Peana Piditha Natchaththirangal

ªè£´ˆ¶, å¼ ºò¬ô õ£ƒAù£˜,ªó«ñ£¾‚° õ‰F¼Šð¶ ó£E â¡Á ªîK‰¶‹ ªîKò£î¶ «ð£™ ï쉶 ªè£‡´ ºò¬ô ꣂ° å¡P™ «ð£†´‚ ªè£´ˆî£¡. Þ‰î º¬ø ó£E Üó‡ñ¬ùJ™ îù¶ ܬø‚° õ¼‹ õ¬ó ꣂ¬èˆ Fø‚èM™¬ô. Üõœ ó£ü£¬õ ܬöˆ¶ èî¬õ Í®M†´ ꣂ¬èˆ Fø‰¶ «ð£¶ ºò™ ü¡ù™ õNò£è ªõO«ò °Fˆ¶ ªó«ñ£Mì‹ æ®«ò «ð£ŒM†ì¶. On the twenty ninth day, the Queen came to Remo in disguise and asked to sell her a rabbit for two gold coins. As usual, Remo pretended not to recognize her, he sold a rabbit in a sack. This time, the Queen did not open the sack till she reached her chamber inside the palace. She called the king and closed the door. When she opened the sack, the rabbit jumped out of the window and ran back to Remo at once. ºŠðî£õ¶ ï£O™ ªó«ñ£ ËÁ ºò™è¬÷»‹ Üó‡ñ¬ù‚° F¼ŠH‚ ªè£‡´ õ‰î£¡. ñ¡ù˜ Þó‡ì£õ¶ êõ£¬ô ÜPºèŠð´ˆFù£˜; ËÁ à‡¬ñò£ù ªê£Ÿè¬÷ ªè£‡´ å¼ ê£‚¬è GóŠð «õ‡´‹ â¡ð¶ ܉î êõ£™. ªó«ñ£ CP¶ «ïó‹ «ò£Cˆî£¡, ªõŸÁ ꣂ¬èˆ Fø‰¶, H¡ù˜ ó£ü£ ñŸÁ‹ ó£E ñ£Á«õìˆF™ Üõ¬óŠ õ‰¶ 𣘬õJ†ì¬î ÃP Üõ¡ ꣂ¬è‚ 膮 ó£ü£Mì‹ ªè£´ˆ¶  Þ‰î ꣂ¬è ËÁ à‡¬ñò£ù õ£˜ˆ¬îè÷£™ GóŠHM†«ì¡, cƒèœ ⡬ù ï‹ðM™¬ô â¡ø£™, cƒèœ â¡ º¡ Ü¬î «ê£î¬ù ªêŒòô£‹ â¡ø£¡. As Remo returned all the hundred rabbits on the 30th day, the king introduced the second challenge; to fill up hundred true words in a sack. Remo thought for a while, opened the empty sack and then he started word by word narration of king and queen visiting him in disguise. He tied it and returned it 44 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

to the king, telling, “Oh Majesty, I have filled this sack with a hundred true words. If you don’t believe me, you can cross check in front of me!” ó£ü£¾‚°‹ ó£E‚°‹ îƒèœ ñè¬÷ ªó«ñ£¾‚°ˆ F¼ñí‹ ªêŒõ¬îˆ îMó «õÁ õNJ™¬ô; F¼ñíº‹ º¬øŠð® ïì‰î¶. Þ‰î «ü£® å¼õ¬ó å¼õ˜ «ïCˆî£˜èœ, Üõ˜èœ ⡪ø¡Á‹ ñA›„C»ì¡ õ£›‰î£˜èœ. The king and Queen had no other go except marrying their daughter to Remo; The marriage was organized formally. The couple loved each other and they lived happily forever. ´´ «ì£Q «ñK«ò£ ´   45

8 îƒèñ£ù Þì‹ The golden land ??Rohit Krishna å ¼ è£ôˆF™ ñ¬ôJ¡ Ü®õ£óˆF™ Üöè£ù i´ å¡Á Þ¼‰î¶. i†¬ì„²ŸP ÜöAò «î£†ìº‹,õò™ªõO»‹ Þ¼‰îù. ܉î i†®™ ió£ â¡ø å¼ °†®Š¬ðò¡, îù¶  î»ì¡ ñA›„Cò£è õ£›‰¶ õ‰î£¡. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful house in the foothills of a mountain. The house was surrounded by lush green garden and farmland. A little boy named Veera lived happily in that beautiful house with his parents. êŸÁ ªî£¬ôÉóˆF™ àœ÷ ñ¬ôèÀ‹, ܃°œ÷ i´èÀ‹ ªõJ™ Ü®ˆî ªð£¿¶ îèîè âù I¡Qò¶. îƒèˆî£™ ªêŒòŠð†ì Þì‹ «ð£™ 裆C ÜOˆî¶. ió£ Þ¶ «ð£¡ø å¼ ÞìˆF™ õ£ö «õ‡´‹ âù‚ èù¾ è‡ì£¡. At a slightly farther away land were mountains and houses, glittering like gold in the day time. The sun’s 46 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

rays made the place to look like it was made of gold. Veera dreamt to live in such a lovely place. Cô õ¼ìƒèœ èNˆ¶, ió£ CP¶ õ÷˜‰îH¡, Üõ¡ ªðŸ«ø£˜èœ IFõ‡® 塬ø Üõ‚° õ£ƒAˆ î‰îù˜. IFõ‡®¬ò â´ˆ¶‚ªè£‡´ ió£ êŸÁ ªî£¬ôM™ Þ¼‰î ܉î ñ¬ôŠ ð°F‚°„ ªê¡ø£¡. îù¶ èù¾ G¬ùõ£A M†ì¶ âù I辋 ñA›‰î£¡. àŸê£èˆ¶ì¡ Üõ¡ î¡Â¬ìò èù¾ ÞìˆFŸ°„ ªê¡ø£¡. After a few years when Veera had grown a little bigger, his parents got him a new bicycle. Veera took his bicycle and decided to go the slightly farther away land. It was Veera’s dream come true moment and he was very excited to go to his dreamland. «ó£Uˆ ‚¼wí£ ´   47

ió£ ܉î Þìˆ¬î„ ªê¡ø¬ì‰î Hø° Üî¬ù‚ ؉¶ èõQˆî£¡. ñ¬ôèœ I辋 ê£î£óíñ£è Þ¼‰îù. ܃° Þ¼‰î i´èÀ‹ ð¬öòî£è‚ è£íŠð†ìù. ܉î ñ¬ô å¼ âKñ¬ô â¡ð¬î «è†ìP‰¶ ªè£‡ì£¡. Üîù£™ ܉î Þì«ñ ñó‹, ªê®, õò™èœ âù ⶾ«ñ Þ¡P è£íŠð†ì¶. êŸÁ ãñ£Ÿøˆ¶ì¡ IFõ‡®J™ î¡ i†¬ì «ï£‚A„ ªê¡ø£¡. ÜŠªð£¿¶ å¼ ÜöAò 裆C¬ò‚ è‡ì£¡. Ýý£! ܃A¼‰¶ ð£˜ˆî ªð£¿¶ Üõ¡ i´ îƒèˆî£™ ªêŒî¶ «ð£™ åO«ò£´ ªîK‰î¶. i†¬ì ²ŸP àœ÷ õò™ªõO»‹, ñ¬ôèÀ‹ ð„¬êŠ ð«ê™ â¡Á ªê£˜‚èñ£è‚ 裆C ÜOˆî¶. Veera reached the place and observed it. The mountains were very ordinary and the houses very dusty and old. He then learnt from the people living there that those were volcanic mountains. Hence the place was dry without any trees, plants 48 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

or farmlands. He was quite disappointed. He headed back to his home in his bicycle. By then Veera saw a beautiful sight and was astonished. It was his own house that glittered like gold. The lush green mountains, the farmland and the garden that surrounded his house looked heavenly. Þ‚è¬ó‚° Ü‚è¬ó ð„¬ê â¡ð¬îŠ ¹K‰¶ ªè£‡ì ió£,  õ£›‰¶ õ¼‹ Þì‹ î£¡ îƒèñ£ù Þì‹ â¡Á à혉. ÜŠð®Šð†ì å¼ ÞìˆF™ õ£›õ‚ èì¾À‚° ï¡P ªê£™L‚ªè£‡«ì ñA›„C»ì¡ i†®Ÿ°„ ªê¡ø£¡. Veera realized that the other side of the grass is always greener. He understood that the place where he lived was the best place. He thanked God for the blessings and returned home happily. ´´ «ó£Uˆ ‚¼wí£ ´   49

9 ï£ò£è ñ£Pò CÁõ¡. The boy who transformed in to a Dog ??R. B. Gaurav Nitesh, Abu Dhabi å ¼ Aó£ñˆF™ ó° â¡Aø CÁõ¡ õ£›‰¶ õ‰î£¡. Üõ¡ ⊫𣶋 CÁ CÁ «ê†¬ìèœ ªêŒ¶ ªè£‡«ì Þ¼Šð£¡.ÜŠð®ò£è, å¼ï£œ ªî¼M™ Þ¼‚°‹  °†®èœ Üî¬ìò ꣊𣆬ì ꣊H´‹ «ð£¶, ó° ܉î è¬÷ˆ ªî£™¬ô ªêŒò Ýó‹Hˆî£¡. ð£õ‹ ܉î èœ! Þõ¡ ªêŒî «ê†¬ìè¬÷ˆ î£ƒè º®ò£ñ™, ꣊Hì£ñ™ 殫ò M†ìù. A boy named Raghu lived in a village. He always played mischief with everyone. Oneday, he started playing pranks with the puppies which were eating in his street. Raghu started harassing the dogs. Poor dogs could not bear this and ran away without eating. ܃«è å¼ «îõ¬î Þ¬îªò™ô£‹ 𣘈¶‚ ªè£‡®¼‰î¶. Þ‰î îõ¬ø Üõ‚° à혈¶õ Üõ¡ ꣊H´‹ «ïóˆF™ ñ†´‹ Üõ¡ ï£ò£è ñ£ø«õ‡´‹ â¡Á ê£ð‹ M†ì¶. 50 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

