stories with morals Archives - Champak Magazine

Kitchen Fight

On hearing very loud noises, Chandni rushed into the kitchen. Vegetables and fruits were in a heated argument.

Apples and oranges were fighting with elephant foot yam and colocasia. Lemons were fighting with potatoes. Tomatoes were yelling at beetroots. Grapes were taunting groundnuts.

“What is happening? Why are you all shouting?” asked Chandni.

“We don’t like these shapeless, ugly vegetables that grow under the soil,” said apple, pointing at them.

Orange and lemon in raised voices said, “Chandni, please throw them out of the kitchen!”

“You don’t have to worry about the shape and look of elephant foot, yam, colocasia and others. Like you, they are important and valuable because of their taste and nutrients,” Chandni explained though she was annoyed at the comments made by the apples and oranges.

“Taste and nutrients?!” apple laughed at Chandni.

“Vegetables that grow under the soil are always dirty and tasteless. Taste, vitamins, fragrance and beauty belong to the ones that grow above the soil on plants and trees,” orange boasted.

“Why is there so much of noise in the kitchen?” thought Chandni’s mother, Indu, entering the kitchen.

Chandni explained the fight to her mother who had been away from home buying vegetables and groceries from the market. Indu opened the basket she was carrying, with a smile and took out carrots and white radishes.

“How beautiful these carrots and radishes are!” said Indu, putting them on the table. “They must be from our family,” said apples and oranges.

“Carrots and radishes grow under the soil like elephant foot yam, colocasia, potato, beetroot and groundnut. They are not from your family,” replied Chandni.

“Impossible!” screamed apples, oranges, lemons, tomatoes and grapes.

Elephant yam foot, colocasia, potato, beetroot and groundnut joined carrots and radishes in laughter. Indu asked everyone to keep quiet. Chandni eagerly looked at her mother’s face. “Beauty lies in the eyes of the spectators and in this case, tasters. Beauty has various forms and its definition differs from person to person. We all have some special features. Apples, oranges, lemons, tomatoes and grapes are bright and colourful, but need to be consumed within a short time or else they decay. But, elephant foot yams, colocasias, potatoes, beetroots and groundnuts don’t rot so fast. They may look dull and dirty, but can exist for longer periods.”

“Radishes and carrots grow under soil. Still, they look very bright and colourful like apples, oranges, lemons, tomatoes and grapes. They can be preserved for long. So, who should I appreciate now?” asked Chandni, with a naughty smile on her face as she looked at the fighting fruits.

“We are sorry. We shall never boast about ourselves,” said the apples, oranges, lemons, tomatoes and grapes, apologising to the root vegetables. Chandni clapped on hearing this.

“What happened to you? Why are you clapping in sleep?” asked her mother, seeing Chandni clapping and smiling in sleep.

Chandni suddenly opened her eyes; looked around and said, “Mom… the kitchen fight is over!”

Indu could not control her laugh and said, “Kitchen fight!? What is that? Close your textbook and get up. Dinner is ready!”

Chandni rubbed her eyes and looked at her textbook. The page was all about vegetables and fruits. “Oh… Was it a dream?” Chandni smiled as she rushed to the kitchen!

The Cricket Match

It was the first week of December and it was freezing outside. But Rahul did not care. He was excited about the cricket match scheduled on the coming Sunday, that Shivam’s team had challenged his team to.

“Don’t be so happy. Next Sunday you will not be able to score even 50 runs,” Shivam said after his team had lost the match.

“Next Sunday, Vivek will be playing with us. You know what a great bowler he is! We will see to it that your batsmen are unable to score proper runs,” Shivam’s friend, Ankur said in his support.

“Alright, let Sunday come. We will see Vivek and his bowling,” said Rahul.

Shivam’s team had lost by 22 runs because Rahul’s team had given them a huge
target of 170 runs in 20 overs. Saurav, their best batsmen, had scored many
fours and sixes.

The toss had been won by Shivam but he had opted for fielding first. He thought that his team would be able to reach whatever target was set for them.

But his team could not withstand any of Rahul’s bowlers. All were bowled out, one after the other.

On Sunday, Rahul had packed his cricket kit and by 8am he was on his way towards the ground. His other teammates met him along the way. The match was to begin at 9am. Saurav and his team also arrived on time.

On seeing Saurav, Rahul said, “Come on, Saurav, today we have to see your batting excellence. Last week, Shivam said that you have a friend named Vivek, who is a skilled bowler.”

“I know this Vivek. He used to study with me in the same school. We have
to beat them in this match. I will see to it that each ball of his gets a good hitting,” Rahul’s friend, Alam said swinging his bat.

Everyone had reached the ground and both the teams were ready to start the match.

But there was a problem —a foul stink was coming from the ground.

“It seems there is some dead animal here. It will be difficult to play,” said Lalit.

No one felt like playing because of the stench. Rahul, Saurav and Shivam covered their noses with handkerchiefs and moved towards the spot from where the stench was originating to find out what was wrong. The other boys followed them and they saw that a dead dog lying there.

“Now, what will we do? Today’s match is ruined,” Tushar expressed his worry.
“There is good ground near my school. Let’s go there and play,” suggested Alam.

“No, let’s not play today. It is our responsibility to remove the stench from here. Because if we cannot tolerate the smell, then just imagine how the people who live in the nearby huts will tolerate it,” said Rahul.

Most boys agreed with Rahul.

“But how and what can we do?” asked Tushar.

“My father is an officer in the municipality. I will call him right away,” said Vivek. He then called his father and gave him all the information.

“The arrangements will be made soon,” said his father. Everyone was very happy.

Within a few minutes, a small loading cart, a garbage lifting machine and a few municipality workers arrived at the ground. Seeing the municipal vehicle, people from the locality also gathered there.

The municipality workers lifted the dead dog with the help of the machine and put it in the garbage vehicle. Then they put some soil from the ground on top of the carcass, so that it would not emit stench along the way. Then they spread some bleaching powder on the ground surface and left.

After a while, there was no stench on the whole ground. The cold and light breeze was making the environment around pleasant.

A man from the nearby hut said to the boys, “Children, you have done a great favour to us. We were not able to breathe properly since yesterday.”

All the boys thanked Vivek’s father.

Rahul then turned to Shivam and said, “Vivek has done great bowling today. Just in one ball, he has changed the whole environment of not only our ground but of our whole locality.”

All the boys cheered together. Then the coin was tossed and their game of cricket commenced.

Fullu Learns A Lesson

Shantivan, was a beautiful forest. All the birds and animals lived peacefully and followed the law of the jungle.

One day, Fullu fox from Rock hills came to Shantivan. He had lost his way while hunting and unknowingly entered Shantivan.

Gillan giraffe, on seeing Fullu asked him, “Who are you and where have you come from?”

“I am Fullu fox, from the faraway Rock hills. I lost my way while hunting and,
I am exhausted and hungry,” cried Fullu fox.

“Oh, please don’t cry! You have come to one of the best forests. We are famous for our love and kindness,” said Gillan giraffe, consoling Fullu fox.

Gillan took Fullu to the animal colony. From his conversation with Gillan, Fullu realized innocent animals and birds lived here. He thought that he would be able to fool them and eat good food without any struggle. Gillan wasn’t aware that he was taking a cheater with him.

Seeing Fullu, little rabbits and monkeys got scared and hid behind their parents. Doves and parrots also screeched. Hearing the chaos, Sambhu elephant, Mottu monkey, Bunny bear and Nicy peacock, the elders of the forest, came out.

“Please meet, Fullu fox. He lost his way from Rock Hill and reached our forest. He is hungry and exhausted. He won’t do us any harm. Let us welcome him as our guest, for a few days,” said Gillan.

Seeing everyone, Fullu started sobbing for gaining their sympathy.

“We respect Gillan’s decision. Fullu will stay as our guest till he wishes,” agreed Sambhu elephant.

Bunny bear’s little son Teddy, welcomed Fullu with a jar of sweet honey. Nicy peacock put a garland around Fullu. Sweety deer and Rinki rabbit gave him lots of fruits and nuts. While drinking the sweet honey, Fullu looked greedily at all the fat rabbits and deers.

All the animals and birds then returned to work. Fullu sat under the big banyan tree and thought for a long time. Finally, he got an idea.

He walked to Sambhu elephant and said, “Sir, you are really powerful and strong. You look like a king. Yet, nobody respects you. I feel sad. Gillan giraffe is trying to show off, by making all the decisions on his own!”

Sambhu sat silently, even though, he was shocked to hear Fullu.

Fullu then went to Bunny bear, Mottu monkey and Nicy peacock and repeated the same sentence, creating confusion and disturbing thoughts in all of them.

Sambhu elephant walked to the bamboos and sat alone. Bunny bear sat on the topmost branch of the big banyan tree. Mottu monkey sat silently, on the river bank. Nicy peacock walked by himself in the green meadow.

Fullu also spread rumours amongst other animals, that there would soon be a fight amongst the elders which would cause danger to the life of small animals. He wanted the smaller animals to hide in the faraway dens of Rock hills. Where he would easily hunt them.

Fullu then, sat on the large roots of the jackfruit tree and laughed. He was confident his trick which would disturb the peaceful life of all the animals, and spread fear and hatred amongst them. He said to himself, “Well done, Fullu! You are great. You can enjoy good fights and delicious food now.”

But suddenly, all the animals surrounded him. Birds sat on the lowest branch of the jackfruit tree waiting to keep a watch if he ran. By then, Sambhu, Mottu, Bunny and Nicy reached the place.

Fullu started shivering fearing for his life. Sambhu elephant asked everyone to remain calm. He walked to Fullu and picking him with his strong trunk said, “How dare you try to cheat us?”

“Please forgive me, sir. I thought all of you would fight for becoming king. I never expected such a strong unity amongst all of you. I wanted to break the peaceful united life of Shantivan as I was jealous of your happy life.”

“Then, why did you ask our little animals to hide in the rock hills?” asked Bunny bear sternly.

“I wanted to trap them in my area so that I could enjoy tasty meat daily with my family and friends. I could also have become a Chief of Rock hills,” said Fullu fox owning up.

Scratching his head, Mottu monkey laughed and said, “Ha-ha, cheater Fullu!

Gillan giraffe had a soft corner for you and brought you to this colony. We considered you as our beloved guest. This showed our generosity and not our weakness. How could you feel that your rumour would split us apart? Regardless of our type, size, eating habits, colour and gender, we live together by respecting the law of nature and the law of the jungle. Unity in diversity is our strength.”

Nicy peacock asked the audience, “What should we do with Fullu now? Should Sambhu kick him out of our jungle with his heavy foot, or should all of us beat him to pulp?”

“I am sorry. Pardon me, please. I will never repeat such betrayal acts in my life,” cried Fullu fox helplessly.

Gillan giraffe suddenly intervened, “We have already shown him our strength. He has learnt a lesson for life. Let us now give Fullu fox a grand farewell. Let Damru sing for our guest.”

Damru donkey came forward happily as he got an opportunity to sing officially. Animals and birds whistled loudly and started running away quickly. Sambhu elephant controlled his laughter and ordered Fullu to enjoy Damru’s song for half an hour. Bunny bear warned Fullu that he would be watching him from the top of the tree.

Damru donkey stood near Fullu and started his horrible song “Brey-brey,
he say.”

The helpless Fullu fox said to himself in tears, “It would have been much better if Sambhu elephant had kicked me off!”

The New Teacher!

Bonny Singh had recently become the Prince of the forest. One morning, he decided to take a tour of the forest to learn about his kingdom, especially the state of education.

He disguised himself to look like an old lion with a grey beard and moustache.

He walked slowly with the help of a stick so that no one could recognise him.

As he walked around, he saw many children, both young and old, playing around and disturbing other animals.

A few naughty ones tried to snatch his walking stick. Bonny was taken aback by this nasty behaviour.

“What is going on here? Why are the children behaving so badly and not in school? They are being very unkind,” he thought to himself.

He went to the palace and called Jacky jackal, the Education Minister to ask about the education system in the forest.

“My Prince, we do have a school in the forest, but no teachers are ready to teach despite us giving them high salaries.

Any teacher we hire, resigns within one week of them joining the school. The students too are not interested in studying so we had to shut down the school.”

Prince Bonny spoke to various retired teachers of the school and they too said the same thing, “There is nothing we can do. The children just do not wish to study.”

“What could possibly be the reason for the children not being interested in studies?” thought Bonny to himself.

He decided to understand the problem in-depth and asked permission from the King to do so.

Next morning, Bonny called his school friend Charlie cheetah.

Charlie had just completed his training in child psychology. He loved teaching and being with children.

Bonny requested Charlie to take over the responsibility of teaching the forest children.

The next day, Charlie reopened the school doors and got the entire school cleaned. He hired Chinki cat as an assistant.

A week passed, but no child came to school. Charlie then sent Chinki cat to meet the animals personally and find out why the children were not interested to come to school.

Chinki met and interacted with a lot of children and their parents.

“School is no fun. One has to only study and read books, memorise them and write an exam. What good is going to school then?” complained Robbie rabbit.

“And there are no games, sports, or fun activities and we have to only sit on the bench the entire time. I always have a backache after school,” added Ghazi goat.

“There is no fun during lunch either.

