Number 41
The travel to Calcutta (Now known as Kolkata)
Phileas had to reach Calcutta in less than twenty four hours in order to catch the steamer the next day which would leave for Hong Kong and at the rate they were travelling he wouldn't make it in time.
"Why do we have to travel with these elephants Phileas? They are so slow!" Moaned Passepartout."Although the elephants might be slow they are very useful animals to travel, especially on the bumpy roads." Explained the guide. "Well I think they are useless! I wish that these elephants could fly. That would get us to Hong Kong quicker." Said Passepartout, Phileas laughed at Passepartout's silly statement. "If only that was the case, my funny friend" chuckled Phileas. "Would you like me to tell you two a story about why elephants can't fly" said the guide. "Here we go again... not another story. This must be atleast the 41st" Moaned Passepartout... again.
Because the elephants were so strong and so fast, God decided to take their help. He could ride on these big beasts and they could help Him to put the finishing touches to the world. In a moment He could be in China and from there, within the blink of an eye, He could zoom off to Iceland! And these elephants were so strong that they pushed and pushed at mountains and icebergs, shifting them until everything in the world was perfect. For example, they helped God to put the Himalayas in India and in Tanzania, they had Mount Kilimanjaro. By riding on these elephants, God sorted the whole world out and made it absolutely perfect.
Once this big job had been completed, God told the elephants that they could have a permanent holiday. Uh… that is, until He had something else for them to do. Now the elephants did not have very much to do. Then do you know what happened?
The elephants became idle and to pass their time, they talked about the old days. They talked about how strong they had been. They talked about how fast they were, and how God had favoured them. And the more they talked, the more they came to think that they were much, much better than all the other animals on earth. They were definitely the most important!
The elephants chattered idly to each other. ‘Look at that peacock,’ they would say unkindly. ‘See how ugly and brown his little wings are compared to ours!’ And they would always make sure to raise their voices high so that the little peacock could hear their mean words. And the poor peacock, who was kind and humble at heart, could not disagree with the elephants. He thought – ‘The elephants are right. I am small. My wings are not beautiful like those of the fairies and nor am I strong like the elephants.’
As time went on, the elephants began to pride themselves. They began to think that they could do whatever they wanted. The greedy elephants would take all the bananas from the banana tree, leaving none for the other animals. The other animals were sad because they did not get even one banana for their meal! And you know what the elephants did with these bananas in their trunks?
The elephants would come down into a village, any village they liked – they would spread their wings like a carpet and sit down to have their picnic. The whole village would be squashed under the weight of the elephants. The houses would be flattened and the fields would be ruined and the villagers would be deeply upset.
The poor villagers were very angry at the destruction of their homes, and the animals with their empty stomachs were also very cross. And so God decided enough was enough. These proud and greedy elephants had gotten far too big for their trunks, and needed to be taught a lesson!
God invited all the elephants for a chat. He said to them – ‘Oh mighty elephants, listen to Me. I am very grateful to you for helping me make the world perfect. So I want to throw a party. Only for the elephants.
All the elephants were very happy. One elephant said to another – ‘See! Even God can see how strong and brave we are. How much we have helped Him. It is right that He should have a party just for us!’
So the greedy elephants, all puffed up with pride and confidence, turned up to the feast one by one. As promised, God had found the best food, and there were mountains of it! Bright yellow bananas, deep red pomegranates, tangy guavas, juicy mangoes … whatever fruits you could imagine, they were there. The greedy elephants were delighted. And they ate it all up. Every last bit.
By the end of the meal the elephants were so full that one by one they dropped off to sleep surrounded by discarded banana peels and mango skins. This was the moment God had been waiting for. When the last elephant had closed his eyes, God took out a very big knife. Quietly, He went to each elephant and chopped off their wings. And He gave these beautiful wings to the little peacocks. The little peacocks were so happy that they ran into the forest to sing and dance.
Have you seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance?
Have you seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees?
Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance,
Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees.
And now think of the elephants. When the elephants finally awoke from their long sleep, they were shocked to see the beautiful peacock swishing his impressive feathers at them. They were really, really angry. But God had no time to listen to their complaints. Instead He said, ‘I want you elephants to become nicer, kinder. I want you to use your strength and help the villagers to re-build their houses.’
The elephants felt very ashamed of what they had done. They resolved to help the villagers as much as they could. So even today, in every village, there are elephants that come and go, helping people as they pass by.
Why Elephants Can't Fly
A Hindi story bu Becky Walker
Taken from www.worldstories.org.uk
Story 42
Phileas and Passepartout were running to the rail to so that they didn't miss the steamer to Hong Kong. But when they got there, Phileas realised that the steamer to Hong Kong was not leaving for days yet!
"Passepartout!" said Phileas annoyingly "why on earth did you make us run when we are so early!"
"But Sir, I never said...it was the guide..."
"Don't try to get yourself out of this, come let's try find somewhere to stay"
While Phileas and Passepartout are searching for a place to stay here is a story about a boy who stopped lying...
The Three Diamonds
‘How, grandmother, can I change my ways? I drink to forget our poverty. I gamble to have some pleasure in my life. I steal so that we may eat.’
‘Well then at least change one of these things,’ said the grandmother.
And the young thief thought about this and said:
‘Very well, I will stop lying. If you insist, from now on I will only tell the truth.’
Now there lived in that city a King, a Rajah, and he was a powerful and rich man, but he was not happy for his advisor did not always tell him the truth. But the Rajah really wanted to know the truth, and one night he went out in disguise dressed as a beggar in rags, and there in the street that evening he met the young thief.
‘Where are you going?’
When the young thief spoke he remembered his grandmother’s words, and what came out of his mouth was... the truth. ‘Why, I am going to the palace of the Rajah and I will steal what I can get.’
