Author: rgsind
Spring a Trap
Kavya’s Umbrella
Since morning, Kavya had been looking out the window to check if Uncle Rakesh had arrived. Every year, Uncle Rakesh would visit from Dubai, and bring Kavya her a unique gift.
“Mummy, Uncle Rakesh is here!” Kayva called out to her mother excitedly, when she saw a cab stop outside the house.
Kavya ran to open the door. Rakesh too was excited to see his favourite niece. He gave her a big hug. They both sat down on the sofa, while Kavya’s mother brought a cup of hot tea and some onion pakoras.
“Kavya has been eagerly looking forward to your arrival. Ever since she got up this morning, she has been looking out the window,” said Kavya’s mother.
Rakesh laughed and said, “That is because I am her favourite uncle! And as always, I have brought a gift for my favourite niece.”
Kavya’s eyes widened with excitement as he took out a gift from his bag.
“Thank you, uncle! Can I open my present now?” asked Kavya impatiently.
“Of course!” he replied.
Kavya immediately unwrapped the present and found a beautiful pink umbrella inside.
“Wow! What a beautiful umbrella!” she exclaimed. “It even has ears and eyes! I shall take it to school every day.”
“I am happy that you like the umbrella,” replied Rakesh.
Next day, Kavya carried her new umbrella to school. She showed it to all her friends. They were happy for her.
Soon, Kavya started carrying the umbrella wherever she went—to school, her friend’s house, the market, and even the garden outside.
One evening, when Kavya returned from her friend, Disha’s house, her mother said, “Kavya, I need to go out for a couple of hours. May I borrow your umbrella as mine is broken?”
“Sure, mom,” said Kavya and went to get her umbrella from her room.
“Oh no! I think I left it in the auto-rickshaw while returning from Disha’s house,” she said and began to cry.
“Don’t cry. We will try and find it, Kavya. Till then, you can use your old umbrella,” consoled her mother.
“But mom, it was a gift from Uncle Rakesh,” said Kavya sadly.
“I know it was your favourite. Let’s see if we can find it,” said her mother.
Kavya calmed down a bit but she was still sad that she had lost her favourite umbrella.
More From Champak: Help Yourself
Just then, the doorbell rang. Kavya’s mother opened it and saw a man wearing a khaki dress standing at the door.
“Ma’am, my name is Ramu. I dropped a little girl here in my auto-rickshaw a while ago.
I found this umbrella in the seat and I think it belongs to her,” said the man.
On hearing him speak, Kavya rushed to the door and saw the man holding her new umbrella. She was beaming with joy. “Thank you very much, uncle!” she said with a big smile. “But how did you know it was mine?”
“You were my last passenger before lunch after I dropped you, I went home. When I reached to take out my umbrella from behind the seat, I saw yours. That is when I remembered seeing it in your hand when you got into my auto. So, I immediately came here to return it,” he explained.
“Thank you, sir. It was very nice of you to come all the way back to return the umbrella. Kavya was very sad thinking that she had lost it,” said her mother.
Kavya and her mother fed the uncle some tea. Kavya was happy to have her umbrella back and also to know those good people are always there in this world.
Cheating the Teacher
Abhi and Rishi, King Sher Singh’s sons ran up to him. They were panting and sat down to catch their breath.
The King asked, “What happened?”
Abhi replied, “We are very tired. We lost the game we were playing.”
Sher Singh asked in surprise, “How did you lose the game?”
Rishi replied, “Father, we were playing ‘catch me if you can’—along with Cheetu, Jeetu and Deepu. As we came close to catching them, they climbed up a tree! Since we don’t know how to climb a tree, they defeated us many times. We got tired of trying to catch them.”
“Children, this is our biggest weakness. We tried learning to climb trees, but it didn’t work. Listen to this story,” said Sher Singh and started narrating his tale:
“Long ago, tigers and lions were unaware of different hunting techniques. So, they would often have nothing to eat. Due to starvation, our species became physically weak.
The cheetah, the leopard and the wild cat had a great reputation in the jungle. They were excellent hunters and experts in hunting techniques like cornering, catching and eating the prey. They were feared. These wild animals had claimed their right over a larger part of the jungle and had huge settlements.
One day, an old tiger thought, ‘Let’s send our children to the wild cats to learn the art of hunting.’
Everyone felt that if their children learnt hunting, they would never have to fear starvation.
The lions and the tigers went to the wild cats with their request. They agreed to teach the children. They put a condition that they would only teach two students!
The tigers and lions thought that this would be enough. In future, those who learnt could come back and train the rest.
A wild cat called Sonu was appointed as the teacher. Two bright and restless tiger cubs started their training. Sonu trained them in different exercises; bouncing, jumping and knocking down each other. Sonu also introduced hunting techniques.
The tiger cubs learnt skills like cornering the prey, nabbing and the proper use of claws and jaws. The training made the tiger cubs skilled in many hunting techniques. They grew up to be fearsome hunters.
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One day, during a practice session, the tiger cubs suddenly attacked Sonu. Sonu was clever. She had already sensed their intentions from their attitude and gestures. As soon as the tigers rushed towards her, she quickly jumped back and climbed up a tree that was near.
The tigers stared at her in surprise. They too tried to climb, but couldn’t succeed. They asked Sonu in frustration, “Teacher Sonu, how come you didn’t teach us how to climb a tree?”
Sonu said, “Dear students, we teachers give the most valuable knowledge only after testing and being sure about our students. Both of you felt that you have mastered everything. However, this one lesson that I had kept for the last saved my life.”
“It’s too bad that you didn’t prove to be good students. If you had, you could have learnt this technique too. Go home now with whatever knowledge I have given you and never come back.”
A question of age
The Stubborn Sea
He thought that the dirty rivers were polluting him. He warned the mountains to change the flow of the rivers.
Sumit, the chief of all the mountains explained that the river water was clean. It was necessary for the rivers to flow into the sea, as otherwise the land would get flooded. This, in turn, would make life difficult for the birds, animals and humans. However, Sindhu was stubborn.