The food that mom prepares for us in the morning goes cold by lunchtime
and doesn’t taste good at all,” said Romi puppy.

“The children are not taught any practical skills and we want our children to know skills like plumbing, carpentry, sewing, and not textbook knowledge only,” added Romi’s father.

Chinki noted all the complaints and came back to school to discuss them with Charlie who smiled as he read all the concerns. He now understood the root cause of the problem.

After a few days, the animals of the forest were surprised to see a variety of swings on the school grounds.

Various sports equipment like balls, footballs, and cricket kits were arranged neatly in sports boxes.

A table had been arranged with colourful books and games like Carrom Board
and Ludo.

Charlie waited for the children to come to school after making all the arrangements.

A few of them circled around and looked curiously at the interesting items. They could not gather the courage to enter the school premises.

Charlie signalled Chinki who ran and kicked a football.

The football flew high and fell out of the school boundary, where Ghazi goat was standing.

“Please pass me the football, but make sure you kick it and not throw it with your hands,” said Chinki, encouraging Ghazi.

Ghazi looked around and kicked the football with all her strength.

The ball went straight inside the school. Ghazi was so thrilled, she called all her friends. Soon, a full-fledged football match started on the school premises.

It was a fun experience for all children.

Next morning, Charlie was pleased to see a few children coming to school.

He allowed them to play, paint and read stories along with studying the school subjects. Soon, the children started to enjoy coming to school.

They learnt tables in the form of songs. Lessons were taught using plays and skits.

Basic mathematics like addition and subtraction were taught by exchanging fruits among the students.

Science was explained using practical experiments while examples from real life were used to teach moral values.

Charlie asked the parents of the children to run the school kitchen for the children.

The meals were sponsored by the King who wanted the children to have fresh and nutritious food.

Soon, the school became popular and started running at full capacity.

As the number of students increased, a need for another school rose in the forest.

When Charlie went to meet Prince Bonny to open another school, Bonny asked, “How did this miracle occur, Charlie?”

“The children were always curious to learn new things. Textbook learning makes studies boring. They find education fun and interesting when practical examples are used. When we included fun activities to classroom learning, the children got interested along with adults,” explained Charlie.

Bonny was delighted to hear this. Charlie truly knew his role as a teacher was to make studies interesting.

He was appointed to handle the education department of the entire forest.

He trained many animals to his method of teaching so that all the children of the forest were happy to attend school daily.

Patty’s Pride!

Patty peacock was beautiful and he was proud of it. He looked down on everybody and talked to people impolitely because of his good looks.

All animals of the forest were troubled by his behaviour. They wished to teach him a lesson. Lola squirrel, Cheeku rabbit and Jumbo elephant called for a meeting that was attended by all animals of the forest.

“Patty’s behaviour is getting tough to handle. His pride is at its height. We should teach him a lesson,” said Lola.

“Yes, Lola is right. Patty’s ways are not right. His habits make him less friendly. We should try to explain to him without giving him any trouble,” said Jumbo.
“Patty always discourages the young ones of the forest by saying mean things to them. He is very proud of his beauty. This is not right,” said Cheeku.

All animals discussed this at length. After the discussion, they thought of a plan to help Patty.

According to their plan, a rumour was spread in the forest that a hunter entered the forest and would take with him the most beautiful animal or bird. All animals were told to be careful and stay hidden.

This news reached Patty too.

Appy ant saw him strolling and asked, “Do you know what is happening in
the forest?”

“No, I don’t. Actually, I don’t talk to any animal here. Why? What’s happening?” asked Patty.

“Oh! A fierce hunter has come into the forest. He is looking for the most beautiful animal or bird so that he can take it back with him,” informed Appy.

“What! What will happen now? I am the most beautiful animal in this forest. The hunter will surely catch me,” Patty was terrified.

“Yes! You are the most beautiful animal in this forest. That is why I thought I should tell you. See, I have nothing to worry. Hunters don’t catch ants. But you can keep yourself safe. Why don’t you ask Lola for help? She is very wise. She will find a way out,” said Appy.

Patty was scared and took Appy’s advice. He went to Lola.

“Oh Patty, what is the matter? How come you’re here so early in the morning? Is everything alright?” asked Lola when she saw Patty coming towards her.

Patty sorrowfully narrated the whole incident. “Please help me. That hunter will take me away with him,” said Patty, sobbing.

“I cannot help you. You have insulted me many times. You took pride for being beautiful and now it has become your enemy. I’m sorry, I can’t help. But Jumbo may help you,” said Lola, pretending to be angry.

Patty felt bad, but he knew that his behaviour hurt many animals. He went to Jumbo for help.

He explained his plight to Jumbo and said, “Jumbo, now only you can save me from this danger!”

Jumbo reminded him of his old behaviour and said, “Patty, you have insulted me a lot. You made fun of my long trunk and stout body. Now that you are at danger, you have come to me for help. Did you not realise then that your actions hurt so many animals and you should not behave like this?”

Patty felt sorry after hearing what Jumbo had to say. He truly had no friends. He was angry with himself and felt lonely.

He went to other animals of the forest for help, but no one was ready to help him. He went back home and sobbed.

After some time, all the animals of the forest gathered in his courtyard. Patty was startled to see them there.

“Perhaps you have learnt your lesson,” said Appy.

“What lesson? I do not understand,” said Patty.

“The rumour about the hunter is false. That was a plan to teach you a lesson and show you the true meaning of having friends,” said Jumbo.

“Yes, I know. I was too proud. I now understand that pride in one’s beauty is wrong. From now on, I won’t insult anyone and try to be a better friend to all. If possible, please forgive me,” cried Patty.

The animals forgave him and hugged him.

Surprise Birthday Party

Dadaji was visiting Aayush for his birthday. Aayush had invited all his friends to his house for a party.

Aayush introduced everyone to his grandfather and the kids played many games. After spending an enjoyable evening, they bade goodbye and left.

“Aayush, all your friends enjoyed the party. But Rohan was quiet most of the time.” Dadaji said to Aayush when they had cleared the room.

“Dadaji, Rohan’s father was a captain in the army. He was killed during the Kargil war. Since then, Rohan remains sad most of the time.”

“Oh!” said Dadaji understanding Rohan’s quietness.

“Dadaji, why was the Kargil war fought?” asked Aayush sitting down.

“In our northernmost region of Kashmir, lies the mountain of Kargil on the line of control with our neighbour, Pakistan. The Kargil War was fought in 1999 from May to July to protect the line of control. It was a very difficult terrain and our soldiers fought bravely for nearly sixty days and finally succeeded in getting back the occupied territory on the 26th of July by fighting Pakistan’s soldiers. Many lives were lost on both sides due to the war.” explained Dadaji.

He continued, “Therefore every year on 26th July we celebrate Kargil Victory Day in memory and pay homage to our brave soldiers.”

“Rohan’s dad died in this war,” said Aayush sadly and added, “Not just that, he died on the day of Rohan’s birthday, which is why Rohan does not celebrate his birthday anymore.”

“He is a young child. He must be torn between celebrating his birthday and the memory of his father,” said Dadaji thoughtfully.

“Yes. And he misses his dad very much. His mother also does not want him to celebrate his birthday,” added Aayush.

“When is Rohan’s birthday?” suddenly Dadaji asked.

“Next Monday, Dadaji,” replied Aayush.

“Alright. Let’s get a good sleep. You must be tired.” said Dadaji.

“Goodnight Dadaji!” said Aayush and went to bed.

The following Monday at Rohan’s house, his mom asked him to wear new clothes.

“Why should I wear new clothes, mom? We do not celebrate my birthday,” said Rohan, quietly looking up at his mother.

Even though Rohan did not understand what was happening, he did what his mother asked, and put on new clothes.

Just then the door bell rang and mom asked Rohan to open the door. When he opened the door, he saw Aayush’s Dadaji, Aayush and his friends standing there. They had balloons, a big cake and gifts in their hands. They all shouted together, “Happy birthday, Rohan!” Rohan did not know what to say and looked at his mother who was standing nearby smiling.

Dadaji told the children, “Come, let’s start decorating this room with balloons.” The children got busy with decorations and soon the room was ready.

“Happy Birthday, Rohan?” said Dadaji.

“But Dadaji, I do not celebrate my birthday.” replied Rohan.

“Dadaji spoke with your mom and explained her that if your dad had been here today, he would have loved to celebrate your birthday. So your mom and my Dadaji got together to arrange this surprise birthday party for you,” said Aayush.

Rohan looked at his mother with tears in his eyes. She just said, “Come, it’s time to cut the cake!”

Rohan cut the cake and the room once again was filled with wishes of “Happy birthday!” pouring in.

Annual Cycle Race!

Like every year, this year too, a cycle race was being organised in Haritvan. All participants had to get their names registered with Jumbo elephant.

Although the race was a week away, Rohan rabbit, Bholu bear, Dumpy monkey and Chunky donkey had got their names registered.

Chunky was taking part in the race for the first time. Rohan, Bholu and Dumpy had been taking part in it every year.

All of them, except Chunky, owned racing cycles.

Last year Rohan had won the race. This year too, he was confident of his victory. He had the best racing cycle in all of Haritvan, as his was from abroad.

Chunky was worried as his cycle had become old and rusty. Although, he had registered himself, he realised that he had no chance of winning the race with his old cycle.

All of his friends gathered at the Haritvan field in the evening for practice and preparation.

When Chunky reached the field, he found Rohan and Dumpy already practicing.

Chunky too joined them. But when they saw his old cycle, they started laughing at him.

“Chunky, your cycle should be put up as an antique in the museum. How do you expect to win with this junk cycle?” said Rohan.

“If you take my advice, Chunky, you should withdraw your name from the race. One needs a good racing cycle like ours to win the cycle race,” advised Dumpy.

Chunky was hurt but held back his tears. He left the field and quietly went back home. As soon as he entered the house, he dropped his cycle on the floor angrily and sat on his chair, crying.

When his mother saw him crying, she came up to him and asked, “What happened Chunky? Why are you crying?”

Chunky shared everything with his mother and asked her for a new cycle for the competition.

Chunky’s mum stroked his hair fondly and said, “Chunky, you know right now, we do not have enough money to buy a new cycle. As far as participating in a race goes, you can do that on your old cycle as well. You can win with it too.”

“Don’t give me false hopes, mum. How can I compete with Rohan and Dumpy’s new cycles with my old rickety cycle?” said Chunky, drying his tears.

“Don’t worry if your cycle is not new. Practice regularly. You still have a week before the race. Don’t pay any attention when Rohan and Dumpy tease you. Concentrate on practising,” said Chunky’s mum.

“We can spend some money and get your cycle repaired by a good mechanic,” his mum added.

The next day Chunky took his cycle to the mechanic who put oil in the chains, changed its gears, and gave it a polish.

Chunky’s cycle looked good and rode smoothly. Chunky started his practice with determination.

Every day, he spent two hours cycling around the ground. At first he would get tired easily but slowly, his stamina built and he was able to take many rounds of the field without getting tired.

Rohan, Bholu and Dumpy were full of confidence of their racing cycles. They did not practice much. Every evening they turned up at the field, but instead of practicing, they just sat there gossiping and laughed at Chunky.

Chunky did not pay attention to their comments and just kept cycling.

On the day of the race, the participants stood on the start line. Chunky was quiet while Rohan, Dumpy and Bholu, boasted of their sure-shot victory.

Cheetah Singh whistled and waved to start the race.

Rohan shot like an arrow and was soon ahead of all.

Just behind him were Dumpy and Bholu with Chunky coming in last.

But a little ahead, Rohan’s cycle started giving trouble and he got down to try to set it right.

Now Dumpy was in the lead. Bholu and Chunky followed him.

Chunky’s mother was there to see the race. She kept encouraging her son, “Well done Chunky! Keep on Chunky!”

After three rounds, Dumpy and Bholu started getting tired and they slowed down.

Chunky, because of his training, kept on cycling and left the others behind, and won the race easily.

Sheru lion went on to the stage and said, “The winner of today’s race is Chunky. Not only did he win the race, but has completed it in the shortest time, setting a new history in the cycling history of Haritvan. He gets a special award along with his trophy.”

Chunky went on the stage with a big smile on his face. He was thrilled when he was presented a brand new racing cycle along with the trophy. King Sheru asked him to speak a few words.

“I won the race because of my mother. If she had not encouraged me, I would not have taken part in the race, because my cycle was old and rusty. I felt I would not win the race on it. But my mother explained to me that to win a race, we need hard work and practice, and that is why I dedicate this to her.”

All the animals cheered him and his mother was very proud and happy for him.

Clever Rizo!

Rizo mouse was returning home. On the roadside, Coco cat was walking with a limp.

“I have sprained my ankle. Will you please help me walk to my house?” Coco requested Rizo.

“I don’t trust cats. What if you eat me?” Rizo said, walking away quickly.

“Oh, kind mouse! Please don’t be afraid. I have stopped eating mice. I am a vegetarian. My ankle is sprained and I am unable to walk. It would be very kind of you to help me walk to my house,” said Coco with an innocent face.

Rizo felt pity for Coco and decided to help her reach home.

After reaching home, Coco smiled and said, “Thank you for your help! You must be exhausted with the heat outside. Come inside and have a cool drink. You’ll be refreshed.”

