A story
Basma, Nuqta and the Balloon of the Letter Baa
On Friday morning, Basma woke up and saw a big blue balloon beside her bed. Suddenly... hop, hop! A tiny black dot jumped off the balloon. It had two laughing eyes and two skinny legs.
"Hop, hop! I'm Nuqta (نُقْطَة, 'dot')! I jump from letter to letter. And today my favourite home is under the letter Baa."
Nuqta hopped under a little line shaped like a boat, and it became: ب.
"Baa!" said Basma. "My name starts with Baa: بَسْمَة!"
"And بالون (balloon) starts with Baa too!" said Nuqta. "Press your lips together and open them: ba... ba... ba!"
Can you say it too? بَ (ba), بُ (bu), بِ (bi)!
They went down to the kitchen. Mum was boiling eggs: blub, blub, blub!
"بَيْض (eggs)! Baa!" cried Basma.
On the table were بُرْتُقال (oranges) and بِطّيخ (watermelon). "Baa and Baa!" sang Nuqta.
They went out to the garden. Quack, quack! A بَطَّة (duck) was swimming in the بِرْكَة (pond). Mooo! A بَقَرَة (cow) stood by the neighbours'.
Nuqta sang:
A duck in the pond goes swimming,
A cow in the field goes skipping,
Eggs, oranges, watermelon,
Baa, Baa, let's go singing!
Then Basma saw her little brother باسِل (Basil) crying, because his ball was stuck on top of the باب (door).
"Door has a Baa in it!" said Nuqta. "But how do we get the ball down?"
Basma fetched a long broom and gently pushed the ball. Boom! Down it fell.
Basil laughed, then looked at the balloon. "It's so beautiful!"
Basma was quiet for a moment. She loved her balloon. Then she tied it to her brother's wrist and said, "Keep it, Basil. It's yours."
Nuqta jumped for joy. "Hop, hop! That's the most beautiful Baa word: بَذْل (badhl), giving to someone you love!"
In the evening, Dad took a small red balloon out of his pocket. "And this is for generous Basma."
Nuqta giggled. "Even kindness comes back to us, as a balloon!"
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Circle the words that have the letter Baa: بَطَّة (duck) — قِطَّة (cat) — باب (door) — شَمْس (sun) — بَيْض (eggs)
2. Complete each word with Baa: ـــالون, ـــقَرَة, ـــاب
3. Where is the dot of Baa: above the letter or below it?
4. Say aloud: بَ, بُ, بِ, then name something at home that starts with Baa.
Answers: 1) بَطَّة, باب, بَيْض. 2) بالون, بَقَرَة, باب. 3) Below it.
"Hop, hop! I'm Nuqta (نُقْطَة, 'dot')! I jump from letter to letter. And today my favourite home is under the letter Baa."
Nuqta hopped under a little line shaped like a boat, and it became: ب.
"Baa!" said Basma. "My name starts with Baa: بَسْمَة!"
"And بالون (balloon) starts with Baa too!" said Nuqta. "Press your lips together and open them: ba... ba... ba!"
Can you say it too? بَ (ba), بُ (bu), بِ (bi)!
They went down to the kitchen. Mum was boiling eggs: blub, blub, blub!
"بَيْض (eggs)! Baa!" cried Basma.
On the table were بُرْتُقال (oranges) and بِطّيخ (watermelon). "Baa and Baa!" sang Nuqta.
They went out to the garden. Quack, quack! A بَطَّة (duck) was swimming in the بِرْكَة (pond). Mooo! A بَقَرَة (cow) stood by the neighbours'.
Nuqta sang:
A duck in the pond goes swimming,
A cow in the field goes skipping,
Eggs, oranges, watermelon,
Baa, Baa, let's go singing!
Then Basma saw her little brother باسِل (Basil) crying, because his ball was stuck on top of the باب (door).
"Door has a Baa in it!" said Nuqta. "But how do we get the ball down?"
Basma fetched a long broom and gently pushed the ball. Boom! Down it fell.
Basil laughed, then looked at the balloon. "It's so beautiful!"
Basma was quiet for a moment. She loved her balloon. Then she tied it to her brother's wrist and said, "Keep it, Basil. It's yours."
Nuqta jumped for joy. "Hop, hop! That's the most beautiful Baa word: بَذْل (badhl), giving to someone you love!"
In the evening, Dad took a small red balloon out of his pocket. "And this is for generous Basma."
Nuqta giggled. "Even kindness comes back to us, as a balloon!"
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Circle the words that have the letter Baa: بَطَّة (duck) — قِطَّة (cat) — باب (door) — شَمْس (sun) — بَيْض (eggs)
2. Complete each word with Baa: ـــالون, ـــقَرَة, ـــاب
3. Where is the dot of Baa: above the letter or below it?
4. Say aloud: بَ, بُ, بِ, then name something at home that starts with Baa.
Answers: 1) بَطَّة, باب, بَيْض. 2) بالون, بَقَرَة, باب. 3) Below it.
