be kind to every kind Archives

Rose Becomes Humble

Hurrah! I’m on top of the sky,” the red kite said flying high.

“Hey, don’t go higher. There is a chance of strong wind. You may tear apart or break your thread,” advised the black kite.

“You are just jealous of me because I am higher. Accept that I am the queen of kites. I declare myself the Rose Queen,” said the red kite.

The black kite did not like this boasting.

The black kite tried again to make Rose understand, “Don’t be silly. I only want you to be safe.”

Pando’s Kindness

“You are talking too much. Wait, I will teach you a lesson,” said Rose as she suddenly swirled in the air and came near the black kite. She started circling the black kite and said, “Fun starts now.”

Rose crossed the Black kite’s thread. The black kite was shocked by Rose’s attack. She did not get a chance to escape. Her thread broke and she fell on the ground.

“Wanted to teach me a lesson, did she?” said Rose, making a face. “I am the queen of the sky. I don’t have to listen to anyone.”

After seeing this, the other kites kept their distance from Rose.

“I want nothing to do with these small kites,” said Rose to herself, looking up at the sky.

Aarav was flying Rose. He was still learning to fly kites but Rose was smart. The moment Aarav gave her a free hand, Rose would go up in the sky and that’s how she was flying on the top.

Rose thought to herself, “The scene below me is so beautiful.”

Flying in the sky, she was unaware of the trouble approaching her.

“Hey look, those clouds are coming towards us. There may be a storm coming,” said the other kites to each other. Kite flyers started getting down their kites.

Aarav also saw the darkening sky and started to pull on Rose’s thread but Rose wanted to be in the sky longer.

While Aarav was trying to pull her down she was using her full strength to fly in the sky. Aarav got tired and stopped pulling the thread.

Suddenly the wind pitched up. Rose was unable to control herself. She started fluttering like a leaf in the wind.

When Rose turned her back, she was stunned to see the entire sky covered with dark clouds.

“Hey Aarav, what are you looking at? Get me down fast,” shouted Rose but Aarav was not looking at her.

Suddenly, a storm hit. Now Rose was blowing away with the wind. She was scared of falling down in faraway place. It started to rain.

“What should I do now?” thought Rose. The rain made her paper heavy and she started falling down quickly.

In the midst of this, Rose got stuck on a tree’s branch and there was a tear in her. Rose’s arrogance had washed away. By the time she reached the ground, she was hurt.

Luckily, a boy saw Rose soaking in the rain and took her home with him.

“I will mend this kite and fly it,” he said to himself as he applied tape on the torn places to mend her.

“Thank you,” Rose said slowly.

“I may have been pretty earlier, but now I have become humble,” Rose said to herself. “I will never be arrogant again.”

Unique Picnic

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.

Smart Mice

Sonu was staring at the piece of cake fallen on the floor for quite some time. Two tiny mice quietly came to gobbleup the cake. Before they could do that, Sonu clapped once and scared them away. He was really amused by this and started laughing.

“What happened, brother? Why are you laughing?” asked Sonu’s younger brother, Monu.

“Just before, two mice had come to eat this piece of cake that is lying on the floor. I clapped loudly and they both got petrified and thus fled,” replied Sonu.

“Wow!” exclaimed Monu. “It would be so much fun to scare away the mice. Where are they?”

Sonu replied, “They are hiding somewhere. You come and sit next to me on this cot. They will come again after a while.”

Sonu suddenly recalled something and said, “Wait, let me do something else, it would be more fun.”

“Do what?” asked Monu.

“You just wait and watch,” said Sonu. He then tied the piece of cake to a string and suspended it a few inches above the floor.

Monu asked, “Why did you do that, brother?”

“Don’t ask anything now. Just wait and see what happens,” said Sonu and both of them sat patiently waiting for the mice.

After a few minutes, one of the mice came, stood on its hind legs, and tried to reach the piece of cake in vain. Upon trying further, the mouse lost its balance and tumbled down.

Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there. Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there.

A few minutes later, another mouse came and tried to grab the cake. Some other mice too came there but none of them succeeded in reaching the piece. They tried desperately but had to return empty handed.

Sonu and Monu enjoyed the desperation of the mice and kept laughing at them.

Sonu yawned and said, “Monu, let us go to sleep now.”

“What about the cake?” asked Monu.

Sonu grinned and said, “Let it be hung and let the mice keep trying.”

“It was fun seeing the mice desperate and irritated,” said Monu.

“See how I troubled the mice who generally trouble people. Am I not great and intelligent?” asked Sonu with pride.

“Yes I totally agree that you are indeed intelligent and great,” replied Monu and went to sleep.

The next morning when they woke up, they were astonished to see that the piece of cake was missing from the string

“Where has the cake gone?” asked Monu.

“I have no idea,” replied Sonu.

Monu said, “Mom or Dad must have thrown away the cake.”

“That is not possible. Had they thrown the cake, they would have thrown away the string too. Since the string is untouched, they have not done it,” said Sonu.

“Then how did the cake vanish?” asked Monu.

“I think the mice have devoured the piece of cake,” replied Sonu.

Monu asked, “But they could barely reach the cake, then how can they eat it up?”

Sonu said, “If we want to find out, we will have to hang another piece of cake in a similar manner and keep a watch.” Sonu got another piece and suspended it in the same manner.

Sonu and Monu quietly sat on the cot observing the mice. One of the mice came there and tried to reach the cake but failed.

“This happened yesterday too,” whispered Monu.

Sonu signaled him to be quiet and watch on

Just then, another mouse came there and stood on its hind legs. The mouse that was already present there climbed on the other mouse’s back and quickly cut the string. The mice then took the piece of cake and fled.

