The Sweet Tooth of Jenny

Hello, everyone.

    The story that I am going to tell you today is my own creation. It is the story of a twelve year old girl who had such a sweet tooth that she became so overweight she almost developed a disease called diabetes. The doctor told her to go on a diet. Did she overcome her cravings for sweet things and follow the diet or did she give in and eat all the unhealthy foods?

    Read on and find out.

The Sweet Tooth of Jenny

    Jenny was a twelve year old girl. In lots of ways she was a normal girl. She went to school and she had friends and she went for sleepovers and her friends came over for sleepovers. She did a lot of things but the things she could not do was join sports or anything that required a lot of exercise and effort.

    You see, the problem with Jenny was that she loved to eat sweet sugary foods. Her breakfast was cakes and biscuits. Her lunch was chips, sausages, cakes and soda. Her dinner was the same thing. Now, because she ate all this unhealthy food she began to gain weight gradually. There came a time when it was difficult to walk to school which was only about ten minutes away.

    Her mother worried and fretted and told her to keep away from these foods but she just would not listen. She never ate any vegetables or fruits.

    Another bad habit she had was she was either playing games on her computer or she would sit and watch television all day long when she had her holidays from school.

    One day she became very sick. She vomited whatever she ate and had high fever. Her mother took her the doctor.

    The doctor examined her and took a blood sample to run some tests. They got some results and were told to come the next day for the other results. The doctor looked at the results of her blood tests and told them that she had a very high infection and gave her some medicines and told them he would see the other results and give her medicines accordingly.

    Jenny and her mother went home. Jenny started taking the medicines that the doctor had given her. She stopped vomiting and her fever went down but she was feeling very weak.

    The next day, they went to the doctor again for the rest of the results. They took the results from the laboratory and went to the doctor.

    The doctor looked at the results and then looked at Jenny for a while.

    “Jenny, do you know that your sugar is on the borderline?” he asked her. “Do you eat a lot of sugary foods?”

    Jenny looked down and said nothing.

    “Yes, doctor, she does,” replied her mother. “I am always telling to stop eating junk foods but she does not listen.”

    “Oh dear,” said the doctor, “not only is your blood sugar on the borderline but your cholesterol is also high. Do you know what cholesterol is?”

    She shook her head.

    “Cholesterol is something that you get when you eat lots of fatty foods. There are two types of cholesterols. There is good cholesterol and there is bad cholesterol. Now, your good cholesterol is less and your bad cholesterol is high. If you are not careful it will go so high that it can affect your heart.

    You are a very young girl, Jenny. I am not going to give any medicines but what I want you to do is eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I trust you will follow the diet that I am going to give you. Do you want to play sports and have fun like the rest of the girls in your school?”

    “Yes, doctor,” she replied in a small voice.

    “Good,” the doctor said with a smile. “Eat healthy foods and do plenty of exercises. Can you do that?”

   “Yes, I can,” said Jenny.

    “Good,” said the doctor and then turned to Jenny’s mother. “Make sure that she eats the right foods. If she does not than I am afraid I will have to give her medicines which she will find it a very nuisance.”

    “I will make sure she eats right,” said Jenny’s mother.

    Then they left.

    Once home, Jenny went to her room and sat down and started to think things through. She soon realized that what she had been eating was all wrong. She had thought it was ok to eat anything and had thought that her mother had just wanted her eat fruits and vegetables because she and her father ate that. Now she realized that, that was not the case. They were seriously concerned about her health. She decided she would do exactly what the doctor had her to do so that she would be able to join her friends in all their activities.

    After thinking things through she went to her mother.

    “I am sorry, Mother,” she said, “I did not listen to you. I had been feeling very heavy and not feel like doing anything. I know now why I felt that. From now onwards I will do exactly as you tell me.”

    Then she hugged her mother. Her mother laughed with relief and amusement.

    “Good girl,” she said and kissed her on her forehead.

    From that day onwards Jenny was a different girl. With all the good food and exercise she slimmed down and now she is the captain of her basketball team!

The Clever Princess

Hello, everyone.