Since Rizo’s mouth was dry, he agreed and went inside the house with Coco.

She got a glass of cool drink from the kitchen.

After having the drink, Rizo was ready to leave. Suddenly, his head began to spin and he fell down.

Waking up, he found himself inside a wooden rat cage. On one side of the cage was a little door. On the other side, there was an iron net. Besides him, there were two other rats inside the cage.

After a while, the door opened and Coco entered the room. “This cat cheated and trapped me,” Rizo murmured to himself.

Looking at Rizo through the iron net, Coco made a frightening face and said, “To trap clever mice like you, I have to take the path of cheating. Otherwise, what will I eat? I will die of starvation.”

“I made a mistake in trusting you,” said Rizo.

“A cat and a mouse can never be friends. Who makes the mistake has to suffer! Sit here and count your days. I am travelling for two days. On returning, I will eat you as my delicious meal,” said Coco and threatened the mice with her sharp claws.

Coco opened the cage’s door and slid a bowl of water and bread inside.

“I am keeping the food here so that you don’t die out of hunger and thirst,” and Coco locked the door and walked away.

The other two trapped mice were Kukoo and Neeloo. They too had been cheated and tricked by Coco.

“There is no point in crying over what has happened. We have to find a way to get out of this cage. We only have two days,” Rizo said to Kukoo and Neeloo.

“It is impossible to get out of this cage,” said Neeloo.

“Yes, even I have tried several times. My teeth can’t even drill this wooden door,” Kukoo added.

Rizo looked at the two mice and said, “Look, friends, the three of us must find a way out of this trap. Otherwise, the evil cat will eat us.”

They began thinking of ways to escape.

Rizo used a lot of force and tried to break the door of the cage. However, it was sturdy and did not break. Besides, there was also a lock at the door. All his efforts were in vain.

Just then, the bowl of water caught Rizo’s attention. He observed the bowl carefully. The bowl was old. Its surface had a lot of lines and there was a crack in it.

Rizo picked the bowl and started to break it with his sharp teeth. Kukoo and Neeloo stared at him.

After a while, Rizo succeeded in breaking the bowl into two pieces. He then picked up a piece to use it like a knife. He held the smooth edge and placed the sharp end on the other side of the iron net.

“Now, I will try and cut the iron net with the help of these pieces. If we take it step by step, we will be able to cut the net in a short while,” Rizo explained and handed one piece to Kukoo. They began to tear away the net.

When Kukoo got tired, Neeloo took over. And like this, the three mice took turns in cutting the net of the cage.

After a few hours, there was a slight tear in the net.

“Hurray! Friends, we are making progress. Just a few more turns and we will be free from this cage,” Rizo encouraged Kukoo and Neeloo.

The three continued to cut the iron net.

After a few hours, the net had been torn from one corner.

Rizo bent the torn portion with his paws. There was enough space to get out of the cage. First, Kukoo came out, then Neeloo followed and at last, Rizo came out.

Coming out of the cage, the three mice breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now, let’s move out before Coco returns,” Kukoo said.

They spotted a small window-like opening at the top of the room and the three climbed up and escaped.

Coming out of Coco’s home, Neeloo and Kukoo thanked Rizo, “We were able to escape the cage only because of your cleverness. If you hadn’t been there, we would have died.”

“I would not have been able to cut the net alone. Both of you helped me because of which we were we able to escape the cage. This is the victory of our unity and hard work,” said Rizo and smiled.

The three pledged to never trust a cat again and walked towards their homes.

Rina Learns A Lesson

Rina’s dad worked at a bank and was transferred to a small city. As her annual examinations were over, Rina too went to the new city with them and her parents took her admission in a school there.

The infrastructure of the new school was not as modern as her old school’s, though the teachers and education was up to the mark.

On her first day, after returning from school, Rina threw her bag on the sofa and said angrily, “I’m not going to this school from tomorrow!”

“But why? Today was just the first day!” asked mom.

“I don’t like the school nor do I like the students!” she said angrily.

“Rina, you shouldn’t judge people so quickly, before you get to know them. You may make friends here too,” explained mom.

“Huh!” said Rina, and stomped to her room.

Rina was a smart kid, but she could not bring herself to like the new school. She thought that the students here were less than her in the way they spoke, the clothes they wore—in every way.

She wouldn’t mingle with them. She was too proud of her knowledge and intelligence and became a nuisance in class, always looking for weaknesses in others and making fun of them.

The other students avoided her because of her behaviour. Even though the class teacher advised her to make friends, she turned a deaf ear to him.

At home, mom explained, “You shouldn’t look down upon others. Everyone is different and special in their own way.” But nothing could convince Rina to change her behaviour.

A few months later, the school arranged a visit to a historical site, a few hours away from the city. Rina too, put her name upon the insistence of her parents.

The bus left at eight o’clock in the morning with two teachers and students. All the students were excited about the trip and were laughing and talking amongst themselves, except Rina.

After they reached the spot, they all had their breakfast and trekked to see the fort.

As per the teacher’s instructions, they all walked in small groups. Only Rina walked alone.

The rains had started and the hilly region had become moist. Rina was admiring the greenery around when her foot hit a boulder and she tripped and fell.

The students closest to her rushed to help. Her face and head were bleeding. The teachers too came to help her. Some of the students ran and got the first-aid box from the bus. One of the teachers applied to medicine, put a bandage on her wound and asked her to rest in the bus.

Rina was sad because her trip was ruined, and because she was hurt, her eyes
started watering.

After the students came back, they all had their lunch and the bus started its return journey.

Seeing Rina quiet and upset, the other students told her stories about the fort, and asked if she wanted water. One of them told her many jokes to make her laugh. They all looked after her and Rina now regretted her behaviour. She had wasted a lot of time without making friends because of her pride.

After the bus reached school, everyone headed for home. When Rina reached home, she told her mom everything.

Two days later when Rina went back to school, she could not see eye-to-eye with anyone. She quietly sat at her desk. During lunch break, she took her tiffin-box and went to a small group of friends who were surprised to see her approach them.

“I’m so sorry for how I’ve behaved with all of you. Please forgive me. Can I sit with you for lunch?” she asked.

They were stunned for a moment, but then welcomed her warmly and joined as if nothing happened before. Rina was overjoyed because she had made many friends today.

She returned home and told her Mom about her new friends. Ma too was happy seeing the change in her daughter’s behaviour.

A Lesson Learnt

Cheeku rabbit, Meeku mouse and Jumpy monkey were having lunch in their classroom.

“Wow Meeku! The kachoris you bought for lunch are tasty!” said Cheeku, munching on the piece.

“My mother cooked these. She packed enough for all of us,’’ said Meeku, delighted.

Just then Baddy fox passed that way. “What’s that aroma?” sniffed Baddy. He glanced in the direction of the trio. They quickly tried to hide their lunch boxes. But it was too late.

“Hey Meeku, don’t hide your lunch box. Kachoris are my favourite!” said the sly fox, quickly swooping into Meeku’s lunch box.

“Baddy! You cannot snatch someone’s lunch without asking first. It’s not good manners!” said Jumpy.

“Snatch?” mocked a shameless Baddy. “I would never use my strength against my dear friends.”

He dipped his paw into Meeku’s lunch box again for another helping of kachoris.

The three friends felt helpless and angry.

Baddy was a greedy fox. Often, he helped himself to the lunch of others. Yet, no one had the courage to utter a word to him.

Many of the students had complained about his behaviour to the school authorities. But he never tried to mend his ways. He was turning more troublesome by the day.

“Baddy’s behaviour is terrible. I find it rude!’’ said Cheeku.

“Yes, we have had enough of his bad behaviour,” said Jumpy, agreeing with Cheeku.“But, what can we do?”

“Let’s teach him a lesson,” said Jumpy.

He quickly gathered his friends around and whispered a plan.

The next day, they sat in class with their lunch boxes spread out in front. They waited for Baddy to walk into the trap.

As soon as they spotted Baddy approaching, Cheeku began munching a paratha. “Jumpy, this paratha is very tasty!” said Cheeku, between mouthfuls.

“Yes, this is the most delicious paratha I have tasted by far!” said Meeku as he licked his lips.

Hearing this, Baddy’s mouth started to water. He grabbed a paratha from Jumpy’s lunchbox. “Let me taste these delicious parathas too!” he said.

He gobbled up the first paratha and then reached for the second. That’s when things went crazy.

“Oh! It’s spicy! My tongue is on fire! Give me some water! Please!” begged Baddy. He had tears in his eyes.

“Here, Baddy,’’ replied Meeku, handing him a water bottle.

Baddy gulped the water. Little did he know that it was laced with chilli powder.

Now Baddy was huffing and puffing.

“What did you offer me?” said Baddy, panting heavily. “Someone please give me some water. My mouth is on fire!’’

“No, Baddy!” replied Cheeku, “You snatch our food without the least concern. Now, enjoy the fruits of your actions.’’

The rest of the class gathered around Cheeku and nodded in agreement.

“I am sorry! I promise to never take anyone’s lunch again!” cried Baddy.

Cheeku gave Baddy a box of sweets and a glass of chilled water. “You must stop snatching food from others, Baddy,” said Cheeku.

Baddy felt relieved after drinking the water and eating the sweets. He then apologised to his classmates.

He vowed never to take what did not belong to him.

From that day on, the three friends never had to worry about Baddy stealing their lunch again.

Owlie Finds a Home

“Who is making noises here? Let me sleep,” said an irritated Owlie.

Upon hearing Owlie’s voice, all the birds started looking here and there. Just then, Merlin, the mynah noticed Owlie.

“Look at this owl. He didn’t even take our permission before sleeping here,” said Merlin.

“We cannot let him stay here,” said Gini, the sparrow.

“Let’s throw him out of here,” said the other birds collectively.

“No, let’s not ask him to leave now. Owls can’t see in the morning. We should tell him to leave in the night,” Coco, the parrot explained to the other birds.

“All right then. But if he doesn’t leave by night, it will not be good,” all the birds said and got back to doing their daily chores.

Owlie thanked Coco and slept off. Owlie slept the whole day, but he was feeling sick. He was afraid that once all the birds come back to their nest, they would ask him to leave. So, he quietly hid behind the leaves.

Fearless Mongoo Gets a New Home

Soon the birds were returned home. Nobody noticed Owlie. They thought he was gone. Everybody got inside their own nests.

It was night and all the birds were about to sleep. Just then, Gini’s little baby was bitten by ants. The little sparrow was so scared that she went out of her nest. Gini got worried and started calling out for help. All the birds came to help. As it was dark, nobody could find Gini’s baby.

“Gini, we will not be able to do anything right now because it’s dark. Let’s try in the morning,” the dejected group of birds said.

“But the wild animals might harm my baby in the night. I can’t leave her alone,” Gini said.

“You’re right, Gini, but we’re all helpless,” Merlin said.

Upon hearing that, Gini was very disappointed. All the birds quietly went inside their nests.

Owlie who was hiding behind the leaves, all this while, felt relieved.

Just then, he heard the leaves move. He noticed that a small sparrow was sitting on a branch and shivering in cold.

“Oh, I think, she is Gini, the sparrow’s baby, who everyone was looking for,” Owlie thought.

“What are you doing here? Go back to your nest?” Owlie told the little sparrow.

But she did not move and kept trembling.

“Look, I know that you’re scared of the dark. I’ll help you, come with me,” Owlie said. But the little sparrow refused to move and kept sitting on the branch. Owlie thought it wouldn’t be safe to leave the little one alone, so he decided to stay with her. He stayed with her all night long and took care of her.

Next morning, the little sparrow got back to her nest. She narrated everything to her mother and Gini was relieved.

“Is Owlie still here? We need to talk to him,” Gini said.

“You’re still here? Did you think if you hide behind the leaves, we will not be able to find you?” Merlin asked Owlie.

Coco Learns A Lesson

“I am sorry! I was not well last night. I promise to leave today,” a scared Owlie said.

“Where will you go from here?” Coco asked.

“Wherever I get a place to stay,” Owlie said.

“But we will not let you leave this place,” Coco said.

“What do you mean?” Owlie asked.

“Yes, you will stay with us from now on. We don’t want to lose somebody who helped us. We all know what happened last night,” Coco said.

Owlie’s face lit up in happiness, and everyone was happy to have Owlie with them. They all lived on the tree happily.

Coco Learns A Lesson

“Oh my, look at all the idlis and dosas over there. Are you ready to have the feast of your life?” Coco, the crow asked his wife, Kiki, as he looked down at the idli stall from a tree.

Just as he was about to swoop down on the stall, his wife stopped him and said, “We’ve been here a few and I noticed that this city is full of mice and other little animals for us to eat. Do we really e really need to spend our days stealing food from the humans when we could feast on all the food we hunt? Besides, what if the humans caught us stealing?”

“Listen, your words have no effect on me. Whether it’s a mouse or free food, I still put in the effort of going and getting it. If you’d rather starve, then be my guest. Just don’t make me feel bad when I work hard to fill my stomach,” said Coco and swooped down.

Sonu’s Ball

A man had just purchased a plate of hot idlis and was having them with sambar. Coco flew past him and in a flash, grabbed an idly with his beak and flew away. The man and all the other people standing nearby were dumbfounded and simply stared at Coco as he perched on a tree and ate the idli.

