My favourite animal in the zoo

My favourite animal in the zoo is the lion. The lion is very brave. The lion is a carnivorous animal in the zoo. If the lion cannot find any meat he will eat grass. He has a mane on his neck. The lion can run fast. The lion has very sharp claws. The lion is the King of the Jungle. The lion is my favourite animal. The lion is the symbol in our National flag too.

My school

By Malinka Samarasinha (Grade 2), Visakha Vidyalaya

My school is Visakha Vidyalaya. It is big and nice. There are classes from Grade 1 to Grade 13. My school is in Vajira Road, Colombo 5. It has a swimming pool, hall and school ground. I love my school very much.

My August vacation

By Shadhaapthi Sridharan (12 years), Methodist College

Holidays are days which are given to enjoy and to study (a little). This time I had a nice time enjoying my vacation at Dambulla, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. On Monday the 8th, at 5 in the morning, my father, mother, sister and I were going to Dambulla.

On the way we ate in the Kegalle Inn. We were all going very quietly. Suddenly when we came to a place called Habarana, my sister started shouting. She had seen an elephant going into the forest behind our car. Then my father stopped the car until the elephants came and went.

Then at about 10 a.m., we reached Gimanhala Hotel in Dambulla and kept our bags there and went to Sigiriya. There we saw King Kashyapa’s palace and had lunch at Sigiriya Inn and visited the Dambulla Rock Temple.

The next day we went to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. There we visited viharas’ and some kings’ palaces’ such as King Parakramabahus palace and we walked a long way. We spent the night at the hotel and went home.

This was the biggest trip I have gone in my life. For this trip I would like to thank my parents, especially my father who planned this for my family. Thank you Dadda very, very much.

Choosing a new pet

By Ravindu Pathiraja (7 years), Sri Wijerama M.V., Nugegoda

When I am choosing a new pet, I will choose a dog. I will choose a white and brown dog. I will ask
someone who already has a pet and I will make sure I want a pet. I like to choose a male pet. I will make sure that my father has money to buy a cage. I will make sure I can look after it. I will name it Ben Tom. I will choose it because I like brown and white dogs. I will make sure that I have space to keep it. I will make sure I like it.

My favourite aunt

By Sinalie Abeyewardene (7 years), Lyceum Int. School, Nugegoda

My favourite aunt is Aunt Nelika. She is my father ’s sister. She lives in Dehiwala. She makes delicious food for me. Aunt Nelika can sing and play the organ very well. She also teaches me how to sing and play the organ. When I visit her place she gives me educational books and storybooks. Aunt Nelika took me to see Vesak. I love her very much. She will always be my favourite aunt.

The country I like to visit

By Ahmed Junaid (11 years), Colombo South Int. College

The country I like to visit is Saudi Arabia. The capital city is Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East, near the red sea. I like Saudi because it is a Muslim country and a clean country. Riyadh is a very big city.

The Head of State is King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz-Al Saud. Saudi is rich in oil wells. The traditional foods are dates (called date palms), the khubz (flat bread), arikah (bread from the southwest) and hawayiy (a spice blend). The traditional clothes for men are the thobe, tayiyah, agal and others. For women it is the abaya, boshiya and the surwal. The tallest tower is the Burj-Al-Mamlakah with a height
of 302m. It is situated in Riyadh and looks like a ball-point pen.

The second tallest tower is the Burj-Al-Faisaliyah. The second biggest city is Mecca. Our prophet was born in Mecca. The Kaaba is situated in Mecca and the Masjid-al-Haram is near the Kaaba. The mosque of our prophet is Al-Masjid-al-Nabawi which is the second most sacred site in Islam. A well called Zam Zam well is in between the two mosques. Cave Hira in the mountain Jabal-al-Nour is where the prophet got his first revelation. During the period of Hajj, people flock to Mecca to perform Hajj. I wish that I could visit Saudi Arabia some day.