5th Standard English Term-III
The Cracked Coffee Cup
Kani was waiting for her parents to return from work. She was eager to talk to her parents about her day at school. Suddenly, Teddy, the dog ran to the gate with his favorite pillow.
"Teddy, where are you running?" asked Kani.
Kani ran after Teddy to see where he was going. Kani's parents were at the gate. Teddy was so happy to see them and he took his pillow as a sign of welcoming them. Teddy would not stop wagging his tail and followed them until they pet him. Kani didn't even wait for a moment and started talking about her day to her parents.
It was a Saturday morning. At 9 a.m., while Kani was painting, Teddy ran to the gate with his pillow.
"Teddy, parents are here and where are you running now?" asked Kani.
Kani ran after him. This time it was Selvi, the house helper at the gate. Teddy would not stop wagging his tail and followed her until she pet him. Selvi then started cleaning the house and every time she walked near Teddy, he would wag his tail. Kani walked into the kitchen where Selvi was cleaning the vessels. Near the kitchen sink, Kani saw an old, cracked cup with coffee in it. After finishing all the work at home, Selvi drank the coffee.
At around 12 noon, while Kani and Teddy were in the garden, she heared someone whistling. Teddy again ran to the gate with his pillow.
"Teddy, Selvi akka left an hour ago. Why are you running again?" asked Kani.
Continue...
Kani ran after him. This time it was Muthu. Muthu collects garbage from every house. Teddy would not stop wagging his tail until Muthu pet him. Kani ran to the kitchen to pick up the garbage bag.
"Kani, will you eat these sweets? There are only two left and they are getting old." asked Kani's mom.
"No, I won't eat", replied Kani.
"There is also some leftover rice from yesterday. I will pack both the sweets and rice. We can give it to Muthu, " said Kani's mom.
Kani drops off the garbage and gave Muthu the leftover food.
After an hour, Kani's father prepared Kani's favorite biryani. Kani's family sat to have lunch.
"We are having guests at home, Kani', said her mom.
"Who is coming?" asked Kani.
"Rani aunty and her 2-year-old son Anbu are coming from America," replied her mom.
"I am very excited to play with Anbu. At what time are they coming?"
"Around 5 p.m." replied her mom.
"Before they come home, you take Teddy for a walk. Ok?" said Kani's father.
"Sure," said Kani.
After a few hours of nap, Kani's parents started preparing dinner for Rani aunty. Kani's mom took the new dinner plates, cups and spoons from the cupboard and cleans them.
Kani took Teddy out for a walk. While crossing a provision store at the end of the street, Teddy suddenly started running.
"Teddy, why are you running now?" asked Kani.
Kani ran with Teddy, holding his leash very tightly.
This time it was Amar, the provision shop owner who was standing outside the shop. Teddy ran to him and would not stop wagging his tail until Amar pet him.
Continue . . .
There was a dog lying outside the shop. Kani remembered how some people would throw stones at this dog. While she as thinking about it, Teddy started playing with that dog. Kani pet the other dog.
After a few minutes, Teddy and Kani started walking into the next street.
Teddy started running again.
"Oh no. Teddy, not again. Why are you running again? Who is it now?", said Kani.
This time it was Mary. She was a differently abled person who sells candles outside a church. Teddy ran to her and would not stop wagging his tail until she pet him. They continued walking. Teddy and Kani finally reached home and were ready to welcome guests. Kani's family had a great time with Rani aunty and her son. After a long day, they all went to sleep.
Kani was sleeping and suddenly saw flashes of the broken coffee cup, leftover food, the street dog getting hit by stones in her dream. Kani woke up very disturbed. She looked around. She drank water and went back to sleep. After a while, Kani saw flashes of Teddy playing with Mary, Muthu and Anbu. Kani woke up again but this time tears filled her eyes. She realized how Teddy was compassionate and how he loved everyone equally. At that moment, Kani decided that she would also treat everyone equally with love and respect. She hugged Teddy and kissed him. Teddy wagged his tail and both went back to sleep.
Kani narrated the entire dream to her parents. Kani parents didn't say a word and remained very quiet. The same day at 9 am, Teddy ran to the gate with his pillow. It was Selvi again. Selvi started doing her routine of cleaning dishes. Kani walked into the kitchen to see a new coffee cup on the counter. Kani smiled and walked back to the room with a renewed hope.
The Dreamer
Imagine!
There is no diversity,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for.
Am I a dreamer?
I hope not the only one,
Will you join me?
To make the world as one.
Imagine!
All that belongs to you is shared,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger.
Am I a dreamer?
I hope not the only one,
Will you join me?
To make the world as one.
The New Start
Tenzin, a boy from Tibet was forced to leave his country. He writes about his experience in his journal.
Let us read about his experience.
My name is Tenzin. I am from Tibet. From Tibet, we first migrated to Himachal Pradesh in India. While we lived in a refugee camp in India, I learnt a few words in English. Then, we moved from Himachal Pradesh, we moved to Karnataka.
My family had a hard time adjusting to this new country. We moved many times. We first lived in McLeod Ganj,and then we moved to Mysore. And from Mysore, we went to Gurupura and then to Kollegal. I was tired and homesick. Finally, we decided to come back and settle in Gurupura.
Beginning a new life in new place was not easy. We didn't understand the system in India. We didn't know how to get a house. Shopping for food was the most difficult job. We didn't know the names of the items we wanted to buy.
We asked the Refugee Relief Group to help us. They arranged a house for us and showed us where to buy what we needed. They even helped us get admission to the school close to our house. I started going to school. In the beginning, I didn't understand anything. I often thought of my friends in Tibet. I would cry every day after I returned from school. I wanted to go back to my school and be with my friends.
Every year we need to go to the government office and get our book signed. Mother says that, if we miss getting it signed then we will have to leave India too.
Now, I have made friends here. There is Julie, my art and craft teacher. She is a very nice person. She helps me learn English words. Miss Malliga is also a wonderful teacher. She teaches me computers. I have a friend whose name is Binsa. She is from Nepal. She didn't know English either when she came here. Now we learn and practise English together. There is Nimmi who fights with everyone who teases us. And I must not forget to mention Charles, who taught me how to play baseball.
I often wonder, how would it be if I had lived in the same place all my life? I miss my home in Tibet. But that does not mean that I am not grateful to India, its people and the government. While many people are my friends, there are still many who look at us as though we were aliens. Sometimes, I want to tell them that we are humans too. We live on Earth too, just a different part of Earth.
Our history teacher tells us that it is people who made the boundaries of the countries. We drew lines before, we draw the lines now, and we will continue to draw new lines. I think we would not stop braving likes unless we realize that we are all one! We all are humans, and we live together on Earth. We need to share and grow with each other.
Now, I wonder if we did not have the boundaries, will we need weapons? I Think of this, will we need protection from our own people? Does an eagle ever need to be saved from another eagle? Then, why do people have to be saved from other people?
I want to help people realize that we are all one. And that, it is up to us to see beyond the boundaries and connect as people. Only then we can fight the real evil of greed and injustice in the world, together.
I want to end by saying that I am happy now. My mother says we can be happy anywhere. I enjoy being here. Many people are very nice and helpful. I still remember my friends and my school in Tibet. I want to visit them when I grow up to tell them that we live in a wonderful world. To tell them that the world can be united only by its people.
Come, join me on this journey to make this world better.
A safer place. A happier place. A Place with no boundaries.
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