A Frightening Experience for Jim

By Angeline T. (8 years old)

Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, Sibu

 

Little Jim was with his parents at the park one morning.  He was playing with his ball as he crossed the bridge.  Unfortunately, his ball fell into the pond. He tried to retrieve it but fell headlong into the water instead.

A policeman patrolling the park witnessed the incident and quickly dived into the pond to save Jim.  A crowd soon gathered to watch the rescue.  The police officer reached Jim and pulled him to safety.  Meanwhile, Jim’s parents were waiting anxiously at the edge of the pond.  His father quickly helped to pull Jim out of the water.

Jim’s parents were glad Jim did not drown in the pond.  They thanked the policeman gratefully for saving their son.  As for Jim, he vowed he would never play with a ball near any pond, lake or river in the future.  He had had the fright of his life and did not want to have to go through such a dreadful experience again.

 

Sinbad the Snake Charmer

In collaboration with Anderson C. (10 years old)

Photo credit: theblogmocracy.com

 

There are many poor people living in Tibet.  Tibet is now ruled by China. Some of the poor Tibetan people work as snake charmers in the streets.

Although his name is Sinbad, he is not a sailor.  Instead, he works as a snake charmer and lives in a Buddhist temple. Sinbad owns a pet snake, Chandran.

He performs with his snake under a shady tree nearby the other street vendors.  When he plays his flute, Chandran sways to the music.  When he stops playing the flute, Chandran lowers itself into the basket.  Sinbad closes the lid tightly so that his pet does not escape.

Sinbad collects more money when there are tourists visiting his town.  The foreigners give him several yuan while the locals give him a few fen.  He like the Americans best because they don’t mind giving him 10 yuan at a time.  He wishes he can visit the United States one day but he will have to earn a lot of yuan before he can do that.

Madeline’s Birthday

By Anderson C. (10 years old)

Photo credit: bestbirthdaywishes.net

 

It was Madeline’s birthday yesterday.  She was nine years old.  All her family members and relatives were present at her birthday party.

Madeline received lots of presents. Her grandmother gave her a pink dress and a pair of white shoes.  Madeline thought they were very pretty and she knew she would look beautiful in the dress.

Her Uncle Robert and Aunt Maggie bought her a silver necklace.  It was white and shiny.  Her parents gave her a new Apple iPad.  Madeline screamed with delight when she saw the iPad.  She had been longing for one ever since her elder sister got an iPad on her last birthday.

Madeline thanked everybody for giving her such wonderful presents.  She had a marvellous birthday and she knew she was a lucky girl.

If I could be anything, I would be …

In collaboration with Issac L. (13 years old)

Photo credit: archiexpo.com

 

If I could be anything, I would be a refrigerator.  Yes, that indispensable electronic gadget standing in every modern kitchen.

I would be a pretty important fella for without me, those incompetent humans won’t be able to cope with their daily routines. They would have to run to the wet market or supermarket to buy fresh produce every day.  That would be an impossible feat for most people in today’s world as everybody is constantly busy.

A refrigerator is a pretty hardy and sturdy fellow that could live for several decades.  My owner would truly appreciate me as I would be functioning until I am completely spoilt.  He needn’t reach deep into his pockets every other year to replace me. Aren’t I sweet for being so considerate to keep his household expenses down?

Life as a stationary refrigerator is never boring.  There are always new residents moving in and they are always happy to have a cool and comfortable place to stay. All kinds of foodstuffs; meats, vegetables, fruits, leftovers and drinks find me a good home.  They stay fresh and well until my owner decides to move them into his stomach.

I could also make ice cubes.  Folks need only pour some water into a partitioned container.  After 30 minutes, the water would have become ice.  The first thing my owner does when he returns home from work or gym is to take an ice cube and pop it into his mouth to soothe his parched throat.

Families make me their centre for communication – family members leave messages for one another; telephone numbers for the local police, fire departments and other emergency contacts are stuck on me.  In fact, my owner kept me as his handy reference for his doctor, plumber, electrician, mechanic and even his bevy of girlfriends.

These are just some of the tasks that I perform for my owner.  It is time to rest now, so I would leave my next interesting tale for tomorrow.

 

Hibiscus

By Angeline T. (8years old)

Photo credit: pinecrestgardenguy.blogspot.com

 

The hibiscus is a flowering plant.  Every Malaysian from the age of seven knows that the red Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis is the national flower of Malaysia but I bet not everyone knows one can drink hibiscus tea!

Hibiscus plants grow well in a hot climate.  These flowering plants cannot survive the frost in winter, so they are mostly found in tropical countries.  We see them everywhere in Malaysia – along the streets, in the parks and in people’s gardens.  The flowers bloom all year round and they are very pretty.

The hibiscus flower is big with five or more petals and comes in several shades of colours: red, pink, white, orange, yellow, blue, purple or bicoloured.  There are over 200 species of hibiscus flowers.

Hibiscus tea is said to bring a lot of health benefits to the human body.  I am going to try sipping some hibiscus tea now.  Bunga raya tea, anyone?

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Camels

By Samantha W. (11 years old)

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

Hello, are you looking for information about camels?  You have just come to the right place.  Camels are one or two-humped mammals; they are not aliens with a thousand bumps on their bodies.

Camels can be found in Africa, Asia and Australia but you needn’t travel to the middle of a desert just to look for one.  Simply drop by your national zoo and you get to pet a tame camel or better still, ask for a ride.  That is certainly a lot more convenient than having to visit a desert, isn’t it?

A male camel is a bull and a female, a cow.  Not the one that says moo though.  In fact, camels make a rather funny noise which goes something like “Oooooooooohhhhhhh” but when they are angry, they growl.  A baby camel is called a calf and it has a lifespan of 40 years.

Camels live in herds and can stay in the desert for a long period of time without food or water.  Can you imagine any other animals or humans going without water for two weeks?  I will probably be quite dead by then but camels can survive because they store lots of food in their humps before they go on a long journey.  Truly, they must be the cleverest creatures on planet Earth.

Camels are good workers.  They carry human passengers and heavy loads across the desert.  A trip through a desert may take days or weeks and a bad-tempered owner might even take his anger out on his camels by whipping them for no apparent reason.   Camels have feelings too and they can also get tired from traipsing across the desert with the scorching sun beating down on their backs.  What if the camels give the brainless owner a taste of his own medicine?  I would say, “Yay!”

So camel owners, stop hurting your camels unless you want to walk in the desert on your own.  Be kind to your camels unless you wish to say goodbye to them.  Without you, they can easily survive on their own in the desert.

 

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Camels

By Angeline T. (8 years old)

Photo credit: blog.dinolingo.com

 

We can see a lot of camels in the deserts.  Deserts are hot and dry places but the camels can withstand the harsh climate.  Their long eyelashes prevent sand from getting into their eyes during a sandstorm.

Camels can go without water for long periods.  They drink lots of water which get stored in their humps before they embark on a journey.  I think that is pretty neat.  I don’t like drinking water.  My mother and grandmother are always reminding me to drink water every day.  I wish I have a big tank inside my body that can store water for a long time, just like the camels.  Then I only need to drink water once a month.

People use camels to carry things and themselves across the deserts.  If you wish for a camel ride, go visit the Sahara Desert.  Perhaps a kind camel owner might just let you have a free ride!

Related Article:

Camel Fun Facts for Children