Aunt Mali’s Children

Young Scribes:

The Dogs’ Home

Last Sunday I went to the Dogs’ Home and I met 250 dogs or more. I saw big dogs, puppies and gentle dogs. I also saw sad dogs.

I saw a dog with only three legs but she was very happy there at the Dogs’ Home. I gave most of the dogs Tikiri Mari. For those who do no know what Tikiri Mari is, it is a kind of biscuit. We were very lucky with the weather. It was a very sunny day.

The Dogs’ Home is in Dehiwela. And there is yet another dogs’ home in Kahathuduwa. There was a puppy which had been sick for a long time. So she was very scared of other people.

There were two more puppies. So she wasn’t all by her self in the Dogs’ Home. I dont think there is another dogs’ home in Sri Lanka. If there is, check it out. And if you can, write to the papers about the location.

Pravin Jayasundere
Gr. 5, Royal College
Colombo 7

Ostrich, an oddity of nature!

It is a bird but it cannot fly. It is taller and heavier than a man - standing over eight feet tall and weighing over 300 pounds. No wonder it is a flightless bird. What enormous wings will be needed to carry and bear in air a bird of this weight and heights!

The bird is an ostrich - one of nature’s oddities.

Its huge body is precariously balanced on its too long legs. Each foot has only two toes - one of which is almost useless. At the top of its long neck, it has a small flattened head, a short beak, large eyes and very long eyelashes.

Its brain is smaller than one of its eyes. But the bird is not stupid. It is not clever either. It has a stride of 14 feet and can easily run at the speed of 30 miles per hour. Strangely it loves to run around in circles.

Eating habits

Its eating habits are legendary. It lives mainly on grass, leaves and fruits. It swallows stones and pebbles to aid its digestion. But it can eat anything without any visible ill effects.

It is very fond of shiny objects and happily gulps down watches, jewels, pieces of glass and metals. The bird is much sought after for its meat, feathers and its hide.

Ostriches can be trained to pull carts and for riding. It is an ill tempered and aggressive bird. A single kick from its powerful leg can bend an iron bar half-an-inch thick or break a human limb. Putting a paper bag over its head seems to have a calming effect on the bird.

The head-in-the-sand pose of the bird is a myth. In danger it just sits down and stretches its neck along the ground merging well with the landscape, camouflaging itself.

Ready for freedom flight!

These two beautiful shots of a Sunbird fledgling were sent to Daily News by Kusalvin Dabare of Piliyandala.

Kusalvin is one of the fifty winners of ‘Letter to Santa’ competition. In his letter to Santa he had mentioned about his new ‘neighbours’ that have come to the “Delum” tree just outside his study room.

‘The Sunbird fledgling has flown away with his parents on Christmas Day!

Folk tales of Sri Lanka:

The passionate demon

Retold by R.S. Karunaratne

Once there lived a demon who had a strange passion for Vennaruwa Wewa - a small tank in Kurunegala. The demon used to visit the Wewa daily and enjoy its serenity.

One day the demon lost his temper when he saw that the wewa was full of muddy water. He was so angry that he gave three hoots and ran away.

On the following day too, the demon saw that the Wewa was full of muddy’ water. On the third day the demon held a all night vigil over Vennaruwa Wewa. He was determined to catch the culprits who polluted the water.

Around midnight the demon saw some animals coming towards the wewa. They were led by a huge elephant. Just behind the elephant there was a tortoise. Then he saw an eel (a long, thin snake-like fish) following the tortoise.

At the end of the line was a ‘Yakdessa’ a charmer of demons. The demon gave vent to his pent-up feelings by sending noxious fumes towards the intruders. The animals and the ‘Yakdessa’ turned their back as if to return. However, they could not go very far. All of them were turned to stone.

Even today you can see “Athugala, Ibbagala, Andagala’ and ‘Yakdessagala’ above the Vennaruwa Wewa.