Author: Editor Melissa

Ever since the residents of Champakvan heard about the World Music Championship, they couldn’t stop talking about it. A large banner had been put up in the forest, which said that participants would have to form a band if they wished to participate in the championship.

“The monkeys are surely going to win this championship!” said Jumpy Monkey, jumping with joy.

“No, the deers are winning it!” said Sona Deer, making a face at him.

“The elephants are going to sweep the trophy and the rewards!” said Jumbo Elephant, thumping his leg.

“We birds aren’t any lesser! Everyone knows I have the sweetest voice in the whole forest!” said Pinky Cuckoo, refusing to be left behind.

They all began arguing about who would win and who sang the best and were shouting so much that Professor Blacky bear had to come out and quiet them.

Everyone started preparing for the music championship seriously. They formed bands with their friends and relatives and began practising. But not a single band was melodious!

The deer band didn’t have anyone who could play the drums, the monkey band had nobody to play the piano, and the elephants could play nothing but trumpets! As for the tortoise band, it played such slow music, the listeners fell asleep before the first paragraph was half done. The foxes didn’t have a guitar player, and the snakes and squirrels couldn’t decide which instrument to play. Though the cuckoo could sing melodiously, her band could not play any instrument. Not a single band was complete!

In despair, they went to Professor Blacky for help. “I’d like to hear you all play,” said Blacky, after listening to the problem. “Each band come up here and play
for me!”

The animals were again excited and began playing different tunes together. “Cacophony!” exclaimed the poor Blacky covering his ears. “Stop! All of you, stop!”

Everyone stopped and looked at the professor. “You call this music? You’ll only get rotten tomatoes and eggs for playing like this,” said Blacky.

“What can we do, professor?”

“We need your help!”, said Rinku snake.

“I want each of you to come up and play or sing something for me,” said Blacky thinking about what to do.

He listened to them all carefully, and when the last one had finished, Blacky had a huge smile on his face.

“My friends, I have a solution,” he said. “You have all been trying to do things you aren’t good at. A monkey can play the drums but not the guitar. A cuckoo can sing but cannot play the trumpet. Instead of creating many bands and making a ruckus, we should create one band and make music!”

No one understand what Blacky was saying. Each one plays the instruments they are good at. Instead of forming different teams, let’s create a band together and you may just win this championship.

Now they realised their mistake. “Would you help us by guiding what we should play,” requested Jumbo. And so, listening to all of them again, Blacky created a band and named it The Jungle Band. He made them practice regularly, and soon it was time to leave for the world music championship.

On that day Champakvan, along with King Shersingh, gathered around a huge screen to watch the live telecast of the championship. The other forests too had sent some marvellous bands! Some played marching tunes, some played dance music, and some played soulful songs. And then, it was ‘The Jungle Band’s’ turn.

Jumpy played the drums like an expert, while Sona played the guitar skillfully. Twinkle Squirrel played the piano with flair, and Bobo Tortoise mesmerised everyone with his violin. Rinku played the mouth organ and Jumbo a marvellous trumpet solo. Pinky sang in her sweet voice and waved her wings along. The entire performance had the audience on its feet, cheering and screaming for more!

The judges announced the winner and it was The Jungle Band of Champakvan. Shersingh announced that the band would be rewarded, and the animals cheered loudly again.

Sona Deer held the trophy they had won, and Jumbo said. “This trophy that we received really belongs to Professor Blacky. He pointed out where we were going wrong, and he set up ‘The Jungle Band.’ Professor, please accept the trophy many behold,” he said, as Sona handed it over to the beaming professor.

The forest sky lit up with fireworks and the air was filled with cheering, as Champakvan celebrated the first music championship.

It was lunchtime at Champakvan school. Blacky bear, Damru donkey, Gillan giraffe and Baddy fox were relaxing under the big banyan tree after their lunch. Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy never mixed with other students, and they never enjoyed school.

Blacky and Damru were telling stories about ghosts. They had recently read a novel written by Dr Fero Python, a famous writer of Champakvan.

Gillan giraffe and Baddy fox held each other’s hands listening to their scary talks.

“Don’t worry! Ghosts don’t appear in daylight!” said Blacky bear.

“Yes… yes… Ghosts never attack people who are together. They only attack when one is alone,” added Damru.

Blacky and Damru continued talking about Dr Fero’s latest novel, The Dracula Python. Suddenly, Gillan felt something crawling on his neck.

“Ghost! Ghost!” he screamed.

None of them could see anything unusual. Blacky teased Gillan for being scared for no reason. After a while, Baddy howled, “Dracula Python is trying to swallow my head!”

“I also saw the Dracula Python slithering down just now to swallow us. But it has suddenly disappeared!” Damru donkey brayed loudly.

Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy tried to run but could not move. Blacky whispered, “This is exactly what Dr Fero wrote about the python ghost who attacks unexpectedly and then disappears.”

The school bell rang and they could see others returning to their respective classes, but none of them could move or even shout. They were frozen in fear.

