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Summer Madness
Summer Madness
Summer Madness
Summer Madness
"Go away," he shouted at the sun, staring up angrily at the shining orb. "You'll
burn the earth!"
But the sun stayed where he was and indeed seemed to become even bigger.
Enraged, the sage rushed into his ashram and coming out with his weapons
began to shoot arrows into the sky.
The sage shouted to his wife Renuka to bring some more arrows. When she had
brought them, he began shooting again. With each shot the arrows rose higher
and higher till finally even the sun began to feel vulnerable. He made himself still
hotter, hoping the heat would drive Jamadagni back into his house. Jamadagni
stood his ground but his wife began to wilt. Finally, she fell down unconscious.
Jamadagni carried his wife indoors, revived her with water and then rushing out
again resumed his battle with the sun, with a renewed fury.
Now the sun decided to go down to reason with him. He took the form of a
Brahmin and sauntered up to the sage.
"Shooting at the sky?" he asked.
"Right now, may be. But at midday, he'll be directly overhead and then he'll be
within range. I'll get him then!"
"Please put down your bow," he said, "I am the sun. Heat the earth I must, but I'll
give you something that will protect you from my heat."
Jamadagni cooled down — and remained cool the rest of the summer because
what the sun gave him was a pair of sandals and a very large umbrella, which,
they say, was the world's first portable sunshade.
References
1. Ur, P.(1996). A course in Language Teaching. Practice and Theory.
Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
2. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching.
Oxford University Press.