WE in year five have been reading fables, myths and legends from around the world in our literacy hour.

We decided to try to write our own fables. Would you like to read one of them?

How the lion got his mane

Long long ago there was a blistering desert. In this desert flowed the River Nile, which glided for miles and miles. There were snakes slithering up and down through the sand leaving a slimy trail behind them.

A lion appeared and wondered "What are these slimy paths? I'll follow them it and see where they end."

So the lion lurched on.

Suddenly, a monkey jumped out of a palm tree and said: "Let me introduce myself, my name is Jack."

The lion and the monkey strolled along through the palm trees on the river bank. The lion asked "What's that brown thing?" The monkey whispered "It's a shed."

The lion and the monkey peeped through a small hole in the door.

"What do you see?" shouted the curious monkey.

"I see hundreds of snakes," the astonished lion gasped.

As soon as the snakes saw the lion, they started to laugh at him because he did not have a mane. The lion walked away extremely upset. The monkey shouted "Wait!" So he did. The monkey inquired "What's the matter?

"Everyone keeps laughing at me because I don't have a mane" cried the lion.

"I know who can give you one, by using magic," the monkey whispered.

"Who! Who!" the lion shouted. "Just follow me" the monkey calmly said.

So the lion did. When they arrived at the cottage they saw the magician and the magician gave him a mane.

Finally the lion was extraordinarily happy, because the magician gave him a mane. And that is why lions have manes.