• The brave deed
• The cry
• My best friend
• The Swing
• Stickers
• Myself
• The caravan marches on - Stamp News 29
• The best painter of his time
• My Teacher's Wedding
• Variety of insect life - Nature Watch

The brave deed

Pinith is a playful boy. He is 13 years old. He has to cross the river to go to school. Every day he sits on the river bank and watches the beautiful fish swimming in the river.

One day when Pinith was returning home he saw some children bathing and playing in the river. Pinith was amused by the young boys and he did not want to go home. So he sat down on the river bank for a while.

Suddenly he heard some boys shouting for help. Then he saw a little child waving his hands and shouting in horror. Pinith felt very sorry for the poor boy. He immediately thought of saving the child. And seeing that there wasn't any time to waste he quickly pulled his shirt and threw it to the ground. And in a moment he was in the water swimming like a fish.

On hearing the noise, a lot of people had gathered near the river. They were surprised to see a little boy like Pinith going to save a child.

"How can that boy save another's life. It's impossible" said the people in the crowd. But no one came to help Pinith.

But the strong little swimmer managed to catch the boy by the hand, and then he kept the child on his back and started swimming towards the shore. Pinith felt tired. But he never gave up his effort. After a while Pinith was near the river bank with the unconscious boy on his back. At last some men came forward and took the two boys in their arms.

The crowd was overjoyed. They clapped and cheered and came running to congratulate the hero. The little boy's parents came to the spot after a while and gave their warmest thanks for saving their son. They gave a big reward for the brave deed. Pinith was also very happy. But it was not because of the reward he got. It was all because he had saved a precious life.

T.B.M. Lakmali
Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya
Matara

The cry

It was a windy night
With strange sounds that frightened me
I was all alone

I heard someone crying
I went downstairs
I saw the window open

I closed the window
A few minutes later
I heard the same cry

I listened carefully
Again, I went down
But, there was nothing

I'm sure, I heard the cry
It wasn't a dream
Anyhow I'll find it out

Jenita Sivanesan
Good Shepherd B.M.V.
Nuwara Eliya

My best friend

My best friend's name is Lahiru Madusanka Hettipathirana. He's 11 years old, and loves to play cricket. He lives at Boralesgamuwa. He attends C.W.W. Kannangara Maha Vidyalaya at Borella.

Lahiru's favourite subject is Art. Chocolates and oranges are his favourite food. Jonty Rhodes is his favourite batsman and fielder, and he is a lover of nature. Sinbad is one of his best movies. His mother and father are both working in the Navy and he has a younger brother who keeps him company. I wish him all the best for the future.

Tharind Dewendra Wijegoonawardane,
C.W.W. Kannangara Maha Vidyalaya, Colombo 8.

The Swing

We used to have a swing -
In our garden tied to a tree
Such happiness that it used to bring.
It made us feel so free.

Every day after three o'clock
We reached home tired so much,
We came to our swing
To have some fun after late lunch.

Go to school, go to classes;
Come home again to go back again,
It used to be the same
Until the swing, to our life, came.

But people around find it odd.
To see two girls sixteen years old
Swinging on the swing like zoom;

Then one day our only fun was lost
As our dear swing was back in a room
Coiled up under the bed to roost.

By Lawanya Wijesekara
B/Kuda Kusum Balika M.V.
Bandarawela.

Stickers

A Mickey Mouse sticker
On my desk I find
And a Donald Duck sticker
On my chair

A cowboy sticker
I bought in the market
And a Superman sticker
I bought at the fair

A sticker here, a sticker there
The walls look so full
stickers stickers everywhere
My room looks so colourful.

Mohamed Infas
Ilma Vidyalaya

Myself

My name's Iresha Shanika Kumari. I'am twelve years old. I live in Nedurana. My school is R/Erepola Sri Mahinda Maha Vidyalaya. I am in Grade 7. I study eight subjects. I like English very much.

I have two sisters. My father is Gunarathna and my mother is Rathna. My favourite game is netball and I love rice very much. And the cricketer I like best is Sanath Jayasuriya. My best friend is Dinusha. My ambition in life is to become a teacher.

M.K. Iresha Shanika Kumar
Nedurana, Erepola, Eheliyagoda.

The caravan marches on

By Uncle DCR

From time immemorial, every society had used its own beasts of burden. Prominent among them are the camel, horse, pony, donkey, bull, dog and elephant. In Sri Lanka, the bull has been extensively used over the years to carry goods. The caravan has thus survived even after the introduction of other forms of transport since it has been proved the most suitable in mountainous and thickly grown areas where there are no roads.

