The Brave Street Dog

Stray dogs are often treated badly. Timmy was one such dog. He lived with his family and friends near the garbage bins. People from the nearby colony would dump their garbage there. The dogs would search for leftover food. In the afternoon, kids from a nearby school would throw stones at them. The kids would laugh, watching them run.

But Sonu was not like the rest. Timmy was surprised when eight-year-old Sonu offered him some chapattis. Timmy wagged his tails as a gesture of thanks. Sonu was immensely happy and waved bye to Timmy.

Soon, both became friends and every morning when Sonu would board his school bus, Timmy would wait by him and see him off. He would then receive him every evening when Sonu would return from school.

Mittu, the pet dog

One morning, as Sonu waited for the bus, a van pulled up next to Sonu. A man stepped out and asked him for directions. As Sonu turned to give him the correct directions, the man grabbed Sonu and pulled him towards the van.

Seeing Sonu kick and struggle, Timmy quickly pounced at the man and bit his leg. The man shouted in pain and let go of Sonu, who ran back home. Timmy ran with him. Sonu ran to his mother and hugged her tight.

“A man tried to kidnap me,” he said between sobs. “But Timmy bit him and rescued me.”

Sonu’s mother pacified him and walked up to Timmy who had been watching from outside the gate. She patted him on his head.

Sonu’s family took Timmy in as a pet and he began living with them.

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Days passed and the bond between Timmy and Sonu grew stronger. Timmy started following Sonu everywhere once he’d come back to school. Timmy would go with Sonu to the park every evening and play with him.

One evening, Sonu saw that Timmy was behaving strangely kept barking at a backpack in the trash. The backpack was almost brand new and seeing Timmy barking at it, Sonu recalled all the instructions his mother had given him after the incident with the stranger.

She had told him that if he ever saw an unattended bag or a parcel, he should immediately alert the police or a grown up as it could be a bomb.

Sonu and Timmy quickly ran to the nearby police station and informed the inspector thereof the mysterious bag. The inspector immediately alerted the bomb squad and ensured that nobody tampered with the bag until they arrived.

The bomb squad arrived in record time and discovered that it really was a bomb and quickly defused it. The day was saved.

The next day, all the newspapers published the story of how a boy and his dog saved the city from a terrorist attack and on 26th January, the following year, Sonu and Timmy were awarded the President’s Bravery award and waved at the crowd as they were paraded down Rajpath.

 

 

The Road to Change

Shersingh lion, the King of Champakvan, was watching the news on television. There were several incidents of road accidents being reported. He became upset and thought to do something about it.

Shersingh invited Jumbo elephant to discuss the issue with him. Jumbo was well versed in the matters of road safety as he was the head of Champakvan’s Road Safety Patrol.

“Champakvan is witnessing an increase in the number of road accidents. This disturbs me greatly. I want your advice on what we can do to make Champakvan safer for all,” Shersingh said to Jumbo.

“Don’t worry, sir. I will definitely help you make Champakvan safer. First, let me study the situation and prepare a report. Based on that, I will be able to suggest some measures,” said Jumbo.

“Take all the time you need, Jumbo. The report has to be detailed,” said Shersingh.

Jumbo set to work right away. He went around all the roads in Champakvan observing the traffic movements and making notes. He compiled all of them in his report.

After a couple of weeks, Jumbo presented his report to Shersingh.

“One of the main issues I observed is that the residents of Champakvan do not follow traffic rules. They do not stay within the speed limit, they disregard traffic signals, do not follow lane discipline and park their vehicles wherever they find space, thus blocking traffic. Several signals at the main junctions are not working, causing a lot of chaos. They need to be fixed immediately. We also need to appoint traffic policemen at these junctions to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic,” said Jumbo.

That ambulance that came to halt

“Good work, Jumbo. I will ask my ministers to fix the signals right away. But what can we do to get the citizens to follow traffic rules?” asked Shersingh.

“I feel there is a lack of awareness about traffic rules and road safety among the citizens. Through campaigns, we can make our citizens aware of the benefit of following the rules. Wearing helmet for two-wheeler riders and seat belt for those driving cars should be made compulsory. If they do not follow the rules, fines should be levied,” suggested Jumbo.

The-Road-to-Change

“That is an excellent idea, Jumbo. Let us also put up signs indicating speed limits near schools and hospitals, and prohibiting parking in congested areas,” said Shersingh.

“That will surely help, sir,” said Jumbo. “Another thing I observed is that though kids under the age of 18 are prohibited by law from riding motorcycles or cars, there are many of them who do so.

This is causing a lot of accidents. We can tackle this problem by penalising their parents for allowing them to drive in the first place,” said Jumbo.

“Yes, underage driving is a major cause of concern,” agreed Shersingh.

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“There’s one more thing, sir. You could also consider allocating a separate lane for cyclists and pedestrians so that they can travel safely,” added Jumbo.

“Consider it done! Thank you for your suggestions, Jumbo. These steps are sure to make Champakvan safer for motorists and pedestrians alike. In celebration of this change, I declare the last week of February as Road Safety Week. Every year, during this week, we shall organise competitions, workshops on road safety and a survey on traffic trends and accidents,” said Shersingh.

The-Road-to-Change

Next morning, the front page news on Champakvan Times was about the changes introduced by Shersingh with Jumbo’s suggestions. It read that besides setting up a dedicated accident helpline, Shersingh had created a new department to look into the traffic activities at Champakvan, under the leadership of Jumbo. He was commended for a job well done.