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

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