[Vibo4Kids]The Fox and the Lump of Clay

The Fox and the Lump of Clay
Author: Kui Writer's Group
Illustrators: Pradip Kumar Sahoo, Sugrib Kumar Juanga
Translator: Amrit Mishra
There was a fox and a lump of clay who were very good friends.
One day the fox felt very thirsty.
The lump of clay went to the pond to get some water for his friend.
Plop went the lump into the pond and got dissolved in the water.
When he did not come back for a long time, the fox went to the pond and asked, “Where is my friend, the lump of clay?”
The pond said, “He got dissolved in my water.”
The fox got very angry.
He started throwing out all the water from the pond to find his friend!
While doing this, the fox found a fish.
He kept it on the stump of a tree on the bank.
He thought he would eat it later.
Some ants carried the fish away.
The fox came to the stump and asked, “Where is my fish?”
“The ants carried it away,” replied the stump.
The fox was furious.
He used the axe, and turned the stump into firewood.
Along came a woman collecting twigs in the forest.
She carried the firewood away.
She gave the fox a roti in exchange.
The fox took the roti and was about to put it under a tree.
A cowherd was passing by.
He was so hungry that he asked for the roti and ate it up.
He gave the fox an ox in exchange.
The fox took the ox home and tied it outside his hut.
In the evening the owner of the ox came looking for him.
“Why did you tie up my ox?”
he asked.
The fox told him the whole story.
“My friend the lump of clay, went to the pond to get water and he got dissolved.
When I threw out the water from the pond to look for him, I found a fish.
When I kept it on a stump, the ants carried it away.
In my anger I turned the stump into firewood.
A woman took the firewood away and gave me a roti instead.
A cowherd ate up the roti and gave me this ox.
But I am sad because I did not find my friend.”
The owner of the ox said, “Don’t be sad.
Give me back my ox and take this dhol instead.
Play the dhol and dance.”
The fox happily played the dhol and danced.
“Dhum dhum tapur tupur The lump fell into the water.
The ants ate the fish.
The woman grabbed the wood.
The cowherd ate the roti.
The ox is going home.
And now I have a dhol!
Dham dham tapur tupur.”
The Concept India’s diverse linguistic landscape has a rich seam of stories for children.
Unfortunately, many tribal languages do nothave literature for children in book form or books for reading pleasure.
As increasing numbers of tribal children go to school, it is now more necessary than ever to create a body of children’s literature in their languages.
Literature that reflects their own world and opens up the world beyond because books are magical, powerful things that inform, amuse, educate and entertain in the most interactive way.
Books make every child an independent and life-long seeker of knowledge in her own unique way.
For education to be truly meaningful to every child, she must get good books to read in her own language.
The Project Pratham Books and IgnusERG, with the support of Bernard van Leer Foundation have created the first ten books for children’s reading pleasure in Munda, Kui, Saura and Juanga languages from Odisha.
The stories were written and illustrated by authors and illustrators belonging to these tribes in a series of workshops.
This series of books is called Adikahani .
It is a significant first step towards giving a voice to cultures that do not find adequate representation in mainstream discourses.
The Partners IgnusERG is a guild of resource persons working to support teachers and enhancing the quality of education, particularly in government schools.
They focus their efforts on bringing equity in education and addressing the needs of marginalized children.
Bernard van Leer Foundation is an international grant-making foundation based in The Hague.
Its mission is to improve opportunities for young children growing up in socially and economically difficult circumstances.
It has a particular interest in supporting mother-tongue based education.
This story was written by the Kui Writers’ Group consisting of Buna Kanhar, Filiman Pradhan and Pramod Digal.
With a background in ECCE, they all interact with children regularly.
It has been illustrated by Sugrib Kumar Juanga, using the Saura mural style as a base.
The Kui language is spoken by more than 1 lakh people in Khondhamal, Gajapati and Rayagada districts of Odisha.
It is related to the Gondi language.
The spellings of the language in Odia script are not definitive as many new sounds are being rendered in print for the first time.