Children

ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup

Hello children,

How has your week been? Are you getting settled in your new class in school? How time flies. We are already completing two weeks in the New Year.

This year is going to be a very special year for our country. It is going to be a ‘sporting’ year with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka co-hosting the ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup.

The world cup begins on February 19 and conclude on April 2.

I know there are a lot of cricket fans among you children. Cricket is very close to our hearts and has become part of our lives ever since Sri Lanka won the Wills World Cup in 1996.

The world cup which is held once in four years is organized by the ICC (International Cricket Council).

The first world cup was held in 1975 and this year’s edition will be the 10th world cup.

The 2011 world cup will feature many countries.

Eventhough we have a little more than five weeks to go for the start of the cricket world cup, the country is gradually getting gripped by world cup fever. Have a nice and sporting week. Bye for now.

Aunt Anji

Wonder tree

Tara loved to read Alice in Wonderland. Her big sister would scoff at how Tara would keep reading the same book over and over again. “There is no such thing as a Wonderland”, her sister would always jeer. But Tara simply never grew tired of reading the same story. She marvelled at the idea that the doorway to such a world was only through a rabbit hole.

It became one of Tara’s habits to go wondering about the meadow in search of rabbit burrows. It was on one such evening when Tara was scouting for rabbit holes, that she came across a couple of men labouresly sawing away at a tall, thick trunked apple tree.

She curiously watched them from a safe distance, lying flat on her belly. After a few minutes, the men started to pack up their tools. The tree had such a thick trunk, that it wasn’t even half sawed. Tara waited for the men to leave. Then she jumped to her feet and ran to the tree. She crained back her neck to see if there were any apples on the tree...and was quite shocked to see a crow stick its head through the leaves and wink at her before retreating.

Tara didn’t waste time. Soon she was climbing the tree, her dress neatly tucked between her legs. When she reached the highest branch of the tree she was taken aback at the sight she saw.

So many birds of all kinds and colours were perched in height order of three rows each. They all wore matching tuxedo suits! The crow who had winked at her stood in the front, facing the birds with a baton poised on its raised wing.

At Tara’s approach, it gave her one long look and said in a haughty voice, “Well, take a seat. I don’t want you disturbing my choir.”

Obediently, forgetting her astonishment, Tara sat herself on a branch and experienced a remarkable ‘bird choir’. It was all cleverly done.

Crows, owls and pelicans dealt with low pitches while the higher notes were done by parrots, robins and blue jays. They sang jazz, the blues and even a little bit of rock. When it grew dark the birds flew away and Tara also had to go home to bed.

But she came back the next morning only to find that the tree was finally cut. “Well”, she thought sadly “at least now I know that mysterious worlds only come to certain people once in a lifetime!” And she never saw the choir birds again. Have you?

Shenali Boteju , Holy Family Convent ,Bambalapitiya

READ A BOOK WITH ME ... :

Mr (Un) Wise and the Beastly Feast

Hello Friends,

Did you all notice that January is a month of weddings? This week I’m going to tell you all of a good book about a very interesting marriage and a wedding ceremony. This book, like our last week’s book, is also an English translation of a very popular story called Magul Kema by Cumaratunga Munidasa, a great Sinhala writer who wrote for both children and adults. Magul Kema is translated by Prof Kusuma Karunaratne and Edmund Jayasuriya as The Wedding Feast. The very colourful and unique illustrations are by Sybil Wettasinghe.

Now my dear friends, who said only human beings get married and have wedding feasts? In this story you will meet some unforgettable characters from the animal world, such as Mr Wise, Mr Guile and Mr Buffoon from ‘Hivalavala’, the village of foxes and Mr Big Comb, Mr Sharp Beak and Miss Little from the beautiful village of fowls, “Kukulagamuva”. Will you be surprised to hear that the wedding is actually between Miss Little, and Mr Slim, a fowl and a fox?! A very exciting wedding indeed!

Let me give you a little bit of friendly advice. Before you attend the next wedding you’re invited to, don’t forget to read this story and go. You’ll be surprised to see that our weddings are not that different from theirs. If you don’t believe me, hurry up and read The Wedding Feast and like I said, see whether any of the customs followed by our dear fox and fowl friends are there in the human world too.