Sonu was shocked to see this. He said, “I never thought mice could be so clever.”

“That is true,” said Monu, “The mice have also proven two things.”

“What are they?” asked Sonu.

“They proved Unity is Strength’. If we work together, then we can even accomplish difficult tasks with ease. The second thing that they proved is that one should never underestimate anyone. Others can be more clever than you are,” said Monu.

Sonu smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

THE LITTLE DOVE

Little Rudra lived in a small house, with his parents, near the city garden. His parents loved him very much.

Now that he was five years old, he thought himself to be very big. Sometimes, he would not listen to them.

One day, Rudra saw a small dove in his lawn. He approached it. It was bleeding. Rudra’s mother also came out to the lawn, when she saw that it was injured. She took the baby dove inside the house. She cleaned its wounds. She gave the bird something to eat.

Rudra was very curious. So many questions came to his mind. From where had the bird come? Where were its parents? Why couldn’t it fly? How did it get hurt? He wondered.

That night, Mother made the bird sleep in a cardboard box. She fed it the next day. She took good care of it. The next day, Rudra went to school very reluctantly. At school, Rudra kept thinking about the bird.

As soon as he returned home, he went to see the dove. It seemed to be recovering. Mother had put it back into the lawn. It was walking.

Suddenly, Rudra saw a big dove approaching. The baby dove ran towards it. The mummy dove had something in her mouth. She fed her baby.

Rudra called out to his mother. Both of them were very happy to see the mummy dove feed the baby dove throughout the day. That night, his mother kept the baby dove inside the house. It still could not fly. If it was kept outside, they feared that the cat would kill it.

His mother explained to Rudra that the baby dove must have disobeyed his parents. It might have come out of the nest when its wings were not strong enough. Therefore, it must have fallen down and hurt itself.

Every day, his mother took the baby dove out and put it on the lawn. Its mummy used to come and feed it. The baby dove soon recovered.

One evening, while Rudra was watching, mummy dove fed the baby. A little later, both of them flew away. Rudra thought to himself, “Perhaps its wings become strong.”

Rudra felt sad after his friend, the baby dove, had left. He was also happy that at last the little dove would be with its family.

Rudra vowed never ever to disobey his parents. He had learnt that whatever the elders say, they say so for our good. We must follow them.

The Poem Feat

Sundarvan’s King Shaatir Lion was very fond of poems. He would reward anyone who recited even average poems.

When Bunky Monkey came to know this, she said to her husband, Beeru Monkey, “You should go and narrate a poem to get the reward from the king.”

Beeru said, “That’s fine, but the problem is I don’t know any poem. What will I say in front of the king?”

Bunky was clever. She suggested, “While going there, just narrate whatever you see on the way, in the form of a poem. Be confident. You will definitely be rewarded.”

Beeru liked her suggestion. He immediately set out for the king’s palace.

On the way, he saw a crow sitting on a rock, near the pond. He was repeatedly filling water in his beak, pouring it on the rock and rubbing it with his beak. Beeru instantly made up a poem.

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

After creating the poem, Beeru felt good. He went to the palace. He narrated his poem in front of the king. The king appreciated his effort. He rewarded him suitably.

The king’s minister, Lukkhu Hyena, wanted to kill the king. He wished to become king himself.

The king’s barber, Blacky Bear, was also involved in this conspiracy. Lukkhu had made a plan.

When Blacky would go to the palace to shave the king’s beard the next day, he would slit his throat with the razor.

Blacky, as per the plan, did reach the palace. However, he couldn’t muster the courage to kill King Shaatir. He kept pouring water on the slab and rubbing the razor against it.

Seeing him do so, again and again, King Shaatir remembered the poem that he had heard from Beeru the day before. He repeated that poem

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

Blacky was stunned when he heard these words from King Shaatir. He fell at the king’s feet. He pleaded, “Maharaj, I am innocent. Minister Lukkhu Hyena asked me to do this. Please forgive me. I am not at fault.”

The king was taken aback by Blacky’s words. Blacky revealed the entire plan. The king set him free. He ordered that Lukkhu should be arrested. He punished him for his deeds.

The king received Beeru in his palace with great respect. He told him how his poem had saved his life. The king applauded Beeru. He gave him credit for saving his life through his poem. He gave Beeru very high remuneration. This ended all of Beeru’s problems.

WE ARE FRIENDS

After searching for a long time, Minni Mynah found a grain of maize. She sat on a branch of a tree to eat it. As soon as she tried to eat it, the grain slipped out of her grip. It fell down.

Before Minni could pick it up, Ginni Sparrow flew away with the grain.

“Wait, this grain is mine,” Minni called out. However, by that time Ginni had flown away. Minni felt bad. Someone had taken her food and she couldn’t do anything. Once again, she flew in search of food.

She didn’t find a single grain. She just found a piece of a chapatti. She tried to satisfy her hunger by eating it and drinking water. Then, she flew back towards her nest.

Minni was angry with the sparrow who had taken her grain. Minni was tired. She fell asleep.

The next morning, when Minni woke up, she felt another bird’s presence on the tree that was in front of her nest. When Minni looked closely, she recognised the bird.

“You! You are the one who took my maize grain yesterday. How dare you come here?” Minni shouted in anger.

“Which maize grain?” the sparrow asked.

“Hmm, yesterday you took my grain and today you’re acting innocent.” Minni reminded the sparrow of the incident that had happened the day before.

Ginni questioned, “What’s my fault in that? I saw a grain on the ground. I picked it up. I didn’t know that the grain had fallen down from your grip.”

Minni said, “Don’t lie. I called after you but you didn’t answer.”