Once Sindhu got so angry that he told Sumit, “I am warning you. If all the rivers flowing from the mountains on earth do not change their path, I will swallow all the mountains along with their rivers.”
Sumit did not reply. He remained silent and quietly returned to his abode.
When the other mountains and rivers heard about this incident, they were very disappointed. Everyone knew that Sumit was a peace-loving mountain. He stayed away from fights. The mountains knew that whatever had to be done, would have to be done by the rest of them. They called for a meeting under the leadership of Vindhya, the Mountain of the East.
Some mountains said, “It is necessary to teach the sea a lesson. He has lost his common sense. Many humans live on the banks of our rivers. By refusing to accept the waters of our rivers, the sea is disturbing the fine balance of nature. He spoke rudely to Sumit, a kind-hearted and honourable mountain.”
The leader of the Lahori Mountains, who was also present at the meeting said, “He is proud of his clean and healthy water. Leave it to us to teach him a lesson. We will reduce him to such a state that he will not be able to survive without the help of the rivers.”
The others asked, “What will you do?”
He replied, “Give us your permission to work on a plan. We will find a solution.”
Vindhya looked at the other mountains for their approval. They nodded their heads in agreement.
He said, “Alright, all of us agree to your proposal. However, do bear in mind that the balance of nature should not be disturbed.”
The leader of Lahori Mountains replied, “We will keep your words in mind before acting on our plan.”
The next day all the salt mountains proceeded towards the Sea. One of them said, “How could you speak so rudely to the respected mountain? You spoke of swallowing the mountains and the rivers. What do you think of yourself?”
Hearing this, Sindhu became angry and swallowed the entire mountain. Following this, the other mountains also provoked it. Soon, he ate up all the mountains that had come to him. He did not know that these were salt mountains. Meanwhile, the mountains dissolved in the seawater and became a part of it.
More From Champak: Stubborn Water
A group of herons came to drink seawater. The moment they took in a sip of water, they spat it out. The sea looked at them in confusion.
“Why are you looking at us in surprise? Your water is no longer sweet. No one will want to drink it anymore. You swallowed your brothers and sisters in anger, but did you realise the result of your action?” The cranes said.
The sea now realised how foolish he had been. He knew that he had acted carelessly and now he couldn’t undo what he had done.
By then Sumit, Vindhya, Shivalik and several other bigger and smaller mountains had reached the Sea. They saw the Sea hanging its head in shame.
Sumit praised the Lahori Mountains for their sacrifice.
“Now, what is your plan, O Mighty Sea? Will your body become dirty or clean with our rivers flowing into it?” Sumit questioned him.
“Please forgive me. I have made a big mistake and I have paid the price.
My pride has been crushed. I accept the laws of nature. I will no longer try to interfere in nature’s order,” replied the sea.
After that incident, the rivers flowed into the sea happily.
In Search of Uncle Pat
Late one evening, Popo started crying because his father had not yet returned. The neighbours began searching for Pat.
The next morning, Pat had not yet been found. Bobo, the monkey’s father said to Bobo, “Take Popo out to play with you. He has been crying all night. We will continue to search for Pat.”
Bobo, Popo and their friends got together at the ground nearby to play hide and seek. It was Popo’s turn to seek while everyone hid. Popo was peering through a bush looking for his friends when he suddenly heard Ricky, the rabbit’s voice.
“Look what I found! Come over here quickly!” Ricky called out to everyone.
All of them ran towards Ricky who was pointing at something.
“Look! Isn’t this Uncle Pat’s feather?” asked Ricky.
“Yes, this can’t be Popo’s as this feather is much bigger,” said Bobo.
Popo studied the feather and immediately brightened up.
“Yes. This is my father’s feather,” he declared. “This means he must have been here before he went missing.”
“Let’s split up and look for Uncle Pat. Let’s see if we can find more clues,” said Bobo.
All of them agreed and began searching the area.
“I have found another feather. Uncle Pat must have gone this way,” shouted Dana, the deer.
All of them walked together in the direction where the second feather was found. Soon, they found more feathers along the way which led them to the edge of the forest.
“We have reached the outskirts of the forest. If we walk any further, we will enter the village,” said Bobo.
“Come! Let’s go to the village. I am sure my father is there,” said Popo eagerly.
“No, Popo!” said Piku, the parrot stopping him.
“Humans can be dangerous. They have caught animals from our forest earlier too and taken them away,” said Bobo.
“So what? I am not afraid. I want my father back!” said Popo.
“We understand, Popo. But it is not safe to go there now. First, let Piku fly over the village and see whether your father is there or not,” suggested Mimi, the rat.
Popo agreed. Piku flew into the village, while the other children waited anxiously for him to return.
Piku returned after a while. “Popo, I saw your dad! He has been captured by a human. He is tied up to a tree in the courtyard of a house. I saw some humans roaming nearby, so it is not safe to go there now,” informed Piku.
“I want my father back. How do we get him out of there?” asked Popo.
“When the humans were not around, I flew down to talk to Uncle Pat. He said we can help him escape after the humans go to sleep at night. Till then, we will have to wait,” said Piku.
“In that case, let’s start preparing. I have a plan,” said Ricky, discussing his plan with the group.
After the sunset, all of them set out for the village.
“Do remember the house, Piku?” asked Mimi.
“Yes, but once we are in the village, we must walk carefully without making any sound. We should not talk too loudly either,” warned Piku.
As they walked through the village, Piku pointed to a house and said, “This is the house where Uncle Pat is.”
When they reached the house, Bobo said, “Ricky and I will go in and free Uncle Pat. Meanwhile, the rest of you hide here and warn us if you see any humans.”
Piku flew up and sat on a tree to keep an eye out for humans, while the others hid behind the bushes nearby
Ricky and Bobo sneaked into the house where Pat was tied. “Uncle Pat, we’ve come to free you. After we untie the rope, be ready to run,” whispered Bobo.
“Where is Popo?” asked Pat worried.
“Don’t worry, uncle. He is right here, hiding behind the bushes with our other friends,” replied Ricky.
Bobo and Ricky bit through the rope and freed Pat.
“Now run!” said Bobo.
