The Mystery of Mohenjo Daro

Mojenjo-Daro was an ancient city in the Indus Valley that is thought to have had over forty thousand people living in it.  Around 1750 BC people in this region began to leave their homes until the cities were eventually deserted.  When archaeologists first began digging up the ruins of the city they found many clues as to how the people lived but none as to why they left the once-great city.  Skeletons were even found in the street as though the people died right in the road.  This is The Girl's idea of what may have happened to the people of Mohenjo-Daro.

It was a still night in Mohenjo-Daro.  The doctor scurried into the little house down the street.  Another patient had died, the fourth one that day.  Almost everyone had left the city in search of a new place without the nasty sickness.  The only people still in the city were the doctor, a few patients and all the bodies of everyone who had died.  The victim tonight was an 11-year-old girl.  Her parents and her brother had left the city after the girl got the sickness.  She had died alone.  After the girl died, a few more people died soon after and the doctor decided to leave.  But before he left he buried all the people who had died from the sickness and he hoped they were grateful.

Courage

As part of our history curriculum we read Wild Orchids which tells the story of Mulan and how she helped save China.  An over-arching theme of the story is courage.  Mulan shows courage when she meets her father for the first time, when she disguises herself as a boy and runs away to join the army in order to save her father from having to go to war again, and countless other times throughout the story.  The following is The Girl's essay on what it means to have courage.

Your heart is beating, your eyes are getting wider and you are sweating through you clothes. You know you will need courage soon. We have all had courage at one point in our lives, whether it was standing up for someone or telling the truth. No matter what the situation, we all can be courageous.

The definition of courage from the dictionary is “Having strength in the face of pain.” My definition of courage is “Doing the right thing no matter what the cost.”  Both of the definitions of courage are correct and they can apply to different types of courage. 

The most courageous person I know is my dad. He is courageous in everything he does, such as taking on new jobs to provide for my family and always trying to be his best and always trying to understand my feelings.  These aren’t easy things to do.  That is why he is courageous!

The most courageous thing my dad has ever done was save Mom and I. My family and I were climbing outside on a super steep route.  My mom and I got stuck and we could not see my dad who had climbed ahead of us.  My mom started shouting my dad’s name and finally he heard us and rappelled down the route to where my mom and I were.  He was able to help us up the rest of the way.  If it hadn’t been for my dad, my mom and I would have been stuck up there a long time!

As you can see, my dad is a very courageous person.  I know this because he has strength in the face of pain, and does the right thing no matter what it costs himgf.  I hope to be as courageous as him one day.