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 Penguin @) Readers

TALES OF
ADVENTUROUS
GIRLS

LEVEL

RETOLD BY FIONA MACKENZIE AND FIONA MAUCHLINE

ILLUSTRATED BY MOLLEY MAY, KERRY HYNDMAN,
HANNAH TOLSON AND HANNAH PECK
SERIES EDITOR: SORREL PITTS
 PENGUIN BOOKS

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Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies

whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
www.penguin.co.uk www.puffin.co.uk www.ladybird.co.uk

Penguin
Ree House

Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls first published by Ladybird Books Ltd, 2018
This Penguin Readers edition published 2019
001

Copyright © Ladybird Books Ltd, 2018, 2019

Original stories retold by Julia Bruce
‘Text for Penguin Readers edition adapted by Fiona MacKenzie and Fiona Mauchline
“Tamasha and the troll” illustrated by Molley May
“Tokoyo and the sea serpent” illustrated by Kerry Hyndman
“Chandra and the elephants” illustrated by Hannah Tolson
“Sea Girl and the golden key” illustrated by Hannah Peck

Printed in China

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-241-39798-5

All correspondence to:

Penguin Books
Penguin Random House Children’s
80 Strand, London WO2R ORL

J MIX
Paper from
responsible sources

ESS sc» co0ge67

R Contents

s,
u New words 4

Note about the stories 6

Before-reading questions 6

‘Tamasha and the troll 8

Tokoyo and the sea serpent 20

Chandra and the elephants 32

Sea Girl and the golden key 44

During-reading questions 56

After-reading questions 57

Exercises 58

Project work 61

Glossary
 New words

samural

bow and arrow serpent statue

mountain lake

Cave
 Note about the stories
Girls in fairy stories are often very beautiful and wear
beautiful clothes, but they are not adventurous”™. Their
fathers, brothers and husbands go out and do dangerous
things, but the girls wait for them at home.

The girls in these four fairy stories come from different

places. They come from Zanzibar, Japan, India and
China, but they are all the same. They help their families,
friends and animals. Sometimes, the world is dangerous,
but these girls are adventurous and brave.

Before-reading questions
Look at the cover of the book. What are the stories about,
do you think? Write your answer in your notebook.

Read the back cover of the book. Which of these sentences

are true, do you think? Write your answer in your notebook.
a The book is about girls in their homes.
b The book is about brave girls.
c The book is about brave men and boys.
d The book is about girls in England.
e The book is about eirls in different countries.

Make two lists in your notebook with the words from the
“New words” pages. You can call the lists “Words I know”
and “Words I must learn’’.

*Definitions of words in bold can be found in the glossary on pages 62-63.

 1G “

ADV
 NP

2
Tamasha
and the Troll
Tamasha lived with her mother and two
sisters on the beautiful island of Zanzibar.

One day, the sisters went to the beach, and

Tamasha found a beautiful white shell. She
held it near to her ear. “Oh! I can hear the
sea!” she thought. Then she sang the song
of the sea.

In the evening, the sisters walked home.

“Oh! I forgot my shell!” Tamasha cried.

‘Then she ran back to the beach. Her sisters
did not go with her.
 YA =
£ a
Tamasha found her shell on a rock. She was
very happy, and she sang her song again.
But Zimwi, the big, bad troll, was behind
the rock. He heard ‘Tamasha’s song.

“You can sing very well,” he said. “You can

help ime.

Zimwi had a big drum, and he put ‘Tamasha

inside it.

Zimwi hit the drum. “Now you must sing!”

heveried.

Tamasha sang her song inside the drum.

10
Zimwi carried the drum to a village.
“This drum can sing,” he said to the
villagers. Then he hit the drum, and
Tamasha sang.

“Now bring me some food!” he cried.

The villagers liked the song, and they

brought Zimwi lots of food.

Zimwi carried the drum to lots of villages.

“Sing, drum,” he always said. Then he hit it,
and ‘Tamasha sang, But Zimwi never listened
to her songs.
The villagers gave Zimwi lots of food, but
Tamasha was very sad.

One day, Zimwi visited Tamasha’s village.

Tamasha heard her mother’s voice.

