Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Storytime

His simple cottage had holes in the roof and no glass in its windows. Even the fence was old and falling apart! When winter came, the cold wind blew through Ivan’s cottage and chilled him to the bone. “I need wood for a fire!” he declared. He picked up his rusty hatchet and went out into the forest. He came across a lime tree whose leaves were still green, even though it was winter. “This wood will burn well!” he thought as he swung his hatchet at the tree. But when the axe blade struck the lime tree’s trunk, he heard the plant go, “Ouch!” Ivan was so surprised that he dropped his hatchet. “That really hurts!” said the lime tree. “If you will leave me be, I will give…

But when he was just four months old, Nesta got very sick. His mother was worried. “He’s so skinny, and his cough won’t go away!” she told his grandfather. Old Omeriah was a wise man who knew how to make medicines from the plants that grew in the forests of Jamaica. The people in Nine Mile also believed that he had healing powers and could drive away evil spirits. Omeriah examined the baby carefully before speaking. “Do not worry about little Nesta. He might look fragile, but he has a mighty spirit.” Nesta grew up healthy and happy in Nine Mile. After school, he, his cousin Slegger and his best friend Bunny would run outside to play. They would make forts in the jackfruit grove, ride on Omeriah’s donkey or…

They are short, less than twelve inches tall, but very strong. Their skin is as tough as leather, and their hair is like the bristles of a brush. Kabouters love to work hard. They dig underground with their little picks and shovels and mine the jewels and precious metals they find there. They have strong feelings about the proper way to behave, and they keep an eye on the humans who live above their heads. “I saw Lena the milkmaid talk rudely to her neighbour!” said Longbeard the kabouter one day. “What a cheese-head she is! I’ll get her goat to kick over her milk-bucket, then!” replied his friend Frizzlebrow. “Nice Mr Karl gave a bone to a hungry dog!” Gimlet-Eye told the other kabouters. “Good deeds should be rewarded.…

“Valhalla is so boring!” he complained. Thor the thunder god slapped him on the shoulder and grinned. “Why don’t we go on a trip to the land of the giants, then?” That sounded like fun! Loki and Thor packed everything they would need in the thunder god’s goat-drawn chariot. Then, the pair climbed aboard and set off! They drove over Bifrost, the great rainbow bridge that went from Valhalla to the other worlds in the universe. After a long journey, they arrived in the land of the giants. The gods were amazed by how huge everything was! “The trees are so high, they reach the clouds!” gasped Thor. “And the sparrows in the branches are taller than I am!” said Loki. When night fell, they looked around for a place…

On the lake’s bottom stood a house that belonged to two ancient snake-spirits, called Madame White Snake and Lady Green Snake. They were both very gentle and spent their time studying nature. The snake-spirits knew a lot about plants and herbs and how to make medicines from them. Sometimes, they would look up and wonder about the world beyond their lake. “Why don’t we visit it?” said Madame White Snake one day. They used a magic spell to turn into humans and swam up to the surface. When they pulled themselves onto the shore, they felt the warmth of the sun and gazed in wonder at the trees and flowers. As they were crossing a high-arched bridge, rain began to fall. In moments, both of them were soaked to the…

That was where his brinjals, or aubergines, grew. The great purple fruit were rare and precious, and they were the emperor’s favourite food. They could be made into a stew or chutney or stuffed with coconut, but the emperor liked them best when cooked in a curry. One evening, as a special treat, he served brinjal curry to all his courtiers. Among them was a man called Tenali Rama. The curry was the tastiest thing he had ever eaten! That night, when he went home, he told his wife all about the fantastic meal. “The brinjal is soft yet firm, with a flavour like nothing else I have ever eaten!” he said dreamily. “I wish you could try it too!” Tenali’s wife was curious to taste this wonderful food for…

One evening, as he was flying through the cool night air, Walter saw a chicken at the edge of a road. She was hopping nervously from one foot to the other. Walter landed nearby and asked her, “What’s the matter?” “I can’t cross the road,” clucked the chicken. “Why not?” asked Walter. “It’s not far to the other side!” “But that’s the point!” cried the chicken. “It can’t be ‘the other side’ because this is ‘the other side’ — that’s why I crossed the road earlier!” “I see,” said Walter. “You weren’t on this side, you were on the other side, but you crossed the road to this side — so now over there is ‘the other side’.” “Does it change, then? If this was ‘the other side’ before, how…

1 MUDDLED WATERS How many snake-spirits are slithering in the West Lake? Write the total here! 2 HOW MANY BELLS? The kabouters have made so many bells that they’ve lost count! How many are there in these towers? 3 BASKET PUZZLE! Tenali Rama’s son has been sent to the market to get a basket of vegetables, but which one has all the items on his list? Shopping list 1. Pepper 2. Tomato 3. Pumpkin 4. Lettuce 5. Broccoli 6. Carrot 7. Aubergine 4 LIME TIME Ivan is having trouble working out how much tax he has to pay the tsar, so he gets help from the lime tree! Each space should contain the total of the two numbers found underneath it. What will the number at the top be? 5…

You will need two or more players and the 18 memory cards opposite. You can also download, print and cut out the cards if you don’t want to cut up your magazine – just scan this QR code to download: ★ Put the cards on the table face-down and shuffle them around. Arrange them in a three-card-by-six-card rectangle. ★ Players take turns turning over two cards – the tallest player goes first! ★ If the cards match (by having a baby and the matching parent on them), you keep that pair of cards. Matching cards also have matching background shapes and colours! If the cards you flipped don’t match, turn them face down again. ★ If you turn over the card with a CUCKOO on it, you lose one matched…