Mony and Tony had come with their friends Antu and Jojo for a picnic near a lake.
Antu and Jojo found an old motorboat and took it out to the lake, while Mony and Tony stayed at the lakeside to cook.
Chickey and Mickey were two young crocodiles who lived in the lake. They were fascinated to see the old motorboat speeding in the lake after so long. They decided to race with the motorboat much to Antu and Jojo’s delight.
Antu was quite a mischievous fellow. He began to increase and decrease the speed of the motorboat, just to tease Chickey and Mickey.
“You will tire yourselves,” Jojo teased. “You will not be able to compete with our speeding motorboat.”
“I know,” Chickey said. “But listen to me now. You don’t know much about this lake. It has many hidden reefs. We’ve had a lot of fun racing but I suggest you slow down now. If you continue speeding, there are chances that you might run into a reef and have a mishap.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Antu said with a laugh. “But we both are experts when it comes to riding motorboats. Don’t worry! Nothing will happen to us!”
Chickey and Mickey realised that the foxes were overconfident and wouldn’t pay any attention to their warning. They stopped following the motorboat.
“Very well then,” they then told Antu and Jojo. “We are going to swim home now. But please take care of yourselves. The weather seems to be deteriorating too. We hope that you’ll reach the lakeside safely.”
Mony and Tony had decided to cook some almond pudding at the lakeside.
They were singing songs and chopping almonds and whipping cream when Julu Elephant saw them.
The warm and sweet aroma of the pudding and the fun Mony and Tony seemed to be having, compelled Julu Elephant to march towards them.
“Hello!” Julu Elephant said in a friendly voice. “I couldn’t stop myself from coming here! You seem to be having so much fun! And I see that you’re making something that looks delicious too. May I join your picnic? I’d like to be your friend.”
To Julu Elephant’s surprise, Mony grew very angry.
“No!” Mony shouted rudely. “We have come here with our friends. I am sorry but you’re not welcome to join us or be our friend. Please go away.”
“Well ok,” Julu Elephant said, looking disappointed. “But at least let me taste some of your pudding. It smells scrumptious!”
“You will not get a morsel of our pudding, you greedy fellow,” Tony said angrily. “Go away from here! Don’t spoil our fun.”
“Okay,” Julu Elephant said, sadly. “I’m leaving. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
Just then the sound of screaming pierced the quiet of the lakeside.
“That sounds like Antu and Jojo,” Mony said, looking quite alarmed.
“They seem to be calling for help from the motorboat!” Tony said as the screaming continued.
Chickey and Mickey suddenly leaped out from the lake and ran towards Mony and Tony. They both looked very worried.
“Hi! Do you have a long rope?” Mickey asked in a worried voice.
“Er… no, I don’t,” Mony replied. “But what do you need one for? Is everything ok?”
“Well, the motorboat has hit a reef,” Chickey said, looking quite shaken. “The engine has stopped working.”
“Oh no!” Tony cried with fear. “What will happen to our friends now?
They don’t know how to swim! They will surely drown if the motorboat sinks!”
“Well, we are trying to help them,” Mickey said. “But we will need a long rope to pull the motorboat out of the lake.”
“Don’t worry,” Julu Elephant piped in. “I have a long rope. It’s quite thick and strong too. I’ll get it right now.”
“Thank goodness!” Mickey said, sounding relieved. “You’re a big help!”
And so, Julu Elephant hurried home and returned with the rope in no time.
Julu Elephant then joined Chickey and Mickey in the rescue operation. He held one end of the rope with his trunk and gave the other end to Chickey and Mickey.
“Tie the motorboat to the rope tightly. Call out to me when you finish. I will pull it towards the lakeside with my trunk,” Julu Elephant said politely.
Chickey and Mickey dived into the water and swam towards the motorboat as fast as they could. Antu and Jojo were relieved to see them. The motorboat was beginning to sink and they were quivering with fear.
Chickey and Mickey called out to Julu Elephant once they had tied the motorboat to the rope. Julu Elephant then used all his might and pulled the motorboat towards the lakeside.
As soon as Antu and Jojo reached the lakeside, they jumped out of the motorboat and ran towards their friends.
“Chickey and Mickey had warned us about the reefs but we didn’t pay any attention to their warning,” they both admitted, feeling ashamed of their carelessness. “We are sorry, Chickey and Mickey,” they said, apologising to the two young crocodiles.
Mony and Tony turned towards Julu Elephant. They looked quite ashamed of what they had done too.
“Well, we made a mistake too. We were rude to Julu Elephant when he asked to be our friend. Please forgive us, Julu Elephant.”
Julu Elephant smiled. And so did Chickey and Mickey.
“Don’t worry!” they said cheerfully. “We were happy to help!”
After that, everyone sat down together and had a bowlful of the almond pudding that was quite delicious. They then played games and sang songs and enjoyed their unique picnic.
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