• All the best to Sri Lanka
• "Brighta" and his spellings
• Riddle me this......
• Beautiful Night
• Vesak
• My Brother
• Whizzing around on wheels
• Significance of Poson - Stamps News 19
• Hibernation and life-cycles

All the best to Sri Lanka

I am a Sri Lankan living in New Zealand. I am very keen on cricket. A few days before the New Zealand cricket team left for Sri Lanka, I was given the opportunity to speak to New Zealand all rounder Chris Harris over the phone which was broadcast live over national radio. I play cricket for my school team, but during winter time because cricket is not played here in New Zealand, cricket workshops are held indoors. I will be joining one of these junior clubs soon, so I will be ready for the coming summer.

Though I live far away from my motherland, my one wish is that I will be able to represent Sri Lanka one day like my grand uncles L.V. Jayaweera and C.V. Abeysekera both represented the then Ceylon cricket team. Finally, I wish the Sri Lankan cricket team the best of luck in their three Test series with New Zealand and in the one day triangular series with India and New Zealand.

Rajitha Yasa Gurusinghe
Auckland, New Zealand.

"Brighta" and his spellings

My brother Ravi is a year five student in a famous school in Kandy. He is very fond of teasing me and boasting of himself claiming he is the 'Brighta' in his class.

One day the teacher had taught them to spell some words and the word 'TOILET" was one of them. So being the 'Brighta' he says he learnt the word well.

On his way home his eyes struck on a notice board hanging on the door of a house by the road.

What was written being a bit familiar he tried to read it. And tried again and again.

"Hey" he thought, "a letter is missing.. yes that third one"!

Obviously there was a space after the second letter. "Fools" he said . Since the board was within his reach, wasting no time he took a piece of chalk and added one letter to the space. Then taking a few steps back he read the notice.

"There you are.. Splendid" he rejoiced.

The poor landlord could not let his house, yet the people appreciated his kindness.

Now guess what the word is, and who is brighter, the 'Brighta' or you?

Ruwani Ranawake
No 7, Samagi Mawatha
Ukuwela.

Riddle me this......

(1) It is yours but others use it. What is it?
(2) What is the end of everything?
(3) What is in front of you, but you cannot see?
(4) What is it that comes down and doesn't go up?
(5) What is the question that you cannot give the answer "Yes"?
(6) Once in a second, a month, century, but not in a hour, a day or week?

Answers:-
(1) Your name
(2) The letter "G"
(3) The future
(4) The rain
(5) Are you asleep?
(6) The letter "N"

Sent by:- Fareeza Ziard
Matale

Beautiful Night

The beautiful sky,
Above this earth
Is a beautiful heaven
As we could see.
A beautiful cloth
Spread with blinking stars
And the wondrous moon
Beaming upon us, monthly
As a pattern of it.
If you look closer
Sometimes you'll see
Yellow, red pink and white
Stars, but planets
Smile at you from far.
A speeding star may
Make you surprised
It's only a satellite,
Oh! beautiful night
There are no words
To tell how beautiful
I love - THE NIGHT

By Teddy
Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda.

Vesak

Mauve Sal blossoms were dancing as garlands of mother India.
In the pleasant garden of Lumbini,
While the perfume filled the air,
A little prince was born
In the nature's cradle
The waves were glittering
of calm Neranjana
While the truth dawned
With the glorious peace
The casements were opened
for a new world
beneath the Bodhi tree
Cold breeze was blowing
And the sadness filled the souls,
While pink and purple petals
Were falling to the earth,
Lord closed his sacred eyes,
In the bosom of the nature

Udumbara Sevwandi Kumari Chandraratne
B/ Welimada M. M. V.

My Brother

My brother's the precious gift of all
And he too loves us more than all
And when he sees a big toy stall
He shouts and cries asking for a ball
He's always the cutest
And eats candy which is the sweetest
He wears clothes which are the latest
And think that they make him the smartest
He talks and talks
And won't stop
And when we say 'Shut Up'
He never gives up.
Thinking of my little Bro..
He's the joy of my heart
I love him more than anything,
And sometimes hit him like nothing

From Maheshika Raigam Bandara
Musaeus College

Whizzing around on wheels

Although in human terms he's too young to drive, Squiggles, a four- week old tree squirrel, has a new set of wheels. The affectionate squirrel's two back legs were paralyzed following a fall, and he was damaging himself each time he tried to drag himself forward with his front paws.

When a Durban woman learned of his plight, she resolved to find a way to make Squiggles sprint again and found a splint maker who created an "exercise chariot" for the injured creature. The "chariot", which features two wheels that double for Squiggles' paralyzed legs, is attached by means of Velcro belt which fits snugly around his body.

Squiggles now lives at CROW, the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife located near Durban, and staff there report that although he'll never climb a tree again, the squirrel has taken to the apparatus with ease, whizzing about on his customized set of wheels.

STAMPS NEWS 19

Significance of Poson

Poson, the month of June is synonymous with Anuradhapura. Thousands of pilgrims flock to Anuradhapura on the full moon day of Poson, the day Arahat Mahinda brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

Anuradhapura, originally a village where Anuradha, one of the followers of Vijaya, the traditional first king of Sri Lanka, lived, later served as the country's capital for over 1500 years since the 4th Century before Christ (B.C)

Mihintale, situated eight miles from Anuradhpura is the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It was here that Arahat Mahinda met King Devanampiyatissa who was on a hunting expedition and converted him to Buddhism. Legend has it that this mountain was sanctified by the Buddha three centuries before the advent of Arahat Mahinda. It is thus one of the sixteen holy places (Solosmasthana) in the island and is held in great veneration.