Ricky ran ahead, leading the way for Pat and the others. Bobo climbed up the tree and escaped by jumping from one tree to another. Piku flew above the rest towards the forest.
But as Pat was running, he tripped over a bucket and fell.
“Who is it? Is anyone out there?” called out a man, coming out of his house to check the noise.
Popo quickly grabbed a stone and threw it far away from where they were. The man went in the direction where the stone had fallen. By the time the man got back, the animals were safely outside the village.
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Once inside the forest, everybody heaved a big sigh of relief. Pat gave Popo a tight hug.
“Thank you all for helping me escape,” said a relieved Pat. “I made the mistake of venturing close to the village. I am glad you found the feathers that I dropped along the way. I hoped somebody would follow the trail of feathers and find me.”
“How clever you are, dad!” exclaimed Popo.
All the animals were happy to see Pat back. Everybody appreciated the children’s bravery, but they were told to inform the elders first before they set off on such adventures.
Brushing it Right!
Find or Fined?
Brownie, the fox loved troubling animals smaller than her. She was an expert when it came to turning their weaknesses into her strengths.
Brownie always had her eyes on the rabbits that lived in the forest. She’d walk up to their burrow every day and all the rabbits would run helter-skelter.
One day, Gary, the rabbit worked up the nerve and said, “Hey Brownie, what brings you here at this time?”
“When I was passing through last night, I seemed to have dropped a golden ring. I’ve come to look for it,” lied Brownie.
“You lost a ring? Hmmm, I don’t think any of us saw a ring here,” said Gary.
“Don’t lie,” said Brownie. “I know you’ve hidden it somewhere in your burrow. I can see right through your act.”
“I promise we haven’t seen any ring here. I think you’re looking in the wrong place,” said Gary.
“Well, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m not going to rest until I’ve explored every single room in your burrow,” said Brownie and stepped forward.
Gary had fortunately seen through Brownie’s plan and said, “Stop! We cannot let you enter our home. You have to believe me when I say that we do not have your ring.”
“If you don’t return my ring immediately, I will have to call the police,” said Brownie.
Manny, the jackal, the sub-inspector of police was a good friend of Brownie. She had won him over promising him lots of rabbits. She brought him to the scene and narrated her version of the story to him.
“If you don’t have the ring then you have nothing to hide,” said Manny without listening to Gary’s version. “You will have no reason not to let her in and check for herself. Now let her in and search your burrow.”
Seeing Manny’s behaviour Gary realized that the two of them were in on it together. He instructed his friends to keep arguing with Brownie and not to let her in and set off to inform the Leo, the lion, the king of the jungle.
“Don’t worry Gary,” Leo assured him. “I will ensure that Browny doesn’t get away with this so easily.” He went with Gary to the burrow in order to sort things out.
Seeing Leo, Browny got scared, but she tried working her story on him as well. “Your Highness, I’m glad you’re here. I have full confidence that you will deliver justice. Gary and his friend have my ring in their burrow and are neither returning it nor are they letting us search their borrow,” she said.
“Alright I will let you search their burrow, but if you don’t find your ring inside, you will need to face the consequences and pay a fine,” said Leo.
Brownie was getting nervous, her plan was backfiring. Leo instructed all the rabbits to step out of their burrows and instructed Brownie and Manny to go in and search. As they entered the burrow, the narrow entrance starched their skin.
Inside, it was completely dark and it was pretty hot too. Brownie and Manny didn’t like being inside and quickly got out.
When they stepped out, Leo was waiting. They ended up paying a huge fine which Leo used to buy lots of carrots and gave them the rabbits. He gave both Manny and Brownie a final warning that if they troubled the rabbits ever again, they would end up facing dire consequences.
The rabbits were safe and they thanked Leo for saving them.
Dadaji And Rare Plants Found In India
Trip To Cave
One afternoon, Anusha came running back from school with a trophy in her hand.
“Mamma, look! I won the first prize in the painting competition at school,” said Anusha excitedly.
“That is great! I am so proud of you, Anusha!” said her mother.
“I must thank Neha didi for this trophy,” said Anusha. “I would always be in a hurry to complete my painting, therefore miss out on the finer details. She encouraged me to take my time and add details. Now my paintings are appreciated by everyone.”
“Yes, you can thank her in person. You can meet her when you go tomorrow for your morning class,” said her mother.
“Oh yes! Neha didi is taking us on a field trip. Last month, she took us to an art gallery. I wonder where she will take us tomorrow,” said Anusha.
“Wherever it is, I am sure it will be as good as your last trip,” assured her mother.
Next morning, Anusha and her art school friends were seated in the van along with their art teacher, Neha didi. Each one carried along with a small bag packed with their drawing tools, lunch box and a bottle of water.
“Didi, where are we going today?” asked Diksha.
“You will know once we reach the place in about 40 minutes,” replied Neha didi with a smile.
After a while, the van stopped and Neha didi called out, “We have reached our destination! Let’s explore.”
The students looked around confused.
“Where are we?” asked Riya puzzled.
“It looks like some historical place,” mumbled Dev.
“I think I know where we are. This place was excavated by archaeologists just a few months ago. I read about it in the newspaper recently,” said Anusha.
“But what are we going to learn in these old caves?” Anirudh wondered aloud.
Neha didi, who was listening to their conversation, said, “I promise that you will really like this place. There is so much to see and learn here, especially for people like us who are artists.”
“What is this place, didi?” asked Anusha.
“As you rightly said, it’s a recently excavated natural cave shelter. Inside, you will see proof of what great artists our forefathers were, even at a time when there was no technology, said Neha didi, leading them into the cave.
Once inside, everyone was surprised. The walls of the caves had magnificent paintings and sculptures of kings in their chariots, common folk going about their daily lives, and of animals like fish, lion and elephant.
Neha didi turned around to them and said, “Aren’t these paintings wonderful? Natural caves and shelters like this one contain several prehistoric paintings. Some of the paintings here are thousands of years old.”
“How did these paintings survive for so many years?” asked Dev curiously.
