📜 Read it aloud
During our kayak trip at MacRitchie Reservoir, a long dark shape slid into the water.
"Monitor lizard!" shouted my friend Ravi.
Its forked tongue flicked in and out as it swam past our boats.
Back at school, our science teacher explained that monitor lizards use their tongues to smell the air.
They are shy creatures that usually flee from humans.
My classmates asked if they were dangerous.
"They will not chase you," said our teacher. "But we never chase them either."
Respecting wildlife, she told us, means watching from a distance.
Now whenever I see a monitor lizard sunbathing on a rock, I keep my distance and smile.
It is not a monster. It is a neighbour.