The Cheetah's Slow Afternoon

On a bright, breezy morning, a cheetah races across the golden savanna, loving the wind in her short ears and the speed of her long slender legs. But when the running is done, she finds herself restless, unsure what to do with a slow afternoon. Near a shady tree she meets a calm, very old tortoise in tiny wire spectacles and a soft blue knitted scarf, who offers to teach her something the cheetah has never learned.

Lying on the soft grass, the two look up at the clouds. The tortoise shows the cheetah how to find shapes and stories in the sky — a potato wearing a hat, a rabbit, a frog stuck on a cloud, a snake who swallowed a kite. At first the cheetah's legs keep twitching, but slowly her body relaxes and her imagination takes over. This gentle picture-book tale by Ebru Mina TOMURCUK is written for young children and for the adults who read aloud to them. Through the friendship between an energetic cheetah and a wise tortoise, it offers a simple lesson about patience, stillness and the value of making time to slow down. The tale can be read on Onlinemasal Com.Tr.