“These kinds of caves are generally carved out of tough rocks like granite and basalt which form the perfect base for painting. Since these frescoes—that’s what we call paintings on walls—are made deep inside the cave, they get shielded from harsh sunlight and other weather elements, and so they last long,” explained Neha didi.
The children listened in awe.
Neha didi continued, “Another reason why the paintings last long, is because of the different techniques used. The stone surface of the famous Ajanta caves in Maharashtra, for example, were chiselled and then plastered with a combination of clay, lime, hay and dung. This formed the canvas for the paintings. The unusual shine was achieved by adding powdered conches and seashells. Kuda Caves—also in Maharashtra—were plastered with a mix of mud and rice chaff.”
“But how is it that they have used so many colours? They certainly must have used some chemicals,” said Anusha.
“The colours are natural dyes made from plants and minerals that don’t change colour when mixed with the lime surface,” explained Neha didi.
“Were all the paintings done by one artist?” asked Anirudh,
“Actually, one artist would draw the outlines, another would fill it with colours and a third artist would give it finishing touches and add details,” said Neha didi.
As they walked along the cave, Diksha took out a pen to scribble something on the cave wall. Neha didi quickly stopped her.
“These paintings are very old and fragile. This type of graffiti can damage them. We must respect the art and the artists,” said Neha didi.
Diksha apologised and put her pen away.
Later, they all sat down in the garden outside the caves and drew some sketches.
“So, did you enjoy the trip?” asked Neha didi, while they were on their way back in the van. “We loved it!” said the students together. “We want to go on more such trips to learn about Indian art.”
“Great! I will start planning the next trip right away!” said Neha didi.
Who AM I
Who Am I?
Chirag’s Feathered Friends
When Chirag found out that his dad was getting transferred to the city, he was very excited. He couldn’t wait to start studying at the big schools there, roam in the fancy malls and watch movies at the theatres.
Ma was packing their things and Chirag was helping her. He wanted to move as quickly as possible and live life in the big city. But Ma knew that the novelty of the big city would wear off soon and Chirag would start missing Roohi, a friendly sparrow that lived in a tree outside their home.
Chirag and Roohi knew each other very well and Chirag would refuse to eat before feeding some rice or some grains to Roohi.
Soon it was time to move and Chirag and his parents reached the city and moved into their new home. Dad went to the office the next morning and Ma was busy setting up the house. Since he hadn’t made any new friends yet, Chirag sat at home getting bored.
A couple of days went by but on the third day when Chirag sat down for lunch, he remembered Roohi and felt sad. He remembered how he would leave a few pieces of rotis and how she would pick them up one by one and take them to her nest. He missed her sweet chirps. Chirag missed her so much that he went to sleep without finishing his dinner.
Even though he didn’t say why he didn’t feel like eating, Ma knew the reason. When dad came home that evening, she told him about Chirag. Dad suggested that he should try making friends with another sparrow just like Roohi, here in the city.
The next evening, on the way from work, dad brought home a birdhouse. He installed it outside their home and left a bowl of water outside it for the birds to quench their thirst.
In less than a week, the birdhouse had a tenant- a sparrow. Chirag named this sparrow Roohi too and she’d flit in and out of the sparrow house. Soon, she built a nest and laid some eggs which hatched into little sparrow chicks.
Dad installed another sparrow house for the other sparrows too. Seeing all the sparrows around Chirag’s house, all the kids in the area came to watch. They made sure there were enough food and water for the sparrows and took care of them.
One day, members from the “Save the Sparrows Group’ came to their colony. When they found out that the sparrow populations were rising in the area, they tried finding out how. When they found out that it was because of Chirag’s efforts, they praised him and presented him with an award.
The next morning, the papers carried a story about Chirag and his sparrows. Chirag’s parents were proud of him and praised him for his love for birds. They told him that if he continued his efforts and made the birds and animals around him happy, they would fill his life with happiness.
Chirag hugged his parent and thanked his dad for bringing him a birdhouse and making him happy.
As right as rain
Learn From Your Mistakes
“All this rain has left the entire forest flooded!” exclaimed Coco, the rabbit as he stepped outside.
You should just be thankful that the forest didn’t flood and that we didn’t get washed away,” said his neighbour, Miko, the mouse.
“That said,” continued Miko, “This portion of the forest is lower than the rest and gets flooded easily. Before the next spell of rain hits us, I think we should cross the river and head to higher ground on the other side.”
“I’m afraid this plan of yours will never work,” said Mojo, the monkey.
The animals of the forest quickly turned to him for an explanation.
“I just came from the bridge and it broke in last night’s rain. In fact, it’s in bad shape. We’d never be able to fix it up in time. Also, I’ve got a feeling that this side of the forest is definitely going to flood. I heard that all the bigger animals moved to the other side a couple of days ago.”
“Isn’t that just perfect,” said Coco. “While us smaller animals are the ones who’ll be hit the hardest by the rains, the bigger animals have left us and crossed the river to safety.”
“I think they’ve done the right thing. They must have decided to play it safe and move to higher ground just in case,” said Mojo.
“That’s fine, Mojo, but what can we do now?” asked Coco.
“All we can do is hope that we don’t get any more rain,” said Mojo.
Just then, Piko, the butterfly piped in, “That will just be wishful thinking. I just heard the humans talking, apparently, there’s going to be more rain coming in hours.”
“What are we going to do now?” asked Miko,
“Bridge or no bridge, let’s go to the river anyway. Maybe there’s another way across the river,” said Coco.
All the animals went to the river, but at the riverbank, things were worse than they had expected.
“There’s water everywhere!” said Miko. “And I don’t see any way across the river.”
“You’re right, I don’t see anything either. All I see are these turtles really enjoying themselves,” said Coco, a little annoyed. “But why wouldn’t they? They’re aquatic creatures after all.”
“Why don’t we ask them where the river is the shallowest and try crossing from there?” asked Mojo.
“Do you really think they’ll help us?” asked Miko.
“It’s at least worth a shot,” said Coco and walked up to the turtles.
But when Coco asked for help, the leader of the turtles, Kittu said, “What made you think we’d want to help you? Don’t you remember what you did when we asked you if we could be friends? It’s been a few months, so let me refresh your memory, you made fun of us and chased us away.”
