Champak Character: Cheeku
Cheeku & Ice-cream
Meeku’s Note Trail!
Cheeku & Cooling Oil
Cheeku & Coin
Greeting Card
Champakvan had an orphanage devoted to the care of orphans. It was home to a lot of children. The boarding, lodging and studies of these children was completely undertaken by King Shersingh.
Shanno cat was employed as the caretaker of the orphanage.
King Shersingh visited the orphanage once a month.
One Sunday, when Shersingh reached the orphanage, Shanno was waiting for him at the gates to welcome him.
“Shanno, I hope the kids are well taken care of?” asked Shersingh.
“Yes, my King! I take care of them like my own kids. I am at their service throughout the day. I am always concerned about them,” replied Shanno.
“My King, I request you to come and see for yourself how well these kids are taken care of,” she continued taking Shersingh to the kitchen.
Lunch was being prepared in the kitchen. There was chapati, rice, dal, vegetables and rice pudding on the menu.
“This food smells good here!’ said Shersingh, taking in the aromas of the food.
“Yes, my king! We serve tasty and nutritious food to the kids every day. They are also served milk, nuts and fruits in the morning,” Shanno added.
“That is excellent! I wish that these kids never face any inconvenience while they are here. Let me know if you need any help,” offered Shersingh.
Then, Shersingh visited the kids in their rooms. Cheeku rabbit, Meeku mouse, Jumpy monkey and the other kids greeted the King.
“Children, are you all comfortable here?” asked Shersingh.
“Yes!” said the kids and nodded.
“My King, like I said, the kids here do not have any problems. We care for them like our own kids. Each and every need of theirs is taken care of,” Shanno added quickly.
As soon as Shersingh got up to leave, Cheeku interrupted and said, “My king, we have made a greeting card for you and we would like to present it to you.”
Shersingh happily accepted their request and said, “Yes, of course! Bring it quickly. I want to see what my lovely children have made for me.”
Meeku brought the card and presented it to Shersingh.
Shersingh opened the greeting card and smiled and said, “It is a very beautiful card. I have never been presented with anything like this before. I will always treasure it.”
“Shanno, you are working really hard to help these kids. You deserve a reward for your efforts. I will return soon,” said Shersingh as he left.
That night Shersingh visited the orphanage with Inspector Tommy Dog and his team.
Shanno was surprised to see Shersingh with the police. She came out quickly and asked, “What is it Inspector? Is there a thief here?”
“Yes, we are here to catch a criminal. A crime has been happening for many days and now we have the proof for it,” said Inspector Tommy and hand-cuffed Shanno.
“Why are you taking me in, Inspector? What crime have I committed? I look after the kids in the orphanage. I am not a thief,” cried Shanno.
“You should be ashamed of yourself! I trusted you and you took advantage of my trust. Now you will spend the rest of your life in prison,” roared Shersingh, his eyes red with anger.
“My King, there is some misunderstanding. I have not done anything. Please leave me!” pleaded Shanno.
“There is no misunderstanding. The children of the orphanage gifted me the card and it mentioned all the details of your wrong doings. You have been torturing these little children by hitting them and threatening them. How you fed them stale food that too, just once a day.
All the food that was being prepared was just to fool me. You have been keeping all the money that was sent for the welfare of the kids, for yourself. Your misdeeds have finally come to light now,” Shersingh growled.
Seeing his rage, Shanno admitted to her crimes. Shersingh demanded a tough punishment for Shanno.
Then Shersingh praised Cheeku, Meeku and Jumpy for their presence of mind and said, “We were able to uncover Shanno’s wrongdoings due to your intelligent thinking. I assure you, that you will never face such a problem again. You will all be looked after well!”
Shanno was sent to prison and the children lived happily with another caretaker.
Encountering A Sage
Environment Day
Baddy fox wanted to cut the trees of Champakvan. He did not know why, but he disliked the animals of Champakvan and was always thinking of new ways to harm them.
“If there are no trees, then the forest will be destroyed by itself. The animals will suffer from hunger, heat and shelter. And that’s what I want,” Baddy told this to the woodcutter with a cunning smile.
“Yes, and I will get to sell the tree in the city for a profit,” said the woodcutter picking up his axe.
“We must work cleverly and no one should know our plan,” said Baddy.
“No one will know. Otherwise, it will be tough to cut the trees,” the woodcutter agreed.
“Tomorrow, I shall go to Champakvan and figure out which day you can begin cutting the trees,” said Baddy.
“Let me know when you think the time’s right and I will come with my companions and axes and saws,” replied the woodcutter and bid goodbye to Baddy.
Next day, Baddy went to Champakvan. The forest was beautifully decorated. Colourful ribbons were tied to the trees. Fairly lights hung from every branch. The animals had decorated their homes. Baddy was curious and wanted to know why the forest had been decorated.
Just then he saw Blacky bear handing balloons to Jumpy monkey on the tree.
“Blacky, what is happening in the forest? Why is it decorated so beautifully? Is there a wedding happening?”
“Don’t you know?” asked Blacky looking at Baddy in surprise.
“No. That is why I am asking you,” said Baddy, rolling his eyes.
“June 5 is Environment Day. We are making these preparations to celebrate that great festival in Champakvan,” replied Blacky.
“Oh! So these decorations are for Environment Day,” whispered Baddy to himself.
“Did you say something?” asked Blacky.
“No, no! I didn’t,” muttered Baddy and walked away.