An angel was watching all this. It cursed Raghu to become a dog only at the time he ate to make him realize this mistake. Ü´ˆî  裬ôJ™ ó° ï™ôð®ò£èˆî£¡ ⿉. Ýù£™ Üõ¡ 裬ô àí¬õ ꣊H´‹ ªð£¿¶ ï£ò£è ñ£Pù£¡. îù¶ i†®™  à†è£˜‰¶ ꣊H†´‚ ªè£‡®¼‚Aø¶ â¡Á ܉î ò Mó†®ù˜ Üõù¶ ªðŸ«ø£˜. Üõ¡ ð£õ‹ ÜôP Ü®ˆ¶‚ ªè£‡´ ªõO«ò æ® õ‰î£¡. ªè£…ê «ï󈶂° Hø° e‡´‹ ñQîù£è ñ£Pù£¡. Raghu woke up well the next morning but the moment he started eating the breakfast, he turned into a dog. His parents suddenly realized that a dog was eating at their house. So, they started chasing the dog. Poor Raghu started screaming R. B. ªè÷óš Gˆ«îw ´   51

and ran out of the house. He was so hungry. After a while he turned back to human form. êK ÞŠªð£¿î£õ¶ ꣊Hìô£‹ â¡Á â‡Eˆ F¼‹ð¾‹ ꣊Hì„ ªê¡ø¶‹, ï£ò£è ñ£Pù£¡. e‡´‹ Üõ¡ ªðŸ«ø£˜ Üõ¬ù Mó†ì«õ, i†®L¼‰¶ ÜôP Ü®ˆ¶‚ ªè£‡´ æ®ù£¡. ÞŠð®ò£è 2 ï£†èœ èN‰îù. â¡ù ªêŒõ¶ â¡Á å¡Á‹ ¹KòM™¬ô. ðC‚° ꣊Hì º®òM™¬ô. ꣊Hì «õ‡´‹ â¡ø â‡íˆ«î£´ Þ¼‰î Üõ‹ ñQîù£è ñ£ø M™¬ô. Thinking that he could eat right then, he went back to eat and but again he turned into a dog. His parents chased the dog away hence raghu had to run away from his own house. Thus 2 days passed. He could not figure out what to do. As long as he had intention to eat, he couldn’t turn back to human. ꣬ôJ™ A¬ì‚°‹ àí¬õò£õ¶ ꣊Hìô£‹ â¡Á G¬ùˆ¶ ܬô‰¶ FK‰î£¡. å¼õNò£è ꣊𣴠A¬ìˆ¶ M†ì¶. I辋 ꉫî£ûˆ¶ì‹ ݬê»ì‹ Ü¬î„ ê£ŠH†ì£¡. He wandered off thinking he could eat any food available on the road. One way or another he found the food which can suppress his hunger. He ate it with great pleasure and desire. «îõ¬î Þ¬îªò™ô£‹ 𣘈¶‚ªè£‡®¼‰î¶. “â¡ù ó° ꣊𣴠âŠð® Þ¼‰î¶?” â¡Á «è†ì¶. cƒèœ ò£˜ â¡Á «è†ì£¡ ó°. “ èO¡ «îõ¬î. c Þó‡´ ï£†èÀ‚° º¡¹ å¼ ï£Œ ꣊H´‹«ð£¶ I辋 ªî£™¬ô ªè£´ˆî ܶ ꣊Hì£ñ™ æ®ò¶. ܉î  ܉î ê£Šð£†¬ì «î® âšõ÷¾ «ïó‹ ܬô‰î¶ ªîK»ñ£? 52 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

The angel was watching all this. “How did u like the meal Raghu?” Asked the angel. Raghu was surprised and tried to ask who she was. “I am an Angel”. “Do you remember few days back you bothered a puppy which was trying to eat? It ran away without eating food. Do you know how long it had to search for its food?” “Üî¬ìò èw숬î àù‚° à혈î«õ  ࡬ù ފ𮠪ꌫî¡. Ýù£™ c ï£J¡ à¼õˆF™ c èwìŠ ð´õ¬î»‹ â¡ù£™ î£ƒè º®òM™¬ô. ࡬ù â¡ù£™ ñQîù£è ñ£Ÿø º®»‹, ãªù¡ø£™ c ñQîŠHøM. Ýù£™ Üõ˜è¬÷  ñ£Ÿø º®»ñ£? º®ò£¶ Ü™ôõ£, Üîù£™, CÁõ«ù! ÞQ«ñ™ ⊫𣶋 c õ£J™ô£ põ¡è¬÷ ¶¡¹Áˆî‚Ã죶.” R. B. ªè÷óš Gˆ«îw ´   53

“I did this to make you realize its difficulty. But I could not bear to see you suffer like this. I can make you back to human because you are originally human. But can I change them? It’s not possible. So, Raghu never, ever play pranks with the poor animals.” warned the angel. Ü‰î «îõ¬î Üõ¬ù ñQîù£è ñ£ŸPò¶. ꣊H´‹ «ïóˆF½‹ Üõ¡ ñQîù£è«õ Þ¼‰î£¡. Ü¡PL¼‰¶ Üõ¡ i†´‚° ªõO«ò èÀ‚° â¡Á àí¾ ¬õ‚è Ýó‹Hˆî£¡. ܬî Ü‰î «îõ¬î 𣘈¶ Üõ‚° ÝC õöƒAò¶. That angel turned him back to human form permanently. He was able to eat and fulfill his hunger. From then on, he started feeding some dogs outside the house. The angel con- tinued to watch and blessed him. ´´ 54 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

10 îJ¡ îõ¬ø à혈Fò ñè¡ The son who pointed out father’s mistake ??P. B. Saravana Pandiyan å ¼ 裆®™ G¬øò Môƒ°èœ Þ¼‰îù.Ü‰î‚ è£†´ô å¼ Ü‹ñ£ °F¬ó, °†® «ð£†´ ܬî ðˆFóñ£èŠ ð£¶è£ˆ¶ õ‰î¶. °†®Jì‹ â‰î‚ è£óí‹ ªè£‡´‹ Þ‰î‚ è£†«ì£ì ♬ô¬òˆ ® ªõOJ™ «ð£è Ã죶 ÜŠð®¡Â ªê£¡Â„꣋. å¼ï£œ Ü‰î‚ °†®‚ °F¬ó î¡«ù£ì Ü‹ñ£ A†ì, “ Þ‰î 裆¬ì ²ˆFŠ 𣘈F†´ õóõ£‹ñ£?” ÜŠð®¡Â «è†´„². ܶ‚° Ü‹ñ£ °F¬ó, “êK ðˆFóñ£ «ð£J†´ õ£” ÜŠð®¡Â ªê£¡Q„². There was a forest with lot of animals. In that forest lived a mother horse, which gave birth to a pony and raised it safely. The mother horse instructed the pony to stay inside the forest limit always. One day the pony wished to go and look around the forest; It also got per- mission from its mother. 裆¬ì„ ²ˆF 𣘂°‹«ð£¶ F¯ªó¡Á å¼ Cƒè‹ Þ‰î °F¬ó‚ °†®¬òˆ ¶óˆî Ýó‹Hˆî¶. ð£.¹. êóõí 𣇮ò¡ ´   55

ðò‰¶ «ð£ù °†® î¬ôªîP‚è æ®, Ü‰î‚ è£†´ ♬ô‚«è «ð£J´„².܃«è «ð£Œ ð£˜ˆî£ á˜ â™¬ô Ýó‹Hˆî¶. êK á¬óŠ 𣘊«ð£‹ ÜŠð® ªïù„ê °F¬ó‚°†® ܉î ἂ°œ÷ ïì‚è Ýó‹H„ê¶ While roaming around the forest, the pony got chased by a lion. The frightened pony began to run like anything and it reached the border of the forest. It understood it was approaching a town. with a view to explore further, the pony entered the town. ܉î á¼ô ñE¡Â å¼ Mò£ð£K Þ¼‰î£¼. Üõ¼‚° ó«ñwÂ å¼ ¬ðò¡. °F¬ó‚°†®¬òŠ 𣘈î ñE, Ü‰î‚ °F¬ó¬ò ò£Kìñ£õ¶ MŸð¬ù ªêŒî£™ G¬øò ðí‹ A¬ì‚°«ñ ÜŠð®¡Â G¬ù„² Ü¬î‚ è†®Š «ð£†ì£¼. è¬ì õ£ê™ô â™ô£¼‹ °F¬ó‚°†® â¡ù M¬ô¡Â «è†ì«ð£¶, ÝJó‹ Ïð£ŒÂ 臮Šð£ ªê£¡ùî£ô ò£¼«ñ õ£ƒèô. °F¬ó¬ò‚ Æ®†´ i†´‚° «ð£ù£, ܃è ó«ñw, °F¬ó ÅŠðó£ Þ¼‚°Šð£ ÜŠð®¡Â ªê£™ô¾‹,“àù‚° Þ‰î °F¬ó ¹®„C¼‚è£? ÜŠð®¡ù£ c«ò Þ¬î õ÷˜ˆ¶¼”¡Â ªê£™L†ì£¼. There was a merchant named Mani in that town and he had a son named Ramesh. When Mani saw the pony, he tied it up thinking that he would get a lot of money if he sold it to someone. When some of the townmen enquired, Mani was adamant about its price as thousand rupees and refused to negotiate. As none came forward to buy that pony, Mani took it home, Ramesh liked it very much. So Mani told Ramesh to take care of the pony in their own house. 裆¬ì„ ²ˆFŠ ð£˜‚èŠ «ð£ù î¡ °†®¬ò‚ è£íM™¬ô«ò â¡Á «îì Ýó‹Hˆî¶ ‚°F¬ó. 56 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

õNJ™ 𣘂èøõƒèA†ì â™ô£‹, “â¡«ù£ì °†®¬òŠ ð£ˆbƒè÷£?”¡Â «è†´„². ÜŠªð£¿¶ ܉î õN«ò «ð£ù å¼ ñ£¡, “àƒè °F¬ó‚°†® 裆«ì£ì ♬ô‚° «ð£ù¬î  𣘈«î«ù” ÜŠ®¡Â ªê£™L„². ἂ°œ÷ «ð£J´„«ê£ â¡ù«ñ£¡Â °†®¬òˆ «î®‚A†´ ἂ°œ «õèñ£èŠ «ð£ù¶ ‚°F¬ó. Meanwhile, the mother horse started to look for its baby who had gone to look around the forest. asked everyone about its baby. A deer replied that it saw the pony in the border of the forest. With a view that the pony entered the town, the mother horse also approached the town swiftly. ܉î Ü‹ñ£ °F¬ó¬òŠ ð£‚è«õ ªó£‹ðŠ ð£õñ£ Þ¼‰¶„². Ü‰î‚ °F¬ó‚°†®J¡ G¬ô»‹ ð£.¹. êóõí 𣇮ò¡ ´   57

