THE WHYS AND WEASONS

Why Do Peacocks Have Beautiful Tails?

Many years ago, and probably much longer than that, there was this beautiful kingdom called, you’d never guess – the Animal Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom was ruled by the powerful, but really wise lion (the Lion), named King Arthur.
King Arthur was always fair to all the animals whenever they had problems. He was a good listener.
One afternoon, when he was relaxing in the royal gardens, he got to wondering about who, out of all the animals in the kingdom, might be the most intelligent.
Finally, he made an announcement that there would be a competition in the middle of the following month.
“Whoever wins, I shall reward with a beautiful, magnificently coloured tail, such as no creature has ever sported before!” the king proclaimed. “And I shall also grant the winner the title of the Most Intelligent Creature (MIC). There was a buzz as all the animals listening shared their enthusiasm.
The competition day soon rolled around and all sorts of animals assembled like Tigers, Elephants, Bears, Dogs, Peacocks and countless others. The first round was the Spelling Bee and the Eagle won that hands down. In round two, it was the Eagle again who took the show.
“Eagle has got a lot of points already!” the other animals said as they watched him strut around proudly, full of himself, arrogant to his ears!
All the animals felt down. They felt they had no chance to win, but the Peacock believed that she had a chance. Over the next two rounds, the Peacock and the Eagle were on level points.
The Eagle was shocked and scared that the Peacock might win. So, to make sure that the Peacock had no chance, the Eagle hatched a crafty plan – cheating!
He cheated on the answers, but the Peacock didn’t know. She just carried on.
King Arthur figured out the Eagle was cheating because he knew that the Eagle was a very tricky creature, while the Peacock was really honest.
The last round started. The Peacock lost! The Eagle was prancing about, showing off. But the Peacock was still happy even though she had lost.
King Arthur got up to make a short speech,”Congratulations to Eagle, but I want to make a new announcement. Peacock and Eagle will have a very quick test tomorrow and should Eagle win again, then he will take the beautiful, colourful tail that I promised.”





The Eagle was very sure of himself and thought that winning would be a piece of cake, but the Peacock wasn’t so sure and didn’t think things would be at all easy. So, she studied all night, whilst the Eagle just played all the time.
The next day, the king asked a real easy question, “What does the waterwheel say as it turns?”
The Eagle froze, his eyes popped and he couldn’t answer. The Peacock had learned about this the previous night in her riddle book and she answered, “I was a quince. I was a tree. The king was hurt. He cut down me!”
The Eagle was totally flabbergasted when he heard the answer!
The Eagle was angry, fuming! Then King Arthur said, “Yes, the answer is correct! When I was walking in my garden last month, I got hit by a quince tree. I was very hurt. So, my servants cut it down and turned it into a waterwheel.”
The second question came, “In an hour, you must get back to the palace, riding and walking, laughing and crying, all at the same time. Can you do that?”
Still the Eagle couldn’t think of an answer, but the Peacock rushed back home to get a peeled onion. When she returned, she was riding a donkey that was so small that the Peacock’s feet touched the ground. She was riding and walking! She knew she looked pretty funny, so she laughed. And the peeled onion she held to her eyes and that made her eyes stream with tears – she was laughing and crying at the same time!
The Eagle was totally shocked and speechless! “The Peacock wins the competition,” said the king.
The Eagle was mad, so hopping mad, he made himself disappear from the Animal Kingdom.
The Peacock got her very beautiful and magnificent, colourful tail and she also became the Most Intelligent Creature in the whole kingdom.
Of course, from that day on all peacocks have colourful tails, while eagles have dark, unattractive, tatty ones!

Jessica November 2007

Why Do Rays Have Electricity?

Back when rays didn’t have electricity, when it was spring at the bottom of the sea, there were a myriad of wonderfully coloured sea creatures.
Two of these sea creatures had names – Mr. Ray, a ray, and Mr. Plug, a plug. Their houses were side by side.
One day, Mr. Ray took a look out his window and saw Mr. Plug. Mr. Ray went outside too. He was very curious about what Mr. Plug might be up to. He crept up alongside him and asked, “Do you know why your name is Mr. Plug?”
Mr. Plug smiled at Ray and answered, “My name is Mr. Plug because I am full of electricity. My whole body is full of it!”
Mr. Ray continued asking, “Where exactly do you come from?”
From Plugland in outer space, “came Plug’s reply.
“Are you serious?” Well, just how come you’re in the sea now?” Mr. Ray asked.
And so Mr. Plug told his story.
“One day, in Plugland that is, I was playing around the Cannon ball area. There were two naughty plugs called Rick and Rack and they were playing with the cannon balls. They looked at the cannon balls and then back at me. I didn’t know what they were thinking about. Then, I heard one of them say, “How about we push Mr. Plug inside the cannon and blast him into outer space!”
“Good idea!” they giggled and they rushed to me and shoved me into the cannon. There was nothing I could do. I am not that strong.
When I left Plugland like that and got here on earth and in the sea, I saw how poor you are and I wanted to take you back to Plugland because life is different there and much better. I tried to think of a way, but really, I’m not that bright.’
A couple of days later, Mr. Ray was trying to catch a fish and he wasn’t having any luck.
“Can you help me Mr. Plug?” It’s not easy to catch a fish. They’re too tricky.”
“Sure I can, “answered Mr. Plug and he used his electrical power and shocked some of the fish. He gave them to Mr. Ray who was also shocked, but not in the same way as the fish.
“Can you give me some of your electrical power?” asked Mr. Ray. “I want to catch fish easily, and maybe I can help you get back to Plugland!” he continued.
“OK!” said Mr. Plug
One evening, Mr. Ray got this brilliant idea. In the morning he told Mr. Plug all about it. “How about we use sea cannons to shoot you out of the sea and all the way back to Plugland?”
“We can try, “said Mr. Plug. “What a nice idea.”
They strolled down to the cannon ball area to do exactly what Mr. Ray had thought of. Just before the blast, they said their goodbyes and Mr. Plug of Plugland gave Mr. Ray some of his power.
The cannon fired and the plan was a total success.
Ever since that day in the spring at the bottom of the sea, Mr. Ray hasn’t needed to work hard to catch his dinner and Mr. Plug? Well, we know he’s still around, happy to be back in Plugland.

