Passage 01 - The Hen’s Tale

All summer long, the Swallows sat in rows along the rafters of the barn,

telling stories of the wonders of the South. As the days grew cooler, their excitement grew, for they knew it soon would be
Winter. The farm animals liked to listen to the stories, and imagine the wonderful places the birds described. And suddenly
one day the Swallows were all gone.

The animals all talked about the Swallows, and the wonders of the South. The Swallows had told of flying over a huge grey
sea. They had told of islands, and ships, and the Southern land where they spent the Winter. “I think I shall go South myself,
said Hen.

The next morning, Hen set out. She spread her wings and ran off down the road. She fluttered along for a while until she
came to a little gate. That night she came back to the barnyard, out of breath and panting.

“I have been to the South!” she cried. And she told the farm animals that she had been to the land where potatoes grow, and
corn, and carrots, and beans. She told them of a land where beautiful roses grow in all the colors of the rainbow.

“How interesting!” the animals said. “And what really beautiful descriptions!” The Winter wore on, and the months went by,
until the Spring of the year appeared, and the Swallows came again.

“We have been to the South,” they said, “and the valleys beyond the great sea.” But the farm animals would not agree that
there was a sea in the South.

“You should hear our Hen,” they said.

Passage 02 - The Elderly Lion

A very Elderly Lion, weakened by old age and old injuries, could

no longer hunt for his food. He lived for a while on grass and berries, but this made him grow still weaker. He decided to use
his brain to take what he could not get by force.

The Elderly Lion lay down in his den. He told every animal and bird who passed by that he was very sick. The animals all got
the news of Elderly Lion’s illness, and came one by one to visit him. Squirrel came, bringing fresh grasses and berries.
Squirrel was not seen after that. Dove came, bringing more fresh grasses and berries. Dove was not seen after that. More
animals went to visit the Elderly Lion, and it became clear that animals were disappearing.

Fox thought about the situation. He decided to go and visit the Elderly Lion. He went to the Elderly Lion’s den and stood
outside at a respectful distance. “How are you feeling today?” Fox asked.

“Not well, not at all well,” said the Elderly Lion. “But why do you stand there outside? Please—come inside and visit with me
for a while.”

“No thank you,” said Fox. “I notice that there are many footprints leading into your den, but I see no trace of any leading out.”

Passage 03 - The Kingly Lion

The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King.

When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an
argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it. The Lion King never made demands that were in his own
interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal.

Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects. Then he sat down and wrote out
a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together
from far and near. He waited for them to settle.

“Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing
things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace. The Panther and
the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace
and harmony.
The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of
the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.

Passage 04- The Greedy Man

There once was a very greedy man who sold everything he

owned and bought a brick of gold. He buried the gold brick behind a hut that was across the road from his shabby old house.
Every day, the greedy man went across the road and dug up his gold brick to look at it.

After a while, a workman noticed the greedy man going across the road every day, and decided to follow him. The next day,
the greedy man dug down for his gold brick, but the hole was empty. He pulled at his hair, and cried out in sorrow. “My
beautiful gold brick!” he wept.

A neighbor came running, and asked the greedy man what had happened. When the greedy man told him, the neighbor just
shrugged his shoulders. “Why be so sad?” said the neighbor. Just go get a rock and put it in that hole, and pretend that it is
gold. It will do you as much good as the gold did.”

Passage 05- The Traveler

A man who had traveled far and wide came home to his

small village. He gathered the villagers together to tell them of all the wonderful things he had done in all the places he had
visited.

In Russia, he had cut bricks of ice and built a palace. In China, he had flown the best dragon kite anyone had ever seen. In
Africa, he had chased a lion. In Australia, he had jumped farther than the kangaroos. He had jumped farther than any man
alive.

The villagers listened with interest at first, and then began to smile. They turned to walk away, but the traveler said that there
were many people in Australia who had seen his jump. They would be happy to be his witnesses.

One of the villagers turned back to the traveler. “My good man,” he said. You need no witnesses. “Just pretend this is
Australia, and show us.”

Passage 06- Silly Science Prizes

Most people have heard of the Nobel Prizes. Some of the most talented people in the world receive these prizes, which
honor great achievements in medicine, chemistry, and other fields. But not many people have heard of the Ig Nobel Prizes.
The name is a pun on the word “ignoble.” These prizes are given to people who do very strange work and whose studies
might even be called a little goofy. The prizes were first given out in 1991, and they get more popular every year.

All the prize winners were serious about their work when they did it. It’s just that the subjects they studied were a little odd.
For example, one prize went to two scientists in Norway who discovered that sour cream makes leeches hungry. Another
scientist studied toast because he wanted to know if it always lands butter side down when you drop it. Another prize went to
the country of Liechtenstein for offering to rent the entire country out for weddings!

The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony is held at Harvard University in Massachusetts every October. Sometimes the people who
receive the prizes aren’t too happy about it, but usually they are good sports. Often they have to travel a very long way to get
their prizes. When they receive them, they give a speech, but they can only speak for one minute. If they talk longer than
that, they are booed.

The Ig Nobel Prizes are kind of silly, but they have a somewhat serious goal of trying to encourage real science. Above all,
they prove that science can be fun. One winner came up with a new way for men to comb their hair. Another one studied
how tadpoles taste when you eat them. No matter what the subject, these prizes show the lighter side of science