‘To the palace,’ said the Rajah. ‘Ha, ha, ha, then follow me.’ And he led the young thief through the streets until they were outside that magnificent palace. ‘Slip through when the guards change on their duty and go to the throne room. There, under the throne, you will find a box and inside the box... well, you will find treasure.’
So the young thief slipped past the guards - he was an expert thief - and he found his way to the throne room. And there, under the throne, he found a silver box. And when he opened the silver box inside were three huge, sparkling diamonds. And so he pocketed those three diamonds. And then he hesitated. He asked himself:
‘Three diamonds. With these I will be rich beyond my imaginings. Do I really need all three?’
And when he answered himself, he found he was telling himself the truth. ‘No, I only need two.’
And so he left one diamond in that box and he slipped past the guards and out of the palace, and there, waiting in the darkness, was the beggar.
‘Did you steal what you were looking for?’
‘Why, I stole two diamonds, but one I left behind. You aided me. What do you deserve?’
And he remembered his grandmother’s words, and what came out of his mouth was... the truth. ‘You deserve one of the diamonds for you assisted me.’ And he gave one diamond to that seeming beggar and on his way he went.
And the Rajah, seeing him going, followed him and saw him arrive at the poor hovel that he shared with his old grandmother.
And the Rajah now returned to his palace and took off those rags and by next morning he was calling his advisor:
‘There has been a theft in the palace this night. Look and see what has been stolen!’
And so the advisor went directly to the throne room. He took out that box and opened it and he found one diamond.
‘Strange. The treasure has been stolen, but not all of it.’ And he looked around. ‘Ha, ha, ha, who will know?’ And so the advisor put that diamond in his own pocket!
‘Oh, my Rajah! Oh, my King! See, the treasure has been stolen! The box is empty!’
‘The box is empty!’ said the Rajah. ‘Then send guards to the house of the young thief.’
And the young thief was brought to the palace, and a scaffold was standing there and a noose was hanging down.
‘Why,’ said the advisor, ‘have you stolen the Rajah's treasure, the three diamonds?’
‘I have stolen,’ said the young thief honestly, for he spoke the truth, ‘but not three diamonds. I left one behind. I stole only two.’
‘Liar!’ said the advisor. ‘What thief would steal just two diamonds when there were three?’
‘Oh, it is true.’
‘What about those diamonds then?’ said the advisor. ‘Show them.’
And so the young thief reached into his pocket and took out just one diamond. ‘Why, the other one I gave to a beggar who helped me.’
‘Liar!’ said the advisor. ‘What thief would share what he had stolen?’
And now you know who stepped forward? It was the Rajah himself in his magnificent robes, and he said:
‘He speaks the truth. I was the beggar dressed in rags, and indeed he gave me one diamond. But of the other diamond... let us see. Guards, search my advisor.’
And so the advisor’s pockets were searched and indeed, although he resisted, they did find... another diamond.
And now the Rajah spoke to all of those who were assembled in front of the palace who were there to witness an execution, and he said:
‘What should I do with this advisor who has cheated me, this man who I have trusted?’
And the people looked. ‘Why, he should be hanged, not the young thief!’
‘Indeed,’ said the Rajah.
And the advisor was led to the scaffold and the rope was put around his neck and he prepared to die.
‘And what of this young thief who speaks the truth?’
‘Why,’ said the people, ‘make him your new advisor!’
‘Ha, ha,’ said the Rajah, ‘it must be so!’
And the young thief became advisor. But that is not the end of the story for his first advice to the Rajah was this:
‘See that man upon the scaffold? He has made a mistake. I too have made mistakes. Now I am your advisor my life will change; no more will I need to drink to forget my poverty. I will no longer be poor. No longer will I need to gamble. From now on my work will be advice for the good of the land. No more will I steal for I will be wealthy. I will only tell the truth, and the truth is...
The truth is that this advisor deserves a second chance just as I have been given a second chance. Take away his riches. Take away his gown. Take away his status. Let him live a poor man.
The Three Diamonds
A Tamil folk tale retold by David Heathfield
Taken from www.worldstories.org.uk
Story 43!
Phileas noticed how much Calcutta had changed since his last visit, there were now internet cafe's with computers inside! Phileas decided to visit one and whilst inside he found this wonderful Tamil story...I do hope you enjoy it!
Manav the Monkey makes a new friend
“Come outside and play,” said Manish the monkey tugging on Manav’s tail. “It’s boring watching you on the internet all day long.”
“Go away,” said Manav as he carried on typing. “I’m chatting online. You can play outside if you want to”.
Manish peered over his older brother’s shoulder. “You know you’re not supposed to be in these internet cafes. Mum will go mad if she catches you!”
“Only if you tell her,” retorted Manav. “Go away and play your stupid games.”
Manish scampered away with his tail between his legs and his head hanging. He hated it when Manav was mean to him. It was horrid being the littlest brother. He wanted Manav to notice him. Manish ran out of the internet cafe and along the street. He ran past the food seller serving up hot spicy curry. He ran past the stalls of women in the market selling brightly patterned cloth. He ran past the men working at the garage fixing the cars and mopeds. He ran past the furniture shops selling hand-made wooden beds and tables and chairs. Manish ran and ran and ran to his favourite place, a small grove of trees on the outskirts of the town. This was where the rainforest began. Manish climbed and climbed and climbed to the top of his favourite Jackfruit tree. From the highest branch of the tallest tree Manish could see for miles. He could see across the town, where people were going about their business. People driving, people walking, people working, children flying their kites and playing outside. Manish could see across the fields, he could see across the forest, where the brightly coloured birds were nesting. Deep inside the rainforest Manish could see the tigers roaming. They loved to bask in the warm early evening sun. The cubs were chasing each other whilst their mother looked on, keeping a watchful eye. Manish climbed down and down and down from the top of his favourite tree. Then he ran and ran and ran deep into the rainforest.
