Glowing Worms by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (the reader ebook .txt) 📕

Rheon, the little owlet peeped from her house to see if her mother has come. For the past two days, it has been raining heavily. Rheon has learned her first lessons of hunting. Yet, she has to learn something more to hunt without any issues. During her first lesson, her mother taught her how to hunt a little rat that scrambled through dry leaves beneath the tree. Rheon missed the first grasp with her claws. The little rat shook his body and escaped from her.

Rheon blinked her eyes and looked at the branch that swayed in the air. Something caught her attention. In the dark, green colored lights glowed here and there. She wanted to go near the lights and find out what they are. Curious eyes tempted her to fly near and see it. Yet, Rheon remembered her mother’s words.

“Don’t fly alone. Still there is time. Your wings are not strong, and you can get into trouble.” Rheon never missed her mother’s words. So, she looked at the green lights without making any move or sound. Some of the lights flew here and there. Green tracks of light followed them everywhere they flew. Rheon could not resist her eagerness to know what it is. With caution, she stepped out of the hole.

At the same time, Coco, a little cat, just like Rheon, made his way slowly toward something on the ground. Coco has been learning how to hunt from his mother. His mother resting herself on a bark of a tree looked at Coco now and then. Though she looked dozing, her senses watched Coco with alert.

Rheon saw Coco moving stealthily. She understood that he is trying to catch his prey. With a mischievous smile, she looked at Coco. She wanted to play a prank on him. So, she moved toward the green lights. She found out that they are glow worms and she took some of them with her beak. She plucked a big leaf from the tree and placed the glow worms inside it. With her beak she rolled the leaf and made it as a big roll.

Rheon took the leaf in her beak and flew toward Coco. Coco stood there without any movement. He stood there calculating the time for his next move. Rheon flew down as if she pricked at Coco’s ears and let the leaf fall on his studious face. The leaf closed his face and he started to shake his head fiercely.

At the same time, glow worms slid through the leaf and started to fly around Coco’s head. Coco jumped here and there and with a leap joined his mother. His mother opened her eyes, looked around, and then went on to doze once again. Coco slid under his mother and hid himself. Rheon could not suppress her laughter. Chuckling loudly she flew back to her home.

Publication Date: 03-10-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Screeching owls at night!