Who is the strongest?

The village pond was frozen and all the children were happy because that meant they could skate on the ice. Namyoka and Kurba were neighbours. They were the first to arrive at the pond. They were warmly clothed in thick coats and woollen scarves for it was very cold. This winter was the coldest in many years and the old people were not happy at all. But the children of the village, like Namyoka and Kurba, did not mind the cold. They played and went skiing down the mountain slopes near their village.

But one day Namyoka and Kurba quarrelled. Kurba had boasted that he was the strongest boy in their village. “That isn't true. You know I beat you in the races last year. That makes me the strongest,” cried Namyoka. Kurba became very angry and he began to hit his friend. Their friends tried to part them.

“Namyoka, Kurba, this is silly. You have been friends for so long. Why quarrel over such a silly thing as who is the strongest. We are all strong in our own way,” said their friends.

Namyoka and Kurba took no notice of them. Then Namyoka said, “I'm the strongest. You must all bow to me.” Kurba was so angry that he pushed him and Namyoka fell and hit his head on the ice.

“You can't be the strongest as the strongest is the ice on which you fell. Mr. Ice, isn't that so? Aren't you stronger than my friend?” asked the boy.

“That may well be true but there is one who is stronger than I am,” said Mr. Ice.

“Who's that?” asked Namyoka, rubbing his head.

“It's Mr. Sun, of course. When the weather gets warm I begin to melt because the sun's rays are so warm. So Mr. Sun is the strongest. Bow to the Sun,” said Mr. Ice.

Just then the Sun began to peep through the clouds al­though it was still very cold. “Good morning, Mr. Sun. Please help us to settle our argument. Kurba and I have been fighting because each of us claimed to be the strongest. We asked Mr. Ice and he said you're the strongest,” said Namyoka.

“It's kind of Mr. Ice to say that but I don't think that's quite true. I think the Cloud is stronger than I am. When it casts its shadow, the Earth becomes so cold because my rays cannot shine through the thick cloud.”

The boys went to see the Cloud who was hanging low over a high mountain to the north of their village. After a long and difficult climb, they reached the top of the mountain. “Good day, Mr. Cloud, we've come to see you as the Sun told us that you are the strongest.” The Cloud wandered over the mountain top, making everything beneath it dark and foggy. The boys shivered for suddenly it became much colder. Their coats were covered with ice. Then a cold wind blew and the Cloud had no time to reply as it was blown away. Just as suddenly, it became warmer. The crust of ice melted and made their clothes damp and uncomfortable.

Then the Sun shone and before long, their clothes were dry. “Look, the Rainbow!” cried out Kurba.

"It's beautiful. Perhaps the Rainbow is the strongest. Let's ask it,” said Namyoka.

But before they could open their mouths a strong wind blew. “I am the strongest!” boasted the Wind.

“Can you move the Mountain from its place?" asked Kurba.

The Wind did not reply. Instead it began to blow. It puffed and puffed and still the Mountain stayed in its place. “You'll never move me. I am the strongest,” said the Mountain. Again the Wind blew. It roared up and down the mountain through the valleys but only a few grains of sand flew off its top.

“Oh, Mr. Wind, I don't think you're the strongest after all. It would take you years to move the Mountain,” said Namyoka. The Wind, realizing that it was defeated, blew down the mountain-side, and disappeared.

The boys bowed to the Mountain. “You Sir, are truly the greatest,” they said. But the Mountain only groaned.

“Oh, it isn't true. I only wish it were, but the Tree must surely be the strongest. It grows on my back and its roots dig deep into me although it does protect me from the Wind,” said the mountain.

“Are you indeed the strongest of them all?” asked the boys. The Tree shook in the wind but did not fall down.

“Yes, it's true. I'm the strongest of all! Bow to me.”

“You're wrong. You're telling lies,” said Namyoka. He took an axe that was lying beneath the tree and felled it. “Man is the greatest, the strongest of all,” said the boys.

Then everyone bowed to them. The Mountain groaned as the trees dug their roots deeper. The Wind roared down the Mountain calling out, “Man is the greatest. Bow to Man.” The Sun shone warmly and melted the ice.

And ever since that day, everybody believed Man to be the strongest of all.

Short Story For Kids

The Frog and the Ant

There was once a pretty little frog who lived in a small round lake, near a big town. One day, she wanted to go shopping. “Dear oh dear, I’ve no oil for my lamp. I must buy some today.”

She hopped out of her small, neat home and went down the road. On the way, she passed an ant-hill. The ants were very busy. The cold weather was coming on. They were drag­ging food into their home.

“Good morning,” said the frog. The ants stared at her. They did not like strangers. They weren’t a bit friendly. Before she could get out of their way, they had climbed all over her. Hun­dreds of them. They jumped on her and bit her. “Ouch! Please stop it. You’re hurting me!”

But they were cruel and would not stop. “Rivet! Rivet!” croaked the frog unhappily. Her cheeks puffed and became red and her stomach began to swell. She twisted this way and that way. She shook most of them off her back.

“You’re very unkind. I only wanted to be friends,” said the frog. Then the ants became ashamed of themselves. They agreed to be friends.

“Dear Aunty, please be our guest. Help yourself to whatever food we have,” they said. The frog was very pleased. She had never been so happy in a" her life. “Dear Aunty, we sometimes hear you singing when we’re working. Won’t you sing for us now?”asked the Queen Ant. The frog turned red. She did not know that she had such a loud voice.

As she sang, the ants hummed with her. They loved to sing but had poor voices. They invited her to stay the night in the ant-hill. Early next morning she woke up. The sun was high in the sky. She saw only a few ants and they were busy washing up after lastnight’s party. The others are in the woods gather­ing food,” they told her.