Ü«î.Ü‹ñ£õ âŠðŠ ð£‚èŠ «ð£«ø¡Â ªîKò¬ô«ò ÜŠð®¡Â ªó£‹ð «ê£èñ£ Þ¼‰¶„². ꣊Hì àí¾ ªè£´ˆî£½‹ ꣊Hìô.i†´ õ£êL™ 膮Š «ð£†®¼‰îî£ô, ªî¼¬õ«ò 𣈶A†´ Þ¼‰¶„². F¯˜Â Ü‹ñ£ ùˆ «î®‚A†´ õ˜ø¬îŠ 𣈶†´, “Ü‹ñ£, Ü‹ñ£!  Þƒ«è Þ¼‚«è¡ ð£¼!”¡Â è¬ù„C¶. The mother horse looked pathetic. The pony’s condition was the same, longing for reunion with its mom. It was not in a mood to eat. Being tied at the entrance of Mani’s home, it kept looking at the street for its mom. Surprisingly, it saw its mother, then started to shout, “Mom, I am here!” êˆî‹ «è†´ ªõO«ò õ‰î ñE, å¼ °F¬ó GŸð¬îŠ 𣘈¶, “ò£˜ c? àù‚° â¡ù «õµ‹?” ÜŠð®¡Â «è†ì£˜. Ü¬î‚ «è†ì Ü‹ñ£ °F¬ó, “àƒè i†ô Þ¼Šð¶ â¡«ù£ì °F¬ó‚°†®î£¡. õN îõP ἂ°œ÷ õ‰¶¼„². ܬî â¡A†ì«ò °´ˆF¼ƒè” â¡Á Ü¿¶ªè£‡«ì ªê£¡ù¶. “æ«ý£! ܶ à¡«ù£ì °†®ò£? ÝJó‹ Ï𣌠ªè£´ˆ¶†´‚ Æ®†´Š«ð£!”ÜŠð®¡Â ªê£¡ù£˜ ñE. Hearing the noise outside, Mani came out and asked the mother horse who she was and what was her requirement. The horse cried and explained that she was the mother of the pony captured by Mani, who lost its way from forest and requested to free her. But Mani demanded a thousand rupees, so as to release the pony. Þªî™ô£‹ 𣈶†´ ªõOò õ‰î ó«ñw, “ÜŠð£,â¡ù Ý„²? ã¡ Þ‰î °F¬ó Ü¿¾¶?”¡Â «è†ì£¡. àì«ù °F¬ó, “àƒè i†ô Þ¼‚Aø â¡«ù£ì °†®¬òŠ ðí‹ °´ˆî£î£¡ ÜŠ¹«õ¡Â 58 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

àƒèŠð£ ªê£™ø£¼” ÜŠ®¡Â Ü¿¶ªè£‡«ì ªê£¡ù¶. ó«ñû§‚° ªó£‹ð èwìñ£ «ð£„². “Ü‰î‚ °F¬ó ð£õ‹î£«ù! ܶ Ãì‚ °†®¬ò ÜŠH M´ƒè«÷¡”¡Â ªê£™LŠ ð£ˆî£¡. On hearing the noise, Ramesh also came out and asked his father why the horse was crying. The horse explained everything to Ramesh along with tears. He felt so sorry for the horse and he requested his father to release the pony. ñE«ò£, “ܪî™ô£‹ º®ò£¶. ðí‹ ªè£´ˆî£î£¡ °†®¬ò ÜŠ¹«õ¡” èø£ó£ ªê£™L†ì£¼. ó«ñw å«ó å¼ «èœM «è†ì£¡, “ÜŠð£! Þ¶ ñ£FK ò£ó£õ¶ ⡬ùŠ ¹®„C ªõ„CA†´Š ðí‹ ªè£´ˆî£™î£¡ M´«õ¡Â ªê£¡ù£ àƒèÀ‚° âš«÷£ èwìñ£ ð£.¹. êóõí 𣇮ò¡ ´   59

Þ¼‚°‹?” ܬè†ì¶‹ Üõ¼‚° É‚A õ£KŠ «ð£†´„². “ä«ò£ è쾫÷! G¬ù„²‚ ÃìŠ ð£‚è º®òô.   ªêŒòŠ 𣈫î¡. ï™ô «õ¬÷, c ¹Kò ªõ„C†«ì”¡Â ªê£™LA†«ì, °F¬ó‚°†®¬ò‚ 膮J¼‰î èJ¬ø ÜM›ˆ¶M†´†ì£¼. e‡´‹ å¡Á «ê˜‰îF™ °F¬ó‚°‹ °†®‚°‹ å«ó ñA›„C. ó«ñû§‚° ï¡P ªê£™LM†´ Þó‡´‹ Ýù‰îñ£è‚ 裆´‚° 殫ò «ð£ŒM†ìù. Still Mani demanded money. Then Ramesh asked, “If someone captured me and demanded money, how would you feel about it?”, his father was so shocked to hear this. He came to his senses, saying “Oh my God, I can’t even think about it. I was about to do a blunder. Good that you pointed this to me”, immediately he untied the pony and released it. The horse and the pony were delighted to be re-united. They thanked Ramesh and ran back to their forest happily. ´´ 60 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

11 °„C äv à¼õ£ù è¬î A STORY OF HOW ICE POPSICLES WERE MADE ??Anuprabha Aravindan Sultanate of Oman ªð ¡°J¡ ñŸÁ‹ ðQ‚èó® Þ¼õ¼‹ ï‡ð˜èœ. 强¬ø Üõ˜èœ Cô ²õ£óvòñ£ù îèõ™è¬÷Š ðŸPŠ «ðC‚ªè£‡®¼‚°‹«ð£¶, Üõ˜èœ G¡Á ªè£‡®¼‰î ðQ‚膮‚° ܼA™ CP¶ êˆî‹ «è†ì¶. Üõœ å¼ ªðKò ݬñ, c‡ì è£™èœ ñŸÁ‹ ñ‰îñ£ù ð„¬ê Gøˆ¶ì¡ Þ¼‰î£œ. èìL™ Þ¼‰¶ è¬ó¬ò ܬ컋 «ð£¶ Üõœ è£ò‹ ܬì‰F¼‰î£œ.ºîL™, Üõ÷¶ ªðKò «î£Ÿøˆî£™ Üõ˜èœ Þ¼õ¼‹ ðò‰î£˜èœ. Üõœ àîM‚è£è Ü¿¶ ªè£‡®¼‰î, Üõ˜è÷£™ Üõ¬÷ M†´ ªõO«òø º®òM™¬ô. The penguin and the polar bear were friends. One day, while talking about some interesting facts, they heard some noise near to the piece of ice they were standing on. She was a large turtle, with long limbs and dull green colour. She had got hurt while reaching the shore from sea. Initially, both of them were scared due to her large appearance. As the turtle was crying for help, they couldn’t leave her. ÜÂHó𣠴   61

ðQ‚èó® Üõ¬÷ˆ î‡aKL¼‰¶ ªõO«ò Þ¿ˆ¶ è¬óJ™ Üñó ¬õˆî¶. Üõ¬÷ ï´ƒA‚ªè£‡®¼‰î£œ. ªð¡°JQ¡ ðQ‚°®™ ܼA«ô«ò Þ¼‰î, ºî½îM ªð†®¬ò â´ˆ¶ õ‰î¶. ðQ‚èó® FIƒèôˆFŸ° êI‚¬ë ªêŒî¶. è¬ó‚° ܼA™ Þ¼‰î ¹ˆFê£Lˆ FIƒAô‹ àìù®ò£è Üõ˜è¬÷ «ï£‚A M¬ó‰î¶. Üõ˜èœ ºî½îM»‹ ÜOˆ¶, Cô e¡è¬÷»‹ ꣊Hì‚ ªè£´ˆîù˜. Üõœ Üõ˜èÀ¬ìò M¼‰«î£‹ðô£™ ªïA›‰î£œ. Üõ˜èÀ‚° ï¡P ªîKMˆ¶M†´ CP¶ «ïó‹ èNˆ¶ cK™ ÞøƒA ñ¬ø‰î£œ. The polar bear pulled the turtle out of water and made her lie on a flat surface. The turtle was shivering. The penguin, whose igloo was nearby, went and brought the first aid kit while the polar bear signalled for the whale. The clever whale who was near the shore, rushed towards them immediately. They treated her wound and gave her some fishes to eat. The turtle was overwhelmed with their hospitality. She did not have anything to give in turn. She felt thankful and left the place after sometime. °O˜è£ô‹ ªñ¶õ£è ñ£PŠ«ð£Œ, ðQ à¼A ܉î Þì‹ ßóñ£è¾‹ ð²¬ñò£è¾‹ ñ£Pò¶. ÞŠ«ð£¶ Íõ¼‚°‹ å¼ M¼‰Fù˜ õ‰î£˜; Ýñ£‹, ݬñò£Aò Üõœî£¡.. Þ‰î º¬ø Üõ˜è¬÷Š 𣘂è õ‰î¶ è£òˆ«î£´ Ü™ô, è¬óJ™ º†¬ì Þ´õîŸè£è! èì‰î º¬ø ܉î Þ숬îM†´ ªê¡ø Hø° ïì‰î G蛾è¬÷Š ðŸP Üõ˜èOì‹ ðA˜‰¶ªè£‡ì£œ. õ¼‹ ªï¼ƒAò ï‡ð˜èœ Ýù£˜èœ. ݬñ Þ†ì º†¬ìèœ ªð£Põ 60 èÀ‚° «ñ™ Ý°‹. âù«õ,° «ð¼‹ «ê˜‰¶, èó®‚è£è å¼ Ý‚Cü¡ ºèÍ®¬ò õ£ƒA‚ªè£‡´, è콂° Ü®J«ô«ò å¼ àôè ²ŸÁŠðòí‹ ªê¡øù˜. ðòí‹ º®‰¶ 62 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

