THE MAGIC WISHING-TREE

by Donald Bisset

There was a magic tree in the garden. If any person stood beneath the tree and
wished something the wish would come true.

A fat old man lived next to the tree house. His name was William Smythe. He
sold soap in a shop in the village. He didnt like girls and boys.

One day he stood under the tree and said: I wish all the girls and boys who live
near me were on the moon!

As soon as he said it all the girls and boys were on the moon. All the birds in the
tree stopped singing. A blackbird looked down at Mr. Smythe and said: I wish all
the children were back again!. And the children were back again!

Mr. Smythe repeated his wish and the children were on the moon again. The
blackbird repeated its wishThe children didnt know where they were.

Mr. Smythe opened his mouth but the blackbird said very quickly: I wish Mr.
Smythe was good.

And he became kind and good. He said: I wish all the children would come to
tea this afternoon, and well have cakes and orange jelly and lemonade for tea. And
Ill stop selling soap and open a sweet shop instead; and Ill let everybody call me Bill
Smith. Hooray!
 HOW THE LEOPARD GOT HIS SPOTS

by Joseph Rudyard Kipling

Long time ago many animals lived in the desert. There was sand everywhere. The
desert was sandy, yellow and brownish. And all the animals were of such colours. It
was easy for the leopard to hunt the animals because he ran quickly and was as
yellow and bright as sand. He was not hungry.

The giraffe, the zebra and the antelope were afraid of the leopard. They ran of
the desert. There were no animals there.

The leopard was hungry and angry. He came to the baboon for a piece of
advice. He advised the leopard to go to the forest. And the Leopard did so. He came
to the forest and saw much green, grey, black with spots and stripes. An Ethiopian
who was hunting in the forest said that the colour of the leopardss skin was very
bright for the forest.

The Ethiopians skin was black. The giraffe had many brown spots and could
not be seen in the shadow of the trees. The zebra had many stripes and looked like a
striped shadow. The antelope could not be seen in a distance. So they could see the
sandy-brownish leopard in the forest very well.

The Ethiopian wanted to help the leopard and gave him some black colour
with his fingers. The leopard got many spots an became as a spotty shadow in the
forest. Since then the leopard was not hungry, he had so much food in the forest.
 THE PIG WHO TRIED TO FLY

by Donald Bisset

Once upon a time a pig ran by the Wishing- Well. I want to fly!

He wished with all his heart that he could fly. You can fly if you want to. But I will
change you into a bird!

But I want to be a pig that flies!

Pigs cant fly!

The pig was very sad. He walked home. He wondered what he could do to be
able to fly. Next morning he went to the forest. He asked the birds to give him some
feathers.

Are you going to fly?

He tied the feathers together to make wings.

He climbed to the top of the hill near the sea. A cat and a rat, a frog and a dog
came to watch him. He waved the wings and rose into the air.

He was happy. All animals cheered, too.

That Wishing-Well was wrong. Pigs can fly!

He flew so close to the sun that it burnt his wings. They fell down in flames.
The pig fell down into the sea. Splash! Never mind! You did fly. I like you the best
as you are! said his mother. I love you as you are!
 The man gave him some bricks, and the little pig built a nice little house. Soon the
wolf came up to the house. He knocked at the door and said:
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"No, no!" -the little pig answered.
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
But the wolf could not blow the house down because it was made of bricks.

Part II
The wolf had to think of some other way to get the little pig, so he said:
"Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips."
"Where?" asked the little pig.
"In Mr. Smith's field. At six tomorrow morning I'll call for you and we'll go together
and get some turnips for dinner."
But the little pig got up at five o'clock and got the turnips before the wolf
came.
The wolf was very angry, but he still wanted to get the little pig, and he said:
"Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple-tree with ripe apples on it."
"Where?" asked the little pig.
"Down at Merry-garden. I'll call for you at five o'clock tomorrow morning and we'll
go and get some apples."
But the little pig got up at four o'clock and went to Merry-garden, He was still
up in the tree, when he saw the wolf was coming. The little pig was very frightened.
And the little pig threw an apple as far away as he could. While the wolf was
hurrying to pick it up, the little pig jumped down out of the tree and ran home.
The next day the wolf called again, and said to the little pig:
"Little pig, there is a fair at Shanklin this afternoon.
And the little pig went off early, as before, and bought a butter churn at the
fair. On his way home, he saw the wolf on the road. He did not know what to do, so
he got inside the churn. Then the churn began to turn over, and it rolled down the
 THE GINGERBREAD MAN
Folk Tale

