The adventures of SpotsThe frozen avalanche

Hi, I am spots. Spots the dog. Or maybe Spots the famous dog! You know my last adventure with Pat and Dopey, right?

It was night and Pat, Dopey and Spots were chatting in Pat’s House. They were saying bye to Pat as it was winter and she was migrating. “Bye Pat, we are going to miss you!” chorused Spots and Dopey. “Bye guys!” said Pat. The next day Dopey felt grumpy as Pat wasn’t there to cheer him up. “No Pat and no adventure” he muttered.

“Why don’t we go out and play in the snow?” suggested Spots. “Good idea!” said Dopey brightening up.  “Yay!” squealed Dopey and Spots as they had a snowball fight. Suddenly Mr. John the police dog came running. “There is an avalanche coming in 5 minutes!” he shouted.

"Go back home! “Where should we go, we are stray?” Dopey asked Spots. “Pat’s house!” replied Spots.  “Run! That was close!” said Dopey once they’d reached. “What do you mean that was close, that was extremely close!”retorted Spots.“Seriously Dopes, did I have to pull you?”

“Why don’t we stop the avalanche?” said Dopey suddenly. “Bones and biscuits!” Have you gone mad? Shrieked Spots. “ Come on Spots,please?”said Dopey. “Fine” murmured  Spots.

But how? “Let’s think” replied Dopey. “I Know”! Spots jumped up. “ In our last adventure there was an old cat right?” “ Remember she gave me a wand? “Though nobody knew because it was a secret”. “ I know what you are thinking” interrupted Dopey. “ Let’s use the wand to stop the avalanche!” “Exactly” said Spots. “But we don’t know any magic spell” said Dopey doubtfully.

“We can ask Whiskers the magic witch cat” replied Spots. “Yeah, let’s go! So Dopey and Spots set off to Whiskers cottage. “Who is it?” called Whiskers.” Dopey and Spots” said Dopey timidly.

“Get in” said Whiskers. “Why are you here?”  she cackled.. “Make it fast”. “ You see we er um we” stammered Dopey.  “We need a spell that will stop the avalanche from coming” said Spots. “Let me see” said Whiskers picking up a book. “Meanwhile make sure that the magic cookies which I’m baking don’t get burnt okay Spots?” he said sternly. Spots did as he was told. After 10 seconds  Whiskers called Spots in. “So?” said Spots. “How do we do it?” “Think of your happiest memory” said Whiskers. “Then your saddest”. “That’s all?” asked Dopey. “No”. “Then wave your wand and say ‘Iscartem fisa’. “Got it?” “Yup” answered Spots. “Now get out of here!” ordered Whiskers.

“Wow!” That is one fierce cat!” exclaimed Spots outside. “ Ya, she gives me the heebeejeebees” agreed Dopey. “Now let’s go and freeze the avalanche!” squealed Spots. Dopey and Spots rushed to stop the avalanche.”I say Spots” said Dopey stopping to catch her breath, “Have  you read the latest Catty Potter?” “It’s about this wonderful wizard cat with his  friends Hermousnee  Granger and Rat Weasley”. “Dopey, there is NO time to talk about doggy joggy Potter!” said Spots. “The avalanche is coming in one minute!” And it surely was coming. So Spots and Dopey continued racing to the avalanche. Finally they reached, panting. “Perform the magic, Spots” urged Dopey. “Do it!” Spots thought of his happiest and saddest memories.  Then with confidence he said “Iscartem fisa”! The avalanche stopped. Then it slowly melted. “Yay!” squealed Dopey giving her friend a big hug. “ We would have been in danger if you hadn’t stopped the avalanche!” said Mr. John. The next day Pat was back. She was astonished when Spots &  Dopey told her everything! “I seriously wish I was there!” said Pat.

The three friends hugged with Spots clutching the magic wand tightly in his hand. 

Is too much Cricket making us less smart?

Has Sachin hit his 100th century yet? Will Bangalore Royal Challengers win the IPL cup?

Good morning, I’m Pratya from class 4E and my topic is ‘Are minds of people getting eroded due to present state of competitiveness in the game of Cricket?’