Mihintale, which became the abode of Arahat Mahinda and 3000 monks, was featured in one of the four stamps issued on 2 January 1967 to mark the first anniversary of the declaration of Poya holidays. The 20 cent stamp featured the Aradhana gala, the peak where Arahat Mahinda arrived. The rock is honeycombed with shrines and caves where Arahat Mahinda and the monks lived. 1840 steps lead the piligrims from the bottom of the rock to the summit. In the temple complex are at least four key places of worship- the Sela Cetiya, the Kanthaka Cetiya, Ambastala Dagoda and Maha Seya. The Urna Loma, the sacred hair relic between the eyebrows is said to be enshrined in Sela Cetiya.

Piligrims visit the Atamasthana, eight sacred places in Anuradhapura. Most of these places have been featured in stamps from time to time.

The Sri Maha Bodhi, the right branch of the very tree beneath which the Buddha attained enlightenment in Buddha Gaya in North India was selected for the 35 cent stamp in the four set Poya Holiday Anniversary issue. The oldest tree in the world, it was brought to Sri Lanka by Theri Sanghamitta, sister of Arahat Mahinda in the 3rd century B.C.

The Ratnamali Mahaseya, more popularly known as Ruvanveli Mahaseya was first featured in one of the New Constitution stamps issued in 1947. The most venerated of all stupas in Sri Lanka built by the great warrior king Dutugemunu (161-137 B.C.), Ruvanveli Seya was chosen for the Rs 2.50 stamp issued in 1997 to commemorate Vesak.

The 1997 Vesak stamps also featured three other prominent Dagobas (stupas) in Anuradhapura. In the Re. 1 stamp was the oldest stupa to be constructed in Sri Lanka, the Thuparama (Rs.1), built by King Devanampiyatissa it covered an area of 3.5 acres with the dagoba on a circular platform of 164.5 ft. in diametre rising to a height of 11.4 ft. The Abhayagiri Dagoba (Rs 3) along with its monastery is at the centre of the largest and one of the oldest monastery complexes.

Built by King Vattagamani Abhaya (103-102 B.C.), it is 235 ft in height and has a diametre of 310 ft. The Jetavana Dagoba (Rs 17) is considered the tallest brick monument in the world. Built by King Mahasena (277-303 A.D), originally its height was said to be over 400 ft though its present height is 232 ft.

The Abhayagiri and Jetavana Dagobas being in the UNESCO - Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle Project were featured in two stamps issued on 25 August 1980 to mark the Proiect.

Hibernation and life-cycles

The habits and life-cy cles of animals vary greatly, but there are certain needs which are common to all of them. Unlike plants, animals cannot make their own foods, so they have to find it. To do so they need to move about and be aware of their surroundings. They have senses in order to see, hear, touch, taste and smell.

Staying alive

Some animals feed on plants, others eat flesh, some eat both. Those which eat dead material or 'left-overs' are called scavengers.

Food passes through a mouth into the food canal where it is broken down, or digested, then spread through the body by a blood system. Food is stored in the body to make it grow, or to repair any damage.

The energy needed for living and moving also comes from food. It is used or "burned" by oxygen. Oxygen is a gas found in air and water. It is breathed into the lungs of land animals, or taken from the water through gills in water animals.

The most important function of any animal is reproduction. Sooner or later an animal's life ends, so it must be able to produce children if the species is not to die out.

Single-celled animals

The simplest animals are called Protozoa. The whole body is a single cell. A common protozoan which lives in ponds is called the amoeba. It creeps among the water plants by pushing out parts of its tiny body. To feed, it wraps itself around its prey and forms a hollow inside which acts as a kind of stomach. Inside this the food is digested and absorbed. Waste products collect in another hollow, called a "contractile vacuole". This bursts from time to time to get rid of any waste.

An amoeba senses its surroundings, and will move away from bright light. To reproduce it simply divides into two separate cells. These cells divide into four, then eight, and so on.

Reproduction

In higher animals there are two sexes - male and female. The male produces cells which join with the egg cells of the female during mating. Each fertilized egg grows into a new animal. It is provided with food (the yolk) by the mother before it leaves her body.

Eggs are laid by most insects, worms, crustaceans, spiders and shellfish. Among higher animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds, egg-laying is also the rule. However, some of these animals keep the eggs inside their bodies until they are about to hatch, then lay them.

Most animals grow up looking like their parents. Insects pass through a larval stage (the caterpillar) before turning into the adult. Amphibians such as frogs have a tadpole stage.

The lower animals usually produce large families because few actually survive. The young must fend for themselves as soon as they are born. An insect can lay thousands of eggs. So do some fish. A single clump of frog-spawn may contain 4,000 eggs.

Birds and mammals produce much smaller families to make sure that enough of them grow up they are given some kind of protection. Birds lay eggs in nests and feed the young until they leave. Mammals feed their young on mother's milk and they look after their babies for quite a long time after birth.

Animal behaviour

Many animal actions are governed by instinct. A spider can make a web, and a bird build a nest without being taught. A young cuckoo finds its way to Africa without help from its parents. However, higher animals such as chimpanzees are capable of learning.

Some animals hibernate, which means they go into a deep sleep during cold weather.

They are cold-blooded creatures and cannot control their body temperature. If they did not sleep, their body temperature would sink so low that they would die.

Usually, warm-blooded animals do not need to hibernate, but there are a few exceptions.

The dormouse, hedgehog and some bats and bears, although warm-blooded, will hibernate.

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