Endings could be happy ones which give the reader a good feeling or they could be either tragic, ironic or cynical leaving the reader sad, surprised or even angry. A provocative ending, however, stimulates a reader to think, argue and disagree, and perhaps, inspires the reader to come up with his or her own version of an ending -- the new version of the story is then no longer the sole property of the author but the product of a partnership between the writer and the reader.

Possible Alternative Endings

In 'The Chicken Hawk' we could have spared the five chicks and joining the story at the point when the roosters and hens were gathered for a conference ended it this way:

One of the hens suggested, "Let's not take any chances and peck them to death." But the roosters disagreed saying, "If the farmer finds dead chicks in the yard he will think we are going around murdering chicks at will. It would be better if we left them alone and let them starve themselves to death."

After the conference the hens passed the word around to all the chicks that the five peculiar chicks were to be strictly left to themselves. Without help the five chicks wandered around aimlessly with no one to turn to. Out of exhaustion and near starvation one of the chicks collapsed and the other four gathered around and, with their beaks turned downwards tried to help it to get on its feet. While they were doing this, one of them noticed grains and found them quite good to eat. At last, they had learnt to turn their heads down and peck at grains! Soon they were accepted, although not quite as equals, by the rest.

The old hawk who hovered above the farm each day saw all this and flew home to his nest with a quiet joy in his heart.

'The Two Sparrows' could have ended on a more positive note:

One day while he was being fed, the elder sparrow noticed his blind brother fidgeting with a few twigs, knitting them together with his beak and claws. This gave him an idea. The next day he brought home more twigs and in a few days his brother showed him a little latticed mat which he had knitted. He put it at the bottom of the nest. It was comfortable to sit on, but more important, it allowed rain water to drain off easily, leaving the nest less moist after a storm.

The elder sparrow then brought home more and more twigs and each time a mat was completed he would fly off with it and exchange it with the birds for food. He explained to his brother that he was trading his handicraft for food. The blind sparrow was overjoyed and declared, "Brother, we are now partners."

In 'The Bugs who Lived in a Cinema' we could have got rid of the self-sacrificing rat -- he was quite an unbelievable character anyway -- and let him slip off the seat in anger, realising what was going on but nevertheless just ran off. However......

The bugs in the seat next to the empty one saw what happened and decided on a compromise. The oldest bug went to the head of the bridge between the seats and shouted across, "I tell you what -- we will allow your youngest bugs to come over to our seat provided that you will allow us to send over some of our strongest young bugs." There was no alternative but for the hungry bugs to agree to their offer.

After a few days the rat passed the seat again and thought with satisfaction that all was back to normal and all seemed happy and peaceful again.

Little did he know that in fact one family of bugs now virtually owned two seats.

The poor washing-machine in 'The Obsolescent Washing Machine' could have been given back some self-respect if we ended the story from the point when it was put up for sale as a second-hand model, this way:

One day a young couple, probably newly-weds, came into the store and while the young husband was most enthusiastic about the newest models explaining in great detail all the new technology that was included in them, his wife quietly looked around the store. When she came upon the old washing-machine she called out to her husband, "I want this one!" He replied, "It's second hand and it hasn't got the conveniences of the new ones. Don't worry about the money. I think we can afford the latest model."

"It's not the money," she said, "it's just that whatever you may have to say about the new model, I still believe in the old saying, 'they don't make them as well as they used to.' I definitely want this."

I have already indicated how I had originally ended the creeper story but it may be of interest to note the reaction of one young man who thought the old man was very foolish to chop down the first creeper. "After all," he said, "so what if the old oak loses all its leaves. The creeper is young and will take over and will probably provide the old man with even better protection. Of course, the old man could still plant his second seed if he wished."

We could be less cruel to 'The Tree who Wanted to be a Ship'. We could spare him of being doomed to be burnt but let him become a part of a stool or a chair and even let him end up as a piece of furniture on the same ship where his trunk was the main mast.

Most young people could not accept the apparent paradox 'freedom in enchainment' and demanded that 'The In-Between Puppy' be given back some freedom, when he grew old enough to look after himself, to wander about freely and if he wished visit the old man regularly.

I hope that these ideas will inspire readers to write their own endings to these stories and will deeply appreciate it if some will be kind enough to send me, through the publisher, their version of the ending to one or more of these stories.

If these stories are used in the classroom, students could be asked not only to offer alternative endings but to rewrite the whole or part of the stories adding descriptive phrases giving them colour and 'body'. Similarly, younger students could be asked to shade or colour the skeleton illustrations. With more mature students, these stories could be used as material for discussions.

SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR DISCUSSIONS

1. A paternalistic government tends to produce an over-protected people inadequately prepared to stand on its own feet.
2. Charity can inadvertently deprive the recipient of self-respect and renders him continually reliant on aid.
3. Man is not born really equal and should not be deceived by allowing them to imagine they are equal.
4. An accelerated educational programme can produce ill-prepared individuals who tend to be anti-establishment.
5. In a rapidly developing society, there is a tendency for young people to be over-ambitious leading to discontentment.
6. Over-specialised technical training could produce uneducated people not equipped to adapt to changes.
7. Personal freedom exercised within the bounds dictated by culture, family, state and church leads to a harmonious society, while independent individual freedom can lead to anarchism.

In these postscript, I am merely trying to suggest ideas on how these stories may be used in the classroom. Eventually, it must be the teacher who must decide on how they should be used.