Yes, I believe so. All of us love to watch cricket. But some people go crazy about it and lose focus on other things. So, minds of people are getting eroded due to the game of Cricket.

Let’s look at some examples to prove this point. Do you remember the World Cup? Of course you do! Everyone was excited about it. We were all delighted that India won. Our minds got on that event and we couldn’t stop talking about it. This was certainly a distraction. Children can lose track of studies if they only think about Cricketers. Also, if we read only the Cricket section in the daily newspaper, we won’t know about other important things going on around us. We won’t even be able to enjoy other fun things like Books if we keep dreaming about Cricket! Sometimes, Cricket distracts us so much that we get tensed about the matches. A few children say “Teacher, I couldn’t do my homework because I was busy watching the world cup!” For example, my brother always says “Can’t I go out and play Cricket instead of staying inside the house?!

I’m not saying that Cricket is all bad. It keeps us fit and healthy if we play it. It’s also a great entertainment to watch Dhoni hit sixers! It gives us an opportunity to show our patriotism for our country. Cricket can also teach us math through adding scores, angle of bowling, etc. It shows us great teamwork.

However, if Cricket is all we play, watch, and talk about, we won’t learn anything else. And that will definitely erode our minds because our minds grow by learning new things. In conclusion, we all love cricket but we should have limits. We should only watch important matches and use the remaining time for other activities. That will keep our minds sharp.

That said, Go RCB!

Thank you!!

Pratya,4E

The Adventures of Spots: The Mystery of the Missing Ring

By: Pratya
Three words: Dog, Cat, Bird
Word-giver: Natasha

There was once a dog named Spots. He lived in Paris and was a stray. He had 2 friends Dopey the kitten and Pat the parrot. “Hey Pat how are you?” asked Spots. “Fine!” replied Pat with a grin. “Guess what Dopey did this time!?” said Pat. “She acted like a crazy dog and licked everything she saw! There is Dopey! What’s going on Dope?” asked Spots. ”I am waiting for another adventure” replied Dopey.

Before Pat could say anything Mr. John the police dog came running by. "What happened Mr. John?" asked Spots politely. “Polly the parrot dropped her ring somewhere” replied Mr. John hurriedly. I need to sniff it out! “Guys, we need to help Polly, meet at the bus stop at 11:30”said Pat. Bye! First we need to find out where Polly went today thought Spots. He found a piece of chicken and gobbled it up.

When it was 11:30 the animals met. “Let’s investigate!”squealed Dopey. “No, first we need to split up” said Pat firmly. “Dopey and I will go to the road and start searching. Spots can ask Polly a few questions.” “Sure!” said Spots. Spots ran to Polly’s house. “Who is it?” called Polly. Me, Spots! “Come in”. “So why did you come here?” asked Polly. “To ask you a few questions” replied Spots. “Be fast, I need to take my babies to flying classes!” hurried Polly. “Where were you when you lost the ring?” inquired Spots. “In Squawky rainforest” answered Polly.” Bye I need to take my babies! “ Squawky rainforest” Spots murmured to himself as he went to meet Pat and Dopey. “Hi Spots!” said Pat. “Found anything? Yup! Spots told them about the rainforest. Did you find anything?” asked Spots. “No” said Dopey. “Except, Dopey thought that a snake was some yarn to play with” added Pat. “Patricia!”

“Here’s mom calling, I need to, bye!” said Pat.

“Why don’t we search in squawky rainforest?”suggested Dopey. “We need Pat as a guide” reminded Spots. Dopey yawned. “Goodnight!” said Spots. Both of them curled up and were soon fast asleep.

“Wake up sleepy heads!” screeched Pat in the morning, “we got work to do!” “Ready!” said Dopey and Spots. “Well, let’s get going to Squawky rainforest!” said Spots. “It’s such a long distance” protested Dopey. “Mary the flying horse is going to take us” replied Pat. At that moment Mary the flying horse appeared in front of them. “Get on” she said.

