Author: rgsind

Summer was making life at Ashokvan hard. The sun’s harsh rays beat down on the ground, taking away all the water. The earth was parched, the plants had dried and all the animals were thirsty. Since Ashokvan didn’t have any rivers flowing through it and all the lakes and ponds had dried up, the animals had to travel far, deep into the neighbouring forest to quench their thirst.

The severe water shortage meant that all the animals were growing weak. Bhola, the monkey had worn himself out while looking for food all day, when suddenly he started feeling light-headed. Then, without any warning, he fell unconscious.

A crowd gathered around him, as concerned animals gathered to see if they could help.

“He’d wake up the moment we sprinkle water on his face. But we don’t have any water to spare. What have our lives come to?” asked Kani, the crow.

Just then, Mili, the squirrel came running and asked all the animals to make some room and give Bhola some fresh air. She then ran back home, came back with a bottle of water and splashed some on Bhola’s face. He regained consciousness and she gave him a drink of water.

The animals who saw this happen were astonished. “Where did you get all that water?” they asked her. “You look so fresh, like you’ve taken a bath!” remarked others.

“As a matter of fact, I had just stepped out of a bath when I saw that Bhola had fainted,” said Mili.

“Where did you get the water?” they asked. “Where did you get the water?” they asked.

“I had saved it, of course,” said Mili. “When it rained last week, I knew that this was the right time to save water. So, I rearranged the leaves on a few branches in such a way that I could fill them up with water and save it for later.”

The animals were amazed and praised Mili for her ingenuity. Soon, word of Mili’s store of water spread across the forest. Everybody wanted to save rainwater just like her. Even the water minister, Kalu, the bear was impressed and said, “If a little squirrel can save enough water to last her the summer, imagine what we can do together?”

He asked the animals to suggest different ways to conserve rainwater. One by one, the animals gave him their ideas and the good ones were implemented immediately. Slope corrugated roofing was installed on all terraces. The roofs would slope towards pipes that would channel the water into tanks.

Slopes, planes and storm drains were all directed towards natural water bodies and tanks, thus enabling more water to be stored for use, instead of running off or evaporating.

By the time they were finished, each and every animal had done something or the other to save rainwater. When it rained, all their hard work came to fruition, and there was enough water stored to last the rest of the summer.

Kalu announced that the rainwater harvesting project was a grand success. He said, “We have enough water to last us a long time. By boiling it before drinking, we can use it well into the future.”

The animals of Ashokvan were very happy and thanked Mili for saving them from the summer.

When little Isha learnt that on the first of next month she would start school, she was happy as a butterfly. She jumped around the house, thinking about all the fun she was going to have there.

As the days went by, her parents started buying her all the things she would need for school. With just a day to go, Isha had everything she needed for her first day. She had a pretty little bag filled with colourful books and a new set of uniform and shoes too.

Her little brother, Chotu, looked at all her things in awe. He couldn’t help but open her bag and see what’s inside.

“Be careful,” said Isha. “They’re new.”

“Sorry, I was just looking,” said Chotu.

“Alright, go ahead but don’t turn the pages. They might tear,” said Isha.

“Is this your lunch box?” asked Chotu picking up her casserole.

“Yes, that’s a casserole. It will keep my lunch nice and warm,” said Isha.

“Your shoes are so nice,” said Chotu.

“Uh huh,” said Isha. “I have two pairs. One to go with the regular uniform, one for the sports uniform and on Saturdays, I can wear whatever I want. I’ll wear a new frock every week.”

Hearing all this, Chotu also wanted to go to school. But he’d have to wait another year before that happened.

In the evening, Isha’s friends Pinky and Shweta came over to play. They were all going to board the school bus together the next morning.

“Will you come see me off in the morning, Chotu?” Isha asked him.

Chotu nodded and resumed playing fetch with Shweta’s dog, Bruno.

“Shweta, does Bruno see you off every morning?” asked Isha.

