The Elephant BirdAuthor Arefa TehsinIllustrators Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja

Munia knew that the giant one-feathered elephant birdhad not swallowed the horse Yes he was big enough toswallow a horse but that didnt mean he had Thevillage of Adhania had only one horse-cart pulled by thetwo horses Vayu and Drut And Vayu had gone missingnear the lake in the jungle where the bird lived The villagers had known about the elephant bird forgenerations

2

He was the last of his race which was considered extinctfor hundreds of years The world did not know that theliving relic of that race who had lost all his feathers butone still roamed the jungles of Adhania The bird and the villagers kept a safe distance from eachother But not Munia Although she walked with a limpshe was brave of heart She often slipped into the jungleto watch the elephant bird

3

The elephant bird came near the lake in the daytime tobask in the sun or play in the lake alone splashing waterSometimes he sat half-submerged in water At othertimes there was no trace of him Perhaps he just rested in some corner of the densejungle He stood as tall as a tree He had a long strongneck huge legs with claws and a heavy spear-like headHis long talons and nails looked scary

4

But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous birdHe just munched on leaves by the lakeside

Munia felt she had something in common with him Theelephant bird could not fly and Munia could not runOther village children mocked her limp and did notinclude her in their games That was why she likedstaying alone

5

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

Munia knew that the giant one-feathered elephant birdhad not swallowed the horse Yes he was big enough toswallow a horse but that didnt mean he had Thevillage of Adhania had only one horse-cart pulled by thetwo horses Vayu and Drut And Vayu had gone missingnear the lake in the jungle where the bird lived The villagers had known about the elephant bird forgenerations

2

He was the last of his race which was considered extinctfor hundreds of years The world did not know that theliving relic of that race who had lost all his feathers butone still roamed the jungles of Adhania The bird and the villagers kept a safe distance from eachother But not Munia Although she walked with a limpshe was brave of heart She often slipped into the jungleto watch the elephant bird

3

The elephant bird came near the lake in the daytime tobask in the sun or play in the lake alone splashing waterSometimes he sat half-submerged in water At othertimes there was no trace of him Perhaps he just rested in some corner of the densejungle He stood as tall as a tree He had a long strongneck huge legs with claws and a heavy spear-like headHis long talons and nails looked scary

4

But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous birdHe just munched on leaves by the lakeside

Munia felt she had something in common with him Theelephant bird could not fly and Munia could not runOther village children mocked her limp and did notinclude her in their games That was why she likedstaying alone

5

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

He was the last of his race which was considered extinctfor hundreds of years The world did not know that theliving relic of that race who had lost all his feathers butone still roamed the jungles of Adhania The bird and the villagers kept a safe distance from eachother But not Munia Although she walked with a limpshe was brave of heart She often slipped into the jungleto watch the elephant bird

3

The elephant bird came near the lake in the daytime tobask in the sun or play in the lake alone splashing waterSometimes he sat half-submerged in water At othertimes there was no trace of him Perhaps he just rested in some corner of the densejungle He stood as tall as a tree He had a long strongneck huge legs with claws and a heavy spear-like headHis long talons and nails looked scary

4

But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous birdHe just munched on leaves by the lakeside

Munia felt she had something in common with him Theelephant bird could not fly and Munia could not runOther village children mocked her limp and did notinclude her in their games That was why she likedstaying alone

5

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

The elephant bird came near the lake in the daytime tobask in the sun or play in the lake alone splashing waterSometimes he sat half-submerged in water At othertimes there was no trace of him Perhaps he just rested in some corner of the densejungle He stood as tall as a tree He had a long strongneck huge legs with claws and a heavy spear-like headHis long talons and nails looked scary

4

But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous birdHe just munched on leaves by the lakeside

Munia felt she had something in common with him Theelephant bird could not fly and Munia could not runOther village children mocked her limp and did notinclude her in their games That was why she likedstaying alone

5

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

But Munia soon realised he was a shy herbivorous birdHe just munched on leaves by the lakeside

Munia felt she had something in common with him Theelephant bird could not fly and Munia could not runOther village children mocked her limp and did notinclude her in their games That was why she likedstaying alone