Part I
Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman, and they lived in
a little old house. They hadn't any children, so one day the little old woman made
herself a little boy out of gingerbread. She put him in a tin in the oven to bake.
When it was time to take the Gingerbread Boy out of the oven, the
Gingerbread Boy jumped on to the floor, and ran out down the road.
The old man and woman ran after him, but he ran faster than they, and
shouted:
"Run! Run! as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
And they couldn't catch him.
The little Gingerbread Boy ran on till he came to a cow. The cow was eating
grass. "Stop!" said the cow. "I want to eat you."
The little Gingerbread Boy laughed and said:
"I have run away from a little old woman, and a little old man,
And I can run away from you, I can!"
As the cow ran after him, he looked back and cried:
"Run! Run! as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
And the cow couldn't catch him.
The little Gingerbread Boy ran on till he came to a horse in a meadow.
"Stop, little Gingerbread Boy," said the horse. "I want to eat you."
The little Gingerbread Boy laughed and said:
"I have run away from a little old woman, and a little old man,
And a cow. And I can run away from you, I can!"
As the horse ran after him, he looked back and cried:
 As soon as the fox reached the bank of the river, his teeth snapped at the
Gingerbread Boy!
"Oh, I'm a quarter gone!" said the little Gingerbread Boy.
"Oh, I'm half gone!" he said a minute later.
"Oh, Im three quarters gone!" he said the next minute.
And he never said anything else because he was all gone.
 Part II
Then goldilocks smelt porridge and she saw the three bowls of porridge on
the table. She was very hungry as she had not had any breakfast.
Ill eat a little, she said.
First she tried the porridge in Father Bears great big bowl. But it was too hot.
Next she tried the porridge in Mother Bears middle-sized bowl. But that was too
cold. Then she tried the porridge in Baby Bears little bowl. It wasnt too hot and it
wasnt too cold. It was just right. And Goldilocks ate up all the porridge in Baby
Bears little bowl.
Then Goldilocks decided to go upstairs to see what was there. She saw three
beds. They were all neat and tidy.
First she lay on the great big bed.
Oh, its too hard!
Then she lay on the middle-sized bed.
Oh, its too soft!
Then she lay on the little bed.
Oh, this bed isnt too hard and it isnt too soft. Its just right!
Goldilocks was so comfortable that she soon fell fast asleep with her head on
Baby Bears pillow.

Part III

After a while the three bears came back from their walk. They thought their
porridge would now be cool enough to eat. As soon as they entered the house,
Father Bear saw that his chair was not in its right place.
Someone has been sitting on my chair! he said in a great big voice.
Someone has been sitting on my chair Mother Bear said.
Then Baby Bear had a look at his chair.
Someone has been sitting on my chair and has broken the bottom right out!
 THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF
by Joseph Rudyard Kipling

Part I
Once upon a time all animals were wild. Of course the Man was wild too. He
was very wild. He met the Woman. She did not want to live like he lived. She found a
nice dry Cave. She put clean sand on the floor, lit a nice fire to warm the cave and
hung a horse skin across the mouth of the cave.
And in the Wet Wild Woods all wild animals gathered together where they
could see the light of the fire.
A Wild Dog was the first animal to come to the Cave and became the First
Friend of the Man and the Woman. The Dog got roast bones for the work.
A Wild Horse was the second animal to come to the cave and became the First
Servant for the people. The Horse got much fresh cut grass for the work.
Next day a Wild Cow came to the Cave and became the Giver of Good Food for
the people. The Cow got much fresh hay and gave much warm white milk.

