Tricky Jacky Spider

*original story by Luchie


Jacky was a little spider. She lived on the topmost portion of the gumamela plant with a ladybird, leaf beetle, three catterpilars and six grasshoppers. Though Jacky was an arachnid who got eight legs, she was friendly to the insects who only got six legs. jacky was very young and she liked playing tricks on the other insects. The other insects sometimes got cross with Jacky because of her tricks. Jacky's favourite trick was hiding from the other insects and then calling out and making them jump.

On Monday Jacky sneaked down into the top portion of their gumamela home when no-one was looking. She found a good place to hide and she waited for the ladybird. The ladybird was a brightly coloured flying beetle who had black spots which warned birds that it was not good to eat. Soon the ladybird came into the top portion of their gumamela home.Suddenly Jacky called out "Whissh!". The ladybird hopped in surprise.

The ladybird looked here.
The ladybird looked there.
But she couldn't find Jacky anywhere!

Jacky was very pleased that she had trick the ladybird, so on Tuesday she went to the middle portion of their gumamela home when no-one was looking. She found a good place to hide and she waited for the leaf beetle. The leaf beetle was a brightly coloured oval in shape insect. It had short legs and feed on leaves. Soon the leaf beetle came into the middle portion of their gumamela home. Suddenly Jacky called out "Whissh!". The leaf beetle flew up in surprise.

The leaf beetle looked here.
The leaf beetle looked there.
But she couldn't find jacky anywhere!

Jacky was very pleased that she had tricked the leaf beetle, so on Wednesday, she went to the lower portion of their gumamela home when no-one was looking. She found a good place to hide and she waited for the three catterpilars. The catterpilars were baby butterflies. They hatched out of tiny eggs and ate leaves non-stop. Soon the three catterpilars ccame into the lower portion of their gumamela home. Suddenly Jacky called out "Whissh!" The catterpilars wiggled in surprise.

The three cattepilars looked here.
The three catterpilars looked there.
But they couldn't find Jacky anywhere!

Jacky was very pleased that she had trick the three catterpilars, so on Thursday she went into the lowest portion of their gumamela home when no-one was looking. She found a good place to hide and she waited for the six grasshoppers. Grasshoppers were flying green insects and could hide easily in the grass. They had strong back legs to jump high into the air and get away from danger. Soon the grasshoppers came along the lowest portion of their gumamela home. Suddenly Jacky called out "Whissh!" The grasshoppers hopped high into the air in surprise.

The six grasshoppers looked here.
The three grasshoppers looked there.
But they couln't find Jacky anywhere!

Jacky was very pleased that she had managed to trick all the insects. So on Friday she crawled back into the topmost portion of their gumamela home to look for all her friends. Jacky looked around but she couldn't see her friends anywhere. Then suddenly the ladybird, the leaf beetle, the three catterpilars and the six grasshoppers all went together, "CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP!!!"

Jacky Spider stood quite still and listened.
Jacky looked here.
Jacky looked there.
But she couldn't find her friends anywhere!

Hilbert Hippo and Eddy Elephant

*original story


Hilbert Hippo is a happy hippo. He smiles all the times and of course a hippo smile is very big and wide.

Eddy Elephant, however, is very sad today. He has lost his best log, the one he likes to sit on, and juggle, and swing from side to side.

Hilbert goes down to the pond to drink. He wades out into the water and sits while beaming in the cool water.

Then Eddy goes down to the water too. He sits at the edge of the pool and big teardrops roll down his face.

"What is the matter?' asks Hilbert. "I do not take to see anyone looking so very sad."

"I have lost my log" says Eddy.

"There are lots of logs around here" says Hilbert.

"I know, but they are not the same" says Eddy.

"My log has lovely bobbly bits that make it easy to hold and a soft horny spot that is lovely to touch" Eddy sighs deeply.

"Hmmm" says Hilbert. "Actually I think I might be sitting on it. There is something underneath me that is very soft and mossy."

Hilbert stands up and out bobs Eddy Elephant's log.

It float gently across the water to him. Eddy is so thrilled. He squeaks with delight.

"Good. Now you can smile again" says Hilbert.

Eddy Elephant cuddles his log in his trunk with a smile that, if anything, is even wider than Hilbert Hippo's.

A Song For Little Cathy

*original story


Old Mother cat was singing to her baby:
"Meow, meow, meow.
Sleep my little one
Meow, meow, meow
Close you eyes and sleep."

But Little Cathy didn't want to sleep. her eyes were bright
and shining and she stared all around.

A dog was standing waiting for his master.He heard Mother Cat
singing and he saw Little Cathy's bright eyes.

"Old Mother Cat, he woofed, "Little Cathy will never sleep if you
make that horrible meowing noise. You must sing her a soft soothing song like this:
"Woof, woof, woof, woof..."

"Oh dear," said Old Mother Cat, "how foolish I am." She began to rock Little Cathy to sleep.
"Woof, woof, woof," she sang.
Little Cathy's eyes opened wide in surprise.

A rooster was climbing up the fence anxious for a new day. He heard Mother Cat
singing and he saw Little Cathy's bright eyes.

