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![]() 22nd November 1998 |
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Hello Children Ever broken a window pane by going to play cricket or damaged your Amma’s expensive Sari by parading around. It would be so easy to pass the blame to your brother or your sister when the question is asked ‘who did it?’ But if you’ve been taught that honesty is the best policy then you have been taught well. If you have tried to tell the truth and then got punished for it well that’s the way it goes. Sometimes it can be very disheartening when the truth gets you punished. But keep in mind that even though you get into trouble even when you tell the truth your parents or anybody for that matter will have great regard for you. In the long run your honesty will be rewarded and you will learn that people will depend on you much more. So you see that honesty can indeed be a very good virtue. Never be afraid to own up to the wrong you do for it will go a long way in the future. Until next time
Children of labour“ Do this,” “ You little wretch, There’s a speck of dust on the floor,” “ This plate of rice For the whole day will do.” By Thamali Jayasinghe Change of NatureThere was a time Trees had grown, rivers had flown Man began to harm Mother Nature. Smoke went out and into the air Wonder trees became desert by closing their eyes Ashan Jayathree Perera The death of my dogWhen I was small my father brought me a small puppy as a present. We named him Broon. He was brown in colour. From that day we looked after him very carefully. He grew up rapidly. He was a very faithful dog. Broon was a very good watchdog. He never allowed anybody to come into our garden, in our absence. He lived for eleven years with us. Though he was eleven years old he did his duty very well. He wagged his tail whenever he saw me. One day he got very sick. My father took him to the vet several times. Unfortunately his illness became worse. It was on Friday morning, I gave him a cup of milk to drink. But he did not drink it. So I went to school very sad. When I returned from school my mother said that my pet dog had died. I was very sad and cried all day. My two brothers got together and burried him. Iwill never forget my faithful dog. Thilini Ishara Godage Cries for PeaceA cry of an infant Asiri Wickramage, A day I won’t forgetOctober 19 was Deepavali for Hindus. In Karaitivu there was a musical programme arranged by Vivekananda Sports Club. The Kalmunai SIVAS and the Super Tuners musical group were invited by Vivekananda sports club. Nilamathi, Srithar Pichiyappa and Anton Thevasakayam were the popular singers and Kawsalya was the local singer. At about 10.30 p.m. the programme started with Anton Thevasakayam who sang the first song. Sometime later Nilamathi was singing her song when suddenly there was a bomb blast. People ran away and my brother and I also ran. Many village people stayed in our home for the night. Next day we heard that one singer and one officer were dead. This day will be remembered for as long as I live. S. Thinesh Vipulananda Stamp News 42Honouring the UN member statesBy Uncle D.C.R
Eating, drinking and cleaningBirds use a lot of energy flying, and must feed often to stay alive. On the whole, birds can eat anything that nature has to offer, but only a few birds, such as crows, can eat everything. Others prefer to eat only a certain range of food for which their beaks are adapted. Many birds are plant-eaters. Thrushes like berries, and finches and sparrows go for seeds. Seedeaters have stout little beaks to crack open the seeds. These birds are usually small, for they have to clamber nimbly over slender twigs to find food. So too are hummingbirds. They feed on the nectar in flowers, hovering over a bloom and dipping their long thin beaks into the petals. Larger birds such as parrots and toucans have strong and large beaks to feed on tropical fruits, and swans and geese tear up grass and water plants with their broad bills. Insects are a common bird food. Warblers seek insects among leaves, picking them up with their little pointed beaks. Tree creepers pull them out of crevices in the bark with their long, curved beaks, while woodpeckers chisel into the bark with their sharp beaks to get insects. Several birds, such as swifts and nightmares, chase flying insects through the air with wide open mouths. Shellfish and worms are the food of wading birds that live at the seashore and in damp places. These birds have long beaks that they use to probe the sand, mud or soil for food. Many birds hunt larger and more active animals. Several are fish-eaters, but face problems in gripping their slippery catch. Some diving ducks and sea birds have beaks with swath edges to grip fish. Birds of prey such as eagle and falcons, and owls and shrikes, are meat-eaters. They mostly hunt small animals such as mice and birds. They have strong hooked beaks that can tear their prey to pieces . A few birds use objects to help them get food. A thrush will bread open a snail on a stone to get at the meat inside, while gulls drop shell fish onto rocks to smash them. The Egyptian vulture breaks open tough ostrich eggs by dropping a stone on them. The woodpecker finch of the Galapagos Islands gets insects out of crevices in bark by probing for them with a cactus spine or a thorn held in the beak. Drinking Birds have to drink as well as eat. Some desert birds can exist on the juices of the food they eat, but most birds have to drink water. They drink by lowering their beaks into some water, and then tipping their heads back to make the water flow down their throats. Pigeons can suck up water and do not have to tip their heads back to drink. Keeping clean A bird has to care for its plumage. Otherwise, pests will invade the feathers and they become untidy, making it difficult to fly. Birds spend a lot of their time cleaning themselves, for they are covered with thousands of feathers. A bird has four main cleaning actions. It has to bathe to clean the feathers, and get rid of pests. Most birds take a dip in a puddle of water and ruffle their feathers. ~Some bathe in the rain, and others may use some dry dust to rub through their plumage. Preening often follows bathing, but may take place at any time. The bird runs its beak through its feathers to get rid of dirt and pests. It cannot attend to its head feathers in this way, and so scratches its head with its claws or allows another bird to preen its plumage instead. To help keep the plumage healthy, birds oil their feathers with a waxy substance from a special gland near the tail called the preen gland. They smear the wax over the plumage with their beaks. This makes the plumage waterproof. |
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