Mio in Science Class: About Animals

Mio, the little elephant, went to school every day. He liked it a lot there because he was interested in absolutely everything. He would prick-up his huge ears during every lesson. He particularly loved exercising those impressive ears of his. Today, his teacher Mrs Evans had prepared a game of riddles for the class.

“We have lots of work to get through in our science lesson today,” the teacher said, smiling. “We have to assign the correct animal to the recorded animal sounds we hear. Are you ready to begin?” Mio and the children all nodded eagerly, and Mrs Evans pushed the button on the player to present the first riddle. As soon as the children heard the sound, which was a very familiar roar, they all shouted out the name of the animal, their voices colliding with each other.

“A lion, it’s a lion!” said Carl, feeling proud of himself.

“Indeed,” the teacher said. “And did you know that a lion’s roar can be heard up to eight kilometres away? It’s true, even though most of the time lions just laze around — they actually rest for up to 20 hours a day!”

“They probably yawn more than they roar,” said one of the children, laughing.

“Now here’s another one,” Mrs Evans announced, pressing the play-button for the next animal voice.

“That’s a monkey!” Alice shouted. “Hmmm... An orangutan, maybe? Or a chimpanzee?”

“Yes, a chimpanzee – man’s closest animal relative. Well done, Alice. And which animal do we have next?”

“A snake!” shouted everyone in unison.

“Right, that’s the sound of a snake hissing. Can you guess what kind of snake it is? I’ll give you a clue: it is the longest type of snake in the world,” the teacher informed.

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