Winner:

Milk is one of the most important of human foods; in fact, it is the only food new born babies can take. For growing children, too it is a perfect food. All the food that is needed to help a child grow and stay healthy are found in milk alone.

For grown up people too milk is considered good and necessary, but they however need solid food as well. Milk is the best kind of food for grown up people when they are ill.

Milk contains a lot of fat. When milk is left to stand undisturbed for a few hours, this fat rises to the surface, and we call it cream. We can easily separate the cream from the milk then, by swimming it off with a spoon. The milk that is left behind is called skimmed milk. The cream is very rich and is very nice to the taste. It is used in tea and also to make some kinds of puddings. It is also eaten with fruit.

It is from this cream that butter is made. The cream is warmed and put in a wooden tub called a churn, which can be moved and rolled about. After some time, the cream becomes thick and solid and turns into butter.

Butter is a very healthy food, and is regularly eaten by many, with bread.

Cheese which is a wholesome food and eaten in large quantities, especially abroad, is also made from the cream of milk.

The thin, watery milk left after making butter and cheese, is called butter - milk, and is a pleasant drink with a rather sour taste. It is good to keep the blood pure.

Another use of milk is to make it into curd by adding certain acids. Curd is eaten largely in our country too.

The milk we consume mostly is cow’s milk, which is considered to be the best. Goat’s milk is also used, but it is rather bitter and has a strong smell. In some lands people drink the milk of buffaloes, asses, camels and even mares.

H. Fathima Nafrisa,

Mahmud Ladies College,Kalmunai.

My best friend

Twelve - year - old Kamal who studies with me is my best firend. He helps me in many ways and I also help him. He lives in Panavitiya. His father is Anura and his mother is Kumari. They are also very good people.He also has a brother.

My best friend visits my home when he can and then we play games and read books. He likes to play many games and enjoys sports a lot. He is good at sports.

Pradeep Madusanka,

Grade7,Giri/Dalhawa Junior School.

Your Poems

Night sky

Winner:

Once I looked upon the sky,
And saw the stars twinkling by,
Lots and lots of patterns of stars,
Shining in the sky.

Like the robe of a queen,
Waving to and fro,
Like a meadow blue,
This was lighted by the moon.

There are many patterns of stars today,
Twinkling, twinkling merrily,
The pattern of Leo, the mighty king,
Roaring to show his pride.

The sign of Big Bear,
Eating cherries;
The sign of Little Bear saying,
“Please give me more”

The sign of the Hunter,
Looking for a deer;
Bow pulled wide,
Sword on his thigh

So beautiful these scenes,
Refreshed my heart and mind,
My eyelids felt like heavy lead,
In a moment I was asleep.

Bhagya Karunatilleke, Grade 8E, Wesley College, Colombo 9.

Weather forecast

Winner:

A line of ants scurry along
Seeking higher ground
Before the rain comes
Searching for a dry place
To keep the baby ants and eggs
Out of danger.

A line of ants scurry along
Before the rain comes
One behind the other
Carrying loads of this or that
Away from the floods

A line of ants scurry along
Before the rain comes
With soldier ants on the alert
To attack any enemy
To guard their friends
To show the way

A line of ants scurry along
Before the rain comes
To avoid disaster
For the coming rain
Had made their antennas prickle
A few minutes ago.

Nillasi Liyanage, Grade 10F, Musaeus College,Colombo 7.

A trip to Horton Plains

Winner:

Horton Plains is a flat land situated about 2500 feet above sea level. We went there by passing the Ohiya railway station. We travelled on a winding road which takes sharp "U" turns. The environment was very cold and chilly. There were thousands of pine trees; sad to say some of the trees had got caught to a forest fire and the trunks were all charred.

We bought tickets to enter the park. It was forbidden to take plastic and polythene items to the park. We had to walk about 12 km in a loop trail.

There were lots of stunted trees. The prettiest tree I saw was the Maha Rath Mal or Rhodo dendron tree. Its flowers are red in colour and they looked like brides in the park.Then we went to see the Baker's falls and it was a very eye-catching sight. We also saw the "Chimini pond" and many lakes.

We had to walk miles and miles and we were tired. Finally we reached "World's End". It was a deep cliff. We saw tiny houses like match boxes at the bottom of it. It was an amazing environment.It is pathetic to note that careless people had littered the plains with empty plastic bottles and polythene items.

We must protect and appreciate the fauna and flora in our country.

Bhagya Pandithakoralege,

St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo 7.

Philately - my hobby

Winner:

A hobby is an activity done during one's spare time or leisure. My hobby is philately; that is collecting stamps. Sir Rowland Hill of England introduced the first postage stamp in 1840. It was a one penny stamp displaying the head of Queen Victoria, the monarch of England. The first postage stamp of Sri Lanka was issued on April 1, 1857. This also carried the head of Queen Victoria, but it was a six pence stamp.

I became a philatelist an year back. Now I have collected more than 4000 stamps. I have mounted these stamps in three stamp albums. I have a separate album for Sri Lankan stamps. In the other two albums I have mounted stamps of different countries. In time to come, I'll improve my hobby. I hope to be a member of a Philatelic Club one day.

Dilmi Fernando,

Holy Family Convent,

Colombo 4.

My family

There are four members in my family. They are my father, mother, sister and myself. My father's name is Gamini Herath. He is 51 years old.

He is a translator. He owns a van and a motorbike. His favourite colour is black. My mother is Menika. She works in a weaving centre. Her favourite colour is purple. My sister is a student in a government school.

Prabath Herath,

Grade 4,

Sussex College,Kurunegala.

My computer

I have a computer. It's very beautiful. It has a monitor, central processing unit, keybord and a mouse. I can play computer games with it. I can also draw pictures and watch films. I also listen to music. I use the computer to surf the internet. It's very useful to me.

Harith Ayodya Kulatunga,

Grade 4 A,

C. W. W. Kannangara

National School, Mathugama.

A mother's love

A mother's love is the most precious love in the world.

When we are sad we can always remember our mothers and find solace. A mother is the symbol of everlasting love. Because of her love for her child, her blood becomes milk to feed her hungry baby. Because of her love she dedicates her life to care for us.

Mother, we don't need jewellery if you are living near us. You are the brightest jewel in our lives. You are the God in our house and we cannot measure your love and goodness.

My mother is very special and I love her very dearly.

Nethma Ranaweera,

Vidura College,

Colombo.