(539 words)
Wynne October 2007

Why Do Dogs Bark?

I guess that people don't really know why dogs bark. Let me tell you.

There was this cute, little girl by the name of Jessica, who dreamed of having many pets. Her favourite was a Golden Retreiver. In fact, she had ten of them! Their names were Skippy,Clover, Angel, Chacha, Snowy, Winter, Frosty, Spring, Husky, and Lucky.

One day Skippy got upset. He tried to tell Jessica what was annoying him, but all she heard was barking. Skippy didn't realize that he was barking, and after about an hour of this, he grew tired, lay down, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Jessica gave Skippy his breakfast as usual. He ate it and he was very happy as usual.

Jessica told him, "Don't bark, Skippy!"
That's when Skippy realized that he had been barking all night long!

From that day on, whenever Skippy barked, Jesssica knew that he was hungry.

Nadya 4I

November 2007

Why Do Sharks Kill?

When a little kid was swimming in Bali one day - suddenly - Doosh! Gone! Eaten by a shark!

But, did you know that sharks were not always like that?

Before the crisis, sharks didn't eat meat. They ate sea plants instead. But, one day, a shark was swimming around in the sea looking for food, but there was only fish and other sea creatures. Crisis!

This shark was so hungry - starving, and there was nothing to eat at all.

The shark ate the fish and other sea creatures - just to survive. That's the time when sharks started killing or eating living creatures and that's the reason they have become one of the dangerous killers on the planet!

Ricky September 2007

Why Did God Create Earth?

God wanted a good place for animals and people to live well together. if animals and people lived in space, I imagine they wouldn't be able to breathe.

I think that 's the reason behind God. Not only that, He created light and darkness too!

After all, God created everything - the oceans, the land and the skies!

Now, these days, many nations use electricity to live better ,but not bitter. That's why God created Earth.

Jojo September 2007

Why do people have to have names?

Before, I mean a long time ago and I can't be sure when, there was a girl. She was 9. But, this story happened when she was 5.

She lived with her mother in a really big, fancy palace in Jakarta. The walls were made of gold. She was an only child . And she was a very spolied one too!

If she wanted anything and her parents wouldn't let her have it, she would very angry and cook up a storm. And this happened a lot.

Her parents worried about it, but they didn't really know what to do.

They tried explaining to her, but it didn't work.They felt disappointed.

The palace was so big that she could get lost easily in it.There were lots of guards and they were always looking for her.They (the guards) were confused and the girl were even more confused because she was only 5.

"Thats it!" yelled the girl's mom.

"What's it?" said the girls father.

"She wants everything, but she really wants one thing-a name! We have to give her a name!"she explained excitedly.

The father said "Wow!"Of course! You are such a clever wife!"

K September 2007

Why Do Cheetahs Run Fast?

Before Christ, there used to be a Kingdom of wild cats. The Lion ruled the Kingdom with an iron fist. The cheetah lived quietly and the Lion never worried about him.

One evening, just after dusk, a wolf came sneaking around and stole some of the king's goods, but bad luck, he got smashed by a bolt of lightning just outside the cheetah's house.

When the cheetah saw this, he hurriedly ran and informed the Lion.

“Catch the thief!” roared the Lion.

The cheetah sprinted off and easily caught the wolf, bringing him before the king. “Your majesty, I have the suspect. His name is Mr. Wolf.”

The king celebrated and gave the cheetah a reward for recovering his property and that's why these days, the cheetah always finds his prey at lightning speed!

Leonardo Ga Vinci

4I

November 2007

Why Do Monkeys Have Super-Long Tails?

Once there was a monkey named Popo. He was a very helpful, caring and clever monkey. Popo had met all the animals. Well, all except for rabbits.

Popo was walking down the street one day when he saw a white thing coming towards him. He was extremely curious. He stopped and studied it for while and then he went towards it. Both creatures stopped and stared at each other.

Popo had never seen such an animal. He had no idea what is was.

The rabbit was the first to speak. "Hey! I know you! You are Popo, the most famous monkey in the jungle, right?" said the rabbit.

"Yes, I am."

"I am a rabbit!" said the rabbit.

"What? A rabbit?" the monkey checked. "I've heard lots of stories about you too, but what's wrong with your tail? the monkey continued.

"What do you mean, what's wrong with my tail?" said the rabbit confused.

With that, the monkey stopped talking and ran away to the Lion.

"Lion! Lion! I saw the rabbit!" cried Popo.

And the Lion answered saying, "Well, was the tail as strange as I told you?"