Ginni replied, “Did you call me by name? No… then how could I have known that somebody was calling me?”

“Well, you can’t stay here!” Minni was still furious.

“Who are you to stop me? I am not going anywhere, I will stay right here,” said Ginni.

“Don’t you dare come near my nest in this rubber plant!”

“I am not even interested,” said Ginni. She flew away.

Minni and Ginni could never see eye-to-eye. Minni wouldn’t go to the guava tree where Ginni lived. Ginni never visited Minni’s nest on the rubber plant.

A few days later, Ginni noticed that Minni had stopped coming out of her nest. She would go out only for a short while.

“Does she want to harm me?” Ginni wondered.

She became alert.

One day, Ginni could hear the chirping of birds from Minni’s nest.

“Oh, it’s the sound of babies chirping! Minni has laid eggs that have hatched. That is why she was not leaving her nest. I was unnecessarily getting worried,” thought Ginni.

She flew out to pick grain.

Ginni found some grains nearby. She returned to her nest.

Just as she sat down to eat the grains, she heard Minni’s babies crying for food.

Ginni looked towards Minni’s nest. She saw that Minni was not there. She said, “It seems as if their mother has gone to get grains for them. Meanwhile, these poor chicks are very hungry. Should I feed them? What if the mother sees me near the nest? Well, I will wait and see what happens.”

Within a few minutes, Ginni thought, “I can’t watch these chicks in distress.”

Just as she was about to go, Minni returned. This made Ginni feel a little uneasy.

Ginni said in a hesitant tone, “I am sorry, I came near your nest by mistake.”

Minni said with a choked voice, “I should be the one asking for forgiveness. I fought with you. Yet, you fed my hungry chicks. I saw you feeding them while coming.

Ginni replied, “I am happy that I was able to help you.”

“Will you be able to forget what happened earlier? Will you be friends with me?” Minni asked with hesitation in her voice.

“Yes, why not? We should live in harmony. After all, all of us need each other at some point of time,” said Ginni with a smile.

Thereafter, Minni and Ginni became good friends.

Thank you very much

Two garbage bins had been placed across a street. The street houses dumped their garbage into these bins.

The road sweepers also used the same bins to dump the waste collected from the roads. Every evening, a large dumping van came by. It emptied these bins. Thus, the two bins were empty at the end of each day.

The kind of domestic waste that was put into the bins said a lot about each household. Egg peels in the bins showed households that consumed non-vegetarian foods. The two bins used to discuss the type of waste inside them.

“Yesterday, house number 3 had cooked lady’s finger,” said the first bin.

“I am sure that number 9 had cooked kebabs,” said the second The broom that was kept nearby heard the conversation. It said, “Both of you are destined to live with dirt and garbage. How are you so happy?”

The bins replied, “We have no complaints whatsoever with our job. We gather all the waste inside us. Thus, the entire colony is clean. This gives us immense happiness and satisfaction.”

The broom had nothing to say.

One day, as usual, the garbage collector dumped the waste into one of the bins. Along with the garbage, he accidentally dropped in a diamond necklace. The bin was shocked to see this.

“Such a beautiful necklace!” exclaimed the first bin. “It must be worth a few lakhs.” …

…“True,” said the other bin. “We serve people every day. Someone must have sent this as a reward. Now, you are the owner of this beautiful necklace. Congratulations!”

The first bin happily said, “Thank you. It feels good to own something as precious as this.”

Just then, the first bin heard an inner voice speak. It said, “The person who owns this necklace must be sad right now. Think about her.”

The bin felt a sense of guilt.

“If you do not wish to keep this necklace, then give it to me. I am waiting to put it on,” said the second bin.

The first bin said, “It’s not right to keep someone else’s property. Recollect the time when you had lost one of your handles. You were so tense and upset. Right now, the owner of this necklace must be going through similar pain. I am going to return this to its owner.”

“Stop talking like a fool,” said the other bin. “Hide the necklace in a corner. The van will arrive soon. It will take the necklace along with the garbage.”

The second bin tried to convince the first one to hide the necklace. The first bin did not act. It looked around as it wanted to speak to Golu, the dog. Golu couldn’t be seen anywhere. However, his wife Julie was walking on the other side of the road. The bin called out to Julie. It put the necklace around her neck.

Julie was amazed to see such a pretty necklace. She said, “Wow! It’s so cute. Thank you. Is it for me?”

The bin said, “It’s neither mine nor yours. It belongs to someone else. We have to return it to the owner. Will you help me do so?”

“Yes. I will,” said Julie.

The bin hid Julie behind it so that no one could see her wearing the necklace.

Just then the bin saw a lady. She seemed to be searching for something. She was very tense. She was weeping. The bin understood that the lady must be the owner of the necklace. She was crying because she has lost it.

The bin told Julie, “Go and return the necklace to that lady.” |

Julie walked towards the lady. She stood in front of her. When she saw her necklace, the lady stopped crying. She was happy. She picked up the necklace from Julie’s neck.

She said, “Thank you very much.”

She hugged Julie and patted her. She also gave her biscuits to eat. She said that she would feed Julie every day.

Julie turned to the bin and said, “Thank you. You deserve the credit. The work that you have done today is praiseworthy.” The bin smiled. It said, “Good work always pays. It brings immense joy and satisfaction.”

Two Old Friends

Ring…ring…’ the doorbell was ringing. Jambu, the jackal was shaving his beard. He came out with shaving cream still on his face.

“Who is it?”

Again he heard, ‘Ring… Ring…’

“Yes, I am coming.” Opening the door, he recognised his friend.

