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Folk tales from Africa:

Spider and Squirrel

Once upon a time there lived a squirrel who was a very good farmer. In those days every animal had a large plot of land on which he grew his crops, and at the time when this story begins the squirrel had a fine big field of corn.

Now, since the squirrel was such an adapt at climbing trees and leaping from branch to branch, he never had to make a path to his plot of land. He simply chose a plot of land, no matter how far it was from the road, he could always reach it through the tops of the trees.

The squirrel was very happy with his particular plot of land. The soil there was rich. His crop of corn promised to be the best in the neighbourhood and he was proud of the results of his labour. One day, when the squirrel’s corn was almost ready for harvesting the spider was out hunting in that part of the forest and he came across the field full of the finest looking corn he had ever seen.

“I wonder whose field this is?” thought the spider to himself, as he walked round and round the field looking for the path that he hoped would lead him to the owner’s house. But, he could not find one.

“Well, this is very strange, thought the spider. How can anybody have a field with no path leading to it? I must look into this and see if I can profit by it.”

All the way back to his home and family, the spider considered how he could convince other people that the field belonged to him, and at last he had an idea.

He spoke to his family. ‘Tomorrow’, he said, you must all come with me to a place I have discovered and if you work hard only for one day, then you will be rewarded with a whole field of corn for which anyone else would need to work for months.”

Very early the next day, the spider and his children were at work with their mammotys making a path through the thicket leading to the squirrel’s farm.

Then, they began to cut down the corn and take it home.

The squirrel soon discovered he was being robbed, and one morning he hid himself in the trees waiting to see who was stealing the corn.

He saw the spider and his family come and started cutting down the corn. The squirrel leapt out of his hiding place.

“Why are you stealing my corn?” he asked.

‘It is my corn’ replied the spider. ‘Why are you trespassing on my field?’

‘It is my field field’, said the angry squirrel.

The spider laughed.

Oh, no he said, It cannot be your field, for there is no path leading to it except the one that my family and I made.

‘But, I do not need a path’, explained the squirrel.

“I always come by the tree tops”.

The spider went on laughing, while his family continued to cut down the squirrel’s harvest.

The squirrel went to court and the spider was sent for to state is case.

“Of course the field is mine” said the spider to the judge. “Have you ever seen a field with no path leading to it through the jungle?”

The judge had to admit that all the fields he had seen had paths leading to them and when the spider showed him the path he had made and the squirrel admitted that the path was not his, the judge ruled that the field belonged to the spider and his family.

So, the spider family reaped the harvest. They tied the corn into great bundles and when all was cut, they started off for home, staggering under their heavy loads.

Suddenly a great storm arose. The sky was black with clouds and the rain beat down heavily.

The spider and the family left their bundles of corn, at the road side and dashed to shelter in a deserted hut nearby. When the rain ceased and the sun shone again, they went for their bundles of corn.

You know, what they saw? A gigantic black crow perched on the corn with outstretched wings.

So big was the crow that by spreading his wings he had kept the rain from falling on the bundles of corn and the corn was quite dry.

The spider was happy.

“Than you crow, thank you,” the spider said. You have kept my corn dry and now I shall not have to spread it all out in the sun again.

‘Your corn?’ Objected the crow. “It is my corn now. Who ever heard of any one leaving bundles of corn unattended by the side of the path. Go away! This belongs to me.”

Then crow gathered up all the corn in his huge claws and flew away out of sight.

You might think that the spider would have learnt a lesson from this, and would have given up his thieving ways, but no, in no time, he forgot about it and was soon up to his tricks again.

My school

My school is Newstead Girls College in Negombo, Gampaha district. Our principal is Mrs. B. M. Wirasuriya. There are one hundred and two teachers in our school.

We have a big playground and a well-equipped library in our school. Our school is a beautiful place. We keep it clean and tidy. And, we study well to upkeep the good name of our school.

Hiruni Sadalika Samaranayake,
Gr. 6 B,
Newstead Girls’ College,
Negombo.

Sweets

I just love a lollipop
you put it into your mouth ‘plop’
Then you suck it all day long
Enjoying and singing a song

I also like a toffee
Strawberry, grapes and coffee.
Toffees filled in a dish
I’ll eat them when ever I wish

Don’t you like a mentos?
You bite it ‘tos! tos!?
Your tongue tastes like mint
So come and eat some mint.

Yohani Dodangoda
St. Bridget’s Convent
Colombo 7

Hungry Squirrel

A little squirrel,
Sat on a wall
Hunched over his supper,
Eating without stopping at all
Little squirrel, where are your table manners?
Little squirrel,
Are you so hungry?
To eat like that
Don’t worry little squirrel,
I won’t tell your mother
So fill your tummy
And run home to mummy.

Nillasi Liyanage,
Gr. 8 D,
Musaeus College, Colombo 7.