“Sing, drum!” cried Zimwi. Then he hit

the drum.

‘Tamasha sang, “Mother, I’m inside the

drum.”

“It’s Tamasha!” thought her mother.

“We must help her!”
 v4 .
£ a
“Bring me food,” Zimwi said to the villagers.

“T can cook you some food,” said ‘Tamasha’s

mother. “But I need some water from the
river.
2 bP)

Zimwi went to the river.

Tamasha’s mother opened the drum and

found ‘Tamasha.

‘Tamasha’s mother was very angry with

Zimwi. Vhen she had an idea. She caught
some bees and put them in the drum.

Zimwi brought back some water from

the river.
“Play your drum again!” the villagers cried.

“Sing, drum!” said Zimwi. Then he hit it.

But the drum did not sing. Zimwi hit it

again. “SING!” he cried.

Then the drum opened, and the bees flew

out of it. The bees were angry, and they
flew towards Zimwi. “Ahhh!” he cried.

Zimwi ran out of the village. Tamasha and

her family never saw him again.
 +
Tokoyo and the
sea serpent
Tokoyo’s father was the Emperor of Japan’s
favourite samurai. ‘The samurai loved his
daughter, and she loved him.

Tokoyo’s father was a good teacher.

He taught her how to swim, and how to use

a knife, and a bow and arrow.

20
 xe by
is Ne
One day, Tokoyo’s father visited the
Emperor, but the Emperor was confused.
He was confused because he was ill.

“Go to the island of Oki, and don’t come

back!” the Emperor told ‘Tokoyo’s father.

‘The samurai went to Oki, and ‘Tokoyo cried

every day.

Then, ‘Tokoyo thought, “I must find Father.”

‘Tokoyo travelled for many weeks. One day,

she saw the sea, and the island of Oki.
 ade by.
cis Ke
There was a village near the sea.

“Please take me to the island,” Tokoyo said

to the villagers.

“No,” they said. “We’re frightened of the

sea because a serpent lives there.”

Tokoyo found an old boat. Voices from

the sea cried, “Go back!” But ‘Tokoyo was
brave, and she went to Oki 1n the boat.

Then she saw a man and a girl at the top of

a cliff. The girl was very frightened.
 ae ye
cis Ke
Tokoyo ran to the cliff.

“Why are you in this dangerous place?”

shevemed:

“T must throw the girl in the sea,” said the

man. “Every year, we have to throw a girl
to the serpent. ‘Then it doesn’t kill people in
our village.”

‘Tokoyo was angry. “I can kill the serpent!”

she cried.

Tokoyo carried her knife in her mouth,

and she swam to the bottom of the sea.
She found a statue of the Emperor, and
she found the serpent.

26
 ae ty.
cis Ne
Tokoyo was very brave, and she killed the
serpent with her knife.

She took the serpent’s body to the man and

the girl.

“You helped us,” said the girl. “How can we

help you?”

“Please find my father,” said Tokoyo. “The

Emperor sent him to Oki.”

The girl smiled. “Your father 1s living in our

village,” she said, and she took ‘Tokoyo
to him.

Tokoyo and her father went home.

28
 oe
is Ne
“The Emperor is well now,” people said.

“Then let’s visit him,” said Tokoyo’s father.

The Emperor smiled at them. ‘Then he said,

“What is that?”

“T killed a serpent, and I found this statue

of you,” said ‘Tokoyo.

“There was a curse on that statue. [am well

because you killed the serpent and found
that statue,” said the Emperor. “You are
brave, Tokoyo. You can be a samurai now |?

Tokoyo and her father were very happy.

 Chandra
and the elephants
Chandra lived with her parents in a village
in India. She washed the Rajah’s elephants
every day. She loved the elephants, and they
loved her.

The villagers grew rice. Chandra’s mother

and father grew rice, too.

“T can help you,” said the Rajah to the

villagers. “Let me look after your rice.”

The villagers brought their rice to him.

Sx)NO
One year, it did not rain, and the villagers
did not have any food.

“Can we have our rice?” they asked the

Rajah.

“No!” said the greedy Rajah.

The villagers were hungry, but Chandra did

not stop working. She washed the elephants
every day.