“Bhalla! When did you come?” He hugged his close friend so tightly that Bhalla’s neck was smeared with half of the cream.

Bhalla, the bear had taken a day’s off from his job. Early that morning he had thought of meeting his old friend.

Jambu caught hold of his hand and pulled him in, saying “Are you going to stand outside? Come in. Have some snacks and tea before going home.”

Bhalla started smiling while drinking tea.

“What is the matter?”

“I am recollecting our childhood days. Leave the snacks aside. Come, let us go and kick up a racket in the forest just like the good old days.”

Both of them looked at each other and within minutes they were off.

In front of the bazaar where the four tamarind trees stood, a monkey selling icecream shouted, “Milk, frozen milk. Buy one to feel cool!”

The naughty friends looked at each other. Bhalla asked, “How much is the mango bar?” “Ten rupees!” “Oh! This is daylight robbery!” Bhalla said and sat down. Now Jambu took over and said, “Brother, have some pity on him.”

“Uncle, this is the rate,” said the monkey.

“Okay! Take this.” Jambu took out money from his pocket and handed it to the monkey and gave the ice cream bar to his friend.

Bhalla was enjoying the ice cream with closed eyes. Now Jambu nudged him and said, “Greedy old man! Will you eat alone? Give me some of it.”

Bhalla turned his face away.

“Will you not give me some?” asked Jambu facing him. This went on for quite a while. Jambu started circling Bhalla.

“Sir, you also take ice cream,” said the monkey, trying to pacify him.

“You will give me one?” Jambu acted surprised.

“Yes, why not?”

Jambu was delighted. He took the ice cream from the monkey. Then the monkey extended his hand and asked, “Sir, money. Please pay for it.”

“Money for what?” Both the friends asked slapping their chest.

“Oh! For the ice cream. What else?” The terrified monkey stammered.

Both their voices grew loud. “You gave it yourself. Did we ask you?” Jumbu shouted.

The monkey was shocked. He shouted, “You tried to trick me!”

The two mischief makers laughed and walked away. In the same way, they cheated the snacks vendor. They were playing their childhood pranks even now.

Finally, they reached the playground where the children of the hippos, wolf, rabbit, and kangaroo were playing gulli danda.

Bhalla asked his friend, “Would you like to play?”

“Why not? I am no beginner.” Jambu replied stroking his grey moustache.

“Hey, just give me the stick. Watch how we play.”

Bhalla threw the gulli. Jambu swung and hit it so hard that the children were astonished. The game progressed. Then Bhalla picked up the stick. He tossed the gulli in such a way that the children were speechless. Oh! These old men were good. They could compete with anyone.

The gulli shot like an arrow from Jambu’s hand. Bhalla struck it really hard. The gulli flew like a hawk. Far away on a mango tree there hung a honeycomb. Instantly the gulli hit it like a bullet. Within minutes an army of honeybees emerged… Booo… booo…

“Run! It’s dangerous!”

The children started to run away. The two old men also started to run. But could not run as fast. Both of them suffered from pain in their legs. They were groaning and running.

Soon they started panting. The bees were chasing them too. The news of the broken beehive spread in the forest. Everyone came running. Mr. Hippo, Mr. Wolf, Mirza, the rabbit, and Babu, the kangaroo were very angry. “Whose mischief is this? Our children were playing quietly. Who did this?”

“These two are the culprits.” All the fingers, of the children and the snacks vendor, were pointing towards Jambu and Bhalla.

“Is this your doing Uncle? What a shame!” said Mirza, the rabbit.

The monkey also chipped in saying, “Brother, they took an ice cream from me and ate it. They did not even pay for it.”

The two friends stood downcast. The other animals of the forest surrounded them.

Jambu quietly asked, “Did you hit the honeycomb on purpose?”

Bhalla said shamefacedly. “Yes. The moment I saw the honeycomb my mouth started watering. Instinctively I hit the gulli on the honeycomb.”

“You have long hair. The bees got entangled in them.

Think about me? See my state?” said Jumbu. Big rashes had appeared on his body.

“Sorry friend, but what is a bear’s child if he does not put his life at stake for the sake of honey?” said Bhalla.

They apologised to all for their behaviour and the ice-cream monkey.

All the animals walked away.

Jambu winked and said, “If the end is sweet then everything is sweet. Isn’t it true? Come friend we will soon eat honey and not create any mischief in the future.”

The Winner

Bill and Tarun were neighbours and attended the same school. Moreover, they shared similar habits too. They came from two well-to-do families and enjoyed all the comforts. They had everything a child could wish for. Too much indulgence and pampering by their parents had made them spoilt kids. For them, life was nothing, but enjoyment and fun.

Both of them went to school every morning, or at least their parents believed so. In the afternoon, when they returned home, they groaned and complained about their studies. But that was far from the truth. They hardly ever attended school and regularly bunked classes. If any teacher spoke to the Headmaster about their behaviour, it made no difference. The Headmaster called them to his office, scolded them and warned them not to do it again. It became a routine.

However, the teacher who complained against them was in for trouble, as they then teased him in class. The teachers, therefore, let them have their way. A report to their parents was ineffective too. In fact, it was their parents who were responsible for their bad behaviour.

Both of them were strong and clever. They were leaders of their groups and led their followers into all kinds of new mischief every day.

The neighbours were fed up of their activities. Sometimes they complained to their parents, but it didn’t matter.

Creating trouble was their only pastime. What fun they had!

Although they were close friends, they always wanted to prove who was more superior than the other. They thought of some new tricks to surprise each other. They bragged about their ‘brave deeds’ and tried to impress one another.