“Yes, he does,” said Shweta. “He runs ahead and waits with me till the bus arrives.”

That night, Isha had packed all her books and readied her uniform for the next day. She could hardly wait. The next morning, Isha’s parents rode with her on the bus and took her to class. They introduced her to her class teacher at Rimjhim School. Isha took an immediate liking to her new school and her teacher. She sat right next to her teacher and made lots of friends. *

Her teacher was very sweet to her and said, “You have such a nice name.”

Isha smiled and said, “Thank you, ma’am.”

“You seem to have made a lot of friends today. Are you having fun?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, ma’am, I am,” said Isha.

Courageous Brother

“Very good,” said the teacher. “Do you have any friends outside school?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, I do. Shweta and Pinky are my best friends. They are older than me, but we play together every evening,” said Isha.

“That’s nice,” said the teacher. “How many people are there at home?”

“There’s me, Chotu and my parents,” said Isha.

“Is Chotu your brother?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, he is. He’s younger than me, but he’s my best friend too,” said Isha.

“That’s great,” said the teacher. “Why don’t you stay here and I’ll be back in a minute,” she said and stepped outside.

As Isha sat in her place near the teacher’s desk, she saw that a strange man was peeping inside through the window. Isha felt nervous. After looking around, the man climbed in through the window and walked towards the teacher’s bag. Isha immediately ran to the teacher’s chair and grabbed the bag.

“Who are you? Go away!” she said to the strange man, but he didn’t listen and tried to snatch the bag away from her.

Isha held on tight and refused to let go. She called out to her parents, who were outside paying Isha’s fees. The thief yanked hard on the bag and knocked Isha down. She burst into tears and cried out loud.

Hearing her cries, her parents came running. Startled, the thief jumped out of the window and escaped.

As her parents came, they asked her what happened. Hearing all the commotion, the teacher too came running and at once understood that Isha had foiled a robbery. She took her bag from Isha and gave her a hug.

“Isha, you’ve not even finished your first day at school and you’ve already shown tremendous courage,” said the teacher. “I had my money, phone and credit cards in that bag. Thank you for not letting that man steal it,” said the teacher.

Isha stopped crying and realised what she had done. She smiled for knew she was going to like school.

When Meenu, the squirrel’s summer vacations began, her appetite grew by leaps and bounds. If one day she demanded biscuit cake, on another she would crave pizzas and burgers. And while she was having a good time, her mother grew tired of this.

One day, Meenu’s mother said, “Meenu, you’re getting older now and you will need to start becoming responsible. Why don’t you help me out around the house? It is important for all children to develop such skills at an early age.”

Meenu really liked her mother’s idea. She started waking up early in the morning and going for a walk. Then she would spend some time studying, and then later help her mother in the kitchen. After that, she would go out to play with her friends.

In the kitchen, Meenu’s mother started her off with simple things like how to wash the vegetables and store them in the fridge. She taught her the names for various ingredients too. Once she had learned this, she taught her how to prepare simple dishes like rice, dal and other dishes. Meenu had a lot of fun and loved helping her mother.

When Chinki, the dormouse’s mother heard that Meenu has been learning how to cook, she asked her to learn too. Chinki flat out refused and told her that she is not interested in learning how to cook. She just wanted to enjoy her summer vacations.

Duggu, the elephant, Sheenu, the fox and Molu, the jackal wanted to spend their summer vacation in the same way. When Meenu told that that they should spend their summer vacations learning something new like painting, swimming or music, they refused to listen. They made fun of her and started laughing but Meenu didn’t feel bad.

One day Meenu and all her friends were at the park when they noticed a flier on the bulletin board. It was an announcement about a cooking contest in the colony.

The contest was called Kitchen Kids’ and would take place in one week. The kid who prepared the best dish would be awarded a cycle. The chance of winning a cycle interested them all. Chinki, Duggu, Sheenu and Molu didn’t know how to cook; they decided to spend the next seven days at home learning how.