The caravan was thus featured in the 35 cent stamp issued ten years ago (22 August, 1988) in a set of four stamps showing the development of transport in Sri Lanka.

Even today, the caravan is a common sight in remote hilly areas of Uva, Udukinda and lower Walapone. Only trained bulls are used for caravans. A jute mat is spread over the bull and tied firmly and attached to the bull is a net bag into which loads are packed. Each caravan party is led by a caravan leader, an experienced hand. Other packed bulls follow. It's a fascinating sight particularly in the early morning when goods are carried to the bazaars for sale.

The invention of the locomotive by George Stephenson in 1814 revolutionised the transport pattern of the world. Coming in the wake of the industrial revolution, the introduction of the locomotive was a significant event in the history of transport. The economical and convenient movement of heavy loads and the transport of large numbers of passengers in a single journey were the main advantages of the locomotive.

While the first train was run in England in 1825, it was introduced to Sri Lanka by 1864. The maiden journey was made from Colombo to Ambepussa on 27 December, 1864. Within the next fifty years, a complete network of the railway track was laid. An early locomotive engine was featured in the Rs. 2 stamp.

The cart has been a popular form of transport from the remote past. Carts were used in flat areas, particularly where roads could not be built. Old cart tracks can be seen even today in remote rural areas. Different forms of carts were designed to suit different purposes. Some carried passengers while others were used to transport goods. Ones which carried goods used either a single bull (as in the Rs. 2.50 stamp) or two. On long journeys, a third bull was used in the double bullock cart. The spare bull was tied to the rear of the cart and walked leisurely until it got its chance to join another in front. On these long journeys carrying goods the carters composed many a poem and reciting them loudly. Often carts grouped together and made these journeys. As a low cost and accessible form of transport, the cart is extremely popular to this day.

The first automobile run on petrol was introduced by the German national, Gottlieb Daimler was back in 1885. Once considered a source of danger, it soon became a convenient, quick and utility mode of transport. Originally a luxury, it did not take much time for it to become a popular vehicle.

The automobile was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1899 and for many years was the preserve of a privileged few. Today it is not so. An early Ford car is featured on the Rs. 5 stamp. These old crocks survive to this day and occasionally can be seen at Old Crocks rallies.

The best painter of his time

Imagine a person who is complete in every way. A person who is good looking, who has a brilliant mind and who is able to make beautiful things. He would also be a person who is popular and a good and loyal friend. Such a person would be very rare indeed. One such person was Leonardo Da Vinci, the greatest light of the Italian Renaissance. He had a lovely voice and his speech was clever and full of wit. The best painters and thinkers of his time came to hear him speak. But even in his own day he was not known as we know him today - as one of the greatest painters the world has ever seen, a draftsman, a sculptor, an architect, a mechanic, a military and civil engineer, a philosopher and the first person to study many areas in science.

This man, one of the biggest forces of the Italian Renaissance, was born in 1452. His father was Piero Antonia da Vinci a lawyer. He was born in the village of Vinci. It was from this village that his family took his name. His mother was a peasant girl named Catarina. She was not married to his father.

"Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper" are two of Da Vinci's well-known paintings. Leonardo invented the Steam pressure engine. He also found out the possible uses of submarines and machine guns.

From the many notes and sketches he made. We have evidence of Da Vinci's genius. He is the best example of a Renaissance Man.

Rajitha Fernando
Sivali M.M.V.
Ratnapura.

My Teacher's Wedding

My teacher Miss Luliano was going to be married, so my class and another teacher decided to organize a surprise party. Mrs Megowen is our teacher's good friend. So Mrs Megowen asked me and Nicole to collect all the money. We were all going to give 2 dollars each. Nicole and I were going to get the money from everyone in our class in the morning before school. Then we all bought in something. Somebody bought in 52 party poppers. We all contributed chips, drinks, balloons and lots more. We were going to give the best surprise party. We were going to buy Miss Luliano some champagne glasses and a champagne bottle. Mrs Megowen was going to give the bottle to her friend who decorates champagne bottles. At last the day came.

While Miss Luliano was in the staffroom Mrs Megowen came in and took us to her classroom and we all hid behind the door and waited for Miss Luliano to come in. Miss Luliano was surprised that we weren't in the classroom, so she came into Mrs. Megowen's room and we all jumped up and surprised her. Then we popped the party poppers and gave her the presents. She loved the decorated champagne bottle. After that we all ate untill we were full. We all gave different presents. But I gave her a special one. It was a leather purse which I had brought from Sri Lanka. We had some games together that day. I love my class teacher very much.