After school the next day Manish waited for Manav outside the school gates. “I’m going to play football. Are you coming?”
“Not now Manish, I have things to do” said Manav and he hurried off to the internet cafe.
Manav loved the internet. There was so much information there. You could find out anything you wanted. You could find out how far away the moon is. You could find out how deep the oceans are. You could chat to your friends online. He knew his mother was worried about him visiting internet chatrooms but he liked to chat to new people there. He couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Manav logged in to his favourite website, Monkey Mania.
Ping! A bright blue box popped up. He had a message! “Hello!” it said.
“Hello!” Manav typed back. “I’m Manav. What’s your name?”
“My name is Aabha” said the message. A picture appeared. Aabha was beautiful. She was smiling and she looked like so much fun. Manav and Aabha chatted online for ages. Aabha said they were the same age. They chatted about what they were doing at school. They chatted about sport. They chatted about television. Manav was so happy. “Would you like to meet up?” asked Aabha. Manav was so excited about making a new friend. “I would love to!” he said. And so they arranged to meet the very next day after school.
Friday’s maths lesson seemed to take forever. Manav was looking at his watch. He couldn’t wait for school to finish. He had arranged to meet Aabha. Finally the school bell rang and Manav grabbed his bag and ran. As he reached the school gate he saw Manish. “Manav!” shouted Manish. “No time!” said Manav and he ran past the school gates. Manav ran down the street. He ran past the food seller serving up hot spicy curry. He ran past the stalls of women in the market selling brightly patterned cloth. He ran past the men working at the garage fixing the cars and mopeds. He ran past the furniture shops selling hand-made wooden beds and tables and chairs.
Manav ran and ran and ran until he reached the edge of the rain forest. He paused for a moment. He had never been further than this on his own. Then he carried on running. The forest grew thicker. The forest grew darker. Manav was not sure where he was going. All he knew was that he going to meet Aabha. After what seemed like forever Manav found a clearing in the wood, just like the one Aabha had described. Manav sat himself down on a rock to wait. The sounds of the forest were all around him. He could hear the mynah birds singing, calling out to each other and he could hear the crickets chirruping. But he could also hear something else. It was some kind of rustling.
“Aabha,” he called out. “Is that you?” There was no reply.
“Hello?” he shouted, looking around. There it was again. This time it was louder.
“Hello!” he cried out. “Who is it?”
Manav was starting to panic now. The noise was growing louder still. Now he could hear something that sounded like a low growling. It seemed to surround him. It seemed to be getting louder. Rustling and growling. Growling and rustling.
“Aabha, Aabha where are you?” Manav asked. He was beginning to wish he had never come here. He was beginning to wish he was playing football with his brother, or at home with his mum.
Suddenly there was a sound louder than Manav had ever heard before. A loud, loud roar. Suddenly, there, right before him was a tiger. Manav turned to run – but there was another one, and another one. A whole pack of tigers surrounded him. They stood in a circle around him.
“Who are you?” cried out Manav. “What do you want?” The tigers began to close in on Manav. He looked around, this way and that, searching for an escape route but there was none. Manav whimpered and huddled into the rock. The tigers prowled around him hungrily. Then, one stepped forward and leant forward
“Manav.” The tiger said in a low voice. “Why are you here?”
Manav looked up.
“Are you looking for Aabha?” The tiger asked.
“What have you done with her?” Manish whimpered.
“Manav,” the tiger said gently. “I am Aabha.”
“But…we were chatting online!” said Manav, looking confused. “She sent me her picture” he said pulling out a picture of the young, smiling money.
“And what made you believe that this was Aabha?” the tiger asked.
“I…I don’t know. She told me so much about herself and we arranged to meet here” Manav said.
“Manav, you are young and naïve. You must understand that you cannot believe everything you see on the internet. You cannot trust everybody you meet online. Some people may wish to harm you” and with that the tiger let out a fearsome roar which echoed through the rainforest.
The roar was so loud it could be heard by the food seller serving up hot spicy curry. It could be heard by the women in the market selling brightly patterned cloth. It could be heard by the men working at the garage fixing the cars and mopeds. It could be heard by people at the furniture shops selling hand-made wooden beds and tables and chairs. It could be heard by Manish and Manav’s mother who was at home making their dinner.
The tiger raised up a huge paw and Manav cringed and closed his eyes. The tiger rested his paw on the young monkey’s shoulder. “Manav,” the tiger said, her eyes full of wisdom and kindness “Go home to you family and friends. Warn people to beware – that online you cannot always be sure who you are speaking to.”
Manav opened his eyes and as he did so he saw the tiger pack part. He could see a small figure running between them. It was his brother!
“Manish!” he said embracing him. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry Manav,” said the littlest brother. “I wanted you to see what a risk you were taking and so I asked the tigers to help teach you a lesson.”
“Come on,” said Manav “Let’s go home for dinner. And then we can go outside and play.” With that the two brothers scampered out of the clearing and headed for home.
A Tamil Story by Angela Walker
Story Number 44
Hayavadana
Do you know what Hayavadana means?.... No? It means Horse-face and this story is about a man called Hayavadana, who unfortunately had the body and voice of a human but had the head of a horse. Why did he have this infliction? Let me explain...