Meanwhile, you can also try to think why our animal friends in The Wedding Feast are given some very interesting names. Do you feel we humans have a lot in common with them? Just think about it when you feel like doing so. Don’t forget to write to me and tell me whether you like the book or not and why. See you next week with another delightful treat for you.

And, don’t forget to do what I said at your next wedding feast.

Have lots of fun!

Gayathri

Getting an earful

- PART 53

In ‘Kid’s Den’...

Four children, Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka, go on a trip to the woods with their parents for their school holidays. In the middle of the night the children are awakened by a strange noise. On following their dog, Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the spell of the ‘luring stones’. Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book of spell to cast off the spell while the others remain behind with Sachi, a gnome. A storm breaks and the kids are scattered.

A sleeping spell is unleashed and all the unmythical creatures including the children fall asleep. Strangely Pramodaka is the only one awake.

Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for the mythical creatures, comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang up the rest of her pack and reveals an age old secret.

However the group discovers that it is not only Sulo’s secret that is uncovered by the storm. Something dark and deadly had been hidden in the depths of the earth waiting to release itself and return for revenge...

(‘Return of the Kids’ is the sequel to ‘Kid’s Den’)

A bell clanged. Eagle Eye jumped and in a matter of seconds he had reached a secluded area in the room and was checking a machine installed there by HE. The gnomes, left to themselves in the room, exchanged startled looks. Something had gone wrong and one or all of them would be getting an earful.

They did not have long to wait. Eagle Eye was back in a flash. His eyes took in the scene, resting on a scared looking DTG’s smaller frame to an indifferent IIEI’s larger figure.

There were only five of them!

“Where is IBB?” he asked, suspiciously.

Luckily his mates had an answer.

“He had to go see Gerry about the transfer, remember? He finished work just now and went off ...” IIEI reminded him.

Eagle Eye pursed his lips. Someone had tampered with something in the network and done something which goes against the rules. He remembered again that he had been absent for a few minutes while chasing Zira leaving Ruwi and her friends in the room.

The problem is that they did not have access to the network to do anything. All the oracles were taken and the mother oracle of the house was safely in HE’s office. Someone must have helped them. Someone...

He glared at DTG as the gnome dropped his mug with a crash.

“We need to have some serious talk,” he said sternly.

The gnomes perked up at that. Even JVK slid up on his seat and jostled around so that they formed a semi circle and were looking up at their deputy.

“HE’s absence does not mean you can deviate from the rules. He had left me in charge to take matters in hand. That is how it will always be. We cannot let others meddle with these serious affairs - and someone had let others do that just now. That is how the buzzer had gone off,” he said, studying their reaction.

The gnomes looked at each other with puzzled frowns. As usual DTG looked scared. He hardly looked anything else. JVK had already lost interest and was reaching for his mug.

It seemed like he was not getting any answers. The gnomes were restless when it approached midday. He looked at the time indicator above their heads. Ten eyes eagerly followed his move.

“All right. Let’s take a break. It’s time for a cup of dandelion shoots anyway,” he said grabbing his own mug and making for the door. The lethargic atmosphere in the room vanished as if by magic. They wasted no time in following him.

To be continued

Container truck	Coconut estate	Ben 10
Harindu De Zoysa Grade 1N Lyceum International School	F Rukshana 5B, Sailan International School	T D Ishan Grade 4, Kingston College International Wellawatte, Colombo 6

X’mas tree	Santa Claus
Asini Thisakya Weliwattha PG IIC, Sujatha pre-school Nugegoda	Methara Senanayake Grade 3, Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya

Kingston College International (Mutwal branch) celebrated Christmas in an elaborate manner. Here children participating at this function.	Nalanda Balika Vidyalaya, Minuwangoda held a ceremony to present certificates to students who passed the 2010 Grade Five scholarship examination. Here Vice Principal Jayanthi Herath presents certificate to Sitmini Kavindya. Pricipal Sepali Ranasinghe also participated at this ceremony. Picture by Ivon Nissanka, Divulapitiya Group correspondent