Page 20 - English Expedition Class 6

later that aft ernoon in a jeep. Th e entire village
gathered once more at Tashi’s house to watch the • Who was called to take the snow
proceedings. leopard away?
Th e doctor shot a tranquillizer into the leopard,
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• What do you think would happen
which was no easy task as it had to be done through to the animal?
the hole in the roof. When the offi cials and Rigzin
• Why did Rigzin compare the
carried the animal out, there was a collective gasp.
moonbeams to the snow leopard?
No one had seen a leopard from so close. Th e animal
was placed on a sackcloth in the jeep and taken to
Leh. A decision about where to release it would be taken the next day.
At the monastery, the Buddhist monks started their chants in unison . Th e fragrance of juniper
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incense fi lled the air. Th rough the windows of the temple, the moonbeams spread a silvery light,
almost ghost-like. ‘Just like the ghost of our mountains,’ thought Rigzin, as he closed his eyes,
smiling. He knew that somewhere in their beautiful mountains, a snow leopard would soon
walk free.
(Adapted)

Sujatha Padmanabhan is a trained special educator and has worked with diff erently-abled
children for several years. She has written stories for children apart from developing handbooks
and resource kits for volunteers in environmental education.

21 tranquillizer: a drug used to calm people or animals 22 in unison: together; in one voice
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