Ditemukan,Planet Terpanas di Jagat Raya

Kemajuan astronomi menguak satu demi satu rahasia langit. Berbagai temuan dihasilkan: di antaranya sejumlah planet mirip Bumi, lubang hitam (black hole), atau galaksi terbesar.

Para ilmuwan juga telah menemukan planet yang diselubungi gas yang dinamakan WASP-33b atau disebut juga HD15082. Dan belakangan terungkap, ini adalah planet paling panas yang pernah ditemukan. Bayangkan, suhu permukaan eksoplanet ini sampai 3.200 derajat Celcius atau lebih dari setengah suhu permukaan Matahari yang mencapai 6.000 derajat Celcius.

Permukaan planet yang membara ini diketahui dari orbitnya yang dekat bintang mirip Matahari yang suhunya sampai 7.160 derajat Celcius. Letaknya 380 tahun cahaya di konstelasi Andromeda.

Para astronom kali pertamanya menyadari eksistensi Planet WASP-33b pada tahun 2006, setelah beberapa kali mengobservasi fase redup bintang induknya.

Ini menyebabkan planet yang besarnya 4,5 kali ukuran Yupiter itu mengorbit bintangnya kurang dari 7 persen dari jarak antara Merkurius ke Matahari. Sangat dekat. Planet WASP-33b menyempurnakan orbitnya setiap 29,5 jam.

Berdasarkan hasil studi yang dipimpin Alexis Smith dari  Keele University, Staffordshire, emisi thermal WASP-33b ditemukan menggunakan kamera inframerah di teleskop William Herschel di  Canary Islands.

Terkuak, temperatur planet itu 9.00 derajat Celcius lebih panas dari planet berpredikat 'terpanas' sebelumnya di Galaksi Bima Sakti, yaitu WASP-12b. Planet tersebut  berada 600 tahun cahaya dari Bumi hanya punya waktu 10 juta tahun lagi sebelum terbakar habis.

Jaraknya yang dekat dengan bintangnya, membuat WASP-12b mencapai suhu 2.300 derajat Celcius. Sekali mengorbit, planet ini memerlukan waktu 1.1 hari.

Misteri Danau Berwarna Biru Neon di Australia

Apa yang membuat air di tepi danau itu berubah menjadi warna biru terang??



Berenang seharusnya memberikan suasana yang sehat bagi raga kita. Tetapi, belum tentu demikian halnya jika Anda berenang di kolam misterius ini. Kulit Anda bisa seketika berubah menjadi biru neon usai berenang di danau itu.

"Rasanya seperti kami sedang bermain dengan cat radioaktif," kata Phil Hart yang menangkap gambar fenomena aneh ketika teman-temannya muncul dari sebuah danau di suatu malam.

Apa yang membuat air di tepi danau itu menyala dalam kegelapan? Ya, air berwarna terang di saat gelap itu tidak muncul dengan sendirinya. Ia tercipta karena reaksi kimia yang disebut biopendar (bioluminescence), yang muncul saat konsentrasi mikro-organisme di dalam air terganggu secara alamiah.

Phil, 34 tahun, meletakkan kameranya dengan penyanggah kaki tiga dengan kecepatan shutter terlambat. Lalu, dia kemudian melempar butiran pasir dan batu sehingga kamera dapat menangkap gambar bintik-bintik air biru sebanyak mungkin. Hasil gambarnya: sempurna.

Gambar-gambar ini terlihat sangat menakjubkan. Warnanya berubah ketika konsentrasi mikro-organisme Noctiluca Scintillans di dalam air tidak normal, jauh lebih tinggi dari biasanya. Phil dan teman-temannya mengambil gambar itu di Danau Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.

"Berada di sana dan melihat biopendar yang begitu memukau adalah kesempatan yang sangat langka," ujar Phil. "Saya di sini sebagai direktur program di sebuah organisasi yang secara rutin mengadakan agenda berkemah di sekitar Danau Gippsland sejak 50 tahun lalu. Dan, belum pernah ada yang dapat melihat biopendar seterang ini."

Seperti yang disebutkan, fenomena ini disebabkan tingginya konsentrasi mikro-organisme yang tinggi. Hal ini diyakini sebagai hasil dari kombinasi kebakaran hutan dan banjir di sekitar danau, di mana secara tidak langsung meningkatkan kadar nutrisi di dalam air yang dapat menghidupkan organisme.

"Ini tidak boleh terjadi lagi dalam hidup saya," tutur Phil. "Saya merasa beruntung karena telah melihatnya dan berhasil merekam gambar tersebut dengan kamera saya."

"Warna biru cerah tidak hanya terlihat dengan mata kepala saya saja, tetapi juga dengan kamera saya. Ketika mengambil fotonya pertama kali, saya hampir tidak percaya melihat orang-orang di air tampak aneh," pungkas pria asal Melbourne itu.

pilih Sangat Baik Baik Cukup Kurang Sangat Kurang

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Henny Penny

One day Henny Penny was scratching in the farmyard looking for something good to eat when, suddenly, something hit her on the head. "My goodness me!" she said. "The sky must be falling down. I must go and tell the king."

She had not gone far when she met her friend Cocky Locky.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" he called out. "I am going to tell the king that

the sky is falling down," said Henny Penny.

"I will come with you," said Cocky Locky.

So Henny Penny and Cocky Locky hurried along together towards the king's palace. On the way they saw Ducky Lucky swimming on the pond.

"Where are you going?" he called out.

"We are going to tell the king the sky is falling down," replied Henny Penny. "We must go quickly, as there is no time to lose."

"I will come with you," said Ducky Lucky, shaking the water off his feathers.

So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky and Ducky Lucky hurried on together towards the king's palace. On the way they met Goosey Loosey, who called out, "Where are you all going in such a hurry?"

"We are on our way to tell the king the sky is falling down," said Henny Penny.

"I will come with you," said Goosey Loosey.

So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky and Goosey Loosey hurried on together towards the king's palace.

Round the next corner they met Turkey Lurkey. "Where are you all going on this fine day?" she called out to them.

"It won't be a fine day for long," replied Henny Penny. "The sky is falling down, and we are hurrying to tell the king."

"I will come with you," said Turkey Lurkey. So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey all went on towards the king's palace. Now on their way they met Foxy Loxy who asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"We are going to the king's palace to tell him the sky is falling down," replied Henny Penny. "That is a very important message," said Foxy Loxy.

"I will come with you. In fact if you follow me I can show you a short cut to the king's palace, so you will get there sooner."

So Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey all followed Foxy Loxy. He led them to the wood, and up to a dark hole, which was the door to his home. Inside his wife and five hungry children were waiting for him to bring home some dinner.

That, I am sorry to say, was the end of Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey, for one by one they all followed Foxy Loxy into his home, and they were all eaten up by the hungry fox family.

Henny Penny was the last to enter the Fox's hole and she heard Cocky Locky crowing in alarm in front of her. Squawking with fright and scattering feathers, she turned and ran as fast as she could for the safety of her own farmyard. There she stayed and she never did tell the king that the sky was falling down.

The Gingerbread Man

An old woman was baking one day, and she made some gingerbread. She had some dough left over,

so she made the shape of a little man. She made eyes for him, a nose and a smiling mouth all of currants, and placed more currants down his front to look like buttons. Then she laid him on a baking tray and put him into the oven to bake.

After a little while, she heard something rattling at the oven door. She opened it and to her surprise out jumped the little gingerbread man she had made. She tried to catch him as he ran across the kitchen, but he slipped past her, calling as he ran:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

She chased after him into the garden where her husband was digging. He put down

his spade and tried to catch him too, but as the gingerbread man sped past him he called over his shoulder:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

As he ran down the road he passed a cow. The cow called out, "Stop, gingerbread man! You look good to eat!" But the gingerbread man laughed and shouted over his shoulder:

"I've run from an old woman

And an old man.

Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

The cow ran after the old woman and the old man, and soon they all passed a horse. "Stop!" called out the horse, "I'd like to eat you." But the gingerbread man called out:

"I've run from an old woman

And an old man,

And a cow!

Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

He ran on, with the old woman and the old man and the cow and the horse following, and he went past a party of people haymaking. They all looked up as they saw the gingerbread man, and as he passed them he called out:

"I've run from an old woman,

And from an old man,

And a cow and a horse.

Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

The haymakers joined in the chase behind the old woman and the old man, the cow and the horse, and they all followed,him as he ran through the fields. There he met a fox, so he called out to the fox:

"Run, run, as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

But the sly fox said, "Why should I bother to catch you?" although he thought to himself, "That gingerbread man would be good to eat."

Just after he had run past the fox the gingerbread man had to stop because he came to a wide, deep, swift-flowing river.

The fox saw the old woman and the old man, the cow, the horse and the haymakers all chasing the gingerbread man so he said,

"Jump on my back, and I'll take you across the river!" The gingerbread man jumped on the fox's back and the fox began to swim.

As they reached the middle of the river, where the water was deep, the fox said,

"Can you stand on my head, Gingerbread Man, or you will get wet." So the gingerbread man pulled himself up and stood on the fox's head.

As the current flowed more swiftly, the fox said,

"Can you move on to my nose, Gingerbread Man, so that I can carry you more safely? I would not like you to drown." The gingerbread man slid on to the fox's nose. But when they reached the bank of the river, the fox suddenly went snap! The gingerbread man disappeared into the fox's mouth, and was never seen again.

Jack and the Beanstalk

There was once a boy called Jack who was brave and quick-witted. He lived with his mother in a small cottage and their most valuable possession was their cow, Milky-White. But the day came when Milky-White gave them no milk and Jack's mother said she must be sold.

"Take her to market," she told Jack, "and mind you get a good price for her."

So Jack set out to market leading Milky-White by her halter. After a while he sat down to rest by the side of the road. An old man came by and Jack told him where he was going.

"Don't bother to go to the market,"

the old man said. "Sell your cow to me. I will pay you well. Look at these beans. Only plant them, and overnight you will find you have the finest bean plants in all the world. You'll be better offwith these beans than with an old cow or money. Now, how many is five, Jack?"

"Two in each hand and one in your mouth," replied Jack, as sharp as a needle.

"Right you are, here are five beans," said the old man and he handed the beans to Jack and took Milky-White's halter.

When he reached home, his mother said, "Back so soon, Jack? Did you get a good price for Milky-White?"

Jack told her how he had exchanged the cow for five beans and before he could finish his account, his mother started to shout and box his ears. "You lazy good-for-nothing boy!" she screamed, "How could you hand over our cow for five old beans? What will we live on now? We shall starve to death, you stupid boy."

She flung the beans through the open window and sent Jack to bed without his

supper.

When Jack woke the next morning there was a strange green light in his room. All he could see from, the window was green leaves. A huge beanstalk had shot up overnight. It grew higher than he could see. Quickly Jack got dressed and stepped out of the window right onto the beanstalk and started to climb.

"The old man said the beans would grow overnight," he thought. "They must indeed be very special beans."

Higher and higher Jack climbed until at last he reached the top and found himselfon a strange road. Jack followed it until he came to a great castle where he could smell the most delicious breakfast. Jack was hungry. It had been a long climb and he had had nothing to eat since midday the day before. Just as he reached the door of the castle he nearly tripped over the feet of an enormous woman.

"Here, boy," she called. "What are you doing? Don't you know my husband likes to eat boys for breakfast? It's lucky I have already fried up some bacon and mushrooms for him today, or I'd pop you in the frying pan. He can eat you tomorrow, though."

"Oh, please don't let him eat me," pleaded Jack. "I only came to ask you for a bite to eat. It smells so delicious."

Now the giant's wife had a kind heart and did not really enjoy cooking boys for breakfast, so she gave Jack a bacon sandwich. He was still eating it when the ground began to shake with heavy footsteps, and a loud voice boomed: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum."

"Quick, hide!" cried the giant's wife and she pushed Jack into the oven. "After breakfast, he'll fall asleep," she whispered. "That is when you must creep away." She left the oven door open a crack so that jack could see into the room. Again the terrible rumbling voice came:

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,

I smell the blood of an Englishman,

Be he alive or be he dead,

I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

A huge giant came into the room. "Boys, boys, I smell boys," he shouted. "Wife, have I got a boy for breakfast today?"

