Deer walked along by the great river into the forest: ‘Oh, but what a life have I got? No home. Perhaps I will build myself a house. Here is as good a place as any.’ Deer went on. Along came Jaguar by the great river, padding along into the forest. He came to the same place: ‘Oh,… Continue reading Deer and Jaguar
Month: February 2022
Chips
Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a small house in a small village in the east of a big country, there lived a widow with lots of children. She was young and quite beautiful, and she lived in a small house with her mother and father and all of her children. The… Continue reading Chips
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Each evening Ali Baba went out to gather twigs and branches for his wife so that she had enough firewood to cook the stew for dinner. One day, Ali Baba went further than usual to hunt for fallen branches beneath the trees that grew beside the rocky cliffs near the high hills. Suddenly, he heard… Continue reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Baba Yaga the Russian Witch
Once upon a time an old man lived in a hut with his little girl, Natasha. So happy they were! At tea time, they would play peek-a-boo behind the samovar (a very tall teapot used in Russia). They would drink tea with honey bread and strawberry jam. Everything was fine! The only sad times were… Continue reading Baba Yaga the Russian Witch
Exponents
Skills needed: Multiplication Using exponents is just a short way of saying that you want to multiply something by itself a number of times. Let’s say for example that you want to do the following: 4 x 4 x 4 This could be written with exponents and would look like this: 43 They both equal… Continue reading Exponents
Yuuki and the Tsunami
FOR AS LONG as people can remember, the shores of Japan have been swept from time to time by enormous tsunamis. These awful sudden risings of the sea are caused by earthquakes or by underwater volcanic action. The story of the boy Yuuki is the story of such a calamity. Yuuki lived with his family… Continue reading Yuuki and the Tsunami
Two Brothers Story
ONCE THERE WERE two brothers who inherited their father’s land. The two brothers divided the land in half and each one farmed his own section. Over time, the older brother married and had six children, while the younger brother never married. One night, the younger brother lay awake. “It’s not fair that each of us… Continue reading Two Brothers Story
Wise Girl Becomes Head of the Household
In China there once lived a father, his four sons, and three daughters-in-law. His three older sons had married within a few months of each other and all with young women from the same village. Recently these three new daughters-in-law had been brought into the house. Their new father-in-law’s wife had died a few years… Continue reading Wise Girl Becomes Head of the Household
The Tsars Daughter
ONCE in western Siberia there lived a great Tsar. While he had many subjects and large herds, he had but one daughter and her name was Altyn-Aryg. When the Tsar grew old, he said to his wife, a woman as old as he, “We have no sons and my strength is leaving me. A daughter… Continue reading The Tsars Daughter
The Story of the Aged Mother
Long, long ago there lived at the foot of the mountain a poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother. They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food, and they were humble, peaceful, and happy. The province where they lived was called “Shining.” Shining was governed by a terrible leader. He was a warrior… Continue reading The Story of the Aged Mother