The friends had a wonderful adventure flying on the horse. “Cool!” said Dopey when they reached. “Spots! Sniff under the bushes, Dopy! Search on the ground” Pat ordered “I’ll check in the trees”. The friends searched and searched but the ring was nowhere to be found. “I guess we should come tomorrow” panted Spots, her tongue hanging out. “Certainly” said Pat. “There is Pamela” said Dopey. “Hey Pam!” called Spots. “Dopy told me that you guys were going to find Polly’s ring” said Pam. “Got anything?” “No, we are coming back tomorrow” replied Pat. “Come to my house kennel. We’ll have a few biscuits” said Pam. “Sure! I’m starving” moaned Dopey.

It was soon 6:00 in the morning. Spots didn’t feel like snoozing, so he went for a little walk. “Hey there!” Rosy the cat called. “I gave birth to a new kitten!”. “What did you name him” asked Spots. “Mewsie”.

Suddenly, there was a yelp. Mewsie had fallen in the pool. “Mewsieeee” squealed Rosey. Spots dived into the pool. He caught hold of the little kitten and she was saved. “I don’t know how to thank you!” exclaimed Rosey. “My pleasure” said Spots with a grin. Soon Dopey and Pat joined him. “What’s up” asked Pat. Spots told them. “Good for you buddy!” said Dopey with a grin. “Now let’s go to the rainforest”. “What about Mary?” asked Spots. “She’s too busy, so we’ll have to walk” said Pat.

On the way, they met an old cat. She stopped them and pointed at Spots. “O O O oo say moosy” “What?” said Dopey confused. “She’s saying that Spots saved Mewsie” explained Pat. “Moosy e ma gadotre”. “Mewsie is my granddaughter” repeated Spots. “I gee sommy ee reta” said the cat. “She’s going to give Spots something in return” said Dopey delighted.

The old cat rummaged in her purse and pulled a ring out. “That’s Polly’s ring!” said Spots excited. “Yay! We found the ring!” said Dopey delighted. “Did you steal it?” Pat asked suspiciously. “Me fa the rafa” said the cat. “She found it in the rainforest” said the friends. “Polly would never have found the ring if you hadn’t saved Mewsie!” said Dopey giving her friend a big hug.

“Thank you so much!” exclaimed Polly. “It was nothing” said Spots modestly, “couldn’t have done it without Pat, Dopey, and of course the cat”. “Tha Ku” said the cat.

Can you guess what she said?



THE END

The Tri-Sport Tournament

Three words:Football, Cricket, Hockey
Word-giver: Devanshu

Chapter 1. Introducing Mr. Nithin

There was once a boy named Nithin. He was extremely clever and good in sports. His 3 favorite sports were cricket, football, and hockey. He lived in Mumbai with his sister (Nitya), mom, dad and his little poodle' Tinker'.

Exciting news!
One day Nithin's teacher announced that there was to be a sports match between the girls and boys of 4th grade! What are the sports? asked Tara. "Cricket, football and hockey." replied the teacher. "Yaaaaay!" shouted the boys. "Booooo!" squealed the girls. "Pack your bags everyone" said the teacher.


Chapter 2. Preparation

Nithin excitedly discussed about the matches with his friends. "Cricket is tomorrow" said Ria. Girls rule! shrieked Nitya. "Very funny"muttered Nithin. They soon reached. Tinker barked excitedly when he saw Nithin and Nitya. " Sorry Tinks, we have to practice Cricket" said Nitya patting the poodle on the head. "Ask dad to play Fetch with you" added Nithin.

Nitya and a few girls started practicing. The boys also did. "I'm tired" panted Nitya after an hour and scoring 40 runs. The children went home pleased with their work. "Wuff wuff!" Tinker greeted them. Nitya got some food and freshwater for Tinker while Nithin gave him a wash. Then both of them had their dinner and went to bed. Nithin dreamt of winning the sports cup. Soon it was morning. The children brushed their teeth and combed their hair. They ran to catch the bus. Soon the match began.