But, one day, the Rajah’s guards said, “You

can’t wash the elephants today. They are
very ill.”

On
Chandra was worried. “Can I talk to the
Rajah, please?” she asked.

The guards took her to the Rajah in his

beautiful palace. In front of him was a
board with black and white squares.

“What do you want, little girl?” he said.

“Tm Chandra. I wash your elephants,”

she said. “I can help them. Please can I
see them?”

“Yes, you can,” said the Rajah.

36
 i he
The guards took Chandra to the elephants,
and the big animals walked slowly towards
her.

“Oh! You are very ill!” said Chandra, sadly.

Then she looked at their bodies.

“Oh!” she said. “Your ears hurt! I must

clean them.”

Chandra cleaned the elephants’ ears, and,

after three days, the elephants were well
again.

The Rajah was very happy. “Thank you.

What can I give you?” he asked.

38
 5" ‘e

Chandra thought about the hungry villagers.

“You can give me some rice,” she said.

“Of course. How much rice do you want?”

asked the Rajah.

Chandra looked at the Rajah’s board.

“Please put one grain of rice on the first

square,” she said. “Then put two grains
of rice on the second square, and put four
grains on the third square.”

“T understand,” said the Rajah. “We must

double the number of grains on every
square. Let’s start.”

40
STEED
The Rajah’s guards put all the rice in the
palace on the board. Then the Rajah was
worried. “There are sixty-four squares.
I can’t put rice on all the squares,” he said.
“That is too much rice! What can I do?”

Chandra smiled at him. “You’ve got the

villagers’ rice,” she said. “Give it back
to them.”

“Of course,” said the Rajah, and he was

never greedy again.

fy
 ~-§ Q

X\ <
Se > | E ee.
Se Ee > 3 = =
= 4 . > =

Sea Girl and the -

golden key
Sea Girl lived in a small village near a big
mountain in China. Sometimes, it did not
rain, and the villagers’ rice did not grow.

“IT must help my family,” Sea Girl thought.

One day, she found a beautiful lake on

the mountain.

44
 we > Say
je a ra at a a

Hl ~e

“We need water,” Sea Girl thought. “There

is lots of water in this lake.”

Then she looked at the rocks next to the lake.

“We can’t take this water down the

mountain,” she thought, sadly. “hese rocks
are too big.”

Then she saw a door in the rocks, and she

had an idea. “The lake is behind the door,”
she thought. “I must open the door.”

A white bird flew near her. “You must find

the key for the door,” it said.

46
“Where can I find the key?” cried Sea Girl.

But the white bird flew away.

Then a red bird spoke to her. “You must

speak to the Dragon King’s daughter,”
it said.

“Where can I find her?” cried Sea Girl.

But the red bird flew away.

A blue bird stood near her. “Sing! The

Dragon King’s daughter loves songs,”
Thecaice

Then it flew away.

48
Sea Girl sang two songs. Then a girl walked
out of the lake.

“Your songs are beautiful!” the girl said.

“Thank you,” said Sea Girl. “Are you the

Dragon King’s daughter?”

“Yes,” said the girl. “Who are you? Why are

you here?”

“T’m Sea Girl, and I need water from this

lake for my village,” said Sea Girl. “Can you
helper”

“yes |. can; said therm.

50
“You can open the door to the lake with my
father’s key,” said the girl. “It’s in his cave,
but a grey bird guards the cave.”

The two girls went to the Dragon King’s

cave. The grey bird sat on a rock near it.

“The bird likes songs,” said the girl. “I must

sing to it.”

‘The girl sang songs for the grey bird, and it

moved towards her.

Sea Girl ran into the cave, and she found

the key in a small brown box. Then the girls
ran away.
The girls opened the door with the key, and
the water went down the mountain.

Now there was a beautiful little river in the

village. ‘The villagers’ rice grew, and no one
was hungry again.
 During-reading questions
Write the answers to these questions in your notebook.

TAMASHA AND THE TROLL

Where does ‘Tamasha go with her sisters?
Where does Zimwi put ‘Tamasha?
Why do the villagers bring Zimwi food?
How does ‘Tamasha’s mother find ‘Tamasha?
Why is Tamasha’s mother angry with Zimwi, do you think?
wrWhat
--—
Oak do the bees do, and what does Zimwi do then?

