William Tell (A Swedish Folktale)

                                  
Many years ago there lived a man beside the lake Lucerne  in Switzerland. His name was William Tell. William was a brave and strong man, he was a crossbow expert too.
 Gessler the mayor of the town near William's house was a cruel and  arrogant man.People were afraid of him and did not like him.Gessler hung his hat on a pole under the linden tree of town and ordered that all the townsfolk must bow before his hat. 
One day William and his young son, Walter visited the town and passed by the linden tree. There,William refused to bow before Gessler's hat. As a result ,William and his son got arrested by Gessler's men.
''Bow to my hat , otherwise I will kill you.'',angry Gessler shouted.
''I won't. Do whatever you want to .'',William said fearlessly.
''Alright, I give you a chance to save your life..... if you shoot an apple off the head of your son in a single attempt, I will set you free.'',said the cruel man. Gessler's men made little Walter stand under the tree and put an apple on his head.
William split the apple with an arrow from his crossbow. 
 Gessler noticed that William took out two arrows from his quiver,not just one.
''Why did you take out another arrow?'',He asked William.
''I would have used it to shoot you if my son had got killed.'' ,William replied.
 ''Guards,take him to my castle he will spend his whole life in the prison.'' Gessler said angrily. His men brought William to the boat.
When the boat was moving on it's way to the castle, there arose a big storm on lake Lucerne.
''Please, allow us to remove William's shackles, he can save us, he can steer the boat.'' The frightened soldiers begged Gessler. 
Gesslers allow them to do so.
While William was steering the boat, he saw that there was a rock in front of the boat,he soon jumped from the boat to that rock. Boat hit the rock and Gessler and his men fell into the water.
''What have you done !? I will not leave you and the people of town   alive.'' Crazy Gessler screamed in anger.
William Tell shot Gessler with one of his arrows. It was the end of  the life of cruel Gessler. 
                                      A Swedish folktale retold by-Aunt Mary 
   

Folktale

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Ten Important Reasons To Save Trees

                                                         
Trees are among the most precious and valuable gifts given to us by nature and we need to save them.Saving trees is one of the biggest needs of today.It is important to save trees because life exists on the earth due to them,  all living things on the planet earth are directly or indirectly dependent on trees for their survival.
Besides providing shelter and food for mankind and for other living creatures there are so many reasons to save trees and here are a few important reasons out of those :-

1. Trees produce oxygen- As we all know that we can't breathe without oxygen and trees provide it for us. One tree produces two hundred and sixty pounds of oxygen every year on an average. Two mature trees can produce enough oxygen for a family of four members.

2.Trees clean the air-Trees play an important role in cleaning the air by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and by intercepting the airborne particles like fog, dust and smoke.Trees also absorb odors and the harmful pollutant gases like sulfur dioxide , carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and bad ozone. They improve the quality of air by filtering out pollution particulates, they trap them on their leaves and barks.

3.Trees bring rain-Trees help to increase rainfall due to the process of transpiration.The leaves, stems and flowers of trees release water as water vapor in the air. This water vapor adds moisture in the air and makes it saturated and then the rainfall occurs.

4. Trees prevent soil erosion-Trees protect the soil against the ravages of wind and rain.Strong roots of trees hold the soil in place and prevent it from getting washed or blown away due to water or air respectively. Thus , trees protect the soil surface . By this way trees help to counter any long-term damage to our environment.

5.Trees reduce the heat and boost air conditioning-Trees help to reduce the temperature of air by blocking the sunlight. As mentioned above a tree releases water as water vapor in the air through the process of transpiration. This conversion of water to water vapor helps to remove heat energy from the air.
Trees also work as a natural air conditioner .A single tree can produce the cooling effects of 10 room size air conditioners. Trees can reduce the air-conditioning needs by at least 30 percent if we place them properly around buildings.

6.Trees save water -Trees can save water as the shade provided by them slows down water evaporation.They prevent the slow loss of water by increasing the atmospheric moisture.Trees slow down water runoff and help to recharge groundwater.According to the experts, trees with deep roots can help ground water recharging during monsoon season.

7.Trees control flood-Trees can trap a large amount of water with the help of their roots.They prevent water runoff during heavy rain fall that can cause flooding. 

8. Shade of trees protect us from ultra-violet rays-The shade of trees protect you from the harmful effects of the sun's ultra-violet rays,these rays  can cause the skin cancer.Trees could reduce the risk of skin cancer by providing protection against sun exposure.They can reduce the UVB exposure by about 50 percent.

