BRANCH (Breakfast or Lunch)

It was Sunday. I never got up early on Sundays. I sometimes stay in bed until lunch time. Last Sunday I got up very late. I looked out of the window. It was dark outside, ‘What a day!’ I thought. It’s raining again’. Just then, the telephone rang. It was my aunt Lucy. ‘I‘ve just arrived by train,’ she said. ‘I’m coming to see you.’
‘But I’m still having breakfast,’ I said.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘I’m having breakfast,’ I repeated.
‘Dear me,’ she said. Do you always get up so late? It’s one o’clock.

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An Exciting Trip

I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He ha just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting. Selengkapnya...

Future Champion

Experiments have proved that children can be instructed in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding their breath under water even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enter the water. It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. The children compete against each other reach the other end of the pool.
Many pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push or drug them. Some children can cover the whole length of the pool without coming up for breath even once. Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.
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Always Young

My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be at least thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage as a young girl. Jennifer, will have to make part in a new play soon. This time, she will be a girl of seventeen. In the play, she must appear in a bright red dress and long black stocking. Last year in another play, she had to wear short socks and a bright, orange-coloured dress. If anyone ever asks her how old she is, she always answers, ‘my dear, it must be terrible to be grow up . Selengkapnya...

Food and Talk

Last week at a dinner party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold. Mrs Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on her plates and in a shot time, she was busy eating. I tried to make conversation.
“A new play is coming to “The Globe” soon,’ I said. “Will you be seeing it ?”
“No,” she answered.
“Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year ?” I asked.
“No,” she answered.
“Will you be staying in England ?” I asked.
“No,” she answered.
In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner.
“Young man,” she answered, “if you ate more and talked less, we eould bothenjoy our dinner !”
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S.O.S.

When a light passenger plane flew off course some time a go, it crashed in the mountains and its pilot was killed. The only passenger, a young woman and her two baby daughter, were unhurt. It was the middle of winter. Snow lay thick on the ground. The woman knew that the nearest village was miles away.
When it grew dark, she turned a suit-case into a bed and put the children inside it, covering them with all the clothes she could find. During the night, it got terribly cold. The woman kept as near as she could to the children and even tried to get into the case herself, but it was too small. Early next morning, she heard planes passing overhead and wonderful how she could send a signal.
Then she had an idea. She stamped out the letters “SOS” in the snow. Fortunately, a pilot saw the signal and sent a message by radio to the nearest town. It was not long before a helicopter arrived on the scene to rescue the survivors of the plane crash.
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A Wet Night

Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the food smelt good. After a wonderful meal, they told stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time later it began to rain.
The boys felt tired so they put out the fire and crept in to their tent. Their sleeping-bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept soundly. In the middle of the night, two boys woke up and began shouting. The tent was full of water. They all leapt out of their sleeping-bags and hurried outside. It was raining heavily and they found that stream had formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the field and then flowed right under their tent.
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One Man in A Boat

Fishing is my favorite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not worry me. Some fisherman are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anything- not even old boots.
After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag. ‘You must give up fishing !’ my friend says. ‘It’s a waste of time’. But, they don’t realize one important thing. I’m not really interested in sitting in a boat and doing nothing at all !
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Putri Bunga and Prince of Fish

PUTRI Bunga was a kind girl. She lived with her uncle and aunt. Her parents died when she was a baby. She was an orphan.

"Aunty, I have done the chores, sweeping and mopping. Now I want to go to the river to clean the dirty plates, spoons, forks, and the cooking pot," said Putri Bunga to her aunt.

"Yes, Dear. But please be careful. And don't spend too much time there. After you have finished, go home immediately," said the aunt.

"I will, Aunty," said Putri Bunga.

Putri Bunga then rushed to the river. Her aunt watched her go.

On the way to the river, Putri Bunga sang a song. She was a truly polite girl. She greeted people she met nicely. In return, people greeted her back warmly. Everybody in the village knew her. Putri Bunga was a beautiful girl.

When arrived at the riverside, she immediately cleaned all the dirty kitchen utensils. They put them on the riverside. One by one she cleaned the plates, spoons, forks, and the last one was the cooking pot.