      The story that I am going to tell you is about a very clever prince and a very clever princess. It is a story based in India. I had read this story in Gujarati a very long time ago. This story has always fascinated me so I thought why not put it in my blog for my dear readers.

    And so, here it is. Sit back and enjoy this story.

The Clever Princess

    Once upon a time there was a king. He had a most beautiful princess. She was so beautiful that princes and kings came from far and wide to ask for her hand in marriage. Now this princess was very clever. She said she would only marry someone who had a certain skill or talent of work. Many came and they were either not ready to learn or would learn halfway and then got tired and failed.

   The king tried to persuade her to agree to one of them as there were some very handsome men with large kingdoms. The princess was adamant if she would marry, she would marry someone who was an expert in some field. Less and less men came now. The king got worried lest his daughter would not be able to find a man suitable to her demands, but he could do nothing.

    One day a prince came from a very far off place. When he saw the princess he at once fell in love with her. When he heard that she wanted someone to know at least one skill, he decided he would learn a skill and marry this beautiful princess.

    He promised the king that he would do his best and learn a skill and come back within six months and marry the princess. The king was not all that hopeful as many such young men had come made promises and then failed. So he agreed half-heartedly.

    Now this prince was very determined and he went to learn carpet weaving. He went to an expert and put his entire mind into doing this job. When he had become an expert he went to king.

    The king was very happy to see him. The princess put to a test and he passed and so to the relief of her father she agreed to marry him.

    There were great celebrations in the kingdom as she was the only child. When the celebrations were over the princess went away with the prince to his kingdom.

    Now as it happened that one day the prince got abducted. The king was beside himself with anger and anxiety. He did not know what to do. The abductors demanded that the king step down the throne. Everybody was worried what would become of the kingdom if the king stepped down. He was a just king and all his subjects loved him and the prince and his wife the princess.

    Now let us see what had happened to the prince. He was kidnapped and taken to an underground place. There wasn’t much here except a table, a chair and a lamp. Now in one corner he saw something that brought a shine in his eyes. There was an heirloom! This gave him an idea.

    When next his kidnappers came to bring him food he was very polite and asked them if he could use the heirloom. He said he wanted to weave in order to forget his worries and boredom. His captors agreed after some counseling between themselves. Then the prince told them to bring him all the tools he needed which was done.

    Now the prince began to weave a rug. He weaved it so beautifully that even his captors were impressed. He told them to sell it to a certain merchant who would give them a lot money for it. Now they were greedy people and agreed.

    What they did not know was that this merchant was a close friend of the king and he knew the prince’s handiwork very well. The prince knew that if he saw the rug he would definitely go and show it to the king.

    And that is exactly what happened. They took the rug to the merchant and he recognized the prince’s handiwork and took it to the king. The king showed it to his daughter-in-law, the princess.

    The princess looked at it closely. She saw that her husband had written a message in another language. He had weaved it in such a way that the letters blended well with the design. She made out the message and told the king where the prince was held prisoner.

    The king immediately dispatched his men there and all the kidnappers were caught. The prince returned home safe and sound.

    Everybody was happy to see him come home.

    Now the prince understood why the princess wanted her husband to have a skill. That skill had certainly saved his life and the kingdom as well!

The Stone Soup

Hello, everyone.

    The story that I am about to tell you is of a young man who outwitted his miserly aunt in a very hilarious manner.

    Read on and find out.

The Stone Soup

    Ben was a young man. He was married had very nice and beautiful young lady called Rose. Now as it happened that one day Rose got a call from her sister that her mother was not well. Since her mother was in the village she decided to go and see her.

    “Ben I got a call from my sister my mother is not feeling well,” she told her husband. “Can I go and see her? I will be back in a day or two depending on her condition.”

    “Oh, you just go,” Ben replied. “I will look after myself. You don’t have to worry about that.”

    “Are you sure?” Rose asked. “You can’t go to Aunt Jemima. She is such a miser she won’t even offer you a glass of water.”

    “That is where you are wrong,” he said. “That is exactly where I intend to go and have my first lunch.”