It is said that long ago in a little village near the South of India called Dharmapuram lived a horse-headed man called Hayavadana. Now Hayavadana wasn't from Dharmapuram this is just where he ended up, no one actually knew where he was from, people say that he travelled around the whole of India crying and crying and crying. The reason why Hayavadana travelled around the whole of India was because he was searching for someone who could remove this dreaded horses head and the reason why he cried is because no one could help him. Whenever he asked someone for help they either laughed, cried, shouted or ran away. Some people would ask him how it happened, they would ask "Was it a curse of some Rishi?" or "was it some holy place of pilgrimage, a punyasthana, which you desecrated?" or "did you insult a pativrata, dedicated to the service of her husband?" Although these might seem like logical reasons for why someone might have a horses head and a humans body, but they were wrong. Hayavadana had done none of these things and the fact that no one could understand his problem made him very unhappy. Hayavadana asked everyone: magicians, mendicants, maharshis, fakirs, saints and even sadhus - sadhus with long hair, sadhus with short, sadhus with beards, sadhus in saffron, hanging, singing, rotating, gyrating. He had tried them all. Hayavadana was fed up, so he cried all the way to Dharmapuram hoping to find the answer. Hayavadana had heard that there was a Bhagavata there, a Bhagavata is the worshipper of the adorable one Krishna, and with all the Bhagavata's kindness and punya hayavadana thought surely he would be able to help him, but................................
If you want to find out whether the Bhagavata helped Hayavadana or not, you will have to wait until the Fairlop Fair!
Story 45
Following the story of Hayavadana Phileas has another animal story for you.
There once lived a crow called Bipu who lived in a small village called Siri. It was a very cold day and so Bipu was resting cosily on a tree near the village.
In the distance on another tree sat a very old crow called Rani. The cold had made Rani shiver and she had no strength to fly far in the bitter cold. Below Rani’s tree, there were four men who were warm in their woollen blankets and were sitting round a lovely hot fire. They were chatting and enjoying a snack of bread and tea.
Rani was very tempted by the warmth of the fire and she crept closer to the fire to try and get warm. But the men thought she was trying to steal their bread and went “sshhoo…sshhooo…” to scare her away. Rani tried to plead with the men….”I only want to get warm by the fire. I won’t eat your bread.. please…”. But the men refused to let her near their lovely warm fire.
Bipu had been watching this from his tree and as he felt very sorry for Rani, he decided that he wanted to help her. Bipu thought about making his own fire for the crows but was not sure how to do it. He decided that he needed help from his friends.
Bipu crowed loudly and soon all his friends had gathered around him. Bipu shared his idea with the other crows and asked them to think hard about how they could make a fire. Suddenly a little crow came up with a great idea. She asked each of the crows to fetch a few twigs and a little hay. Soon they had gathered plenty of dried twigs and hay.
But they needed a spark to light the twigs. Bipu and the little crow gathered a few stones to rub and start a fire. They sat on the pile of twigs and kept rubbing the stones…..soon flames lit up the heap of hay and twigs… hurrrrayyyy… now they could all be warm!! The crows were delighted. Rani was very comfortable near the fire and thanked Bipu and his friends.
So the spark of ideas and teamwork kept the crows warm and happy.
The Clever Crow
A Kannada story by Indira Nadig
Taken from www.worldstories.org.uk
Story 46
In his original journey around the World in 80 days, Phileas travelled from Calcutta, through the Strait of Malacca. Does anyone know where this is?
The strait of Malacca is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking all major Asian countries. The Strait is not deep enough to allow some of the largest Ships to pass through. Here is a picture, the Strait is the space in between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Whilst travelling through the Strait, Phileas heard some magnificent stories, from all of the different countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Here is one of those stories....
The Boastful Turtle
A Filipino Story by Nick Twyford
Folklore and fairytales are not always kind stories, but we view them through a small window where nothing can get in or out. Mistakes are made and lessons learned. And there is a moral to be learned. With fairytales as with real life, whether a story is kind or not depends on when you choose to stop reading. It is worth bearing that in mind here…
Some animals are more fortunate than others. The Tamaraw buffalo are strong, the Calamian deer have antlers to fight off predators, and the crocodiles of the Agusan marsh are stealthy. But many would say that birds are the most fortunate creatures of all. Turtle certainly thought so. He was unlike the others. Where most turtles were grateful that their flippers meant they could swim in the sea, this turtle moaned that they were not wings. Where most turtles knew that their hard shells would protect them from predators, this turtle felt only a weight on his back that meant he would never be light enough to take to the skies. Flying was all he talked about, and he bored the other animals to tears by talking about it all of the time. When he wasn’t talking about flying, he was talking about himself. This particular turtle was not exactly good company.
‘You should be happy with what you’ve got,’ one of the elders told him after he had been on an especially long rant about flying. This elder was a wise and ancient beast with many scars upon his shell and many lines upon his face. The young turtles claimed the elder had once met Bathala, the caretaker of the earth. This had happened many, many years ago when Bathala had first created life. The wise elder would neither confirm nor deny this rumour, but Turtle did not care. All he cared about was flying.
Turtle’s obsession meant that he had few friends. He did not much care for the other turtles who just wanted to swim and eat. And he resented all of the birds because they could fly and he could not. But he knew that if he ever was going to fly, he would need a bird to help him. It was that or ask one of the Monsters of the Philippines, and he was smart enough to know not to interfere with them. The only creatures stupid enough to ask favours of the Aswangs and the Wakwaks were the humans, and those who asked were never seen again.
Instead, Turtle decided to ask a goose. This was long ago you understand, back in the days when animals asked each other questions. He knew that geese were very fussy birds. But they were also not particularly bright, and so Turtle thought that he would have no problem getting them to help.
The goose that Turtle chose to approach was, at the time, off to meet her flock and did not relish the thought of trying to teach a turtle how to fly - especially this turtle. It seemed like an awful lot of work.
‘My flock is migrating for the cold season and I am very busy,’ the goose told Turtle. This was partly true, but the goose also hoped to avoid hurting his feelings. After all, everybody knew that turtles could not fly no matter how determined they were.
‘I really don’t care about how busy you are,’ whined Turtle, selfishly. ‘I want to fly and I want to fly now!’