“Hisssss! I never got a chance to eat someone in daylight! Today, I am lucky to have found four of you! I will eat the one who closes his eyes first!” hissed the Dracula Python.

“Dr Fero’s python ghost is here!” Blacky and Damru shuddered.

The four friends tried their best to keep their eyes open. Their throats dried up, their bodies became numb, and they began sweating a lot.

They could hear the branches of the big banyan tree shake. “The python ghost is coming…” whispered Blacky. All of them kept their eyes wide open even though they were afraid of seeing the ghost.

The Dracula Python appeared in front of them. It was hanging from the banyan tree, staring at them. All of them were trembling. Somehow, Blacky gained a little courage and begged, “We are little children! Please don’t eat us!”

“We can take you to our principal’s office! He is a big lion! You can eat him if you want!” suggested Gillan.

Damru cried, “We will never read Dr Fero’s novels! We won’t talk about ghosts at all! Please leave us alone.”

Baddy was determined to keep his eyes wide open to escape from the python ghost for as long as possible. The Dracula Python looked at him and hissed, “You seem to be really brave. I would like to hug you.” The python ghost moved towards Baddy.

“I am not brave! Please don’t hug me!” Baddy screamed.

The Dracula Python twisted his body in scary movements, hissed loudly and opened his mouth wide.

The frightened children closed their eyes in fear. A few minutes later, they heard, “Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are…”

All of them sang in full volume, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are…”

Blacky and Damru repeated the rhyme because they knew that Dr Fero said in his book that chanting rhymes help children to escape from ghosts.

A few minutes passed. Nothing happened to them. Absolute silence surrounded them. Wondering what was going on, they stopped singing and opened their eyes.

The Dracula Python had disappeared! But they saw their teachers and other children standing in front of them like statues.

“Dr Fero is right! Sometimes Dracula Python doesn’t kill at once but waits for others who come to the rescue of his victims. Our friends and teachers must have come to help us and they are under the spell of the Dracula Python,” said Blacky.
“Let us chant Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are… once again just to be sure,” said Blacky

“Yes,” Dolu said. “Perhaps our friends and teachers will be released from his spell.”

Blacky, Dolu, Gillan and Baddy started singing the rhyme again.

They saw the teachers and students move. “Wow! We have saved our school!” clapped Baddy. Gillan danced. Blacky and Dolu felt proud of themselves at their ghost wisdom.

Suddenly, everyone started laughing. Some whistled, some howled. The teachers controlled themselves, trying not to laugh loudly.

“Hello ghost-busters!” called out Jumpy monkey.

Everyone liked Jumpy monkey, who loved laughing and making others laugh.

“Sorry brothers!” Jumpy said to Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy. “I just wanted to have some fun at your ghost stories! I knew you were crazy about Dr Fero’s novels and the four of you always remained in a ghost world. You never enjoyed playing with others.”

“So?” asked Blacky. Dolu was so annoyed that he wanted to beat Jumpy. Gillan and Baddy caught hold of Jumpy and asked, “What is your problem? Why do you care if we laugh or cry!”

Seeing this, Principal Shersingh interrupted and said, “Gillan, were you sending Dracula Python to my office to eat me!”

Gillan became red-faced and mumbled. “Dracula Python is a traitor! He told everything to our principal.”

Jumpy whistled and Pillu python, their classmate, arrived. Jumpy began singing, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are…”

Hearing Jumpy, Pillu python slid away and hid behind the big banyan tree. Once again, everyone laughed and whistled.

Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy now realised that they had been fooled by Jumpy. They were embarrassed because they had not recognised their classmate Pillu python who pretended to be Dracula Python. They now understood that it was Jumpy’s way to show them reality.

When Pillu python came dancing and hissing, everyone chanted, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are…”

Even Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy could not control their laughter. They too whistled in joy and danced with Jumpy, Pillu and others.

“Lord Byron said we must laugh when we can. We are sometimes forced to face hardships and challenges, but they don’t last long. Blacky, Damru, Gillan and Baddy never participated with others. That’s why I told our naughty Jumpy to trick them!” said Principal Shersingh.

The four friends held Pillu python and put him on their shoulders. The children laughed as they all sang, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… How I Wonder What You Are…”

Dr. Singh was a famous surgeon who lived in Civil Lines in Jodhpur with his wife and two sons. In their garden there lived a cat with her four kittens. The kittens were furry with green eyes and the boys loved having them around.

The kitchen had a door that opened to the garden. The cat and kittens would live in that part and would come near the kitchen step for food that Mrs Singh would keep outside for them.

The kittens were very playful. They loved playing hide and chasing each other. Once tired, they would lick and caress each other. Dr Singh’s family loved watching their cats play.

Slowly, the kittens began to grow up. The mother cat would leave the home early in the morning after eating milk and bread and would only return at night.
All the four kittens would move around the garden but now, they too wanted to go out, learn to climb the trees and jump from one branch to the another and become independent.