One day, as they sat together with their group, Bill said, “Tarun, our old mischievous ways does not amuse me any longer. How do we decide who is superior?” “Think of a new activity,” replied Tarun. “You always say you are more creative than I am.” Bill thought for a little while. Then his face beamed with smile.

“I have a wonderful idea,” said he. “Look here, let us start our activities tomorrow morning and meet here with our groups in the evening. We’ll then describe our day. Two members from each group will be appointed as judges. They will decide which group has performed better. The leader of the other group will have to accept the superiority over the other.”

“That’s a good idea!” shouted everybody in unison, “It would be fun.”

That the evening both the groups met at the appointed place. A big crowd had gathered there. Bill’s group was in the high spirits. His boys were shouting, howling and whistling in excitement.

On the other hand, Tarun’s group looked, confused and worried. Tarun had not arrived as yet. Nobody could understand the reason for his absence. How could he abandon his group on such an important occasion? It was a matter which involved the honour and dignity of the group.

“Where’s your great Tarun?” Asked Bill. “I think he’s here but is invisible.”

His boys burst into a loud laugh and gave various answers, “…Has turned a tail…can’t show his face…accepted his defeat…is a coward….”

All of a sudden, there was silence. Tarun was coming toward them. His eyes were downcast, his neck was bent and he looked upset.

He sat in a corner lost in deep thought.

Amidst the shrieking and whistling of his group, Bill said. “Let us hear what deeds we have done during the day and decide who’s greater. The first group, I’ll describe the achievements of my group. Here they are:

Tied crackers to a donkey’s tail and made him run. Threw stones at the madman and had great fun. Broke two nests of crows, stole ripe mangoes from Kallu’s garden, misguided a stranger who wanted to go to the railway station, snatched the biscuit packet from a child and made him cry, smeared Bholu’s newly painted wall with dirt.

“These are wonderful deeds,” shouted his group joyfully, as he completed the list. “Come on, Tarun tell us what achievement you can boast of?”

Tarun simply answered. “I’m sorry I’ve come to accept my defeat and Bill’s superiority. I can’t be his equal.”

Everyone was stunned. “At least tell us what happened to you,” asked Bill. “What have you been doing today?”

Tarun spoke with a sigh. “I left home in the morning to join my group. I wanted to begin the day with a ‘great deed. Suddenly, I saw an old blind man moving toward a deep pit dug in the middle of the road. I thought I’ll push him into the pit.”

“As I placed my hands on his shoulders, he spoke out, ‘An angel has come to support a blind man. You must be a great man who thinks about a helpless old man.” His words struck me like lightning. I felt ashamed of myself. I pulled him away from the pit. His body was burning with fever. I took him to a doctor. I paid for the medicines with my pocket money.

Then I took him to his old and broken hut where I found his wife. The old man showered me with his blessings. He said, “I wish you all the joys of life. You seem to be a noble boy; you’d be the pride of your parents. I can’t thank you enough.” His wife held my face in her hand and kissed my forehead. Bill…I take back the challenge.”

The boys shouted in joy, “Bill has defeated Tarun. Come on judges, what have you to say?”

A garland of flowers was put around Bill’s neck amidst the noise of his group. Then everyone was stunned to see what seemed unbelievable. Bill took his garland and put it around Tarun’s neck and said in a chocked voice. “Tarun you are a great leader. Lead both the groups to greater heights. I salute you.”

EVERGREEN EMPATHY

Autumn had passed, winter was approaching. All the birds began to fly south. Only one little bird was left behind. It had a broken wing.

“Farewell! We’ll meet in spring,” said the birds. The little bird sighed. It said, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I need a home for the winter. If I can reach those trees, perhaps, they will help me.”

It was very cold with the frost and snow falling steadily.

The first tree that the bird saw was a Birch. It took a deep breath and pleasantly asked, “Oh, dear beautiful Birch, my wing is broken. May I take shelter in your branches?”

“For how long do you wish to stay?” The Birch asked the bird.

“Just until spring,” answered the bird.

“Oh dear! That’s too long. Sorry!” The Birch replied.

“Birch, it’s all right,” replied the bird. “Perhaps, the mighty Oak will help me!”

When the bird reached the Oak, it took a deep breath and politely asked, “Oh, dear mighty Oak, my wing is broken. May I take shelter in your branches until my friends return?”

“Oh dear! Dear me no!” The Oak sighed. “You’re a restless bird; you’ll move around and disturb me throughout the winter!

“Oak, it’s all right,” replied the bird. “Perhaps, the kind Willow will help me.”

When the bird reached the Willow, it took a deep breath and politely said, “Oh, dear kind Willow, my wing is broken. May I take shelter in your branches until my friends return in spring?”

“Oh dear! Oh dear!” The Willow said. “I don’t know you. However, I’m sure you’ll find a few trees somewhere in this forest! that’ll take in strange birds!”

The poor bird was just about to give up looking for shelter. It heard a gentle voice calling, “Little bird, where are you going?”

“Oh dear! Oh dear! I really don’t know!” said the bird, truthfully. “I’m very sad and cold.”

“Come, climb up to one of my branches,” said the soft voice. “I’m the Spruce tree. You can live on my warmest branch all winter, if you choose to.”

The bird said, “Oh dear, oh, dear, how can I thank you enough?”

“It’s time at least one tree helped you, I will keep the cold wind away from you,” said the Pine tree.

Yet, another voice called out and said, “I can also help you.”

“Oh dear, oh, dear, who is that?” The bird asked.

The tree answered, “It is I, the Juniper. I can give you berries all winter long. Birds like you, love my berries.”

“Oh dear, oh, dear, of course we do!” The bird exclaimed in a happy tone.

