I am an old, shabby storybook. I have become dirty and dog-eared. I am handled very roughly by my present owner. How I wish for the old days when I was a slender pine tree in a mountain forest! The breeze blew softly through me. The birds sat on me and sang sweetly. I was very happy then.

One sad day, I was cruelly felled by workmen. I was then taken to a paper-mill. My soft wood was crushed and made into thin sheets of paper. As paper, then I was transported to a printing press. Here a story was printed on me and many lovely pictures were printed too, to illustrate the story.

My companions and I were sent to a large bookshop. A poor man bought me for his sick child. The child was delighted to have me. He spent many hours in my company. He turned over my pages very carefully. He handled me with loving care.

Alas! This happy life did not last long! One of the child's friends stole me. He took me home. He threw me about and handled me very roughly. I became dirty and shabby. My pages became dog-eared. Now I must spend the rest of my life with this cruel boy. How unhappy I am!

Myself

By D. Abrahamy (Grade 2), St. Bridget's Convent

My name is Abrahamy. I'm six years old. I live in Kandana. My father and my mother are teachers.
I am the only child to my parents. I study at St. Bridget's Convent. I am in Grade Two. My favourite subject is Maths. My hobby is reading English storybooks. I would like to be a doctor one day.

My loving parents

By Aneeka Kamal (9 years), Ilma International Girls' School

My parents are like gold to me. They take care of me very well. They teach me the best that they can and they help me in my extra-curricular activities. They treat me well. I am the second child in my
family and the only girl. My parents are really worth to me.

My mother's name is Fathima. She is a housewife. She cooks us tasty food. She was a prefect in her college. My father's name is Kamal. He completed his education at Colombo Campus. He is a manager of a medical company. He can draw very well. He has been to Saudi, Qatar, Riyadh and Dubai.
They are the best parents. I love them very much and they love me too. May Allah bless them!

Cowboys and the Wild West

By Anil Pandithakoralege (9 years), St. Peter's College, Colombo 4

Cowboys are the ones who look after cattle. They live in the United States of America. The grasslands where they keep cattle are called ranches. They wear chaps and shirts. Since it is hot in the daytime they wear hats and tie bandanas around their necks.

They ride on horses and are good horsemen. Every cowboy carries a rope called a lasso. Their weapons are revolvers and knives. Bad cowboys engaged in crimes in west America. There are legends and films based on Wild West stories.

My best friend

By Aritha Rodrigo (8 years), Lyceum International School, Nugegoda

My best friend is Azeem who is seven years old and is in Grade Three. He lives in Katubedda. He has a brother whose name is Akeel.

He likes to eat ice-cream and to drink orange juice. He plays lots of games with me. He is a very funny friend. I like my friend and he likes me too.

My pet

By Nimeth De Silva (Grade 4), Nalanda College

My pet is a parrot. I picked him up when he fell from a tree. He had a broken wing. I put him in a cage but he was very sad.

After two weeks I let him go. Now he comes to see me. He sits on a tree near my house and sings. He is still my pet.

Sri Lanka Oh Sri Lanka

By Amaan Kulatunga (Grade 5), British School in Colombo

Colombo is a lush town with amazing shops and outstanding schools. The beaches glisten and the
sapphire seas are breath-taking. The jewellery shops are amazing; the rubies are red as blood and the diamonds glisten.

But behind the beaches and the jewels there are lands rippling with ancient stapes and temples. After all we can't forget Yala or Udawalawe, the best wildlife parks in Sri Lanka. The leopards eyes glisten and the elephants are as black and big as a huge black boulder.

The hotels in Colombo are crowded and almost everyday there are different bands playing everywhere. The food is tasty and now Colombo has almost all the food in the whole of Asia. There is
traditional food, eastern food and even western food.

The clothes shops are full of colourful materials and comfortable silk gowns. There are lots of clothes factories and Pettah sells lots of different clothes. Odel is one of the biggest shopping centers in Sri Lanka.

There are juicy food bars, lovely clothes and yummy sweets and lots more there. The mountains up in Matale are beautiful and are very good for exploring, sight seeing and bird watching. You should come soon if you want to see this amazing landscape and don't forget to bring clothes for all these terrains you will have to face.

My school

By Akindu Karunaratne (Form 2), S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia

My school is S. Thomas' College. It is situated in Mount Lavinia, by the sea. There are many teachers in our school. It is a leading boys' school in Sri Lanka. We have a large playground, a big swimming pool and many classrooms.