Meenu was feeling sad. Despite it being her summer holidays, she could no longer meet her friends. When she offered to teach them how to cook, her friends weren’t receptive. They felt insecure about the fact that Meenu was already a good cook and her chances of winning were much higher than theirs. So they told her that they didn’t need her help.

The day of the cooking contest was drawing near. Meenu was feeling very lonely. It had been so long since she had seen any of her friends. While they were worried about the competition, Meenu was not. She wasn’t even interested in winning the cycle. The only reason she looked forward to the competition was because she would finally be able to meet her friends.

When Meenu asked her mother what she should prepare at the competition, she asked her to prepare anything her heart desired.

“After all,” she added. “This competition is being conducted so that children can learn something new and become selfsufficient. So it is best that you decide what you would like to make and I’ll help you with your practice batches.”

Meanwhile, Chinki, Duggu, Sheenu and Molu were trying to learn how to make one dish each so that they could prepare it at the competition and win the cycle.

On the day of the competition, all the children assembled at the venue. In order to win the cycle, they would need to successfully complete two rounds and move on to the third where they would have to prepare their special dish.

The first round involved identifying different ingredients. Meenu and all her friends except Sheenu and Molu cleared this round.

In the second round, all the children were given a bowl of ice-cream each and asked to identify all the different flavours in it. Duggu, who had barely cleared the previous round, was getting really nervous because he was not able to identify half the flavors. Not only was Duggu eliminated in this round, Chinki was too.

In the final round it was Meenu against three other kids from the colony. Meenu prepared pudding and won the competition.

Chinki, Duggu, Sheenu and Molu regretted the fact that they didn’t learn how to cook sooner. If they had, they would have had a better chance at winning the cycle.

When Meenu was handed the keys to her cycle, she ran towards her friends. “This is not my cycle,” she said. “This is our cycle.”

When Chinki, Duggu, Sheenu and Molu realized how much love Meenu had for them, they all gave her a big hug. They congratulated her on her victory and chanted, “Hip-hip. Hurray! Hip-hip Hurray for Meenu!”

Tippy, the squirrel, Dina, the deer, Roco, the racoon, Lanny, the lamb and Chimp, the monkey were travelling in the school bus together. They were on their way to a picnic near the stream along with their teacher, Giro, the giraffe. They had brought along their favourite snacks and games.

“My mother has given me sweets made of dry fruits,” said Tippy excitedly to his classmates.

“I’ve got burgers!” Roco pitched in.

Dina had brought laddoos made by her grandmother while Lanny had popcorn and pineapple slices.

“Chimp, what have you got?” asked Tippy.

“My parents have gone out of town to visit my grandmother, so I have just brought along some nuts that I found in the house,” replied Chimp.

Soon, the bus reached the picnic spot and they all got off. Giro spread out a mat and asked all the children to put down their bags on it. Then they all rushed to the stream nearby and started playing games.

And They Became Friends

After a while, Chimp felt thirsty. He excused himself and went to the spot where all their bags were kept to drink water. He joined them again and continued playing.

“It’s time for lunch!” announced Giro.

Feeling quite hungry, the children quickly sat on the mat as instructed by their teacher, and opened their lunch boxes.

When Lanny opened his box, he was shocked to find it empty! “Where have my pineapple slices gone?” he wondered aloud.

“Maybe your mother forgot to pack them,” said Chimp. “Don’t worry. I’ve got some pineapples too. You can share with me.”

“But you said you have only got some nuts!” exclaimed Lanny surprised.

“Yes, but I can climb trees, remember? I spotted a pineapple tree nearby and plucked one from there,” replied Chimp.

Giro who was listening to the conversation asked, “So you climbed a tree and plucked the pineapple, did you? Then how did you peel it?”

“I peeled it just like how one peels a banana,” replied Chimp.

“Chimp, please return Lanny’s pineapples to him,” said Giro calmly.

Everyone was confused.

More From Champak: The Egg Thief

“But sir, these are mine,” said Chimp.

