Сказки дедушки Ралота. Учим наших детей иностранным языкам

– Только чур – нас никогда не есть! Договорились? – Рыжик хотел ещё что-то сказать, но богомол его не слушал. Он подхватил передними лапами новых друзей и помчался к большому листу дуба.

Тяжёлые капли дождя погнались за ним, но Злик оказался проворнее.

The second evening. The Mantis

Today mantis Zlik has turned bright green. In fact, he was able to colour his chitinous*** clothes constantly in any colour in order to merge with the environment, become invisible and unnoticed for his enimies. But now he has turned green with anger because he got hungry.

He has not been able to catch a single midge, even the smallest one for the whole day and the reason for that was a huge cloud that covered half the sky. All the delicious little insects have hidden somewhere and have no desire to crawl, fly and frolic.

There is only one thing to do. I’ll have to go to the clearing, to the house where the giant people live and scare their fluffy kitten. Of course, this animal is a hundred times bigger than the largest mantis, but it snorts so funny and runs away when Zlik gets on his hind legs, and begins to swing its fore prehensile claws from side to side, that it would a sin to miss such a pleasure.

Zlik did not understand that kitten Blacky was not at all afraid of the mantis, he just did not know how to behave. Should he swat him with the paw or bite right away? His mother taught him never to mess with weird things. It’s better to run away, it may be poisonous!

When Zlik came to the clearing, he did not find the kitten, but he saw a flickering light on a rotten stump.

– Wow! my dinner itself invites me to have it, – the hungry mantis rejoiced, – Well, this is a fine thing! I wonder if I eat up a firefly, will my belly also start glowing? However, it doesn’t matter now, I’ll go and catch it first, and only then I’ll think how to turn off his bright flashlight forever.

Zlik rushed to the stump with all his might. Another two seconds and poor little Floky (it was her) is going be in the prehensile clutches of the dreadful predator and she will not have time to show the way to the insects hurrying home.

Fortunately, an ant called Gingy stopped the predator’s way.

– Don’t you dare offend the little ones! – he squeaked and menacingly wiggled his antennae.

Zlik was taken aback for a minute, snapped his terrible paws-claws and muttered:

– I’ll eat the firefly for the main course and you for dessert.