O Lago de Estalo

Snaps Pond
Once upon a time there lived a crocodile named Snap. He was green and scaly, and had a long snout and lots of pointy, jagged teeth. He swam just below the surface of his pond, so that his big, beady eyes poked out of the water. This pond is my home, Snap said to himself. He didnt want anyone else coming to play in his pond. He thought it was his very own. Sometimes the flamingos would wade into the water on their long legs. Can we come into the pond for a while? But Snap would go snap! No! This is my pond, and I dont want any flamingos in it. Sometimes the big, round, hard shelled tortoises would come waddling up. Hey, Snap! Do you mind if we go sit in the corner of the pond, where the shallow water is? Snap snapped again, No, I dont want you cluttering up my pond! This is my special pond and only I can stay in it. Era uma vez um jacar que se chamava Estalo. Ele no era muito grande, mas seu nariz era bem longo e seus dentes pontudos e afiados. Ele nadava na superfcie de seu lago e seus olhos grandes e redondos ficavam para fora dgua.

Este lago o meu lar. Ele no queria que ningum mais brincasse em seu lago, pois achava que o lago era s dele.
s vezes os flamingos apareciam por ali com suas longas pernas: Podemos ficar aqui no lago um pouco? Mas Estalo respondia rspido: Nada disso! Esse lago meu, no quero flamingos por aqui. s vezes as grandes tartarugas redondas com suas cascas duras tambm apareciam. Ei, Estalo! Voc se importaria se ficssemos na margem do lago, onde a gua rasa? Ele com seu jeito rspido novamente: No, no quero ningum se amontoando no meu lago! meu lago especial e s eu posso ficar nele.

Snap made the other animals feel sad. He would even snap at the beautiful birds that would stop for a drink of water from the pond. He would scare them and they would fly away. It wasnt long before Snap began feeling lonely because nobody came around the pond anymore. Snap just swam by himself to one end of the pond, and then he would swim back. One day, he thought, Im going to explore the area and see what else is around. Soon he arrived at another pond. The pond was pretty small and the water was very murky, but it was full of animals! They were having so much fun. A chubby hippopotamus was rolling over and over in the mud. The tortoises were playing catch, chasing each other up and down the side of the pond. A bunch of tall, beautiful flamingos were standing and splashing in the water. Other beautiful, brightly colored birds fluttered around, interested to see what all the fun was about.

Estalo entristecia os outros animais. Ele at era rspido com os lindos pssaros que davam uma paradinha para beber da gua do lago. Ele os assustava e eles saam voando. No demorou muito at que Estalo comeou a se sentir sozinho porque ningum mais aparecia l no lago. Ele nadava sozinho de uma extremidade a outra do lago, e depois voltava. Certo dia ele pensou, vou explorar a regio e ver o que h ao redor. Logo chegou em outro lago. Era um lago bem pequeno de gua muito escura, mas cheio de animais! Eles se divertiam bastante. Um grande hipoptamo rolava na lama. Algumas tartarugas brincavam de pega-pega, descendo e subindo o lago. Um bando de lindos flamingos, altos e cor-de-rosa estavam l de p borrifando e brincando na gua. Tambm havia lindos pssaros coloridos voando ao redor, interessados em ver toda a diverso por ali.

Snap hid himself in a bush just outside the pond and watched everybody playing. They seemed to be having such a good time. Snap was afraid they might see him and send him away, like he had sent them away, so he soon crawled out of his bush and went scurrying back to his own pond. Snap sat in his pond all by himself. He felt very sad as he remembered all the animals that had tried to come and play in his pond, and how he had sent them away. Now he was very sorry. What can I do to get the animals to come and play in my pond? he thought.

Estalo se escondeu num arbusto do lado de fora do lago e observou todos a brincar. Eles pareciam muito contentes. Estalo teve medo de que o vissem e o mandassem embora, como ele fazia com os animais, ento saiu devargazinho dali e voltou para seu lago. Estalo ficou l sentado no seu lago sozinho. Ele se lembrava de todos os animais que tentaram vir brincar em seu lago e como ele os tinha mandado embora. Ele estava arrependido. Que posso fazer para os animais virem brincarem no meu lago? pensou ele. Estalo voltou at o outro lago. Assim que l chegou, colocou sua cabea para fora do arbusto deu uma grande mordida fazendo um barulho. Todos os animais ficaram arados. Lentamente olhavam um para o outro. Primeiro ficaram preocupados pensando: Oh, no! O que o Estalo vai nos dizer agora? Eles achavam que ele iria lhes dizer mais coisas rudes. Mas agora Estalo estava diferente: Oi, pessoal! Sinto muito se fui rude com vocs.Podem vir brincar no meu grande lago, se quiserem. Os animais se entreolharam. Gostamos da idia! disseram em coro.

Snap went waddling back over to the other pond. As soon as he got there, he stuck his head out of the bushes and went snap! All the animals stopped what they were doing. They slowly looked around. For a moment they were worried, and thought, Oh no! What is Snap coming to tell us now? They thought he might have more nasty things to say to them.
But Snap was different now. Hey, everybody! Im sorry that I was nasty to you. You can come and play in my big pond, if youd like. The animals all looked at each other. Wed like that! they all chorused.

Henry, the big hippo, went wob, wob, wob, wob as he wobbled over to the pond. Wow! Look at this mud hole! he exclaimed when he saw Snaps pond. The hole was two or three times as big as the mud hole in their old pond. Henry dove into it. Slosh! He slipped and slid around in the mud, and had so much fun. The four graceful flamingos were delighted to see so many fish. And as for the tortoises, they had a great time chasing each other up and down the pond. Snap sat on the side of the pond, happy to see all his new friends having so much fun. In the days that passed, more and more animals came by Snaps pond. Word had spread that it was the best pond in the area. Snap was very happy that he had learned to share, because when he shared, he was blessed with friends in return.

Henrique, o grande hipoptamo, bamboleou at chegar no lago. Puxa! Vejam s at este buraco na lama! exclamou ele quando viu o lago de Estalo. O buraco era duas ou trs vezes maior do que seu buraco na lama no antigo lago. Henrique caiu dentro dele. Splosh! Ele rolou e brincou na lama, e se divertiu muito. Os quatro graciosos flamingos ficaram deleitados ao ver tanto peixe. E quanto s tartarugas, elas se divertiram muito brincando de pega-pega no lago. Estalo sentou-se nas margens do lago, feliz de ver todos os seus novos amigos se divertirem tanto. Nos dias que se seguiram, mais e mais animais vieram ao lago de Estalo. Espalhou-se a notcia de que aquele era o melhor lago da regio. Estalo ficou muito feliz por ter aprendido a compartilhar, pois quando compartilhava, era recompensado com a beno de ter muitos amigos.

Crocodile jacar Snout nariz Surface superficie Pond lago Swam - nadava Flamingoes flamingos Tortoises tartarugas Hippopotamus hipoptamo Bush arbusto Lonely sozinho Murky - escura Nasty - rude Mud lama Share compartilhar

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Artwork/Original English version of this story Activated Kids! Magazine. Used with permission.