Kiki shook her head as she watched Coco eat the idli. “It’s not nice to eat food that’s stolen from another,” she said.

“You worry too much,” said Coco after finishing his meal. “Let’s go to the market.

I hear there’s a store called Kallu’s Sweets and that their rasagullas are the best.”

“You’ll never change,” said Kiki, shaking her head. She reached into her back and fished out a golden crown. Placing it on top of her head, Kiki began admiring herself in a pocket mirror.

“Where did you get that from?” asked Coco curiously.

“I was down by the lake, looking for some food and I found this under a tree,” Kiki said.

“Well, I must say, you look fabulous in it. It really brings out your eyes,” said Coco.

Together, the two crows flew back home for the night. Early the next day, Coco was ready to raid Kallu’s sweet shop. Despite Kiki clearly telling him that she wasn’t interested, Coco insisted that she accompany him.

They perched on a lamppost just outside the shop and Coco keenly observed what was going on at Kallu’s shop.

“It looks like Kallu has placed all the rasagullas in that drum full of sugar syrup. I’ll wait here until the moment is right. When Kallu is busy with something else, I’ll swoop down and grab the biggest rasagulla. In a few minutes later, we’ll be enjoying the most delicious meal of our lives,” said Coco.

Even though Kiki tried to dissuade him, Coco was determined to make his plan work. In just a few minutes, the perfect moment had arrived and Coco swooped down towards the rasagullas.

Coco perched on the edge of the drum full of rasagullas and was about to pick out the biggest piece he could see. Sadly, Kallu noticed Coco trying to steal a rasagulla.

Kallu reached for a ladle nearby and in one swift move, threw it at Coco. Coco was a little too slow to realise what was happening and the ladle hit him squarely in the face.

Both the ladle and Coco landed noisily on the sweet shop’s floor. Kallu stepped out from behind the counter and approached Coco.

When Kiki saw Coco fall to the floor, she was shocked. She saw everything that had happened and knew that if she didn’t act fast, her husband would be in some serious trouble. She swooped down from the lamppost and into Kallu’s shop. Fishing out the crown from her bag, she threw it at Kallu. The golden crown caught his eye and he immediately jumped at it.

More from Champak: Fearless Mongoo Gets a New Home

Kiki swiftly landed near Coco and helped him up and the two of them flew away to the safety of the shop’s terrace.

“Thank you for saving my life, Kiki,” said Coco. “If only I had paid heed when you warned me of stealing. If I had agreed to hunt for our food like you had suggested, not only would I have not been hit by a ladle, but you would also still have your crown. Please forgive me.”

“Don’t worry, Coco,” said Kiki. “I’m glad that you’re not hurt and that this turned out to be a learning experience for you.”

Having learnt his lesson, Coco gave Kiki a hug, and the two flew off to hunt for food.

The Mystery of the WATERMELONS

In the forest of Champakvan, Jumpy, the monkey sold watermelons every summer. His watermelons were bright red, juicy and sweet, but for some reason, things looked bleak this summer.

Not only did he not have as big a yield as last year, his watermelons didn’t taste as nice as they did last year.

Jumpy’s friend, Cheeku, the rabbit munched on a watermelon and said, “Your watermelons this year aren’t quite as nice as the ones you had last year.”

“You’re right,” said Jumpy. “It’s giving me sleepless nights. If my watermelons are going to taste like this, nobody is going to come to my shop. I’ll barely be able to make any money.”

Right next to Jumpy’s store, Baddy, the fox had opened his store. He had opened it only a few days after Jumpy had opened his for the season and had placed red, juicy watermelons on display.

The mere sight of these watermelons made all the animals’ mouths water and they all lined up in front of Baddy’s store for some.

The Proud Watermelon

“Your watermelons are so tasty, Baddy,” said Meenu, the cow.

“Thank you, Meenu. I had them imported from another forest. That’s why they taste so good,” said Baddy.

Even Kamli, the camel couldn’t help but praise Baddy’s watermelons. “Juicy watermelons like these are just what the doctor ordered for this heat. I have never tasted such nice watermelons in my life.”

Soon, all the praise led to lots of customers for Baddy. His watermelons were the perfect treat for the hot, sunny days and his business was doing very well. Sadly, this was eating into Jumpy’s business and only Jumpy’s friends came to his shop.

The next day, Cheeku came to Jumpy’s shop. “Why don’t you try importing your watermelons like Baddy?” he asked Jumpy.

“That sounds like a very good idea. If I keep trying to sell these watermelons, I’ll never be able to make any money at all. I’ll go ask Baddy where he gets his watermelons from tomorrow,” said Jumpy.

The next morning, Jumpy asked Baddy where he bought his watermelons. “No way am I going to tell you,” said Baddy immediately. “If I did, you’ll take away all my customers.”

Jumpy was disappointed that Baddy didn’t want to help, but he was determined to find out where the watermelons came from. So, Jumpy started keeping a close eye on Baddy.

A few days later, Jumpy came running to Cheeku’s house. When Jumpy told Cheeku what he had seen, Cheeku was left speechless.

The next day, Cheeku and Jumpy went to Baddy’s shop. They ordered two watermelons and started eating them. As they enjoyed the watermelons, Jumbo, the elephant came to meet them.

“It’s so hot, Jumbo. Would you mind spraying us with some water from your trunk?” asked Cheeku.

Jumbo put his trunk in a bucket of water and sprayed all the water on Baddy’s shop. As soon as the water splashed on the watermelons, they began to lose their colour. Red colour began to flow down to the ground and all the watermelons looked pretty bad.

“What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to sabotage me?” asked Baddy.

“This is us exposing you to the forest as a cheater!” said Cheeku.

Turning to Meenu, Cheeku said, “If you don’t mind, Ma’am, could you please sample some of Baddy’s watermelons?”

Meenu took one bite and spat it out. “These watermelons taste terrible,” she said.

“Exactly,” said Cheeku. “He’s been injecting the watermelons with red colour and sugar syrup. He’s been cheating you all.”

“That’s a lie! I’m being framed,” cried Baddy.

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“Then how do you explain what I saw? I followed you home last night. After closing your shop, you went straight to Blacky, the bear’s shop and bought some sugar and red colouring. Then late at night, when no one else was around, you came back to your shop and one by one injected all the watermelons with sugar syrup and red colouring. I’ve been observing you for a few days. To teach you a lesson and let the other animals know that you’ve been cheating them, I came up with this plan with Cheeku and Jumbo,” said Jumpy.

Now that everybody was aware of his plan, Baddy decided to make a run for it. But, he wasn’t fast enough and the crowd was too thick for him to make his way out. Jumbo picked him up with his trunk brought him back to the shop.

Baddy was trembling in fear. “Please forgive me. I only did it because my crop of watermelons had come out badly this year. I just wanted to make them taste juicy. I promise to never do this again,” said Baddy.

It seemed like Baddy had learnt his lesson. Jumpy asked Jumbo to let Baddy go. Baddy apologised to all the animals and ran away from the forest.

Clever Cheeku

Champakvan was going through a massive heatwave. The sun beat down upon the earth, making it terribly hot. It felt as if the animals were living in a furnace. As a result, all the animals spent most of the day indoors and only ventured out in the evenings. The evenings were no cool dip in the pond either. The ground was still as hot as before, but the shade under the trees made life a little better.

Over the years, the summers were getting worse. This year was the hottest, and every evening, all the animals would plan for the next day.

Meeku, the mouse stepped out to stock up supplies for the next day. As he was walking around, looking for some food, he saw that his friend Cheeku, the rabbit was digging a hole.

Meeku found this to be very strange. While the rest of the forest was looking for supplies to last them the next day, Cheeku seemed to be wasting his time digging. After some debate, Meeku decided to go over to Cheeku and find out what he was doing.

Saving Rainwater

“What are you doing, Cheeku?” asked Meeku.

“Digging a hole of course,” said Cheeku.

“I can see that, but what are you digging?”

“A lake,” said Cheeku, continuing to dig.

“You’re joking right?” asked Meeku. “The entire forest is reeling under the heat of the summer and instead of gathering supplies for tomorrow, you’re digging a hole? Why are you doing such a silly thing?” Meeku burst into laughter.

“It is not silly. I’m very serious about digging a lake,” said Cheeku. Meeku stopped laughing

“What’s the matter, Cheeku? What’s wrong with our lake?” asked Meeku.

“Our lake is fine for now, but do you realise that every year, just after the summer, we face a severe water shortage? I’m digging this lake so that there will be enough water for all of us,” said Cheeku.

“I don’t understand one thing though,” said Meeku. “How do you intend to fill this lake up?” “With rainwater of course. Every year when it rains, we let so much water go to waste. In fact, my plan is to dig a pit near my house and send all the water from the drains of my terrace to this pit,” said Cheeku.

“What for?” asked Meeku.

“This will raise the water table and recharge the groundwater instead of letting all the rainwater flow away back to the ocean. Imagine if we saved all that water, we’d never have to worry about going thirsty ever again,” said Cheeku.

“Hmm, you make a good point. But do you really think you’ll be able to finish digging before the rains start?” asked Meeku.

More from Champak: Where Are The Rains?

“No, I don’t think so, but if you work hard now, you can reap the rewards later,” said Cheeku.

Meeku was deeply moved by Cheeku’s actions. After gathering all his supplies for the next day, Meeku came to Cheeku and said, “I would like to help you with your cause. You seem to be doing something great and I want to be a part of it.”

Cheeku was very happy to see that Meeku was also interested and together they began to dig.

Blacky, the bear and Jumpy, the monkey, who were passing by, stopped when they saw Cheeku and Meeku hard at work. “What are you guys doing?” they asked.

When Meeku and Cheeku explained, Blacky and Jumpy wanted to help too. Each grabbed a pickaxe and helped loosen the soil for Meeku and Cheeku to dig. Jumbo, the elephant joined in as well and started digging. Soon, the word spread across the forest and animals joined in from far and wide. Even the King of the jungle, Shersingh, the lion was there.

Seeing all the animals working together, Shersingh said, “Looks like next year we’ll have enough water to last us more than a year. All the rainwater will no longer go to waste.”

However, Jumpy had something to say, “Cheeku has started a good thing, but this is only to save water. What will we do about the heat that rises every day? We won’t be able to escape this heat just by digging.” All animals started thinking the same.

Teetu, the butterfly chimed in, “We can plant more and more trees, and this will bring down the heat. We should get started now.”

Cheeku then said excitedly, “Yes! This is a good idea. Before today, all we did was talk about bringing change, but from now on we will dig for water and also plant trees sincerely. This will help reduce the heat.”

After listening to him, all the animals became excited as they had got the solutions to all their problems. All of them started working enthusiastically towards these solutions.

Dr Jeru Giraffe

Dr Jeru Giraffe practised medicine at Champakvan. He was a surgeon and would perform complicated surgeries. Animals would come from faraway places to be treated by Dr Jeru. But, as talented as he was, Dr Jeru was also absent-minded.

One morning, Jumbo, the elephant came in for an appendix operation. He was taken to the operation theatre for surgery before being shifted to the ward. It was only at lunch that one of the doctors asked Dr Jeru what happened to his ring.

Dr Jeru realized that the ring he always wore on his finger was missing. He searched his office, his bag and even his pockets before realizing that he had left it inside Jumbo while he was operating. Jumbo was rushed back to the OT and the ring was retrieved. Fortunately, Jumbo was still under anaesthesia and didn’t remember a thing.

The Greatest Treasure

If you thought that was the end of that story, Jumbo was back in a couple of days with a stomach ache. Dr Jeru was worried that he might have left something else behind. He took an X-ray and realized that he had left the scissors he used to cut the stitches inside him.

Jumbo was rushed to the OT once again and the scissors were quickly removed. Jumbo was shifted back to the ward. He sat in his bed and wondered how much the hospital bills were going to come up to when his phone started ringing.

Jumbo reached into his pocket and pulled it out to answer, but his phone wasn’t ringing. Yet, he could hear the sound of ringing phone loud and clear. Jumbo decided that he was just tired and turned in for the night.

Unfortunately, Jumbo woke up every five minutes to the sound of a ringing phone. It was only at two in the morning that Jumbo finally fell asleep. But three hours later, he woke up to the sound of an alarm.

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The lack of sleep and the ringing alarm had driven Jumbo crazy and Jumbo ran along the corridors waking everybody up. Dr Jeru calmed him down and Jumbo explained what was happening. Dr Jeru slapped his forehead.

“Jumbo, I think we’ll have to take you in for another operation,” said Dr Jeru. “I think it’s my phone that’s been ringing. I may have left it inside you.”

Jumbo was prepped once again and as he was about to be given anaesthesia, he said, “Doctor, maybe you shouldn’t put stitches this time.”

“Why do you say that?” Dr Jeru asked.

“Every time you stitch me up, you have to open me up again. It’s painful. I was hoping you could install a zipper instead,” said Jumbo.

Dr Jeru laughed and apologised to Jumbo for all the trouble. “This time I’ll be extra careful,” he said. “Also, because I’ve caused you a lot of trouble, I promise not to charge you for your stay here.”

Jumbo was relieved and as he fell asleep because of the anaesthesia, there was a big smile on his face.