At the Brave Hardy Crossing, the main crossing of Champakvan, named after one of its scientists, many animals had gathered. They were discussing something important amongst themselves. Baddy wanted to know what they were talking about, so he sat down quietly at one side to listen to them.
“We should ask King Shersingh to be our chief guest,” said Dola deer.
“But he is from our forest. How can someone from our forest be the chief guest? We should look for someone else,” said Cheeku rabbit.
“You are right, Cheeku. If we get someone from Sundarvan, it will be better. When they see the environment celebrations, they will go back and praise our forest in their forest,” said Greta giraffe.
“Whom can we invite?” asked Cheeku and scratched his head.
“How about Baddy fox?” suggested Dola.
“No! No! Baddy always wants to harm Champakvan. How can we make him our chief guest?” Cheeku objected.
“Maybe Dola is right. Baddy may be planning against Champakvan, but we never think of harming him. Perhaps, when he is invited as our chief guest, he may improve and become a good person,” said Greta.
All agreed with Greta’s suggestion. Suddenly, Cheeku caught sight of Baddy, sitting behind a bush, quietly.
“Look! Baddy is here. Let us go and invite him for the function,” he said excitedly.
All animals went to Baddy and invited him to be their chief guest.
Baddy had been feeling uneasy listening to the conversation, and now he was more troubled. He could not even think how of a fitting reply.
“I…I…,” he stammered and then said, ‘’I will surely come.”
On his way back, Baddy started wondering about what had happened. “Here, I was thinking of harming Champakvan and these animals are inviting me to be their chief guest.”
On the day of the function, Baddy came to Champakvan forest. He was given a very warm welcome and presented a garland of fresh flowers and made to sit on the sofa comfortably.
The animals of the forest put up skits telling everyone the importance of trees and why more trees should be planted. They said in chorus, “Fewer trees means heating of the atmosphere, less rain and homes will disappear.”
Baddy became thoughtful and realised he would have done something horrible if he had cut the trees. He decided that he would never again harm the trees of any forest.
He would also stop the woodcutters from cutting trees.
The function came to an end and the animals requested Chief Guest Baddy to address the gathering with a few words.
“I am very happy to be here and I promise that from today, I will not harm the trees in any way. I promise to plant 100 trees in Champakvan and look after them.”
Hearing him, all the animals were very happy. Baddy had truly been transformed.
A Crazy Rumour
Garbage Trouble
Coconut and Gravity
The Mystery of the WATERMELONS
In the forest of Champakvan, Jumpy, the monkey sold watermelons every summer. His watermelons were bright red, juicy and sweet, but for some reason, things looked bleak this summer.
Not only did he not have as big a yield as last year, his watermelons didn’t taste as nice as they did last year.
Jumpy’s friend, Cheeku, the rabbit munched on a watermelon and said, “Your watermelons this year aren’t quite as nice as the ones you had last year.”
“You’re right,” said Jumpy. “It’s giving me sleepless nights. If my watermelons are going to taste like this, nobody is going to come to my shop. I’ll barely be able to make any money.”
Right next to Jumpy’s store, Baddy, the fox had opened his store. He had opened it only a few days after Jumpy had opened his for the season and had placed red, juicy watermelons on display.
The mere sight of these watermelons made all the animals’ mouths water and they all lined up in front of Baddy’s store for some.
“Your watermelons are so tasty, Baddy,” said Meenu, the cow.
“Thank you, Meenu. I had them imported from another forest. That’s why they taste so good,” said Baddy.
Even Kamli, the camel couldn’t help but praise Baddy’s watermelons. “Juicy watermelons like these are just what the doctor ordered for this heat. I have never tasted such nice watermelons in my life.”
Soon, all the praise led to lots of customers for Baddy. His watermelons were the perfect treat for the hot, sunny days and his business was doing very well. Sadly, this was eating into Jumpy’s business and only Jumpy’s friends came to his shop.
The next day, Cheeku came to Jumpy’s shop. “Why don’t you try importing your watermelons like Baddy?” he asked Jumpy.
“That sounds like a very good idea. If I keep trying to sell these watermelons, I’ll never be able to make any money at all. I’ll go ask Baddy where he gets his watermelons from tomorrow,” said Jumpy.
The next morning, Jumpy asked Baddy where he bought his watermelons. “No way am I going to tell you,” said Baddy immediately. “If I did, you’ll take away all my customers.”
Jumpy was disappointed that Baddy didn’t want to help, but he was determined to find out where the watermelons came from. So, Jumpy started keeping a close eye on Baddy.
A few days later, Jumpy came running to Cheeku’s house. When Jumpy told Cheeku what he had seen, Cheeku was left speechless.
The next day, Cheeku and Jumpy went to Baddy’s shop. They ordered two watermelons and started eating them. As they enjoyed the watermelons, Jumbo, the elephant came to meet them.
“It’s so hot, Jumbo. Would you mind spraying us with some water from your trunk?” asked Cheeku.
Jumbo put his trunk in a bucket of water and sprayed all the water on Baddy’s shop. As soon as the water splashed on the watermelons, they began to lose their colour. Red colour began to flow down to the ground and all the watermelons looked pretty bad.
“What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to sabotage me?” asked Baddy.
“This is us exposing you to the forest as a cheater!” said Cheeku.
Turning to Meenu, Cheeku said, “If you don’t mind, Ma’am, could you please sample some of Baddy’s watermelons?”
