Ferdi's Big Jump
Ferdi the frog is scared of heights and refuses to jump like the other frogs. Whenever an egret appears and the frogs jump into the water Ferdi hides amongst the reeds. One day an egret sees Ferdi in the reeds and stalks closer. Just as the bird strikes Ferdi leaps into the pond and safety. But it isn't fear of the egret that enables Ferdi to overcome his fear of jumping. A fun read with a simple message.
Ndlovu's New Nose
The first elephants only had short noses and one day an elephant named Ndlovu* went to the river to drink. Crocodile was very hungry and grabbed Ndlovu's nose and tried to pull him into the river. A titanic tug-of-war ensued and Ndlovu's nose grew longer and longer until Crocodile admitted defeat and let go. At first Ndlovu was embarrassed about his long nose but soon found out that it made picking things up off the ground and drinking from the river much easier. He could also reach leaves and fruit high up in the trees. When the other elephants heard how Ndlovu had got his long nose and saw what he could do with it, they all wanted new noses. But will Crocodile oblige? A fun story from Africa.
*Ndlovu means "elephant" in the Zulu and Xhosa South African languages.
The Malicious Mother-in-law
A great hunter lives with his wife, son and mother. The mother is extremely jealous of the wife and drowns her in a lake. The son goes in search of his mother and is told by a crow that the mother-in-law drowned her. But how can a little boy discover the truth about his missing mother when he is up against a vicious adult bent on deceiving him? A North American myth.
The Mischievous Mirror
Mikey is a mirror in the bathroom of the Jones' house but he is an unusual mirror in that he can change the images that he reflects. He can turn a reflection upside-down and even change the reflection of a person into a completely different image such as a clown. He can even change the reflection of a dog into a cat. The Jones family put up with Mikey's antics for a while but eventually Mister Jones replaces the mischievous mirror with an ordinary mirror and Mikey is sent to the attic. Mikey becomes very lonely in the attic with nothing to reflect. Is Mikey destined to spend the rest of his life in the attic? A fun read with a simple message.
Whatstheidiom
Idioms are those often amusing parts of our everyday speech that we use to tell others about our thoughts, ideas, and feelings without referring to them exactly. It's a type of abstract language, alongside descriptions, similes, types of descriptions, exaggerations and embellishments. Given that idioms are a type of abstract language, they can help to make our writing and speech more interesting. Idioms express an idea in a strange or creative manner, making it more attractive for the reader.