"Mother Cat, he cock-a-doodle-dooed, "Little Cathy will never sleep if you sing that way.
You must sing her a cheerful song like this:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo,cock-a-doodle-doo,cock-a-doodle-doo"

"Oh dear," said Old Mother Cat, "how foolish I am." She began to rockLittle Cathy to sleep.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo,cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo," she sang.
Little Cathy's eyes opened wide in surprise.

A bird was perched on a tree. She heard Mother cat singing and she saw
Little Cathy's bright eyes.

"Mother Cat, "Little Cathy will never sleep if you sing that way. You must sing her a sweet
and gentle lullaby. And the nightingale began to sing.

He sang of the quiet velvet night. And he sang of the twinkling evening star. he sang og the riddle of the tall bamboo tree. And he sang of the ripples of the river below.

The dog, the rooster, and Mother Cat listened, and there was a silver tear in Mother cat's eye.

"That was truly a wonderful song", she said as the bird bowed out and flew away. "I can never sing as wonderful as that." And the silver tear fell on Little Cathy's basket.

"Mother, mother", Little cathy called. Mother cat looked at Little cathy lying wide awake her eyes bright and shining. "Little Cathy," she said "when will you ever sleep?"

Little Cathy looked at her mother, "Sing me my own song. You have the most wonderful voice in all the whole wide world. Sing me my own song."

So Old Mother Cat sang:
"Meow, meow, meow
Sleep my little one
Meow, meow, meow
Close your eyes and sleep."

And Little Cathy closed her eyes and slept.

Corrie, the Conspiratorial caterpillar

*adapted from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle


Corrie, a young caterpillar, gained attention from her fellow catterpillars when she learnt how to make designs on every leaf she eats. She can make designs, like flower, star, heart and so on, by just nibbling the leaves. When she started showing off the leaves she nibbled with designs she made, the caterpillars adored her.

One day in the light of the moon, a new caterpillar was hatched in the nearby garden. This caterpillar named Laci, later learnt how to nibble leaves and make designs better than Corrie. Soon, she gained friends who happened to be Corrie's old friends.

Filled with envy, Corrie formulated a scheme. She decided to conspire with her ant friends.

On Monday, Corrie the conspiratorial caterpillar asked her ant friends to place sweets on Laci's garden to attract the red ants.

On Tuesday, the red ants smelled the sweets and went to Laci's garden.

On Wednesday, the caterpillars heard Laci shouting to the red ants to get out. They then crawled to Corrie's garden.

On Thursday, the red ants managed to make the other caterpillars fell ill by biting them.

On Friday, Corrie declared that Laci was the root cause of the red ants' migration to their garden.

On Saturday,Corrie spent her time designing a scheme how to attack Laci. While she was kept busy by her scheming, the rest of the caterpillars including Laci started to make a cocoon for their hibernation.

The next Sunday, the caterpillars nibbled their cocoons and became beautiful butterflies, Laci the fairest of them all.On the other hand, Corrie forgot to build a cocoon and she died a caterpillar, never ever fulfilled her dream of becoming a butterfly.

A Singapore Christmas Story

*adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl


Once upon a time.... a little Chinese girl tried to make a living by selling light up Christmas items in Orchard Road in Singapore.It was Christmas Eve and the streets were full of people from all walks of life. From brightly lit malls came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People were preparing for their own celebrations.

But the poor little streetseller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her blue jeans and baby t'shirt did not make her noticeable in the crowd. She had'nt sold any items all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. If only she could sell even one item.

She approached a young man, but he only said:"buon Natale".After hesitating for a long time, she approached the girl of her age, and the girl just nodded and said:"joyeux Noel" while handing out a crisp five dollar bill. She was filled with joy for at last she was able to sell . But her father made it clear to her that she needs to sell all 20 pieces.

She approached the group of people coming her way. She showed them the items but only one person bought an item, though all of them greeted her with "feliz Navidad."Then came a group of Japanese people and she approached them instantly with her Christmas light up items. They nodded happily, paid for 10 pieces and greeted her with "meri kurisumasu".

The little girl still had 10 items to sell and she was so hungry. She got no money to buy any food as her father expected her to give back $100 in all.She decided to walk farther to HMV so she can dispose the remaining 8 items, when she saw a Filipino family walking towards her. She hesitantly showed them her products. The young mother gladly showed her twin daughters the light up items and the twins gigled merrily. They bought all the remaining items and then greeted her with "MALIGAYANG PASKO!" The Chinese girl was so amazed of the sound that she asked what it meant in English.

When she learnt that it meant MERRY CHRISTMAS, she tried to say it that it sounded so cute. The family then invited the girl to eat Noche Buena in their Woodlands home. Upon seeing all the Christmas decors and the food on the table, the little girl was so filled with amazement and joy . She could not believe that Christmas celebration in other homes were a table full of food.

She then enjoyed with them in eating the sumptuous food.When it was time for her to go home,the little girl told them that she sold to other people and they also greeted her in their languages. But with them, Filipinos, they not only bought her items, they even invited her to eat, and that she will never forget all her life.

She then said thank you and repeated MALIGAYANG PASKO.

As it is Christmas time again, it is just an ordinary sight to see a Chinese lady in her own shop speaking in Tagalog saying MALIGAYANG PASKO to everybody.