The Missing Diary

It was a grim night in mid-winter. Everywhere silence prevailed like stillness in a dark graveyard. I felt extremely overwhelmed with grief and despair. Perhaps it was my sense of loneliness coupled with agony which drove me crazy.

I made up my mind to scribble down my unalloyed feelings in my diary. But, to my dismay, I couldn’t retrieve my dearest possession (diary) by my bedside table where I had left it the night before. I ransacked every nook and corner of the house, searched through the drawers and my bags but it was nowhere to be found.

The Wise Caliph

             The Caliph Haroon-ur-Rashid was known and respected for his Justice and wisdom. A night, he would disguise himself as a common man and go through the streets of Baghdad. He would mingle with the common people in order to gain first-hand knowledge of their difficulties and problems.

             One day, when he was holding court, two men were brought before him. One of them was well-dressed and appeared to be a well-to-do, respectable citizen, while the other seemed to be a beggar, because he was rags. These two men were holding between them a beautiful white horse. The Qazi approached the Caliph and said to him: "O Leader of the Faithful! I've brought before you a dispute which I could not settle. IT is a difficult case but I am certain that with your knowledge and wisdom, you will pronounce a just decision.

             "What is the dispute?" asked the Caliph.

The Pangolin

In some parts of Africa and Asia there lives a creature called a pangolin. The pangolin is a medium-size animal, about a metre long. It has short legs and a very long, stout tail.

           There are many things about the pangolin that make it seem stranger or unusual.

           The first strange thing about this creature is its tongue. The pangolin's tongue extends for about 40 cm beyond its mouth. Because its feeds on onts, the tongue is long and sticky. When a pangolin sports a column of ants, it extends it tongue and the ants stick to it.


           When the ants are safely in the pangolin's mouth, the creature simply swallows them, for it has no teeth to chew with. The muscular walls of its stomach then begin to digest the food. Sometimes, the pangolin has pebbles in its stomach. The muscular action of the stomach and the pebbles help digestion.

The Clever Owl

Once upon a time two sparrows lived in a great oak tree which stood on the bank of a wide river. Every year the sparrows built a new nest in one of the many hollows of this tree.

         Now this part of the river was the favorite swimming place of the Prince of Naroon Kot. After a hot, dusty ride on one of his fine horses, the Prince liked nothing better than to have a quiet swim in the cool water.

Visits Library

             Rashid was a poor boy. He loved to read but he had no money to buy books. One day he was playing in the garden when he saw a man sitting there on a bench. The man had a book in his hands. He was absorbed in reading. Rashid uttered, "Wow!" and stopped playing. He come in front of the man and asked him if he could see that book. The man looked up and smiled to see the boy's interest in the book."Do you want to read this book?" asked the man. Rashid nodded. The man patted him saying, "It's good that you want to read it but I have not completed it yet. I have to return the book to the library today." Rashid looked at the man rather disappointedly. The man realised the situation and hurried to add, "But you can read another storybook just after a few minutes. Go to the library and enjoy reading the books of your choice there." The boy thanked him and went straight to the library.

My Classmates

               I am Ahmad. I study in class five. There are thirty students in my class.Our classmates are quite friendly. Umer is our class prefect. If we have any problem, we ask him. He always likes to consult and listen to everyone. Then he asks the teacher's advice and if necessary, goes to the teacher's advice and if necessary, goes to the principal to seek further guidance.

               We have a sports period. Our class has a cricket team. Dawood is the captain of our team. He shares his ideas with the players. He tries to improve their performance. Mr. Nasir is our sports teacher. He encourages us to develop sportsmanship.

AN AFRICAN VILLAGE

             After Asia, Africa is the largest Continent and it consists of more than thirty-five independent countries. Its northern parts have had relations with Europe and Asia for many centuries but very little was known about other parts till the middle of the 19th century. No wonder, it was called the "Dark Continent" once.