Part II
A Wild Cat was the last animal to come to the Cave. The Woman wanted
nobody to come. And the Wild Cat wanted to have much warm white milk and to be
near the fire in cold weather. But the Cat did not want to be a Servant, he wanted to
be the Cat that walked by himself. The Woman didn't like the Cat. He went away for
some time. Much time passed. The Woman gave a birth to a child. The Child was
nice, but the Woman had very much work to do and little time to play with her
Child.
The Wild Cat came to the Cave and made a bargain with the Woman:
if the Woman said one word in praise of the Wild Cat he would come into the
Cave;
if the Woman said two words in praise of the Wild Cat he would sit by the fire;
 PETER PEN
by James Mathew Barrie
Part I
Once upon a time a big family lived in a big house.
They were: Mr. and Mrs. Darling and their three children Wendy, John and
Michael.
They had a dog-nurse Nana and a servant Lizzie.
Mr. Darling was very busy at his work and Mrs. Darling was very busy at home.
A dog-nurse and a servant helped them to look after their children.
One evening the children were in their beds and saw a strange boy who could fly.
Wendy asked Peter how old he was.
I don't know, he replied gloomily, but I am quite young.
He really knew nothing about it.
Wendy, I ran away the day I was born. It was because I heard father and
mother talking about it what I was to be when I became a man. I don't want ever to
be a man. On the contrary, I want always to be a little boy and to have fun. So I ran
away to Kensington Gardens and lived a long long time among fairies. Wendy
didn't know fairies and asked Peter many questions about them. Peter told her what
he knew.
But where do you live mostly now?
With the lost boys.
Who are they? Wendy seemed much interested.
They are the children who fall out of their prams when the nurse is looking the
other way. If they are not asked back in seven days they are sent to the Neverland.
I'm the captain.
What fun it must be! said Wendy in fascination.
Yes, said cunning Peter. But we are rather lonely. You see we have no
girlfriends.
Are there no girls?
 Wendy and her brothers began to fly with the help of Peter and magic fairy
Ding-ding.
They came to an interesting island Neverland and met some pirates, a
crocodile Tick-Tack, and six little boys whose names were Curly, Kiddy, Chatterbox,
Tip, Twins. The boys never had a mother. And Wendy played the role of their
mother: she cooked dinner of different imaginary things, treated the boys, swept
the floor, etc. The boys loved her. And one day Wendy remembered about her real
mother. She was missing her mother very much, so were her brothers.
And they came back home. And when Wendy became a grown-up she had a
daughter Jane and a granddaughter Margaret. When they were little girls they flew
to Peter Pan who didn't want to become a grown-up.
 They drank tea with pleasure and then went to the Merry go Round.
They had nice time together. It was nearly dark when they came back. They knew
the mystery of the picture and smiled at one another
 Next day it was Friday. Jack went out and worked the whole day. This time
he got a donkey for his work and put it on his shoulder. The donkey was very heavy
and Jack was going slowly.

