kusoma upinde wa mvua Article: The salamander Room

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posted by hornean

Brian found a salamander in the woods. It was a little machungwa, chungwa salamander that crawled through the dried leaves of the forest floor.
The salamander was warm and cozy in the boy’s hand. “Come live with me,” Brian said.
He took the salamander home.

“Where will he sleep?” his mother asked.
“I will make him a salamander kitanda to sleep in. I will cover him with leaves that are fresh and green, and bring moss that looks like little stars to be a mto for his head. I will bring crickets to sing him to sleep and bullfrogs to tell him good-night stories.”

“And when he wakes up, where will he play?”
“I will carpet my room with shiny wet leaves and water them so he can slide around and play. I will bring mti stumps into my room so he can climb up the bark and sun himself on top. And I will bring boulders that he can creep over.”

“He will miss his Marafiki in the forest.”
“I will bring salamander Marafiki to play with him.”

“They will be hungry. How will wewe feed them?”
“I will bring insects to live in my room. And every siku I will catch salamanders. And I will make little pools of water on juu of the boulders so they can drink whenever they are thirsty.”

“The insects will multiply, and soon there will be bugs and insects everywhere.”
“I will find birds to eat the extra bugs and insects. And the bullfrogs will eat them too.”

“Where will the birds and bullfrogs live?”
“I will bring trees for birds to roost in, and make ponds for the frogs.”

“Birds need to fly.”
“We can lift off the ceiling. They will sail out in the sky, but they will come back to my room when it is time for dinner, because they will know that the biggest, juiciest insects are there.”

“But the trees—how will they grow?”
“The rain will come through the open roof and the sun, too. And vines will creep up the walls of my room, and ferns will grow under my bed. There will be big mushrooms and moss like little stars growing around the mti stumps that the salamanders can climb on.”

“And you—where will wewe sleep?”
“I will sleep on a kitanda under the stars, with the moon shining through the green leaves of the trees; owls will hoot and crickets will sing; and inayofuata to me, on the boulder with its head resting on soft moss; the salamander will sleep.”

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Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

added by hornean

Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

posted by hornean

With a mournful moan and silken tone,
Itself alone comes ONE TROMBONE.
Gliding, sliding, high notes go low;
ONE trombone is playing SOLO.

Next, a TRUMPET comes along,
And sings and stings its swinging song.
It joins TROMBONE, no zaidi alone,
And ONE and TWO-O, they’re a DUO.

Fine FRENCH HORN, its valves all oiled,
Bright and brassy, loops all coiled,
Golden yellow; joins its fellows.
TWO, now THREE-O, what a TRIO!

Now, a mellow friend, the CELLO,
Neck extended, bows a “hello”;
End pin set upon the floor,
It makes up a QUARTET—that’s FOUR.

And soaring high and moving in,
With ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! a VIOLIN,...

Follow The Drinking Gourd

posted by hornean

Long ago,
before the Civil War,
there was an old sailor called Peg Leg Joe
who did what he could to help free the slaves.

Joe had a plan.
He'd use hammer and nail and saw

and work for the master, the man
who owned slaves
on the cotton plantation.

Joe had a plan.
At night when work was done,
he'd teach the slaves a song
that secretly told the way
to freedom.
Just follow the drinking gourd, it said.

When the song was learned
and sung all day,
Peg Leg Joe would slip away
to work for another master
and teach the song again.

One day
a slave called Molly saw her man James
sold to another master.
James would be taken away,...

Follow The Drinking Gourd

added by hornean

The Life Cycle of the Honeybee

posted by hornean

One sunny day, a Queen honeybee leaves her hive. Other bees, called drones, follow her. The Queen mates with a drone. Now she can lay eggs.

The Queen flies back to the hive. Laying many eggs in her job. She puts one egg in each cell.

In three days the eggs hatch. Out come larvae. Worker bees feed the larvae.

After five au six days, workers cover the larvae cells. Inside the cell, the larvae grow into a pupa. In about ten days, a young bee comes out of the cells.