Meenu took one bite and spat it out. “These watermelons taste terrible,” she said.
“Exactly,” said Cheeku. “He’s been injecting the watermelons with red colour and sugar syrup. He’s been cheating you all.”
“That’s a lie! I’m being framed,” cried Baddy.
More from Champak: Jojo’s Junk Food Problem
“Then how do you explain what I saw? I followed you home last night. After closing your shop, you went straight to Blacky, the bear’s shop and bought some sugar and red colouring. Then late at night, when no one else was around, you came back to your shop and one by one injected all the watermelons with sugar syrup and red colouring. I’ve been observing you for a few days. To teach you a lesson and let the other animals know that you’ve been cheating them, I came up with this plan with Cheeku and Jumbo,” said Jumpy.
Now that everybody was aware of his plan, Baddy decided to make a run for it. But, he wasn’t fast enough and the crowd was too thick for him to make his way out. Jumbo picked him up with his trunk brought him back to the shop.
Baddy was trembling in fear. “Please forgive me. I only did it because my crop of watermelons had come out badly this year. I just wanted to make them taste juicy. I promise to never do this again,” said Baddy.
It seemed like Baddy had learnt his lesson. Jumpy asked Jumbo to let Baddy go. Baddy apologised to all the animals and ran away from the forest.
Clever Cheeku
Champakvan was going through a massive heatwave. The sun beat down upon the earth, making it terribly hot. It felt as if the animals were living in a furnace. As a result, all the animals spent most of the day indoors and only ventured out in the evenings. The evenings were no cool dip in the pond either. The ground was still as hot as before, but the shade under the trees made life a little better.
Over the years, the summers were getting worse. This year was the hottest, and every evening, all the animals would plan for the next day.
Meeku, the mouse stepped out to stock up supplies for the next day. As he was walking around, looking for some food, he saw that his friend Cheeku, the rabbit was digging a hole.
Meeku found this to be very strange. While the rest of the forest was looking for supplies to last them the next day, Cheeku seemed to be wasting his time digging. After some debate, Meeku decided to go over to Cheeku and find out what he was doing.
“What are you doing, Cheeku?” asked Meeku.
“Digging a hole of course,” said Cheeku.
“I can see that, but what are you digging?”
“A lake,” said Cheeku, continuing to dig.
“You’re joking right?” asked Meeku. “The entire forest is reeling under the heat of the summer and instead of gathering supplies for tomorrow, you’re digging a hole? Why are you doing such a silly thing?” Meeku burst into laughter.
“It is not silly. I’m very serious about digging a lake,” said Cheeku. Meeku stopped laughing
“What’s the matter, Cheeku? What’s wrong with our lake?” asked Meeku.
“Our lake is fine for now, but do you realise that every year, just after the summer, we face a severe water shortage? I’m digging this lake so that there will be enough water for all of us,” said Cheeku.
“I don’t understand one thing though,” said Meeku. “How do you intend to fill this lake up?” “With rainwater of course. Every year when it rains, we let so much water go to waste. In fact, my plan is to dig a pit near my house and send all the water from the drains of my terrace to this pit,” said Cheeku.
“What for?” asked Meeku.
“This will raise the water table and recharge the groundwater instead of letting all the rainwater flow away back to the ocean. Imagine if we saved all that water, we’d never have to worry about going thirsty ever again,” said Cheeku.
“Hmm, you make a good point. But do you really think you’ll be able to finish digging before the rains start?” asked Meeku.
More from Champak: Where Are The Rains?
“No, I don’t think so, but if you work hard now, you can reap the rewards later,” said Cheeku.
Meeku was deeply moved by Cheeku’s actions. After gathering all his supplies for the next day, Meeku came to Cheeku and said, “I would like to help you with your cause. You seem to be doing something great and I want to be a part of it.”
Cheeku was very happy to see that Meeku was also interested and together they began to dig.
Blacky, the bear and Jumpy, the monkey, who were passing by, stopped when they saw Cheeku and Meeku hard at work. “What are you guys doing?” they asked.
When Meeku and Cheeku explained, Blacky and Jumpy wanted to help too. Each grabbed a pickaxe and helped loosen the soil for Meeku and Cheeku to dig. Jumbo, the elephant joined in as well and started digging. Soon, the word spread across the forest and animals joined in from far and wide. Even the King of the jungle, Shersingh, the lion was there.
Seeing all the animals working together, Shersingh said, “Looks like next year we’ll have enough water to last us more than a year. All the rainwater will no longer go to waste.”
However, Jumpy had something to say, “Cheeku has started a good thing, but this is only to save water. What will we do about the heat that rises every day? We won’t be able to escape this heat just by digging.” All animals started thinking the same.
Teetu, the butterfly chimed in, “We can plant more and more trees, and this will bring down the heat. We should get started now.”
Cheeku then said excitedly, “Yes! This is a good idea. Before today, all we did was talk about bringing change, but from now on we will dig for water and also plant trees sincerely. This will help reduce the heat.”
After listening to him, all the animals became excited as they had got the solutions to all their problems. All of them started working enthusiastically towards these solutions.
BRILLIANT BLACKY
Blacky, the bear, loved weekends. Weekends meant a trip to his grandma’s house. He liked to walk through the woods to reach his grandma’s house. Little birds and honey bees used to greet him on the way. He always carried some homemade goodies for his grandma. Blacky’s mother used to bake some cakes or cookies and give them to Blacky to take to Grandma. He used to spend the night at his grandma’s house and then come home the next morning. He liked to listen to grandma’s funny stories and play with the rabbits who lived near her house.