BRILLIANT BLACKY

Blacky, the bear, loved weekends. Weekends meant a trip to his grandma’s house. He liked to walk through the woods to reach his grandma’s house. Little birds and honey bees used to greet him on the way. He always carried some homemade goodies for his grandma. Blacky’s mother used to bake some cakes or cookies and give them to Blacky to take to Grandma. He used to spend the night at his grandma’s house and then come home the next morning. He liked to listen to grandma’s funny stories and play with the rabbits who lived near her house.

The much-awaited weekend came, and Blacky finished his homework as soon as he got home from school so that he could be completely free for two days.

Baddy Steals The Show

Blacky’s mom called out, “Blacky, I have kept some honey buns for grandma. Take them with you when you go, and give my love to grandma. Come soon tomorrow. We are going out for a birthday party.”

Blacky said, “Ok, mom. I will come soon. Don’t worry.” He took the basket of honeybuns and filled his water bottle, and started to walk towards the woods. It was quite a distance but Blacky loved to walk instead of going by cycle. It was a sunny morning and he stopped to watch the tailor bird weaving its nest. Then, he came across two deer playing hide and seek. The elephants were bathing in the river and Blacky waved to them. They too waved back.

After walking for half-an-hour, he felt tired and sat under a tree to rest. The cuckoo bird who lived in that tree was singing a melodious tune. Blacky drank some water from his bottle and settled for a small nap. Soon, he was asleep.

Baddy, the fox, was watching Blacky from behind a tree. Seeing him asleep, he came near him. Baddy’s mouth watered as he could sniff the sweet smell of honeybuns coming from Blacky. He crept up to Blacky and took the basket of honeybuns. He went behind a bush and opened the basket. The honeybuns were very delicious and he ate them all. Then, he took some grass and hay and filled the basket. He kept it near Blacky and left the place.

After some time, Blacky woke up and rushed to reach his grandma’s house in time. His grandma greeted him with a warm smile and gave him strawberry milkshake. Blacky said to his grandma, “Grandma, open the basket and see what I have brought for you.”

Grandma opened to find only grass and hay. She was disappointed. So was Blacky. He said, “Oh, my! I had brought honeybuns for you, Grandma. I do not know what happened. I am very sorry.”

His grandma said, “Don’t worry my child. Come and play with your friends. They are waiting for you.” Blacky went to play with Cheeku, Meeku, and all his other friends and had a good time at his grandma’s house, but at the back of his mind, he was always worried about what had happened to the honeybuns. Blacky left for his home the next day.

More from Champak: The Night Ghost

Next week, Blacky carried some grapes in a tiffin box but the grapes were replaced by pebbles by the time he reached his grandma’s house. Another time, Blacky took some cookies but found only rotten eggs on reaching grandma’s place. Blacky realized then that someone must be replacing his basket of goodies when he takes his nap on the way to his grandma’s house. So, Blacky decided that he would plan a trick to catch the thief in action.

The next time he was going to his grandma’s house, he took some mango juice in a bottle and added a lot of chilly powder to it. Before his usual nap, he said loudly, “I hope grandma likes the delicious mango juice that I have gotten for her this time.” Then, he fell asleep.

Baddy, who was waiting for Blacky to come and fall asleep so he could steal his goodies, heard this. He hurriedly stole the basket and drank the juice inside in one gulp but soon his mouth and throat started burning. He started howling badly. Hearing the noise, Blacky opened his eyes and caught hold of the fox. He dragged Baddy all the way to his grandma’s house, and told her, “See, grandma, this is the thief who has been stealing all the goodies meant for you!”

Blacky’s grandma congratulated Blacky on figuring out a smart way to catch the thief, and called the Police to come and take Baddy to his parent’s house so that he could get a scolding. Blacky never had any problems bringing goodies to his grandma ever again.

Billy’s Bad Mood

Billy, the ball had been missing all morning and Bittu, the bat was growing worried. The players would be here soon and they’ll need Billy for their practice session.

Bittu looked everywhere; in the kit bags, in the lockers and even the washrooms. But, Billy was nowhere to be seen.

Bittu walked around the dressing room looking for him. He saw the stumps sleeping the corner and asked them if they had seen Billy.

Opening one sleepy eye each, they said, “He should be around here somewhere,” and went back to sleep. The long hours playing day-night matches had left the stumps exhausted and Bittu decided to let them rest.

Gol Guttam Lakkad bottom

He saw one of the players’ pads on a table and asked them if they had seen Billy. “We saw him heading to the stadium,” they said.

Bittu looking in the field and couldn’t find Billy anywhere. As he walked around the boundary, his face lit up. In a ditch almost completely hidden from view, was Billy. He looked like he was hiding from something.

Bittu walked up to him and said, “Hey Billy, what are you doing down there? The players will be here soon and will need us for practice.”

“I’m not coming for practice today,” said Billy. There was sadness in his voice.

“Why? What’s the matter Billy?” asked Bittu.

“As a ball, I feel nobody gives me the respect I deserve,” said Billy.

“What made you feel this way?” asked Bitty, a little concerned.

“When I was hit into the stands last night, I heard some people talking.

They said they’d hate to be a cricket ball because it’s the worst job. They said that all a cricket ball does is get beaten up. The fielders keep tossing me around from one place to another and nobody really appreciates my contributions,” said Billy. “This is why I have decided to stop playing cricket.”

“Oh, so that’s what’s happening,” said Bittu, with a smile.

“Here I am telling you my troubles and you’re smiling?” asked Billy.

“I’m sorry Billy, I was just smiling at your innocence,” said Bittu. To tell you the truth, cricket wouldn’t exist without you. You may be small in size, but all eyes are always on you. All the players are always running behind you and only you can make the crowd go wild.”

More from Champak: Cotton Football

“What do you mean?” asked Billy.

“When the bowler sneaks you past the bat and you hit the stumps, the crowd cheers. The same thing happens when you get hit over the boundary,” said Bittu.

“About that, I just remembered that I’m mad at you too. You keep hitting me all the time,” complained Billy.

“I’m so sorry Billy,” said Bittu. “I never mean to hit you on purpose. Besides, even though we may be on opposite teams on the field, off the field we’re best of friends.”

Billy felt a little better now and realized that being a cricket ball wasn’t as bad as he thought. He jumped out of the ditch and went back to the dressing room with Bittu.

Devil in Disguise

In the forest of Champakvan lived Cheeku and Meeku. They were the best of friends. While Cheeku was bright and knew no fear, Meeku, over the days had grown lazy and wasn’t as brave as Cheeku. Nevertheless, they played together every day. Their arch rival was a fox. He’d always try to catch Cheeku and Meeku, but Cheeku would always foil his plans. But the fox refused to accept defeat.

One day, the fox dressed up like a saint and walked up to Cheeku and Meeku.

“Where are you going, children?” he asked them.

The Bushy Trap

Cheeku immediately understood that this was just another ploy to catch them. But, he decided to play along. With his hands joined and his head bowed in respect, Cheeku replied, “We’re off to play sir. But why are you dressed this way?”

With the deep sigh, the fox replied, “I have done a lot of bad things in my life. I want to make amends. This is why I have decided to live life as an ascetic and help the little animals of the forest.”

While Cheeku saw through the foxes plan, Meeku was fooled.

“You seem like a weak little mouse,” said the fox, turning to Meeku. “I have the recipe for an amazing tonic that will make you big and strong.”

“Is this tonic the secret behind your strength? ” asked Meeku.

“That’s right my child,” said the fox. “I’d love to share some with you, but I’ve left it at home. Would you like to come to my home with me? I have an extra bottle just for you.”

More from Champak: Cheeku and Meeku are Sitting Under A Tree

Meeku was ready to go, but Cheeku spoke before him and said, “We’d love to. But we can’t come with you until you prove to us that you drink this tonic too.”

The fox was in a fix. Unless he did as Cheeku says, they would never come with him to his house. As he wondered what his options were, Cheeku said, “Do you see that tree over there? If you can touch it and come back before I count to ten, we’ll come with you.”

The fox was relieved. He was glad it was something so simple. “A little exercise before a meal is good for you,” he said to himself and took off. The long, flowing clothes weren’t the best for running, but he still managed to run.

As the fox ran towards the tree, Cheeku turned to Meeku and said, “Run! By the time the fox reaches the tree, we’ll be long gone.”

“But why, Cheeku? That Baba will help me get strong and fast like him,” said Meeku.

“Of course not, Meeku. If there was such a tonic, you think he would be giving it to strangers for free? He is surely a con man – or worse, a predator out to eat us!” explained Cheeku.

Meeku thought about what Cheeku said, and agreed that the two of them should run before the fox got back. Cheeku was relieved that by running home at least his friend Meeku was getting some exercise.

The fox wondered what he should cook when he got home. The thought of the yummy food made his mouth water. The fox touched the tree and turned around only to find that Cheeku and Meeku were missing.

He saw that they had run far away and that there was no way he could catch them now.

The Egg Burglar

Sammy, the bear had a poultry farm. Every morning, he would go to the chicken coops to collect eggs. But one day, when he opened a coop, he was shocked to see many eggs missing and some were broken. The hens looked frightened and were either running around or cowering in a corner.

Sammy immediately filed a complaint at the police station. Inspector Rocky, the dog came to Sammy’s farm to look for clues. He asked Sammy a few questions, but he could not come to any conclusion. Sammy too couldn’t think of anyone who would want to attack his chickens or steal from him. The only thing he noticed was that the door to the coop had the number 2015′ written on it.

Ten days after the incident, Danny, the deer’s poultry farm was also similarly attacked. When Rocky inspected Danny’s farm, he realised that it was the same thief who had struck at Sammy’s farm as “2015′ was written on the coop. But this time too, none of them could come up with any suspects.

One morning, when Pookie, the pig was walking about his farm, he noticed the same writing. He informed Rocky about it, who immediately deployed two officers to keep an eye on his farm.

Fearless Mongoo Gets a New Home

“The thief should attack Pookie’s farm tonight,” presumed Rocky.

But to his surprise, Benny, the goat’s farm was burgled instead. Rocky reached Benny’s farm to investigate.

“That’s odd. Then why was the number written on Pookie’s farm?” pondered Rocky confused.

“Number? What number?” asked Benny.

Rocky then showed Benny the number 2015′ written on one of the doors of others’ farms.

Rocky explained, “You see, when Sammy’s farm was burgled, he noticed the number written. But when I saw it written in Pookie’s farm, I thought it would be attacked. But yours was attacked instead.”

Suddenly, Benny brightened up; he knew who the thief was. “It’s Benji, the fox!” he declared.

“Who is Benji? And why do you think he would’ve done this?” questioned Rocky.

“Benji used to work for me as my farm manager. But he was always careless especially with the calculations and I had warned him several times. One day, I incurred a huge loss because of him and so I fired him. I think he could be behind this,” said Benny.

“But how can you be so sure?” asked Rocky.

“When he writes ‘5’, it looks like the letter ‘S’. If you look carefully at the number written on the gate it is written that way,” said Benny.

Rocky noticed that Benny was right and so he, along with the others, went to Benji’s house. Benji was shocked to see all of them. Rocky walked around the house looking for evidence. He soon found some eggs, chicks and broken eggshells in a corner.

“Benji! You are the one behind all the burglaries at the farms. I am going to arrest you for it,” said Rocky.

“But how did you know it was me?” asked Benji surprised.

“You led us to you by writing the number on the farm doors,” replied Rocky.

“How is that possible? I wrote that to confuse you,” said Benji, still baffled.

“You made one tiny mistake and that’s what gave you away. You always write the number ‘5’ like the letter ‘S,’ said Benny.

More from Champak: Farm trouble

Then, Danny asked, “But why did you attack the other farms? You could’ve just attacked Benny’s farm.”

“If I had attacked only Benny’s farm, everyone would have suspected me right away. So, I decided to attack the other farms to confuse everyone,” said Benji.

“Is that why you didn’t attack Pookie’s farm even after you wrote the number there? To confuse us?” asked Rocky.

“Yes, I did that to divert your attention away from Benny’s farm,” explained Benji.

“But now you will have to pay for the losses and regret your action while in prison,” Rocky said putting a handcuff on Benji.

Baddy Steals The Show!

Hurray! Our experiment is successful!” cheered Blacky, the bear and Jumbo, the elephant as they saw their car floating mid-air.

On hearing their excited shouts, Baddy, the fox came into the garage where the two were working to see what was happening.

“Blacky and Jumbo, is your experiment over? Why do you both look so happy?” asked Baddy.

“Yes! We have successfully built a solar hover car,” said Jumbo excitedly. He then pressed a button on the remote and the car started to rise from the ground.

“Wow! This is incredible!” exclaimed Baddy.

“Day after tomorrow, we shall exhibit it before the entire jungle,” said Jumbo.

“We will become famous and everyone will refer to us as the inventors of this impressive solar hover car,” said Blacky happily.

The Night Ghost

“But we must thank you, Baddy, for letting us work in your garage. Thank you so much!” said Jumbo.

“Yes, Baddy too is responsible for the invention of this solar hover car,” pitched in Blacky.

“I am more than happy to have helped you both. I am happy for your success,” said Baddy.

The three then locked the garage and went home.

The next morning, NEWS when Blacky and Jumbo switched on the television, they saw Baddy all over the news and that everybody was praising him for his new creation—the solar hover car!

“What’s this, Jumbo?” asked Blacky shocked.

“I have no idea. I am quite surprised myself,” replied Jumbo.

Both of them hurried to Baddy’s house where a lot of reporters had already gathered and were waiting to interview Baddy.

“How does your invention work, Baddy?” asked one reporter.

“My latest invention is a car that can be driven with the help of sunlight. But the best part is that it is not to be driven on the road like other ordinary cars; it actually flies! It is a solar hover car,” said a boastful Baddy.

“Fly? Could you demonstrate?” asked the reporter.

“I would have given you a demo but it is very cloudy right now, so it will not work,” said Baddy.

“Does that mean we will not be able to use this car at night?” asked the reporter. “You will be able to operate it in the night but it needs to be charged for which you will need sunlight. Right now, it is not fully charged and so I cannot demonstrate how to use it,” answered Baddy.

“Did anybody else help you build it?” asked another reporter.

“Yes, Blacky and Jumbo helped me. One of them got me tea and the other got me snacks while I was working on the car,” said Baddy with a laugh.

More from Champak: The Case Of The Missing Lotuses

All the reporters started laughing too.

“Liar! We built this solar car!” interrupted Blacky and Jumbo angrily.

“What? Why are you both lying? Now that my experiment is successful, you want credit for it?” asked Baddy.

“No, we are telling the truth. This is our invention and we worked very hard on it,” said Blacky angrily.

“If both of you built this car, why didn’t you inform us earlier and how come Baddy knows all about it?” questioned one of the reporters.

Blacky and Jumbo tried their best to convince the reporters but nobody was ready to believe them. Baddy then announced that he would demonstrate the car’s flying capabilities the next day at 11 a.m., following which everyone dispersed. Blacky and Jumbo went home disappointed.

The following morning, Baddy had parked the car in the garden so that it would be charged by the time everyone arrived. When it was 11, he stepped outside to see people already waiting for him.

“I know that all of you have been eagerly waiting to see this car hover in the air. You shall witness it now,” announced Baddy as he sat in the car.

He switched it on but it didn’t start. Baddy tried again and this time, the car slowly started floating in the air. There were loud gasps of surprise from the crowd. And then some started to clap.

Carried away by the applause, Baddy failed to notice that the car was rising fast. Suddenly, he realised what was happening and tried to slow it down but he couldn’t do it. He tried everything but the car just kept rising and rising.

Baddy panicked and started yelling for help. By then, the car had already risen so high that nobody could hear his cry for help. Everyone assumed he was waving his hands because he was excited. As the car flew higher, it became difficult for Baddy to breathe and he eventually fainted.

When Baddy finally woke up, he realised he was lying on his bed at home and noticed the reporters gathered around him.

“How did I get here?” asked Baddy.

“Your car was out of control. We didn’t know what to do when we didn’t see you for a long time. Your car had risen so high that we couldn’t even see you. That’s when Blacky and Jumbo arrived and they brought the car down with the help of a remote,” explained a reporter.

“Yes, and they brought you down in time, otherwise it would have been fatal for you,” said Dr Drake, the deer who was called in to check on Baddy.

“They’re waiting for you outside now,” he informed.

Baddy immediately rushed outside to apologise to Blacky and Jumbo.

“I am sorry. I lied about the invention. It was yours and I wanted to take all the credit for it,” said Baddy regretting his behaviour.

On hearing his confession, everyone who was gathered there became angry with Baddy and started yelling at him.

“Please, stop! We have forgiven Baddy. We request you to forgive him too,” said Jumbo to all the reporters present there.

Baddy apologised to everybody and assured them that he will never try to steal the credit for someone else’s hard work.

Tony Gets a New Friend

It was a beautiful and sunny day. Mini, the bird was flying around cheerfully and then decided to perch on a tree and sing. But when she started to sing, she was rudely interrupted.

“Stop singing!” said Tony, the tiger harshly.

“Oh! But why? I was only singing,” responded Mini politely.

“Keep quiet, will you? Don’t argue with me!” growled Tony.

Mini noticed that the tiger was in a rather foul mood, so she decided to stop singing. Instead, she simply looked around and observed: “This is a zoo; that’s why there are so many animals here. But I wonder why this tiger didn’t want me to sing.”

Just then, Mini noticed that a lot of people came to visit Tony who was in a cage.

“Oh! Now I understand why this tiger is annoyed. He has to live inside a cage. Even though he’s been given a big one, he must be used to the freedom of the jungle where he would take long walks. He really must be unhappy here. And here I was thinking that it must be because I was a bad singer!” thought Mini.

The Parched Jungle

“He still looks very angry,” she murmured as she observed him closely.

Just when Mini was about to talk to him, a few kids came running towards Tony’s cage.

“Look! It’s a tiger. Don’t go near it,” cautioned a kid.

“Hey, don’t be silly! He’s inside his cage. There’s nothing to worry,” said another and walked up to the cage and started teasing Tony.

Tony was now getting angrier. He roared loudly.

“Oh! He’s roaring. What fun! If we tease him more, he’ll roar louder,” suggested one of the kids.

Soon, all of them started teasing Tony which annoyed him more and he roared even louder.

This excited the kids and they continued to tease him. Tony, who finally got fed up of them, got up and moved to a far corner of his cage. Wanting to draw him closer to them, the kids they started throwing stones at him.

“Naughty kids! I will teach them a lesson,” resolved Mini.

She flew straight towards the kids and attacked them by pecking their heads. Scared, the kids ran away.

“Thank you so much, Mini,” said Tony with a relieved smile.

“I didn’t know that it was so difficult living inside a cage. It must be suffocating for you,” said Mini.

“No, Mini. I am used to living inside this cage. I don’t feel sad here. The people who take care of me are good people. I only have a problem with these kids who come to see me every day. Their idea of fun is to annoy me,” explained Tony.

“I always thought the animals that lived in the zoo were happy. But many of you look sad,” said Mini.

“Yes, that’s because of some people’s behaviour, we’re always angry at all the other visitors. The other day, somebody threw a big stone at the crocodile and he was hurt,” said Tony.

More from Champak: Bunty Bear’s Missing Key

“There are some kids who are nice. Not everyone wants to torture you. But these naughty kids needed to be taught a lesson,” said Mini. “And if you get bored, I could come here every day and entertain you. Just don’t be mad at me.”

“Oh!” That would be wonderful! exclaimed Tony. “If you come to meet me every day, I will never be in a bad mood again!” he said with a wide grin on his face.

The Night Ghost

It was quite late in the night when Jumbo, the elephant was walking home along a deserted stretch of road. Suddenly, a strange-looking object appeared before him.

“I am the Night Ghost!” it proclaimed. “Give me whatever you possess.”

“I am not scared of you. You are so puny, said Jumbo waving his trunk at the ghost.

“Puny? You think I am puny?” asked the ghost enraged. It miraculously began to grow bigger and bigger.

“Do I look puny now?” asked the ghost.

Jumbo fainted in shock on seeing the ghost grow bigger. After some time, when he regained consciousness, he noticed that all his belongings were gone. He was now very scared. He quickly rushed home and fell sick immediately.

On hearing about his condition, his friends came to visit him.

The Ghost of Penupuram

“What’s wrong, Jumbo? Are you feeling unwell?” asked Jumpy, the monkey.

Jumbo narrated the entire incident.

“How is it possible? Ghosts aren’t real,” said Meeku, the mouse.

“I thought so too but ever since my encounter with the Night Ghost, I have started to believe in them,” said Jumbo.

“I think you must have been hallucinating. How is it possible for something to just grow bigger in a matter of seconds?” asked Meeku curiously.

“Yes! That’s why I know for sure that what I saw was indeed a ghost,” insisted Jumbo.

“I don’t believe you,” said Jumpy.

Nobody believed Jumbo. But when the other inhabitants of the forest started having similar experiences, everyone began to fear the Night Ghost. No one dared to venture out alone at night, especially on the road where the ghost was usually seen.

One day, Cheeku, the rabbit fell ill. He asked his friends to take him to the hospital, but they were too scared of the Night Ghost. They had to take the deserted road to reach the hospital which they were afraid to do so at night. Instead, they took Cheeku to the hospital the following morning.

There, Dr Pintu, the giraffe checked Cheeku and prescribed some medicines. He said, “I am glad that you got him here on time. If you had been slightly late, it would have been difficult for me to save him.” Everyone was relieved.

Cheeku was in the hospital for a week. During that time, he resolved to get rid of the so called Night Ghost as soon as he got home.

After a week, Cheeku felt better and was back home. That night, he decided to walk down the deserted road hoping to meet the Night Ghost. And as expected, the ghost appeared before him.

“I am the Night Ghost! Hand over all your belongings,” it said.

“Only owls and bats fly around at night. So are you the ghost of one?” asked Cheeku.

This angered the ghost. “Don’t try to act funny or else I will have to teach you a lesson!” it threatened and started changing its shape.

Instead of getting scared by its growing size, Cheeku calmly took out a bottle.

“What’s this? Going to trap me in that little bottle, are you? I am no Genie. I am a ghost!” it howled.

“No! This is magic powder. See what it does,” so saying, Cheeku blew the magic powder into the ghost’s eyes.

“Ow! My eyes! They are burning! What was that powder?” cried the ghost.

“It was chilli powder. Show yourself and I will give you water,” said Cheeku waving a bottle of water in front of the ghost.

More from Champak: The Sugarcane Ghost

“Ok! Ok!” exclaimed the ghost and immediately removed the costume. And out emerged Baddy.

“Now give me the water!” he said and grabbed the bottle from Cheeku and washed his eyes.

He then tried to escape but Cheeku caught hold of him and produced him before everyone. Cheeku asked Baddy to confess and he did. He told everyone about his plan to dress up as a ghost and steal everyone’s belongings.

“But how did Baddy become bigger than me?” Jumbo asked.

“When Baddy was hiding inside the big black robe, he also kept a balloon hidden along with him. Whenever he wanted to appear to be growing bigger, he would loosen the string of the balloon and it would float upwards lifting the robe along with it,” explained Cheeku. “So that is why it looked as if it was becoming bigger right in front of your eyes, and you were all convinced that it was a ghost.”

“You are right, Cheeku. We shouldn’t have blindly believed it. If I ever come across another ghost, I’ll lift it with my trunk and toss it away,” said Jumbo waving his trunk about much to everyone’s amusement.

The Greatest Treasure

One day, Baddy, the fox was walking down the forest trail, lost in thought.

“Where are you off to so early in the morning, Baddy?” asked Cheeku, the rabbit who was on his morning walk.

“I’m glad I ran into you, Cheeku,” said Baddy.

“Why? Were you looking for me?” asked Cheeku.

“I wasn’t exactly looking for you, Cheeku. I’m actually looking for a well,” said Baddy.

“You’re looking for a well? Why? Are you thirsty?” asked Cheeku.

“No, no, let me explain,” said Baddy. “I had a dream last night that there’s a well somewhere in the forest and it’s all dried up. I’m looking for that well.”

Cheeku gave Baddy a confused look. Baddy further explained, “In my dream, the dried-up well is filled with treasures. I need to find that well and dig out all the treasure. With it, I’ll become the richest animal in the forest.”

Things made sense to Cheeku now and he said, “Baddy, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think there’s any treasure or even a dried-up well in Champakvan. It was just a dream. So instead of running around the forest looking for some treasure, why don’t you join me? We’ll run together. It’ll be good for your health.”

Baddy said he’d rather continue his search for the well and walked away, and Cheeku went back to his morning walk.

Baddy spent some time wandering around Champakvan, until he saw a well. Baddy ran to the well and peered inside. It seemed to be dry.

“I’ve found it! I’m rich! I’m rich!” he shouted and danced. “Now I’ll climb into the well and search for that treasure!” he said and peered inside once again.

The well was deep, but its walls had rocks jutting out in different places. “I can use these rocks as footholds and climb down,” Baddy said to himself and began to climb down.

The well was deeper than he thought and it became dark very fast. Baddy almost made out of the well but one of the steps gave away and he fell into the well.

At the bottom, there were rocks and stones and Baddy was badly bruised. But he was so keen on finding the treasure that he paid no attention to his injuries and began digging the ground. All he found were stones and rocks.

Baddy looked at the walls of the well, and just then he saw a big black snake come out of one of the holes in the wall.

“Oh no! A snake!” he shouted and began to tremble with fear.

Fortunately for him, the snake was good-natured and meant no harm to him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” said the snake reassuringly. “What are you doing here in this well?”

Baddy told the snake about his dream and that he was looking for the buried treasure.

“Hmm…you seem to believe in superstitions,” said the snake.

“You’re so keen on finding the treasure that you’re not bothered by how difficult or dangerous the situation might be. Well, let me spare you the effort of digging and tell you that there is no buried treasure here.”

Baddy felt dejected. He decided to head back out of the well, but he realised that he didn’t know how he was going to do that.

Baddy scratched his head, looking for a solution. Even after thinking for several minutes, Baddy had no idea of how to get out of the well. He sat down and started to cry.

The snake said, “Why don’t you shout for help. Maybe someone will hear you and help you out.”

When Baddy called for help, Meeku who was passing by heard his cries. He put his hand out and asked Baddy to grab on.