My school flag is blue, black and blue. The college motto is 'Esto Perpetua.' It means 'Be thou forever.' Our first warden was Bishop Chapman. I am proud of my school.

Trees

By Oshadha Balasuriya (Grade 4), D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo

Trees are very useful to us. They give us shade. They give us fruits and flowers. They give us medicine. They beautify the nature. They purify the air. We must not cut down trees. We must grow more and more trees.

My double surprise

By Ashfa Rasmy (Grade 3), Greenwood International School, Matale

I had two surprises in my life. The first one was when I won a prize for the best handwriting, organized by Richard Company. One Friday when I came home from school I saw a parcel on the table. I was surprised to see my name on it. I gave it to my father to open it, and I was overjoyed see a pack of Richard exercise books.

I showed it to my grandparents. They were very happy. The next surprise was when I saw my article about my grandmother in the Funday Times. The surprise was doubled when I saw my article put on the school notice board, when I went to school the next morning.

Our principal came to my class and wished me and praised me. The teachers too were very happy. A very big thank you to the Funday Times.

The musical show

By Senadie Uluwattage, (8 years), Southlands College, Galle

We went to a musical show last Sunday. Its name was, ‘Sandakadapahana’ The singer's name was Sunil Edirisinghe. It was held in the University Auditorium. It was beautiful and amazing. There were lots of people in the show.

There were musicians who were playing instruments such as violins, flutes, guitars, keyboards, sitar and tabla. The singer sang beautifully. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed it a lot.

Christopher Columbus

From our overseas reader - Mihan Rathninde (8 years), Eastern Elementary School, USA

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He was planning to go to the West Indies but a wind blew him off course.

His crew sailed for months and months. The crew said, "We will have to throw you overboard." Christopher told them to be patient. Christopher had three ships called the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. A few days later the ships reached land.

The crew looked for people who might live there. Christopher found some interesting people who looked like Indians. He communicated with them in sign language. He named this new place Central America.

Christopher brought five Indians back to show the queen. She was amazed to see such interesting people. After the queen died, the king didn't let Christopher go to Central America again. But Christopher
didn't listen, so the king put him in jail.

At the age of 80, Christopher died.

My family

From our overseas reader - Nethaka Amarakoon (6 years) St. South Port Joys Play School, Australia

My father is a doctor. My mother is a doctor too. Mother does not work now as my sister is small.
I go to school. I am six years now. We will go to Sri Lanka for our holidays.

A pen speaks

By Thyaga Weraniyagoda (Form 11) , Leeds International School, Galle

My head is a nib,
My hat is a clip,
Not like you,
My blood is blue.

My hometown, a
bookshop,
Where we were locked up,
One by one my siblings,
Day by day had ending.

Once a little boy,
Put me in his pocket,
He used me to write,
But plays with my hat.

He sucks my tail,
Tramples me if I fall,
When my blood is over,
He will throw me out.

My school

By Zaynah Haris (Grade 7) Mahmud Ladies' College, Kalmunai

My school is Km/Mahmud Ladies' College. It was established on January 5, 1971. It is located in the Ampara district. Our principal is Mr. M.Y. Uthuman Ali.

There are 130 teachers and 2673 students in my school. It has classes from Grade 1 to Grade 13 and it has bilingual classes from Grade 6 to Grade 13. The main medium of instruction here is Tamil. English medium classes are conducted in Primary and Senior Secondary classes.

There are 210 students from various parts of the country, staying in the girls' hostel. This college which has been one of the leading schools not only in the province, but also in the island has won the International School Award during the year 2006 to 2009 and it was awarded to our school by dint of our best educational performances and the co-curricular activities.

A number of students who received their education at this college have become doctors, engineers, lawyers and many other professions. I like my school very much.

My favourite sport

By Pevinya Peiris (9 years), Visakha Vidyalaya

My favourite sport is chess. There are two players to play chess. There are sixty-four squares on the chess board. The game finishes on the checkmate. I began in 2006. My chess master's name is Anushka.

It is a very important game. My father bought a chess board. My brother can play chess very well. He has a chess board too. I can play chess very well.

My school has a chess team. My school chess team has seven girls. I like to play chess. My friends also like to play chess. My school has a chess club. Chess is a world sport.