ADITI'S FIRST CLUE

 Happy Birthday Aditi,

You have to participate in a treasure hunt and search with the help of clues for 8 days to find your gifts

So here is today's clue

 

There are 8 gifts in store; each day you’ll receive one and keep dreaming for more.

Today’s gift is the one that will make sleeping fun.

You can find it’s place in the storage play space.

 

 

 

 

Why Dogs Chase Cats

Once long ago, Dog was married to Cat. They were happy together, but every night when Dog came home from work, Cat said she was too sick to make him dinner. Dog was patient with this talk for a while, but he soon got mighty tired of fixing dinner for them both after a hard day's work. After all, Cat just stayed home all day long.

One day, Dog told Cat he was going to work, but instead he hid in the cupboard and watched Cat to see if she really was sick. As soon as Cat thought Dog had left, she started playing games with Kitten. They laughed and ran about. Cat wasn't the least bit sick.

Dog jumped out of the cupboard. When Cat saw him, she stuck a marble in her cheek and told Dog she had a toothache. Dog got so mad at her he started chasing her around and around the house.

Dogs have been chasing Cats ever since.

                                                                                            - A Virginia Folk Tale

The Lion Hunter

A young man from the town desiring to bag a wild fowl or a hare, entered forest, riding a horse. He had dressed well as a hunter and had his bow painted in glittering colors. A wood-cutter who saw him was quite impressed by his appearance and his horse. "Hunter, sir, a moment ago I saw a large lion going this way!"


"Is that so? Which way?" asked the young man gravely. The question impressed the wood-cutter so much that he not only showed him the way but also followed him. He had never met a lion-hunter in life. Next they met a few villagers. They were small hunters. The two wood-cutters confided to man's mission. They forgot their own business and joined the two wood-cutters in following the brave rider. 


The young man trotted on silently, but feeling quite proud that he had become an object of wonder and admiration for so many. They went quite a long way when they met another wood-cutter. "Have you seen a lion going this way?" asked the young man, pulling the rein. "Of course I have! It has just entered that cave!" said the wood-cutter showing a cave that was a few yards away.


The little crowd felt quite tense. Their eyes were glued to the rider. Now is the moment to watch him act! But the rider turned his horse back at once. "I just wanted to see the way the lion took. I never wanted to see the lion!" he said and galloped away as fast as he could.


                                                                             - A Folk tale from Greece

The Origin Of Stories

"Mother, tell us a story!" Manzandaba's children cried out as the family sat around the fire at the end of the day. That really put Manzandaba in a spot, because she just didn't know any, and as hard as she thought, she couldn't think of any. Has that ever happened to you - when someone says "tell us a story' and your mind goes blank? Well, that's just what happened to poor Manzandaba. She asked the others in the village whether they knew any stories, but they didn't.

Now, the village in which these story-hungry children lived was in deep Africa , in Zululand . The people there hunted for meat in the bush at the edge of the village or tilled the clearing around the village. Sometimes, they would go down to the coast and fish or catch the funny crabs that scuttled sideways on the sea-smoothened sand. The people of the village were very clever with their hands. When they were not hunting for meat or tilling the land to grow their crops, they wove beautiful baskets and carved things out of wood. The cleverest of them all was Manzandaba's husband, Zenzele. He was an artist who could carve the most beautiful pictures in wood. He carved birds and impala deer, and other animals that roamed on the earth. He put in trees and plants and flowers into his pictures. But even he did not know any stories.

One day, after the children had been particularly loud in their demand for stories, Zenzele told Manzandaba: "Why don't you go out and look for stories? I shall look after our home and children while you are away". Manz thought it was a very good idea. After she had packed some uputhu (maize meal porridge) in a basket to eat with boiled amadumbe tubers (which grow in the swamps), she hugged her husband and kissed her children goodbye. Then she placed the basket on her head and set out to look for stories.

As Manz walked gracefully with the basket on her head with the colourful beads on her dress swaying gently, a hare popped out from behind a bush and looked at her curiously. Now Manz knew that the hare was a clever and tricky fellow, but she thought she better ask him if he knew any stories. You never know who can be of help. "O! Clever Hare!" she said flatteringly. "Do you know any stories? My children want to hear stories every evening!"

"Stories?" repeated the hare scornfully. "Why, I know millions of them! But I have no time for stories now. Don't I have a million other more important things to do?"

He bounded off with a hop, skip and a jump. Manzandaba realised he was lying! He didn't have any stories! He was a real trickster. As Manz walked along shaking her head at him, she met Fene, the baboon with her babies. "O! Fene," she called out, "do you tell stories to your children?"

"Stories? What are stories?" asked Fene. "In any case, I'm too busy trying to keep my babies fed and warm. I've no time for anything else". With a sigh, Manzandaba continued on her way. An owl nodding in a wild fig tree next caught her eye."O! Owl," she called out loudly, "do you have any stories you could give me to take back home? My children want to hear some".

Well, the owl was very upset at having been disturbed while she was sleeping. "Who's that yelling into my ears?" she hooted. "What do you want? Stories! You woke me up for stories? Don't you have any useful work to do that you wander around the forest looking for stories? These humans cannot live in peace; they are looking for something or doing something", she grumbled as she settled herself on a higher branch and once more began to nod off. And Manzandaba sadly went her way.

Next, she came upon an elephant flapping his large ears as he munched on a bunch of bananas. "O! Kind Elephant," she asked, "do you know any stories? My people are hungry for some tales, and we do not have any! Do you know where one can look for them?" Now the elephant being a kind animal felt sorry for the worried woman. "Well", he said, "I do not know of any stories. But why don't you ask the Eagle? He is the king of birds and flies so high in the sky that he sees many things which others don't".