“Stop lying and confess to what you did. Else, I will have to complain to your parents,” said Giro.

Chimp was scared. “Please don’t tell my parents, sir,” he said nervously. “I stole the pineapples from Lanny’s box.”

“But why did you do that?” asked Roco surprised by his confession.

“I had never eaten pineapples before but had heard that they are very tasty. When Lanny said that he had brought some, I wanted to try them but was embarrassed to ask. So I decided to steal them,” explained Chimp.

“But weren’t you with us the whole time?” wondered Dina.

More From Champak:  A Thief of Champakvan

“While we were playing by the stream, I made an excuse of being thirsty and came here alone. I used the chance to empty Lanny’s pineapples into my own box,”” revealed Chimp.

“But you could have just asked me, Chimp. I would have happily shared them with you. There is no need to be embarrassed when among friends,” said Lanny.

Chimp was ashamed of himself. “Please forgive me. I have made a mistake,” he said in a low voice.

“I hope you have learnt your lesson, Chimp. It is never okay to steal,” said Giro.

“But sir, how did you figure out that Chimp was lying?’ asked Dina.

“Because Chimp’s knowledge of pineapples is poor. First of all, pineapples don’t grow on trees; they grow on the ground. Their leaves are thorny and the skin is very rough, so they cannot be peeled with bare hands like a banana. You have to peel them using a knife,” explained Giro.

“It’s okay, Chimp. Next time you need something, just ask us. We are all friends after all,” said Lanny smiling and offered Chimp some pineapple slices. All the friends shared their food and had a hearty picnic lunch.

It was a beautiful morning. All the flowers in the garden were happy basking in the sunlight. The garden had many varieties of flowers-tulips, red roses and daisies besides others. As the flowers were talking, one of the tulips said, “I look so pretty when the sun shines on me. No wonder everyone loves me the best.”

The red rose said, “That is not true. You should see me early in the morning when there are dewdrops on my petals; surely, I am the most beautiful flower here.”

Jamun’s Prudence

“None of you can match up to me and my colourful family. Everybody praises our beauty and fragrance,” said the daisy.

All the flowers kept arguing.

The tulip then said, “Shhh… Keep quiet all of you. There are some people coming this way; maybe they will tell who among us is the most beautiful.”

All the flowers agreed and became quiet. They flashed their best smile to make themselves look beautiful. When the people came by, some praised the tulip, while some praised the red rose and others the daisy. This confused the flowers even more.

“It’s almost time for the florist to come. He will surely be able to help us decide,” said the rose.

Sure enough, soon the florist arrived. All the flowers eagerly waited for him to say something. The florist first went straight to the tulips and plucked them.

“The florist doesn’t even want to keep you in his garden; that is why he plucked you,” said the rose to the tulip.

The tulip was sad. The florist then started plucking roses.

“Now it’s your turn,” mocked the daisy. “Looks like I am the only one he wants in his garden,” it said proudly.

But the daisy was next. The florist plucked it and tossed it into his basket. The flowers were thoroughly confused. “Doesn’t he want any of us in his garden?” they wondered.

More from Champak: The Proud Watermelon

The florist then took the flowers to his shop. He placed the tulips in a vase. He added the roses and the daisies as well. He decorated the bunch with coloured papers and ribbons.

“How wonderful it looks!” exclaimed the florist, admiring his bouquet. “All the flowers are beautiful, and together they have made my bouquet more beautiful,” he said.

The flowers then understood that each of them were just as beautiful as the other and smiled back happily at the florist.

Jiya liked reading story books, especially if the stories had to do with forests. But living in a big city like Hyderabad, she had never seen a forest in person. She always wondered what it would be like to live among the trees and rivers.

One of her classmates had lived in several forests, as her father was a forest officer. She had many stories about the forests, that made Jiya want to visit one all the more.

Soon, the summer vacation started.

Nature Springs a surprise!

“I want to visit a forest. Can we have a holiday in some forest? Even a picnic would do,” Jiya requested her parents.