The Spruce gave the lonely little bird a home. The Pine protected it from the cold North Wind. The Juniper gave it berries to eat. These trees spread some evergreen empathy towards the little bird. That’s why the leaves of the Spruce, Pine and Juniper are always green.

A Match To Dimpy

Elle Elephant was a florist. He owned a small flower shop in Champakvan. Elle was a good-natured fellow and took good care of his customers. He had even hung a beautiful wooden board outside his shop. On the board was painted in bold letters, “ELLE FLORIST. Buy our flowers. They are beautiful and fragrant. They are fresh and will make you feel refreshed through the day.”

Elle Elephant was very courteous to all his customers. “He is always smiling, just like his flowers!” Elle Elephant’s customers would often say.

But Elle Elephant had a rule that he followed very strictly. He only sold his flowers to the animals and birds who paid him right away. He didn’t give credit to anyone. None of the customers even bothered to ask for credit for they knew what a hard worker the young elephant was and that he deserved to be paid right away.

Besides this, Elle Elephant’s flower shop had another speciality. Its fresh lotus flowers. Come rain or shine, Elle Elephant would wake up early every morning. He would wade in the pond and bring fresh lotus flowers from there.

Elle Elephant would sell some of the lotus flowers from his shop. He would personally deliver the others to the homes and shops of the animals who didn’t have the time to come to his shop. He didn’t charge them anything extra.

Everyone was impressed by the trouble Elle Elephant took. This resulted in good business for the shop. Dimpy Monkey was very fond of lotus flowers. He was a tailor and owned a small tailoring shop in Champakvan. Dimpy Monkey liked putting the lotus flowers in a vase that he had on his workbench. He relished their fragrance.

Like Elle Elephant, Dimpy Monkey was an expert at his work too. Everyone liked the clothes he stitched. They looked nice and fitted well. And so, Dimpy Monkey’s shop was always crowded.

But Dimpy Monkey’s nature was quite different from Elle Elephant’s.

Dimpy Monkey was a grumpy fellow. He lost his temper very quickly too. Even the pettiest matter annoyed Dimpy Monkey no end. He wore glasses and every time he got angry and shouted, his glasses appeared like they were dancing on his nose.

HONESTY PAYS OFF

Nobody liked Dimpy Monkey because of his foul temper. But there was no other tailor better than him in Champakvan. And so, all the animals in the forest had no choice but to ask Dimpy Monkey to stitch their clothes.

Elle Elephant would take fresh lotus flowers to Dimpy Monkey’s shop every day. He would politely ask him for the money after leaving the flowers near the vase on the workbench.

Once Dimpy Monkey had paid Elle Elephant the money, he would leave quietly.

One morning, Elle Elephant went to the tailoring shop as usual to deliver a bunch of lotus flowers. He found Dimpy Monkey in the middle of an argument with a customer.

Elle Elephant waited patiently till the customer left and then kept the flowers on Dimpy Monkey’s workbench. “Brother Dimpy,” Elle Elephant said politely.

“Here are your lotus flowers. Please give me my money now. I can’t wait any longer. I have to reach my shop soon. My customers will be waiting for me.” Dimpy Monkey was in a terrible mood. “Put the flowers in the vase!” he scowled and said. “I will give you the money tomorrow.”

“You know I don’t give anyone credit,” Elle Elephant said courteously. “It will take you less than a minute to reach into your pocket and give me my money.”

To Elle Elephant’s surprise, Dimpy Monkey grew furious. “Fatso,” he shouted. “I have already told you that I will pay you your money tomorrow. Now stop bothering me and get out of my shop!”

Elle Elephant lost his temper too now. He didn’t like being insulted or spoken to so rudely. “Well Dimpy,” Elle Elephant said, sounding very annoyed. “I want my money right now. If you don’t pay me right now, I’ll take my flowers back.”

This made matters worse. Dimpy Monkey flew into a rage.

Without even stopping to think, he picked up a pair of scissors and poked Elle Elephant’s trunk. “You want money, Elle Elephant?” Dimpy Monkey shouted. The glasses on his nose danced. “Well, this is your money!”

“Ow!” Elle Elephant howled in pain. He then ran out of the shop.

Dimpy Monkey laughed as he saw Elle Elephant holding his trunk and running on the street. “I’ve scared Elle Elephant away!” he thought and began cutting a piece of cloth.

More From Champak: Help Yourself

Elle Elephant walked back to his shop, feeling very annoyed. “I’ll teach that horrible Dimpy Monkey a lesson!” he thought. “He’ll never dare poke anyone again!”
Later that day, Dimpy Monkey was ironing the clothes he had just finished stitching when Elle Elephant suddenly entered his shop.

Dimpy Monkey was surprised to see him.

But before he could say anything, Elle Elephant threw some muddy water that he had in his trunk all over Dimpy Monkey’s shop. The new clothes that Dimpy Monkey had stitched got dirty and there were small puddles of mud everywhere.

Dimpy Monkey was astonished. “Oh no!” he cried.

“Elle Elephant has ruined my customers’ new clothes! I have taken so much trouble to stitch them. What will I tell my customers now when they come asking for their new clothes?”

Nothing like that had happened to Dimpy Monkey before. No one had dared to stand up to him or teach him a lesson.

“I shouldn’t have poked Elle Elephant’s trunk,” he said regretfully.

When Dimpy Monkey’s customers came to take their clothes, Dimpy had no choice but to tell them what had happened.

“Dimpy Monkey,” each and every one of Dimpy Monkey’s customers said. “You always lose your temper at others. You are always rude to others. Today, you have found your match.”

