Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Mini Milind Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found it very useful – was telling a nice story in two tenses… Past and Present. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people who were earnest to improve their English with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and tell it to someone. This monkey comes before me every time I am set to pick a fight with my fellow-being over the ‘stuff’ we find along the street called Life… THE MONKEY’S JUSTICE PAST: O ne day, two cats were wandering along a street. They saw a big chunk of cake and one of the cats swiftly grabbed it. “Give it here,” screamed the other cat, “I sighted it first.” “Maybe, my friend,” retorted the cat with the cake, “I grabbed it first.” The argument, soon, turned into a bitter fight… Just then, there appeared on the scene a monkey. “Why are you fighting my dear f...

Pic.: Sheela Krishnamony I t was a hot afternoon. In a jungle, a lion, who was tired and thirst, wandered in search of water. Finally, when he came near a pond of water, the lion saw a leopard there. The leopard, too, was tired and thirsty and had reached there in search of water. “What are you doing here?” the lion blasted with his kingly arrogance. The leopard did not like the way the lion treated him. So, provoked by lion’s arrogance, and gathering all his courage, he reacted, “What are YOU doing here?” Lion, not used to such a reaction from his subjects, pretended as if he had not heard what leopard had just said. “Get off my way,” he blasted, “let me drink first.” “I am telling you the same,” the leopard did not want to concede, “wait till I finish… You very well know that I was here first.” The lion went into a rage and threw his paw at the leopard… The leopard tried to grab lion’s neck… and they both got entangled in a fierce fight… The dust an...