The much-awaited weekend came, and Blacky finished his homework as soon as he got home from school so that he could be completely free for two days.
Blacky’s mom called out, “Blacky, I have kept some honey buns for grandma. Take them with you when you go, and give my love to grandma. Come soon tomorrow. We are going out for a birthday party.”
Blacky said, “Ok, mom. I will come soon. Don’t worry.” He took the basket of honeybuns and filled his water bottle, and started to walk towards the woods. It was quite a distance but Blacky loved to walk instead of going by cycle. It was a sunny morning and he stopped to watch the tailor bird weaving its nest. Then, he came across two deer playing hide and seek. The elephants were bathing in the river and Blacky waved to them. They too waved back.
After walking for half-an-hour, he felt tired and sat under a tree to rest. The cuckoo bird who lived in that tree was singing a melodious tune. Blacky drank some water from his bottle and settled for a small nap. Soon, he was asleep.
Baddy, the fox, was watching Blacky from behind a tree. Seeing him asleep, he came near him. Baddy’s mouth watered as he could sniff the sweet smell of honeybuns coming from Blacky. He crept up to Blacky and took the basket of honeybuns. He went behind a bush and opened the basket. The honeybuns were very delicious and he ate them all. Then, he took some grass and hay and filled the basket. He kept it near Blacky and left the place.
After some time, Blacky woke up and rushed to reach his grandma’s house in time. His grandma greeted him with a warm smile and gave him strawberry milkshake. Blacky said to his grandma, “Grandma, open the basket and see what I have brought for you.”
Grandma opened to find only grass and hay. She was disappointed. So was Blacky. He said, “Oh, my! I had brought honeybuns for you, Grandma. I do not know what happened. I am very sorry.”
His grandma said, “Don’t worry my child. Come and play with your friends. They are waiting for you.” Blacky went to play with Cheeku, Meeku, and all his other friends and had a good time at his grandma’s house, but at the back of his mind, he was always worried about what had happened to the honeybuns. Blacky left for his home the next day.
More from Champak: The Night Ghost
Next week, Blacky carried some grapes in a tiffin box but the grapes were replaced by pebbles by the time he reached his grandma’s house. Another time, Blacky took some cookies but found only rotten eggs on reaching grandma’s place. Blacky realized then that someone must be replacing his basket of goodies when he takes his nap on the way to his grandma’s house. So, Blacky decided that he would plan a trick to catch the thief in action.
The next time he was going to his grandma’s house, he took some mango juice in a bottle and added a lot of chilly powder to it. Before his usual nap, he said loudly, “I hope grandma likes the delicious mango juice that I have gotten for her this time.” Then, he fell asleep.
Baddy, who was waiting for Blacky to come and fall asleep so he could steal his goodies, heard this. He hurriedly stole the basket and drank the juice inside in one gulp but soon his mouth and throat started burning. He started howling badly. Hearing the noise, Blacky opened his eyes and caught hold of the fox. He dragged Baddy all the way to his grandma’s house, and told her, “See, grandma, this is the thief who has been stealing all the goodies meant for you!”
Blacky’s grandma congratulated Blacky on figuring out a smart way to catch the thief, and called the Police to come and take Baddy to his parent’s house so that he could get a scolding. Blacky never had any problems bringing goodies to his grandma ever again.
Devil in Disguise
In the forest of Champakvan lived Cheeku and Meeku. They were the best of friends. While Cheeku was bright and knew no fear, Meeku, over the days had grown lazy and wasn’t as brave as Cheeku. Nevertheless, they played together every day. Their arch rival was a fox. He’d always try to catch Cheeku and Meeku, but Cheeku would always foil his plans. But the fox refused to accept defeat.
One day, the fox dressed up like a saint and walked up to Cheeku and Meeku.
“Where are you going, children?” he asked them.
Cheeku immediately understood that this was just another ploy to catch them. But, he decided to play along. With his hands joined and his head bowed in respect, Cheeku replied, “We’re off to play sir. But why are you dressed this way?”
With the deep sigh, the fox replied, “I have done a lot of bad things in my life. I want to make amends. This is why I have decided to live life as an ascetic and help the little animals of the forest.”
While Cheeku saw through the foxes plan, Meeku was fooled.
“You seem like a weak little mouse,” said the fox, turning to Meeku. “I have the recipe for an amazing tonic that will make you big and strong.”
“Is this tonic the secret behind your strength? ” asked Meeku.
“That’s right my child,” said the fox. “I’d love to share some with you, but I’ve left it at home. Would you like to come to my home with me? I have an extra bottle just for you.”
More from Champak: Cheeku and Meeku are Sitting Under A Tree
Meeku was ready to go, but Cheeku spoke before him and said, “We’d love to. But we can’t come with you until you prove to us that you drink this tonic too.”
The fox was in a fix. Unless he did as Cheeku says, they would never come with him to his house. As he wondered what his options were, Cheeku said, “Do you see that tree over there? If you can touch it and come back before I count to ten, we’ll come with you.”
The fox was relieved. He was glad it was something so simple. “A little exercise before a meal is good for you,” he said to himself and took off. The long, flowing clothes weren’t the best for running, but he still managed to run.
