Page 12 - New Medley 5 Semester 1

Read and Enjoy

It is a miracle when a tiny seed grows into a big tree. Let us read and
find out what happens when Rakesh finds a cherry seed one day.

One day, when Rakesh was six, he walked from the Mussoorie bazaar

eating cherries. They were a little sweet, a little sour; small, bright red
cherries, which had come all the way from the Kashmir valley.

Here in the Himalayan foothills where Rakesh lived, there were not
many fruit trees. The soil was stony and the dry, cold winds stunted

the growth of most plants. But on the more sheltered slopes there were
forests of oak and deodar.

Rakesh lived with his grandfather on the outskirts of Mussoorie, just
where the forest began.

Grandfather was a retired forest ranger. He had a little cottage outside

the town.

Rakesh was on his way home from school when he bought the cherries.

He paid fifty paisa for the bunch. It took him about half an hour to
walk home, and by the time he reached the cottage there were only three

cherries left.

“Have a cherry, Grandfather,”

he said, as soon as he saw
Grandfather in the garden. stunted stopped proper growth
sheltered slopes area on hills or mountains that
Grandfather took one cherry is protected from wind, rain or other elements
and Rakesh promptly ate the by the surrounding tract of land of a particular
kind
other two. He kept the last seed outskirts the parts of a town or city that form
in his mouth for some time, its edge

rolling it round and round on forest ranger a person in charge of patrolling
his tongue until all the tang and maintaining an area of forest and enforcing

had gone. Then he placed the regulations
seed on the palm of his hand promptly immediately

and studied it. tang a strong sharp taste or flavour, usually
pleasant

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