Dira and Chaku

Authors: Hellen Kimaro, Hellen Kimaro

Illustrators: Godwin Chipenya, John William

Translator: Alisha Berger

Dira and his younger brother, Chaku, were fightingover a toy elephant. The elephant belonged to Dira.

“Give it back!” Dira screamed. He pushed Chaku.

Their mother was angry.

“Dira, you must learn to share with your brother!”

Dira stomped back to his room, climbed onto the bed, and covered himself with sheets. He dozed off.

Dira woke up early in the morning to find

no one at home. He called out for his mother

and brother, but there was no answer.

Dira went over to Chaku’s room. He noticed a huge collection of toys there, like balls and cars. He even had books!

Chaku also had a new pair of shoes. Dira's shoes were old. If Chaku had so much great stuff, why should Dira have to share his elephant?

Dira decided to run away.

Suddenly, a large herd of elephants appeared out of nowhere!

Dira couldn't outrun them. Instead, he swung on the tusk of one elephant, up onto his back.

Dira played with the elephants.

After some time, he found Chaku kneeling under a tree.

All of a sudden, one of the elephants

charged at his younger brother.

Chaku jumped up. He started running , running, RUNNING!

“Chaku! Chaku!” Dira shouted. “Climb a tree!”

The elephants kept charging. Chaku scrambled up the nearest tree. He was breathing heavily.

“Dira!” Chaku screamed. “Brother! Please help me!”

“Tell your friend not to hurt my little brother,”

Dira pleaded with his elephant.

But the other elephant just snarled.

The angry elephant pulled at tree leaves. It yanked on branches, trying to toss Chaku out of the tree.

Would Dira reach his brother in time?

Dira leapt from the back of his elephant into the tree. He climbed to Chaku's branch.

“Take myhand!” Dira instructed.

But just as Chaku grasped Dira'shand, an elephant plucked Dira

right off the branch. The elephant threw Dira to the ground!

“Mother! Help us!” the boys screamed.

Dira heard his mother's voice.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. She gave him a hug. “You just had a bad dream.”

Chaku had heard the screams and run to Dira's room.

“Do you want to play tomorrow morning?” Chaku asked.

“Okay,” Dira smiled. “We can both play with my toy elephant. ”

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story:Dira and Chakuis translated byAlisha Berger. The © for this translation lies with Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Based on Original story:'Hadithi Ya Dira na Tembo', byHellen Kimaro,Hellen Kimaro. © Room to Read , 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'Dira and Chaku' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:A boy atop an elephant and a boy standing nearby, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:Two boys fighting over a toy elephant, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:Two upset boys and a woman standing between them, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:A boy waking up, and a boy standing with a toy, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:Boy playing with toys, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:A boy riding an elephant, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:Child kneeling on the ground, three elephants far away, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:Elephant chasing a boy, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:Boy on a tree branch, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:Boy riding an elephant, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Images Attributions:

Page 11:Elephant trying to reach a boy hiding atop a tree, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 12:Two boys on tree branches, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:An elephant trunk grabs a boy, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:Boy falling down from a tree, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:Boy wakes up from a nightmare, a woman and a child nearby, byGodwin Chipenya,John William© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Disclaimer:https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dira and Chaku (English)

Dira has a fight with his brother. But, when he sees his brother stuck in a tree and an angry elephant snarling below, he has to make a choice. Can Dira save his brother? Does he want to?

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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