Chapter 3. The Cricket Match
 The girls batted first. "Come on Nitya!" shouted Ria. Nitya gracefully hit a six and ran. "Six runs!" said the umpire. Sonia batted next and scored 4 runs. "Come on boys!" groaned Pranav. Next Adya batted and was out as Nithin caught the ball. "Good job!" said Pranav. Nithin grinned. "Nithin catches the ball and Adya is out!" shorted the umpire. Next Tanya batted and scored 20 runs. "Awesome Tanya!" said Sonia. All girls got a chance. They were good. Soon every girl was out. "The girls totally made 70 runs!" shouted the umpire.

Then the boys batted. Everyone batted well. Pranav scored 20 runs. "Awesome Pranav!" said Nithin. Next Rahul batted. He scored 10 runs. Finally, only Nithin was left. "Come on Nithin!" screamed Vedarth, "You can do it!" chorused the boys in unison. Adya spinned the ball. Nithin swiftly hit the ball. "Sixer!" shouted the boys. But unfortunately Nithya gave a leaping jump and caught the ball! "Nitya! Nitya! Nitya!" chorused the grils. "It's an Out! The girls team wins by 2 points!" shouted the umpire.

The boys sadly walked away. "Yaaay!" shrieked the girls. "We rock'n rule!". "It's okay, it's just a game" said Nithin soothingly. "We have football to look forward to" said Pranav who could not bear to lose. Meanwhile the girls were still yelling. "How can we lose!? we have been playing longer than the girls have been!" exclaimed Rahul. "There is Ginny" said Vedarth. Ginny was a bright student who loved challenges. She was kind and the most popular person in class. "Hi guys! I'm really sorry you lost" said Ginny. "It's ok, we are sure we're going to beat you up in football" said Nithin bravely. "All the best" said Ginny with a wink. "Yaay!" the girls shouted meanwhile. "Unusual girl, that Ginny is" muttered Rahul. "Home time!" shouted the teacher.

Chapter 4. Uh oh for Ginny!

Nithin went to find Nitya. He expected to see her with a group of girls. Instead she was sitting in a corner crying. "Nitya, what happened?" Nithin exclaimed. "Ginny slipped in the girls bathroom. She fractured her leg!" "Really?!" Nithin was shocked. He spread the news to the class. They were all sorry for poor Ginny. When Nithin and Nitya reached home, they told their mom about Ginny and Cricket. She immediately rang up Ginny's mom to see if Ginny was OK. She was in the hospital. Then Nithin's mom congratulated Nitya and kissed Nithin on his head. "Do better next time!" she said. Now Tinker perked up his ears when he heard the name Ginny. He was a "Ginny Fan" and wanted to help her somehow. So he started to think.

In the morning, Nithin got a mail from Ginny. It said "I don't know who is going to take my place n the football team. You know how much I like that sport! - Ginny". Nithin told everyone about the mail. Then they started practicing football. Tinker watched the girls. Suddenly he got a brainwave! He would disguise himself as a girl! Then he could play in the team. Ok, he will need to practice. So he asked to Nitya in doggy language. Nitya agreed. So he played. The boys laughed seeing Tinker play football.

Chapter 5. Tinker saves the day

The next day, Tinker collected everything he could fine, like an old ribbon, rubber bands, and clips. Then he asked Goldie the clever bird next door to help him look like a girl. Goldie at once helped him. Tinker also practiced walking like a human being.

"Tomorrow is the football match" announced Nitya. "Let's see who wins!" said Nithin. "We still need someone to take Ginny's place" complained Nitya. Tinker at once started practicing football when he heard the name Ginny. Then he quickly pretended to sleep when Nithin looked.

The next day, the match began. Tinker walked to Nitya and showed her that he wanted to be in the team. "Girls!" called Nitya, "new member!". None of the girls guessed that it was old Tinker. Tinker was very pleased that he could help Ginny. "Aren't you excited, Tara?" asked Ria. 'I would rather fly on a broomstick with Harry Potter" said Tara who was a Harry Potter fan. 'Ready girls?" Nitya asked. "Tara, that old stick is not a wand!".