º†¬ì Þ†®¼‰î ÞìˆFŸ° õ¼º¡, «è£¬ì‚è£ô‹ ªï¼ƒ°õ, G¬øò ðöƒè¬÷ õ£ƒA Þ¼‰îù˜. Winter slowly faded, ice melted and the place became moist and green. Now the trio had a guest. Yes, the turtle visited them, not wounded but to lay eggs in the shore. She spoke to them about its life after she had left them earlier and all the four became close friends. It takes more than 60 days for the turtle eggs to hatch. So, the four friends bought an oxygen mask for the polar bear and then started their world tour underwater. After 2 months, they returned to the same place. They had bought all kinds of fruits available as the summer was approaching. ݬñ»‹ ï‡ð˜èÀ‹ è¬óJ™ ËŸÁ‚èí‚è£ù °…²è¬÷‚ 致 I辋 ñA›„Cò£è à혉èœ. ÜÂHó𣠴   63

Üõ˜èœ ܬùõ¼‹ °…²èÀì¡ M¬÷ò£®ù˜. Üõ˜èœ 膮ò ðQ‚°®L™ â™ô£Š ðöƒè¬÷»‹ «êIˆ¶ ¬õˆî£˜èœ. 嚪õ£¼ õ£óº‹, Þ‰î õ¼‹ è¬óJ™ ê‰Fˆ¶, èì‰î õ£óˆF¡ ÜÂðõƒè¬÷Š ðKñ£P‚ªè£‡ìù˜. The turtle and her friends returned to see hundreds of hatchlings on the shore and felt so happy. They all played with the hatchlings. They stored all the fruits in an igloo they built. Every week, the quartet met at the shore and exchanged their experiences about the previous week. ï£†èœ è쉶M†ìù; °O˜è£ô‹ ªï¼ƒAò¶. ݬñ‚ °…²èœ ã¿ ñ£î õò¶ õ¬ó õ÷˜‰F¼‰îù. å¼ ï£œ Üõœ Cô °„Cè¬÷‚ ªè£‡´ õ‰î£œ. 64 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

ܬùõ¼‹ M¬÷ò£®‚ªè£‡®¼‰î«ð£¶, Üõœ CP¶ ðQ¬ò â´ˆ¶, ÜõŸ¬ø ﲂA, ÜF™ Þ¼‰¶ ð‰¶è¬÷ à¼õ£‚Aù£œ. ðQŠð‰¶èœ M¬÷ò£´õîŸè£è«õ â¡Á ºîL™ ܬùõ¼‹ G¬ùˆî£˜èœ. Ýù£™ ܬõ ¼CŠðîŸè£ù¬õ â¡Á Üõœ ªê£¡ù«ð£¶, Üõ˜èœ Ý„êKòˆ¶ì¡ å¼õ¬ó å¼õ˜ 𣘈¶‚ªè£‡ìù˜. Days passed; winter approached.The hatchlings had grown up to be seven months old. One day all of them gathered when the turtle brought some sticks. While all the friends were playing, she took some ice, crushed them and made balls out of it. When she remarked those ice balls were meant to be tasted, the friends looked at one another in astonishment. Üõœ, Ü‰îŠ ðöƒè¬÷Š HN‰¶, °„CJ™ ªê£¼Aò ðQ‚膮J¡ e¶ áŸPù£œ. ÜŠ ªðò˜ °„C äv â¡Á ªê£¡ù£œ. ܬùõ¼‚°‹ Ü‰î‚ °„C äv ²¬õ H®ˆF¼‰î¶. ï‡ð˜èœ ªõš«õÁ ðö„ ²¬õè¬÷ ºòŸCˆîù˜. Üõ˜èœ ºî™ º¬øò£è ê‰Fˆ¶ å¼ õ¼ì‹ ÝAø¶ â¡Á ªê£™L ñA›‰î£œ. Üõ˜èœ ܬùõ¼‹ îƒèœ ð ݇´«î£Á‹ ªè£‡ì£®ù˜. The turtle squeezed the fruits and poured the juice on the ice balls, poked them with a stick and named them ice popsi- cles. All of them enjoyed. They tried different fruit flavours. She was delighted to recall it had been a year since they met the first time. They all celebrated their friendship every year. ´´ ÜÂHó𣠴   65

12 ¹ˆFê£LŠ ªð‡ - ꣉F Shanthi – The smart girl ??M. Swathiha Shri ê£ ‰F»‹, «ê輋 Þó†¬ì‚ °ö‰¬îèœ. Þ¼õ¼‹ æ˜ Üó²ŠðœOJ™ Í¡ø£‹ õ°Š¹ 𮈶 õ‰îù˜. ꣉F ï™ô °íƒèœ ªè£‡ì ¹ˆFê£LŠ ªð‡. «êè˜ «ê£‹«ðP‚°í‹ à¬ìòõ¡. «ñ½‹ Ü´ˆîõ˜èœ e¶ ªð£ø£¬ñ»‹ ªè£‡ìõ¡. Shanthi and Sekar were twins. They were studying third standard in Government school. Shanthi was a very good and smart girl. Sekar was a lazy boy and was always jealous on others. å¼ ï£œ, Üõ˜èÀ¬ìò ðœOJ™ æ†ìŠ ð‰îòŠ«ð£†® ï¬ìªðŸø¶. ÞF™ «êè˜, ꣉F Þ¼õ¼‹ èô‰¶ ªè£‡ìù˜. Ü«î«ð£™ Þ¼õ¼‹ ܬó ÞÁF„ ²ŸP™ ªõŸP ªðŸÁ, ÞÁF„ ²ŸÁ‚°ˆ î°F ܬì‰îù˜. Ü¡Á ñ£¬ô ðœO º®‰¶ i†®Ÿ°„ ªê¡øù˜. àŸê£èñ£è Ü‹ñ£¬õ ܬöˆ¶, î£ƒèœ Þ¼õ¼‹ æ†ìŠ ð‰îòˆF™ ÞÁF„ ²ŸÁ‚° º¡«ùPò¬î ñA›„Cò£è„ ªê£™L º®ˆîù˜. Ü‹ñ£ I辋 ꉫî£êˆ¶ì¡ 66 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

Üõ˜è¬÷‚ 膮 ܬ툶 ºˆîI†ì£˜. «ñ½‹ ÞÁF„ ²ŸP™ ªõŸP ªðø, cƒèœ Þ¼õ¼‹ ޡ‹ Þ¼ñ샰 ºòŸC ªêŒò«õ‡´‹ âù ÜP¾¬ó»‹ ÃPù£˜. One day, in their school, a running competition was orga- nized. Shanthi and Sekar were both selected for the final round of the competition. Reaching their home after the school, they went to mom and said, “Mummy, we both are selected for final round in running competition at our school”. Their mom felt very happy and gave them a hug and kiss and she added, “You should double your practice to win the finals”. Üõ˜èœ Þ¼õ¬ó»‹ á‚èŠð´ˆ¶õîŸè£è, ªðŸ«ø£˜ Üõ˜èÀ‚° æ†ìŠ ð‰îòˆFŸ° ãŸø è£ôEè¬÷Š ðKêOˆîù˜. ÝJ‹, Þ‰îŠ «ð£†®J™ ꣉F ªõŸP ªðø‚Ã죶 â¡Á «êè˜ G¬ùˆî£¡.Üîù£™ ñ. ²õ£Fè£ ÿ ´   67

꣉FJ¡ è£ôEJ™, ð¬ê¬ò 憮ù£¡ ꣉Fò£™ «õèñ£è æì º®ò£¶ âù G¬ùˆî£¡. Ýù£™ ꣉F ðôº¬ø åˆF¬è ªêŒ¶ ðJŸC â´ˆF¼‰î£œ. «êè˜ îù¶ «ê£‹«ðPˆîùˆFù£™ êKõó ðJŸC â´‚è£ñ½‹, G¬øò «ïó‹ ɃA»‹ ªð£¿¬î‚ èNˆî£¡. To encourage the kids, their parents presented running shoes to both of them. But Sekar wished Shanthi to lose in finals. He applied paste in the bottom of her shoes, thinking that she will not be able to run faster. Shanthi practiced well with many mock runs. Being a lazy boy, Sekar didn’t practice well and slept for long hours. ꣉F»‹ «ê輋 ÞÁF„²ŸÁ Ü¡Á ªðŸ«ø£¬ó»‹ ܬöˆ¶ ªê¡øù˜. «ð£†® ¶õƒAò¶. ꣉FJ¡ è£ôEJ™ ð¬ê 冮J¼‰î«ð£¶‹, Üõœ ï¡° ºòŸC ªêŒ¶ 殊 «ð£†®J™ ªõŸP ªðŸø£œ. ãªù¡ø£™ Üõœ º¡«ð ï¡ø£èŠ ðJŸC ªêŒF¼‰î£œ. «êè˜ ï™ô è£ôEè¬÷ ¬õˆF¼‰¶‹ êKò£èŠ ðJŸC â´‚è£î «î£™M»Ÿø£¡. ꣉F «ð£†®J™ ªõŸP ªðŸø ðî‚躋, Ï𣌠ðˆî£Jó‹ ðK²ˆ ªî£¬è»‹ ªõ¡ø£œ. Shanthi and Sekar went to school for the competition along with their parents. The race started. Though she had paste in her shoes, she ran fast and won the match. Sekar didn’t win, though he had good shoes, since he didn’t practice at all. Shanthi received a medal and ten thousand rupees as cash prize for the first place in the race. i†®Ÿ°„ ªê¡ø¶‹ ªðŸ«ø£˜ ꣉F¬ò õ£›ˆFù˜, «êè¬ó Üõ¡ ªêŒî ºòŸC‚è£è á‚èŠð´ˆFù˜. ÜŠ«ð£¶ ꣉F î¡ ÜŠð£Mì‹, “ÜŠð£ Þ‰î ðî‚般 ðK²ˆªî£¬è¬ò»‹ «êè¼ì¡ ðA˜‰¶ ªè£œA«ø¡” â¡ø£œ. Üõœ ªê£¡ù¬î‚ «è†ì, ÜŠð£ 68 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