"Oh, yes!"

"I've got invitations inviting all the animals in this town to come to the Animal kingdom!"

I've heard about that," said the monkey.

A couple of days passed.

Wow!!" Today is competition day!" said the monkey. "I'll have to exercise."

It was time to go to the Animal Kingdom.

Okay! Take your places. This competition is a race!" said the king. "Please don't use Pongpinping Road, because it's a shortcut."

"BANG!" went the gun.

Popo couldn't hang onto the branches. He fell off because his tail was too short. Poor Popo!

There was a was a tree branch connected to the Pongpinping Road.

The rabbit had a very long, brown tail, so he could easily swing through the branches along Pongpinping Road. When Popo saw that, he felt angry and he complained to the King, the Lion. "He used Pongpinping Road to get the finish line!"

The king was very angry. Soon, after that , the rabbit got to the finish line, with a big smile on his face. "I won! I won, your majesty! Now, I think I should get to be a lord in this animal town! the rabbit said proudly.

"No way!" shouted the king.

"What? You're not fair!" cried the rabbit.

"No, I think it's you who isn't fair!" the king answered. "You went by the Pongpinping Road, didn't you!"

How do you know that?" said the rabbit.

"Racer No 13 told me, Mr. Rabbit. So, I think the animal lord should be Popo. And I shall give him a present. I think I shall give Popo your rabbits' super long tail because you did something wrong, and so you shall be be punished. And I think the colour will suit Popo as well.!"

Hyo Joo September 2007

Why Do Boys Play Football?

Girls don't really like playing football, because they're are always scared of the ball. They think they might get hurt!

Funny Huh!

Boys love playing football because they like tricking the other players with their skills. When things go well, that's when boys have most fun! That's why boys play football!

Tirta October 2007

Why Do People Eat?

There was once this beautiful stone palace in Flowertown, near Leaftown, hidden somewhere in the magnificent,lush, green valleys of Germany. There, lived an extremely, lazy, little girl, called Jessica. She didn't do well at school.

When it was time for her to have something to eat, she didn't want to. So her mum, Karina, and her dad James, were very worried that she would get sick.

Jessica's best friends. Nadya and Eliana were her best friends because Jessica always helped them. When they dropped by the palace, Jessica would rustle up some noodles, but she herself, wouldn't eat.

The two girls enjoyed their noodles, while Jessica sat by and had none.

The girls asked her, “Why aren't you eating?” Jessica didn't answer.

As you can imagine, after a few days, Jessica got sick. The doctor came and said that she had to eat every day. “If you eat regularly, your stomach will not ache and you will have lots of energy,” he said, wisely.

Jessica learned her lesson. Without food every day, she couldn't be healthy and she couldn't be normal and she couldn't be the kind-hearted Jessica her friends liked and respected. And she did well at school too. She got top marks!

After that, everybody was happy and most of all, Jessica. That's why people eat.

Nicole 4I October 2007

Why Is Space Black?

Millions of years ago in outer space, there were monstrous meteors that approached all the inner planets and the people were out of their minds, panicking. The meteor was more than 210 feet across and more than 300 degrees Celsius and it was made of more than a trillion different types of chemicals. It would be a total catastrophe if the thing blasted the planets!

The meteor had a special SOS system to connect at blast time and after that a massive, black cloud of smoke from the meteor spread everywhere, even back into outer space, making the sky in space black as the darkest night!

Now, when we see that space is black, you and I can wonder just how close the meteor came to striking planet earth!

Jo Suk Lin

4 I

September 2007

Why Do Cows Produce Milk?

In Singapore, there lived a 10 -year-old kid named Aaron who lived on a farm with his dad. There, Aaron had plenty of pets - cows, horses and dogs.

One day, he organized a competition for his animals to see who was the best. The fastest swimmer, for example, would get three points, and the one who got the most points would get a trophy. The dog won the trophy.

From that day on, the dog became extremely arrogant! Aaron got angry and he couldn't put up with what he saw.

"Enough is enough!' he said. So, he took away the dog's power to produce milk and he gave it to the cow!

Even now, the dog can not make milk, and the cow does that repectable job in her own quiet way.

Jason 4 V October 2007

Why Do Fish Swim?

Did you know that millions of years ago, fish couldn't swim? They didn't have gills. They lived on the land and they liked to eat cats! All the cats died out, except for one family, named the Catsroll family.

The Earth king, called Catsy, had given cats the ability to have children. The Catsrolls had children, but one day, when they went out for a picnic, the children got eaten by fish.

Catsy was furious when he heard about it and so, he gave the fish gills and banished them to life in the sea.

That's why until this day, fish swim and they don't eat children, beause they have to find their food in the sea. And that's why cats get to eat fish!

Devin September 2007

Why Do People Love Hamburgers?

A long time ago there was this boy from America. His name was Ben. He loved hamburgers. His mum and dad didn't.

Ben's dream was to set up a hamburger restaurant, but the first time he tried, it failed.

He tried again, and this time it worked, but he needed waiters and waitresses and chefs. It took him a long time to find the right people to work for him.

Soon after he opened, the first customer came and had a cheeseburger. Ben promoted his restaurant all around the world and it wasn't long before people knew about hamburgers. Some even went to America just have hamburgers and Ben started restaurants all over the world, because people wanted to eat fast and eat without knives and forks - just use their hands and enjoy the special sauces that Ben made.