The match started. First the boys scored 2 goals. Then the girls caught up and scored 3 goals. Nithin kicked the ball in the net but unfortunately it was saved by Niketa the goal keeper. Soon both the teams got 19 goals. "Last point wins!" said the umpire. Then Tinker tackled Vedarth and passed the ball to Tara. "This is a snitch" said Tara. "Whatever a snitch is we don't care, just shoot!" shrieked Tanya. Tara passed the ball to Tinker who shot the ball right into the goal! "Girls win!" screamed the umpire. "Awesome!" the girls told Tinker.
"We win!  by the way can I call you Tinker? you look exactly like my dog!"

Meanwhile the boys didn't care whether they lost of won."Did you know that, even if you win hockey, girls win the sports cup?" exclaimed Ria. "I don't care!" shouted Nithin. Something told Nithin that the boys would certainly win the sports cup. Even though he was angry with the girls for winning, he phoned Ginny and told her about the match. She was delighted. Meanwhile tinker was happily licking everything he saw.

The next day, Ginny was back. Her classmates greeted her warmly. "Where is this person who made our team win?" Ginny demanded. "She is from another school and we didn't take her address" replied Charity. "Great!" muttered Ginny.

Chapter 6. The Grand Finale!
 
In the evening, the boys started practicing. The girls thought they would easily win and didn't practice. Tara read Harry Potter while Ginny, Sonia, Nitya, Ria, and Charity played handball. The boys practiced hockey for 2 hours and went home panting.

The next day was the match. Nithin and Nitya brushed their teeth, combed their hair, and ran to catch the bus. When the reached, the match started. "The team that gets 20 points wins!" screamed the umpire. Nithin tried tackling Ria but she passed the ball to Charity. Charity got tackled by Pranav but Ginny tackled him and shot a goal. "Yay!" said the girls. Then Tara was tackled by Nithin who shot a goal. Nitya tried to shoot by Rahul was too quick for her passed the ball to Vedarth who short  agoal. At the end, the score was 19 all. Nithin hit a hard beautiful shot and it was a goal!!!! "Yay!" yelled the boys patting Nithin on the back. "We won 2 matches" protested Ria. "Shh! Principal is approaching!" said Sania.

"Good morning children" said the principal pleasantly. "You have all done excellent in the sports. The girls have won 2 matches. I can see the boys have determinedly played well. I'm happy to announce that the boys win the cup! They win because they did not give up!"  "Yahooooooooo" shrieked the boys kissing the cup.



THE END

Interactive Experiences

(Elocution topic for Shilp Encounter, August, 2011, written by Pratya)

Hi, I’m Pratya from class 4E. My topic today is Interactive Experiences. I will describe interactions in a family and at the hospital.

We have several interactions within our families. Let’s first look at how my family interacts to make an important decision.  I want a pet dog and I tell that to my Mom at dinner table. She replies “Dogs are dirty. You are too young to take care of one”. My brother says “I’m scared that the dog will drool on me and bite my hand”. Then dad says “we will get a small puppy and all of us will take care of it”. Finally mom agrees to get a dog for my next birthday. This is one interaction I really enjoyed!

Such things keep cropping up in our family. We talk, discuss, argue, and show love. Like, “are you feeling well dear?” mom asks if I’m looking dull. You can always interact with your parents about your problems and they help you solve them.

Some interactions go on about a particular topic. You can discuss with your parents about what happens at the school. Parents and siblings are like our best friends, they are curious to know how we spent our day.

Sometimes, you fight with your siblings about certain things. I say, “Let’s watch Harry Potter on TV”. My little brother Rohan says “I want Tom and Jerry! Harry Potter is scary”. Of course I know that he is wrong! So we get into an argument and then we try to negotiate. I tell him about Harry Potter and now he wants to watch it with me. We also crack jokes and talk about humorous things that happened.

We also interact with our extended families. We interact with our cousins about what games to play and what gifts they got. Our aunts and uncles ask us what birthday gifts we want. We ask our grandparents “How are you?” They say “Are you taking care of your parents?” Then we start telling them about the big events at school and they tell us about what happened when our parents were young. It is a lot of fun to interact with grandparents; they are full of love and lessons.

I recently came to know that I can interact with my father even when he is traveling! I send him an email telling him that we miss him. This makes him really happy and he immediately calls us on the phone.