I辋 ꉫî£ê‹ ܬì‰î£˜. Üõ¬÷ à„Cºè˜‰¶ ºˆîI†ì£˜. After reaching home, parents congratulated Shanthi for the first place and Sekar for participating in the game. Shan- thi said, “Dad, I want to share the medal and cash prize with Sekar”. Their father felt very proud and gave her a kiss for the good attitude she had. Þ¬î‚ è‡ì «êè˜, îù¶ bò ªêò¬ô â‡E ªõ†Aˆ î¬ô °Q‰î£¡. ꣉FJì‹ îù¶ ªêò½‚è£è õ¼‰F ñ¡QŠ¹‚ «è†ì£¡.ÜŠ«ð£¶ ꣉F, “c  ފ𮄠ªêŒî£Œ â¡Á âù‚°ˆ ªîK»‹, Ýù£™ Þî¬ù ÜŠð£Mì‹ ªê£™ôM™¬ô ãªù¡ø£™, c â¡ ê«è£îó¡, c«ò ï™ô °íƒè¬÷‚ ªè£‡ìõù£è ñ£ø«õ‡´‹ âù G¬ùˆ«î¡” â¡ø£œ. ÞQ«ñ™ î£Â‹ ñ. ²õ£Fè£ ÿ ´   69

꣉F¬òŠ «ð£ô ï™ô °íƒè«÷£´ Þ¼‚è«õ‡´‹ â¡Á «êè˜ º®¾ ªêŒî£¡. Þ¬õò¬ùˆ¬î»‹ «è†´‚ ªè£‡®¼‰î ªðŸ«ø£˜, Þ¼õ¬ó»‹ â‡E ñA›‰¶ ªð¼Iî‹ Ü¬ì‰îù˜. By seeing this, Sekar felt ashamed and bad about him- self. Also, he appologized to Shanthi, for his bad behaviour. Shanthi replied, “I know about this, but I didn’t tell our parents because you are my brother and I wanted you to come to your senses yourself”. Now, Sekar also wanted to be as good as Shanthi. Seeing these all, Parents felt happy and pride about their kids. ´´ 70 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

13 CÁõQ¡ CPò ºòŸC The boy’s little effort ??Juan Edric, Sharjah å ¼ º¬ø å¼ CÁõ¡ F¼ªï™«õL‚° ܼA½œ÷ Aó£ñˆF™ îù¶ ªðŸ«ø£˜ ñŸÁ‹ CPò ê«è£îK»ì¡ õCˆ¶ õ‰î£¡. ðô ªðKò, ð¬öò ñóƒè¬÷‚ ªè£‡ì å¼ Üöè£ù Aó£ñ‹ ܶ. Aó£ñˆF¡ ï´M™ å¼ ªðKò °÷‹ Þ¼‰î¶. ð™«õÁ õ¬èò£ù ðø¬õèœ Aó£ñˆFŸ° Ü®‚è® õ‰¶ ªê™½‹. Once a young boy lived with his parents and younger sister in a village near Tirunelveli. It was a beautiful village with many big, old trees. It had a big pond in the center. Different varieties of birds visited the village often. Aó£ñ ñ‚èœ ªð¼‹ð£«ô£˜ Mõê£Jèœ. Þ‰î Aó£ñ‹ å¼ ªî£™ªð£¼œ Üè›õ£ó£Œ„C Þìñ£è Þ¼‰î¶. Aó£ñ ñ‚èœ Ü®‚è® ¹¬î‰î ªð£¼†è¬÷ 致H®Šð¶‡´. Ü‰î ¹¬îð®õƒèœ Íõ£Jó‹ ݇´èÀ‚° º¡¹ àœ÷¬õ âùˆ ªî£™ªð£¼œ Ý󣌄Cò£÷˜è÷£™ 致H®‚èŠð†ì¶. âù«õ, ðô ²ŸÁô£ ðòEèœ ªð¼‹ð£½‹ Aó£ñˆFŸ° õ‰îù˜. ü§õ£¡ â†K‚ ´   71

Most of the villagers were farmers. The village was an archaeological excavation site too, fossils were found by the villagers often. Those fossils were traced back to three thou- sand years by the archaeologists. So, many tourists often visited the village. å¼ ï£œ, CÁõ¡ å¼õ¡, î‡a˜ 𣆮™èÀ‹ H÷£v®‚ ªð£¼†èÀ‹ â™ô£ ÞìˆF½‹ Þ¼Šð¬î è‡ì£¡. îù¶ Aó£ñ‹ ÉŒ¬ñò£è Þ™ô£î¬î 致 Üõ¡ I辋 õ¼ˆîŠð†ì£¡. îù¶ Aó£ñˆF¡ Üö¬èŠ ð£¶è£‚è ãî£õ¶ ªêŒò º®¾ ªêŒî£¡. îù¶ ï‡ð˜èœ ܬùõ¬ó»‹ Æ® ܬùˆ¬î»‹ M÷‚Aù£¡. Üõ˜èœ 効‚ªè£‡´, ªðŸ«ø£K¡ Ýîó¾ì¡ îƒèœ Aó£ñˆ¬î ²ˆî‹ ªêŒò º®¾ ªêŒîù˜. One day, a little boy found water bottles and plastics all over the village. It looked untidy everywhere. He was not 72 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

happy to see his village being polluted. He decided to do some- thing to preserve the beauty of his village. He gathered all his playmates and explained the concerns. They agreed and decided to start cleaning up their village with the support of their parents. 嚪õ£¼ ñ£¬ô»‹ Üõ˜èœ î Aó£ñˆ¬î ²ˆî‹ ªêŒõ£˜èœ. å¼ Cô˜ Üõ˜è¬÷Š 𣘈¶ CKˆî£½‹, ðô Þ¬÷ë˜èÀ‹, ªðKòõ˜èÀ‹ Üõ˜èÀì¡ «ê˜‰¶ ªè£‡ìù˜. ªñ¶õ£è, Üõ˜èœ ñ£Ÿøˆ¬î‚ è£íˆ ªî£ìƒAù˜. Cô õ£óƒèO™, Üõ˜è÷£™ º¿ Aó£ñˆ¬î»‹ ²ˆî‹ ªêŒò º®‰î¶. Every evening, they would gather and clean the village. Many youngsters and elders joined them, though some laughed at them. Slowly, they started seeing the change. Within few weeks, they were able to clean the entire village. ü§õ£¡ â†K‚ ´   73

°Š¬ðè¬÷ âPõ¬îˆ î´‚è Aó£ñˆF½‹ ²ŸP½‹ Cô ðô¬èèœ ¬õ‚èŠð†ìù. Cô ï™ô ñQî˜èœ °Š¬ðˆ ªî£†®è¬÷»‹ 裬ìò£è õöƒAù˜. ܉î CÁõ‚° å¼ Ý¬ê õ‰î¶. ꣬ô«ò£óˆF™ ÜFè ðöƒèœ ñŸÁ‹ 裌èP ªè£´‚°‹ î£õóƒè¬÷ ïì¾ ªêŒò M¼‹Hù£¡. Aó£ñˆF™ àœ÷ Cô Mõê£Jèœ M¬îè¬÷Š ªðŸÁ ïì¾ ªêŒò àîMù£˜èœ. ñ‚èœ åšªõ£¼ ï£À‹ î£õóƒèÀ‚° î‡a˜ áŸø Ýó‹Hˆîù˜. Few boards with the slogans were placed in and around the village to prevent people from throwing the trash. Some well-wishers donated dust bins too. The little boy also had a wish. He wanted to plant more fruit and vegetable giving plants on the roadside. Some farmers in his village helped him to get the seeds and plant. People started watering the plants every day. ²ŸÁô£ŠðòEèÀ‹ Aó£ñˆFŸ° õ¼ðõ˜èÀ‹ Ãì ꣬ô«ò£óˆF™ àœ÷ ðöƒè¬÷ à‡´ óCˆîù˜. Aó£ñˆFL¼‰¶ ò£¼‹ ðC«ò£´ ªê¡øF™¬ô CÁõ¡ ñŸÁ‹ Üõ¡ ï‡ð˜èO¡ ºòŸC¬ò ²ŸÁô£Š ðòEèœ ð£ó£†®ù˜ Þ‰î îèõ™ ªî£™ªð£¼œ ÞìˆFŸ° õ¼¬è î‰î Cô ÜFè£KèÀ‚° ªîKM‚èŠð†ì, CÁõ‚° º¬øò£è ªõ°ñF õöƒèŠð†ì¶. Þ‰î„ CÁõQ¡ å¼ CPò ºòŸCò£èˆ ªî£ìƒAò¶, º¿ Aó£ñˆ¬î»‹ ñ£Ÿø àîMò¶. Even the tourists and the visitors to the village enjoyed the fruits on the roadside. No one went out of the village with hunger. The tourists appreciated the efforts of the boy and his playmates. As this information was communicated to some officials who were on visit to the archaeological site, the boy was duly rewarded. It just started as a small effort by the boy, but helped to transform the entire village. ´´ 74 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

14 èŸð¬ù àôè‹ (ñ£òŠ «ðù£) The world of fantasy (Magic Pen) ??Abilash Selvam, Abu Dhabi å ¼ Üöè£ù ïèóˆF™ ꣋ â¡ø ¬ðò¡ îù¶ ªðŸ«ø£˜ àì¡ õCˆ¶ õ‰î£¡. ï™ô ñù‹ ð¬ìˆî Üõ‚°ˆ ªî£‡ÈŸP å¡ð¶ ï‡ð˜èœ Þ¼‰î£˜èœ. Üõ¡ Ëø£õ¶ ï‡ð‚è£è ݬêŠð†ì£¡. å¼ ï£œ êñ õò¶ ñ£˜®¬ùŠ 𣘈¶ˆ îù¶ Ëø£õ¶ ï‡ðù£è ܬñˆ¶‚ ªè£‡ì£¡. In a beautiful city, there was a boy called Sam living with his parents. He was kind hearted and had 99 friends but wished to have 100 friends. One day he found ­Martin, a boy of his age, who became Sam’s 100th friend. Üõ˜è÷¶ à¬óò£ìL¡ «ð£¶ ñ£˜†®¡ ê£Iì‹ ªê£¡ù£¡, “âù‚° å¼ Ü̘õñ£ù ê‚F Þ¼‚Aø¶. â¡ù£™ ñ£ò Mˆ¬î ªêŒòº®»‹!”. CP¶ èÀ‚°Š Hø° ê£I¡ Hø‰î  õ‰î«ð£¶, Üõ¡ î¡Â¬ìò ËÁ ï‡ð˜è¬÷»‹ ܬöˆî£¡. ñ£˜†®¡ ê£Iì‹ îQò£è õ‰¶, å¼ ñ£òŠ«ðù£¬õŠ ðKêOˆî£¡. Þ‰îŠ «ðù£õ£™ ÜHô£w ªê™õ‹ ´   75

