The tortoise who wanted to fly

Once upon a time, a tortoise and an eagle were friends. The tortoise always dreamt of flying in the sky. One day, his friend the eagle visited him. The tortoise was happy to see him. “Hello, my friend! could you do me a favour?” asked the tortoise. “Yes, sure! Why not, my dear friend,” replied the eagle.

“I wish to fly in the air,” he said, “as you are a good flier, I want you to teach me to fly.” The eagle was surprised to listen to this impossible wish. He told his friend that he was a tortoise, and cannot fly.

But, the tortoise did not listen to him. Eventually the eagle agreed and held him in her claws. After reaching a good height, he said, “beware, my friend, I am loosening my grip; try to fly.” The eagle loosened his grip. The tortoise came down at a great speed and smashed against a rock. He died because of his foolish wish.

Moral: Do not wish the impossible.

Fathima Jaward, Grade 7, Khairiya Girls’ College, Gothatuwa.

The butterfly and the ant

Once upon a time, there was a butterfly and an ant. The butterfly had the most colourful and beautiful wings and could fly fast and was very proud of it. One day the butterfly told the ant, “Shall we go for a race?” and the ant agreed.

The race began and all the animals were invited to watch the race. The butterfly was flying and the ant was running. The selfish butterfly flew into the wrong path. He did not care about the rules of the race.

The ant heard the butterfly scream. “Help, help.” The ant ran to save his competitor. The butterfly was caught in a spider's web.

The ant climbed a tree and dropped a few large leaves on the web. The web got damaged and the butterfly flew out safely.

The butterfly was ashamed of her behaviour. “I'm very sorry ant. Let's become good friends.” The ant said, “Sure, I'm always your friend.”

Moral: Friendship is not measured by strength, size or beauty.

Tishini Ruwindya Rathnayake, Grade 3B, Yoshida Shokanji International School,Sapugaskanda.