It was obvious to the goose that the insistent turtle would not take no for an answer.
‘Let me first ask my flock,’ she said, knowing full well what they would say. She could have flown off then and there, but she had either a big heart or a small brain.
The response she got from her flock was just what she expected, and the air filled with loud, derisive honks as the geese all laughed at Turtle’s ridiculous demand. Once the laughter had subsided, one goose who was more thoughtful than the others voiced an unconventional idea.
‘If two of us held a strong stick between us,’ he said, ‘then Turtle could hold on while we flew. He does have a strong beak and could surely hold the stick while in flight. He would have to be very careful,’ he added. ‘If he let go, even for a second, he would fall and he would be too heavy for us to catch.’
The goose didn’t fancy this idea very much and hoped that the thought of falling to the ground would be enough to put Turtle off the plan altogether. But, being a very selfish and single minded sort of creature, Turtle was determined to go ahead.
‘Well, Just remember to hold on as tightly as you can and never let go,’ said the goose, ‘otherwise you will fall and we will not be able to save you. You look very heavy with that shell of yours.’
‘Yes, yes, of course,’ said Turtle, utterly distracted by his own excitement. He was too busy picturing himself flying with the geese to pay heed to any warnings. He was also busy thinking how jealous his friends would be when they saw him flying high up in the sky above their heads.
And so, with Turtle’s jaw clenched firmly down on the stick held between them, the two geese took off with a whooshing sound and a flapping of their powerful wings. Having never flown before, Turtle was amazed at the myriad of sights that stretched out below him as the geese soared up into the clear blue skies: the beautiful canopy of the jungle, the winding rivers; everything he saw only served to prove to Turtle that he had witnessed far too little of the world. But rather than being humbled by the amazing sights all around him, rather than simply enjoy the experience, selfish Turtle wanted to shout out to the animals below. He wanted to brag and boast about what he could see. And he especially wanted to shout down to all of those turtles who told him that he would never fly.
And that was when he opened his mouth…
Remember how I said that folklore and fairytales are not always kind stories? Well now you see why. Our story ends with Turtle falling. But we never see him land. Does he hit the ground? He should. That is how these things work. And if he does… well there is a moral to our story. Can you guess what that moral might be?
But this is folklore and fairytale – a strange place where anything is possible, where there are talking animals who do things they know they should not do. So, for the benefit of this story, maybe he never lands. And in that respect, if Turtle falls for an eternity, doesn’t that mean he’s flying after all..?
http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/133-the-boastful-turtle/english
Story 47
Lilly and the Queen of Flowers
a Filipino story by Jo Macklin
On a dull, grey day in May with the rain pouring down as usual, Lilly walked through the park near her house. The dark clouds in the sky reminded her of how much she wanted to leave England and go and live in another, more appealing country.
‘My parents are so selfish,’ she thought. ‘Why can’t they just do this one thing for me and move somewhere else. Anywhere other than this dull, wet country where there is nothing to do!’
Lilly looked around at the grey and miserable park and noticed that there were barely any flowers blooming even though it was springtime. ‘Even the flippin’ flowers don’t want to be here,’ she declared. ‘And I cannot believe that we are not even going on holiday this year!’
Suddenly, Lilly heard a swishing and clattering noise up ahead. She looked up and saw an old lady hurrying about between the trees making a fuss over something Lilly could not see.
Ever since her family had moved into the little house nearby, Lilly always came to the park to think. In fact, she considered it to be her very own private park and was quite put out by the appearance of the noisy old lady. It was for this reason that the young girl felt a tinge of anger towards the stranger who was disturbing her peace. Lilly held her head very high, and put on her most serious grownup voice as she walked over to the old lady.
‘Excuse me,’ she said. ‘I don’t know whether you are aware of this, but this happens to be mypark and...’
But before she could finish, the lady turned and smiled at Lilly and the young girl was suddenly struck dumb. The old lady’s skin was so perfect that it seemed to glow, and she had long flowing hair that was made out of hundreds and hundreds of wild flowers!
Lilly stood staring at all of the different kinds of flowers spilling down from the top of the old lady’s head. There were some that she knew, like roses and tulips. But there were lots and lots of flowers that she had never even seen before in her whole life, especially not in dull old England. They were all the colours of the rainbow: purple, red, pink, blue, white, yellow, orange... every colour you could possibly imagine, all mixed together in a magnificent glistening mane. She wore a pink and white dress, long and flowing, and a cross around her neck made of silver.
‘Who…who are you?’ Lilly enquired, the wind quite taken from her sails by now.
‘There is no time for all that,’ the lady said hurriedly. ‘We have to go!’
And with that she grabbed Lilly’s hand and pulled so that the young girl had absolutely no choice but to follow.
After what seemed like an eternity of being dragged from one tree to another, stopping every so often while the strange lady touched a plant or examined a flower, Lilly eventually found herself in an area of the park that she could not remember ever visiting before.
‘Where exactly are we?’ Lilly asked, completely dazed.
This part of the park seemed to stretch for miles and miles and was covered here and there with pockets of tiny flowers. The old woman said:
‘This, my dear, is where it will be held!’ Then she skipped off between the flowers, touching them once in a while with a long stick with feathers on the end while Lilly followed close behind as best she could.
‘Are you dusting?’ she asked. ‘Are you dusting the flowers? That is very strange, isn’t it?’
‘Well of course I am dusting, my dear. How on earth am I going to get these flowers up to scratch in time for the festival if I do not dust them? We are not in the Philippines any more you know!’
‘Okay, strange lady person, could you please tell me what is going on?’
The old woman looked at Lilly as if she were a little simple in the head. ‘Santacruzan, my dear. It is only a day away now. But you know this surely. Have you prepared? You must prepare or your flowers will be seriously below standard!’