"No, dear," she said soothingly. "You have got bacon and mushrooms. You must still be smelling the boy you ate last week." The giant sniffed the air suspiciously but at last sat down. He wolfed his breakfast of bacon and mushrooms, drank a great bucketful of steaming tea and crunched up a massive slice of toast. Then he fetched a couple of bags of gold from a cupboard and started counting gold coins. Before long he dropped off to sleep.

Quietly Jack crept out of the oven.

Carefully he picked up two gold coins and ran as fast as he could to the top of the beanstalk. He threw the gold clown to his mother's garden and climbed after it. At the bottom he found his mother looking in amazement at the gold coins and the beanstalk. Jack told her of his adventures in the giant's castle and when she examined the gold she realized he must be speaking the truth.

Jack and his mother used the gold to buy food. But the day came when the money ran out, and Jack decided to climb the beanstalk again.

It was all the same as before, the long climb, the road to the castle, the smell of breakfast and the giant's wife. But she was not so friendly this time.

"Aren't you the boy who was here before," she asked, "on the day that some gold was stolen from under my husband's nose?"

But Jack convinced her she was wrong and in time her heart softened again and she gave him some breakfast. Once more as:ack was eating the ground shuddered and the great voice boomed: "Tee, Fi, Fo, Fum." Quickly, ackjumped into the oven.

As he entered, the giant bellowed:

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,

I smell the blood of cm Englishman,

Be he alive or be he dead,

I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

The giant's wife put a plate of sizzling sausages before him, telling him he must be mistaken. After breakfast the giant fetched a hen from a back room. Every time he said "Lay!" the hen laid an egg of solid gold.

"I must steal that hen, if I can," thought Jack, and he waited until the giant fell asleep. Then he slipped out of the oven, snotched up the and rim for the top of the beanstalk. Keeping the hen under one arm, he scrambled Jack and the Beanstalk clown as fast as he could until he reached the bottom. Jack's mother was waiting but she was not pleased when she saw the hen.

"Another of your silly ideas, is it, bringing an old hen when you might have brought us some gold? I don't know, what is to be done with you?"

Then jack set the hen down carefully, and cornmanded "Lay!" just as the giant had done. To his mother's surprise the hen laid an egg of solid gold.

Jack and his mother now lived in great luxury. But in time Jack became a little bored and decided to climb the beanstalk again.

This time he did not risk talking to the giant's wife in case she recognized him. He slipped into the kitchen when she was not looking, and hid himself in the log basket. He watched the giant's wife prepare breakfast and then he heard the giant's roar:

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,

I smell the blood of an Englishman,

Be he alive or be he dead,

I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

"If it's that cheeky boy who stole your gold and our magic hen, then help you catch him," said the giant's wife. "Why don't we look in the oven? It's my guess he'll be hiding there."

You may be sure that jack was glad he was not in the oven. The giant and his wife hunted high and low but never thought to look in the log basket. At last they gave up and the giant sat down to breakfast.

After he had eaten, the giant fetched a harp. When he commanded "Play!" the harp played the most beautiful music. Soon the giant fell asleep, and jack crept out of the log basket. Quickly he snatched up the harp and ran. But the harp called out loudly, "Master, save me! Save me!" and the giant woke. With a roar of rage he chased after Jack.

Jack raced down the road towards the beanstalk with the giant's footsteps thundering behind him. When he reached the top of the beanstalk he threw down the harp and started to slither down after it.

The giant followed, and now the whole beanstalk shook and shuddered with his weight, and Jack feared for his life. At last he reached the ground, and seizing an axe he chopped at the beanstalk with all his might. Snap!

"Look out, mother!" he called as the giant came tumbling clown, head first. He lay dead at their feet with the beanstalk on the ground beside them. The harp was broken, but the hen continued to lay golden eggs for Jack and his mother and they lived happily and in great comfort for a long, long time.

The boy With The Long Name

Once upon a time, a long time ago, it was the custom in China to give firstborn sons great, long, important names. Second sons were given only little, short names.

In a small village there lived a mother with two sons. The second son was called Chang, which means "little or nothing". But the first son was called Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip pen pembo, which means "the most wonderful boy in the whole world".