Dimpy Monkey felt very embarrassed. He decided he would never lose his temper or hurt anyone again. He even apologized to Elle Elephant for poking his trunk and was never rude to him again.

Arrogant Cloud

Cloudy Cloud was a young cloud. He liked floating in the sky and causing trouble wherever he went. One day, when Cloudy took a whole lot of water from The Old Sea, The Old Sea felt that it was important to give the young cloud an important lesson.

“When you come across people craving for water,” The Old Sea said, “or farmers standing in the fields who are waiting for you to shower raindrops, don’t disappoint them. Open your heart and quench their thirst. For that is the real purpose of being a cloud. And please, don’t cause trouble or harm anyone.

“Well, I shall see,” Cloudy Cloud said and quickly drifted away. He didn’t like The Old Sea telling him what to do.

“Ha! Everybody wants to give you a lesson and impose their thinking on you,” Cloudy Cloud grumbled. “I will shower raindrops wherever I want. I will do what I please. Let The Old Sea say whatever he wants. I don’t care!”

The people of a village saw Cloudy floating in the sky. Their eyes shone with joy. “Look there! There’s a rain cloud in the sky! It will shower raindrops on our lake! We will have lots of water to drink! Our thirst will be quenched!” the villagers said happily.

But Cloudy Cloud ignored the villagers and drifted away. “Why should I bother if you are hungry or thirsty, huh?” he said and left the poor villagers pining for water.

Cloudy Cloud then floated ahead arrogantly.

After some time, he stopped over a field. The farmers in the field looked up and clapped their hands. They were overjoyed. Their field was parched and they had been eagerly awaiting the rains.

“Now we will get the elixir of life! Our field will receive rainfall! Our crops will grow! We will have grains to eat! This cloud will surely shower rainfall!” the farmers sang and danced.

“Surely shower rainfall, huh?” Cloudy muttered. “Why should I shower rainfall on your field? Am I your servant? Do you think I’ve brought the water especially for your field from so far, huh? Well, I really don’t care about you or your crops!”

Cloudy then made a rude face and moved on. The farmers below blamed The Wind.

“Oh! The rain cloud was blown away! Wind, why did you do that? Our crops won’t grow now! We won’t have food to eat!” they wept.

The Wind who had been watching quietly felt very bad. He scolded Cloudy, “Cloudy, I am being blamed for your mistakes. Why aren’t you showering rain? You are disappointing everyone.”

“Mind your own business!” Cloudy Cloud told The Wind rudely. “Don’t you dare meddle with me or poke your nose in my affairs.”

“Don’t be so arrogant, young fellow” The Wind told Cloudy Cloud. “People will be grateful if you shower rain in places where it ! is needed.” Saying so, The Wind went away, hoping Cloudy would understand.

But Cloudy Cloud didn’t care. He had made up his mind to do what he wanted. He wanted to play pranks and have fun.

He found an old potter who was making mud pots and drizzled all over him.

“Oh no!” the potter cried. “All my efforts have been wasted. The rain has softened all my pots even before they could dry and take shape. I am ruined!”

Cloudy Cloud grinned. He enjoyed seeing the old potter cry. The Wind noticed this and felt very upset. But he knew that no matter how he tried, explaining anything to Cloudy was quite useless.

Cloudy Cloud decided that he would cause more mischief. He showered big drops of rain right above a lawn where a marriage reception was being held. The tents fell apart with the rainfall and the guests at the reception found that they were drenched. The food too was soaked with water and became inedible. There was chaos as everyone was running for shelter.

Cloudy Cloud laughed. He enjoyed having fun at the expense of others. He then drifted ahead, looking for more places to cause trouble. The Wind who had decided to follow Cloudy couldn’t bear to see the damage he was causing. He was very annoyed now.

The Wind then went to his old friend, Tall Mountain. “Tall Mountain, we must do something or this wicked, young cloud will go on troubling everyone.”

“You are right,” Tall Mountain said. “I have been watching Cloudy too. He really is wicked. Don’t worry. I have an idea. We will stop Cloudy from doing any further harm.”

Tall Mountain then explained his idea. A short while later, The Wind found Cloudy Cloud. He was showering raindrops above a clothesline full of dry clothes. “Cloudy Cloud, I won’t stop you from doing what you want! But I have a special request!”

The Wind said politely. “I hope you will listen.”

Cloudy stopped and turned around. He was curious and wondered what The Wind would say. “What is it?” he asked arrogantly.

“Please don’t go close to Tall Mountain! He has a high fever and a bad cold! The doctors have warned him not to get wet,” The Wind told Cloudy. “Is that so?” Cloudy Cloud asked mischievously.

“Yes,” The Wind replied, knowing exactly what Cloudy would do. Then, just as Tall Mountain had predicted, Cloudy enthusiastically drifted towards Tall Mountain’s peak. “I will shower raindrops on Tall Mountain’s peak and make him wet,” Cloudy Cloud said and laughed.

Now Cloudy Cloud didn’t know how high and strong Tall Mountain was. He rushed towards Tall Mountain’s peak with all his might and collided into it with a loud bang.

To Cloudy Cloud’s dismay, all the water he had within him splashed out in the form of heavy rain. And soon after that, he began breaking into pieces, like cotton balls.

“Help! I am vanishing! Please help me,” Cloudy Cloud cried as he slowly faded away “I don’t want to disappear!”

The last words that Cloudy Cloud heard before he faded away completely were, “This is what happens to those who cause trouble and try to harm others.”

Cloudy Cloud realized that The Wind and Tall Mountain were talking about him. “I wish I had been a good cloud and listened to The Old Sea and The Wind!” Cloudy Cloud said. He then disappeared completely.