Lilly was, if it were at all possible, even more confused. ‘Who are you and what is Santacruzan?’
The woman beamed at Lilly. ‘I am Reyna Elena, or Queen Elena. But you can call me Elena. It’s shorter and we don’t have a lot of time! Would you like to introduce yourself?’
‘My name is Lilly. I’m not a Queen or anything as glamorous as that. Just plain old Lilly.’
Queen Elena seemed almost upset at the remark. ‘What a rude thing to say, young lady. Everybody knows that there is no such thing as a plain lily!’
Suddenly, Lilly heard a rumbling sound coming from the other side of the trees. She felt her ankles shudder and her legs shake as the noise got closer and closer. Queen Elena jumped up and down and clapped her hands together. ‘Eeek! Here they come, here they come! Now the festival preparations can really begin!’
Through the trees came a very large group of people all dressed up in colourful costumes. The women wore beautiful long dresses decorated with flowers and strange objects, and the men wore shorts and funny hats also covered in flowers.
‘Come, come,’ said Queen Elena, ‘now you can meet the group.’ Then she stepped forwards and addressed the assembled men and women who had gathered in the huge clearing. ‘My dear friends, the festival is but a day away and I am pleased to announce that Miss Lilly here has offered to help us during the celebrations!’
Those at the front of the group approached Lilly and shook her hand and patted her on the back and told her how welcome she was and how nice it was to meet her.
Lilly did her best to smile and shake all of the hands, but she was a little perturbed. ‘I’m confused,’ she told Queen Elena. ‘How will I be able to help you?’
‘Your name is Lilly, is it not? You own the name of the most influential and charismatic flower of them all, do you not?’
‘I suppose so,’ said Lilly, not really knowing what else to say.
‘Well then, you shall make the best host for the celebrations, I am sure. Now won’t you please let me continue.’ Elena turned once more and faced the group.
‘As I said, Miss Lilly will be helping us with the festival this year as she has very particular talents that we do not possess. She is from this land and knows it well.’ Queen Elena turned to Lilly. ‘Miss Lilly, we have all come over here from the Philippines, a wonderful place full of warmth, love, celebrations and freshness in the air! May is a magical time in the Philippines. After the long season of scorching hot sun, May is the time that the glistening dew drops finally begin to fall and we are graced with the delicate fragrances from the flowers that bloom in our country.’
‘You mean it starts to rain,’ Lilly said, a touch of disappointment in her voice. After all, she had had enough rain to last a lifetime.
‘You say it like it is a bad thing, my dear. We savour the rain where we come from. It is a wonderfully fresh and glittering blessing. It is life!’
Seeing that the young girl was quite confused, a few of the elders at the front of the group took her by the hand and offered her a seat on a nearby tree stump. Then Queen Elena cleared her throat and began the story of the festival:
‘I am the mother of the most courageous boy in the whole world! My son Constantine and I have had many great adventures! And now, every year at exactly this time, we organise a historical Filipino festival to celebrate such adventures! Our festival, the Santacruzan, is just one of the glorious Flores de Mayo: a whole month of celebrations, festivals, parades and pageants, all during the wonderful season of our beautiful flowers.’
‘That sounds lovely,’ Lilly agreed, ‘but what are you doing here if this festival of yours is in the Philippines tomorrow?’
‘Ahh!’ said Queen Elena, ‘That is the interesting bit. You see, there are so many beautiful families from the Philippines that have moved over here to your land, this place you call the United Kingdom, and we must make sure that they do not miss out on the celebrations, of course. We are here to bring Santacruzan to all of those who have settled in your land.’
Lilly had to agree that it was a very good idea indeed, but she was still puzzled ‘You want to have a flower festival... here? But there are not many flowers here, especially not in May. And the ones that do come out are all sad looking.’
That was when Queen Elena stretched out her arms in an expansive manner and smiled that radiant smile of hers. ‘Look around you, my dear. I think we will manage just fine.’
Lilly followed Queen Elena’s outstretched arms and realised that all of the old woman’s dusting must have paid off. There were millions upon millions of beautiful flowers for as far as the eye could see. They were perfect in every sense, not a single petal out of place. And the smell that carried on the breeze was enough to make the young girl quite dizzy.
Lilly said: ‘I never knew that flowers could look so fantastic!’
‘This is not my first time you know, dear. I am really rather good when it comes to flowers. So, will you help us with Santacruzan? We will need all the help we can get.’
Lilly looked around at the large group of people in their colourful clothes, all awaiting her decision. How could she say no! She nodded her head and Queen Elena quickly clapped her hands. The whole group jumped about clapping and then, quite suddenly, formed a very straight line so that Queen Elena could introduce each of them to Lilly and explain what their role was going to be during the festival.
‘Now, my son Constantine you already know about. He will be by my side throughout the parade. And this lovely gentleman here is Methuselah,’ said Queen Elena as she helped along a very old man pulling a cart with what looked like a frying pan on top of it. ‘He will be on his cart with…’ she turned and whispered to Methuselah. ‘Did you remember your sand this year?’
The old man held up a small bag of sand and winked. ‘He will be on his cart with his sand...’
And so it continued, Queen Elena introducing and Lilly smiling, right the way through the whole crowd. Then, right at the end, eight ladies came forwards all wearing long white dresses with wings on their backs. They were all holding something different in their hands.
‘Ah yes, how could I forget. These are my gorgeous Ave Maria ladies. They all represent something beautiful in the world. Reyna de las Estrellas, for example, is the Queen of Stars, representing the beauty that sparkles in the night sky. These ladies are the real attraction of the festival... apart from me, of course.’
Lilly was most taken with everybody, but when she looked at her watch she suddenly realised that she was in real trouble. She turned to Queen Elena. ‘I’m really sorry but I have to go. My mum will be wondering where I am. I will be back in the morning to help with the festival, you can count on that! It really was lovely to meet you all.’