That's why people love hamburgers and now they can't get enough of them!

Kevin October 2007

Why Do Monkeys Have Long Tails?

The story goes that a very long time ago in the jungles of Central Africa, there was an extremely jealous lion. He was lazy too. He always asked his friends, the other animals, to find food for him and he never gave anything to his family or his friends for that matter.

After God found out about this lion, he made a monkey with a little tail, so that he could go with the lion and offer him advice. But the problem was that the monkey couldn't keep up with the lion as he roamed through the jungle.The monkey couldn't walk through the vast jungle and he would get very tired when he tried.

So, God created a new monkey - one with a long tail so that he could advise the lion and teach him to be kind. This monkey could keep up with the lion, because he could easily swing through the trees and he never got tired because he never had to walk.

One day, as he was swinging his way through the trees, he saw a lot of people gathering food, and there was one munching an apple and after a while, the lion came up to him. The lion was angry with the apple muncher.

The monkey saw this and was quickly on the scene, and he whispered into the lion's ear that it was OK for this person to have an apple because there was really enough food for everybody. Anyway, he said that apples are not that great and that the best food for a lion was meat because it makes them strong and lions are famous for their strength!

This was the very first time that the lion had listened to anybody in his entire life and if it hadn't been for the wise monkey with the long tail, life in the jungle would have been very different today!

Nur October 2007

Why Do Hamsters Squeak?


In 0078, there lived a chubby hamster named Chumpy. At that time hamsters didn't squeak at all, but rather, they honked!
One sunny day, Chumpy went out and played with his friends, Jiggy and Joggy. They were a bit naughty, both of them. They sometimes like to tease Chumpy, but pretty soon they stopped because Chumpy's "honk" grew louder and louder and this worried the others.
Chumpy lost his voice around that time. He got hiccups as a result of eating too many peanuts. The hiccups got worse and worse and soon, Chumpy could only squeak.
He got up early one morning and got Jiggy and Joggy out of bed. "Get up! Today's a beautiful morning, just right for playing games!" he squeaked.
"Since when did you become so chirpy?" asked Jiggy and Joggy together, rubbing their eyes.
"Since today!" Chumpy answered.
Jiggy and Joggy quickly ran outside and started playing together. After about an hour and lots of fun, it started to look like rain and they ran back inside. But Chumpy was too slow to realize that it had started to rain and rain hard, and he died because hamsters die if they get wet.
The others were very sad - they missed their friend and from then on, they squeaked just like Chumpy did. Perhaps it was their way of always remembering him.

Kelly November 2007

Why Did God Create Animals?

In the pearly palace in the Sky Kingdom, there was an pretty princess named Pinky. She was 10. When she turned 11, she got a new bicycle from her dad and a Ninetendo DS from her mum. A month later, after her birthday, Pinky was out riding around on her bicycle when suddenly she saw an unusual creature - quite cute too!
When she got home, she described the creature to her mum, asking her what it was. Her mum listened carefully. "It was a puppy, my dear Pinky, " her mum said.
"Oh, a puppy! Thanks mum. Now I know, " she said. And she ran off.
Pinky spent some time thinking of how to take care of a puppy. After a while, she went upstairs to her mum's room and asked, "How do we take care of puppies mum? I mean, can I have one for a pet?"
"Why not?" her mum said, smiling.
So, from that day on, God created animals so that all the little princesses and princes of this world can take care of them.

Kellen November 2007

Why Do Snakes Hiss?

Long ago in the forests of North America, there was a snake that hissed non-stop! It was a python. It was very long, very poisonous and it would eat small animals by poisoning them and then chewing their heads off. This python lived near a giant fir tree.
One morning, the snake was out looking for something to eat, when suddenly, a bird appeared and captured it. The python struck with its poison and the bird fell down. The snake hissed and hissed.
He carried on hunting, looking for something tasty, when he got a shock! The whole forest seemed suddenly different! The snake got scared and turned and ran as fast as he could. He ran and ran.
Finally, he stopped and found that he could speak! "Oh man, I must get back to the forest !" he said to himself.
And so he went back. But, when he got there, he tried to hiss, but he couldn't! He tried again. Nothing! He tried all night until he fell asleep.
The next morning... what a bad day! He hunted and tried to hiss. He could hiss again! He scared villains. He caught a mouse. He caught 30 villains in 3 hours. They all just dropped dead. Wow, his hiss was very useful!
He saw another mouse and he followed it and other small animals as well. He hid.
When the mouse came near, he suddenly saw the snake! The snake thought "Ah, Ah! Now you're dead!"
He got the mouse and wrapped his body around it quickly, chewing the head.
"Buuurp! The snake's stomach was full. He looked for a place to rest and ran into another snake named Joe.
My name is Snake," said the python.
"And my name is Joe," said the other snake.
"Fancy some hunting ?" said the python.
"Oh yes," said Joe. "Hey, I just saw a mouse!" he screamed. Let's get him!"
Later, the python said, "It's time to head home."
"I haven't got a home," said Joe.
"Stay at my place then, " said the python.
That night the weather was bad. A huge thunderstorm came and woke them up. "Wo! What's that cracking sound?' said Joe.
"Let's get out of here1" they shouted.
"Let's get to the city! It should be safer there!" said python.
"What a scary noise!" said Joe.
After the storm, they went back to the forest, but Joe got lost. "Where are you?" called the python. No answer. So, the python went back home and made himself a cup of tea.
Joe crept up to the python's house and hissed. Python got a shock. He was frightened.
"Hehehe. Now, you're scared!" said Joe.
The python left his home by sneaking out a hole behind the front door, fooling Joe and coming up behind him.
"Hiss!"
"Ah!!!!" shouted Joe and he started laughing. "You got me! I almost died of fright!"
"That's why we hiss, isn't it?" said the python.