TOKOYO AND THE SEA SERPENT

] Who is the Emperor of Japan’s favourite samurai?
Pe Why does the Emperor of Japan send ‘Tokoyo’s father to Oki?
3 The villagers do not want to take Tokoyo to Oki. Why?
4 What must the villagers do every year? Why?
5 What does ‘Tokoyo find at the bottom of the sea?
6 How does Tokoyo kill the serpent?
7 Why does the Emperor of Japan say to Tokoyo, “You can
be a samurai now!”?

CHANDRA AND THE ELEPHANTS

1 What does Chandra do every day?

2 Why does the Rajah look after the villagers’ rice, do you think?
3 Why does Chandra speak to the Rajah?
4 Chandra says, “I must clean them.” Why does she say this
about the elephants’ ears?
on How much rice does Chandra want from the Rajah?
What does the Rajah do at the end of the story?
SEA GIRL AND THE GOLDEN KEY
] The villagers’ rice does not grow. Why?
2 Why is the door in the rocks important?
3 ‘Three birds speak to Sea Girl. What do they say?
4 Who is the girl from the lake?
5 Why does the grey bird move away from the cave?
6 Why was no one hungry again in Sea Girl’s village?

After-reading questions
Here are Tamasha, Tokoyo, Chandra and Sea Girl at the
end of their stories. What do they say to their families, do
you think? Draw four big speech bubbles in your notebook,
and write a sentence in each bubble.
a

Tamasha Tokoyo Chandra Sea Girl

2 Look at your lists from “Before-reading question 3”. Write a

sentence about each word on your “Words I must learn” list.
How are the four girls brave?
What is the same in each of the stories? What is different?

Ovi
 Exercises

TAMASHA AND THE TROLL

Complete these sentences in your notebook, using the

words from the box.

Tamasha lives on the island of ....KUIIDM sso.

‘Famasha finds Accu: on the beach.
Zimwi takes his drum to different ............ :
Tamasha hears her mother’s............. in her village.
Zimwi brings back some ............ from the river.
= Tamasha’s
aOaonBhk
WD mother puts some ............ in Zimwis drum.

8 Complete these sentences in your notebook, using and,

because or but.
1 Tamasha found a beautiful white shell, oc... QQ cocoon: she
held it near to her ear.
‘Tamasha ran back to the beach, ............ her sisters did not
go with her.
Tamasha sang ........... Zimwi hit the drum.
-‘Tamasha sang to her mothev,............ Zimwi did not listen
to her song.
‘Tamasha’s mother put some bees inside Zimwi’s drum. ............
she was very angry with him.
Zimwi ran out of the village, ............ ‘Tamasha never saw
him again.
TOKOYO AND THE SEA SERPENT
Write the correct answers in your notebook.
] Tokoyo’s father was not .....@/.emperor.....
a an emperor
b a samurai
c a good teacher
When she is travelling, Tokoyo does not see ............
a the island of Oki
b the sea
ce the Emperor
On top of a cliff, Tokoyo does not see ...........
a agirl
b some voices
c aman
At the bottom of the sea, ‘Tokoyo does not find............ ?
a aserpent
b her father
c a statue

Write the correct question words in your notebook.

| ena eee does Tokoyo’s father go?
7 Res . does ‘Tokoyo see after many weeks?
< hae are the villagers frightened of the sea?
eee many people does Tokoyo see at the top of a cliff?
OF does ‘Tokoyo do to the serpent?
Cuma says, “You are brave, ‘Tokoyo.””?

oY
CHANDRA AND THE ELEPHANTS

8 Are these sentences true or false? Write the answers in

your notebook.
1 Chandra loves the Rajah’s elephants. .............. AT ae
2 The Rajah is nice to the hungry villagers.
3 The Rajah lives in a palace.
4 Chandra hurts the elephants.
5 The Rajah has the villagers’ rice at the end of the story.