When she was cleaning the forks, a golden fish was rushed by the water and went into the cooking pot. Putri Bunga did not see the fish; she was too busy cleaning the forks.
Suddenly, she heard someone called her name and asked for help.

"Putri Bunga, please help me!"

Putri Bunga looked around. She did not see anyone in the riverside. She then continued cleaning the forks.

"Putri Bunga, please help me. I'm inside the cooking pot."

Putri Bunga did not believe what she heard. But she was so curious. She then looked inside the cooking pot.

"A golden fish? Why is it inside the cooking pot?" She then took the fish up. S

he wanted to throw the fish back to the river.

Before she did that, the fish turned into a handsome man.

"Don't be afraid, Putri Bunga. I'm the golden fish you helped. I'm the prince of fish. I was rushed by the water and accidentally went inside your cooking pot."

The man then continued, "Putri Bunga, I have known you for a long time. Every time you go to the riverside, I always watch you. Putri Bunga, you are very beautiful. I'm in love with you. Will you marry me?"

Putri Bunga was surprised. She never thought that a prince of fish would propose her. She then said, "I will marry you. But you have to live with me and my uncle and aunt on the land. You also have to make us happy," said Putri Bunga.

The prince of fish agreed. Then they got married and lived happily ever after.
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Sidomukti

SIDOMUKTI and his father live in Widorokandang, East Java. Right now, Sidomukti is sad. His father is seriously ill. His father asks him to go to a jungle to take some special leaves for his medicine. Sidomukti then immediately goes to the jungle.

In the jungle, Sidomukti goes here and there to find the leaves. While he is busy searching the leaves, suddenly he finds a hut. He goes to the hut and knocks the door.

An old woman opens the door. "What can I do for you, young man?" asks her.

"My father is very ill. I want to find some special leaves for his medicine."

"Well, it's getting late outside and going to be dark soon. Why don't you stay here and spend the night in my place. You can continue searching for the leaves tomorrow," the old woman offers him a help.

Sidomukti agrees. He feels very tired and wants to sleep. While he sleeping, he feels something moving on his leg. The spider stings him. Sidomukti screams in pain.

"Ouuuchh. That's hurts!!!"

He is looking around the bed room. He wants to use something to kill the black spider. He takes a broom in the corner of the room.

"Gotcha?" He kills the black spider.

Suddenly a beautiful woman comes to his room. Sidomukti is confused. He asks her. "Who are you?"

The beautiful woman answers. "Don't be afraid, young man. I was the old woman. A witch cursed me into an old woman. She also put a black spider to guard me. Actually I'm a princess. Because you already helped me, I will tell my father the King to help you."

Sidomukti and the princess then go to the kingdom. The king is very happy his daughter is back. To show his gratitude to Sidomukti, the king gave him gold. He also orders his people to help Sidomukti find the special leaves.
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Putri Kemuning

Putri Kemuning and her mother live in a jungle. They are poor. Putri Kemuning always helps her mother collect woods in the jungle and sell them in the market.

In the jungle, Putri Kemuning has animal friends. One day, Putri Kemuning's mother is ill. Putri Kemuning is very sad because she does not have enough money to buy medicine. She then collects many woods and plans to sell them. She wants to spend the money to buy medicine.

While She collects the woods, Putri Kemuning meets her animal friend, the rabbit. He is worried because Putri Kemuning looks very sad.

Putri Kemuning tells the problem to the rabbit.

"I can help you. Take this ring and then sell it," says the rabbit.

"Is this your ring?" asks Putri Kemuning.

"No. This is the King Ngarancang Kencono's ring. I fell when he washunting here."

Putri Kemuning hesitates. She really needs the money but it is not her ring.

Finally she says, "No, I have to return this ring to the king."

Putri Kemuning then goes to see the king at his palace.

"What is your name and what is your purpose here?" says the king.

"My name is Putri Kemuning. I want to return your ring," says Putri Kemuning.

"Thank you very much. Now, I want to give you something. What do you want?"

"I don't anything. I just want to go home. My mother is very ill," says Putri Kemuning.

"You are a very kind girl. Now, take this gift."