Christopher October 2007







Why Do We Have to Be Good At Soccer?

One day, there was boy named Christian who, on his way home from school one day, started kicking a stone around on the street. He kicked it all the way home.
He told his friend Kaito that evening, and they started to play together. They collected many friends after a while and everyone was talking about it. And so, they made up some rules.
They set up a "stadium" and they all played there. They split up into two teams. Christian and Kaito separated because they knew about this "football". They set a game time of 90 minutes.
They practiced a lot and they had lots of fun. Everybody got good at their game of "soccer".
They had to get good, because then you have more fun. That's why you have to be good at soccer.

Aaron October 2007

How Come We Can Walk?

There is this old story from America in the early days. It goes like this. There was this boy with no bones. In fact, everybody there was boneless at that time. They just sat around all day long.
One day, God started thinking of a way to get these people moving about. He thought about it for a month. Then he came up with the solution. He gave them bones!
There were 14 different types of bones. There were skulls, sternums, spines, phalanges, ulnas, tibias, tibias, femurs, humerus', pelvises, clavicles, scapulas, patellas, fibulas, and rib cages! Whew!
When everybody was asleep, God gave them their new bones and in the morning, they tried to walk for the first time, up, down, up again, fall down again. The boy tried hard for a whole week, but at last, like all the others, he could walk normally and he could do other things too!
That's how come people can walk!

Nikki October 2007

Why Do People Die?

Millions of years ago, God created people. The problem was that they were not good enough, and they threw rubbish everywhere!

God was very patient, but his anger grew because the land was getting dirtier and dirtier.

He wanted people to love each other, to love the place where they live and to love the animals He created. He wanted people to take good care of Earth.

God felt sad and disappointed when he saw people cutting down trees non-stop, tossing rubbish everywhere, destroying the forests everywhere, making pollution everywhere and even killing each other and He wanted to teach the people a lesson, so that they would not do bad things all the time.

Dax November 2007

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Many years ago, there was a beautiful Kingdom called Merry Kingdom where all the pets of the world lived. But the dogs didn't bark because they hated barking.
One day a thrush came by and told the dogs to go the biggest mountain in Europe. The dogs sat there and listened and said nothing. But anyway, they went to the mountain.
When they got here, something happened - they starting barking and they couldn't stop. They asked the thrush, "What's going on? You know we don't like barking!

The thrush answered something like this, "We are all animals and we all have our own words. As a bird, I can sing, sweet sounds like cicici to make our world peaceful, while you dogs make your barking sounds to make the whole world listen and take care.

The dogs looked at each other. They understood.

Melissa October 2007

Why Do Rainbows Come After Rain?

A long time ago, in a small village, in the year 027, there were two children who grew up there - Nicole and Nicky. They were twins.

One sunny day, it suddenly started to rain, and the twins went home. After about 5 hours, the rain stopped and the sun come out again. When the twins looked out the window, they saw some beautiful coloured shadows and Nicole said to Nicky, "I think those shadows start with the word, rain. "

"Ah! I have an idea!" said Nicky.

"What ?" said Nicole.

"Rainbows!" said Nicky.

"That's a good name for them! You are such a smart cookie aren't you?" said Nicole.

"They only come out when little twin sisters wish for sun showers. Did you know that? Nicky smiled.

Dea October 2007

Why Do Frogs Jump?

A lot of kids must have asked that question, but I heard
the story goes like this.

Before the time of Christ, there was a kingdom called Frogster in a dark forest, somewhere in Europe. The ruler was Bishtah Rukionos. He was a powerful guy and nobody messed with him. But he loved frogs. And the frogs lived safely . They could walk anywhere.

One day, Bishtah was taking a bath with his frogs and he invited one of them, John Pavasotti, to come and have dinner with him.

Bishtah, himself, he had a well-done steak and John had cabbage with lambs kebabs. But, John really found this food boring, and he stole some of Bishtah's food when he wasn't looking.

When Bishtah noticed that some of his food had disappeared. He was shocked! He was angry too! Super angry. He had always trusted frogs and had been nice to them. And now this!

Bishtah got out his Magic Stick and waved it at John Pavasotti, and then....POOF! Duaaarr!!! He made frogs jump, and junp forever!

Even now, you'll never see a frog walk like they used to in Bishtah's time. That's why they hop.

James September 2007

Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?

In a land called Skippy, there was a man whose best friends were all animals - tigers, mokeys, bears and a pig. They had been friends since he was a kid.

They liked to cook together and do other things. Then, one day, there came a hunter looking for a pig.

The man made a house out of stones and he hid his friends there and when the hunter came around again one day, he asked, "Have you seen any pigs round here?"

"No, " said the man, and the pig and the animals were safe that day.

Then one day, when the man was out, the animals argued. They were trying to prove to each other who was the strongest and who was the scariest.

The man came home about that time and he was so angry with all the fighting that he threw fire at the table and the tiger got burned on parts of his coat and that's how tigers got their stripes.