“Give me your hand and I’ll pull you out!” Meeku said.

But Baddy refused to put his hand out. Meeku didn’t know what to do. He called Jumbo.

Jumbo offered to help and said Baddy, “Here! Give me your hand and I’ll pull you out with my trunk.” But Baddy refused again.

“I think he’s gone crazy,” Meeku whispered to Jumbo. “He called for help, and when we offer it, he refuses!”

Meeku saw Cheeku going home and he called out to him. He told Cheeku everything.

Cheeku realised what was happening and told the others what to do.

Cheeku said, “Baddy has always taken. He doesn’t know how to give. Ask him to take your trunk, Jumbo and you’ll be able to pull him out easily.”

Jumbo told him, “Here you go, Baddy! Take my trunk. I’ll pull you out.”

Baddy didn’t refuse this time. After Baddy was rescued, Cheeku told him, “Baddy, Do you know what the biggest treasure is? It is friendship. We’ll always help you out, Baddy, and we know no treasure can replace our friendship.”

Baddy realised his mistake and apologised to others. He realised there is no bigger wealth than friendship. He was changed and began to help others and was not greedy anymore.

Cotton Football

Meeku, the mouse came back Champakvan after spending his summer vacations in the city. He rushed to the ground to play with his friends in the evening.

“Look what I got from the city!” he said to his friends pointing at his football.

“Oh wow! Let’s play now,” Jumbo, the elephant said. “Let’s make two teams first. Without two teams, we can’t play,” Meeku said and they immediately formed two teams.

“Tarry, pass me the ball,” Meeku said to Tarry, the frog.

Tarry passed the ball to Meeku who quickly converted the pass into a goal.

“Hurray! I scored!” Meeku shouted excitedly.

“Good job, Meeku!” Tarry congratulated his friend.

Stay Put Timbu!

The match continued heatedly. Jumbo ran to score but Meeku stopped him. In the process, both of them fell on the ground. Jumbo thought Meeku would get squashed by his weight, he tried to fall on the other side. The football came under Jumbo and burst and seeing this, Meeku was in tears.

“I didn’t have a choice, Meeku. If I had not diverted my fall, you would have been squashed. But don’t worry. I will go to the city and fix your football in a day or two,” Jumbo consoled Meeku.

“I am sad because today is the first time I scored a goal. I would have definitely become the player of the week. Now, we will not be able to play anymore,” a dejected Meeku said.

“Don’t worry about it Meeku. If you play well the next time, you will be the player of the match,” Tarry said.

“But the match was fun. Now, what do we do?” Cheeku, the rabbit asked.

“Should we play with a coconut?” Baddy, the fox suggested.

“Baddy, that sounds like an idea to send us to the hospital. How can we play football with a coconut? If it falls on our head, we will surely get injured.” Tarry told Baddy.

“Let’s use a pumpkin instead?” Jumpy, the monkey then suggested.

“Jumpy, first of all, the shape of a pumpkin is not proper for playing football and even if we do play football with it, it will soon be a squish squash football.” Jumbo laughed.

“We need something made out of cotton,” Damru, the donkey then suggested.

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“Fine, Damru, but where do we find a football made out of cotton?” Baddy said and everyone started laughing at Damru.

When everyone started making fun of him, Damru started crying.

Just then, a weaver bird was sitting on the tree and overhearing this conversation between friends. She came to Damru and said, “Hey, why are you making so much noise here? My children are sleeping. You will wake them up.”

“Sorry, dear. Damru here is crying. He gave us an idea, which sounded quite funny. So everybody laughed at him,” Jumbo said.

“What idea?” the weaver bird asked.

“Our football burst. We were thinking of what to do. Damru said that we could make a football out of cotton,” Jumbo explained the sequence of events.

“Why not? That may be possible,” the weaver bird said looking at them.

“But how?” everyone asked.

“Go get some cotton. I will make a football for you,” said the weaver bird.

Meeku got some cotton and the weaver bird started filling the busted football with cotton. Then, she stitched the end that had burst and gave the football back to them.

“Here, your football is ready. It will not bounce so much but you can still play with it and entertain yourselves,” the weaver bird said.

“Oh wow!” Jumbo exclaimed.

Everyone was very excited and impressed with the weaver bird. All of them thanked her.

“Don’t make fun of others without thinking about it. Doing so hurts their feelings,” said the weaver bird.

“You’re right. We promise we will not do so in future,” said Tarry and all of them hugged Damru.

“Okay, I’ll take your leave now. But don’t make any more noise. My children will wake up,” the weaver bird said and flew back to her nest.

“Let’s re-start our match. I was playing well today,” Meeku told the rest of the team. They all went back to their game.

The Case Of The Missing Lotuses

Tarry, the frog lived in a small pond. He was very fond of flowers, so he grew lotuses, water lilies and many other kinds of water plants in his pond. For any special occasions such as birthdays, he would readily give his flowers to anyone who asked.

One day, Blacky, the bear was walking past Tarry’s house as Tarry was cleaning his pond. He would remove weeds and other waste from the pond frequently.

“What are you doing?” asked Blacky.

“These weeds do not allow the good plants to grow well. They feed on the nutrition that these other plants could use,” Tarry replied. “In a way, they are parasites. So, it’s important to rid the pond of them.”

“Tarry, the lotuses of your pond are very exotic. Nothing can match them,” said Blacky.

THE GOODNESS OF CACTUS

Tarry, as always, replied modestly, “Thank you so much, Blacky.”

Just then Cheeku, the rabbit came there and asked Tarry for some lotuses. “Tomorrow is Meeku’s birthday. I want to gift him some lovely flowers,” said Cheeku.

“OK, I shall give you these flowers in the morning,” said Tarry. “These fresh buds would bloom by tomorrow.”

“Thank you! I’ll meet you tomorrow then,” said Cheeku and bid him goodbye.

But the next morning proved to be a surprise for Tarry. All the lotuses were gone!

“Oh my!” cried Tarry. “Where have the flowers gone?”

Cheeku too was sad on not getting the flowers. He said, “Don’t worry, Tarry. Whoever did this will soon be caught.”

Cheeku was on his way back, thinking to himself, “I’ll have to think of something else to gift Meeku.” He noticed Baddy, the fox selling lots of flowers. There were also many lotuses and water lilies there.

Cheeku was curious, and so he asked Baddy where he got all these flowers. “I have started selling flowers to make money. I do not own a garden or a pond but I get these from my friends in other forests,” replied Baddy.

Cheeku looked at Baddy with suspicion, “Well, who are these friends?”

Baddy laughed slyly, “I can’t disclose my business secrets to you.”

It was getting late, and Meeku’s birthday party was about to start, so Cheeku bought five lotuses from Baddy and left.

At Meeku’s birthday, everyone praised the beautiful lotuses, which were placed in a vase at the centre of the table.

Blacky complained, “Even I had gone to Tarry’s house to get flowers but he had none. I wonder how he gave you these flowers.”

Cheeku said, “I got these from Baddy, the fox.”

Blacky sniffed the flowers and said, “I don’t believe it. These flowers are surely from Tarry’s pond, I can recognise their fragrance anywhere.”

Cheeku said, “Even I had my suspicions about where Baddy got these flowers from, but I don’t know how I can prove it.”

“Let’s go to Tarry’s house to look for clues tomorrow,” suggested Meeku.

“Yes!” everyone agreed.

The next day Cheeku, Meeku and Blacky went to Tarry’s pond. Tarry was standing outside his gate with a worried look.

“Hello, Tarry. What’s up?” asked Blacky.

“My flowers have been stolen again! This time even the buds have been snipped!” wailed Tarry.

“Did you lock your gate properly?” asked Meeku.

“Of course, I did!” cried Tarry.

Cheeku had a thorough look at the pond and said, “We all should guard Tarry’s pond tonight to catch the thief red-handed. But first, I need to do some investigation.”

Everyone worked together and they were shocked to find Crocky, the crocodile stuck in the net.

“Crocky, you!” said everyone in disbelief.

Crocky was very embarrassed.

“I… I am sorry,” he said. “Baddy promised me a bag of fishes if I help him steal flowers,” he blurted.

“But, how did you come into the pond unnoticed?” asked Meeku.

“From the underground tunnel inside the pond, right?” answered Cheeku instead.

Crocky nodded.

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Looking at the surprised glances of his friends, Cheeku explained, “I knew it because the theft was done even with the gates locked, so the thief was coming in through another route. I asked Jumbo, who used to live here before, and he told me about the underground tunnel under the pond. So, I realized that the thief was someone who was a good swimmer.”

They all went to Shersingh, the King of Champakvan and explained to him all that had happened. Shersingh was very angry at Baddy and ordered him to return the flowers he had stolen and the money he had made selling the stolen flowers.

Baddy was also sentenced to clean weeds in Tarry’s pond for six months as punishment, and Tarry and his friends got to share his beautiful, fragrant flowers once again.

MEEKU’S FAN

It was hot in Champakvan. Summer had taken a toll on all animals. Meeku, the mouse wasn’t feeling well due to this sweltering heat. Inside the small hole he lived in, he felt suffocated. Outside, he found the hot wind difficult to deal with. He would often try to save himself from this heat but would get no respite.

One day, he was lazing under the shade of a tree. The heat was too for him to handle. There was no wind and sweat kept dripping from every corner of his body. Around that he noticed Jumbo, the elephant walking carefree by the river. Jumbo came stood next to Meeku.

Meeku Saves the Day

“Hey Jumbo, you don’t look tired. Aren’t you feeling hot?” Meeku asked him.

Jumbo said, “Meeku, it is indeed hot but I am not as dirty and lazy as you are. I keep taking baths in the river, which keeps my body cool. Here, come and feel my fat skin, it is cold.”

Meeku, obviously, was not as tall as Jumbo and was not able to reach up to his back. So, Jumbo picked him up by his trunk and placed him on his back. He realised that Jumbo’s skin was cold.

After a while, when Jumbo was resting under the tree, Meeku jumped off his back. He thought about whispering something into Jumbo’s ear. But just at that moment, Jumbo flapped his fan-like large ears vigorously, which gave Meeku a whiff of fresh air. He instantly felt as if he was transported to the streets of Nainital.

More from Champak: Cheeku and Meeku are Walking into the Forest.

He was happy at the thought of using Jumbo’s ears to get rid of the afternoon heat. But then again, he did not want Jumbo to know about it. He was scared that if Jumbo found out, he would stop flapping his ears.

However, Meeku realised that Jumbo usually flaps his ears when a fly buzzes near his ear.

He thought to himself that it would be brilliant if flies constantly kept buzzing around Jumbo’s ears. Then, he would be able to enjoy the fresh air he got from the flapping of Jumbo’s ears all the time.

He came up with an idea. He knew that there was another tree somewhere close by with a beehive. He went to the beehive and got a couple of drops of honey from the queen bee and quietly put it on Jumbo’s ear.

The honey made all the bees buzz near Jumbo’s ears and he started flapping his ears so that the bees would fly off. That is exactly what Meeku wanted. The more Jumbo flapped his ears, the better it was for Meeku, as he was able to enjoy loads of fresh air. In this way, his afternoon was well spent.

Since then, every afternoon, Meeku would be on the lookout for Jumbo and Jumbo would always be found taking his afternoon nap somewhere below a tree. Meeku would quietly put some honey on Jumbo’s ears and Jumbo would start flapping his ears. Thus, Meeku’s “fan” saved him from the dreadful summer.

Baddy, the Prankster

Baddy, the fox was very naughty. He loved pulling pranks on people and would tell them things that weren’t true. He was so good at telling these lies that everybody believed him.

One day, as he was coming back from the market, he saw Meeku, the mouse on his way to school. Exam results were to be announced that day and Baddy decided to have some fun.

Baddy Reforms Himself

“Meeku, I’ve been looking for you. I just spoke to your teacher. She said you’ve failed in your exams,” said Baddy, the fox.

“What? Oh no! I thought I had done well this time!” said Meeku disappointedly.

“Well, I wish I could tell you more but this is all I know,” said Baddy and walked on. He turned to watch Meeku run to school and laughed.

The next day, Soni, the cow was happily munching on some grass on a meadow. Baddy decided to play a prank on her and said, “Soni! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. I just heard that your house is on fire.”

“What? Oh no! Everything I own is in that house,” cried Soni and ran home.

When Soni reached her home, she was out of breath. She was relieved to see that her house was still fine, but was angry at Baddy for playing such a prank on her. She tried telling the other animals of the forest about Baddy, but nobody really felt as strongly about this matter as she did.

A few more days passed and Baddy saw Cheeku, the rabbit and Jumpy, the monkey walking down the street. He thought it did be great fun to play a trick on them. Baddy went up to Cheeku and said, “’Cheeku, Cheeku. Quickly, you have to go home. I just saw a few masked thieves enter your house!”

Shocked, Cheeku and Jumpy ran to Cheeku’s home. When they got there, they saw that everything was intact and there were no thieves as such. They understood that Baddy had just played a prank on them. Cheeku was determined to teach Baddy a lesson.

Baddy was making lunch when his doorbell rang. When he opened the door, it was Inspector Jumbo, the elephant. Seeing him, Baddy became a little nervous and somehow managed to ask him what the matter was.