    “What?” Rose was surprised. “How on Earth will you get her to invite you to lunch?”

     “Oh, you let me worry about that,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. I know exactly how to handle her.”

     Rose looked at him. She saw the twinkle in eye and knew that he was up to something.

    “Ben, don’t do anything to embarrass yourself, please,” she said, looking worried.

    “You just go,” he said, laughing. “I know what I am doing.”

    And so Rose went away.

    At about 12 o’clock he went to his Aunt Jemima’s place and knocked on the door. His aunt opened the door and was not exactly pleased to see a visitor at almost lunch hour.

    Ben greeted his aunt and she invited him inside reluctantly. He sat down and soon all his cousins came to greet him. They sat there talking for a while. Then, he dropped the bomb that his wife had travelled and he intended to stay for lunch at her place. All his cousins and his aunt looked at each other and did not know what to say.

    “Don’t worry,” said Ben, “I have decided to cook my own meal today. You don’t have to give me everything. I have brought my own thing to cook.”

    “Really?” asked his aunt. “But I don’t see anything in your hands.”

    “That’s the magic part,” he said. “All I need is some fire and a pot with some water in it.”

     His aunt brought the pot with water and gave it to Ben who immediately went outside at the back of the house and put it on the burning fire. Then, he did a very strange thing. He took out a pebble, washed it and put it in the water. Everybody looked on in amazement.

    “Don’t look so surprised,” Ben said, laughing. “I am going to make stone soup today. Haven’t you ever had a stone soup?”

    “Stone soup?” his aunt cried. “I have never heard of it in all my life.”

    “You haven’t?” he said, pretending to look surprised. “Well, you will taste it today.”

    Soon, the water began to bubble and Ben tasted the water.

    “You know,” he said. “This needs a little bit of salt, that is, if you have it.”

    “Of course, we have salt,” replied one of his cousins and brought him some.

    Ben added some to the boiling water and tasted it.

    “You know,” he said. “If there was a little bit of cabbage in it, it would taste very nice.”

    And so one of his cousins brought a cabbage and he cut that and put it in the water. Soon Ben was asking for an onion and some potatoes and other vegetables. He was provided with all that and pretty soon there was a very delicious soup ready.

    Everybody was given a serving. They all ate and were quite full. Then, one of his cousins got the stone.

    “What shall I do with this stone, Ben?” he asked.

    “Give that to me,” he said. “It’s my magic stone. You saw how it turned into a full meal.”

    Everybody agreed that it certainly had.

    The next day, Rose arrived home. Ben told her the whole story and she laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks.

    “Where did you get such a marvelous idea?” she asked, wiping her tears.

    “Oh, I had read a story once of a soldier in East Germany,” he said, “who had pulled the same stunt. So I thought why not try that on Aunt Jemima?

She is always demanding things from us but she never wants to part with anything of hers.”

    Then, he showed her the stone and she started to laugh all over again.

    Ben just grinned at her.

Bahati and Sarah

Hello, everyone.

     Today I am going to tell you a story of two little girls in Tanzania. I have explained to you where Tanzania is but for those who have not read that story I will explain again.

    Tanzania is a country situated in East Africa in the continent of Africa. It is near the Indian Ocean. It is a beautiful country with lots of parks containing wild animals like lions, elephants, impalas and many more.

    The people of Tanzania are very polite.

    The story that I am going to tell you is situated in one of the many villages where poverty is seen a lot.

    This story is my own creation.

   Read on and enjoy it.

Bahati and Sarah

    Bahati was a little girl. She was six years old but was not going to school. The education system is free in Tanzania. But her parents could not afford to buy uniforms, shoes and books needed in order to send her. She loved to read and write and her parent’s heart ached to see this but no matter how they tried they just could not afford to send her.

    There was another little girl of the same age. She went to school because her parents could afford to buy everything she needed. Her name was Sarah.