That afternoon when the Queen Ant returned home, she spoke to her. “You’ve been so kind to me. I’d like to invite you to my home by the lake,” said the frog shyly.

“That’s very kind of you. But I can’t feast on my own. The others will have to come too,” said the Queen Ant. The frog in­vited them all to come. The ants were pleased. It wasn’t often they had a chance to feast twice in a week. On the way, they passed many other ant-hills.

“We’re off to visit the frog,” they told their friends.

“We’ll come too.”

Finally, they came to her home. “Here it is,” said the frog and turned round. The shore was covered with thousands of red, black and brown ants. There was not a blade of grass to be seen. The frog’s eyes bulged and almost popped out of her head. “Rivet! Rivet!” she croaked worriedly. What was she to do? She only had a few cabbage leaves with which to feed the ants. It wasn’t enough. “Please wait here and I’ll get everything ready,” said the frog, disappearing into her home.

The ants waited patiently outside. “I’m sure she’s preparing a lovely feast,” said the Queen Ant. They waited a whole day and still there was no sign of the frog.

“Perhaps she’s ill,” said the ants worriedly. They had grown to love the pretty little frog. Then the Queen Ant knocked on the door. There was no reply. She pushed the door open but there was nobody at home. The back door was wide open. The frog had disappeared.

The ants were very angry. “Well, that should teach us a good lesson. We could die just waiting for the frog to give us a treat.” The Queen Ant was sad that the frog had not kept her promise. She tightened her belt around her empty belly and went home. All the other ants did the same. Ever since then, ants have had their belts tightened over their bellies and all frogs have had large, bulging eyes.

Aioga Story

Everybody agreed that Aioga was a very beautiful girl. In fact, the villagers told her that she was the most beautiful girl in their village. This made Aioga vain. She became proud of her beauty and each day looked at herself in the mirror. She liked her looks so much that daily she went to look at herself in the stream that ran past her house.

One day, her mother asked her to wash the dishes. Aioga spent so much time admiring her reflection in the dishes that her mother was annoyed. “Aioga, you’re becoming too vain and lazy. You do nothing but admire yourself each day. This has got to stop. Even our neighbours are complaining. They say that you’ve become proud and won’t even talk to their daughters. You make me so ashamed.”

Aioga sulked and refused to do any more work. She thought her mother was treating her badly. She became even lazier. Each day, she lay in bed until the sun was high in the sky. Her mother did not know what to do with her.

“Aioga, please go to the stream and fetch some water. I want to bake some cakes for tea,” said her mother.

“But I may fall into the water,” said Aioga.

Her mother sighed. She was slowly losing patience with her daughter. “Hold on to a bush and you won’t fall in.”

“But the bush may fall into the stream,” complained her daughter.

“But all the bushes by the stream have thorns and I may scratch my pretty hands,” said the girl.

Her mother grew steadily more impatient. “Aioga, put on your mittens. They’ll not only keep you warm but will also stop you from getting scatched.” Aioga then complained that her mit­tens were torn. Her mother then handed her a needle and thread.

“What if the needle breaks?" asked the girl. Aioga did not sew her mittens but instead spent the time looking at herself in the mirror.

Her mother was very angry with her, and when her hus­band returned from work, she spoke to him about their daugh­ter. He was angry too when he heard what his wife had told him, so he sent for Aioga. “Aioga, go this minute and get a re­ally thick needle from the workbasket and mend your mittens,” he said.

“But, Papa, what if the needle pricks my finger?”

“You can use a thimble made of strong skin,” he said.

“But if the thimble is pierced I’ll hurt my finger,” said the girl.

Aioga’s younger sister, who was good and sweet-natured, came into the room. Cheerfully, she offered to fetch the water. She ran to the stream, filled the bucket and then helped her mother bake some cakes. When Aioga saw the lovely golden cakes, her mouth began to water. They looked delicious.

”Mother, give me some cakes,” she said.

“They’re hot and you’ll burn your fingers,” said her mother. “I’ll put on my mittens.”

“But your mittens are torn. Besides, they’re damp as you did not dry them out yesterday after playing in the snow,” said her mother.

“I’ll dry them now before the fire,” said the girl.

“No, drying them out too quickly will make them stiff. And you won’t be able to hold the cakes,” said her mother.

Aioga was hungry and the cakes smelled so delicious. “I’ll soften them with some wax,” she said.

“But your hands will get dirty. Why should you work and spoil your looks? It would be better if I gave the cake to your sister who doesn’t mind using her hands,” said Aioga”s mother.

When she saw her mother give her sister the cake, Aioga ran out of the house to the stream. She was very angry as she thought that her mother was very unfair. She saw her sister enjoying the cake and turned to stare angrily at her. “Aioga, please don’t be angry. I’ll share my cake with you,” she said. Her sister was only trying to be kind but Aioga was proud. How could she, the village beauty, accept a half-eaten cake! She turned round and slapped her sister hard.

“Go away. I don’t want anything from you. Just leave me alone.”Aioga began to hit her sister again. Suddenly, she lost her balance and fell into the stream. The Goddess of the Stream who had seen Aioga treat her sister badly, changed her into a goose. All day long Aioga, the goose, swam around in the stream. “Gal Gal What a beauty I am,” she said, looking at her­self in the stream.

As time went by she forgot how to speak. All she remem­bered was her name, and whenever she saw anyone, she would say, “Ai-oga! Ai-oga!” so that all would remember the village beauty who turned into a goose.