The word 'catamaran' originates from the Tamil phrase 'kattu maram', meaning 'tied wood'.
The extract 'The Day the River Spoke' is written by Ruskin Bond.
Jahnavi decided that she wanted to become a teacher when she grew up.
Jahnavi's grandmother had encouraged her mother to attend school when she was young.
The school teacher visited Jahnavi's home the next evening to talk to her father.
Little Appu cried loudly and disrupted the classroom while Jahnavi was listening.
When Jahnavi arrived at the school, the teacher was reading a story about Prince Ashoka.
The River told Jahnavi that huge ships could easily sail down their small village river.
According to the River, ships are big boats that can carry hundreds of people.
Jahnavi already knew that a snake lived in the bamboo clump before the River spoke to her.
Jahnavi was nearly ten years old when she looked after Little Appu.
The River spoke to Jahnavi in a loud and angry voice.
The kingfisher was eating a fish it had caught in the thicket of bamboo.
Jahnavi's parents were fishermen in the coastal village.
Jahnavi lived with her parents and three brothers in a coastal village in India.