    Now Bahati and Sarah were best friends. Sarah would go to school and then in the evening she would show her friend the day’s lesson. Bahati would get very excited. Sarah would then teach her the way her teacher taught her. That was the best time of the day for Bahati. They had a special place where they went every day. There was a very nice tree stump not very far from their houses and Sarah would keep her books on it and then teach her. Bahati did not have any exercise book so she wrote on the sand with a stick. She was a fast learner and picked up at once whatever Sarah taught her. She learned her alphabet and could spell simple words. She learnt to do simple sums as well as Sarah.

    Now in this village lived a very wealthy farmer. Every day he used to pass by the place where these two friends would be studying. One day he got curious.

    “What are those two girls doing?” he asked his driver.

    “They are studying, Sir,” he replied. “It is a very curious story. Sarah goes to school and then she teaches her friend Bahati whatever her teacher teaches her.”

    “Why doesn’t Bahati go to school?” he asked. “The education is free so what is stopping her?”

    “Well, Sir,” the driver replied. “Her parents can’t afford the uniforms and the books. It is very sad. Bahati loves to read and write. Already she knows as much as Sarah.”

    “Hmm, I see,” said Mr. Amani, thoughtfully. “Please, stop the car here.”

   The driver stopped the car and he walked over where the two friends were busy studying. They were so engrossed in what they were doing that they did not hear him coming.

    “Hello, there,” he said.

    The two friends looked up startled.

    “Don’t be afraid,” he said in a kindly voice. “I just came here to see what you were doing.”

    “We are studying,” said Sarah. “I am teaching my friend what I learnt at school today.”

    “That is very nice of you,” said the farmer, “but doesn’t she go to school?”

    Both the friends did not know what to answer so they stayed silent.

   “Never mind,” he said and asked,  “What are your names, anyway?”

    “I am Sarah and she is Bahati,” Sarah replied.

    “Can you take me to your house, Bahati?” he asked.

    Bahati looked at him scared. So far she had not said a word.

    “Do not be afraid,” Mr. Amani said. “Please take me to your house.”

    “Yes, Sir,” she said, speaking for the first time.

    With beating hearts and a lot of questions in their minds the friends led him to Bahati’s house. It was a very small house with just two rooms. Luckily, both her parents were there. Her father had just returned from work. He worked on a farm. When her father saw Mr. Amani he immediately recognized him and was very much surprised to see him come to his house.

    “Good evening, Sir,” he greeted his boss, for you see he worked on his farm. “Please, do come in and have a seat.”

    After the greetings and introductions to Bahati and her mother were over they sat all sat down on the chairs.

    “Well, well, well,” said Mr. Amani, laughing, “so you live here, eh?”

    “Yes, Sir,” he replied, wondering what had brought his boss to his house.

    “I know you are wondering why I have come to see you,” he said. “Well, it’s like this. I pass by every day and see these two girls busy studying and so I asked my driver who they were. Then I asked your little girl to bring me here and she very kindly did with her friend. Now, I know your situation and I would like to make a proposal, that is if you will agree.”

    “A proposal, Sir?” asked Bahati’s father, Mr. Shabani.

    “I would like Bahati to go to school,” said his boss. “I will pay all the expenses of uniforms and whatever she needs for her school. I would like her to study.”

    At first, the whole family was speechless including Sarah. Did they hear right? Mr. Amani was going to pay for Bahati?

    “Well?” asked Mr. Amani, when he saw that everyone was silent.

    The two friends looked at one another excitedly! At last Bahati was going to school!

    “Well, Sir,” said Bahati’s father almost in tears, “that is a very generous offer. I would indeed be very grateful if she went to school. As you can see she loves to read and write.”

    “So that is settled,” Mr. Amani said. “You come to my office tomorrow and take the money needed.”

    Mr. Shabani could not thank him enough.

    “There is one other thing,” said his boss, turning to Sarah. “Can you please take me to your house now?”

    “Yes, Sir,” she said and led him to her house.

    There Mr. Amani made the same proposal to Sarah’s father. He did this because he was very much impressed by Sarah’s kindness.

    And so two days later when Bahati had gotten her uniform and her books she went to school with her friend. She was feeling very proud to be going to school at last.

    Her dream had come true!