BEST STUDENT

Mehak and Sakshi were going to school on their bicycles. They I had barely reached the school gate when Akshay pushed their bicycles.

Both of them fell down. Brushing their clothes with their hands, they got up.

“I will complain about you to the Principal,” Mehak said in anger.

“Do that he won’t believe you. Don’t you know that I am going to receive this year’s ‘Best Student’s award?” Akshay said proudly and ran away, laughing.

“He is right, Mehak. He never misbehaves in front of teachers or Principal. Just acts to be a good student,” Sakshi said, “You are a more deserving candidate for this award. You are equivalent to Akshay in both studies and sports. But you are not wicked like him.”

“I know but still I will complain about him.” When Mehak complained, the Principal said, “I have heard that Akshay is a very good boy. All the teachers too say so. Then why are you complaining about him?”

“I knew, Sir, that you won’t believe me but this is the truth. The teachers don’t know how much Akshay bosses around in the school.”

“Okay, if you bring even a single witness against him, I will cancel his award.”

Mehak tried a lot but nobody came forward to support her out of fear.

Buntu told her, “Are you seeing my swollen cheek, Mehak? Akshay had hit ! me. If I complain, he will hit me on the other cheek too.” At the end, Mehak gave up. Everyone was terrified of Akshay.

Very soon Winter Dale High Schools Annual day came close by. Many sports and programs were held in the school. That day the ‘Best Student’ award was also to be given.

Akshay got dressed up very smartly and was singing happily riding his bicycle, “Today I will get the Best Student award. La..la..la..”

Just then his bicycle got punctured. Chandu’s repair shop was nearby. Akshay took his cycle there.

“Chandu, leave everything else and repair my bicycle. I have to reach school soon.”

“You will have to wait, Akshay. I am repairing Shunty’s bicycle. He came before you,” Chandu said.

“Who Shunty? What Shunty? First repair my bicycle,” Akshay said furiously. Shunty, who was standing close by, said, “You are not doing the right thing…”

“Shunty, wait, I will teach you a lesson. How dare you argue with me,” Akshay caught hold of his collar and punched him twice. Suddenly somebody caught hold of his collar and punched him twice.

Suddenly somebody caught hold of his hand from behind. He looked a middle aged rich man. He scolded Akshay, “I have heard everything. You have no right to hit anybody.”

“No, first my work will be done. You mind your business. There is no need to interfere.”

“Oh, so you are bad mannered too. If you don’t stop bullying, I will take you to the police station.”

Now Akshay became mum and waited for his turn. Soon he reached school. Walking towards the function hall, he met Mehak and Sakshi. Akshay took his tongue out and teased them. Then Sakshi said, “I am sad that this year’s ‘Best Student award is going to the worst student.”

All the guests were sitting with the Principal on the stage. He got up and said, “Now I put forward Akshay’s name for the ‘Best Student award for this year.

He is not only good in studies and sports, but also helps everyone and respects elders.

“I request our school’s chairman Mr. Brajesh Mehta to give this award to Akshay.”

The entire hall echoed with the sound of applause. Akshay came to the stage very proudly.

But as soon as he saw the chairman’s face, he started sweating. He was the same man who had caught his hand at Chandu’s shop.

“What are you doing, Principal Sir? You are giving the Best Student’ award to him? He should get the Biggest FoulMouth award,” Mr. Mehta said and narrated the whole incident.

Principal Sir cancelled Akshay’s name glowering at him furiously. Then the award for the ‘Best student’ went to Mehak.

Akshay came back with wet eyes and heavy heart. He had never felt so much insulted. This incident completely changed Akshay for the good.

He stopped bullying and began living with everybody very cordially. He got a good result for that. His dream was fulfilled when he got the ‘Best Student award the next year.

That ambulance that came to halt

Raju and his friends were on their way home from school when they heard a siren. They turned around and saw an ambulance. Raju felt bad for the patient inside.

A man got down from the ambulance and requested the other vehicles to give way but the cars were standing back-to-back. There was no place for the ambulance to move.

Raju and his friends were watching this incident. Raju noticed that the traffic jam was too long and was not going to clear that easily.

Raju ran forward to find out the reason for the traffic jam. He saw a big crowd and everyone was shouting slogans. Raju asked, “What’s happening?”

“We are on a strike because the government is not fulfilling our wishes,” someone replied to Raju.

Raju asked, “Would it not be better for you to be heard in a place where you are not blocking the entire road and creating problems for others?”

The man said, “If we don’t block the road, no one will hear us.”

Raju asked, “What’s that even supposed to mean?”

The man said, “Hey kid! If the traffic gets blocked, only then the government listens to us.” He started his sloganeering again.

Raju pleaded, “There is an ambulance at the back which has been waiting for a long time and the patient is in a critical condition. The patient has to be taken to the hospital as soon as possible. Could you please make way for it?”

The man said, “You go from here. We will leave only when our wishes are heard.”

Raju understood that the crowd was not going to move. He knew something else had to be done to make sure that the ambulance reached the hospital on time so that a life could be saved.

Raju called his friends and said, “Come, let’s do something.”

Raju said to the other drivers, “Please move your vehicles a little so that the ambulance can go near the divider.”

Raju and his friends took the traffic boards and created a ramp for the ambulance to cross the divider and cross over to the other side of the road.

On the other side, cars were moving slowly. Raju and his friends signalled the cars to leave a place in the middle of the road for the ambulance to move.

The ambulance slowly inched forward.

The man from the ambulance thanked Raju and said, “My son’s life will be saved because of all of you.”

Raju thanked his friends and everybody went to their respective homes. They were happy to have saved someone’s life.

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