Text copyright © 2013 by Veronika Martenova Charles
Illustrations copyright © 2013 by David Parkins
Published in Canada by Tundra Books, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, One Toronto Street, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2V6
Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012945431
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher – or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency – is an infringement of the copyright law.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Charles, Veronika Martenova
It’s not about the diamonds! / Veronika Martenova Charles; illustrated by David Parkins.
(Easy-to-read wonder tales)
Short stories based on Diamonds and toads tales from around the world.
eISBN: 978-1-77049-333-9
1. Fairy tales. I. Parkins, David II. Title. III. Series: Charles, Veronika Martenova. Easy-to-read wonder tales.
PS8555.H42242I8333 2013 jC813′.54 C2012-905308-2
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.
Edited by Stacey Roderick
www.tundrabooks.com
v3.1
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Lunchtime Part 1
Three Gnomes
(Diamonds and Toads from Germany)
Rice Cakes
(Diamonds and Toads from Indonesia)
Old Man of the River
(Diamonds and Toads from Africa)
Lunchtime Part 2
About the Stories
LUNCHTIME
PART 1
“What are you eating?”
Jake asked Lily at lunchtime.
“Cherries,” replied Lily.
“Can we have some?” asked Jake.
“Sure,” said Lily. “Cherries,
phlit, are my, phlit,
favorite fruit, phlit.”
Ben looked at the pits
dropping from her mouth.
“That reminds me of a story I know
about a girl who had diamonds
fall out of her mouth,” said Ben.
“I know a story like that,” said Jake.
“But it’s not about diamonds.
I’ll tell it to you.”
THREE GNOMES
(Diamonds and Toads from Germany)
Once there was a girl called Ema
who lived with her stepmother
and stepsister.
The stepmother was cruel
and made life very hard for Ema.
One winter, when the snow was deep,
the stepmother made a dress
out of paper.
She called Ema and said,
“Now put on this dress,
go to the forest, and bring me
a basket of strawberries.
I have a craving for them.”
“How can I?” Ema said.
“Strawberries don’t grow in winter.
And I will freeze in that dress.”
“How dare you talk to me
like that!” shouted her stepmother.
“Go and don’t come back
without the basket of strawberries.”
Then she gave Ema a piece of bread
and said, “Here is your food.”
Ema put on the paper dress
and went out into the snow.
She walked into the forest
and found a small cottage.
Three little gnomes were looking
out of the window.
Ema knocked on the door.
“Come in,” called the gnomes.
Glad to be out of the cold,
Ema sat down by the fire
to eat her bread.
“Can we have some, too?”
asked the gnomes.
“Of course,” replied Ema
and divided the bread into pieces.
“What are you doing in the forest?”
the gnomes asked.
“I’m looking for strawberries,”
answered Ema.
“I can’t go back until
I have a basket full.”
After she finished eating,
the gnomes asked her
to sweep the snow away
from the back door.
Once Ema was outside,
the gnomes began talking.
“What should we give her
for being so kind?” asked one.
“Let’s make a piece of gold
drop from her mouth
said the other two gnomes.
Meanwhile, Ema swept the snow
away from the back of the house.
What do you think she found?
Strawberries!
Ema filled the basket,
thanked the little gnomes,
and rushed back home.
When she entered the house
and said, “Good evening,”
a piece of gold fell out of her mouth.
Then she explained
what had happened to her
and, with each word,
more gold fell out.
Her stepsister was jealous.
She pleaded with her mother
to let her go
and look for strawberries, too.
Finally, her mother gave in.
The girl put on a fur coat,
took a cake her mother had baked,
and headed straight for the cottage.
The three gnomes were looking
out of the window.
The girl barged in uninvited,
settled by the fire,
and began to stuff herself
with the cake.
“Please, can you give us some?”
the little men asked.
But the girl answered,
“There’s hardly enough for me.
Get your own food.”
When she finished eating,
the gnomes asked her,
“Can you please sweep the snow
by the back door?”
“Do it yourself!” the girl said.
“I’m not your servant.”
Then she went outside
to get the strawberries.
When she didn’t find any,
she went home in a bad mood.
Meanwhile, the three gnomes
were talking among themselves.
“What should we give her
for being so greedy and rude?”
asked one.
“Let a toad jump out of her mouth
each time she says a word,”
said the other two gnomes.
When the girl arrived home
and began telling her mother
what happened,
a toad jumped out of her mouth
with every word she spoke.
From then on,
people wouldn’t go near her.
She had to live alone
and soon died in misery.
“Once when I was eating dinner,”
said Ben, “I sneezed,
and a piece of chicken
flew out of my nose!”
“That’s gross!” said Lily.
“Anybody want a rice cake?”
asked Jake.
“Yes, please,” said Lily and Ben.
“Hey, I know a story
about rice cakes,” said Ben.
“Do they fall out of
somebody’s nose?” asked Lily.
“No,” said Ben.
“But it’s a good story.”
RICE CAKES
(Diamonds and Toads from Indonesia)
Elok and Lia were sisters.
Elok was older and kind,
and Lia was lazy and clever.
Lia always figured out
how to get out of doing
any work in the house.
One day, their mother said,
“I’m going to the market.
Go pick the rice in the field
and make rice cakes for dinner.”
After she left, Lia said to Elok,
“I don’t feel well. My head hurts.
Can you please go pick the rice?
I’ll clean it when you get back.”
“All right,” said Elok.
“I hope you feel better soon.”
Elok worked hard in the hot field,
and when the baskets were filled
she brought them home.