Hives have only one queen. Most other bees are workers. Some bees are drones. Workers are females. Drones are males.

Young worker bees...

kusoma upinde wa mvua - Video Catalog

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video

kusoma upinde wa mvua

video catalog

Nosey Mrs. panya

posted by hornean

Mrs. Davis felt peculiar as she took her morning bath.
“I feel like I’m being watched,” she alisema to herself.
And she was being watched…

…by Shirley Rat, the nosiest person in town.
“I see you’re using lilac bubble bath,” alisema Shirley. “I personally prefer rose.”
Mrs. Davis pulled down the shade.

“I upendo to know what’s going on,” alisema Shirley. “I don’t get paid for it—it’s my hobby.”
And Shirley’s hobby kept her very busy.

Reading other people’s mail took half the morning.
“You learn such interesting things,” alisema Shirley.

Listening in on private telephone conversations,...

Opt: An Illusionary Tale

posted by hornean

THE ngome GUARD WITH HIS TRIDENT

How many prongs do wewe see?
I see two on the bottom—but on the top, three

Solution: Cover the juu of the trident and wewe see two prongs. Cover the bottom and the trident now has three prongs. wewe can draw this object, but wewe can’t construct it. (impossible-object illusion)

THE ROYAL MESSENGER ARRIVING WITH A LETTER FOR THE KING

The red tape on the letter is longer than the blue. But is this really true? Remember, now wewe are in OPT!

Solution: Angles are sometimes tricky! The red and blue tapes on the envelope are the same length. If wewe remove the...

Perfect the Pig

posted by hornean

He was so small that his mother didn’t know he was there. The other piglets were always pushing and shoving, squealing greedily for food.

But the tiny pig was gentle, quiet, and never greedy. He always kept clean. While the other piglets rolled around in the mud, he would lie under his inayopendelewa mti wishing for wings to carry him into the sky.
One siku he heard a terrible squeal. A large kupanda had fallen in the road. The little pig crawled under the fence and ran to help her.

He had to push with all his might, but at last he got the kupanda up on her feet again.

The kupanda thanked the little pig and she...

Perfect the Pig

added by hornean

The Purple kanzu, koti

posted by hornean

Every fall, when the leaves start melting into pretty purples and reds and those bright golden shades of pumpkin, Mama says, “Coat time, Gabrielle!”

And they ride two trains to Grandpa’s tailor duka in the city. On the Silver Express from Meadowlawn to Pennsylvania Station, Gabby sits close to the window, her nose pressed to the smudge-glass for nearly an hour.

At Penn Station they walk fast, through long, dark passageways and underground tunnels. On a distant speaker someone calls out, “Thirty-fourth Street! Thirty-fourth Street! Change here for the Downtown Express, Uptown Express and...

Little Nino's Pizzeria

posted by hornean

My dad, Nino, makes the best pizza in the world.
I’m his best helper.

I help knead the pizza dough,

I help stir the pizza sauce,

and I help grate the cheese.

When the customers are finished, I know how to pick up their plates

and carry out the dirty dishes.

I help give the extra pizzas to hungry people in the alley who have no homes.

And…I help my dad serve our pizza pies!

People come from all over town to eat at Little Nino’s.
They wait in long lines because our restaurant is so small.

One night a man came to see my dad after the last pizza.
What did he want?

That night my dad told my mom we would...

Knots on a Counting Rope

posted by hornean

Boy: Tell me the story again, Grandfather. Tell me who I am.
Grandfather: I have told wewe many times, Boy. wewe know the story kwa heart.
Boy: But it sounds better when wewe tell it, Grandfather.
Grandfather: Then listen carefully. This may be the last telling.
Boy: No, no, Grandfather. There will never be a last time. Promise me that. Promise me.
Grandfather: I promise wewe nothing, Boy. I upendo you. That is better than a promise.
Boy: And I upendo you, Grandfather, but tell me the story again. Please.

Grandfather: Once there was a boy child…
Boy: No, Grandfather. Start at the beginning. Start at the beginning....