ਗਾਂ! ਕਾਂ!
The Cow Who Would Not Be Hurried
This little book uses just five Punjabi words — ਗਾਂ (cow), ਕਾਂ (crow), ਹਾਂ (yes), ਨਾ (no) and ਆ (come). A pushy little crow wants the cow to get up and go. The cow has other ideas.
The whole book is free to read right here. Want it for bedtime, the car, or the classroom? Take it home as a printable PDF.
From $2.99 — pay more if it feels right. Every copy supports more free Punjabi readers for kids.
Words you'll read
- ਗਾਂ
- ਕਾਂ
- ਹਾਂ
- ਆ
- ਨਾ
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: underneath the giggles, this is a story about respect. The crow wants the cow to move now, on his terms — and the cow, calmly, will not be pushed. She isn't being difficult; she simply has her own pace, and she goes when she is ready, not when she is told. It's a gentle way to talk with your child about respecting other people's time and choices — that “no” can be a whole answer, and that patience gets you further than pestering. We keep the story playful, so the lesson lives here for you, not printed over the fun.
“Cow!” says the crow.
“Crow?” says the cow.
“No! Cow!”
“Yes?”
“Come!”
“No.”
“Come! Come! Come!”
“No.”
The crow gives up, flat on his back.
“Cow… won’t you come?”
The cow stands up. She is enormous.
“Yes.” She was always going to — she just wasn’t going to hurry.
Words in this book
- ਗਾਂ gaan cow
- ਕਾਂ kaan crow
- ਹਾਂ haan yes
- ਆ aa come
- ਨਾ naa no
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.
The whole book is free to read right here. Want it for bedtime, the car, or the classroom? Take it home as a printable PDF.
From $2.99 — pay more if it feels right. Every copy supports more free Punjabi readers for kids.
Where to go next
- Sikh children's books Illustrated stories to read together — Fateh Singh, Simran Kaur, and the Gurus.
- 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.