5

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

Every morning Munia helped fetch three pitchers ofwater from the village well and collected wood so thatAmma could light the stove And then she would be outfor a long time Amma believed she went out to playwith the kids Little did she know that Munia went intothe jungle to the lake where the elephant bird lived

6

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

One day gathering courage Munia stepped in the opennear the lake Without turning his head the elephantbird rolled his eyes towards Munia and then closedthem uninterested by her advanceGetting no more attention than the flies buzzing over hishead Munia stomped her feet Suddenly the elephantbird lifted one of his claws Munia cried and fellheadlong into the shallow waters of the lake She cameout drenched to see him shaking all over He waslaughing

7

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

ldquoThatrsquos funny huhrdquo she asked angrily and turned toleave Before Munia had walked away from the clearingsomething hit her feet It was a fruit that the elephantbird had thrown at her The elephant bird wanted toplay Hesitantly Munia threw it at him He trottedsideways and caught the fruit in his beak Thus Muniarsquosfriendship with the elephant bird had begun And justwhen she had finally found a friend Vayu had gonemissing And everyonersquos suspicion had turned towardsthe elephant bird

8

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

After searching for Vayu high and low the villagersgathered under the old banyan treeEveryone agreedthat there could be no thief in Adhania They all trustedone another The milkman swore that he had seen Vayugallop away towards the lake ldquoThere is no sign of Vayuanywhere It must be something in the jungle that gothimrdquo a villager addressed the headman ldquoWho else canit be but the giant one-feathered elephant bird He mustbe destroyedrdquo said the milkman ldquoFor years he has beenlying silent hatching his evil plansrdquo

9

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

The crowd agreed Munia watched the proceedingsquietly She wanted to speak but was scared of beingpunished for speaking up Even if she spoke who wouldbelieve her ldquoYes all these years of aimless living hasmade the giant dangerousrdquo said Muniarsquos father ldquoTodayit is a horse tomorrow it may be our childrenhelliprdquoThe headman spoke over the villagersrsquo angry shoutsldquoBrothers even though we are facing a giant we havethe strength of numbers So let us go out and finishhimrdquo

10

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

A cheer of approval went up ldquoThe elephant bird did noteat the horserdquo Munia said softly but firmly limpingforward ldquoI was with him when Vayu went missingrdquo Aheavy silence fell on the gathering ldquoWhat does thismeanrdquo roared the headman ldquoThat the elephant bird ismy friend and he has not done thisrdquo ldquoThis girl has lost her mindrdquo shouted someone from theback The other children laughed ldquoHe only eats leavesHow can he eat Vayurdquo Munia shouted not moving fromher place

11

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

ldquoYou canrsquot even plait your hair and you are giving usadvicerdquo Muniarsquos father fumed and came towards herldquoGo play with your friendsrdquo ldquoThis elephant bird is the only friend I haverdquo said MuniaHer father glared at her But she didnrsquot cry and stoodthere facing the villagers ldquoForget about the girl we will get the elephant bird inthe morningrdquo said the headman and the gatheringdispersed

12

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

Munia had only one night to prove the elephant birdrsquosinnocence ldquoThink Munia thinkrdquo she whispered toherself ldquoThe milkman saw Vayu gallop away on the roadthat goes to the lake But the road takes a turn before itreaches the lake and goes towards Chandesara What ifVayu had gone that wayrdquo Muniarsquos parents were angry with her and sent her tobed without speaking a word Once they were asleepshe got out of bed took the hanging lamp and steppedout of the house

13

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

She crossed Adhania and came to the jungle pathleading to Chandesara the neighbouring villageWhoooo rang the call of an owl in the jungle air Ajackal howled from a distance The shadows of treesmoved like long dark fingers She hesitated for amoment but then thought of the elephant bird sleepingpeacefully in the jungle If she didnt do something tosolve the mystery the elephant bird may not be alive tosee the next night She took a deep breath and limpedalone on the jungle path in the dead of the night