9.Trees increase the value of property-Trees add beauty to a place.Researches say that people love to buy a house or a property surrounded by green trees.Trees around a property can increase its value by more than 15 percent.

10. Trees provide medicines- Trees have always been an important source of a wide variety of medicines.Today about 50,000 plant species are used to make medicines.The extract of leaves, barks, roots ,seeds, wood and flowers of different trees have been used to make medicines to cure different types of diseases.In fact trees provide a wealth of useful remedies for human race.
These are only a few reasons among uncountable reasons to save trees but are enough to help us to understand the importance of saving trees. If we want to save our future we must Save Trees.

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Photosynthesis (Poem)

                                                       
   
                                                          Plants need food,
                                    plants eat food,
                                    they make this..
                                    with photosynthesis!
                                    A process that needs..
                                    sunlight and water,
                                    and carbon dioxide..
                                    from the air!
                                   In this process,
                                   the living plants cells,
                                   with chlorophyll inside,
                                   turn carbon dioxide...
                                   into starch and sugar..
                                   with the help of water.
                                   The process takes place...
                                   in the presence of sunlight,
                                   the plants get food,
                                   and stay alright.
                                                           -Aunt Mary
                                         

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Greed is a Curse (Moral Story)

                               
Once upon a time in a village there lived a poor man with his wife. They kept some hens as pets and sold their eggs to earn their living. 
One day the man was returning home from the market and on the way he saw a goose wandering here and there, it looked like she had lost her way.
''How healthy and beautiful goose is this! It will be good for us if I take it home with me'', thought the man.  He caught the goose and took her home along with him. His wife became so glad to see the goose. 
''We have only hens as pets, now we have a goose too! So we can sell the goose eggs also. I am sure we can make some  good  money by selling the eggs''  Said the woman happily to her husband. 

Next morning when the man and his wife went in the backyard to collect the eggs, they were amazed to see that ''the goose had laid a golden egg.'' 

''Oh! this goose is not an ordinary goose! It is the golden goose because It laid a golden egg!'' They got so happy.The man sold the egg in the market and got a good amount of money. 

The goose laid a golden egg everyday and the man and his wife earned a lot of money by selling the golden eggs in the market.
They were no more poor and were living a very happy and good life because of that goose. 
But as they say ''Much wants more'' 
The man was not satisfied with what he had, he became greedy and wanted more money. 
He said to his wife,''The golden goose lays a golden egg everyday, it must have a big lump of gold in its inside... if we cut open the goose's stomach we can get that lump of gold and become very rich.'' He killed the goose and having done so he found that it was like any other goose there was no lump of gold inside it.
The foolish and greedy man who wanted to become rich all at once lost his everyday gain.The goose that laid the golden eggs for them  was dead and now they had no golden eggs any more.

Moral Of the story-''Greed is a curse''  
                                                                   An Aesop's Fable
                                                     Retold by -Aunt Mary 

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Ten Amazing Fun Facts

Hello kids, here are some cool Fun Facts for you. I am sure you will enjoy reading and sharing these fun facts with your friends. 

                                           
1.Do you know, that Koala bears almost exclusively eat only eucalyptus leaves and not anything else. 
I wonder why they don't get bored eating the same stuff.

   

2.Zebras are attracted to black and white stripes. Even if the stripes are painted on a wall , a zebra will tend to go stand next to it.
So if you want to be friends with zebras paint some nice black and white stripes for them:)

3.If you eat too many carrots ,your skin will turn orange.
  Do you like orange color?

                                           
4.People have used the tails of giraffes for centuries as fly swatters.
   Then what did giraffes do to swat flies?

                                                       
5.Botanically walnuts cashewnuts , peanuts, pine nuts and coconuts are not nuts.
They are nutty nuts :)

                                                      

6.An average woman looks in the mirror for 38 times a day.
    What about the men? 

7.The  new born baby kangaroos are small enough to fit in a teaspoon.
 Poor mommy  kangaroo,how difficult it is for her to take care of them.
  

                                              
8.If you eat an apple in the morning it will help you to awake better than coffee.
And Healthy too.

                                               
9.A second full moon in a month is often called a blue moon, the name has nothing to do with the actual color of moon.
I love the actual color of moon, what about you?