“That’s a good idea. It is getting so hot and a day in the cool forest would do us some good,” replied her father.

“Why don’t we go to Ananthagiri hills? It is so close to Hyderabad,” suggested her mother.

“Yes, we can plan a trip there. I have a friend who has visited that place. I’ll find out the details,” said her father and immediately began making plans.

That very weekend, Jiya and her parents were on their way to Ananthagiri hills which was just a two-hour drive from Hyderabad. As they travelled, she looked out from the window. There were so many big trees that reached up to the sky; many birds and butterflies flew past.

“This place is so green!” she exclaimed as they reached their destination.

Jiya’s father had booked a cottage for them to stay. A caretaker came to greet them at the door. They had their breakfast and set out to explore the place.

They walked along the winding pathways that opened out amid huge trees with their roots spread out across the forest floor, dense shrubbery and even acres of coffee plantations. They saw several species of insects and birds. Jiya was most thrilled to spot a peacock!

After a long walk, they came back to their cottage hungry. While they were waiting for lunch, Jiya heard the sound of flowing water.

“There must be a stream nearby. We must take a look at it after lunch!” she told her father excitedly.

After lunch, Jiya and her parents set off to explore the woods. Soon enough, Jiya was looking at a little ribbon of water dancing down the slope of the hill. It was a beautiful sight!

“Now I know why my friend loves forests!” said Jiya.

More from Champak: Math in Nature

They then trekked up a hill and enjoyed the sunset from up there. Post dinner, thoroughly tired from the day’s adventure, the three of them fell fast asleep.

The next morning, they were preparing to leave. Jiya was sad, but she thought to herself, “When I grow up, I will be a forest officer. The forest is the place to be!”

Summer was at its peak in Champakvan and all the greenery had disappeared. Bushes were reduced to twigs and the leaves that were once green had fallen to the ground. The ponds had dried up and fast-flowing streams were reduced to trickles of muddy water. The sky was dusty and grey with not even a single patch of cloud.

Most of the herbivores had migrated in search of greener pastures and Cheeku, the rabbit was wondering if he should follow them too.

A rumor was floating around Champakyan. Animals spoke of a bush with fresh, green leaves. The only catch was that the animals that were last seen approaching it were never seen again.

Dina, the deer, was a dear friend of Cheeku’s. One morning when they met, she asked, “Do you think it’s safe to go near the evergreen bush? I haven’t eaten any green leaves in so long.”

“My deer friend,” said Cheeku. “I’d warn you against it. There seems to be something fishy about that bush. Why don’t you give me a day and I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Dina was feeling very hungry, so despite Cheeku warning her, she went straight to the evergreen bush. When Cheeku heard that Dina was heading the direction of the bush, he rushed over there as fast as he could.

Sadly, he was too late. Just as he reached the spot, he saw Dina disappear in to the bush.

Cheeku was afraid. Not only was he scared to approach the bush, he was also afraid he might have lost Dina forever. He watched the bush from a distance when suddenly he got an idea.

He went up to Uncle Horn, the rhinoceros and said, “Hey Uncle Horn, all the animals in the forest were talking about that mysterious bush. They all started saying how even you are too scared to approach it. When I stepped in to defend you, they started calling you a coward.” Cheeku knew that Uncle Horn was very proud and had a bit of a temper too.

“What? How dare they call me a coward?” growled Uncle Horn. “I’ll show them!” Uncle Horn and Cheeku went to the bush, and Uncle Horn charged it with all his strength. He knocked it over and began tearing it apart with his horn.

“No, No! Stop! Don’t hurt me!” said a voice from inside the bush.

When Uncle Horn calmed down, Wily, the wolf crawled out from inside the bush

“I knew there was something fishy about that bush!” cried Cheeku.

Help me, help me!” said a voice from where the bush was before.

When Cheeku moved in closer, he saw Dina, all tied up, at the bottom of a pit. Cheeku realized what had been happening all this while. Wily had dug a deep pit under the bush and would pull in any animal that would come near. He would tie them up and take them away later.

