ਹਟ!
The Fly
Book four in the ਗਾਂ ਤੇ ਕਾਂ series. A fly lands on the cow's nose, and the crow launches a full rescue operation to get rid of it. The cow was never bothered by the fly. She is bothered by the crow. Uses the words you already know, plus one new one: ਹਟ (move / shoo).
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
- ਹਟ
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: this one is quietly about how the fuss can be worse than the problem. A fly lands on the cow and the crow throws everything he has at it — louder, bigger, more frantic each page — while the cow, who genuinely does not mind the fly, watches him wear himself out. In the end the one thing she asks to move is not the fly, but him. It's a gentle way to talk with your child about over-helping: that sometimes the kindest thing is to settle down, and that a calm cow can solve with one tail-flick what a panicking crow could not. Funny first; the lesson is here for you, not printed over the fun.
“Cow!” The crow spots something on her nose.
“Move!” he tells the fly.
“Move! Move!” The fly does not move.
“Crow?” says the cow. What is all the fuss?
The crow gets serious.
“Move! Move! Move!”
The fly hops onto the crow’s own beak.
Now it will not leave HIM alone.
“No! No!” Now the crow is the bothered one.
“Move,” says the cow — to the crow. One flick of her tail, and the fly is gone.
Words in this book
- ਗਾਂ gaan cow
- ਕਾਂ kaan crow
- ਹਟ haT move / shoo (imperative of ਹਟਣਾ)
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.
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.