Foreign Language Programme(FLP) Series : How I chose French

I am going to learn French taught by FLP teachers. They gave me an option to choose among three languages French, Japanese and German. I told this to my father. He asked suggestions from his friends. One of his friends told me that it is a golden opportunity to learn French when I am young. My father asked suggestions through Facebook. There were many comments. My father also suggested French. Finally I chose French. 
Today we all assembled in a big hall. Many had chosen French and Japanese. Only a few had chosen German. They read out the names of the students assembled there and divided us into groups for convenience. For French, they divided us into two groups A& B. I am in the B group. Our French teacher introduced herself.  We sat quietly for sometime. They gave details about the dates and timings. We dispersed. I think it was a good orientation about the FLP classes.
I am looking forward to learn French and sharing my experience through my blog.

Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm

Title : Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm

Author : Kate Douglas Wiggin

Main Characters : Rebecca, Mira, Mirandy, Jane, Aurelia, Mark, Mr. Cobb, Uncle Jerry and Adam Ladd.

Description of one of the main characters : Aunt Mirandy is a short tempered lady with sharp tongue. Sometimes when Rebecca irritates her aunt Mirandy starts scolding and Rebecca has to get some comfort from Uncle Jerry or Aunt Jane. Mirandy is also disciplined. 

Whom I like and Why : I like everyone in the story. I like Rebecca the most. I like her as she is good at poetry. She is friendly with everyone. She is helpful to her aunts Mirandy and Jane. She is cheerful and enthusiastic.

Whom I dislike and Why : I do not dislike anyone in the story as everyone were good and generous. Everybody were kind to each other. There were no problems between them.

Setting/Theme of the story :  Aurelia has seven children. One of them is Rebecca Rowena Randall. Rebecca is sent to the brick house in Riverboro. She is carried from Maplewood to Riverboro by Mr. Cobb in his stage-coach. She arrives at the brick house and find her aunts Mirandy and Jane. She is friendly to everybody. Sometimes Rebecca wantedly irritates her short-tempered aunt Mirandy. Everyone in the town love her including Adam Ladd who Rebecca calls Mr. Alladin as he bought 300 soaps at a time at an enormous price. When Rebecca finishes her school at Riverboro she goes to Wareham to study more. Her study at Wareham ends. When it ends, suddenly, her mother Aurelia falls sick and she has to go to Sunnybrook. When she is staying at Sunnybrook with her mother, aunt Mirandy dies. Rebecca has to run to Riverboro to attend the funeral of her aunt. Aunt Jane gives the brick house to Aurelia and her children. So, it is time for Rebecca to say good-bye to the old Sunnybrook farm. 

The Part I enjoyed the most : I enjoyed the part when Rebecca helps the Simpson family to buy a lamp for Christmas by selling 300 soaps at a time to Mr. Alladin.

A different ending : Aunt Jane and Aunt Mirandy invites Mark and Mira to make them educated like Rebecca. Rebecca starts working and begins to earn quite a fat sum. Everybody were healthy and happy in the brick house.

Treasure Island

Title: Treasure Island
Author: R. L. Stevenson
Main Characters: Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones, Black Dog, Long John Silver and Ben Gunn .
Description of one of the main characters: Long John Silver is a one-legged sea man. He is a former pirate. He is a brave man. He is friendly with Trelawney’s men but when they are not present, he plans to kill them in Treasure Island with the help of his own friends. He is cruel and hard hearted.
Whom I like and Why: I like Jim Hawkins as he is a shrewd boy with sharp ears. He collects information and tells his friends the truth about Long John Silver and the other pirates in their ship planning to kill Mr. Trelawney’s men and also to steal the treasure.
Whom I dislike and Why: I dislike Squire Trelawney because he doesn’t know to keep a secret. He tells everyone that he and his friends are going behind treasure. Some pirates hear this and board on Hispaniola, the ship which is going to sail after treasure.
Setting/Theme of the story: An old sea-man named Billy Bones arrives at Admiral Benbow Inn. He is a pirate. Jim Hawkins helps him to stay comfortably. One day another pirate named Black Dog arrives at Admiral Benbow Inn. Then another pirate who was the mate of Billy Bones in the pirates' ship comes and gives Billy Bones the Black Spot(a paper in which pirates write a note to the pirate they are eliminating). Finally, Bones dies. Jim Hawkins takes a map and some money from Billy Bones. He shows the map to Mr. Trelawney and Dr. Livesey. The map shows them the area of Treasure Island. They plan to go behind the treasure. Squire Trelawney goes to Bristol to buy a ship. He buys one named Hispaniola. They start sailing. In their ship, there are some pirates. Jim Hawkins overhears the pirates’ plans from the Apple Barrel. They reach Treasure Island. There starts a big fight between the pirates and Mr. Trelawney’s men. Jim Hawkins again helps his friends by finding help from a former pirate but now a good trustworthy man. He is Ben Gunn. Ben Gunn takes the treasure before anyone could take and hands it over to Dr. Livesey. The pirates loose the battle. Many of the pirates die. Silver still escapes with 500 pounds. They are not unhappy in the loss of money but happy to get rid of that cruel man. They all sail home happily.  
The Part I enjoyed the most : I enjoyed the part when Ben Gunn cheats the pirates by shouting Flint’s last words: “Darby M’Graw! Darby M’Graw! Fetch me rum; Darby!” in Flint’s voice.
A different ending : Squire Trelawney gives Ben Gunn an equal share of money. He helps the poor people and repairs the destroyed buildings with the rest of the money. He advises the pirates not to be cruel and instead be useful citizens. They obey Squire Trelawney. Trelawney gives them each 500 pounds and sends them off. Jim Hawkins returns to Admiral Benbow Inn to take care of his mother. The pirates turn good and the problem is solved.