As the fox ran towards the tree, Cheeku turned to Meeku and said, “Run! By the time the fox reaches the tree, we’ll be long gone.”
“But why, Cheeku? That Baba will help me get strong and fast like him,” said Meeku.
“Of course not, Meeku. If there was such a tonic, you think he would be giving it to strangers for free? He is surely a con man – or worse, a predator out to eat us!” explained Cheeku.
Meeku thought about what Cheeku said, and agreed that the two of them should run before the fox got back. Cheeku was relieved that by running home at least his friend Meeku was getting some exercise.
The fox wondered what he should cook when he got home. The thought of the yummy food made his mouth water. The fox touched the tree and turned around only to find that Cheeku and Meeku were missing.
He saw that they had run far away and that there was no way he could catch them now.
The Night Ghost
It was quite late in the night when Jumbo, the elephant was walking home along a deserted stretch of road. Suddenly, a strange-looking object appeared before him.
“I am the Night Ghost!” it proclaimed. “Give me whatever you possess.”
“I am not scared of you. You are so puny, said Jumbo waving his trunk at the ghost.
“Puny? You think I am puny?” asked the ghost enraged. It miraculously began to grow bigger and bigger.
“Do I look puny now?” asked the ghost.
Jumbo fainted in shock on seeing the ghost grow bigger. After some time, when he regained consciousness, he noticed that all his belongings were gone. He was now very scared. He quickly rushed home and fell sick immediately.
On hearing about his condition, his friends came to visit him.
“What’s wrong, Jumbo? Are you feeling unwell?” asked Jumpy, the monkey.
Jumbo narrated the entire incident.
“How is it possible? Ghosts aren’t real,” said Meeku, the mouse.
“I thought so too but ever since my encounter with the Night Ghost, I have started to believe in them,” said Jumbo.
“I think you must have been hallucinating. How is it possible for something to just grow bigger in a matter of seconds?” asked Meeku curiously.
“Yes! That’s why I know for sure that what I saw was indeed a ghost,” insisted Jumbo.
“I don’t believe you,” said Jumpy.
Nobody believed Jumbo. But when the other inhabitants of the forest started having similar experiences, everyone began to fear the Night Ghost. No one dared to venture out alone at night, especially on the road where the ghost was usually seen.
One day, Cheeku, the rabbit fell ill. He asked his friends to take him to the hospital, but they were too scared of the Night Ghost. They had to take the deserted road to reach the hospital which they were afraid to do so at night. Instead, they took Cheeku to the hospital the following morning.
There, Dr Pintu, the giraffe checked Cheeku and prescribed some medicines. He said, “I am glad that you got him here on time. If you had been slightly late, it would have been difficult for me to save him.” Everyone was relieved.
Cheeku was in the hospital for a week. During that time, he resolved to get rid of the so called Night Ghost as soon as he got home.
After a week, Cheeku felt better and was back home. That night, he decided to walk down the deserted road hoping to meet the Night Ghost. And as expected, the ghost appeared before him.
“I am the Night Ghost! Hand over all your belongings,” it said.
“Only owls and bats fly around at night. So are you the ghost of one?” asked Cheeku.
This angered the ghost. “Don’t try to act funny or else I will have to teach you a lesson!” it threatened and started changing its shape.
Instead of getting scared by its growing size, Cheeku calmly took out a bottle.
“What’s this? Going to trap me in that little bottle, are you? I am no Genie. I am a ghost!” it howled.
“No! This is magic powder. See what it does,” so saying, Cheeku blew the magic powder into the ghost’s eyes.
“Ow! My eyes! They are burning! What was that powder?” cried the ghost.
“It was chilli powder. Show yourself and I will give you water,” said Cheeku waving a bottle of water in front of the ghost.
More from Champak: The Sugarcane Ghost
“Ok! Ok!” exclaimed the ghost and immediately removed the costume. And out emerged Baddy.
“Now give me the water!” he said and grabbed the bottle from Cheeku and washed his eyes.
He then tried to escape but Cheeku caught hold of him and produced him before everyone. Cheeku asked Baddy to confess and he did. He told everyone about his plan to dress up as a ghost and steal everyone’s belongings.
“But how did Baddy become bigger than me?” Jumbo asked.
“When Baddy was hiding inside the big black robe, he also kept a balloon hidden along with him. Whenever he wanted to appear to be growing bigger, he would loosen the string of the balloon and it would float upwards lifting the robe along with it,” explained Cheeku. “So that is why it looked as if it was becoming bigger right in front of your eyes, and you were all convinced that it was a ghost.”
“You are right, Cheeku. We shouldn’t have blindly believed it. If I ever come across another ghost, I’ll lift it with my trunk and toss it away,” said Jumbo waving his trunk about much to everyone’s amusement.
The Greatest Treasure
One day, Baddy, the fox was walking down the forest trail, lost in thought.
“Where are you off to so early in the morning, Baddy?” asked Cheeku, the rabbit who was on his morning walk.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Cheeku,” said Baddy.
“Why? Were you looking for me?” asked Cheeku.
“I wasn’t exactly looking for you, Cheeku. I’m actually looking for a well,” said Baddy.
“You’re looking for a well? Why? Are you thirsty?” asked Cheeku.
“No, no, let me explain,” said Baddy. “I had a dream last night that there’s a well somewhere in the forest and it’s all dried up. I’m looking for that well.”
Cheeku gave Baddy a confused look. Baddy further explained, “In my dream, the dried-up well is filled with treasures. I need to find that well and dig out all the treasure. With it, I’ll become the richest animal in the forest.”
Things made sense to Cheeku now and he said, “Baddy, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think there’s any treasure or even a dried-up well in Champakvan. It was just a dream. So instead of running around the forest looking for some treasure, why don’t you join me? We’ll run together. It’ll be good for your health.”
Baddy said he’d rather continue his search for the well and walked away, and Cheeku went back to his morning walk.
Baddy spent some time wandering around Champakvan, until he saw a well. Baddy ran to the well and peered inside. It seemed to be dry.
“I’ve found it! I’m rich! I’m rich!” he shouted and danced. “Now I’ll climb into the well and search for that treasure!” he said and peered inside once again.
The well was deep, but its walls had rocks jutting out in different places. “I can use these rocks as footholds and climb down,” Baddy said to himself and began to climb down.
The well was deeper than he thought and it became dark very fast. Baddy almost made out of the well but one of the steps gave away and he fell into the well.
At the bottom, there were rocks and stones and Baddy was badly bruised. But he was so keen on finding the treasure that he paid no attention to his injuries and began digging the ground. All he found were stones and rocks.
Baddy looked at the walls of the well, and just then he saw a big black snake come out of one of the holes in the wall.
“Oh no! A snake!” he shouted and began to tremble with fear.
Fortunately for him, the snake was good-natured and meant no harm to him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” said the snake reassuringly. “What are you doing here in this well?”
Baddy told the snake about his dream and that he was looking for the buried treasure.
“Hmm…you seem to believe in superstitions,” said the snake.
“You’re so keen on finding the treasure that you’re not bothered by how difficult or dangerous the situation might be. Well, let me spare you the effort of digging and tell you that there is no buried treasure here.”
Baddy felt dejected. He decided to head back out of the well, but he realised that he didn’t know how he was going to do that.
Baddy scratched his head, looking for a solution. Even after thinking for several minutes, Baddy had no idea of how to get out of the well. He sat down and started to cry.
The snake said, “Why don’t you shout for help. Maybe someone will hear you and help you out.”
When Baddy called for help, Meeku who was passing by heard his cries. He put his hand out and asked Baddy to grab on.
“Give me your hand and I’ll pull you out!” Meeku said.
But Baddy refused to put his hand out. Meeku didn’t know what to do. He called Jumbo.
Jumbo offered to help and said Baddy, “Here! Give me your hand and I’ll pull you out with my trunk.” But Baddy refused again.
“I think he’s gone crazy,” Meeku whispered to Jumbo. “He called for help, and when we offer it, he refuses!”
Meeku saw Cheeku going home and he called out to him. He told Cheeku everything.
Cheeku realised what was happening and told the others what to do.
Cheeku said, “Baddy has always taken. He doesn’t know how to give. Ask him to take your trunk, Jumbo and you’ll be able to pull him out easily.”
Jumbo told him, “Here you go, Baddy! Take my trunk. I’ll pull you out.”
Baddy didn’t refuse this time. After Baddy was rescued, Cheeku told him, “Baddy, Do you know what the biggest treasure is? It is friendship. We’ll always help you out, Baddy, and we know no treasure can replace our friendship.”
Baddy realised his mistake and apologised to others. He realised there is no bigger wealth than friendship. He was changed and began to help others and was not greedy anymore.
Cotton Football
Meeku, the mouse came back Champakvan after spending his summer vacations in the city. He rushed to the ground to play with his friends in the evening.
“Look what I got from the city!” he said to his friends pointing at his football.
“Oh wow! Let’s play now,” Jumbo, the elephant said. “Let’s make two teams first. Without two teams, we can’t play,” Meeku said and they immediately formed two teams.
“Tarry, pass me the ball,” Meeku said to Tarry, the frog.
Tarry passed the ball to Meeku who quickly converted the pass into a goal.
“Hurray! I scored!” Meeku shouted excitedly.
“Good job, Meeku!” Tarry congratulated his friend.
The match continued heatedly. Jumbo ran to score but Meeku stopped him. In the process, both of them fell on the ground. Jumbo thought Meeku would get squashed by his weight, he tried to fall on the other side. The football came under Jumbo and burst and seeing this, Meeku was in tears.
“I didn’t have a choice, Meeku. If I had not diverted my fall, you would have been squashed. But don’t worry. I will go to the city and fix your football in a day or two,” Jumbo consoled Meeku.
“I am sad because today is the first time I scored a goal. I would have definitely become the player of the week. Now, we will not be able to play anymore,” a dejected Meeku said.
“Don’t worry about it Meeku. If you play well the next time, you will be the player of the match,” Tarry said.
“But the match was fun. Now, what do we do?” Cheeku, the rabbit asked.
“Should we play with a coconut?” Baddy, the fox suggested.
“Baddy, that sounds like an idea to send us to the hospital. How can we play football with a coconut? If it falls on our head, we will surely get injured.” Tarry told Baddy.
“Let’s use a pumpkin instead?” Jumpy, the monkey then suggested.
“Jumpy, first of all, the shape of a pumpkin is not proper for playing football and even if we do play football with it, it will soon be a squish squash football.” Jumbo laughed.
“We need something made out of cotton,” Damru, the donkey then suggested.
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“Fine, Damru, but where do we find a football made out of cotton?” Baddy said and everyone started laughing at Damru.