Coco, Miko, Mojo and Piko hung their heads in shame. They turned to go back to their homes and find another way when Kittu turned to the rest of the turtles.
Kittu said, “My friends, we are not so petty that when an animal comes to us for help that we’d turn him away. Coco and his friends need our help crossing the river. Let’s help them out.”
“Kittu, they made fun of us. Do we really need to?” asked a turtle.
“When we offered them our friendship, they brushed it away and that was their mistake. These animals have come to us seeking help because their lives are at risk. If we don’t help them now, it will be the biggest mistake of our lives,” said Kittu.
All the turtles were convinced and they agreed to help them out.
“The water is too deep for you to cross on foot, but I have a plan,” said Kittu.
He ordered all the turtles to line up one in front of the one another from their side of the river to the other. Only their shells peeped out from under the water, forming a bridge. Coco, Miko, Mojo and Piko hopped across to the other side to safety.
“You have saved our lives, Kittu. We’re really grateful and we’ll never forget this,” said Coco. Along with Miko, Mojo and Piko, he apologised for making fun of them. Kittu and the turtles were happy that all of them had become good friends.
Rain Quest
Where Are The Rains?
“Few months ago, the jungle was green with trees, rich with water. But today, it is gasping for some fresh, cool air,” Blacky, the crow said.
All of them finally decided to leave the jungle as there was nothing left for them.
“Uncle Banyan, aren’t you going to come with us?” Hoppy, the frog, asked.
“Trees and plants can’t move, didn’t you know that? Don’t make him sad now,” Blacky said.
Uncle Banyan said, “Don’t scold him. But even if I could move, I wouldn’t have left the jungle.”
All the animals were shocked to hear this.
“Would you have stayed in this heat, Uncle Banyan?” Harry, the bear asked.
“Yes, I would have stayed here. I can’t leave the land where I grew up. It has given me everything. This is my jungle and I love it more than myself,” Uncle Banyan said.
Khokho, the monkey then asked, “Uncle, if we stay here, how will the problem be solved?”
“If we think of a solution, we could do something about this grave issue. All of you have lost hope and this is why you are leaving. Don’t forget that we are responsible for damaging our own environment. The reason for late monsoon is pollution,” Uncle Banyan explained.
All the animals were shocked to hear this.
“Would you have stayed in this heat, Uncle Banyan?” Harry, the bear asked.
“Yes, I would have stayed here. I can’t leave the land where I grew up. It has given me everything. This is my jungle and I love it more than myself,” Uncle Banyan said.
Khokho, the monkey then asked, “Uncle, if we stay here, how will the problem be solved?”
“If we think of a solution, we could do something about this grave issue. All of you have lost hope and this is why you are leaving. Don’t forget that we are responsible for damaging our own environment. The reason for the late monsoon is pollution,” Uncle Banyan explained.
All the animals agreed that this was true.
“Uncle Banyan is right. It is because the environment has been polluted that the rains are late. Earlier, it used to rain regularly, and we never had any problems,” Harry said.
“Please understand that it is not possible to change the condition of the environment in a day. But slowly and steadily, we can surely improve the situation,” Blacky added.
Everyone agreed.
“We should plant more trees here,” Khokho, the monkey said.
“We will also have to see that the ponds don’t dry up. We should dig up new wells to store rainwater, so we don’t face this same problem next year,” Hoppy, the frog said excitedly.
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“Yes, let’s work towards improving and helping the environment, so we don’t have to suffer next year,” Harry, the bear said.
Everyone agreed and decided not to leave the jungle. Just then, a few drops of water fell from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw that it had started to drizzle. All the animals were happy and started dancing in the rain.
Fearless Mongoo Gets a New Home
“May I stay here for a few days?” asked a trembling voice.
Beaky, the crow turned to see who this was. She saw a mongoose sitting below the tree.
Beaky asked, “Who are you? Why do you want to live here?”
“My name is Mongoo. The forest is flooded. The rains washed away my home. I have nowhere to go. May I live here for a few days?” Mongoo, the mongoose replied.
“I can’t let a stranger stay here,” Beaky said.
By then, other birds had gathered and tried to shoo Mongoo away.
Chilli, the parrot said, “We have eggs in our nests. You can’t stay here. We can’t trust anyone these days.”
Popo, the pigeon said, “Also, you aren’t clean. You have mud on you and it looks as if you haven’t taken a bath in a while.”
Mongoo was upset. She had tears in her eyes. She said, “Please, believe me. I’ve just lost my home and my belongings. Let me stay here for a day or two. I promise I won’t be of any trouble. I will leave once the water drains out.”
Owlie, the old owl was sitting on the branch and watching all this. He said to everyone, “Let her stay for a while. She needs help, can’t you all see that? Mongoo, you can stay here for tonight. There are a few stones below this tree. Make space for yourself there and sleep.”
The other birds didn’t say anything. Mongoo was relieved to hear this and thanked the old owl. She burrowed herself between the stones.
However, Mongoo couldn’t sleep very well. She kept tossing and turning. She was too hungry to sleep. She got up and sat to think what to do. Just then, she noticed a large black snake. It was crawling up the tree and was very close to Beaky’s nest.
Without thinking twice, Mongoo climbed the tree and pounced on the snake. They both fell on the ground. The snake was long and it wrapped its tail around Mongoo. But Mongoo did not give up.
With the help of her teeth, she bit the snake’s tail. The snake loosened its tail and Mongoo managed to escape from its grip.
All the birds woke with the clatter.
“Oh, what is this noise?” Chilli, the parrot asked.
“I think there is a fight going on,” Popo, the pigeon said.
The birds were shocked when they saw Mongoo fighting the snake. No one knew what was going on.
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The snake tried to attack Mongoo but she dodged its attack. She pounced on the snake and bit it. The snake shook itself loosely, retreated and was gone in a few seconds.
Mongoo was wounded. There were many marks on her body.
“Why were you fighting that snake?” Popo asked.
“That snake was about to attack Beaky’s nest. I had to fight the snake, otherwise it would have eaten her eggs,” Mongoo said.
