16 THE LAMBKIN

I

Once upon a time there was a wee, wee lambkin.

The lambkin jumped about on his little legs.

He ate the green grass and had a fine time.

One day he thought he would go to see his granny.

“I shall have a fine time! ”he said.

“I shall have such good things to eat when I get there! ”

The lambkin jumped about on his little legs.

He was as happy as he could be.

As he was going along the road he met a jackal.

Now the jackal likes to eat tender little lambkins.

So the jackal said,

“Lambkin! Lambkin! I'll eat you! ”

But the lambkin jumped about on his little legs and said,

“To Granny's house I go,

Where I shall fatter grow;

Then you can eat me so.”

The jackal likes fat lambs, so he let Lambkin go on to get fat.

By and by Lambkin met a tiger.

Then he met a wolf.

Then he met a dog.

They all like good things to eat.

They like tender lambkins, so they all called out,

“Lambkin! Lambkin!

We'll eat you! ”

But Lambkin jumped about on his little legs and said,

“To Granny's house I go,

Where I shall fatter grow;

Then you can eat me so.”

The tiger and the wolf and the dog all like fat lambkins.

So they let Lambkin go on to his Granny's to get fat.

II

At last Lambkin got to his Granny's house.

Granny came to the door to see him.

“Oh, Granny, dear! ”he said, “I have promised to get very fat. I must keep my promise. Please put me into the corn-bin.”

So his Granny put him into the corn-bin.

Lambkin stayed there seven days and ate and ate and ate.

At last he grew very fat.

“How fat you are, Lambkin! ”said his granny.

“You must go home.”

“Oh, no! ”said Lambkin.

“The tiger might eat me up.”

“But you must go home, Lambkin.”said his granny.

“Well, then, ”said Lambkin, “I will tell you what to do. You must take a goat skin and make a little Drumkin. I can sit inside and roll home.”

So she made a Drumkin. Lambkin got into it, and his Granny sewed it up.

Then Lambkin began to roll along the road to his home.

III

Soon he met the tiger.

The tiger called out,

“Drumkin! Drumkin! Have you seen Lambkin? ”

Lambkin, in his soft nest, called back, “Lost in the forest, and so are you! On, little Drumkin! Turn-pa, turn-too! ”

The tiger was angry. “Now I shall have no fat lambkin to eat, ”he said.

“Why didn't I eat him when I had him? ”

By and by Lambkin met the dog and the wolf.

They called to him,

“Drumkin! Drumkin! Have you seen Lambkin? ”

And Lambkin, in his soft, warm nest, called back to them,

“Lost in the forest, and so are you! On, little Drumkin! Tumpa, tum-too! ”

The dog and the wolf were very angry because they had no fat lambkin to eat.

But Lambkin rolled along laughing and singing,

“Tum-pa, tum-too!

Tum-pa, tum-too! ”

At last Lambkin met the jackal, who said,

“Drumkin! Drumkin!

Have you seen Lambkin? ”

Lambkin, in his soft nest, called back, “Lost in the forest, and so are you! On, little Drumkin! Tum-pa, tum-too! '' Now the jackal was wise. He knew Lambkin's voice. So he called out,

“Lambkin! Lambkin!

Come out of that Drumkin! ”

“Come and make me! ”shouted Lambkin. The jackal ran after Drumkin. But Drumkin rolled faster and faster, and soon rolled away from him. The last thing the jackal heard was, “Lost in the forest, and so are you! On, little Drumkin! Tum-pa, tum-too! ”

(A Tale from lndia)

Word list

lambkin: a baby lamb

Granny: a grandmother

jackal: a kind of wild dog

tender: soft

wee: very small

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Why was Lambkin going to Granny's house?

2) Lambkin is “wee”. What are some other animals that are “wee”?

3) Who wants to eat Lambkin?

4) How long did Lambkin stay in the corn-bin?

5) Why did Granny tell Lambkin he must go home?

B) Villains—Many stories have at least one villain. A villain is a character who does mean things. Name the four villains in this story.

1) ______________________

2) _______________________

3) ______________________

4) _______________________

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The lambkin was eaten by a jackal.

2) _____ The lambkin got fat at Granny's house.

3) _____ The jackal was wiser than the other villains.

4) _____ Lambkin got lost in the forest.

5) _____ None of the villains were able to catch the lambkin.