â¬î õ¬ó‰î£½‹ ܶ à‡¬ñò£ùî£è ñ£PM´‹ â¡ø£¡. ꣋ ñA›„C ܬì‰î£¡. Martin told Sam of his magical powers; After a few days, Martin invited his hundred friends for celebrating his birthday. On his birthday, Martin privately presented Sam a magical pen, which can be used to draw things, that would become real. Sam was happy. å¼ ï£œ ê£IŸ° I辋 «ð£ó®ˆî¶. H¡ õ¼‹ Ýðˆ¶è¬÷ â‡í£ñ™ M«ï£î àô¬èˆ¬î ñ£òŠ«ðù£Mù£™ õ¬ó‰¶ M†ì£¡. àì«ù Üõ¬ù»‹ ñ£òŠ«ðù£¬õ»‹ îMó ñŸø â™ô£‹ ñ¬ø‰¶ å¼ ñ£ò‚ èî¾ «î£¡P Üõ¬ù 𣘈¶ «ýŒ Þƒ«è â¡ù ªêŒAø£Œ â¡Á «è†ì¶. «ñ½‹ Üõ¬ù «ï£‚A ñóŠð‰¶è÷£™ ²ì Ýó‹Hˆî¶. ꣋ â™ô£Š ð‰¶èO™ Þ¼‰¶‹ îŠHù£¡ Ýù£™ å¼ ð‰¶ ñ†´‹ Üõ¬ù A M†ì¶. ê£IŸ° «è£ð‹ õ‰¶ Ü‰î‚ èî¬õ à¬ìˆ¶ M†ì£¡. One day Sam got bored, so he penned the “world of fan- tasy” without realizing what dangers could come. Suddenly all the things except himself and the magical pen disappeared and door said,” hey kid! what are you doing here?” and started shooting wooden balls on Sam. He escaped from all those balls except one. Hence Sam was annoyed and he broke the door. ꣋ ªõO«ò õ‰î«ð£¶ , è£™ð‰¶ Ü÷MŸ° è‡èÀì‹, å†ìè„CMƒA àòóˆFŸ° ¬è»‹ 製‹ àœ÷ ò£¬ù «ð£¡ø I¼è‹ Üõ¬ù ¶óˆî Ýó‹Hˆî¶. ܉î M«ï£î I¼èˆFì‹ Þ¼‰¶ îŠH æ´‹ «ð£¶ Üõ¬ìò ñ£òŠ«ðù£ W«ö M¿‰¶ M†ì¶. ܬî ܉î I¼è‹ à¬ìˆ¶M†ì¶. è¬ìCJ™ ꣋ ܉î I¼èˆFì‹ Þ¼‰¶ îŠHù£½‹ ñ£òŠ«ðù£ à¬ì‰î¬î â‡E õ¼ˆîŠð†ì£¡. 76 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

When he went out, an elephant sized animal whose eyes were as big as football, its neck and legs as long as a giraffe started chasing him. When Sam was running from that crea- ture his magical pen fell down and the animal crushed it. At last Sam escaped from that animal but was so sad that the magical pen got crushed. âù«õ ꣋ , àô般î ð¬öò G¬ô‚° ªè£‡´ õó ñ£˜†®¡ i†®Ÿ° «ð£ù£¡. Ýù£™ ñ£˜†®¡ ܃° Þ™¬ô. «ñ¬üJ¡ «ñ™ Þ¼‰î °PŠH™ “꣋ ⡬ù å¼ ªð£™ô£î ñ‰Fó‚è£K å¼ «è£†¬ìJ™ ܬ숶 ¬õˆ¶œ÷£œ. âù¶ â™ô£ ñ‰Fóƒè¬÷»‹ ðò¡ð´ˆF Üõ¬÷ ªõ¡Á M†«ì¡. Ýù£™  Þ‰î «è£†¬ìJ¡ å¼ Ü¬ø‚°œ ܬì‚èŠð†«ì¡. Þ‰î ܬø¬ò å¼ ñ‰Fó‚ èî¾ è£õ™ 裈¶ õ¼A¡ø¶. ÜHô£w ªê™õ‹ ´   77

So, Sam went to Martin’s home to bring the earth back. But Martin was not there. There was a note on his table, saying “Sam a wicked witch has captured me. I used all my magic and defeated her but I am locked in castle without any power, being guarded by a magical door. ܉î ñ‰Fó‚èî¬õ «î£Ÿè®‚è  å¼ õ£¬÷ à¼õ£‚A«ù¡. ܉î õ£œ A¬ì‚è Þ‰î ¹F¬ó c M´M‚è «õ‡´‹. ðè™ ªõO„ê‹ à„ꈬî ܬ컋 ªð£¶ ܉î õ£œ I¡ù‚îò «ïó‹ õ¼‹. I created a sword which can defeat it. To get that, you have to solve this puzzle. ‘When day light reaches its highest point the time will come for the sword to shine.’” ꣋ ²õK™ ñ£†®J¼‰î ªðKò è®è£óˆF¡ º¡ G¡Á c‡ì «ïó‹ «ò£Cˆ¶ ªè£‡´ Þ¼‰î£¡ F¯˜ â¡Á Üõ‚° å¼ «ò£ê¬ù «î£¡Pò¶ àì«ù è®è£óˆF™ àœ÷ ºœ¬÷Š ðQªó‡´ ñE‚° ¬õˆî£¡. àìù®ò£è å¼ å¼ ªðKò èî¾ ²õK™ Þ¼‰î Fø‰î¶. ꣋ àœ«÷ ªê¡Á Ü‰î ªðKò Üöè£ù õ£¬÷ â´ˆ¶‚ªè£‡´ ñ‰Fó‚è£KJ¡ «è£†¬ì‚°„ ªê¡ø£¡. Sam was thinking for a long time, in front of the big clock on the wall. Suddenly he found the answer, and set the time to 12 O’ clock, in the clock. swiftly a big door opened from one of the walls. Sam went in, took the big beautiful sword and went towards the witch’s castle. õNJ™ å¼ ÝŸ¬ø‚ èì‚è ºò¡ø«ð£¶, ꣋ è£F™ å¼ °ó™ «è†ì¶, “Þƒ°,è‡èÀ‚°ˆ ªîKò£î å¼ I¼è‹ Þ¼‚Aø¶, ܬî c ªõ™ô «õ‡´‹, Þ™¬ôªò¡ø£™ Ü‰î‚ «è£†¬ì‚°Š «ð£è º®ò£¶.” 78 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

꣋ Ü‰î„ êõ£¬ô ãŸÁ, ÝŸ¬ø‚ èì‰î«ð£¶, Üõù£™ â‰î I¼èˆ¬î»‹ ð£˜‚è º®òM™¬ô. î¡ è£¶èœ Íô‹ ê¼°èœ IFð´‹ êˆî¬î‚ «è†ì£¡; ܉î I¼è‹ Üõ¡ e¶ 𣌉î«ð£¶, MôA‚ªè£‡ì£¡. ܶ Üõ‚°Š H¡ù£™ Þ¼‰î «êŸP™ M¿‰¶ ¹ó‡ì¶. e‡´‹ Üõ¡ «ñ™ 𣌉î ܉î I¼èˆF¡ àìL™ «êÁ 冮J¼‰î Üõù£™ ÞŠ«ð£¶ Ü¬îŠ ð£˜‚è º®‰î¶. î¡Â¬ìò ñ‰Fó õ£œ Íô‹ ꣋ Ü¬î‚ ªè£¡ø£¡.Ý„êKò‹, Üõ¬ìò õNJ™ Þ¼‰î î¬ì MôAM†ì¶. On the way, Sam had to cross a river, where he heard a voice,“Watch out and conquer an invisible animal, or you can’t reach the castle!” Sam accepted the challenge, after crossing the river, he was unable to spot the animal with his naked eyes; ÜHô£w ªê™õ‹ ´   79

Hence, he used his hearing senses. He heard the stamping on broken twigs, when the animal jumped on him, Sam slid aside, making it fall on the mud behind him, When it bounced back, thanks to the mud on its body, Sam could see the animal, he aimed his sword and killed it. Tada! His way was clear… ꣋ «è£†¬ì¬ò ܬ쉶, ñ‰Fó õ£œ Íô‹ èî¬õˆ Fø‰î£¡. ñ£˜†®¡ ªõO«ò õ‰î Hø° Üõ‚° â™ô£ ðôƒèÀ‹ A¬ìˆîù. Hø° Üõ¡ àô般î ð¬öò G¬ô‚° ªè£‡´ õ‰î£¡. ꣋ î¡ îõ¬ø à혉. Üî¡ H¡ù˜, ꣋ ñŸÁ‹ Üõù¶ ï‡ð˜èœ ܬùõ¼‹ Gü àôèˆF™ ñA›„Cò£è õ£›‰îù˜. Sam reached the castle and opened the door with his magical sword. After Martin was rescued and regained his magical power, he brought the earth back and everything was normal. Sam realized his mistake.From then, Sam and all his friends lived happily in the normal world. ´´ 80 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

15 ¹ˆîè ï‡ð¡ Book Friend ??Ashwin, Abu Dhabi Ý ù‰îˆ b¾ â¡ø å¼ bM¡ Þ÷õóê¡ «ð¼ ñ£÷õ¡. G¬øò ï™ô °íƒèœ ªè£‡ì ñ£÷õ¡ A†ì å«ó å¼ °¬ø Þ¼‰î¶. â¿îŠ ð®‚èˆ ªîKò£¶. Þ¼ðˆFó‡´ õò¶ Ýù«ð£¶, Üóê˜ F¯˜Â Þø‰î ñ£÷õ¡ Üóê¡ ÝAM†ì£¡. The prince Melvin was from an Island called the Merryland. He was good hearted in general, however had a flaw. He was illiterate. Owing to the sudden demise of the king, Prince Melvin became the king of that island. ¹ˆîèƒèœ e¶ ªõÁŠ¹ì¡ Þ¼‰î ñ£÷õ¡, Üóê¡ Ýù¾ì¡ «ð£†ì ºî™ àˆîó«õ, ®™ Þ¼‰î ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷ˆ î¬ì ªêŒî¶î£¡. Ëôèƒè¬÷ Í®, â™ô£Š ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷»‹ ðPºî™ ªêŒ¶ å¼ I芪ðKò 膮ìˆF™ ¬õˆ¶M†ì£¡. ܉î Þìˆ¬îŠ Ì†®‚ è£õ™ «ð£†´, ò£¼‹ ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷ 𣘂辋 º®ò£î𮠪ꌶM†ì£¡. ¹ˆîè ݘõô˜èœ õ¼‰Fù˜. Þ«î G¬ôJ™ Cô õ¼ìƒèœ 殊«ð£Œ M†ìù. ÜwM¡ ´   81

