the flour at Jack’s place turned into gold.

When people came to mill their grain, the grain turned into gold, too. At first, they were happy because they had a lot of gold. However, after several weeks there was no flour at the village. Instead, there was gold everywhere. Everybody was hungry and unhappy.

One day, Jack was cleaning his house. Suddenly, he found the bowl of the magic flour. He cooked and ate it. ‘Oh I miss the flour. I wish all the gold turned into flour again!’ he said. Suddenly, all the gold turned into flour. Everybody was happy. 

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Calon Arang

Once, there was a beautiful girl lived in one of the Kingdoms in Bali. Her name was Ratna Manggalli. No young man wanted to marry her. Why? Because her mother was an evil witch. Her name was Calon Arang. The witch cursed the land and the people. She spelled them. The people became sick and the land became dry. No plant could live there. Everybody was hungry. A priest knew it. He asked his son to marry Ratna Manggali. After they got married, the son asked his wife about her mother scret. Ratna Manggali told him that the mother had a witch book. They stole the book, then. Calon Arang was very angry. A battle happened between Calon Arang and the priest. Finally, the priest won the battle. 

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