Every morning the mother went to the river to wash the clothes and her sons went with her. Near to the river was a well, and here the boys liked to play. Their mother said to them, "Do not play near the well, or you will fall in." But the boys did not heed her.

One day, when they were playing around the well and even walking on the well, Chang fell in! Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo ran to his mother and said, "Oh, honoured mother, Chang has fallen into the well."

"Speak up, my precious son. I cannot hear you," said the mother.

"Chang has fallen into the well," shouted Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo.

"Chang has fallen into the well," repeated the mother. "What a foolish boy. Run to the Old Man With the Ladder and he will get him out," said the mother.

So Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo ran to the Old Man With the Ladder.

The Old Man was sleeping beneath a tree and Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo shook him awake and said, "Oh, Old Man With the Ladder, Chang has fallen into the well. Please will you come and get him out."

The Old Man stood up, fetched his ladder and went to the well. He put the ladder into the well and climbed down step by step by step until he found Chang. Then he carried the boy up out of the well, step by step by step. He laid Chang on the ground and pushed the water out of him and pumped air into him and soon Chang was the same as he had always been.

The brothers vowed they would not play near the well again.

But several months later, after the Festival of the Eighth Moon, they went to the well to eat their rice cakes. They were sitting on the edge, dangling their legs, when Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo slipped and fell in.

Chang ran to his mother and said, "Oh, honoured mother, Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo has fallen into the well!" "I cannot hear you. Speak up more clearly," said the mother.

"Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bad ruchi pip peri pembo has fallen into the well," said Chang.

"What!" said the mother. "Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo, my precious son, the most wonderful boy in the world, has fallen into the well! We must do something at once. Go to the Old Man With the Ladder and ask him to help."

So Chang ran to the old Man With the Ladder who was sleeping peacefully beneath a tree.

"Oh, Sir," shouted Chang."Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo has fallen into the well."

"What is this noise that disturbs my sleep?" said the Old Man.

"Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo has fallen into the well," repeated Chang.

"Somebody has fallen into the well?" said the Old Man. "What did you say his name was?"

"Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo, my brother," said Chang again. "Please come and help to get him out."

So the Old Man rose from the grass and fetched his ladder and went to the well with Chang.

He put the ladder into the well and he climbed down step by step by step until he found Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo.

Then he carried the boy up out of the well, step by step by step.

The Old Man laid Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo on the ground and he pushed the water out of him and pumped air into him and pushed the water out of him and pumped air into him until Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo opened his eyes. But because Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bah ruchi pip peri pembo had been in the water for so long it was many moons before he was the same as he had always been.

And nowadays you will find that people in China give all their children little, short names instead of great, long, important ones.

Alice in Wonderland

t was a warm summer day and Alice was getting bored sitting beside her sister, who had her nose buried in a book. Suddenly, a little White Rabbit with pink eyes ran in front of her shouting, "On dear, oh dear, I'm late."

The Rabbit pulled a watch out of his pocket to check the time. He shook his head, then disappeared down a rabbit's hole. "I must find out why he's in such a hurry !" cried Alice. Filled with curiosity, she ran to the rabbit's hole and peeped through the entrance.

The hole dropped suddenly and Alice fell. "When will I ever reach the bottom of this dreadful hole?" she shouted, while falling helplessly downwards.

Finally she landed in a long, narrow hallway with doors of many sizes. On a three-

legged table, Alice found a tiny gold key and a green bottle that said "DRINK ME". "This key must fit one of the doors," she said.

"It's the one behind the table," she cried, "but I'm too big to fit through such a little door. May be the potion in that bottle will help me," she decided. And she drank it.

Alice began to shrink until she was no bigger than a doll. She opened the door and quickly ran through it. "What a splendid garden !" she exclaimed. "Why, I'm no bigger than the insects that crawl on these flowers." But the excitement soon wore off. Alice grew bored with her tiny size. "I want to be big again," she shouted.

Her shouts startled the White Rabbit, who ran past her again. Mistaking her for his maid, he ordered, "Go to my cottage and fetch my gloves and fan."

Alice was confused by the Rabbit's behaviour. "May be I'll find something at the cottage to help me," she said hopefully.

