Winner:

Honesty

Honesty is the best policy. Dishonesty will not pay in the long run. We must learn to be honest from our childhood.Society respects honest men. Here is a story to illustrate the reward of honesty.

A poor woodcutter was chopping wood on the banks of a river. All of a sudden his axe slipped from his hand and fell into the river. He did not know what to do, but stood aghast, weeping and wailing. He prayed to God help get his axe back. Thereupon, the Goddess of the river turned up with a golden axe and asked him whether it was his. He said ‘no’, it is not mine. The Goddess then went down into the water and came up again with a silver axe.

She asked him if it was his and his reply was ‘no’. Then the Goddess went down into the water and came up again with the woodcutter’s own axe. She asked him if it was his. He replied that it was his and the Goddess was pleased with his honesty.

She said, “you have spoken the truth. You are honest. You are not greedy. You may have all three axes. It is a reward for your honesty”, and saying it, she vanished.

S.A. Narayanan Sharma,
Grade 10 C,
Royal College, Colombo.

Winner:

The coconut tree

The coconut tree is a slender, tall tree. It grows well in Sri Lanka. Every part of the coconut tree is useful to us. We use the matured fruit for our meals. We use coconut oil to light lamps and also for cooking.

People make brooms and twine from the husks. Coconut flowers are used as decorations and the shells are made use of to make spoons and beautiful ornaments. We drink tender coconut water, which is tasty. The leaves of the coconut tree are used to thatch roofs and the trunk is used to make beams.

Thusavi Liyanage,
Grade 2C,
Royal Institute International School,
Nugegoda.

Winner:

My class trip

The students in our class went to the zoo on a Friday. We left in the morning by bus. Our teacher showed us elephants, tigers, zebras, lions, birds, snakes, butterflies and lots of other animals.

We enjoyed shows by sea lions and the birds. At the end we had a snack, played in the park and returned home happily.

Hajara Azeem,
Grade 1,
Presbyterian Girls’ National School,
Dehiwala.

Winner:

My lamp

I have a kerosene lamp at home as we do not have electricity. I use the light of this lamp to study. My mother fills the lamp with kerosene daily.

Sometimes I clean the lamp. My mother cleans the chimney as it has to be done carefully. I like my lamp as it helps me with my studies and helps me to brighten my future aims.

D. Majurika,
Grade 6,
V/Nedunkerny M.V,
Nedunkerny.

Winner:

The importance of breakfast

The meal which we take first is breakfast. Breakfast is the main meal that a person should have . Having a balanced breakfast is far better than taking medicine and falling ill. Breakfast is a meal that should not be skipped by a child or a teenager.

Students should take a nutritious breakfast before going to school. It will help to do their studies well, especially in Mathematics and reading. Breakfast kickstarts the brain and improves mental and physical performance. It will help maintain a healthy body weight. Those who are regular in their breakfast do not visit the doctor often. Breakfast helps to maintain good cholesterol levels. Lack of concentration, lethargy and behavioural problems can be seen among students who tend to skip their breakfast.Students who have a good breakfast, meet their daily nutritional needs.

We must take into consideration the importance of breakfast and the problems we have to face if we don’t have our breakfast regularly.

Mohamed Fauz Fathima,
Grade 8E Girls,
Zahira National School,
Mawanella

Vanishing family meals

Tomorrow’s children will eat differently from that of their parents. Many modern houses do not have dining rooms. Many families have their meals seated in front of the television. In the future, families sitting and eating together at home will be rare.

In the future, people will not eat meat and instead eat substitute foods to protect their health. Farmers will realise that growing crops will be more useful than rearing cattle. People will tend to eat mushrooms for proteins, fortified with vitamins. Artificial flavours will become widespread.

Many people at present don’t care much for breakfast, which is the main meal of the day. This will lead to nutritional problems later. So, everybody should have a nourishing breakfast.

L.H.T. Deshan,
Grade 9F,
Mahinda College, Galle.

The tsunami

Tsunami is a Japanese name. They are formed as a result of earthquakes. Japan has suffered greatly from this catastrophe. This dreadful catastrophe struck Sri Lanka and many other Asian countries on December 26, 2004.

It started from Sumatra. This dreadful tragedy took its toll and 40,000 innocent lives were lost. Let us pray that this catastrophe does not occur again in any part of the world.

Vasukie Swaminathan Sharma,
Grade 7D,
Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College.

Plants and animals

Plants and animals fill our needs.We get fruit, vegetables, pulses, rice and wheat from plants. They also provide us clothing and shelter. Plants purify the air that we breathe.

Friendship between animals and human beings are more reliable. Animals such as cats, dogs and monkeys become good friends. A dog is a faithful animal.

Animals give us useful things such as meat, milk, eggs, wool and leather. Without animals and plants life would be difficult for us. So it is our duty to take care of them.

M.F. Nadhiya,
Grade 7,
Al-Mubarak National School,
Malwana.