Queen Elena smiled and nodded. ‘Quite right, quite right,’ she said. ‘Not fair to make your mother worry. You have a safe journey home and we shall see you in the morning.’
Lilly waved to the crowd and thanked Queen Elena for a lovely day. Then she turned and ran home as quickly as she could – through the gap in the trees and out into the familiar grey park where it was still raining. She ran out of the park and along the street and up her garden path and straight through the front door to her house as quickly as her legs could carry her.
‘And where have you been?’ her mother asked as soon as Lilly stumbled breathlessly into the kitchen. ‘We’ve been worried sick!’
‘I’m so sorry, mum. I lost track of time. It’s been a very, very strange day.’
Lilly’s mother looked concerned as she ruffled her daughter’s hair. ‘I know you don’t much like life in England right now, or living here in London, but things always get better, dear, I promise. Maybe next year we will go on holiday in the summer, hey.’
Lilly smiled at her mum. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘I decided today that England isn’t so bad after all. There are lots of people from all over the world here, even from as far away as the Philippines. And who knows, I might even grow to like the rain.’
http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/123-lilly-and-the-queen-of-flowers
Phileas started to feel a little home sick and quite alone, so he was told this story to cheer him up, and he wanted to share the story with you all as well. It is called...
Story 48
Phileas started to feel a little home sick and quite alone, so he was told this story to cheer him up, and he wanted to share the story with you all as well. It is called...
Not Alone
When Dalisay was just eight years old her mother told her that they would be leaving their home and moving to England. ‘Your father must find work so that we can send money to support your grandparents and your aunty,’ explained Dalisay’s mother.
The young girl did not want to leave her home in Manila, which is a very big city in the Philippines, and she was very sad when her mother told her this news.
‘But what about all of my friends?’ asked Dalisay. ‘I do not know anybody in England and I will be all alone.’
Her mother assured Dalisay that it was going to be an exciting adventure for the three of them and that Dalisay would meet lots of new friends when she started school in England. Dalisay was not convinced by her mother’s kind words. She liked her home and she liked going to school where she knew all of the teachers and had lots of friends already. ‘I don’t see why we have to move all the way to England,’ thought Dalisay on the night before the family was due to leave. ‘I do not know anything about England. I do not even speak very much English and I will be all alone!’
This last realisation made the young girl even more sad and she wished with all of her heart that she could stay in Manila with her Aunty or her grandparents.
The journey was very long and Dalisay was overwhelmed by the big aeroplane and all of the people rushing about in the airport.
When the family finally arrived in England, everything seemed strange and she was sure that everybody was looking at her. The buildings in the town of Birmingham were big and grey and Dalisay did not feel at home at all.
The first month passed in a flash as the family found a house to live in and Dalisay’s father went out looking for work so that he could send money back to the rest of the family in the Philippines.
The young girl was very lonely, and even though her mother played games with her and took her out exploring, Dalisay missed her friends very much and could not help feeling that she was all alone in the new city. At night she would cry in her bed and she often dreamed that her father would wake her the next day and tell her that they were going to return home. But each morning Dalisay woke up and realised that she might never go back home ever again.
One morning, as she was eating her strange breakfast of cereal with milk – nothing like her usual breakfast of sinangag which was rice made with yummy eggs, Dalisay learned that she would be going to school. ‘It will be so nice for you to get out of the house and meet new friends,’ said her mother.
But Dalisay was not happy to hear this news. She missed her friends back home, and although she did want to get out of the house more, she was scared of going to school because she did not know anybody. Dalisay had seen lots of children as she and her mother explored the city of Birmingham, but none had spoken to her and she did not speak much English which she knew was going to be difficult in school.
When the morning arrived, Dalisay tried to pretend that she had a fever and was too sick for school, but her mother could always tell when Dalisay way pretending and so she was forced to get dressed and have her breakfast.
Dalisay and her mother walked hand in hand all the way to the school gates where they were met by a teacher called Mrs Murry. The teacher was very friendly and welcomed Dalisay to the school and told her mother that she could come and collect her daughter again at three o’clock.
The morning passed in a blur as Dalisay was introduced to more teachers and lots and lots of children who all smiled and said hello. Dalisay did not understand a lot of what was said to her but it was explained that in the afternoon she would go to a special class with other children who had moved to England from all over the world.
When Dalisay arrived at the classroom later that afternoon, she knocked on the door and walked inside. She was very nervous and also very tired from such a long day of meeting strangers. But when she walked in she was greeted with a big smile by Mrs Mahmood who was from Pakistan. ‘Come on in, Dalisay,’ said the friendly teacher, ‘today we are reading a book called Puss in Boots and later we will be playing some games and painting.’
The young girl noticed that all of the children in the classroom were very different from one another. There was a boy from Zimbabwe and two girls from Poland. There was an older girl from Albania and a boy who was even younger than Dalisay who said that he was from Iran. And to her great surprise, sitting at the back of the classroom with a copy of Puss in Boots clasped in her hands, was a young girl called Luningning who was also from the Philippines! ‘Come over here and sit next to me!’ exclaimed Luningning, who was just as surprised as Dalisay.
The two girls became instant friends as Luningning explained all about the story of Puss in Boots and how they learned to improve their English with Mrs Mahmood who was the best teacher in the whole wide world.