A piece of chocolate cake was kept on a table by the doorway. Next to the cake was a note that read "EAT ME". "I'm so hungry," Alice said as she ate the cake. "I feel strange. Oh no ! I've grown larger than this house !" she cried.

"Get out of my way ! You're blocking thedoor !" shouted the White Rabbit. Alice managed to pick up his fan. Immediately, she began to shrink.

"Oh, I'll never get back to the right size," Alice cried. She went looking for help. Soon, she saw a green caterpillar dressed in a pink jacket. He was sitting on the top of a large mushroom, smoking a bubble pipe. "One side makes you big, the other side makes you small," he said to Alice before slithering away.

"One side of what?" Alice called after him.

"The mushroom, silly," he answered.

Alice ate a piece of the mushroom."Thank goodness, I'm growing !" she cried, "But

which way do I go?"

"That path leads to the Mad Hatter. The other way leads to -Lae March Hare," said a voice. Alice turned to find a smiling Cheshire Cat in a tree. "I'll see you later at the Queen's croquet game," he said before disappearing.

Alice walked down a path, "How lovely ! A tea party," she thought.

"There's no room for you !" shouted the Mad Hatter, "You may stay if you answer my riddle." Alice smiled. She loved riddles.

After several riddles, Alice became confused. "Every time I answer, you ask a question," she told the Mad Hatter.

"We don't know any answers," he giggled. "This is a waste of time," scolded Alice. The others ignored her. They were trying to wake the Dormouse.

Alice continued her walk. She found herself in the middle of a field where the Queen of Hearts was playing croquet. Her guards and gardeners were shaped like cards. One gardener had planted white roses by mistake and then painted them red, "Off with their heads !" shrieked the Queen. "I hate white roses !" "Have you ever played croquet?" the Queen asked Alice.

"Yes," Alice timidly answered. "But I've never used a flamingo or a hedgehog." "Play with me !" ordered the Queen."And let me win or I'll have your head !" Alice tried her best to play we,l, but she had trouble with her flamingo. "Off with her head !" cried the Queen. Just then a trumpet sounded at the distance calling court to session.

Everyone rushed into the courtroom. "Court is now in session," announced the White Rabbit, "Will Alice please come to the stand?" Alice took the stand and looked at the jury box, where the March Hare and the Mad Hatter were making noise. The Dormouse slept and the Cheshire Cat smiled at her. "What's going on?" asked Alice.

"You are guilty of stealing the delicious heart-shaped tarts !" accused the Queen, "And now you must be punished. Off with her head Off with her head!" yelled the Queen.

"How silly," replied Alice. "I did not have the slightest idea what you were talking about ! I was only playing croquet."

Alice felt someone touch her shoulder, "Wake up. You've been sleeping for too long," said her sister softly.

"I had a strange dream," said Alice. She told her sister about the White Rabbit, the mad tea party, the Queen of Hearts and the trial. But her sister wasn't paying attention. "You're reading again," mumbled Alice. As she stretched, Alice saw a little White Rabbit with pink eyes scurry behind a tree.

The Princess And The Pea

Once there was a prince who was looking for a princess.

But she must be a real princess. The prince went right round the world, and although he found several once upon a time the beautiful princesses, there was always something not quite right about them. In the end he came home, very disappointed. One night, there was the most terrible storm. It thundered, it lightninged and the rain poured down in sheets. The king and queen and prince sat round the fire toasting crumpets. Suddenly there was a ringing of the bell at the palace gates. Putting on his mackintosh, the king went to see who could be outside on such a dreadful night.

When he opened the gates a princess was standing there. But what a sight she was! Water streamed off the ends of her long hair, ran down her clothes and into her shoes.

"You'd better come in," said the king, leading the princess into the palace where she stood, dripping, and not looking at all like a princess.

"Yes, I am a princess," she assured them.

The old queen was doubtful. "We'll soon see about that," she said to herself. And she

went to prepare the spare bed for their young visitor. First she took off all the bedding and then she laid a pea at the very bottom. On top of the pea she put twenty mattresses and on top of the mattresses she put twenty feather beds.

The next morning the princess was asked how she had slept.

"I hardly slept a wink all night," she said. "The bed was desperately uncomfortable. There was something hard at the bottom of it and I'm sure I am bruised all over."