Next, let us look at interactions at a hospital. When we go to the hospital, we first give our name to the person at the front desk. After sitting in the waiting room for a long time, the doctor calls us in. We tell her our problems. She interacts with us and figures out what is bothering us, like fever, flu etc. Then she gives us medicines telling us how to use them. While giving injections she asks questions to take our mind off it. She tells us good items to eat when sick. The nurses usually check our weight and height to see how we are growing up. I used to think that hospitals are all about painful injections, but these interactions make the visits fun!

In summary, things happen smoothly in the world because of interactions between people. It is important for us to learn how to interact nicely with different people in various environments. I hope you enjoyed this little interaction at Shilp Encounter!

Somu learns a lesson

By: Pratya
Three words: Hurt, Cry, Happy
Word-giver: Aryan, Vidyashilp


There was once a boy called Somu. He was 10 years old and lived in Mumbai. He was a bit selfish, mean, and thought the world of himself.

"Somu, you need to do the math sums your math teacher gave you," Somu's mom called, "and the 15 line essay". "Whatever!" Somu thought. He did only 3 sums in math and 4 ines of the essay. And his hand was paining! "I feel like I wrote 150 lines!" he murmured.

Aryan was Somu's "follower", not "friend". He was very timid and shy, and was rather small for his age.
"Hi Somu!" said Aryan shyly.
"Respect your majesty," Somu shouted.
"Why should we?" a girl named Tanvi shrieked.
Somu went and gave her an angry look. They glared at each other and walked away.

When Somu went home, his mom told him that the next day was Aryan's birthday. Somu was excited.
The next day, his father drove him to Aryan's house. "Have fun!" he said and left. The boys had a lot of fun. They played Cricket and traded Cricket Attax cards. Aryan got a Gold Sachin! Somu was green with envy.

"This is such a dumb party!" he blurted out.

"This is the best part I've been to!" said Rahul immediately.

Somu charged towards him. Instead, he slipped in a puddle nearby. He started to cry. The boys walked away laughing. "Coward!" a boy smirked. Only Aryan was kind to Somu. He put a bandage on Somu's wound. Somu was very grateful. From then on he was a much kinder boy, ready to help anyone. He had many friends but his best friend was Aryan. As for Aryan, he was a very brave boy in life. The two made a good pair and lived happily ever after.

THE END

The Lively Hallows

By: Pratya
Three words: Brothers who always fight
Word-giver: Arya, Vidyashilp Academy

There were once two brothers Vikram and Vinay. Both of them were kind, hardworking, respectful, and smart. They were 7 years old and lived in a nice house.

Now, one day, as they were walking to the park, they found a beautiful stone. "That stone is so pretty!" Vinay exclaimed. "Let's crack it and keep one half" said Vikram sensibly. They tried several times but it was of no use. Vikram shrieked "I want it Now!". Vinay shouted "You'll surely not get it!" Both of them hurriedly raced to the pretty stone. Surprisingly, the stone suddenly disappeared! Vinay and Vikram were shocked. They glared at each other, turned on their heels, and ran home.

The next day, they were walking to school. A beautiful horse passed by. It had brown eyes and a shiny black coat. Remember the previous day's experience, they kept quiet. But neither of them could resist temptation. They both rushed to grab hold of her, but she vanished! Vikram and Vinay were very puzzled. They went home thinking.

The third day, they saw a Silver gleaming sword. "I can feel it is made right for me!" said Vinay delightfully. Vikram snorted. They both ran towards it. But unfortunately it vanished! Vikram looked around suspiciously.

The next, they met a saint. They asked him about the stone, horse, and the sword.

"You foolish boys! In this world, we do things to help everyone. The stone for curing, the horse for rescuing, and the sword for protecting. Don't judge a book by its cover. You wanted these things for their looks and not to help others, that's why you could not get them."

The brothers were quite taken aback. They went home guiltily. From then on, they changed their behavior when they saw some attractive things. Can you guess how they changed?






THE END Moral: Don't judge things by their appearance. Think about how they can be useful.

Did you like the story? Please leave a comment below for me. Better, give me three new words!