16 - Sparky’s ‘Introspective’ World

Hello, Sparky here.

Ø  For once there is something more important than weather on our minds. So, the news I start with for the week is not related to weather, it’s whether or not the crocodile is still on Banyan Island. For those of you not on the island, you will probably not understand how absolutely scary it was to have lived with a crocodile in the vicinity and what a sense of relief it is to be rid of him.  

Ø  We went to sleep one night with the crocodile still in our waters and the next day morning when he wasn’t around, we all wished he really wasn’t around. The birds went around the island looking for him but none of us really wanted to believe that he was really gone. It was only after a whole day of absence that we started believing that he could really be gone.

Ø  Crocodiles are supposed to have an amazing ‘homing instinct’ and even undertake long journeys to get back to their home when displaced from their homes for whatever reason. So, the croc which came to Banyan Island last week, left us this week as the level of water dipped a little, probably owing to reduced rainfall or no rains in places upstream. As none of us on the island made his acquaintance to know of his plans, we can only presume he must have got home sick and must have gone back to wherever he came from. I speak for everyone on the island when I say this, ‘A bon voyage to him and hope he forgets the way back to Banyan Island.’  

Ø  The crocodile’s presence on the island gave us all a chance to reflect upon a lot of things in life. Since we were all keeping a low profile anyway and there wasn’t much to do other than to reflect upon life and its passing by. Two things I dwelt upon were:

·         How having started the otters on a mango eating binge, we abandoned them without they having any way of getting at the mangoes by themselves?

It was mighty mean of all of us. Without the otters asking for the mangoes we placed the temptation in their way and they finally, to all our delight, fell for it.  Having had our share of fun we left the otters to fend for themselves who had to come up with weird schemes of ‘a mango a book’ to get mangoes which ended up hurting quite a few birds, some mentally, some physically and the rest of us whose pride was hurt, best not to talk of it.

Many of us must have felt the same way, not to mention that many of us on the banyan tree unable to go to the mango tree were in the same predicament as the fate that we had left the otters in. So, when we finally made a trip to the mango tree after the croc was gone, we all remembered the otters and brought back a mango each for the otters and much like before quietly left it by their home. I hope the good otters forgive us our folly.   

·         The second thing that I gave a good thought to was how we treated the woolly-necks. The first time we saw the woolly-necked storks they were on either side of the crocodile and from then on our prejudice against these birds was set. We had a new neighbour and none of us as much as said hello to them. If we had only given it a thought we would have known the woolly-necks were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, how did we imagine that they were friends with the croc or they had brought the croc to the island?

Now all of us have gone out of our way to be nice to the woolly-necks but seems like it’s too late. They seem to be prejudiced against us now.  

We, Banyan Island residents are a very cheerful lot now, and we could do with a bit of calm so here are a few activities to quietly sit and solve.

• Solve the riddles one by one and get a word that solves another riddle. The final word describes the mood of the moment and the other words, in order describe our ‘croc experience’. 

	If you are this, you are out of your wits and terrified, One moment you are blank and the next you wonder what happened.
	Only this on our minds – by any means to keep away from danger. The only thing we plotted was how to stay alive longer.
	Our slumber was filled with this, but, when we woke, the reality we faced was worse than that.
	Dark and dull is how the world looked, This is how we felt, of joy and laughter robbed.
	Why such a misfortune had befallen us, we wondered. This was our mood, if anything we could do, we pondered.
	It all seemed so untrue, it felt like a nightmare. We took to doing this often to see if the trouble had gone or still there.
	With the trouble gone, we were happy and jubilant. We were this – happier than happy and exultant.
	The final riddle – first letter of the answers above will also solve this riddle below:
	The tragedy that struck us we couldn’t understand, Sheer bad luck to have the trouble on our land. This is how our mood was – twisted like ampersand.

• Here’s the crossword puzzle for the week. All the words rhyme with ‘crocodile’ which means almost all of them (in fact, all of them except one) ends with ‘ile’.

• Continuing with the ‘similar looking hence ‘could be confusing’ words’

1.        After a refreshing rain when the sun comes out, the rainbow, the refreshed greenery, the sparkling river, the blue sky _________ (all together/altogether) look like a Claud Monet painting.

2.        Last week when the crocodile was around, Mr. Goldback said when we are rid of the dinosaur we will get _________ (all together/altogether) and have a celebration.

3.        After the crocodile left all of us ______ (accept/except) the Woolly-necks had a party.

4.        When Mr. Goldback invitated the Woolly-necks for the party, they did not _______ (accept/except) the invitation as they had a strict deadline to finish building the nest.

5.        We keep staring at the ________ (sight/site) where we had first spotted the crocodile and still can’t believe he’s actually gone.

6.    All of us keep looking around us scared that we might any moment ________ (sight/site) the huge crocodile again

•  During the rains as the butterflies rest, they agreed to be set into a puzzle. Find the next butterfly in the sequence:

‘Little readers’ Section’

• Here’s more from the ‘imagination series’ by Mr. Ankit Agrawal, our regular reader and contributor.

See you all next week with more news, activities and answers to this week’s puzzles.

In the meanwhile, if you would like to write to me, email me at Sparkyatbanyan@gmail.com

Answers to last week’s puzzles:

• Solve the riddles one by one and get a word that solves another riddle. The final word describes the mood of the moment.  

Dinosaur	Crocs belong to the age when these roamed the earth, Their presence now, steals our peace and mirth.
‘A’ (Asia, Americas, Africa and  Australia)	Found in the tropics of continents starting with this alphabet, Body and skill perfected over millennia, to outlive us, they are all set.
Zoology	A mother croc cares for her eggs and babies, Completely unexpected, but she doesn’t care for her reputation or our ‘….logy’?
Extinction	200 million years back, these crocs came around, This is what they have avoided to be still found.
Dead	One will be this, if one doesn’t get away from them in haste, Crocs will bite first and then wonder about the taste.
	The final riddle – first letter of the answers above will also solve this riddle below:
Dazed	From afar, at the mean machine one can marvel. If you were to find one beside your boat, you would be this and fearful.

• What comes next in the sequence. Not very easy, but a bit of thinking will bring the words into focus:

M	T	W	Thursday
J	F	M	April
E	I	O	U
M	V	E	Mars
Pa	At	In	Southern Ocean
As	Af	NA	South America

•    There are many words which look very similar to each other and can be confusing, put a little thought and the confusion will soon clear up else if you read a lot, you will not be confused by these words. Try these to see how you do.

1.    The otters are not averse to the idea of climbing the mango tree to get at the mangoes, it’s just that their bodies are not equipped for climbing trees.

2.    Braving the adverse conditions in the rainy season, Mr. Goldback checks the Banyan Island for any signs of danger.

3.    Plants like beggar’s ticks and cassia tora growing on either side of the path between the banyan tree and mango tree makes it look like a neat aisle.

4.    Our Banyan Island is really only an isle.

5.    On winter mornings thick fog envelops our island.

6.    The letters I receive from my aunt in the city come in beautiful envelopes.

7.    Mr. Goldback does not tolerate insubordination, anyone doing so will lose his place in the family.

8.    When baby monkeys run around the Banyan, the loose branches and leaves fall to the ground.   

'Little readers’ Section'

• There are many things that are associated with the rains and the rainy season. Hidden in the letters below are 11 such words. Could you find these words: