Author: Murkh Kaun,Vandana Gupta
Jay, the deer was very innocent. He lived in harmony with all the animals of Nandavan. They celebrated all the festivals together. While all may have been peaceful, the animals would always try to take advantage of Jay’s innocence. They would play pranks, but Jay would never feel bad and would always smile.
One day, the animals realized that Jay was nowhere to be seen. Without him, they all felt sad. The next day, Sanju, the jackal saw Jay behaving suspiciously. Very carefully, under the cover of the bushes, Jay was heading in the direction of the old banyan tree. Sanju followed him and from a distance he could see that Jay took out a piece of paper and hid it under some dirt and grass and went back. When Sanju picked up the paper, Jay had left a message for someone. The note read “Just two more weeks and victory will be ours. We will rule over the rest.”
When Sanju showed the note to the other animals, they were shocked. They all wondered what Jay was going to that would give him so much power. More importantly, they were all wondering who Jay’s partner was.
Jay was nowhere to be seen for another week until Heera, the parrot noticed him sneaking up to the banyan tree. Just like last time, he placed a note there.
When the other animals read his message, they were even more upset. “The day of our victory is drawing close. I can hardly wait. In a few more days the entire forest will bow their heads before us and obey our every command”, read the message.
Now the animals needed to get to the bottom of this at soon as possible. Heera was given the responsibility of finding out who Jay’s partner was. For five days he watched over the tree but nobody came there. On the sixth day he realized that the grass near the hollow of the banyan tree was suddenly fresh and green, all this while it had been dry. Heera quickly called the other animals.
When they investigated, they found yet another note. “Our wait has borne fruit. The day is finally here. All necessary preparations have been take care of. Meet me tomorrow at 9 in the morning near the peepal tree by the river. Be careful nobody should know of our plan”, said the message.
All the animals were very eager to find out who the mysterious person was and what their plan was. They decided that they would all go to the river bank and get to the bottom of this mystery. That night, the animals hardly slept. They gathered around a bonfire and discussed what they could do the next day.
When they reached the peepal tree by the river bank, they were all annoyed. Everywhere they looked, all they could see were signs that said “April Fool!” When all the animals began to walk back to their homes, they found Jay walking towards them. “What’s the matter? Why the sad face?” he asked trying hard not to laugh.
“All these years you played tricks on me and I said nothing and took it sportily. I played along because I realized it made you happy. But now, I have managed to fool each and every one of you,” said Jay.
All the animals apologized for taking Jay for granted and promised not to repeat their mistake. Jay had managed to teach them a valuable lesson.
They all had a hearty laugh and walked back home with Jay on their shoulders.
