• The cry of the dying wolf
• Is Honesty the Best Policy?
• To my parents with love
• Birds of a feather!
• Animals that died out

The cry of the dying wolf

It was the night of the full moon. All the Wolves in the Wolf pack, were gathered together, and sitting in a circle. With their muscles raised to the moon they began their haunting cry.

An hour later their cries were shattered by a snarl. The leader of the first pack stood up, the hair on his back bristling in anger making him look twice his size. His teeth were bared horrifyingly.

Even this did not daunt his opponent who was just as big and strong, so they stood glaring at each other. Then their cold steely ice like eyes met and then they sprang at each other.

The experienced pack leader leapt at his enemy's neck, his teeth ripping his neck and the great vein.

As his opponent fell the Wolf pack edged closer, while their sensitive noses sniffed the fresh blood. As the young leader stepped towards the Wolf, the cry of the dying Wolf was heard.

Mercy Rajiah

Bishops College

Is Honesty the Best Policy?

It is an universal truth that honesty follows prosperity. And honesty is the best policy. What is honesty? Can we see it? Can we touch it? To whom does it belong? Is it for trees? Is it for animals? No. Honesty is for human beings.

Honesty brings happiness. Happiness is a quality that nobody can give you. You cannot buy it. It must sprout from within the heart. Only an honest man can be happy. Everybody in this world thinks that they are honest. Then why do all people live unhappily? Then why all these fights, chaos and wars ?

These things happen because every man thinks that he himself is honest although he is going the wrong way. He thinks he is honest, because he is going to the Sunday Mass or because he is observing Sil every poya day or because he is giving alms to a lot of people. Yet despite these things he is showing jealousy, pride and unkindness. The result is though everybody appears to be happy, they are depressed, frustrated and sad. No one will respect the other. Everyone will blame another. No peace at home. No peace in the society. Finally the result will be war and many innocent people will die.

Why don't we see the wrong? Why are we following a wrong way? We are blind, because we worship only what we see. We must see through the unseen part of the truth. There are religions to guide us in life. The Holy Bible shows the path given by Jesus Christ to the Christians, while the Muslims respect the Holy Kuran. The majority of the Sri Lankans are Buddhists and they follow Dhammapada where Lord Bhuddha's teachings are given. These religions give us the guidance to lead an honest life. However people tend to blindly follow religions for their own excuses to be covered. For example by just praying or by just going to the temple one cannot say that the religions are being followed. We have to do all these things with a clear mind, understanding truth itself.

Take the example of "Kisagothami" in Dhammapada. Her only son died. She was very sad. She went to Lord Buddha and asked him to make her son live. Lord Buddha told her to bring some seeds from a house where no death entered. But Kisagothami couldn't find such a house and understood that every human being in this world must die one day.

Through this Lord Buddha make us think that one day we all must face the death. But what is our experience in Sri Lanka? Both Tamils and Sinhalese fight as if after death they will carry on the same similarity. On another hand one day we must leave wealth and life in this world. Take another example of " the dirty cup " in the Holy Bible. Jesus Christ said that people are cleaning only the outside but not the inside. This clearly states people are just satisfying their mind by doing their own selfish ideas and ignoring the more important things in society. To become honest one has to positively follow the path of a given religious dignitary. This can be easily explained with the following example. Put a lens to catch the sunlight. You will see a fire in the apex far from the lense. Similarly if you have a good mind with good intentions you will act as a lens and the society will get the benefit like a fire used to cook a good meal. A bad intention within a bad mind will create havoc in the society !ike a fire used for a bomb.

Schools teach the future generation to be honest so that the country will get the benefit. Sri Lanka needs honest citizens for its development. We learn to work with all kinds of children without measuring their races or caste. Because we are all humans.

Let us try to be honest to everybody. Let us try

not to pretend. This will be the world we all dream of. There will be unity and understanding among each and every one of us. Then this heavenly world will shine with prosperity and happiness.

Shanika Alwis,

Year 10

Ave Maria Convent

Negombo.