Diandra September 2007

Why Do Dogs Hate Cats?
(the true version)

Petzy Village was the most peaceful village you could imagine, and set in the middle of it, there was a palace made of silver and gold and at night it glowed like a thousand candles!
The villagers of Petzy Village were all animals; even the king was a dog and the queen was a cat! The king's name was Husky and the queen's Snowy. They lived there happily in the palace for a long time, but they didn't have any kids.
Then, one day, suddenly, Snowy had this cute little baby. The whole palace celebrated and everybody was invited to come . They had a good time eating, drinking, toasting, listening to music and dancing.
The lucky parents still couldn't think of a good name for the baby, so Husky asked his servants to make an announcement to the villagers that said:-

"Whoever suggests a good name for the king's child shall get a rich reward at the King's Reception on Friday!

On the Friday, everybody lined up waiting to go into the palace, but the king and queen did not agree with the names that villagers suggested.
The waiting line grew shorter and shorter and the last animal in line was a bunny.
When she finally came before their majesties, she suggested the name be Berry.
The king and queen agreed and they gave the bunny a large bag full of gold and silver.
Time passed, Berry grew bigger and bigger and soon she was 8 and in the 4th grade. Snowy came to pick her up one day, but there were three theives who wanted to kidnap Berry. They got her and they drove away.
Snowy went home crying and Husky asked her what had happened. When he heard the story, he was hopping mad with Snowy. He told her to get out of the palace and from day,ever since, boy, have dogs really hated cats!

Kristel November 2007

Why Do Porcupines Have Spikes?

One day in a faraway forest, there was this porcupine named Cu-Pine. It was the year 1000 and porcupines didn't have spikes, but they had moustaches. This made them look clever and wise.
One day , Cu-Pine wanted to have a beard, so he went to the Animal Kingdom where there were elephants, lions, tigers, bears and many more animals.
There was also an old man by the name of Boo who lived there. Cu-Pine approached him and said, "Hey Boo! If you want to fly, pour soap on your legs. Then, you'll be able to fly!"
"Really?" said Boo. "You're not just pulling my leg, are you?"
"Trust me," said Cu-Pine. "I know about these things."
The next day, when Cu-Pine was out for a stroll, he ran into Boo again.
"Hey Porcupine! You lied to me!"
"No, I didn't!" Cu-Pine shouted back.
"You did so!" shouted Boo. "You said if I put soap on my legs, I would be able to fly! he continued, complaining.
They kept arguing for some minutes until an elephant came along said, "Hey, hey! What's all the fuss here?"
"He made a problem for me!" said Boo, pointing his finger at Cu-Pine. "He said if I pour soap on my legs, I will be able to fly!"
"That's ridiculous!" said the elephant. "What a terrible thing to say, Porcupine," he added. "I will change you Porcupine, so that everybody will know what you have done! You shall have spikes, so that nobody will come near you and therefore, nobody will ever trust you again!"
Now you know the official story of how the porcupine came to have spikes - and I'm not kidding. You can trust me.

Chelsea October 2007.
The originality here a problem for the kids

Why Do We Need Food?

Donkeys' ages ago, there was the Family Fat and the Family Thin. The Family Fat was always eating. They ate truckloads! But the Thins only had one tiny, eenie, weenie, itsy, bowl of scraps once a day!
One day, the whole Family Thin got terribly sick. They had to take medicine, but still, they didn't like eating!
Do you know why they got so sick?
They got sick becuse they needed more food to build up their energy, so that they could kick the bacteria out of their bodies, but they ate too little and things just went from bad to worse.
Later, they tried to eat better, more often and healthier, but they could never eat like the Fats, not even half!

Feodora October 2007

Why Do People Go To Space?

On Earth once, there was a young man named Michle Raven. He used to stare up at the skies because he wanted to know what there was outside Earth. He wondered if there were other planets and he wondered if there was oxygen.
He made a rocket and he packed everything he thought he might need into it. He found someone for a partner - Stevan, and they took off to the moon!
They saw craters and they saw stars and they were very excited when they saw the sun up close!
How long are we going to stay on the moon?" asked Stevan.
"Two hours!" came Michle Raven's answer.
Then, they wrote a long note about what they saw so that when they got home, they would be famous as adventurers!

Sam September 2007

Why Do People Stay Healthy?

A long time ago, times were tough and people got sick easily and often, and they didn't even get old.

There was no medicine - that's why.So, they couldn't stay healthy and there was no healthy food to eat.
One day, there was this clever man who thought about all this and he tried to make medicine. He studied plants and he tried to make medicine from these. He tired and failed and tried again and failed again. But, he didn't give up and after the 16th shot or so, he found a medicine and he started to make healthy food as well.
After about a year, he got good at cooking healthy stuff too, and so he set up a restaurant, full of healthy food and everybody came enjoyed his food and felt better too!.
The clever man loved sports too. He loved everything healthy.
People learned from him to keep heathy, you have to eat well and wise, to play sport and move about and to get good medicine when you need it!

Eliana September 2007

Why Do Jellyfish Sting?

One day there was little girl named Carla. She was out diving, when she saw a nice colourful jellyfish in the water. Carla tired to catch it, but it swam away as fast as it could and as it tried to escape from Carla, Carla felt something sting her and she swam back to the boat to check. The jellyfish dsappeared.

