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Jana and Bojan were spending the weekend with their friendAfrim, at his grandparents’ house in the country. As soon as

they arrived, the house was filled with bright smiles. It was hardto tell who was happier: the children or Afrim’s grandparents,Fikrie and Rafis. The evening passed very quickly with talk andlaughter. After a delicious dinner the children went to bed.They needed plenty of rest before the next day’s adventures.

With no alarm clock and no parents to get them out of bed, the childrenwoke the next morning to the sound of the cock crowing. Immediatelythey were aware of the wonderful smells coming from Grandma Fikrie’s

kitchen. Jana rubbed her eyes sleepily, got out of bed and went carefullydown the wooden stairs.

“Good morning, Grandma!”

“Good morning! You’re up early! Did you sleep well?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had such sweet dreams, Grandma!”

“Well that’s because of the peace here, and the fresh mountain air.”

“What’s that, Grandma?” asked Jana shyly, pointing across the kitchen.“It’s a stove. It’s where I bake bread,” explained Grandma.“Are you hungry?”

A weekend in the country 

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“Yes, starving! But I’d like to have a wash first. Where’s the bathroomGrandma?”

“You can wash over there, dear, at the well. Ask Afrim to draw a bucketof water out for you. But be careful! The water from the well is very cold!”

Just then, the other children came into the kitchen to have breakfast.When they saw the big yellow cat licking its whiskers, Bojan joked:

“Hey Puss! Leave some milk for us!”

Grandpa Rafis smiled:

“Don’t worry Bojan! As long as we have our cow, Busha, we’ll have plentyof milk and yogurt, and cheese and cottage cheese too.”

Jana listened quietly, then asked: “Don’t you have any milk from the shop?That’s the kind we drink at home.”

Grandma smiled and handed her a glass: “Try this. I think you’ll like it!”

Jana took the glass from Grandma, but because she knew it had comestraight from the cow she didn’t dare taste it. She just whispered:

“I don’t really feel like milk today. I’ll just have some warm bread and cheese.”

Unlike Jana, who wouldn’t eat more than a slice of bread becauseit was homemade, the boys ate a really good breakfast and then filledtheir rucksacks with all the good things that Grandma Fikrie had preparedfor them. Before they set off to explore, Grandpa Rafis warned them:

“Just be careful, children! Stay on the paths, don’t light any fires and don’tdamage the plants. Remember that you’re only guests in the forest,so you mustn’t disturb the plants and animals that live there. Watch outfor steep slopes and stay well away from the river. And most importantlyof all: Don’t get lost!”

“It’s not the first time I’ve been for a walk in the woods, Grandpa!”laughed Afrim as the three children set off.

Before long they came to a beautiful meadow, full of flowers, butterflies

and bees. Everything looked so beautiful that Jana set off running throughthe colourful flowers, until she heard Bojan’s voice:

“Look where you’re treading! Those are medicinal plants. If you pick them,you must leave the root in the ground so they’ll flower again next year!”

“But... I just wanted to pick a bunch for Grandma Fikrie,” said Jana.

“Flowers are far more beautiful growing in the field than in a vase,”Afrim told her.

Jana nodded and the children continued their walk through the forest.They started joking about what they’d do if they met a wolf, a bear ora fox, but all they saw was a hedgehog curled in a ball and a slow tortoise.

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The Eco-adventures of Bojan and Jana

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Although they were really hoping to see a deer, they were happy with thebirdsong and the quietly rustling leaves. They ate sweet wild strawberriesand drank cold water from a spring. Afrim and Bojan taught Jana howto recognise different types of trees: the beech with its beechmasts,the oak with its acorns, the pine full of cones, as well as the spruce and fir.

As they talked they came to the river: the banks were steep and the waterdeep and fast flowing. The children walked carefully along the bank to finda place to rest. They sat under an old tree and hungrily unpacked their

food. The boys eagerly tucked into the baked potatoes and red applesthat Grandma Fikrie had packed. Jana wasn’t so keen and instead atea croissant that she’d brought from home. When lunch was over the boys just had paper napkins left, but Jana still had her croissant packaging.

“Where shall I put this? There’s no litter bin here!”

“Just put it in your rucksack and we’ll throw it away when we get backhome,” explained Afrim.

As they walked back through the village, the children watched peopleworking in the fields. Afrim proudly told his friends how his grandparentsgrew almost everything they needed in their garden, and sold someof the produce from their fields and orchard.

Grandma Fikrie was feeding the hens when they got home and GrandpaRafis, with his dog Murdzo at his heels, was heading for the stables. Janaand Bojan started asking questions at once. Why do you keep hens? Howmany cows and calves have you got? Do you have any sheep? Why have

you got a horse if it doesn’t give you anything? The questions continuedover a meal of beans, salad and roasted pumpkin. After dinner, Grandpabegan telling stories about village life, and the children listened happily.

Have you ever stayed in the countryside?What do people grow in their fields and gardens?Can you name some domestic birds and animals?Why do people keep them?