The Curse

 

Once upon a time there were three adjacent bungalows in a village. The people in the village feared to go near them. They believed that ghosts lived there. In the same village there lived three friends called Lina, Tina and Rina. Rina and Lina had faith in ghosts. Tina did not believe and challenged them that she will prove that there are no ghosts by going to the ruined bungalows that midnight. Her friends were afraid of her life and said that they would accompany her. That midnight Tina’s bag was loaded with torches. She had a look at the bungalows. An old ghost had heard her challenge and decided to teach her a lesson. The bungalow was tall and wide. It had a great wall preventing people from getting inside. Tina was excited. When she went near,the wall vanished and she went in. She lit her torch and had a look again. She stepped into the house which was open. The house was not painted. There were some paint boxes kept in a corner. The paints started to paint the house on its own, but Tina was least afraid. She went on inside. The ghosts got angry and played another trick on her. The ghosts rattled the chains of the house and made a frightening noise. Tina did not bother and continued to explore the hall. There was a big carpet full of blood stains. All the stains suddenly vanished and the lights turned on.Tina was surprised to see this but still she continued to go and explore. Then she found a board in which a message was written.She was curious to read it. She read it and the message was

“To the one who finds us, if you pull our chain, we will be released from the curse. We will be grateful to you.”

She realised that it is because of a curse they had become ghosts. So she sat down and started saying a fairy tale. The story became so interesting that the ghosts drew near to her. She was waiting for all the ghosts to come nearer. When all the ghosts came near she pulled the chain and slowly ghosts turned to young and old people. Everybody were happy and praised her for the brave act.  

The Indian In The Cupboard

Cover of THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD (MTI)

Title: The Indian In The Cupboard
Author: Lynne Reid Banks
Main Characters: Little Bear, Omri, Boone, Patrick and Bright Stars
Description of one of the main characters: Patrick is a tall boy with a rough nature. He is actually not fit to have the little living creatures. He doesn’t keep a secret to himself. He is one of the best friends of Omri.
Whom I like and Why: Even though small in size, Little Bear is brave and fierce. He has black eyes. I like the way he fights and how he talks. He is friendly to Boone and makes Boone as his brother.
Whom I dislike and Why: I do not dislike anyone in the story as everyone are good at something. Even though Patrick is rough in nature, he gives good food to Little Bear and Boone.
Setting/Theme of the story: Patrick presents Omri an Indian on Omri’s birthday. Omri does not like this present. His two brothers give him an unusual cupboard and a magical key which turns lifeless toys into real ones. Omri does not believe his brothers first. Then when he puts the Indian in the cupboard it turns to a live little creature. It is fun having the live Indian but the Indian needs food and shelter which is difficult to provide. He tells the secret to Patrick. Patrick wants to have one for himself. It is Boone the cowboy he has. The Indian’s name is Little Bear. Little Bear becomes a chief and wants a wife. An Indian girl named Bright Stars is his wife. The adventures with Boone, Little Bear, Omri and Patrick is the story of The Indian In The Cupboard.
The Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Omri takes Little Bear and Boone to school and gets caught and how he escapes from the school headmaster.
A different ending: Little Bear does not become a chief. He doesn’t want a wife. Boone goes to Little Bear’s time and all the brothers of Little Bear kill him. Little Bear can no more bear it. He goes to Omri and Patrick and tells them the whole story. Patrick feels sad. Little Bear is owned by both of them after Boone had gone.