This document narrates a folktale about a cheetah whose cubs were stolen by a wicked hunter, leading to her heartbreak and staining her cheeks with tears. It also provides insights into the chera dynasty, including its powerful kings and trade practices, as well as interesting facts about crabs and seals. Additionally, the text includes various fun elements such as riddles and puzzles aimed at engaging young readers.

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ISSUE 81
JUNE 22, 2020
W h y a r e t h e
c h e e t a h ' s c h e e k s
s t a i n e d ?
THE STORY
OF THE CHERA
DYNASTY
WHY DO
CRABS WALK
SIDEWAYS?
Fun facts
about
the Seal

2. FOLKTALE
Why the Cheetah's
Cheeks are Stained
his spear. The little cubs were unperturbed by the
new visitor. There were too young to identify or
react to an enemy. The hunter observed the three
cubs carefully but all of them were so perfect that
he could not pick one. The hunter thought that it
would certainly be more comfortable to have all
the three cubs hunt for him. So, he stole all three of
them and ran away.
The mother returned about an hour later, only to
find that all her three cubs were missing. She spent
hours searching for them everywhere possible, but
could not find them. The cheetah was heartbroken
and started crying. She cried and cried for such a
long time that the tears left a stain on her face. The
cheetah cried the whole night. An old man who
was passing by the cheetah’s house heard her
crying.
The cheetah told the old man about her cubs. The
old man was very wise and understood at once that
this was the job of the wicked hunter. The tribe had
a tradition, that a hunter can only use his own
strength to hunt for himself, but this hunter had
broken the tradition by stealing the little cubs of
the cheetah.
The old man was very angry and told everyone in
the village about the incident. The villagers got
hold of the hunter who was trying to escape with
the cubs. They snatched the cubs away from him
and threw him out of the village. The little cubs of
the cheetah were returned to her. The cheetah was
overjoyed to see her cubs. However, the crying of
the previous night had left a permanent mark on
the cheetah’s face. Till date, the mark acts as a
reminder to everyone of the fact that no one must
use the strength of any other animal for hunting his
own food.
Once upon a time, there was a very wicked hunter.
One day, he was sitting under a tree and lazing
around. It was extremely hot and the hunter was
too lazy to go out to the bushes and hunt for
himself. The hunter saw a herd of fat springbok
grazing on the field from a distance. Though he
wished he could have one of them for lunch, he
was too lazy to even get up from his place. He was
staring at the springboks when suddenly he
noticed a female cheetah slowly approaching the
herd. The hunter kept a close eye on the cheetah.
The cheetah moved closer and closer to the herd
and then all of a sudden, she pounced on one of
the isolated springboks and killed him in no time.
The rest of the herd was terrified by the impact and
raced away quickly.
The cheetah gradually dragged her prey into the
nearby bushes. The hunter was still staring at the
cheetah and he noticed that three very young and
beautiful cubs of the cheetah were waiting for her
behind the bushes. The hunter immediately felt
very jealous of the cubs. They got such delicious
meat without even moving a muscle. The hunter
wished he too had someone to hunt for him and
provide him with a lovely meal every day.
Suddenly, a wicked idea struck him. He decided to
steal one of the cheetah cubs so that he could train
it to hunt for him. The hunter was impressed with
his own idea and waited for the cheetah to go to
drink water so that he could begin his mission
safely.
As it got dark, the cheetah put her cubs to sleep in
the bushes and proceeded towards the waterhole.
The hunter waited patiently for the cheetah to be
out of sight and quickly entered the bushes with

3. The
Smiling
Shark
There was an old Shark with a smile
So broad you could see it a mile.
He said to his friends,
As he sewed up the ends,
“It was really too wide for the style.”
Silly Rhymes
Find the Fish with A Pair

4. Have you heard of the famous sheep Dolly? Dolly was made from a cloning procedure. She is
identical to her mother. Well, now you must be wondering that we all look like our parents! But
Dolly is a Xerox copy of her mother; in fact she is the identical sister of her own mother and Dolly
doesn’t have a father! All this has been possible with the breakthrough in the cloning process.
Cloning is the process by which an exact, identical copy of the original can be made. Clones are
those organisms that have identical genes. That means the sequence of their DNA is the same-
an exact copy. Identical twins or triplets are also called clones. When you take out the leaf of a
plant and plant it somewhere else, it can grow into the copy of the original plant.
Our body is made up of very tiny organisms called cells.These cells do their usual work which the
DNA tells them to do. The DNA stands for de-oxy-ribo-nucleic acid which is the genetic code in
all human beings. A child gets this genetic code- half from the father and half from the mother.
When a child is formed- it is formed from one single cell; the egg cell, which has the DNA from
the father and the mother. This cell then divides itself into millions to form a child. This is known
as differentiation. Each cell is a copy of the original cell and has the same genetic code.
How does Cloning work?
For the process of cloning, one only needs the egg cell. Scientists pull out the DNA from an
animal cell and insert it into the egg cell. The egg cell is taken from another animal. The nucleus
or the DNA from the egg cell is removed with the help of a very fine needle, before the implanta-
tion process.
Science explorer
What is
Cloning?
3

