Fables

How Bittu Bottu Got Better

The walking, talking proof of his
super-intelligence was Bittu Bottu,
a robot he had built all by himself
Bittu Bottu could answer any
question.
“Bittu Bottu, how tall is Mount
Everest?”
“About 8,848 metres above sea
level,” Bittu Bottu replied.
“Bittu Bottu, why did the chicken
cross the road?”
Well, almost any question.
Bittu Bottu did Andy’s homework.
Bittu Bottu
did Andy’s
housework.
“Andy! Clean
your room
yourself!”
Bittu Bottu did
Andy’s lab work.
“Who bought all
this? Diodes,
resistors,
capacitors and
transistors... And
look at the
electricity bill!
ANDY!”
One day, Andy
sent Bittu Bottu
to school in his
place.
“Andy Prakash!”
“Present,
teacher.”
The class teacher kept Bittu Bottu
back at school and sent Andy’s
parents an angry text message.
“ANDY!”
“Ma, I want Bittu
Bottu back. I miss
him! Please write
the teacher a
letter,” Andy told
Amma. “That robot
spoils you. I won’t
write it.”
“Pa, please write a
letter to my
teacher!”
“What, and get big
electricity bills
in return? No, of
course not.”
Andy climbed into
school that night.

That was when he

found…

a diode
an IC
a transistor
Andy followed the trail
of Bittu Bottu’s parts
to the computer lab.
“Bittu Bottu is falling
apart! I must have
overworked him,” he
thought.
“Where are you, my
poor BB? Are you in the
computer lab? I have
your parts, BB!”
Andy found the
lab locked.
CRUCK CRUCK
Someone was
coming!
Andy hid behind a pillar as Security
Anna walked past the computer lab.
What could he do now? How would
he give the parts to Bittu Bottu?
“Hey, Bittu
Bottu,” Andy
whispered.
Bittu Bottu
was too weak
to walk or
talk.
Andy threw
the diode, IC
and transistor
into a bag and
pushed it
through the
window.
Bittu Bottu
fixed himself
with the
components.
He crawled,
little by little,
to a corner.
“What are you doing, Bittu Bottu? Are you
okay?” asked Andy.
“I am charging my battery, Andooo...”
“Ah, good boy! But don’t call me Andooo!”
“Okay, Andooo...”
The next morning,
Andy gave the teacher
a letter from his mother.
Respected Class Teacher,
My son, Andy Prakash, studying in
your class, has promised to do all
his work without help from his robot.
Kindly do the needful and please
return the robot to him.
Thanking you,
Yours respectfully,
Andy’s mother
P.S. This letter was not written by
another robot or by Andy, but by me.
 A Special Day
The Open House in school is a special
day. At 7:30 in the morning all of us are
in the classroom. We arrange the
pictures, books, flowers, and other
exhibits. An hour later, our visiting
fathers and mothers walk in. They look
at our work. They read our little poems
and stories. They see our drawings and
paintings on the wall.
 At 9:30 we have programs for
our visitors. We sing songs and
recite some poems. Then we
present a funny play for them.
Everyone laughs and enjoys the
play.
Then at noon we all sit down
together to eat a delicious lunch.
1. What kind of day is the
Open House?
2. What happens at 7:30
in the morning?
3. When do the parents
arrive?
4. What can the parents
see on the wall?
5. When do the programs
start?
6. What do they do after
the program?
 Beautiful Hands
There once lived three wealthy
sisters. They were Lilia, Lydia and
Lorna. Every day they did nothing
but made themselves pretty.
They cleaned their nails and
powdered their hands. They kept
their hands white and smooth.
One day the three sisters took
a walk near a hill. On the way
they met Marta, the janitor’s
daughter.
“Look at Marta’s hands,” said
Lilia. “How rough and brown
they are! What ugly hands
indeed!”
 Lydia stopped near Marta and
said, “Hide your hands behind
you. They are too ugly to show
around.”
Then Lorna added, “What a
shame to have such ugly hands!”
Marta was so hurt that she began
to cry. Just then an old woman
came along with a big bundle of
clothes.
 The old woman begged,
“Please help me carry the
bundle.”
The three sisters turned
their backs saying, “We
don’t want to soil our hands.”
 But Marta ran to the old woman.
She helped carry the bundle. Just
then a bright light shone on the top
of the hill. The old woman became a
beautiful angel. Smiling at Marta,
the angel said. “To me, you have the
most beautiful hands, because
beautiful hands are those that
help.”
1. What do the 3 sisters
do everyday?
2. Who is Marta?
3. Why did Lilia say
Marta has ugly hands?
4. Who told Marta to hide
her hands?
5. How did Marta feel
after seeing the 3 sisters?
6. What did the old
woman ask them to do?
7. What did Marta do to
the old woman?
8. Why does Marta have
the most beautiful hands?
 Seeds on the Move
Seeds come from plants. When
seeds are ripe they leave the plants
and find a new place to grow. Seeds
are of many shapes and sizes. Seeds
are moved in different ways. Some
seeds are moved by the wind. These
seeds are small and light and when
the wind stops blowing, these seeds
fall.
Some seeds are moved by animals.
Some seeds stick to the fur or wool
of animals. Other seeds are eaten by
animals. Some seeds are moved by
water. They float on the top of the
water until they reach land.