As he hated books, King Melvin’s first royal decree was to ban books; He closed down the libraries and confiscated all those books into a separate building. He secured that place such that no public could access any book. Book lovers became sad. A few years passed under the same condition. å¼ ï£œ ޼𶠫ð˜ Üó‡ñ¬ù‚°œ õ‰¶ ñ£÷õ¬ùŠ 𣘈¶Š «ðCù£˜èœ. “Üó«ê! è ð‚舶ô Þ¼‚°‹ ªõœOˆ bML¼‰¶ õ¼A«ø£‹. âƒè«÷£´ ÜP¾Š«ð£†®J™ èô‰¶ªè£œ÷ àƒèœ ®™ ò£ó£õ¶ ޼𶠫ð˜ îò£ó£? ï£ƒèœ «è†°‹ «èœMèÀ‚° Üõ˜èœ êKò£ù ðF™ ªê£™ô «õ‡´‹. âƒè÷£™ ðF™ ªê£™ô º®ò£î Ü÷¾‚°‚ «èœM «è†è «õ‡´‹. ÜŠð® ªêŒî£™ cƒèœ ªõ¡ÁM†¯˜èœ â¡Á ªð£¼œ” ÞŠð® êõ£™ M†ì£˜èœ. One day, a team of twenty men came to the palace and challenged Melvin, “Oh King! We are from the neighbouring Silver Island. We would like to make a knowledge contest with your country men; If they answer us correctly and ask us questions such that we don’t know the answers, then your people get to win. Do you agree?” ñ£÷õ¡ êK â¡Á ªê£™ô«õ, ªõœOˆb¾ ñQî˜èÀì¡ «ð£†®Jì, Ýù‰îˆb¾ ñQî˜èœ ޼𶠫ð˜ ܬöˆ¶ õóŠð†ì£˜èœ. Üù£™, «ð£†® Ýó‹Hˆ¶ Í¡Á ñE«ïó‹ èN‰î«ð£¶‹, Ýù‰îˆ bM¡ ñ‚èÀ‚° â‰î ÜP¾‹ Þ™¬ô, Üõ˜è÷£™ êKò£ù ðF½‹ ªê£™ô º®òM™¬ô. Further to the King’s acceptance, twenty people from Merry land were brought in for the contest. Even after three hours since the start of the contest, Merry land team was not knowledgeable and could not perform well in the contest. 82 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

ñ¡ù¡ ñ£÷õ‚°ˆ î¡ ñ‚èO¡ ÜPò£¬ñ èõ¬ô ÜOˆî¶. ñFò àí¾ ñŸÁ‹ 挾 «ïóˆF™ Üõêóñ£èˆ î¡ ñ‚èÀ‚° ï´M™ å¼ ÜPMŠ¬ð„ ªêŒò ¬õˆî£¡. “ò£ó£õ¶ ªõœOˆb¾ ñQî˜è¬÷Š «ð£†®J™ ªõ¡ø£™, Üõ˜èœ â¡ù «è†ì£½‹ îóŠð´‹!” â¡Á. King Melvin was concerned about the ignorance of his people. During lunch break, he arranged to announce if there were volunteers who could win the silver island team, they would be granted whatever they wanted. ò£¼«ñ º¡õó£î G¬ôJ™, Þ¼ð¶ CÁõ˜ CÁIèœ ñ†´‹ õ‰¶ «ê˜‰îù˜. «õÁ õN Þ™ô£î è£óíˆî£™, «ð£†®J™ èô‰¶ªè£œ÷ Üõ˜è¬÷ ñ£÷õ¡ ÜÂñFˆî£¡. ÜwM¡ ´   83

Hardly a team of twenty young kids volunteered. With no other go, King Melvin allowed them to participate in the contest. Ý„êKòŠð´‹ Ü÷M™, Ü‰î„ Cø£˜èœ ªõœOˆ bMùK¡ ܬùˆ¶‚ «èœMèÀ‚°‹ 죇 죇 â¡Á ðF™ ªê£¡ù£˜èœ. Ýù£™, Cø£˜èO¡ «èœMèO™ ð£F‚° ªõœOˆbMùó£™ ðF™ ªê£™ô«õ º®òM™¬ô. Ü´ˆî Þó‡´ ñE «ïóˆF™, ªõœOˆbMù˜ îƒè÷¶ «î£™M¬ò 効‚ªè£‡´ ªê¡ÁM†ìù˜. ñA›„C ܬì‰î ñ¡ù¡ ñ£÷õ¡, Ü‰î„ CÁõ˜ CÁIò¬óŠ 𣘈¶, “®¡ ñ£ùˆ¬î«ò 裊ð£ŸPò cƒèœ ò£˜? àƒèÀ‚° â¡ù «õ‡´‹ «èÀƒèœ!” â¡Á ªê£¡ù£¡. Surprisingly, the kids answered precisely to the queries of the silver island team. But, the silver island team could not answer half of the questions raised by the kids. The silver island team acknowledged their defeat within two hours and departed. King Melvin was so delighted, and asked, “You have saved the honour of our island!!! who are you guys? let me know what do you want in turn?” å¼ CÁI ðF™ «ðê Ýó‹Hˆî£œ, “Üó«ê! cƒèœ ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷Š ðPºî™ ªêŒ¶ ¬õˆî ªðKò 膮ìˆF¡ è£õô˜èœ ñŸÁ‹ ¶Š¹ó¾Š ðEò£÷˜èO¡ Hœ¬÷èœ ï£ƒèœ. è÷£õ¶ ï¡° ð®‚è«õ‡´‹ â¡ø â‡íˆF™ óèCòñ£è âƒè¬÷ ñ†´‹ âƒèœ ªðŸ«ø£˜ àœ«÷ ÜÂñFˆîù˜. Fùº‹ ÜPMò™, ªð£¶ ÜP¾, èEî‹, Þô‚Aò‹, õóô£Á, â¡Á ð™«õÁ î¬ôŠ¹èO™ Þ¼‰î ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷ ï£ƒèœ ð®ˆ«î£‹.嚪õ£¼ ¹ˆî躋 å¼ ï‡ð¡î£¡. ܊𮊠ðô ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷Š ð®ˆî âƒè÷£™ Þ¡Á «ð£†®J™ ªõ™ô º®‰î¶!” 84 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

A girl from that team started replying, “Oh Majesty! We are the kids of those security and housekeeping staff, who are on duty at the building containing the confiscated books. Our parents wanted atleast us to be well educated, hence they allowed us confidentially. Everyday we had access to the books on various subjects such as the Science, General Knowledge, Mathematics, Literature, History, etc. Each book was a friend of ours. As we read many books, we could get through the contest today!” Cø£˜ ÆìˆFL¼‰¶ å¼ CÁõ¡ ªî£ì˜‰î£¡,”Üó«ê! âƒèÀ‚° å«ó å¼ ðK²î£¡ «õ‡´‹.  ܬùõ¼‹, â™ô£Š ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷»‹ ð®‚è cƒèœ õN ªêŒò «õ‡´‹.” ÜwM¡ ´   85

A boy continued, “We shall ask for only one favor. Please do the needful for all of us to read all these books!” CP¶ «ò£ê¬ù‚°Š Hø°, ñ¡ù¡ ñ£÷õ¡ «ðê Ýó‹Hˆî£¡, “Þ¡Á ºî™, ¹ˆîèƒèO¡ eî£ù î¬ì¬ò ºŸP½‹ c‚°A«ø¡. ðPºî™ ªêŒòŠðì Ë™è¬÷ ñ‚èO¡ àð«ò£èˆFŸ° e‡´‹ ªè£‡´ õ¼A«ø¡. ¹¶ Ëôèƒèœ à¼õ£‚èŠð´‹. è™M G¬ôòƒèÀ‹ e‡´‹ Fø‚èŠð´‹. ®¡ ÜP¾ õ÷˜„C‚°  î¬ìò£è Þ¼‰î ⡬ù ñ¡Qˆ¶M´ƒèœ!” King Melvin thought for a while, then he addressed,“From today onwards, I withdraw the ban on books unconditionally, all the books shall be brought back to public access. New librar- ies shall be established; All educational entieis shall resume their activities. Please accept my appologies for hindering the knowledge development in this entire island!” ¹ˆîè ݘõô˜èO¡ ñA›„C‚° ♬ô«ò Þ™¬ô. ñ‚èœ ¹ˆîèƒè¬÷ e‡´‹ ð®‚è Ýó‹Hˆîù˜. ¹ˆîè ï‡ð˜è÷£™ Ýù‰îˆ b¾, ⊫𣶫ñ Ýù‰îñ£ù bõ£è ñ£Pò¶. The book lovers were happy like anything. Everyone started to read books again. Because of the book friends, Mer- ryland became a real merry land forever. ´´ 86 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

16 ävAgI¡ Ìƒè£ ðòí‹ ICE-CREAM’s DAY AT THE PARK ??Srinidhi Prabakar, Abu Dhabi å ¼ è£ôˆF™ “ävAg‹ Aó£ñ‹” â¡ø å¼ Aó£ñ‹ Þ¼‰î¶. ã¡ ÜŠð® ܬö‚èŠð†ì¶? ãªùQ™ ܉î Aó£ñˆF™ ñQî˜èœ ò£¼‹ Þ™¬ô, ävAg‹èœ ñ†´«ñ Þ¼‰îù. ÜõŸP™ äv â¡ø å¼ CPò ävAgº‹ Þ¼‰î¶. å¼ ï£œ äv M¬÷ò£†´ ¬ñî£ùˆFŸ°„ ªê™ô F†ìI†ì¶. ¬ñî£ùˆFŸ°„ ªê™½‹ õNJ™, Í¡Á ꣬ôèœ ªè£‡ì å¼ ê‰FŠ¬ð‚ è‡ì¶. ºî™ ꣬ô å¼ v¬ô´ ð°F‚°„ ªê¡ø¶, Þó‡ì£õ¶ ꣬ô å¼ àìŸðJŸCŠ ð°F‚°„ ªê¡ø¶, Í¡ø£õ¶ ꣬ô å¼ “Y-꣔ (ãŸøŠ ðô¬è) ð°F‚°„ ªê¡ø¶. Once there was a village called as the Ice-cream village. Why was it called so? Because there were no human beings, only Ice-creams were in that village. Among them, there was a small Ice-cream called Ice. One day, Ice planned to go to the playground. While going, it saw a junction of 3 roads. The first road led to a slide area, the second road led to an exercise area and the third road led to a see-saw area. ÿGF Hóð£è˜ ´   87