Now they knew she was a real princess. For no one but a princess would be able to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds! The prince was thrilled to bits for he had already fallen in love with her. And they decided to be married.

As for the pea, well it was put into a museum where it may still be seen if no one has stolen it.

The Tiger Eating Jackal Cubs

A jackal and his wife had three cubs, but nowhere to live.

"Where shall we put the cubs?" they thought. "If we don't get a hole they'll be soaked in the rain and die." After searching for a long time they found a hole, but they could see tiger-prints all round it. "This is a tiger's hole, my dear," said the jackal's wife. "How can we live here?"

"We've searched for so long," said the jackal, "and this is the only

hole we've found. We shall have to live here."

"What shall we do if the tiger comes?" said his wife.

"You must pinch the cubs hard if he does," said the jackal. "They'll squeal, and I shall ask why are they crying? And you will say they want to eat tiger."

"All right," said his wife, "I understand. That's fine." She went happily into the hole, and they settled down there.

A few days passed, and then they saw the tiger approaching. At once the jackal's

wife started to pinch her cubs sharply, and they squealed more than I can say!

"Why are the little ones crying?" asked the jackal in a very deep and ugly voice.

"They want to eat tiger, that's why they're crying," said his wife, also in a deep voice.

The tiger was about to go into his hole, but when he heard the words

"They want to eat tiger", he stopped short. "Good gracious," he thought to himself, "what ever can have got into my hole? They must surely be most dreadful monsters, otherwise would their young ones want to eat tiger?"

Then the jackal said, "Where can we get more tigers? I've caught all that there were and given them to them."

"It's no use saying that," said his wife. "The children won't stop squealing unless you find another one somehow." And she pinched the cubs even harder. "It's all right," said the jackal. "There's a tiger coming now. Give me my jimplong, and I'll ballyram him."

There is no such thing as a jimplong, and ballyram doesn't mean anything either: they were all part of the jackal's trickery. But the tiger jumped out of his skin when he heard the words jimplong and ballyram. "Heavens, I must get away at once," he thought, "or who knows what it will bring and what it will do to me!" And he didn't wait a moment longer. The jackal watched him as he raced off, bounding over bushes and thickets; and when the danger had passed, he and his wife breathed a long sigh of relief.

The tiger ran faster than he had ever run before.

A monkey sitting in a tree was astonished to see the tiger running so fast. "Well I never," he thought, "it's strange to see a tiger running like that. Something very extraordinary must have happened." So he called out to him, "What's happened, brother? Why are you running so fast?"

"Do you think I'm running for fun?" said the tiger, panting. "I had to flee, or I'd have been snapped tip at once."

"But I've never heard of any animal who could catch or eat you," said the monkey. "I don't believe you."

"If you'd been there, my friend," said the tiger, "I'd have seen what you'd have done! It's easy for you to speak from a distance."

"If I'd been there," said the monkey, "I'd have proved to you that there was nothing there at all. You're a fool to be frightened by such nonsense."

The tiger grew very angry at this. "Indeed!" he roared, "I'm a fool am I? And I suppose you're a genius! Come with me – I'll show you the place."

"I'll gladly come," said the monkey, "if you carry me on your back."

"All right, if I must," said the tiger. "Get on to my back and let's go." And with the monkey sitting on him, the tiger made his way back to his hole.

The jackal and his wife had just settled their cubs down when they saw the tiger returning, with the monkey on his back. The jackal's wife quickly rushed over to her cubs to pinch them again; and they started to squeal like the devil.

Then in the same gruff voice as before the jackal said,

"Be quiet! Stop yowling you'll make yourselves ill." "I've told you," said the jackal's wife, "they won't stop until you bring them a tiger to eat.'

"I've sent their uncle to go and get a tiger," said the jackal. "He'll be bringing it any minute now. Be quiet, children!"

Then he said a little more quietly, "Aha! Here is your uncle the monkey bringing a tiger. Don't cry any more. Quickly now, give me my jimplong and I'll ballyram him!"

The monkey had been full of bravery up to now. But when he heard the words jimplong and ballyram he didn't dare stay any longer. With a single jump he leapt up into a tree and disappeared.