Putri Kemuning goes home. When she arrives, Putri Kemuning tells her mother about the king's ring. Her mother is very proud of her. When they open the gift, they see a bag full of gold coins. They are very happy because they can buy medicine.
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Ungrateful Son

JATUR and Menur are twins. Jantur is a boy and Menur is a girl. Jantur and Menur are very different. Jantur is lazy and gets angry easily. When Jantur is angry, he always says bad things. On the other hand, Menur is kind, diligent, and patient girl.

When their parents are working in a paddy field, Jantur as Menur to cook. He is hungry. Menur then cooks for her brother. After the food is served, Jantur eats. Suddenly he throws the food on the floor. “What food is this? Yuck! It’s not delicious!”

Menur cries. She is very sad. But she is not angry to her brother. Slowly she collects the food on the floor and put it in the trash bin.

When their parents return home, Menur tells about the food. The father advises Jantur, “Why did you do that to your sister? She already helped you.”

Jantur is angry, “I don’t care! Her food is not delicious! I hate her.”

“Lease don’t say that. She is your sister, “ father tries to calm him down.

“Why did you defend her? Why didn’t you support me? I f you don’t love me anymore, go away! I hate you all!”

Jantur is very angry. He cannot control himself. Menur and her parents then leave the house. They now stay in a mountain. Everyday they pray to God to make Jantur becomes a good person.

Not long after that, Jantur suffers a disease. His body is full of umors. It’s very bad. Nobody wants to see him. He looks very ugly. Jantur realizes that God punishes him. He regrets. Then he leaves his house to look for his parents and his sister.

Finally he finds them. He asks for their forgiveness. “I’m sorry, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry Menur. I have done bad things to you all. Now please forgive me,” Jantur says.

“We all already forgave you, Son. Everyday we pray for you. Now God hears our pray. Come here…” Mom then hugs Jantur.

Suddenly all the tumors in Jantur’s body are gone! Jantur is very happy. “Thank you, God! Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Menur. I promise I will be a good person.
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The Twin Masks

A long time ago in East Java, there was a kingdom named Bintolo. The king had a very beautiful princess.
Many young men fell in love with her and proposed her to be their wife.
But the princess always refused the wedding proposal politely.
She always said that she did not want to get married yet.
In the small village, there was a young man who lived with his mother. His father died a long time ago.
The man’s job was a mask maker. He also fell in love with the princess but he did not have any courage to propose her. The man was ugly.
“How can I propose her? The princess even refused the proposal from handsome and rich men,” that’s what this ugly man always thought.
But he could not stop thinking about her. Days and nights the mask maker always thought the beautiful princess. He did not want to eat and he could not sleep either. Soon, the man was ill.
And that made his mother really worried about him.
“What's a matter with you? Is there something wrong? Please tell me.”
“I.. I... love the princess, Mother. But I’m not confident enough to express my feelings to her.
I’m ugly and I’m sure the princess doesn’t want to marry me.”
The mother replied. “You are a great mask maker. Make a mask of a handsome face and wear it when you propose the princess.”
The man thought it was a great idea. He immediately made the best mask. And when the mask was finished, he wore it. Amazingly the mask really looked like a real face. So he went to the palace confidently.
“Your majesty, I’m here to propose your daughter,” said the man to the king.
“Stay here. I will talk to my daughter,” said the king.
The king then told his daughter that there was a very handsome man wanted to propose her.
“It’s all up to you, Dear. If you love him, you can marry him,” said the king.
And when the princess met the man, she fell in love with him at the first sight. She thought that he was the most handsome man in the world.
Later the princess told the king that she accepted the man’s wedding proposal.
At first the man was very happy. His dream finally came true, he could marry the girl of his dream. However, he realized that the princess did not fall in love with him. But she fell in love with his mask. He then planned to tell the truth to the princess and the king. The man was ready with all the risks.
After the man told the truth about the mask, the princess was not angry.
“It is true I love you at the first time we met, because you are so handsome. But after I know you so well, I love you the way you are. Now, I want you to make the same mask you are wearing. I want to wear it in our wedding,” said the princess.
During the wedding, all the guests were surprised to see the bride and the groom were wearing the same masks. And that inspired some people to create a dance and named it Joged Topeng Kembar or Twin Masks Dance. Until now people in Lumajang, East Java, still do the dance.
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