"O! That's a good idea!" Manz exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"So Manzandaba went looking for the great fish eagle. Near the mouth of the Tugela River, she saw him swooping down from the sky, talons outstretched to grab a fish. Excitedly she ran towards him. "O! Great Eagle!" she called, startling him into dropping the fish that he had picked up. He circled around and landed on the shore near the woman.

"Hey, why did you do that?" he demanded. "You made me drop my supper. What do you want?" "O! Great and wise Eagle," began Manzandaba in a flattering way, because she knew the Eagle was a very vain bird. "My people are hungry for stories but we have none. I've been searching high and low but haven't found any. Now I'm quite desperate and feel I'll never find stories. Do you know of any that I can take back to them?"  "Well", the Eagle said, feeling very important, "I'm quite wise, but I do not know everything. I only know of the things that are here on the face of the earth. But there's one who knows even the secrets of the deep, dark ocean. Perhaps he could help you. I'll try and call him for you. Stay here and wait for me!"

So Manzandaba waited several days for her friend the fish eagle to return. Finally he came back to her. "Here I am!" he called. "Did you think that I was not going to come back? But, see who I have brought with me! My friend, the big sea turtle, has agreed to take you to a place where you can find stories!" Then as Manz gazed at the water, the great sea turtle lifted himself out of the ocean.  "Climb onto my back and hold onto my shell", said the sea turtle in his deep voice. "I'll carry you to the Land of the Spirit People".So Manz caught hold of his shell, and down they went into the depths of the sea. As they journeyed deeper and deeper into the ocean, Manz's eyes grew rounder and rounder. Everything was so amazing and beautiful, quite unlike the sights she had seen on the face of the earth.

Finally they came to the bottom of the ocean where the Spirit People dwell. The sea turtle took her straight to the thrones of the King and Queen. Manzandaba looked at them in awe. They sat on such magnificent thrones and their faces shone with such a light that she was a little shy and afraid. She bowed low before them.  "What do you want from us, O woman from the dry lands?" they asked kindly. "Do you have stories that I could take back to my people?" she asked rather shyly.

"Yes", they said, "we have many stories. But what will you give us in exchange for those stories, Manzandaba?""What would you like?" Manzandaba asked.

"What we would really like", they said, "is a picture of your home and your people. We can never go to the dry lands, but it would be so nice to see those places. Can you bring us a picture, Manzandaba?"

"Oh, yes!" she answered. "I can do that! Thank you, thank you! My husband can carve the most beautiful pictures. He will surely carve a lovely one for you". So Manzandaba climbed back onto the turtle's shell, and he took her back to the shore. She thanked him politely and asked him to return at the next full moon to collect her and the picture.

Then Manz went home and got Zenzele to carve her a beautiful picture which showed the forest and the river and all the animals and birds on the face of the Earth. The picture also had the village and all the people in it. Zenzele carved them doing all the things that they normally did. When he was through, it was almost time for the full moon to appear in the sky. Zenzele wrapped the picture carefully in woven cloth and tied it to Manz's back and then Manz climbed on to the turtle's back and away they went to the land of the Spirit People. 

When they saw the picture, the King and Queen of the Spirit People were so happy! And then they turned to Manzandaba herself. "For you and your people", they said, "we give the gift of stories". And they handed her the largest and most beautiful shell she had ever seen. "Whenever you want a story", they said, "just hold this shell to your ear and you will have your tale!" 

When Manz got back to her village, all the people clamoured, "Tell us a story, Manzandaba! Tell us a story!"

So she sat down, as everyone gathered around the fire, put the shell to her ear, and began, "Once upon a time...."

What Color is Chameleon

There was an island the King of which loved animals. He had built a zoo with many beasts and birds. But he did not have a particular creature about which he had heard much. That was the chameleon. No chameleon was available on that island.


The King announced that one who can bring him a chameleon shall receive a lump of gold. It was rarely that the people of that island went out for countries beyond the sea. However, a lump of gold was a great prize. So, three friends sailed in a boat and reached a country after a month's voyage. But chameleons were not available in that country. They walked on to reach the next country. There, they could see only a picture of the chameleon. They were informed that the creature was found in plenty in a neighboring country. 


They reached their destination at last. The three friends went in different directions, looking for a chameleon, to come together in the evening at an inn. The one who entered a forest met a hunter. "Can you get me a chameleon?" he asked.


"No problem. Wait here till i get one," said the hunter. In an hour he returned with a chameleon. The traveler put the creature in a box, which he bought from the market nearby, and returned to the inn. The other two friends had not been able to get any. But one chameleon was enough. They walked back to the seashore and sailed for their island. 


It took them another month to reach the island. From time to time they threw bits of food into the box that contained the chameleon, through a chink. 


"How happy the King would be to see the blue creature!" said one of three friends upon their landing on the island. "What do you mean by blue? I had opened the box one day and observed it. Green it was there is no doubt about it," said the second friend. 


"Both of you are wrong. It is brown. There is no mistaking about it," asserted the third friend.
They stuck on to their own points of view and argued forcefully while passing through a forest. They opened the box and let the chameleon come out fully so that they could see it in the broad daylight.


Well, the chameleon looked white! The friends were so surprised that they took their hands off it. Instantly the creature slipped into the forest never to be found again.


                                                                          - A Folk tale from France.