Under
the
Mango
Tree
Colouring Book
RINRIN THE
TADPOLE
A Colombian Folktale
Rinrin the Tadpole went for a walk,
all dressed up, in his best pants,
jacket, hat and a necktie.
“Son, come back, it’s dangerous
out there!” his mother shouted, but
Rinrin just ignored her.
He met a pretty Mouse, and
they went to a party together.
They were singing and
dancing and having a good
time, when suddenly...
... a Cat broke in and spoiled all the fun!
The Cat ate the Mouse and started
chasing Rinrin, but Rinrin escaped.
He ran out of the house and
rushed down the road. He was
running and running until he lost
his wonderful hat, his beautiful
pants and his lovely jacket.
Rinrin didn’t look around, and ran
straight into a Duck’s mouth!
“Yum!” said the Duck. And that
was the end of Rinrin the Tadpole.
THE BOY WHO
WANTED TO FLY
A Mexican Folktale
Once there lived a boy who
wanted to learn to fly. He often sat
on a rock and watched the birds.
He went to his Mother and told her about his dream. “No, son”, his Mother said softly.
“You are not a bird, and you don’t have wings. You will never learn to fly. Sorry!”
The boy kept coming to the rock
again and again. One day a
magical young woman met him
there. “I can teach you to fly,” she
said. “Just close your eyes and
imagine that you are growing
wings!” He did so, and he flew.
His wings were getting stronger
each day, and he was flying all
over the country. One day he saw
an old woman who fell off a cliff.
The boy flew very fast and
caught the old woman before
she hit the ground. “Thank you,
the Boy Who Can Fly,” said the
old woman.
MAKER CHALLENGE
Build Your
Own Bird!
THE NOBLE
MONGOOSE
An Antiguan Folktale
Once upon a time, every rat
dreamt of coming to Antigua, a
tiny Caribbean island. They called it
the Rat Paradise because of the
delicious sugar cane which grew
there. The rats were happy, but the
farmers were not.
One farmer, Mr. Edgar Dicky,
invited the famous rat hunter,
Brother Mongoose, to help him
get rid of the rats. He promised
him a gold watch as a reward.
Brother Mongoose spent all day
trying to find the rats, but he
could not find any. The rats slept
in the daytime and ate at night.
Brother Mongoose did not get his
reward and decided to take
revenge. He started stealing eggs
from the farmer’s chickens. The
farmer wanted to catch the thief,
so he hired the Mongoose again to
do this job. The next day, the
egg-thieving stopped, and Brother
Mongoose got his reward.
He realized that he could play the
same trick on other farmers, and in
no time, he made a lot of money.
Many years later, he retired to
London as a rich nobleman.
DRAWING CHALLENGE
Can You Find the Rat?
THE ANT AND THE DOVE
An Indian folktale
Once upon a time in India there lived two good friends, the Ant and the Dove. They lived by the
river and loved chatting about this and that. One day, the Ant went to the water to wash his
face. Oops! He slipped and fell into the river!
“I can’t swim! Somebody, help me, please!” cried the Ant.
The Dove could not swim either, but she would not let her
friend sink. The Dove plucked a leaf from a tree and
dropped it into the water.
“Hold on, Ant!” she cried.
The Ant climbed onto the leaf and safely floated to the
riverbank.
Some time later, a hunter came to the river. He saw the Dove and prepared to shoot at it.
The Ant got very worried, because the Dove did not see the hunter.
“What can I do? How can I save my friend’s life?” panicked the Ant.
The ant tried to shout, but the Dove didn’t hear him.
Then the Ant crawled close to the hunter and bit his toe.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” screamed the hunter.
The Dove turned around and saw the man with the bow and arrows. She quickly flew away. The Ant was
very happy. “Thank you, Ant!” said the Dove. “You are my true friend.”
“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” answered the Ant.