Priya Pangolin

Dear Reader,

Larry the Letter Carrier jumped onto the floating post office in India, and I was like whoa, where have you been? I started to tell him about playing the violin and he was like whoa mate, put it in a letter so I can share with my online friends.

Hello! My name is Priya, and I am from India. I am a pangolin that plays the violin. I am covered with scales from head to tail. My scales are much like your fingernails. Sometimes I polish them a pretty blue. Playing the violin is really hard to do. Learning to play took practice each and every day. I wanted to do my best and one day maybe compete in a contest to be the greatest violin playing pangolin!

So, nobody would hear my sound, I burrowed deep into the ground. I strummed the strings with the bow, playing songs I didn’t know. I practiced for hours on end, making me a very tired pangolin. Every now and then I would take a break and call a friend. We talked for a minute or two but then I got back to what I had to do. I picked up the violin and placed it under my chin. The bow I held with my fingers and sometimes my toes! The sounds were sometimes high pitched, piercing, and shrill and did not thrill the animals walking above ground. They stomped their feet to quiet me down, but I just picked up the beat they laid down. Instead of soft, sweet sounds my music was lively and ready for a hoedown!

I heard some yees and some haws so I crawled out of the burrow and heard the dance being called. The animals were do si doing and swinging in and then out. A leopard in a tree spotted me and gave a shout. Priya is out! The animals started clapping, and the gibbon started rapping – you got to come seeya Priya, violin playing pangolin, drops the beat to the street, pick it up, put it down. Party time, hoedown!! Everyone clapped. I picked up the violin, now known as a fiddle, and strummed out some riddles. All the animals grabbed a partner and did a promenade parade!

Remember, writing is right on! So, write a comment below.

Your friend,

Priya Pangolin

Do you remember? What covers Priya from head to tail? What instrument does Priya play? What animal spotted Priya from a tree?

Additional tidbits – Pangolins are solitary nocturnal animals. They eat over 70 million insects in a year but are more related to dogs and cats than anteaters or armadillos. They are the only mammals with scales! Their scales are made of keratin, same as human hair and nails.

India has floating post offices! India is also a country of pioneers; they invented the games of Chess and Snakes and Ladders (also known as Shoots and Ladders). They also were the first country to mine for diamonds, create shampoo from herbs and water, and refine sugar!

Violins are string instruments and used in a variety of musical genres. The first violin was in Italy in the 16th century. The violin is one of the most difficult instruments to learn to play.