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Journalism of Courage
(By Shabnam Minwalla, illustrated by Malvika Tewari, published by Pratham Books)
Druvi needs an umbrella to protect her wings from the rain. Join the dragonfly as she searches for the perfect leaf-umbrella.
Druvi the dragonfly has just learnt to fly.
She flies near the pond with her friends.
They tease the frogs and eat mosquitoes for lunch.
In the evening, Druvi flies to the jungle nearby.
She looks at the bird nests and spider webs.
She does not see the clouds gather in the sky.
Plop! A raindrop falls on Druvi’s head.
Druvi wants to go back home.
But she does not want her wings to get wet.
“I need an umbrella,” thinks Druvi.
She flies to the Gulmohar tree.
It looks like a strong, red umbrella.
The leaves are too tiny.
“Too small to even cover an ant,” thinks Druvi. “I need something bigger.”
Druvi sees big, star-shaped leaves.
“The Papaya tree leaves would make a lovely umbrella,” thinks Druvi. “Oh no, it is letting all the rain in.”
The wind blows strong but Druvi has still not found her umbrella.
She perches under a plant but the thin leaves fold up!
“How unkind you are,” Druvi says to the Touch-Me-Not plant.
Druvi is upset. The jungle is full of leaves.
There are thin leaves and fat ones, big ones and small ones.
But none are umbrella leaves.
Suddenly Druvi sees a Banyan tree.
It does not have star-shaped leaves or prickly leaves.
The leaves are not too heavy or too small.
Druvi flies towards the Banyan tree.
She perches under the leaf.
She has found her umbrella!
Dragonflies are great travellers! Some dragonflies – like the Wandering Glider that we find in our fields and gardens – travel across the open seas from India to Africa. They travel more than 16,000 kilometres to cross the Indian Ocean.
They start their journey from India in October and reach countries like Tanzania in January. On the way, they stop at islands like the Maldives and Seychelles.
Dragonflies cannot fly if they are too hot or too cold. In the morning, they spread their wings to get heat from the sun. In the afternoon, some dragonflies perch with their body raised and their stomach pointing to the sun, to stay cool.