Finally, the day came when the mother cat took the kittens out. The kittens were excited to be outside and see lush green parks, giant trees, plenty of people, lot of birds and squirrels.

They ran to catch the birds and butterflies and chased the squirrels. Chotu, the youngest of the four brothers, was scared to run and chase them. He was tinier and smaller than the rest and hence the name.

Seeing the cat with her kittens, the birds on the trees started making calls to alert the other birds about danger. The mother taught the kittens to walk without making a noise, climb a tree, and catch birds.

All the kittens watched, listened and understood but Chotu’s attention was somewhere else. He was thinking it was cruel to kill others.

Somehow, Chotu got through the day’s training but during supper at night, he told his brothers, “Other animals too have a right to live. Is it fair to kill them?”

As soon as they heard the question, the three brothers burst out into laughter.

“If a horse becomes friends with the grass, what will it eat?” they asked, making fun of him.

Young Coco said, “You mean to say, cats should become vegetarian?”

Brownie told Chotu, “If cats turned vegetarian, rats would rule.”

Chotu became quiet and scared. He had not expected such replies from his brothers.

Chotu was extremely nervous every time his mother took the four of them for hunting. He was not able to pounce, catch and kill any animal.

The mother cat was extremely worried that on one hand, Chotu was skinny and on the other, he did not want to hunt. How would he survive?

Chotu tried to climb the tree but became scared and fell when the birds began to
make noise. Chotu was always lagging behind whenever their mother took them out.

Slowly the kittens started going out on their own. The other three brothers would look for prey in the grassy meadows and shrubs. They would walk into nearby homes but at night, all of them would come back to Dr. Singh’s house.

Chotu would join them at night but, no one knew where he was during the day.

One day, when Chotu did not return at night, all the others became worried.
They mewed to call out.

Dr. Singh’s family, who understood that Chotu was missing, searched for him in every possible place. The mother cat feared that Chotu had been attacked by other animals.

After some time, everyone gave up the search. The mother cat’s search, too, yielded no results. Dr Singh’s children got tired and fell asleep.

The mother cat felt that she could not protect her weakest son. She felt that she should have paid more attention to him.

When they woke up the next morning, the mother cat could hear Chotu’s voice. She ran in that direction.

Chotu was sitting in one of the houses in the colony. There was a bowl of milk, bread and chapatti in front of him. A small boy was patting him gently. And, Chotu was drinking milk from the bowl.

As soon as Chotu saw his mother, he came running to her. His mother started licking Chotu. Chotu too hugged his mother back. Happy to see her son safe,
the mother cat forgot to scold him for not coming home.

Their mother reached home with Chotu. Dr Singh’s family found out where Chotu spent the night. They felt happy that Chotu had found a cat lover and people to love him.

Chotu’s mother was also happy that her son was in safe hands and that Chotu was happy at his new home.

They all understood that Chotu wanted to spend his life without having the need to hunt.

“Look, it’s better that you don’t argue with me. Don’t you know where I stand and where you do? You are not even equal to me,” said the mirror stubbornly to the door.

“Too much pride is not good for you. Let’s work as a team to give this house its look and beauty,” said the door to the mirror in a good-natured way.

“Sorry, what did you say? It’s only because of my beauty that this house is filled with grace. Your work is only to open and close, but the beauty of the house is because of its mirror,” said the mirror, putting the door in its place.

Fights between the mirror and the door would go on day in and day out. The mirror was full of pride as he was always shining. The house staff cleaned the mirror every day very carefully, and they did not allow any dust to gather on it. And due to this, the mirror remained quite proud and kept arguing all the time with the door.

The mirror’s pride kept increasing with every passing day.

Eventually, the mirror would only open its mouth to fight with the door.

One day in the house there was a small party going on and some of the guests had come to Mrs. Gupta’s house.

One of her friends complimented her and said, “Mrs. Gupta your mirror is shining and spotless. How do you keep the mirror so clean?”

Mrs. Gupta smiled and thanked them.

Hearing this, the mirror swelled with pride.

The mirror taunted and said to the door, “Look how everybody is talking about
my beauty and nobody is even asking about you!”

The door started to cry as it couldn’t say anything in reply.

When the seasons changed, everyone was happy with the onset of the winters. But one day, a thunderstorm arrived. Sonu, the younger son, opened the front door and went to play in the park without closing the door behind him. The door started to open and close because of the strong wind and before someone could shut it, the door banged shut by itself.

The impact of this loud thud caused the mirror on the wall to fall and it cracked and broke into several small pieces.

“What have you done?” the mirror screamed in pain.

“I did not do anything; I shut all by myself as a result of the thunderstorm. Please forgive me, it’s not my fault,” said the door as he looked at the mirror.

Tears started rolling down from the mirror’s eyes. The mirror had finally realised its mistake.

The thunderstorm had stopped, but the mirror, who was so proud of its beauty, was gone for good.