That afternoon, Dalisay talked to each and every one of the children in the class, and although she did not always understand what they were saying, she knew one thing for sure: all of the children had come to England to start a new life, and even though it was sometimes scary to be in a new place where you did not speak the language, there would always be somebody around who would help. And no matter where you went in the world, you would always find a friend. Dalisay realised then that she would never be alone. England was her new home and she was going to make the best of it no matter what.
http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/86-not-alone
Number 49
Phileas was staying in a beautiful hut on the beach and everyday he was greeted by a gorgeous sunshine, the fresh smell of the sea and the melodious songs from the birds. The hut was made out of the wood from the coconut tree and the roof was also thatched from the leaves of the tree. Phileas was also very lucky to be living next to a local man who every morning climbed the coconut tree to pick fresh coconuts and give them to Phileas for his breakfast. Phileas thought to himself about how useful the coconut tree was and there must be hundreds of different things that can be made from the very resourceful tree. "Excuse me sir, the coconut tree is such a wonderful tree. Please could you tell me how this tree came to be." Said Phileas to the local man. "Well Mr Fogg, that's funny you should say that, because it is this very tree that was the first to grow on this island. As legend goes, this tree was once a man." Said the local man, "once a man! How fascinating, please tell me more." Said Phileas, "okay Mr Fogg, let me tell you the story of the coconut tree." So the man asked Phileas to join him in his hut, so he could tell him this famous story.
The Story Of The Coconut Tree
Once upon a time there lived an old man, he was so old that people used to say that he was even a thousand years old and he has lived on the island from the beginning. He was also one of wisest people on the island and he knew more things than you could imagine. The old man lived in a cave near the sea which he rarely left, so when people wanted his advice or help they would have to go to him.
One day, a young man from a rural village on the island came to seek advice from the old man. "O wise father," said the young man, "I want to be useful to people, and not only people who live on the island, I want to be useful to everyone. I want people to be able to make as much use out of me as possible. I want to serve them for my whole life. Please tell me, how can I do this?" "That is very good of you, I can tell that you have a kind and generous heart," said the old man, "and because of this I will give you this magic box. Do not open it until you reach home. If you open it before then, something will happen to you." "Thank you wise father," said the young man.
After he thanked the old man he picked up the magic box, left the cave and headed back to his village. When the young man was far enough away from the cave, he stopped and had a look around to make sure that nobody was around. "I wonder what really can be inside this box?" He said to himself. "The anticipation is too much, I can't wait until I get home I need to check what is inside now. I'm sure the old man was just trying to scare me, I don't think anything is really going to happen to me." The young man slowly opened the lid of the box, his heart was beating and his hands were trembling with fright, he had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. Sure enough, as the old man said something did happen because just as the young man had nearly opened the lid a bright light shone from the box and roots started to shoot from the bottom of his feet and giant green leaves started to grow from his eyes, ears and mouth. The young man tried to shut the lid of the box but just as he was about to do it he shot up into the sky and his body grew hard and strong.
The young man should have listened to the wise words of the old man, because now he stood 30 metres tall and swayed in the blue sky as a coconut tree. This was his punishment for disobeying the old man.
This story would have a sad ending if it ended here, but it doesn't, because although the young man spent the rest of his life as a coconut tree he was the first of his kind and if you remember rightly, the young man requested that he wanted to be useful to everyone. The coconut tree is known as the tree of life because of it's wide variety of uses and they can be used to make things such as: clothing, mats, baskets, roofs, food, medicine and many more. People on the island say that the old man predicted this would happen and that is why he gave the young man the magic box because he knew that in years to come people would be grateful for the coconut tree and remember how kind and generous the young man was.
At ten o'clock the Rangoon rode out of Singapore harbour, and in a few hours the high mountains of Malacca, with their forests, inhabited by the most beautifully-furred tigers in the world, were lost to view. Singapore is distant some thirteen hundred miles from the island of Hong Kong, which is a little English colony near the Chinese coast. Phileas Fogg hoped to accomplish the journey in six days, so as to be in time for the steamer which would leave on the 6th of November for Yokohama, the principal Japanese port.
The Rangoon had a large quota of passengers, many of whom disembarked at Singapore, among them a number of Indians, Ceylonese, Chinamen, Malays, and Portuguese, mostly second-class travellers.
The weather, which had hitherto been fine, changed with the last quarter of the moon. The sea rolled heavily, and the wind at intervals rose almost to a storm, but happily blew from the south-west, and thus aided the steamer's progress. The captain as often as possible put up his sails, and under the double action of steam and sail the vessel made rapid progress along the coasts of Anam and Cochin China. Owing to the defective construction of the Rangoon, however, unusual precautions became necessary in unfavourable weather; but the loss of time which resulted from this cause, while it nearly drove Passepartout out of his senses, did not seem to affect his master in the least. Passepartout blamed the captain, the engineer, and the crew, and consigned all who were connected with the ship to the land where the pepper grows. Perhaps the thought of the gas, which was remorselessly burning at his expense in Saville Row, had something to do with his hot impatience.
Number 50
The travel to Hong Kong
The Rangoon had a large quota of passengers, many of whom disembarked at Singapore, among them a number of Indians, Ceylonese, Chinamen, Malays, and Portuguese, mostly second-class travellers.
The weather, which had hitherto been fine, changed with the last quarter of the moon. The sea rolled heavily, and the wind at intervals rose almost to a storm, but happily blew from the south-west, and thus aided the steamer's progress. The captain as often as possible put up his sails, and under the double action of steam and sail the vessel made rapid progress along the coasts of Anam and Cochin China. Owing to the defective construction of the Rangoon, however, unusual precautions became necessary in unfavourable weather; but the loss of time which resulted from this cause, while it nearly drove Passepartout out of his senses, did not seem to affect his master in the least. Passepartout blamed the captain, the engineer, and the crew, and consigned all who were connected with the ship to the land where the pepper grows. Perhaps the thought of the gas, which was remorselessly burning at his expense in Saville Row, had something to do with his hot impatience.
Extract taken from 'Around The World in 80 Days'
Written by Jules Verne
http://www.pagebypagebooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment