ਫੜ!
Catch That Fly!
The fly is back on the cow's nose, and the crow is going to catch it. He grabs, he swings, he leaps. New words: ਫੜ (catch) and ਮੱਖੀ (fly).
Words you'll read
- ਗਾਂ
- ਕਾਂ
- ਹਾਂ
- ਮੱਖੀ
- ਫੜ
How to read this book
This is a controlled-vocabulary reader — a little book your child can read on their own. It uses only a handful of Punjabi words, repeated often, so a brand-new reader succeeds from the very first page.
- Read it together first, pointing at each word as you say it.
- Then let them read it back to you — sounding out the Gurmukhi.
- Reread it. Kids reread what makes them laugh, and rereading is how reading becomes automatic.
- Turn the English captions off (button below) once they know the story, for pure Gurmukhi practice.
What this book is really about
For grown-ups: a fly lands on the cow's nose and the crow decides to catch it. He snaps with his beak, swings a leaf like a net, and jumps off the cow's head, shouting ਫੜ! (catch!) every time. Each time the fly simply moves. He even tells it ਜਾ! (go!), and it stays put. Then the cow says one quiet word and the fly leaves at once. Read his lines big and her line flat. The words repeat a lot, so by the end your child will know ਫੜ and ਮੱਖੀ by sight.
“Cow! Cow! Fly! Fly!”
“Fly! Catch! Catch!”
Snap. Nothing.
“No! Come! Come, fly!”
“Catch! Catch! Catch!” He has a leaf now.
The leaf catches the crow.
“Yes! Yes! Catch!” He is sure he has it.
“Wow! Crow! Wow!”
He looks inside. Empty.
“No? No? Fly?”
“Fly! Fly! Come here!” He climbs as high as he can.
“Catch! Catch! Catch! Catch!”
Thump. The fly goes back to the cow's nose.
“Go! Go! Fly! Go!” The fly stays.
“Cow! Catch it! Catch it!”
“Shoo,” says the cow. The fly goes.
Words in this book
- ਗਾਂ gaan cow
- ਕਾਂ kaan crow
- ਹਾਂ haan yes
- ਮੱਖੀ makkhee fly (housefly)
- ਫੜ phar catch (imperative of ਫੜਨਾ)
After this book, your child can read 5 Punjabi words. Read it together, then let them read it back to you — the repetition is where the reading comes from.
Where to go next
- Sikh children's books Illustrated stories to read together — Fateh Singh, Simran Kaur, and the Gurus.
- Shabad Stories Bilingual bedtime books built around a single line of Gurbani.
- Punjabi picture dictionary Hundreds of everyday Gurmukhi words with pictures, to grow the words they know.
- Learn Gurmukhi Letters, matras and tracing worksheets — the writing side of the same skill.