A week later, Carla went out diving again and she came across the same jellfish in the water and it stung her again!

This time Carla felt sick and she only just made it back to the boat.

Carla told everyone that they ought to be careful, because jellyfish sting when they get mad.

Ashley October 2007

How Come Only Birds Fly?

A long time ago, before anyone lived, there was a land called Magic Land. All kinds of animals lived there. In Magic Land there were two kingdoms - the Bird Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom.

The Bird Kingdom was a place for birds, of course. Actually, Bird Kingdom was part of the clouds that breezed across the sky . It was an astonishing, beautiful place.

On the other hand, the Animal Kingdom was for animals, of course, and all these animals could fly.

The Animal Kingdom was snuggled in the woods, surrounded by massive old pine trees. It was the most peaceful, serene place imaginable.

But one day, surprisingly, the king of the Animal Knigdom - the Lion, ordered his guards to attack the Bird kingdom, but at the same time, the King of the Bird Kingdom -the Eagle already knew that this was going to happen. He was no fool. He had spies everywhere and they told him.

The battle begun, guards versus guards. The Eagle watched from high up in his cloudy castle, Some of his guards were badly wounded. King Lion's guards were powerful.

King Eagle was very angry, so angry that he left his perch in the cloudy castle without any weapons. With his extraordinary magic he turned all of King Lion's guards, the king himself, his queen and all the animals of the Animal kingdom into wingless, flightless creatures!

From then on, animals have remained earthbound,whilst birds still have the magic of wings.

Celine September 2007

Why Do the Japanese Eat Sushi?

Way before the War of All Wars, there were two people named Mr. and Mrs. Happy. Mr. Happy was a keen fisherman and Mrs. Happy liked fighting martial arts.

One day, when Mr. Happy was out fishing, an enormous, three-headed monster came up next to his boat and Mr. Happy was shocked out of his wits!

"I'm a sea monster and I'm starving!" he said. "I want you for lunch!"

Then suddenly, another sea monster appeared and said, "I'm Mrs. Sea Monster and I'm starving too, and I want you for lunch!"

"But, but, I, I, I'm not very tasty!" Mr. Happy replied, shaking. "I will make you the tastiest meal ever! May I ask what you like?"

"Grrrrr, " Mr. Sea Monster answered. "I would like to eat you rather than wait while you rustle up something tastier!"

"No! For me, cooking comes easy. It only takes a minute! A jiffy! Really!" pleaded Mr. Happy.

"OK! Then I like seaweed and fish!" said Mr. Sea Monster. "And I rice and crab meat too!"

"Got it! Now you just wait until make you something," said Mr. Happy. And in a flash, he came up with sushi.

"I call this sushi. Try it!" he said.

"Mmmmm! It smells delicious!" said the Sea Monsters.

"I want seconds!" they both said at the same time.

They ate and ate until their bellies ached too
much and they rolled over and died. And there was still plenty of sushi left.

Mr. Happy planned to give the sushi to everybody in Japan. And when he did, he found every Japanese ordered sushi from him every day.

He opened a restaurant and called it The Sushi Restaurant and it buzzed. Millions of people came.

Then, one afternoon, Mrs. Happy came o the restaurant and found a group of ten men demanding the recipe, but Mr. Happy refused, of course. The men started pushing him around, but he still refused. That's when Mrs. Happy walked in. "Get your hands off him!" she shouted."

A fight started. Ting! Tong! Bong! Bang! Crack! And finally, the ten men lay scattered around , beaten!

Not long after, Mr. and Mrs. Happy had a little boy, and they told him the secret family recipe.

The sushi is still a craze with the Japanese and that's how they came to eat sushi and love it!

Andre September 2007

Why Do Jungle Cats Roar?

Long ago, there was an animal kingdom called exactly that - the Animal Kingdom. All the animals lived there contentedly, except for the Cat Family, that is. They weren't at all happy.

They could only 'meow" quietly and nobody feared them. But, there was one cat that was different. He was the smallest. He roared, believe it or not, and everybody was scared of him , even the king!

One day, the little cat decided to scare some animals away and he started with the dog, who ran away with his tail between his legs. Then, he started on some of the other anaimals, but he didn't know that King (the Lion) was watching him.

The king asked Scorpion to help him by making a potion that would make Cat "meow" and Scorpion went to work on it with the help of his assistant, Skunk.

The next day, the king invited Cat to a royal luncheon. They ate well and when they were satified, drinks were served.The king offered the potion to Cat who gulped it down and straight away he began to "meow"!

Everyone said: "Go away! We don't want you hanging around here anymore!"

And from that day on, Cat has lived in the streets, sneaking around the cities and towns and everyone still shoos him away.

William October 2007

Why Do Horses Run Fast?

In the past, in the jungles of Africa, there was a kind-hearted horse named Roger. He had two friends - Marie, the rabbit, and Hiss, the snake. But, Hiss was a very jealous character and when they played together, Hiss teased Marie and the other animals.

Roger said, "Hiss, don't tease people!"

Marie agreed, "That's right, Hiss! You're always teasing!"

"That's not true, guys!" Hiss answered angrily.

At that time, it was the day of the Annual Animals'Athletics Meet and all the animals were there to participate.

Hiss won Round One easily. "I won! I won and all you guys are just losers! he said arrogantly.

"How came I can't run very fast?" complained Roger, disappointed.

"You're not wearing horse shoes, " said Marie.