To my parents with love

Dear Amma and thatha

First of all, let me say Happy Anniversary. I have been thinking a lot as to what I was going to to do. I thought of sending a card or a present, but then again it wouldn't have reached you on time. Then I thought I'll write this e-mail... something which is long due, but comes with strength from the heart, and I can't think of a better time to say this other than your anniversary.

Both of you, from the time I was born, have provided me with all the love and care in the world. The things that you have done, and given to me... I simply cannot list everything... the list is so long, and beautiful... I cannot find a way to put it down in writing. You have always planed ahead and made things available to me, never did you say "no" to anything when it came to something important (maybe academic or otherwise). I am now enjoying (not exactly "enjoying"... but you know what I mean) something many do not get the opportunity to, and I know exactly what it means to both of you... and to me.

Both of you together had a unique way of handling things, which I admire. You have never used your parental authority to stop me from doing anything, it was always a logical explanation of what I was going to do and its consequences, and never have I been able to prove you wrong. You have always made me see the right from wrong and reality from fantasy. What ever you say, I know that you are always right... you have always been right. You have taught me how to, achieve without cheating... be rich without being extravagant... argue without shouting... and to live without surviving..

I have been lucky enough to enjoy many things as a teenager that most of my peers didn't. Having understanding and 'cool' parents... cool enough to give me the vehicle when I was under age to drive, parents who can always see both sides of an issue... always open to new ideas and views... and the list goes on... Unlike many parents in Sri Lankas, you have never put extreme pressure on me and always accepted me the way I am. You never tried to change me. When it came to making decisions, you have always helped a lot, but still left the final decision open for me to make...and most of all, you respected it.

Now I am living alone in another country... and I know you have your doubts.. I know, you have seen so many people change after they go abroad, that you can't forget this issue. But let me tell you right now... I came here only for my studies... and after coming here I realized what a wonderful family I have, the country, friends and everything... and I love every little bit of it... from the dirty roads in Colombo to the beautiful hills of Nuwara Eliya... and nothing, no country, no culture, no girl is going to change it.. I will always love my folks back at home, and my country... and I will always be your 'loku putha'... nothing will be forgotten... nothing will ever be forgotten.

Well... I have so much to say... if I go on to describe it all, it'll be an extremely long letter... and besides, I am not a good writer who can put all the beautiful things you have done in writing... I don't think any letter is good enough. What I want to say is... thank you... thank you for all the love and support you have given me, the great family you have always been... and every single other thing that you have done... and I know of only one to say thank you... and I'm pretty much determined to say it the only way I know...

Happy Anniversary!

Love always,

Chathura Manawadu

STAMP CORNER

Birds of a feather!

Birds of Sri Lanka are a treat for stamp collector. At least one and a half dozen species have appeard in stamps up to now. They are colourful and forms a fine collection of species of birds not found anywhere else in the world.

The first set of bird stamps was issued on 13 December 1979 when six were featured. These were Ceylon Blue Magpie (Kehibella-10 cents stamp), commonly accepted as the prince among birds of Sri Lanka; the Ceylon Lorikeet(Pol Girawa-15 cts), the only nectar feeding representative of the parrot family found here, also known as the 'hanging parrot'; the Ceylon Arrenga (75 cts), which makes its presence felt by its ceaseless activity and a shrill whistling song; the Ceylon Spur Fowl (Haban Kukula-1/-), the small cousin of the Jungle Fowl and a bird of absorbing interest; the Yellow-fronted Barbet (Mukalan Kottoruwa- Rs 5/-) with a well defined yellow patch on the forehead, and the yellow-eared Bulbul (Kaha Kondaya- Rs 10/-), the prettiest of the sic species of Bulbuls found in the country.

Four more stamps were released on 22 November 1983 featuring the Ceylon Wood Pigeon (Maila Goya-25 cts), identified by its black and white chessboard like patch of its neck; the Ceylon White Eye(Mal Kurulla-35cts) a bird with a ring of pure white feathers around the eye, that lives in the mountains at elevations above 1000 metres; the Dusky Blue Flycatcher (Gini Kurulla- 2/-), a bird of solitary habits confined to the hills above 700 metres in altitude, about the size of a sparrow, and the Ceylon Coucal (Atti Kukula- Rs. 20/-), a shy and elusive bird distinguished by its light green beak.

