Sunny Stories:

After the rains

After a night of rain the whole world looked fresh and beautiful. "It is as if the trees and the grass have all had a bath," thought Sandun.

When he saw the dew drops glistening on the edges of the blades of grass he remembered something he had seen, this time last year. He decided to go out into the garden to find out if he could see them this year too.

"Where are you off to?" asked father looking up from his computer.

The tiny mushroom

"I am going down to the garden, father," said Sandun. "Now that it is September there might be mushrooms under the mango tree at the bottom of the garden."

"Do you remember what I told you about mushrooms last year, when you first saw them growing under the mango tree?"

"Yes, father," said Sandun. "Some mushrooms are poisonous. We should never eat mushrooms we find growing in the wild."

"You have a good memory," Father smiled. "Run off now to find your mushrooms."

At first, except for a few weeds, Sandun could not see anything under the mango tree. He remembered last September there were more than a dozen white mushrooms growing on this very spot he was standing right now. He wondered why they were not there this year.

Just as he was going to give up and walk back to the house, he saw one tiny mushroom, smiling up at him from the ground.

"There you are," said Sandun. "I am so happy to see you. You are the only one brave enough to show up this year."

He knelt beside the mushroom and stroked its tiny white head.

"Wait here. I am going to draw you", he said and ran back to the house to find his drawing book and box of crayons. When he came back he saw his dog, Patch under the mango tree, barking at a squirrel who was chiding him from one of the topmost branches.

"Patch, stop that," said Sandun. "Leave the squirrel alone." Patch barked up at the tree for one last time and ran to Sandun. He jumped up and down, trying to lick Sandun's face.

"No, Patch, no" said Sandun. "I have something important to do. I am going to draw that tiny mushroom."

But when Sandun walked up to the mango tree he could not find the tiny white head.

"Did you see my mushroom?" Sandun asked the fallen mango leaves. He went down on his knees wondering what had happened to the mushroom. Then he saw the white stem and the crumpled white head lying on the ground.

"Oh no," cried Sandun. "Patch, you trampled on my mushroom. You have broken it into pieces."

Patch could not understand what had happened. He licked the angry tears streaming down Sandun's face. He pulled at Sandun's shirt sleeve asking Sandun to come and play with him.

Sandun pushed Patch away from him and walked back to the house.

"What is the matter?" asked Father. "Why do you look so sad?"

"I am not sad" scowled Sandun. "I am angry with Patch for trampling on my mushroom."

"Come here," said Father. He ruffled Sandun's hair. "Stop scowling. I do not want you to be a grievance collector."

"A grievance collector? Who is that?" Sandun asked.

"A grievance collector is a person who is bitter about something that happened to him.

He does not want to forget the incident and move on. He keeps on being angry and sad for a long time."

"I do not want to be a grievance collector, father" said Sandun. "Then forget what happened" said Father. "Patch did not step on the mushroom on purpose. Stop grieving about it."

Sandun smiled. "I will say sorry to Patch and play with him. After all this is only the beginning of September. After the next bout of rain there will be more mushrooms in the garden."

"Woof, woof, woof" said Patch. He knew there would be more mushrooms and this time he would be careful not to step on them.

-Aditha

[email protected]

Making a literate world

Dear children,

In just two days time the world will be celebrating the International Literacy Day which highlights the importance of literacy (the ability to read and write) to individuals, communities and societies.

The theme of this year's Literacy Day is literacy and Peace. It was in 1965 that the UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) proclaimed September 8 as the International Literacy Day.

Ever since UNESCO has been celebrating International Literacy Day by reminding the international community that literacy is a human right and the foundation of all learning.

Do you know that over 775 million adults do not possess even minimum literacy skills? According to statistics one in five adults is still not literate and two thirds of them are women.

All of you are fortunate enough to attend school and have full time education. But not everyone around the globe enjoys that facility.

Moreover there are children who attend schools irregularly and there are some students who leave school early without completing their education.

While there are world wide massive campaigns to uplift the literacy level of people, you also can play a role in your own small way.

If you have domestic aides who have children of school going age but who are not attending school you can inform your parents about them and motivate them to attend school.

Also if there are poor children who already attend school yet face financial difficulties you can provide them reading material. Help them in every possible way you can.

Bye for now, Sanju [email protected]

My class teacher

* My class teacher is Thakshila.
* She is kind and beautiful.
* She has a nice car.
* She has short hair.
* She gets angry when we do something wrong.
* I love my class teacher very much.
Movindu Lochana

grade-3E
Isipathana College
Colombo-5

My school

* My school is Highlands College.
* It is situated in Nawala.
* It is a mixed school.
* My school colours are red, blue and white.
* I love my school.

Thevindu Damsith
grade-2A
Highlands College
Nawala