On his way home he was passing the house of a rich man. That man had
only one daughter. She was very beautiful but could not speak. She had never
laughed in her life, and the doctor said she would never speak till somebody made
her laugh. When daughter saw lazy Jack carrying a donkey on his shoulder she burst
out laughing and began to speak. Her father was very happy and proposed Jack to
marry his daughter. Jack agreed. Soon they were married and went to live in a large,
beautiful house.
 That morning the Cock and the Mouse had both got out of bed on the wrong
side. The Cock said the day was too hot, and the Mouse said it was too cold.
They came grumbling down to the kitchen, where the good little Red Hen was
working happily about the house. "Who'll get some sticks for the fire?" she asked. "I
shan't," said the Cock. "I shan't," said the Mouse.
"Then I'll do it myself," said the little Red Hen. So off she ran to get the sticks.
"And now, who'll fill the kettle from the spring?" she asked.
"I shan't," said the Cock.
"I shan't," said the Mouse.
"Then I'll do it myself," said the little Red Hen. And off she ran to the spring to
fill the kettle.
"And who'll get the breakfast ready?" she asked, as she put the kettle on to
boil.
"I shan't," said the Cock. "I shan't," said the Mouse.
"Then I'll do it myself," said the little Red Hen.
All breakfast time the Cock and the Mouse quarreled and grumbled.
"Who'll clear the table?" asked the poor little Red Hen.
"I shan't," said the Cock.
"I shan't," said the Mouse.
"Then I'll do it myself," said the little Red Hen. So she cleared everything
away, swept up the floor and brushed up the fireplace.
"And now, who'll help me to make the beds?"
"I shan't," said the Cock.
"I shan't," said the Mouse.
"Then I'll make the beds by myself," said the little Red Hen. And she went
away upstairs.
But the lazy Cock and the lazy Mouse each sat down in a comfortable
armchair by the fire, and soon fell fast asleep.
 "Quick," she whispered to the Mouse, "creep through this hole, then run as
fast as you can and bring back a stone just as large as yourself."
Out went the Mouse, and soon he came back with the stone. It was heavy,
and he had to drag it after him.
"Push it in here," said the little Red Hen, and the Mouse quickly pushed it into
the sack.
Then the little Red Hen cut the hole larger, and soon the Cock was able to
creep through it.
"Quick," she said, "run and get a stone as big as yourself." Out flew the Cock,
and soon he came back with a big stone, which he pushed into the sack.
Then the little Red Hen crept out, got a stone as big as herself, and pushed it
into the sack. Next she put on her thimble, took out her needle and thread, and
sewed up the hole as quickly as ever she could.
When that was done, the Cock, and the Mouse and the little Red Hen ran
home very fast. They shut the door after them, locked it and shut the shutters.
The big bad Fox lay fast asleep under the tree for some time, but at last he
woke up.
"Dear, dear!" he said, "I have slept a long time. I must hurry home."
The big bad Fox grumbled to himself as he went down the hill, till he came to
the river. Splash! One foot went in. Splash! The other foot went in, but the stones in
the sack were so heavy that at the very next step Mr Fox fell down into a deep pool.
He couldn't get out of it, so he was never seen again. And the four bad little foxes
had to go to bed without any supper.
But the Cock and the Mouse never grumbled again. They lit the fire, filled the
kettle, made the breakfast, and did all the work, while the good little Red Hen had a
holiday. She sat resting in the big armchair.
No foxes ever troubled them again, and they are still living happily in the little
house with the green door and the green shutters, which stands on the hill.
 She lives in the wood. Her house is under three oak-trees and there are nut
bushes beside it
This pretty little girl will be a tasty dinner for me! thought the wolf, and he
looked hungrily at Red Riding-Hood. She will be more tasty than the old woman.
But if I am careful, perhaps I can eat them both up.
He would have eaten Red Riding-Hood at once, but he could hear the sounds
of an axe nearby. That meant that there were men not far away, and he did not
want to be caught. So the wolf walked along with the Red Riding-Hood for a while.
Then he said:
Look at the pretty flowers, Red Riding-Hood! Why dont you gather some
flowers for your grandmother? She will be very pleased with some fresh flowers if
she is not well and cannot go out.
What a good idea! It is quite early. I have time to pick flowers, said Red
Riding-Hood. She looked around and saw many lovely bright flowers. So she walked
under the trees and picked the flowers. Each time she picked one, she always saw
another prettier flower farther on. She went deeper into the wood. At the same
time she listened to the birds in the trees as they sang their sweet songs.

Part II
But the wolf went straight to the grandmothers house. When he reached the
house, he knocked at the door. Toc! Toc!
Who is there? asked the grandmother in a weak voice.
It is Red Riding-Hood, said the wolf, and he tried to make his gruff voice
sound soft. I have brought you some bread, a cake, and a piece of fresh butter.
Lift the latch and walk in, said the grandmother. I am too weak to get up.
The wolf lifted the latch, and he walked into the house.
The old lady was lying in bed. The wolf went straight up to the bed ad
swallowed her up. Then he put on a nightdress and a nightcap, got into the
grandmothers bed and drew the curtains.
 So he took a knife and carefully cut open the wolf as he lay asleep. The little
girl jumped out and cried, Oh, how frightened I was! It was so dark inside the wolf.
Next the old grandmother came out, alive but very weak after the horrible
adventure