A set of four stamps issued on 18 May 1987 featured the Layard's Parakeet ( Alu Girawa- 50 cts ), with a dark grey head (green around the eye) and a quite distinctive cry; the Legge's Flowerpecker (Re1/-) a scarce little bird found only in the rain forests living either solitary or in pairs fond of nectar of the red cotton tree; Sri Lanka White Headed Starling (Rs. 5/-), a sleek slenderly built bird with white forehead, face, throat and under tail-coverts belonging to the Mayina family: & Sri Lanka Rufous Babbler (Ratu Demalichcha- Rs 10/-), a forest bird seldom seen away from deep jungle.

Four more bird stamps were released on 14 July 1993. These featured the Ashy-headed Babbler ( Hisaka Alu-demalichcha- Rs 3/-), a dark brownish-black bird with a clear greyish forehead & crown, black beak & feet; the Brown-capped Babbler (Mudu Bora-demalichcha- Rs 4/-), a small brown bird with a darker crown and forehead found at all elevations up to 2500 metres; Red faced Malkoha, confined to natural tall forests with low human intervention; and Sri Lanka Mynah (Grackle- Rs 10/-), also called Lanka Selalihiniya, the metallic glossy black and purple bird with a single pair of bright yellow lappets on the nape and the orange-yellow legs & feet making it an unmistakable bird, talks well and is a preferred pet by many.

Animals that died out

Any animal can only survive as long as it has adapted to the world around it. It has adapted to the climate where it lives, such as how hot or cold it is, how much rainfall there is, and whether there is a dry Season. It also has adapted to the other animals and plants that live around it. There must be enough of its animal or plant food to keep it alive all through the year, and it must be able to escape from its enemies.

If any of these conditions change, an animal may be doomed. A hotter or colder climate, a longer dry season, new plants replacing old ones, or new animals that share its food or prey upon it, mean that an animal must alter its way of life. Only if it can do so, will it survive. The fossils that we find in the rocks are the memorials to animals that were unable to change their way of life, and became extinct.

The biggest crisis in prehistory was, of course, when the dinosaurs died out, probably because the climate became cooler. The changing climate even affected the sea animals. The great squid-like ammonites became extinct, and so did many tiny sea creatures called plankton which provide food for other, bigger animals. When they, in their turn, died out, even some of the biggest sea creatures found that their food had disappeared. That may be why many large sea reptiles including the dolphin-like ichthyosaurs, became extinct about 65 million years ago.

Chilling ice and killing man

Since the age of the dinosaurs, the climate had been growing cooler. Eventually it became so cold that sheets of ice formed around the North and South Poles, and glaciers started to appear in the mountains. About two million years ago, the ice started to spread down from the Poles. The Ice Ages had begun.

Scientists now believe that there have been 20 or more different Ice Ages. The climate became colder during each one, and then warmed up in the intervals. The last Ice Age ended only about 12,000 years ago. We still do not know when the next one will begin.

The Ice Ages made life very difficult for all the amimals in the northern parts of the world. As the climate became colder, animals which preferred the warmth had to migrate southwards to stay in the sun. But new types of animal evolved to take their places in the snowy wastes. Instead of ordinary elephants or rhinoceroses, which are almost hairless, woolly animals evolved. It is the bodies of these woolly mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses that the scientists have found preserved in the ice of the northern lands.

These animals might still be alive today if the climate had not become much warmer at the end of the last Ice Age. But the days grew warmer, and the animals had to retreat northwards to find the climate and food they preferred. At the same time, mankind was increasing and becoming more skilled at killing other animals for food. So it may have been both the changing climate and man himself that led to the extinction of these great creatures.

As man spread through the world, he found many animals that were almost defenceless against his hunting skills. Some birds that had lost the ability to fly were especially easy to kill. The ostrich-like moas that lived in New Zealand soon became extinct. So did the dodos that lived on Mauritius, an island off the coast of Africa.

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