Page 51 - Lavender-B-7
P. 51

There are heavy rains and the village is flooded. What happens to the people of the
          village? Read the story to find out.

          The temple was the highest point in the village. But it was neck-deep in water-water,
          water everywhere. The villagers had all left for dry land. There were sixty-seven children
          huddled up in one room in the attic of the temple.


          There were also three hundred and sixty-seven men and women,                 What do you call     Connect
          as well as dogs, goats and fowls. All living together. No quarrels.          a boat in your mother
                                                                                                           Language
          For two nights and a day, Chenna Paraya had been braving the                 tongue?
          flood alone. He had no boat. It was now three days since his
          landlord left. Chenna Paraya had made a raised platform in the
          hut with coconut husks and poles. He stayed inside the hut for two days hoping that the

          water would recede. How could he leave the place so soon! In the plot, there were a few
          trees of banana and a haystack, and leaving the place would certainly mean leaving them
          at the mercy of thieves.

          Now the water had risen                                                                        Just a Minute!
          above the platform. It had                                                       Do you think
                                                                                           Chenna will be able
          sunk a part of the hut too.                                                      to save his family?
          Chenna called out from

          inside. But who was there to
          listen to him? His woman,
          who was pregnant, four
          kids, a cat and a dog were
          the only ones left there.
          And he knew his and

          their end was near as it
          would not take longer than
          a few hours for the whole hut
          to be submerged in water. It had been raining heavily and continuously for three days.
          Chenna came out of the hut by breaking open one row of the thatched roof and looked

          around. At some distance there was a catamaran. Chenna cried aloud to the boatmen.
          Luckily, they heard him and came to help. He quickly pulled out his woman and kids
                                                               as well as the cat and the dog through the
           huddled up: crowded together                        crack of the wall.
           attic: a space or room inside or partly inside the roof
           of a building                                       The kids were getting on to the catamaran.
           fowls: birds kept on a farm like hens or ducks
           husks: the dry outer coverings of some fruits or seeds         ‘Chenna-cha, poohey,’ Chenna heard
           recede: to go or move back or further away from a   someone shouting from the west. He turned
           previous position
           catamaran: a boat with two parallel hulls that are held   around. ‘Come on, here.’ It was Madiyathara
           in place by a single deck                           Kunhappa calling from his rooftop.

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