14

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

The next morning the villagers gathered near the lakewith sticks sharp stones and long kitchen knives Theelephant bird was resting when the crowd approachedhim The sun shone on his featherless back He got upslowly and stared at the crowd Looking at his size thevillagers stopped at some distance After a momentrsquoshesitation the headman cried ldquoBe readyrdquo The mobroared firming the grip on the weapons ready to rundown the giant one-feathered elephant bird

15

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

ldquoStoprdquo Muniarsquos thin voice cut through the din Shelimped between the mob and the giant ldquoMunia Come back at oncerdquo her father ordered ldquoGrabherrdquo cried someone else Muniarsquos father and another villager rushed towards herThe elephant bird advanced a couple of steps and theystopped ldquoOkayhellip if this is how you want it wersquoll tackleboth of you togetherrdquo yelled a man holding a spear

16

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

ldquoWhatrsquos going onrdquo someone shouted from behind thecrowd A slightly hunched man with a long beard camein holding a horsersquos reins The headman asked with a surprised look ldquoSaarthi whatare you doing here And why is Vayu with yourdquo

17

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

ldquoOh as you know I had sold Vayu to you some yearsback Yesterday I was passing by your village early in themorning in my buggy pulled by Jhabru and Ghabru ndashVayursquos brothers I donrsquot know how Vayu got loose andfollowed us back to Chandesara I couldnrsquot recognizehim and didnrsquot know what to do with him until thismorning when I saw this little girl going from hut to hutasking about a lost horse But what is going onrdquo heasked again

18

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

The villagers did not answer Saarthi They hung theirheads in shame Muniarsquos father went to her lifted her inhis arms and took her back to the village Since that dayno child laughed at Muniarsquos limp They all wanted to befriends with her And they all wanted to be friends withthe elephant bird Muniarsquos tale reached many villages and the villagers infaraway hamlets whispered to each other ldquoMunia knewthat the giant one-feathered elephant bird had notswallowed the horserdquo

19

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

This story is inspired by the real Elephant Bird(scientific name Aepyornis maximus) the biggestbird that walked our planet It inhabited the islandof Madagascar With more and more settlements onthe island and more forests ruined the speciesbecame extinct around 1700 CE

20

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

Story AttributionThis story The Elephant Bird is written by Arefa Tehsin copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsThis book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of the print version of this book has been supported by Parag(Promoting Innovative Publishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative wwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 2 Girl from a scenic village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 3 Girl and the elephant bird in a forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 4 Elephant bird bathing in the sun and eating berries from a tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Girl calling out to the elephant bird which is splashing about in the sea by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhujacopy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Girl and her mother who is cooking rotis by Sonal Goyal SumitSakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 Girl jumping into the water as the magical bird watchesby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Angry girl and the elephant birdby Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 A group of villagers sitting under abanyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 A group of peoplemeet under a banyan tree by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Ascared girl being scolded by others in her village by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

Illustration AttributionsPage 12 Father scolding his daughter by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 13 A young girl stepping out of home into the night by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released underCC BY 40 license Page 14 A girl in search of something in the forest at night by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rightsreserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 15 A group of men holding sticks approaching a large purple bird by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copyPratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 16 A girl protecting the elephant bird from a group of men by SonalGoyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 17 Two old men in conversation by SonalGoyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 18 A scene at a village in India by SonalGoyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 19 A happy girl sitting on her fathersshoulders with a large purple bird behind them by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40license Page 20 A large purple bird in a lush forest by Sonal Goyal Sumit Sakhuja copy Pratham Books 2014 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY40 license

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copymodify distribute and perform the work even for commercialpurposes all without asking permission For full terms of use andattribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40 The development of the print version of this book has

been supported by Parag (Promoting InnovativePublishing in Education) a Sir Ratan Tata Trust Initiative

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own

(English)The Elephant Bird Munia Knew that the giant one-feathered elephant bird had not

swallowed the horse even though he was big enough to swallowone So where had the horse disappeared A story about a magicalbird and a brave and curious child

Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of multilingual childrens stories Knitting together children authorsillustrators and publishers Folding in teachers and translators To create a rich fabric of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children ofIndia and the world Our unique online platform StoryWeaver is a playground where children parents teachers and librarians can get creativeCome start weaving today and help us get a book in every childs hand