“I don’t believe what you’re saying. What if you are just pretending to be on our side? You will say that as you wanted to stay here,” Beaky, the crow said.
“Yes! That’s what I think too.” Popo said.
Chilli agreed with them too. None of them wanted to believe her. Mongoo didn’t know what to say. She felt too weak to say anything.
Owlie, the owl had seen all that had happened. He came down and said, “I watched Mongoo fight the snake to save your nest and eggs, Beaky. She could have died today. She did this in front of you and still, you don’t believe her.”
Owlie continued, “She needn’t have done that. You all were rude to her, but she still helped us.”
Chilli, Popo and Beaky realised their mistake and apologised.
“I’m sorry that I thought you were our enemy. But you turned out to be a true friend,” Beaky said to Mongoo.
Chilli got medicines and cotton. They gently treated Mongoo’s wounds. They gave her some food to eat as well.
“Mongoo, you don’t have to go anywhere. Please live with us,” Popo said.
Mongoo was delighted to hear this. She didn’t just get home, but a family as well.
Writing An Essay
A Helping Hand
Gaurav’s school had closed and summer vacation had started. He was fond of his grandmother and loved spending his summer holidays at her place.
His family was going to his grandmother’s place again this summer, and their train was scheduled to depart at 6 a.m. But he was so excited that he woke up at about 3 a.m. to finish his packing and get ready.
Later, the family left for the grandmother’s home. But Gaurav had left his potted plant in his room.
“Oh! This place is so dark!” Nancy, Gaurav’s potted plant exclaimed.
The lights were off, windows were tightly shut and ventilators were covered with paper. There was no room for any light to enter.
“I am unable to breathe,” Nancy said. She felt utterly restless and was worried. She said, “Gaurav loves me, but how could he leave me alone to die in this darkness here?”
Nancy didn’t know what to do and was running out of patience. Just around that time, she heard a noise.
“Who is it?” Nancy asked.
Birdie, the sparrow was trying to remove the paper off the ventilator with her beak. Just then, she noticed Nancy.
“Hi! My name is Birdie,” she said.
“Birdie, please help me,” Nancy said to Birdie.
Birdie asked, “Who are you and why are you so restless?”
“I am Nancy. Gaurav has locked me in this room and he is off on a holiday. It is so dark here and I need sunlight. I feel so suffocated,” she said.
“Oh, don’t worry, little one. I will help you,” Birdie said to Nancy.
In the meantime, Birdie removed the entire paper off the ventilator using her beak and now there was some light in the room. But unfortunately, the light just managed to hit the cupboard. It didn’t help Nancy much.
“Oh Birdie! I am not able to get any of the sunlight that’s coming into the room,” Nancy said.
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Birdie thought for some time and then suddenly, she got an idea. She said she’ll be back. She flew to her nest where she had stored a piece of glass. She took it and came back. She placed it at the ventilator where the sunrays were coming into the room. She adjusted it so that the sunlight would fall on Nancy.
Nancy could barely understand what Birdie was trying to do. Just at that moment, a ray of light fell on Nancy and she screamed with happiness, “It’s magic! I feel so warm now!”
“Ha! It’s not magic, Nancy. It’s because of this mirror. When the ray of light struck the mirror, it reflected off the mirror and hit you instead,” Birdie said.
“Oh! Is that so? I feel much better now,”‘ said Nancy. She felt relieved, and she thanked Birdie for helping her out.
Then on, Birdie would often visit Nancy and spend some time talking to her. Nancy and Birdie went on to become inseparable friends.
Break A Leg
The Power of Intelligence
There was a dense forest on the way. While the old woman was walking she met a tiger in the jungle. The tiger said, “Granny, where are you going? I am hungry.”
The old woman smartly answered, “Grandson, what is the point of eating me now? My thin bones won’t satiate your hunger. I am going to my daughter’s home. She will feed me delicious food. When I will come back after a month, I will have gained a lot of weight. You should eat me at that time.”
Saying so, she kept walking. The old woman had just gone a little further when she met a bear. The bear said, “Come, Granny, come. Satisfy my hunger.” The old woman gave the same reason to the bear too. He too got fooled into thinking that she was saying the right thing. The bear too let the old woman go like the tiger.
When she had walked further, she saw a lion. The lion said, “Granny, it seems to be your turn today.” The old woman fooled him too in the same way and reached her daughter’s village.
She didn’t say anything about what had happened on the way to her daughter. When one month passed, she became worried about how she would dodge the tiger, bear and cry lion now.
One day her daughter asked, “Mother, I am taking good care of you, making such scrumptious meals for you, but even then you are regularly losing weight. What is the matter?”
Then the old woman told her about whatever had happened on the way. “Daughter, Sam the tiger, bear and the lion will be waiting for me in the way. Even if I’ll be lucky to escape from one, the other will surely eat me. That is the reason why I am worried.”
The daughter said, “Worrying won’t help you in any way, mother. I’ll tell you about a plan. Just follow it and those animals won’t be able to harm you at all.” The daughter took a huge pumpkin and made it hollow. She made her mother sit in the hollow pumpkin and gave her a bag of salt and chilli powder. Then she closed the pumpkin properly and rolled it on the way.
The pumpkin kept rolling and rolling. The lion saw it first. He asked, “O Pumpkin, an old woman was supposed to come on this way today. Did you see her?” The old woman replied from inside, “Pumpkin, keep moving. What do I know about the old woman?”
The lion moved aside for the pumpkin and the pumpkin rolled over again. It met the tiger on the way. The tiger too asked the same thing from the pumpkin. The old woman replied from inside, “Pumpkin, keep moving. What do I know about the old woman?”
The bear too was waiting for the old woman. He asked the same question as soon as he saw the pumpkin. The old woman too replied the same from inside the pumpkin. The bear got furious upon hearing the answer and hit the pumpkin hard with his leg. The pumpkin broke into two pieces and out came the old woman!
By that time, the tiger and the lion too came over there in search of the old woman. They saw the old woman sitting inside the pumpkin. All of them leapt towards her and began fighting among themselves to eat her.