6 Complete these sentences in your notebook. Use the

correct forms of the verbs in brackets.
Chandra beeen LOM. cccccs: (live) in India. Chandra’s mother
and father *.c..0% (grow) rice, and Chandra had ajob, too.
Sher sans (wash) the Rajah’s elephants. She ~.......... (look after)
the elephants very well. One day, the elephants were ill. Chandra
was very sad. Their ears hurt. Then Chandra ~............ (clean)
their ears, and the elephants were well again.

SEA GIRL AND THE GOLDEN KEY

Ce Order the story by writing /—7 in your notebook.
Ae eae A white bird tells Sea Girl about a key for a door.
Bo Szaae Sea Girl finds a key in a small brown box.
c_.../.... Sea Girl finds a lake on a mountain.
5 Neer The Dragon King’s daughter and Sea Girl go to a cave.
cee A red bird tells Sea Girl about the Dragon King’s
daughter.
aaa A blue bird tells Sea Girl that the Dragon King’s
daughter loves songs.
RN noe Sea Girl sings, and a girl walks out of the lake.

60
8] Write the correct words or phrases in your notebook.
1 How much / many rice is there in the fields?
2 The villagers do not have some / much water.
3 “We haven't got many / much food,” said Sea Girl’s mother.
4 “We need much / some water,” thought Sea Girl.
5 “There is many / lots of water in this lake,” thought
Sea Girl.

Project work
1 The four “Adventurous Girls” meet in London. They
have to talk in English because they come from different
countries. Write a play script about their meeting. Then
act your play with some friends.
Tamasha: Hi, [’m ‘Tamasha.
Chandra: Hello, ?’m Chandra.
Tokoyo: And I’m Tokoyo.
Sea Girl: Hi, ’'m Sea Girl. ?m from China.
Tamasha: Vin Troi...

2 Choose one of the countries in the stories, and read about

it online. Make a poster about the country. Draw pictures
and maps, find photos, and write about the country.

3 Write a different ending for one of the stories. It can be a

happy ending or a sad ending.

An answer key for all questions and exercises can be found at

www.penguinreaders.co.uk

61
 Glossary

adventurous (ad}) dangerous (ad)

An adventurous person likes A dangerous thing can hurt
doing dangerous things. you. It is dangerous to stand
near a fire.
bottom (n)
the opposite of “top”. You double (v)
can find many things at the to make two of a thing. When
bottom of the sea. you double two, you get four.
When you double three, you
brave (adj) Gel SIX.

A brave person is not frightened.

down (prep)
bring (v) You go down to the bottom, not
to take a thing to a person up to the top.

confused (ad)) fly away (phr v)

People who are confused do not (past simple: flew away)
understand things. A bird flies away from one
place to another place.
cry (v)
to speak loudly because you frightened (ad))
are angry or very happy A person 1sfrightened because
a dangerous thing is near them.
curse (n)
If someone puts a curse on greedy (ad))
you, bad things happen A greedy person wants all the
to you. food or money.

Se
grow (Vv) look after (phr v)
(past simple: grew) to help a person or an animal
to get big
palace (n)
guard (n andv A palace is a big, beautiful
A guard stops people from house.
coming in to a place.
throw (vy)
hold (v) to move your arm quickly
(past simple: held) to move a thing
to have a thing in your hand
villager (n)
hurt (v) Villagers live in a village.
You have an accident, and
then your body hurts. visit (v)
to go to a place and see the
idea (n) people or the things there
when you think of a thing
voice (n)
ill (adj) A person speaks, and you
An ill person is not very well, hear their voice.
and their body hurts.

island (n)
worried (adj)
not happy because of fi
A country, or part of a a dangerous thing or
country, with water on a bad thing
every side of it.

ae

63
B
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 Penguin Readers

These folk tales tell the stories of four brave girls from four different
“countries around the world: Zanzibar, Japan, India and China.
The girls all have to do dangerous and difficult things, so they
must be strong and clever. Join them on their adventures!

Penguin Readers is a series of popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction

“and thought-provoking non-fiction, written for learners of English as a foreign
language. The series follows the: Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages and includes language activities that help develop key skills.

Story
word count
Headwords

~ .400-600

1,000-—1,600 |

3,000—5,000

7,000—10,000 1,000

11,000-14,000

22,000-26,000 |

UK. £6.99
ISBN 978-0-241-39798-5 6G

TINO i cs
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