What can I say to you about the tiger? He fled in such terror that he didn't stop running for two days.

The jackals had no more trouble after that. They lived in their hole with complete peace of mind.

The Frog Prince

There was once a handsome young prince who had the misfortune to offend a wicked fairy. To avenge herself she turned him into an ugly frog and put him into a well.

Now it happened that the well was in the courtyard of a king's palace and on fine days, when the sun shone warmly, the king's youngest daughter sometimes came there to amuse herself by tossing a golden ball high into the air and catching it as it fell. The poor frog watched her running to and fro in the sunshine. He thought she was the prettiest princess he had ever seen.

One day, the princess threw the ball up so high that when she stretched out her hand to catch it the ball bounced on the stones and fell with a splash into the water. She ran to the edge of the well and gazed down. But the golden ball had sunk far, far out of sight. Only a little ring of bubbles showed her where it had disappeared. She began to cry bitterly.

The frog popped his head out of the water. "Don't cry, Princess!" he said.

"What will you give me if I bring your ball from the bottom of the well?"

"Oh, I will give you anything I have," replied the princess. "My pretty pearls, my diamonds—even my crown. Only please bring my ball back to me!"

"I do not want your pearls or your diamonds or your crown," said the frog. "But if you will promise to love me, and let me eat from your plate, and drink out of your cup, and sleep on your bed, I will bring your ball safely back to you."

And the princess promised. For she said to herself, "What a silly frog! As if he could ever get out of the well and walk all the way to the palace! He will never find me."

The frog dove to the bottom of the well and presently came up with the golden ball in his mouth.

The princess had no sooner snatched it from him than she forgot all about her promise and ran back to the palace laughing with joy.

The next day, as she sat at dinner with the king and his courtiers, something came flopping up the great staircase—flip flap, flip flap!

And a voice said:

"From the deep and mossy well,

Little princess, where I dwell,

When you wept in grief and pain

I brought your golden ball again."

The princess dropped her spoon with a clatter on her plate, for she knew it was the frog who had come to claim her promise.

"What is the matter, daughter?" asked the king. "There is someone knocking at the door and your rosy cheeks are quite pale."

Then the princess had to tell her father all that had happened the day before how she had dropped her golden ball into the well, and how the frog had brought it up for her, and of the promises she had given him.

The king frowned and said, "People who make promises must keep them. Open the door and let the frog come in."

The princess opened the door very unwillingly and the poor frog hopped into the room, looking up into her face with his ugly little eyes.

"Lift me up beside you," he cried, "that I may eat from your plate and drink out of your cup." The princess did as he asked her and was obliged to finish her dinner with the frog beside her, for the king sat by to see that she fulfilled her promise. When they had finished, the frog said, "I have had enough to eat. Now I am tired. Take me up and lay me on your pillow, that I may go to sleep."

Then the princess began to cry. It was so dreadful to think that an ugly frog, all cold and damp from the well, should sleep in her pretty white bed.

But her father frowned again and said, "People who make promises must keep them. He gave you back your golden ball and you must do as he asks."

So the princess picked the frog up between her thumb and finger, not touching him more than she could help, and carried him upstairs and put him on the pillow on her bed. There he slept all night long. As soon as it was light he jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the palace.

Now, thought the princess, he is gone and I shall be troubled with him no more.

But she was mistaken, for when night came again she heard tapping at the door of her bedroom. When she opened it, the frog came in and slept upon her pillow as before until the morning broke. The third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke the following morning, she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince standing at the head of her bed. He was gazing at her with the most beautiful eyes that ever were seen.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a wicked fairy, who had changed him into the form of a frog, in which he was fated to remain until a princess let him sleep upon her bed for three nights.

"You," said the prince, "have broken this cruel spell and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me to my father's kingdom, where I will marry you and love you as long as you live."

The princess took him to her father and he gave his consent for them to marry. As they spoke a splendid carriage drove up with eight beautiful horses decked with plumes of feathers and golden harness. Behind rode the prince's servant, who had bewailed the misfortune of his dear master so long and so bitterly that his heart had almost burst. Then all set out full of joy for the prince's kingdom. There they arrived safely and lived happily ever after.