The old woman said, “If you will fight like this, who will eat me? I will climb up on that big tree. All of you stand underneath it. I will jump from above. Whoever will catch me will be eligible to eat me.”
They all agreed on this. The old woman climbed a tree and they sat under it. When they all were looking up, she opened the bag and said, “Here I come.” Instead of jumping down, she began throwing salt and chilli powder.
When this powder went into the eyes of the lion, tiger and bear, they couldn’t open their eyes. They went mad with the pain and burning it caused. The old woman quickly got down from the tree and hurried towards her home. That is why they say, neither the tiger nor the bear is the most powerful. It is intelligence which is the most powerful of everything.
Our Own Land
There were dark clouds in the sky. The winds were blowing fast and the clouds were moving with it. Even though all the signs of rain were there, it didn’t rain.
Vaasu, the sparrow was looking up at the clouds. A partridge peered through his glasses and counted the number of clouds in the sky. The woodpecker counted the days on his feathers. It had been a month since the signs of rain had started but not a drop had touched the earth.
Everybody was suffering because of the heat. The ponds and rivers had dried up and the leaves had all turned yellow. All the animals were gloomy and there was not a single light moment to be shared.
“With each passing day, the forest looks worse than it did before. I really don’t feel like staying here,” said Minnie one day. The animals of the forest felt the same and they all decided that it was time to move to another place. They decided to give it one last chance and waited for the rain. But seeing that not a single drop fell from the dark sky, they started packing
“Mr. Banyan tree, aren’t you coming with us?” asked Chutku, the frog.
“Stop talking nonsense,” said Danny, the bear. “Don’t you know that plants and trees can’t walk? Don’t make him feel bad by asking such silly questions.”
“Don’t scold him, Danny,” said the banyan tree gently. He’s asked a very good question. But even if I had feet, I wouldn’t have joined you son.”
“But why?” asked all the animals.
“What would you do staying here in this heat?” asked Meechu, the mouse.
“I’d stay right here,” said the banyan tree. “How can I leave the very land that has got me where I am? Sure it has shown me some bad times, but the good times I have had here more than make up for it. Also, if I leave this land, then it will become even worse than it is right now. I cannot allow this to happen. I’d rather forgot my comfort than see this land become fallow.”
Hearing the banyan tree’s words, all the animals hung their heads in shame.
Lallu, the langur said, “But staying here isn’t going to make things any better. What’s the point in staying back then?”
“You feel this way because in your mind you’re certain that going somewhere else will make things better and that there’s no other solution. But if you put your mind to it, you’ll certainly think of a solution. Let’s also not forget that we are responsible for making our forest like this. We throw our garbage everywhere and are polluting everything. If we trouble Mother Nature, she will fight back.”
“It is up to us to make things right,” said the banyan tree. “If we start now, then we can change things soon. It will definitely take time, but it will be time well spent.”
Silence spread among the animals of the forest. They realized the mistake they have made and felt bad for deciding to leave their beloved forest.
“He’s right. If it hasn’t rained yet, it’s due to our actions,” said Danny.
“Let’s plant more trees,” suggested Vaasu, the sparrow. “This will help bring down 5 the heat.”
“Yes! And let’s dig more wells and ponds. We will collect rainwater in these and use them in the summer months,” said Minku, the mouse.
“You’re right. Let’s bear the heat this year and when it rains, let’s not only collect water in ponds and wells, let’s also save water by spending it wisely.” Jaggu, the elephant said.
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All the animals decided to stay back and get started on conserving rainwater. Suddenly, a drop landed on Minnie’s head. She looked up and a few more drops landed on her head. Soon, everybody had their heads turned up to the sky and were greeted by raindrops.
Soon, the few drops grew to a drizzle and then into the rain. All the animals enjoyed the refreshing rain. They picked up their belongings and went back home.
True Beauty
Penny, the rabbit had just given birth to a baby boy. A fluffy ball of fur, with big blue eyes and the rosiest cheeks anybody had ever seen, he was instantly loved by everyone. As soon as he was born, Penny’s husband Donnie received a huge raise at work. Linking the inflow of wealth to the arrival of their new baby, they named him Richie’.
Richie was so cute and so loved that all the neighbourhood kids wanted to play with him. He was also an instant hit at all the places he would visit with his parents. With all the attention he was getting, Richie grew up to be a spoilt little rabbit.
Soon, Richie turned four and started going to the nearby school. Though he was loved by all, they all had only one complaint about him. Whenever he would get angry, Richie would lose control and say mean and hurtful things. His parents tried to explain to him that it’s not nice to be mean to people but nothing changed.
Days passed in a flash and the news he just heard left Richie hopping around in excitement. Richie’s aunt, Aunt Bonnie, who lived abroad was coming to visit next Sunday. He loved her a lot and she loved him very much too. Richie was sure that she’d bring him a lot of gifts and chocolates too.
When Sunday arrived, so did Aunt Bonnie. She came with lots of gifts and even more love for Richie. He was very happy.
In the evening, Richie’s friends Yaami, the bulbul, Kaachu, the mouse and Chinki, the sparrow had come over to play. As they were playing together, Chinki damaged Richie’s eraser by mistake. Richie grew furious and shouted at Chinki.
Richie’s parents tried explaining to him that it’s wrong to treat guests this way. But Richie was still upset.
Aunt Bonnie had heard of Richie’s foul temper from his mother. So the next morning, Aunt Bonnie called Richie to her side.
She had two boxes in her hand. One was beautifully packed with wrapping paper and the other was a plain, uninteresting box. Both contained sweets and she asked him to pick one.
Richie immediately reached for the gift-wrapped box and ate a piece. It tasted bad and he returned the box back to her.
When she offered the plain box, he popped a piece in his mouth. It tasted wonderful and he took the box to school, promising that he would share it with his friends.
In the evening, when he returned, Aunt Bonnie asked him which box of chocolates he liked better? He immediately said “The plain one.”
When she asked him why he said it was because it tasted better.
“Do you think other kids would feel the same way too?” she asked.