“Cheeku, the rabbit has accused you of robbing his home. You are under arrest.” said Jumbo “Inspector, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t rob anyone. I’m innocent,” said Baddy.

Jumbo asked, “Did you or did you not tell Cheeku that there were masked men entering his house?”

Baddy replied, “ Yes, but I didn’t mean to.”

Before Baddy could finish, Jumbo put the handcuffs on his wrists and said, “That’s all I need to hear. Come with me to the station. We’ll sort it all out over there.”

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When Baddy was lead into the police station with handcuffs on his wrists, Cheeku exclaimed, “There he is! He’s the robber!”

Baddy had never been more scared in his life. He was made to sit in the interrogation room and was questioned.

“Baddy, unless you want to be put behind bars, confess and return everything you stole from Cheeku’s house,” said Jumbo.

“Inspector, I didn’t steal anything,” said Baddy.

“Did you not tell Cheeku that a couple of masked robbers were at his home?” asked Jumbo.

“Yes, but I was just kidding,” said Baddy.

“I don’t care whether you were kidding or not. You were the one who told me that my home was being robbed. So you must know who they were or have a hand in the robbery. You are the one who has to take the responsibility,” said Cheeku.

“Are you saying your house was really robbed?” asked Baddy. He was shaking uncontrollably with fear. “Sir, I really don’t know what’s going on. Please let me go. I didn’t steal anything from Cheeku’s home.”

Baddy began to cry and Inspector Jumbo, the elephant turned to Cheeku.

Cheeku was trying hard not to laugh. Seeing him, Inspector Jumbo began laughing too. Baddy was confused.

“It seems like you’ve understood the consequences of lying,” said Jumbo.

“Yes Sir, I have. I promise never to lie again. I promise never to play pranks on anyone,” said Baddy.

They let him go and Baddy never lied again.

All About Indian Cinema

Cheeku, the rabbit’s uncle Whitey, the rabbit lived in Mumbai. He was a film reporter. As soon as he arrived in Champakvan, all the kids would surround him. They wanted to know about the actors he had met.

One would ask, “Have you met Amitabh?” Some would ask, “Uncle, Rajpal Yadav is not to be seen in films these days. Is he still acting?”

Whitey would reply affectionately, “Yes, children, Rajpal Yadav is still acting.”

Taking Indian Music Global

When Whitey came to Champakvan during the holidays, Cheeku said to him, “Uncle, we are having a quiz in school because Indian cinema has completed 100 years last year. You know everything about cinema. Can you help me?” Cheeku said as he sat on Whitey’s lap.

“Yes. Tell me what you want to know,” Whitey replied.

“Who made the first film in India?”

“In India, Dada Saheb Phalke was the first person to make a film.”

“What was that film called?” Cheeku asked.

“Raja Harishchandra was India’s first silent film.”

“What is the meaning of silent film?”

“A silent film has no dialogue. There was no sound in the films like they have these days.”

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“When was the first film with dialogue made?”

“On March 14, 1931, the first Indian talkie Alam Ara was released in Mumbai’s Majestic cinema hall. Master Vittal was its lead actor.”

“Do you know the name of the film with the most number of songs?” asked Whitey.

“No,” replied Cheeku.

“Those days movies had many songs. Indra Sabha produced by Madan Theatres had 71 songs.”

“Uncle, how many movies share a similar name?”

“There are seven films with the name Insaaf. The first film of this name was made in 1937.”

“Do women also direct films?” Cheeku wanted to know.

“Now there are many women directors. But in the beginning, all the work was done by men. Even female roles were enacted by men. Jaddan Bai is recognised as the first woman film director. In 1938 she produced a film named Talash-e-baq.”

“Similarily the first female music composer was Khurshid Homji. In those days music was composed only by men. Director Himanshu Rai took a woman as a music composer for the first time. He kept her name Saraswati Devi so that people would not come to know of her.”

“Besides this, there are other facts concerning films. Double roles were first enacted by A. Salunke. He played the role of Ram and Sita in the film Lanka Dahan. In 1970, comedian Mahmood played three roles in Humjoli. In 1974, in the film Naya Din Nayi Raat, Sanjeev Kumar enacted nine different roles. The most interesting fact is that the most number of double roles in films have been performed by Amitabh Bachchan.”

“Uncle, earlier only historical and religious films were made. Where did the idea for detective films come from?” asked Cheeku.

“I do not know. But Sir Alfred Hitchcock is considered to be the father of detective films. In 1925 he made the first detective and suspense movie named The Pleasure Garden.

“Uncle I saw a film in which the hero breaks into pieces and after a while melts and forms a human being.”

“This is the marvel of special effects. With technology anything is possible like the hero and heroine jumping from a great height, fighting while hanging from a helicopter or performing stunts while sitting on a horse. Looking at them we think as if the actor is really doing it.”

“Uncle, I feel like laughing while watching old movies,” said Cheeku laughing.

“You feel like laughing when you watch old films, but have you ever thought if those films had not been made then would such good quality films have been possible in the present time for us to watch? Now even 3D films are being made. In the near future we will be able to watch some amazing things,” Whitey explained.

“Uncle you have given me a great deal of information. Now I will definitely win the quiz,” Cheeku said excitedly.

Work With Patience

Jumbo, the elephant was ambling along swinging his trunk. He passed a sugarcane field on his way. He stopped by and pulled out some sugarcane and moved ahead.

After walking some distance he saw Kittu, the squirrel with a pile of coconuts beside her.

“Kittu, what are you doing?” asked Jumbo.

“Jumbo I am shredding coconut to make coconut ladoos.”

“Wow! I like coconut laddoos too. May I have some of your coconut ladoos?” asked Jumbo in a pleading tone.

“Surely, but first let me prepare the ladoos. Since you are here, help me in shredding the coconut,” said Kittu and Jumbo agreed readily.

Jumbo started shredding the coconut, but soon got fed up.

Work Without Risk

“How boring! I don’t want to shred the coconut,” said Jumbo and got up and went away from there, before Kittu could say anything. After he had gone some distance he saw Dabbu, the rabbit standing in the field.

“Dabbu what are you doing in your field in this scorching sun?”

“Jumbo, today we are preparing carrot halwa at our house. I came to collect some carrots for it,” said Dabbu pulling out a carrot.

“Halwa! Dabbu can I come to your house to eat halwa?” Jumbo asked, his mouth already watering

“Yes, why not, but then we will require more carrots to prepare the halwa. Jumbo, please help me grate the carrots. That way we will be done with our work sooner.” They walked to Dabbu’s house and entered his kitchen.

“I will be done in a giffy,” said Jumbo and started grating the carrots. Just as with the coconuts, Jumbo enjoyed it for a while, but soon felt bored.

‘It takes so long to grate the carrots. Who knows how long it will take to grate enough to make enough halwa for the both of us,’ thought Jumbo and moved on from there.

“What happened? Where are you going?” asked Dabbu, when he saw Jumbo go.

“I just remembered I have to do something important,” Jumbo made an: excuse and went away from there.

Going, further along, he saw a banana tree. He broke a bunch of bananas and sat under the shade of a tree eating it.

‘Such tasty bananas!’ thought Jumbo as he ate them and threw the banana peels on one side. Then he peeled one banana after another and ate the whole bunch.

After a few moments, Jumbo felt a slight movement on his leg. He shrieked when he saw ants moving on his leg.

Yikes! So many ants! What will happen if they go into my trunk?’ Jumbo shouted and he flicked them from his legs and threw them far.

Jumbo saw that the ants were taking the pulp from the banana skin to their ant holes in the tree.

Most of the ants lost their balance and fell off the tree, when they tried to climb the tree carrying the pulp. However, not accepting defeat, they got back on their feet and climbed again. However, the same thing happened again.

When this happened three or four times, Jumbo felt pity for the ants.

“Oh! Why are you working so hard just to get a bit of pulp? I will keep a peeled banana near your hole,” said Jumbo and he kept a peeled banana near the ants’ hole.

But the ants continued trying to carry the banana pulp to their hole.

‘It seems they haven’t seen the whole banana,’ thought Jumbo. At that moment he saw a few ants go near the banana.

Good, the ants have come to know about the banana. Now they will not come down and trouble me,’ thought Jumbo happily. But the ants continued to carry the little bit of banana pulp.

‘Is one banana not enough for them, that they are still working so hard for that bit of pulp, thought Jumbo and kept another banana near the ants’ hole. But the ants continued to bring little bits of pulp.

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One by one Jumbo kept five bananas near the ants’ hole. But the ants continued to carry a little pulp to their hole. Seeing this Jumbo lost his temper.

“Either you’ll are foolish or greedy. I have kept five bananas near your hole, but all of you are still toiling for a bit of pulp,” Jumbo said in anger.

A tiny voice spoke up. “We are neither foolish nor greedy but we just do not want to change our way of working patiently.” Jumbo was shocked at hearing this because it was coming from an old ant who had stepped out of the hole to speak to Pappu.

“Today you have given us bananas, but if we get used to getting things easily, we will not be able to look for food late, when there is no one to give it to us so easily. So we do not want to leave our habit of working patiently,” said the elderly ant.

On hearing these words Jumbo realized that he neither had any patience nor did he believe in working. If the small ants facing such difficulty can do such hard work with patience, then why can’t I?’ Jumbo thought and went to help Kittu and Dabbu with their work.

In return, they let Jumbo have some coconut ladoos and carrot halwa and Jumbo finally understood that hard work and patience always pays off.

Venki To The Rescue

Venki, the bear, kept his luggage in his car and turned to his wife, Shyamali, “Hurry up, darling! It is already six, and we need to start any minute now! Where are Blacky and Browny? Are they ready?”

“They have gone out to the beach. They wanted to say goodbye to their friends before leaving, since they won’t be seeing them until after the holidays,” said Shyamali quietly.

“They had to do this now! It is a long way to Nandavan, the long journey there is so tiring. We will have to take a break along the way too, and that will take more time. I want us to reach home by afternoon and eat lunch there,” Venki explained to Shyamali.

Riya’s Train Journey

“I know, but you know how our two boys are. Besides, they have become good friends with the Otter’s children Chintu and Mintu. They should be back soon, just you wait,” Shyamali consoled.

“I have a better idea. Let’s put all our things in the car. We’ll go over to the beach, pick up the kids and start for Nandavan,” Venki said.

Shyamali and Venki packed everything in the car, and drove to the beach. They spotted Blacky and Browny talking to their friends, Chintu and Mintu.

As Shyamali and Venki neared the children, Chintu and Mintu greeted them, and introduced their friends to them. “Uncle, aunty, this is Shweta, the swan, Kaku, the tortoise and Sonu, the fish,” said Chintu.

They greeted the children, and the children went back to their conversation. They had brought gifts for Blacky and Browny. Before Venki could ask the children to come, Chintu and Mintu’s parents Uday Singh and Billo also came there. They were carrying a package with them. They introduced themselves to Shyamali and Venki.

“The children informed us that you are all going to Nandavan today. We packed some seafood for the journey. Hope you like it.” Said Uday Singh.

“We do not get seafood in Nandavan, thank you so much!” said Venki. He really enjoyed seafood and his mouth had already started to water. “This is very kind of you. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble?”

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“Oh no, it is no trouble! Consider this a gift from us. We have plenty of seafood here.”

A thought crossed Venki’s mind: ‘It is so kind of this family to give us gifts. And there I was, getting angry at my children for taking so long to say goodbye to them.

“Venki,” said Uday Singh, bringing him back from his thoughts, “Why don’t you go keep the food in your car. That way you’ll be ready to leave as soon as the kids are done talking.”

Venki went over to his car to put the food in it, when he noticed that a tyre was completely flat. He figured that it must be punctured, and he set about changing the tyre.

Venki had changed tyres before, and it didn’t take him long to change the punctured tyre. He turned around, and was shaken by what he saw – a saltwater crocodile was creeping up behind Uday Singh and was about to eat him!

He had to think fast! Venki grabbed the nearest thing – the car jack – and ran towards the crocodile with great speed.

Uday Singh was astonished to see Venki do this. He turned around, and he too was frightened at the sight of the crocodile, who was almost about to eat him!

But, thankfully, by that time Venki had already reached the mouth of the crocodile and had put the car jack inside its mouth. No matter how hard the crocodile tried, it could not close its mouth! That gave Uday Singh and Venki enough time to escape, and take their families and the kids with them.

Somehow, the crocodile managed to spit out the jack and go back into the sea. But, thanks to Venki, everyone was safe and sound.

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Kitchen Fight

The Cricket Match

Fullu Learns A Lesson

The New Teacher!

Patty’s Pride!

Surprise Birthday Party

Annual Cycle Race!

Clever Rizo!

Rina Learns A Lesson

A Lesson Learnt

Owlie Finds a Home

Coco Learns A Lesson

The Mystery of the WATERMELONS

Clever Cheeku

Dr Jeru Giraffe

BRILLIANT BLACKY

Billy’s Bad Mood

Devil in Disguise

The Egg Burglar

Baddy Steals The Show!

Tony Gets a New Friend

The Night Ghost

The Greatest Treasure

Cotton Football

The Case Of The Missing Lotuses

MEEKU’S FAN

Baddy, the Prankster

All About Indian Cinema

Work With Patience

Venki To The Rescue

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