With Dina rescued and Wily chased away, Cheeku, Jumbo and Dina munched on some yummy green leaves, and shared it with the other animals that would come that way.

With so many animals here, Cheeku told them that they should all work together and dig wells so that they could find water and make Champakvan green again. That way there would always be green bushes for everyone to enjoy.

Rio, the rhino had moved to Lush Meadows recently. Because he was from the city, he considered himself to be superior and more intelligent than the animals in the forest.

One day Chimp, the monkey and Giro, the goat were having tea at the tea shop, when Rio stopped by.

“I was the smartest animal in the city. Everyone came to me to ask for solutions for their problems,” boasted Rio.

“That’s good to know. We will also come to you if we have any problem,” said Chimp.

“Yes. You must,” said Rio.

“But why should we?” Giro asked Chimp. “Aren’t we as smart as him?”

“Not at all!” replied Rio. “Animals in this forest are illiterate. You have to go to the city and study in order to become smart.”

We may be less educated, but that doesn’t mean we are fools,” said Chimp and walked away.

As days went by, more and more animals were getting annoyed by Rio’s behaviour. He was rude and haughty.

“Chimp, what does this Rio think of himself? He blows his own trumpet all the time!” said Kira, the cat.

“Yes, I am also fed up of his behaviour,” said Giro.

“I have an idea! If you all cooperate, then we can teach him a lesson,” said Chimp and explained the plan to his friends.

Next day, Chimp went to visit Rio at his house. “Rio, you are indeed very smart. You should be the king of this forest. You have all the qualities to be one,” said Chimp.

Rio was beaming with pride.

“But only one thing is missing,” added Chimp.

“What is missing?” asked Rio surprised.

“You look unfit. If only you worked out and became as fit as our King Leo, then no one can stop you from becoming our new king,” said Chimp.

“I think you are right. I need to be fit to become a king. I will start exercising right away,” said Rio eagerly.

Few days later, the doorbell rang at Rio’s house. When he opened the door, he saw Wonky, the donkey with a parcel. He handed it over to Rio and left.

Rio was surprised. He quickly opened the parcel to see a yellow t-shirt and a note inside. It read: “This t-shirt has been manufactured after a lot of research. It has been made with a special type of fabric. The person who wears this and walks for an hour will become fit in two days.”

Rio became happy. He did not have to work hard and tire himself out. Just a walk wearing this t-shirt will do, he thought. He immediately wore it and went out for a walk.

He met Giro along the way.

“You look smart in this t-shirt, Rio. Where did you get it from?” enquired Giro.

“Somebody sent it over as a gift. It’s a magical t-shirt,” said Rio proudly.

“Magical? What’s so magical about it?” asked Giro surprised.

“If I wear this and walk for an hour, I will become fit in just two days. If you don’t believe me, come and see me after an hour,” said Rio and continued walking.

He met Chimp and Kira too and he told them the same story.

After an hour, Rio was walking back home when he spotted a crowd gathered near his house.

Hi Rio. We were eager to see how the magical -shirt has changed you, and hence we all came here. But you look just the same,” said Wonky.

“That’s what I felt too. I don’t feel any different as well. I don’t know what went wrong,” said Rio and turned to go inside.

Immediately everybody laughed.

“Why are you laughing? It may not have worked today, but it will surely work tomorrow!” said Rio, a little embarrassed.

“Rio, we are laughing because there is something written on the back of your t-shirt. You seem to have missed it in your hurry to wear it,” said Chimp.

“What is written?” asked Chimp.

“It says ‘April Fool”,” said Kira. Rio was shocked!

“This is not a magical t-shirt; it is a regular t-shirt. We planned to make you think about becoming the king and sent over the t-shirt through Wonky. We did all this just to show you that you are not as smart as you think,” explained Chimp.

Rio was ashamed of his behaviour. From then on, he stopped blowing his own trumpet and began respecting the other animals in the forest.