When everyone started making fun of him, Damru started crying.
Just then, a weaver bird was sitting on the tree and overhearing this conversation between friends. She came to Damru and said, “Hey, why are you making so much noise here? My children are sleeping. You will wake them up.”
“Sorry, dear. Damru here is crying. He gave us an idea, which sounded quite funny. So everybody laughed at him,” Jumbo said.
“What idea?” the weaver bird asked.
“Our football burst. We were thinking of what to do. Damru said that we could make a football out of cotton,” Jumbo explained the sequence of events.
“Why not? That may be possible,” the weaver bird said looking at them.
“But how?” everyone asked.
“Go get some cotton. I will make a football for you,” said the weaver bird.
Meeku got some cotton and the weaver bird started filling the busted football with cotton. Then, she stitched the end that had burst and gave the football back to them.
“Here, your football is ready. It will not bounce so much but you can still play with it and entertain yourselves,” the weaver bird said.
“Oh wow!” Jumbo exclaimed.
Everyone was very excited and impressed with the weaver bird. All of them thanked her.
“Don’t make fun of others without thinking about it. Doing so hurts their feelings,” said the weaver bird.
“You’re right. We promise we will not do so in future,” said Tarry and all of them hugged Damru.
“Okay, I’ll take your leave now. But don’t make any more noise. My children will wake up,” the weaver bird said and flew back to her nest.
“Let’s re-start our match. I was playing well today,” Meeku told the rest of the team. They all went back to their game.
Sleep Trouble
Cheeku Nabs the Fraudsters
Cheeku rabbit was on his way home when he saw a group of animals discussing something. They all looked troubled.
“What’s the matter?” asked Cheeku.
“We have been tricked by a duo selling detergent powder,” said Dinky deer. “They gave us a bottle of perfume free with each packet we bought as well as a prize coupon.”
“The two told me that if I bought the detergent, I had the chance to win a television set or a washing machine,” said Squiggy squirrel.
“But what is the problem?” asked Cheeku.
“When we opened the packet, it was filled with sand!” said Squiggy.
“We have filed a complaint with the police. Inspector Blacky bear has promised to look into it,” said Monty mouse.
Cheeku thought for a while and asked, “Would you be able to describe how the two tricksters looked?”
“Yes! We remember them very well,” said the other three. “Both of them were pot-bellied. They had white beards and long, white hair. They also had long, bushy tails.”
As they described their features, Cheeku quickly took out his diary and drew rough sketches of the two animals.
After he was finished, Cheeku studied the sketches and felt that they looked like Baddy and Laptu.
“But Baddy and Laptu are not pot-bellied and neither do they have white beards,” Cheeku thought to himself.
Cheeku decided to keep a watch on Baddy and Laptu for the next few days.
Early next morning, Cheeku hid behind a bush near Baddy’s house and kept a close watch. After a while, Baddy and Laptu came out of the house and walked down a path leading out of the forest. Cheeku followed them.
Baddy and Laptu walked until they reached an abandoned house on the outskirt of the forest. They discussed something and then headed into the house.
“I wonder what those two are up to,” thought Cheeku. “There are no bushes to hide in here. I better climb that tree. That way I can stay hidden and still observe them.”
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After some time, two potbellied animals came out of the house. They had long, white hair and beards. Cheeku was surprised. “These two look just like the two animals Dinky, Squiggy and Monty described,” he thought. “Do Baddy and Laptu know them or…”
Just then, Cheeku saw one of them pull the beard from his face and scratch his chin.
“This beard is very itchy,” said one of them who sounded like Laptu.
That is when it all became clear to Cheeku—the two were Baddy and Laptu!
“They must have disguised themselves with wigs and fake beards. Looks like they have also stuffed their shirts to make it appear as if they have pot bellies,” thought Cheeku.
Cheeku followed them for a while. As suspected, Baddy and Laptu went from house to house, selling fake packets of detergent powder.
Cheeku dashed to the police station and informed Inspector Blacky who followed Cheeku to the street where Baddy and Laptu were. They were busy selling a packet of fake detergent powder to Jumpy monkey and Donna cat.
When Baddy and Laptu saw Blacky, they panicked and tried to flee. But Blacky swiftly caught them. Cheeku opened Baddy’s bag and showed the packets of sand to Blacky.
Blacky arrested the two of them and thanked Cheeku for his help in catching the fraudsters.
Everyone applauded Cheeku’s smartness.
Chilli Escape
Who Gets Your Vote
A Lesson for the Angry Ostriches
Learn with Cheeku
Escaping Hard Work
The Missing Money
One morning, Baddy fox and Laptu jackal approached Cheeku rabbit for help. Cheeku was known to be fair and impartial. So, they were confident that Cheeku would help solve their problem.
“Yesterday, Laptu made some extra money at our store because of the festive sale. He couldn’t deposit it in the bank as it was quite late in the evening by the time he closed the shop. So, he came to my house and gave me the money for safe-keeping. But this morning, the money was missing,” said Baddy worried.
“Don’t worry, Baddy. We will find your money. Now, think calmly and tell me what you did with the money once Laptu gave it to you,” said Cheeku.
“Laptu had put the money in a yellow cover, which he handed over to me. After counting it, I hid it inside the rice bin to keep it safe,” said Baddy.
“Was anybody else there when you counted the money or placed it inside the bin? Do you suspect anybody?” asked Cheeku.