äv CP¶ «ïó‹ «ò£Cˆ¶M†´, v¬ô´ ð°F‚°„ ªê™ô º®¾ ªêŒî¶. CP¶ «ïó‹ ï¡ø£è Þ¼‰î¶, Ýù£™ H¡ù˜ v¬ô®™ äv ༇´ e‡´‹ Í¡Á ꣬ôèœ àœ÷ ê‰FŠ¹‚° õ‰î¶. H¡ù˜, î¡ ñù¬î ñ£ŸP‚ ªè£‡ì äv, àìŸðJŸCŠ ð°F‚°„ ªê¡ø¶. ܃° G¬øò ðJ™õ£¡èœ àìŸðJŸC ªêŒ¶ ªè£‡´ “ý£ U ý¨” â¡Á èˆF‚ ªè£‡®¼‰î£˜èœ. äv, å¼ èùñ£ù °„C¬ò â´ˆ¶ Ü¬îˆ É‚è ºòŸC ªêŒî¶. Ýù£™ °„C Üî¡ è£L«ô«ò M¿‰î¶. Üîù£™ äv °Fˆ¶, °Fˆ¶ e‡´‹ Í¡Á ꣬ôèœ ê‰FŠHŸ«è õ‰¶M†ì¶. Hø° äv “Y-꣔ ð°F‚°„ ªê™ôˆ F†ìI†ì¶. ܃° CP¶ «ïó‹ M¬÷ò£®ò¶, H¡ù˜ “Y-ê£M¡” «ñ™ °F‚°‹ «ð£¶ ÝÁ º¬ø õ†ìñ®ˆ¶‚ W«ö õ‰î¶. Ice thought for a while and chose to go to the slide area. It was good for a while but then Ice rolled in the slide and came again to 3 roads’ junction. Then Ice changed its mind to go to the exercise area. A lot of bodybuilders were doing exercise and shouting “Ha he hu”. Ice also took a big stick and tried lifting. But the stick fell down to its foot. Ice jumped and jumped to the 3 roads’ junction again. Then Ice planned to go to the see-saw area. There it played for a while then jumped over the see-saw and did a loop-de-loop followed by six high jumps. ªõO àôèˆ¬îŠ ð£˜ˆ¶Š ðò‰¶ «ð£ù äv i†®Ÿ°ˆ F¼‹H æ®õ‰¶, å¼ Üó‚è¬ùŠ «ð£ô‚ èî¬õ Þ¿‚è Ýó‹Hˆî¶. è¬ìCJ™ èî¾ Fø‰î¶! äv i†®Ÿ°œ ªê¡Á èî¬õ ̆®‚ ªè£‡ì¶. Üî¬ìò ðò‹ ޡ‹ «ð£èM™¬ô. âù«õ Ü´ˆî Þó‡´ Ý‡´èÀ‚° ªõO«ò ªê™ô‚Ã죶 â¡Á â‡Eò¶. Scared of doing the things in the outside world, Ice ran back home and started pulling the door like a monster. Finally 88 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

the door opened!!! Ice went inside the home and locked the door. Still, it was too afraid, hence it decided not go out for the next two years. Þó‡´ õ¼ì êLŠð£ù õ£›‚¬è‚°Š Hø°, äv ÞÁFò£è i†¬ì M†´ ªõO«ò ªê™ô º®¾ ªêŒî¶. i†¬ì M†´ ªõO«ò õ‰î «ð£¶ ðø¬õèœ, î¡Â¬ìò Cô ï‡ð˜èœ ñŸÁ‹ è¬ìè¬÷ ܃° 𣘈î¶. e‡´‹ äv i†®Ÿ°œ õ‰¶ è‡í£®J™ ùŠ 𣘈¶ “ÞŠ«ð£¶  õ÷˜ˆ¶ M†«ì¡” â¡Á îù‚°ˆ ù ªê£™L‚ªè£‡ì¶. âù«õ äv å¼ «õ¬ô‚°„ ªê™ô G¬ùˆî¶. ܶ â™ô£ ÞìƒèO½‹ «õ¬ô «î®ò¶. Ýù£™ å¼ «õ¬ô Ãì‚ A¬ì‚èM™¬ô. å¼ ï£œ äv ²ŸP ï쉶 ªè£‡®¼‰î«ð£¶ å¼ ðœO‚Ãì‹ ÿGF Hóð£è˜ ´   89

Þ¼‰î¶. ðœO‚° ªõO«ò “ï¬è„²¬õ ÝCKò˜ «î¬õ” â¡Á å¼ ðè Þ¼‰î¶. After two years of boring life, Ice finally decided and came out of its home. It saw birds, some of its friends and shops. Again Ice came inside the house and looked at the mirror saying “Now I am grown up”. So Ice thought of getting a job. It looked everywhere but could not find any job. One day when Ice was walking around, it saw a school. Outside the school there was a banner that read “Required a Comedy Teacher”. äv I辋 ñA›„Cò¬ì‰¶ ðœO ºî™õ¬ó„ ê‰F‚è„ ªê¡ø¶. CP¶ «ïó‹ «èœMèœ «è†ì Hø°, ºî™õ˜ ÃPù£˜,”äv!!! cƒèœ ï¬è„²¬õ ÝCKòó£è GòI‚èŠð´Al˜èœ”. «ñ½‹ W¿‹ °Fˆîð® äv I辋 ꉫî£êñ£è„ ²ŸP„ ²ö¡Á ªè£‡«ì “ý¨«ó” â¡Á ÄêL†ì¶. Ice was so happy and went to the school’s principal. After interviewing Ice for a while, the principal said “Ice!!! you are appointed as a comedy teacher”. Ice was really happy that it was jumping up and down, spinning around and shouting out “Hooray”. Ü´ˆî  äv î¡Â¬ìò ðœOŠ ðE¬òˆ ¶õƒA, 4-ã õ°ŠHŸ°„ ªê¡ø¶; ܶ ̃è£M™ îù¶ å¼ ï£œ ðòíˆ¬îŠ ðŸP‚ ÃPò¶. Ýù£™ å¼ ñ£íõ˜ Ãì CK‚èM™¬ô. ܬùõ¼‹, äv ÃPòõŸ¬ø‚ èŸð¬ù ªêŒ¶ I辋 Ýöñ£è„ C‰Fˆ¶‚ ªè£‡®¼‰î£˜èœ. ò£¼‹ CK‚è£î¬î‚ è‡ì äv I辋 «ê£èñ£AM†ì¶. Ýù£™ äv õ°ŠHL¼‰¶ ªõO«ò õ‰î «ð£¶, ²ò à혾‚° õ‰î ñ£íõ˜èœ M¿‰¶ M¿‰¶ CK‚è 90 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

Ýó‹Hˆî£˜èœ. Üõ˜èÀ¬ìò àóˆî CKŠH™ ܉î õ°Š«ð °½ƒAò¶. äv I辋 ñA›„Cò¬ì‰î¶. The next day Ice started the school duty and went to the class 4-A; It started telling “The day at the park”, detailing its experiences. But not a single student did laugh, they were thinking so deep, imagining what Ice had been telling. Seeing none of them laugh, Ice became very sad. But when Ice went out of the class, the students completed their imagination and started laughing like anything, the whole class was shaking with their laughing aloud. Ice became very happy. ´´ ÿGF Hóð£è˜ ´   91

17 Üöè£ù «î¡Ã´ The Beautiful Beehive ??Pranavika Vijayaraghavan, Chennai ¶ ‡´ ¶‡ì£è ªõ†® iêŠð†®¼‰î ñóˆF¬ù ÉóˆFL¼‰¶ G‹ñFò£è 𣘈¶‚ªè£‡´ Þ¼‰îù Þó‡´ «îm‚èœ. ïì‰î¶ â¡ù??? Cô èÀ‚° º¡....... Two honeybees were looking peacefully at a place where a big tree was rooted down. What Happened?? Few Days Back.... å¼ Ìƒè£M™ å¼ Üöè£ù ªðKò ñó‹ Þ¼‰î¶. ܉î ñóˆF™ G¬øò «îm‚èœ «ê˜‰¶ å¼ Üöè£ù «î¡Ã´ 膮ò. Ü‰î‚ Ã†®™ â™ô£ «îm‚èÀ‹ ñA›„Cò£è õ£›‰¶ õ‰î. ÜF™ Þ¼‰î I辋 ¹ˆFê£Lò£ù °†®ˆ«îmJ¡ ªðò˜î£¡ Y†Ç. 92 ´ «ðù£ H®ˆî ï†êˆFóƒèœ

There was a beautiful big tree in a park. On that tree, all bees built a beautiful Beehive and lived happily together. A Tiny bee named Cheetoo was the most intelligent one among them. å¼ ï£œ ̃è£M™ ñQî˜èœ ܉î ñóˆ¬î„ ²ŸP «õ¬ô ªêŒ¶ ªè£‡®¼‰î¬îŠ ̃è£M™ M¬÷ò£®‚ ªè£‡®¼‰î«ð£¶ Y†Ç èõQˆî. Üõ˜èœ Þ‰î ñóˆ¬î ªõ†® å¼ ªêòŸ¬è c˜i›„C ªêŒõîŸè£è ãŸð£´ ªêŒ¶ ªè£‡®¼‰î£˜è÷£‹. Þî¬ù «è†ì Y†Ç, î¡ i´ â¡ù Ý°«ñ£ â¡Á ºîL™ ðò‰î¶. Hø° G„êò‹ ã«î‹ õN Þ¼‚°‹ â¡Á «ò£Cˆî¶. â™ô£ «îm‚èOì‹ Þ¬î‚ ÃPò¶. Ýù£™ â‰îˆ «îm»‹ Þî¬ùŠ ªðKî£è ãŸÁ‚ ªè£œ÷M™¬ô. ܶ ó£Eˆ «îmJì‹ Þ¬î‚ ÃPò¶. Y†ÇM¡ ¹ˆFê£Lˆîù‹ ŠóíMè£ ´   93