"Horse shoes?" Roger shouted, confused.

" Yes, horse shoes! They make you run like the wind, much faster than the others, " said Marie.

Roger dropped by her house and put on some horse shoes that were in the barn.

"I know where you've been. You've been trying on the horse shoes in the barn, haven't you? she laughed.

"You're right. How did you guess? he asked surprised.

Marie just smiled.

It was time for the second round of races to begin. The starter's gun went "BANG", and everyone was off. Roger ran as fast as he could, trying to run faster than Hiss and the other animals. It was the last race of the day and as everyone cheered him on, Roger won the race!

The cheering went on and on, and Hiss slid up to Roger and said, sadly, "Roger, I'm sorry for being so arrogant and for teasing you and the others."

"It's OK, Hiss!" shouted all the animals and from then on they lived happily together, all of them.

Angeline October 2007

Why Do Old Men Have White Hair?

Once upon a time (as they say), there was an old man named Sam.

On Monday, he went to the mirror to look at his hair. On Tuesday he was there again, checking, because he'd read a book and it was about old men having white hair.

One day, Sam looked in the mirror and his hair was white like snow, because some paint had dropped on his head and he hadn't even noticed!

There was another day when Sam's family had red, blue, green, gold, silver, purple, pink and yellow hair and Sam was shocked!

He looked out the window and he saw many people had styles like spiky hair, porcupines, pineapples and a few bald ones as well.

He went off to the salon to get spiky hair. He liked it.

He liked it that much that he set up a salon called Spikeys. Lots of people came and everybody got their hair spiky - all diferent colours, but Sam's was white, because he was old, but he was still cool!

Andrew October 2007.

Why Are Jellyfish Boneless?

Back in the time of the powerful ruler King Ueki and his queen Ai from the land of Ardunno, there was an absolutely amazing underwater castle.

The queen was about to give birth, but she had this ridiculous task for the king to do. She said that was dying to eat a monkey's heart.

The king of course, was totally bewildered by this strange request, so he asked the wise Turtle to find him a monkey in the forest A.S.A.P.

Turtle went out searching and eventually, he came across a monkey and he introduced himself. "Hello! " the wise Turtle said. "My name is Torkoal."

The monkey answered, "My name is Infernape. " And they went on to discuss the weather.

Some minutes later, Torkoal got round to talking about King Ueki's castle.

Torkoal, the wise Turtle, was actually a Fire Turtle, but because he was always in the water, his fire had gone out. What he didn't know was that Infernape was a fire-type monkey. Infernape was a little confused about the castle because he never went near water and he had never heard of the place.

The Turtle said, "Just hop on my back and I will take you there." And with that, Infernape hopped onto the Turtle's back and off they went.

It wasn't too long before they got to the castle and Torkoal said, "You wait here for a minute and I'll be back soon."

Time passed, more than minutes, and Infernape wondered what was going on. Just them a Jellyfish appeared and Infernape got a shock. The Jellyfish asked him what he was doing out on the ocean.

"You look like a fish out of water!"

Infernape explained to the Jellyfish that he had been invited to a party, but the Jelly fish roared with laughter, pointing at the monkey. "Ha!hahahaha!"

"And just what's so funny?" asked Infernape.

"There IS no party!: said the Jellyfish. Infernape screwed up his face and put his hand to his chin in surprise.

"The king only wants your heart!" And then, the Jellyfish was gone.

Torkoal came back up just about then and said, "The party is all set up. I hope you are in for a good time."

Infernape had been thinking of a good idea and he said, "I have forgotten to bring my heart!" And he begged Torkoal to take him back so that he could get it.

Torkoal took him all the way back home and Infernape asked the Turtle to stand in front of the door. The Turtle did just that and "stomp", he fell into Infernape's ground trap!

Torkoal called out. "Let me out! Let me out!"

"No way!" said Infernape. "You tried to fool me over this party!"

"What makes you say that?" asked the Turtle, curious and worried.

"The Jellyfish told me all about it. That's how!" And then, he let the Turtle go.

Torkoal swam as fast as he could back to the castle and he informed the king. The Jellyfish had always been a trusted visitor to the castle and had come on many occasions.

King Ueki was livid and he used his extraordinary power and removed all the Jellyfish's bones as punishment for his treachery.

So, the story goes.

Valerie October 2007

Why Do Birds Fly?

Long ago, on planet Earth, there was only water and land. There was nothing else!
A thousand years later, God made trees and grass on the land and rocks and sand near the ocean.
Later, dinosaurs were made by God too, but they ruined the entire forest. In the forest at that time, there were only dinosaurs, lions and horses.
Sometime later, God made birds to warn dinosaurs, so that they wouldn't ruin the forests. But at that time, birds were without wings yet, but dinosaurs had them!
One of the dinosaurs didn't like her wings, so she complained to God about them. The birds were exhausted trudging around the forest. They wished for wings so that they could do their job better and warn the destructive dinosaurs.
God understood what the birds and the dinosaurs were saying, so He made the flying creatures extinct for while, because he needed time to design birds with wings.
At the same time, He didn't really want dinosaurs to live on Earth. He decided they should remain extinct.
And then, in the year 1100, birds came back with the most beautiful wings, able to do their job of warning, without getting tired any more.
And now, you see, that's why we have birds that fly!

Kirana October 2007


From Unit 2 "Why Do" stories, written in September 2007 - highlights indicate editing.