                                                       
10.Astronauts can't whistle on the moon.
    They don't need to do so:)
      
    That's all for now, hope you like these fun facts.
                                                                       -Aunt Mary

                                              

                                                                                                       

The Wise Cap Seller And The Naughty Monkeys (Panchtantra Story)

                              
  Once there was a cap seller who wandered from one place to the    other to sell caps. Calling, 
                               Caps for sale...
                               caps for sale...
                               red caps,
                               yellow caps
                               and green caps...
                              caps for sale..
 One day the cap seller was going on his way to sell caps. It was a hot summer day and the man was feeling tired, he stopped under a tree to take some rest.. He kept his basket of caps by his side and fell asleep.
 A group of naughty monkeys lived on the tree. They saw the colorful caps in the basket. They came down and wore the caps on their heads like the cap seller wore.They climbed up the tree  wearing those caps.
After a while the cap seller woke up and found that the basket was empty and all the caps were missing.  'The monkeys on the tree were wearing the caps.'
"Come on you naughty fellows, give my caps back.", the seller yelled at them. Monkeys only imitated and copied him.
''Oh ! They have the habit of imitating others.'', the cap seller thought. He got an idea to get his caps back.  
He threw his own cap down. Seeing it, the monkeys threw down their caps too. The cap seller hurriedly collected all the caps and moved on chanting,
                         Caps for sale...
                          caps for sale...
                          red caps,
                         yellow caps
                         and green caps...
                        caps for sale.
                                  ( Panchtantra story) Re- told by- Aunt Mary   
                    

                                                       
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Origins of Months' Names

Let's know the facts about the origins of twelve months of the year.

                                                      
The first month of the year January was named after the Roman god Janus who is believed to be the god of beginning and changing.

                                                             

The name February belongs to the Italian god Februus. It is also said that this month is named after Februa, a Roman festival of purification. 

  The third month of the year March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, who is believed to be the guardian of agriculture too.

  

Roman people called this month Aprills, that comes from the Latin word  aperire which means to open. Possibly because in this month the buds begin to open.

   

May is supposed to be named for the Roman  goddess Maiesta, the goddess of honor and regard.

This month is named after the Roman goddess of marriage Juno. The name might also come from the Latin word iuniores , meaning younger ones.

July was named to honor Julius Caesar ,who was born in this month. Julius was a Roman statesman, general and a remarkable author of Latin prose.

August is named after the first Roman emperor Augustus.

   

September comes from the Latin word septem which means seven. September was the seventh month of old Roman calendar.

The tenth month of the year October which is also the month of falls month of falls got its name from the Latin word octo meaning

eight.It was the eighth month of old Roman calendar.

November was the ninth month in the old roman calender and it retained it's name from the Latin word  novem that means nine.

         

The last month of the year December gets its name from the Latin word decem meaning ten and it was the tenth month in ancient Roman calendar.
Hope you enjoyed reading these facts

                                          -Aunt Mary

Ten Famous English Proverbs And Their Meaning

Definition of Proverb- 'A proverb is a well known, simple saying which conveys a general truth or a piece of advice.' 

       
Below are some famous and popular proverbs with their meaning.
                  
                           'Never judge a book by it's cover'

                                                             

Meaning- This proverb means that we should not prejudge the value of something by it's external appearance or outer look.                               
                      
                            ' The early bird catches the worm'
               
                                   

Meaning- The person who grabs the opportunity of doing something before the other people, always gets the advantage.
                             
                                  'Don't cry over the split milk'

                                                 
 Meaning- It is not worth feeling sad about something which has     happened already, what is done ,can't be undone.   
                  
                            'Good things come in small packages'  
                  

Meaning- The meaning of this proverb is that we should not underestimate the small things because sometimes, something which looks small turns out to be much better than the bigger ones. 

                                      'Don't count your chickens before they hatch'
                                             
                                     

                                       
Meaning-It is not good to make plans based on something before it really happens.
                 
                     Necessity is the mother of invention'

                                                    
                                                
Meaning- If you really need something you will find a way to get it.

                                'All that glitters is not gold'    

                                             
                             
Meaning-It is not necessary that everything which looks attractive  or valuable turns out to be so.This proverb is applicable for people too, who promise to be more than what they really are.
                      
                                'One rotten apple spoils the rest'

                                         
 Meaning- A person with bad behavior or character, influences other people who come in his contact.

                    'All work and no play makes jack a dull boy'

                                                    
  Meaning-This proverb means that when a person works continuously he becomes bored or dull.     
         
                   'When life gives you lemon, make lemonade'

         

Meaning- If we face  a difficult and negative situation in life, we should try to find a way to turn it into something good and positive.

                                                                                            -Aunt Mary
                                                              
                                                       

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