5. Crabs are crustaceans and have five legs on each side of its hard shell. The front pair of legs is
used for grasping food, for example and defence. The other four pairs are used for walking or
swimming. Each leg has seven joints that are arranged so that the crab can walk sideways.
It is easy for us humans to move backwards, forward and sideways, this is because of how our
legs are attached to our bodies. The bending of the knee towards the front also makes walking
forward easier. A crab’s legs, however, are attached to the side of its body. Its joints unlike our
knees bend outwards, thus enabling the crab to only move sideways.
There are a few crab species that can walk forward. These crabs have shells that are longer and
wider. Crabs that walk sideways have shells that are wider than they are long.
Other animals move sideways too. The rattlesnake, for example, moves sideways as it makes its
way in the desert.
Why Do Crabs
Walk Sideways?
Pondering
Corner
spot ten differences

6. Tickle
your
funny
bone
AMUSING NEWS
Elephant seals on the Kerguelen
Island in the Antarctic are sport-
ing new headgear. No, these
aren't a new fashion statement!
These seals are NASA's new
recruites! The headgear will help
NASA record data of the ocean
water temperature as the seals
dive in.
NASA's New Recruites
Q: What do you call a seal in the desert?
A: Lost
Q: Where do seals go to see movies?
A: The dive-in!
Q: Why did the seal
cross the road?
A: To get to the other tide!

7. The Chera Dynasty
stories from history
The lands south of the Mauryan Empire which included the Malabar coast,
Karur, Coimbatore and Salem districts in South India were all part of the
Chera Dynasty. The Chera capital was Tiruvanchikulam.
Utiyan Cheralatan was the first Chera king and is accredited with founding the
dynasty. Utiyan’s son, Imayavaramban Nedun Cheralatan was responsible for
making the Chera dynasty one of the most powerful kingdoms in the south.
His rule lasted 58 years and during this time he won multiple battles and
wars, the most famous of which was against his sworn enemies, the Kadam-
bas of Banasvi.
6

8. This period of success was followed by the Kalabhras overthrowing the
Cheras. The Chera dynasty however, overthrew the Kalabhras and the second
Chera Empire was founded with Mahodyapuram as their capital.
Mahodayapuram was founded by Kulasekhara Alvar, one of the twelve Alvars
or Saints who sang hymns and composed songs in praise of their beloved Lord
Vishnu. The Bhakti movement of south India established by the Alvars.
Kulasekhara Alvar authored five dramas ‘Perumal Tirumozhi,’ ‘Mukundamala,’
‘Tapatisavarna,’ ‘Subhadradhamala’ and ‘Vichchinnabhiseka.’ He was a renowned
scholar and lover of art.
Imayavaramban not only extended his kingdom, he also supported the local
arts, culture and literature during his reign.
Yet, the greatest Chera king was to follow – King Kadalpirakottiya Vel Kelu
Kuttuvan. The great Tamil epic, Silappadigaram (which means the jeweled anklet)
which tells the story about a mythical hero is supposed to be about him.
There were two other epic works during that time which were Manimegalai and
Sivagami Sindamani. Kuttavan is also said to have achieved the famous victo-
ries at Mogur Mannan and Kongar.
The Chera kings used marriage to strengthen their ties with other clans as
they were constantly warring with their neighbors and needed to strengthen
their positions. With strong overseas links with places like Rome, the kingdom
prospered immensely. The trade consisted mainly of spices, ivory and sandal-
wood. They also exported pearls and gems to the Middle East.

9. Kulasekhara was succeeded by Rajasekhara Varman Rul. He was followed by
Sthanu Ravi Varman who was friendly with the Cholas. During his time, trade
flourished with China and Kerala amongst other places.
However, with Sthanu’s death, the relationship between the Cheras and Cholas
turned sour. The last Chera King was Rama Varma Kulasekhara who shifted
his capital to Quilon. After his death, the Chera dynasty disintegrated and the
Cholas took over.
Fun with
Words
Fill in the
blanks with
the correct
words
starting
with S
1. The is swaying in the breeze. = _________
2. I need some more in the lemonade. = _________
3. The rises in the east. = _________
Answers:1.Sunflower,2.Sugar,3.Sun

10. with Hamlet the Hamster
To know or not to know,
that is the question!
Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
fun facts
Facts about Seals
Seals are believed to have evolved from land based, bear or otter-like ancestors.
A seal's whiskers help it to detect prey in dark murky waters.
They have four flippers, so are in a category of animals known as pinnipedia which means
'fin-footed'.
Seals are found in most waters of the world, mainly in the Arctic and Antarctic but also in some
areas of the tropics.
Complete
the Story...
Sammy the seal was stuck on an iceberg float-
ing in the middle of the Antarctic. He had
been swimming for days separated from
his family, till he spotted the iceberg
and climbed on. In the distance, he
saw a deserted island slowly
appear...

11. 10
Help the Seal Find Fish

12. Jesh Krishna Murthy
Aryaa Naik Dalmiya
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Digital
Marketing
Distribution
Creator
Editor
The Team

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