“Of course, it’s the taste of the chocolate that matters. Not the packaging,” said Richie feeling proud.
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“Do you know why I made you choose between the two boxes?” asked Aunt Bonnie
Richie shook his head.
“You see Richie, we may be praised for our looks, but if we aren’t nice to others, nobody would want to be our friend. True beauty lies on the inside,” said Aunt Bonnie.
Richie understood what she was saying. He felt bad for the all times he hurt someone by saying mean things to them. He apologized to Chinki and to his parents and promised never to be mean to others ever again.
Dadaji’s Seeds
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Rango, the fox had just returned to Sundarban from the city with brand new clothes and an expensive car.
Rango’s friend Dummy, the donkey said, “What’s the matter? Did you win any lottery?”
“I got a job in a big bank. They’ll soon open a branch in Sundarban and I shall be the bank manager,” Rango said.
“Oh, that’s great news! A bank will do good to everyone here,” Dummy said.
Within a few days, there was a bank in Sundarban. Dummy along with his friends Montu, the monkey and Ricky, the rabbit went to the new bank to get their accounts made.
“Our bank has a new scheme. If you deposit Rs. 1,000 in your account, it will get doubled in a month,” said Rango.
They were shocked to hear this.
“Yes, of course. It will get doubled. Each of you will get Rs. 2,000. You can get your money after a month, Rango assured them. Dummy and Montu decided to deposit Rs. 1,000.
“How is it possible for money to double in a month? I have a bad feeling about this,” Ricky said to Dummy and Montu.
“You’re just doubtful about everything. The bank manager wouldn’t lie.” Dummy said.
“All right, then. Both of you go ahead and double your money, but I won’t. I don’t trust Rango,” Ricky said.
Both Dummy and Montu deposited Rs. 1,000 each. A month later, their money got doubled. They were very happy to receive double the amount they had deposited. However, Ricky was still suspicious about the whole thing.
Slowly, the news about the money being doubled reached everyone in the forest. Rango soon became popular among everybody in the forest. Customers started queuing up at the bank in the hope of getting their money doubled. One day, he put up a board outside the bank that said “There is a new scheme. Deposit one lakh rupees within two days and get three lakhs after one month!”
On reading the notice, Dummy and Montu each decided to deposit one lakh. Dummy tried convincing Ricky but in vain.
Dummy said, “I understand you were suspicious the first time but didn’t you see how we got back double the amount then?”
Ricky replied, “Yes, I did see. But this is a huge amount, Dummy. And you are thinking of depositing your entire life savings.”
Dummy wasn’t worried and both he and Montu deposited their savings.
After a month, they went to the bank to collect their money. But they were shocked to see a big lock on the door. Other customers who stood there looked worried.
“This bank has shut down. Bank manager Rango left the forest yesterday,” the security guard said.
“What do you mean? Now we’ll never get our money back! Has he really run away with our money?” Montu exclaimed with fear.
“Oh no! I had put all my savings into this. What am I going to do now?” Dummy said.
Ricky said, “There’s no point crying now. I tried to warn you. All this happened because of your greed.”
Montu and Dummy didn’t know what to do. Ricky tried to console them.
“But what do we do now? Where do we find Rango?” Dummy asked.
“I think the best thing to do now is to file a complaint against Rango at the police station,” Ricky said.
All the animals went to the police station together. Upon hearing everyone’s complaint, Inspector Gummy, the bear said, “It’s your fault. You should have been careful with your money,” Inspector Gummy said.
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“Inspector, we are aware of our mistake and we regret depositing all this money in that bank. But please help us,” Montu said.
“All right, I will help you. But do not repeat this mistake ever again,” Inspector Gummy said.
All the animals promised that they would never repeat this.
At that, Inspector Gummy smiled and said, “You’ll be happy to know that Rango is behind bars now. And your money has been recovered too.”
All the animals breathed a sigh of relief. Dummy asked, “How did you catch him, Inspector?”
Inspector Gummy said, “Actually, it’s because of Ricky. He had informed me about Rango. We had our eye on him since then. When he was trying to run away with all the money last night, we arrested him. We found all the money and documents too.”
Everyone congratulated Ricky and pledged to never be greedy again. They learnt that there is no quick way of earning lots of money.
Damru’s Honest Mistake
No Fee for This Chore
“Rohit, please get me a glass of water,” said Rohit’s father.
“Dad, I’m doing my homework. Please ask Divya to get it for you,” replied Rohit from the living room, while continuing to read his book.
“Alright, son. At least do come over to collect your pocket money,” said Dad.
Rohit immediately went up to Dad and stretched out his hand to collect the money. On seeing him, Dad started laughing. He knew that though Rohit never helped around the house, he was always ready to collect his pocket money.
After collecting the money, Rohit went back to his books. Later, Dad called out again, “Rohit, will you please get me today’s newspaper?”
“Dad, I am studying. Please don’t disturb me,” replied Rohit.
“Rohit, I forgot to give you money to buy the books you had asked for. Please come over and collect it,” said Dad.
Rohit ran up to him. Dad knew that whatever money was left after buying the books, Rohit would add them to his piggy bank.
Dad kept laughing as he gave Rohit the money. Although Rohit was puzzled by Dad’s behaviour, he did not ask him about it.
As Rohit walked back to the living room, his father called him again. This time too, Rohit went running to him. He thought that his father was going to give him more pocket money. But his father started laughing,
Rohit was annoyed. “Dad, why are you laughing?” he asked.
“I am laughing at your greed, son,” replied Dad. “I did not even tell you why I called you, but you came back running thinking I was going to give you more money. You would not get up to help me, but you were willing to interrupt your studies to collect your pocket money.”
Rohit felt ashamed of his behaviour. He quietly walked away. He came back with a glass of water and the newspaper, and quietly placed them on his father’s desk. Dad then offered some money to Rohit, but he refused to take it.
“I am sorry, Dad. I should have given you the water and newspaper when you had requested for them. I will not take money for this,” said Rohit.
Dad hugged him and said, “It’s alright, son. Remember, never be greedy about money and always respect your elders.”
Rohit nodded and hugged his father back.
