ਗਾ!
Sing, Crow, Sing!
The crow is going to sing for the cow. His song has one word, and it is his own name. He sings it louder and louder. New word: ਗਾ (sing).
Words you'll read
- ਗਾਂ
- ਕਾਂ
- ਗਾ
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: the crow puts on a show for the cow. His whole song is ਕਾਂ! ਕਾਂ! ਕਾਂ!, and each time she just chews, so he sings it louder, until the leaves fall off the tree and his voice gives out. Sulking, he tells her to go. She doesn't. She leans down and says one word: ਗਾ (sing). She wants more. Read his song bigger every time and her line flat. Point out that ਗਾ and ਗਾਂ look almost the same: only the dot is different.
“Cow! Cow! Come! Come!”
“Sing, crow, sing!” he tells himself.
“Caw! Caw! Caw!” That is the whole song.
He waits. She chews.
“Wow? Cow? Wow?” He wants her to say it.
“No? No? Then sing! Sing!”
“Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!” Louder.
The birds have left. The cow has not.
“Wow! Wow! Crow! Wow!” He says it for her.
“Sing, crow! Sing! Sing!” The biggest song yet.
“CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!”
Squeak. His voice is gone.
“No! No! No!” he croaks.
“Go! Cow! Go!” The show is over.
She doesn't go.
“Sing,” says the cow. She wants more.
Words in this book
- ਗਾਂ gaan cow
- ਕਾਂ kaan crow
- ਗਾ gaa sing (imperative of ਗਾਉਣਾ)
After this book, your child can read 3 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.