By Sirini Dharmapriya
Grade 4
Christopher's Primary school,
Melbourne, Australia.

Variety of insect life

Insects are among the most numerous of all animals. Nearly one million different kinds have so far been discovered. Apart from the oceans, insects live in all corners of the world, from the Arctic Circle to the tropics.

They are found in ponds and streams, in the soil, on plants, and even in our homes.

There are plant-eaters, hunters and scavengers. Some, like butterflies, we consider beautiful and harmless. Others, like flies and mosquitoes, can be harmful and spread disease.

In all there are nearly 50 different insect groups or orders. They can usually be recognized by the way their wings are built. Most numerous are the beetles or Coleoptera (sheath-wings) which have hard outer wings, or elytra. Flies or Diptera (two-wings) have only one pair of wings instead of the usual two pairs. The bees, wasps and ants belong to the Hymenoptera (membrane-wings), whose wings are supported by a network of veins.

Grasshoppers and crickets, including locusts, belong to the Orthoptera (straight-wings). They have long hind legs for jumping and can also fly. Fleas are also good at jumping but have no wings. They live on other animals.

Bugs (Hemiptera or half wing) have half of their forewings hardened and a sharp, sucking mouth for feeding on plant juices or on blood.

On this page are some of better known insects. They vary in size from midgets, smaller than a pin's head, to giants like the Goliath beetle and the Atlas moth. The Goliath beetle is ten centimetres long and weighs 100 grams. The Atlas moth has a wingspan of 30 centimetres.

An insect's mouth parts vary according to what it feeds on. A honey bee has a long tongue in order to reach the hidden glands of flowers where the nectar is stored. A hawk moth has an even longer tongue which can be pushed into flowers with deep tubes like the honeysuckle. Flowers with flat heads can be visited by insects with short tongues, such as flies and beetles. Flowers need to attract insects with their bright colours and scents because the insects help them to pollinate.

Inside an insect

Insects can be distinguished from all other arthropods because they have a body divided into three parts — the head, the chest or thorax, and the main body or abdomen .

On the head are the mouth parts, a pair of feelers, or antennae, and the eyes. The antennae are sense organs used in feeling and smelling. The eyes are either simple or compound.

The brain has a nerve cord passing along the lower side of the body. This has a swelling or ganglion in each segment.

Food which is eaten passes into a crop where it can be stored. The gizzard is where it is digested. The kidneys get rid of any waste, which is passed out through the rectum.

The blood system is simple. There are few blood vessels. Instead blood flows freely inside the body cavity, and is kept moving by the pumping of the heart. The blood carries food from the intestine to other parts of the body, and waste products back to the kidneys. Insect blood does not carry oxygen as human blood does. This is done instead by the breathing organs or tracheae.

How insects fly

Since insects have no inside skeleton of bones in their wings, the way they fly is quite different from birds and bats. Muscles which work the wings are attached to the inside of the body wall. The vertical muscles pull the upper wall of the body downwards, and this raises the wings. Then, horizontal muscles pull the upper wall upwards and the wings drop. This can be compared with pulling an oar when rowing a boat.

The up and down wing beats can be as few as five per second in some butterflies, or as many as 1,000 a second in midges. Hawk moths can actually hover in front of flowers as they sip nectar, just as hummingbirds do. Dragonflies and hoverflies are real experts, and can rise and fall, and dart backwards and forwards. The fastest known insect is an Australian dragonfly which can reach 58 kilometres per hour.

Insect eyesight

Eyesight in insects is of a special kind. The simple eyes found mostly in larvae are probably only useful for telling light from dark. The large compound eyes are very efficient in noticing movement. They consist of many separate lenses called ommatidia. These are coneshaped and each can see a separate part of an object it is looking at. The result is a hazy picture of an image seen in separate parts, rather like a mosaic. However, with so many lenses an insect can spot the slightest movement. If you have ever tried to catch a housefly with your hand you will know how quickly it can see you.

Insects which hunt their prey, such as dragonflies, may have as many as 30,000 ommatidia in each compound eye.

The eggs of an insect are formed inside two egg-tubes which lead into the oviduct. As the eggs move down the tube they receive a store of food. They meet the sperms received from the male insect during mating, and become fertilized. Insect eggs vary greatly in shape and appearance, as can be seen when they are under a microscope.

An insect's hard outer skin is made of a dead material called chitin. This is built largely out of waste material, and acts as a support for the body, almost like an outer skeleton. It protects the insect, but more important it prevents the loss of water, without which the insect would soon die. Some insects can live in the driest and hottest places on earth where other animals would soon perish.

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