Her sister was sitting under a tree
fanning herself.
“I just remembered,” said Lia,
“I have to do something.
Please clean and grind the rice.
I’ll be right back.”
Then she raced to the river
Meanwhile, Elok cleaned the rice,
ground it into flour,
and made the rice cakes.
She was covered with sweat
from all her hard work.
In the afternoon, Lia came back.
“Go and clean yourself,”
Lia told Elok.
“I will finish the cooking
before Mother returns.”
After Elok left,
Lia sprinkled flour and water
on her face so it would look
like she was sweating.
Just then, their mother returned.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” said Lia.
“I have worked hard all day
while Elok went swimming.”
Their mother was angry.
When Elok came back,
she beat her and screamed,
“How dare you let your sister
do all the work?
Now, take these dirty clothes
and wash them in the river.”
Elok went off crying.
She washed the clothes
and spread them out to dry.
By then, she was so tired
that she fell asleep.
When she awoke, it was dark.
She stumbled through the jungle,
not knowing which way to go.
Finally, she saw a hut in a clearing.
All kinds of jungle animals
surrounded the little house.
An old woman came out of the door.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said.
“The animals won’t harm you.
Come in and have something to eat.”
Elok ate dinner with the woman
and then lay down to sleep.
In the morning,
Elok tidied up
the woman’s house
and weeded the garden.
She stayed with the woman
for weeks.
One day, Elok said,
“I must go back home.
I miss my mother and sister.”
“Of course,” the woman replied,
and she gave Elok a small box.
“This is a gift for all your help.
Don’t open it until you get home.”
Elok carried the box
through the jungle to her village.
Finally home, she opened it.
Inside were jewels and rings!
She put some on.
Just then, Lia returned from the
field. She looked very tired
because she had to work so hard
while Elok was gone.
She saw the jewels
and became jealous.
Then Elok told her what happened.
“I’ll get myself some jewels, too,”
said Lia, and she rushed off.
She wandered through the jungle
until she found the clearing
with the animals and the house.
BANG! BANG!
She pounded on the door.
The old woman opened the door.
“I’m hungry,” said Lia.
“Bring me some food!”
Lia ate everything in the pot
the woman put on the table
and then took a nap in the shade.
When she woke up,
she asked the old woman,
“Can you give me a gift
like you gave my sister?”
The woman brought a small box
and told Lia not to open it
before she got home.
But as soon as Lia was back
in the jungle, she stopped
and opened the box.
Out came big spiders
that bit her all over!
“Ahhhhhhh!” Lia screamed
and ran to the village.
“What happened?” asked Elok.
Then she put some healing
leaves on Lia’s spider bites
to take the pain away.
“I am so lucky to have you
as my sister!” cried Lia.
“I’ll never be jealous again.”
From that time, Lia shared
the work equally with Elok,
and they lived happily together.
“Yuck! I hate spiders,” said Jake.
“I wonder how big they were.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Lily.
“Sometimes it’s the small bugs
that are deadly,
like the germs in one story
I’ve heard.”
“What’s the story?”
asked Ben.
“It’s about two brothers …”
Lily began.
OLD MAN OF THE RIVER
(Diamonds and Toads from Africa)
Long ago, in a village,
lived a man with two sons,
Tobi and Uba.
Tobi was nice and quiet,
but Uba liked to fight and argue.
One afternoon, their father said,
“Go fetch some water!”
Tobi took a big water jar
and set out on the road
with his brother.
But as soon as their hut
was out of sight,
Uba said, “I’m not going!”
and went to play with friends.
So Tobi went alone.
When he reached the river,
he tried to dip the jar in.
Slish! Tobi slid in the mud
and fell into the water.
The undertow pulled him down
into a large cave
on the side of the riverbank.
There, Tobi saw a pot of food
cooking in the shadow.
A voice came from inside saying,
“Stir me and eat me!”
Tobi was hungry,
so he stirred the food in the pot
and then ate some.
“Thank you so much!” he said.
“These are the best yams
I have ever tasted.”
Then Tobi n
oticed an old man
in the back of the cave.
Beside him were several clay pots.
“Come closer,” the old man said.
Tobi walked over to him
and thanked him for the meal.
“My child,” the man said.
“I see that you have good manners.
Choose one of these pots as a gift
and take it to the other world.”
Tobi didn’t want to be greedy,
so he chose a small, plain pot.
Then he thanked the old man
and returned through the water
to the dry land.
When Tobi arrived back home,
he looked inside the pot.
It was filled with golden coins!
He showed his father and brother
his gift and told them
what happened.
Uba was jealous.
“Why should my brother
be so lucky?” he thought.
So he went to the river
and jumped in.
He found the cave
and saw the pot cooking by itself.
Not waiting for an invitation,
he ate all the food inside it.
Next, he looked around
and saw the old man
sitting in the back of the cave.
“You there!” Uba shouted.
“What have you got for me?”
“My child,” the old man replied.
“You have no manners.
Still, I’ll offer you a gift.
But take my advice
and choose the smallest one.”
But Uba did not listen.
“I want the big pot,” he said rudely.
“There will be more inside.”
Without a word of thanks,
Uba grabbed the largest pot
and swam up to the riverbank.
He stuck his hand inside the pot
to see what was there.
But the one that had looked best
had the worst contents.
Inside were germs of a disease!
They attached to Uba’s hand
and quickly spread up his arm.
Soon his body swelled up
to an enormous size.
Uba ran home, but his father and