“Yes, I suspect Jumpy monkey. He was the only one who saw Laptu handing over the money to me. He even walked by my house a couple of times when I was counting the money,” said Baddy.
“In that case, let’s go to Jumpy’s house and find out. Come with me,” said Cheeku.
The three of them reached Jumpy’s house and there, they saw Jumpy and Meeku mouse counting some money.
Jumpy was surprised to see the three of them. “Hello! What brings you all here so early in the day?”
Cheeku explained about Baddy’s missing money. “Baddy says that you are the only one, beside him and Laptu, who knows about the money. So he suspects that you could have taken it,” said Cheeku.
“That is absurd! I did not steal the money!” said a shocked Jumpy.
“In that case, where did you get this money from?” asked Laptu, pointing to the bundle of cash in Jumpy’s hands.
“Meeku and I earned this money by selling the bananas from our farm,” said Jumpy.
“Liar! There’s no way you could have made so much money by selling bananas!” accused Baddy angrily.
“Calm down, Baddy. I will find out who the liar is,” said Cheeku. “Now tell me, how many notes were there and of what denomination? Since you counted the notes before you put in inside, you may know.”
Baddy became uncomfortable with the question. “Errr… There were 50 50-rupee notes,” said Baddy.
Cheeku took the bundle of cash from Jumpy and said, “Looks like Jumpy has all 100-rupee notes. So I guess, this is not your money.”
“I remember well. We had 100-rupee notes, not 50-rupee notes,” said Laptu.
“Aha! Who is the liar now? There are a couple of 50-rupee notes as well,” said Jumpy.
“You have been caught, Baddy! Now out with the truth! Why were you trying to frame Jumpy? Did you really lose your money?” asked Cheeku.
“Tell the truth, or else we will complain to King Shersingh about you,” said Jumpy.
Baddy and Laptu became scared and immediately confessed.
“Please don’t tell Shersingh! I am sorry I lied. We didn’t lose our money. Yesterday, while on the way to the shop, Laptu overheard Meeku and Jumpy talking about the money they made. So, we came up with a plan to get the money from them by wrongly framing them,” said Baddy.
“Jumpy and Meeku made this money through hard work and not by cheating people. You should apologise to them,” said Cheeku.
Baddy and Laptu were ashamed of their behaviour. They apologised to Jumpy and Meeku for trying to cheat them.
Exploring the Qutub Minar
A Trip To America
Baddy fox was cunning when it came to work. He often found new plans to cheat others.
While living in Champakvan, Baddy had borrowed money from almost everybody in the forest, but when it came to giving back the money, he always managed to escape by giving them some excuse.
One morning, Baddy went to Jumbo elephant’s house and saw him brushing his teeth outside the house.
“Jumbo, can you give me Rs. 1000 as a loan? I will give you back Rs. 2000 after a week’s time,” said Baddy.
Hearing Baddy, Jumbo was shocked. He spit out the water he was gargling with. Jumbo looked at Baddy from top to bottom and asked, “Baddy, are you sleepwalking? How can you double the money in a week?”
“Jumbo, I have an offer from a big company that can help me double my money. You are my best friend so I came to you. If you are not interested, I can ask someone else,” said Baddy.
“No, no. Wait for me here. I’ll get the money from inside,” said Jumbo and gave Baddy the money.
“Jumbo, come to my home after a week and take your money,” said Baddy keeping the money inside his pocket.
After a week when Jumbo went to Baddy’s house, he saw that the house was locked.
There was a huge crowd outside Baddy’s house, and all of them were saying that Baddy had taken money from them. Baddy had borrowed from many, telling them that he will double their money in a week and they had come to take their money back.
Seeing everyone, Jumbo shook his head and said, “Wow! Baddy has cheated all of us.”
Cheeku rabbit was weeping as he said, “Baddy has run away with my hard-earned money. I will not leave him if I find him.”
Meeku mouse asked them to calm down, “Friends, the mistake is ours. We should have thought before giving him the money. And how did we ever think that money could be doubled in a week’s time? Our eyes were covered with greed and because of that, we fell for his lies.”
A few days passed on like this.
One day in the forest, a foreigner fox came. He wore black spectacles, a hat and a T-shirt. Everyone stared at him.
“Hello, my friend. My name is Meeku. Are you new to this forest?” asked Meeku.
“Yes, I have come from America and my name is Bobby,” said the fox.
“What brings you to Champakvan?” asked Jumbo curiously.
“Next week there is a huge dance competition in America, and I’m on the lookout for good dancers. Whoever wants to participate in the competition can come and give their name, and whoever wins will get a chance to go to America,” said Bobby.
Everyone was surprised to hear Bobby.
“But, why have you come to our small forest? You will get really good dancers in the city,” said Jumpy.
“I have heard so much about Champakvan and so I thought I should hold the competition here and not in the city,” replied Bobby.
“I am so fat; can I participate in this competition?” asked Jumbo.
“Anybody who can dance can participate in the competition. Also, I am here for this. I will take you to America and teach you. Just come tomorrow and give your name,” said Bobby.
Bobby was staying at the Champakvan Grand Hotel.
The next day there was a long queue outside the hotel as everyone wanted to go to America.
Jumbo, Meeku and Cheeku stood first in the line.
Bobby gave them a form and said, “Fill this form, please read the information about the competition in this paper.”
“Do we need to pay any fees?” asked Jumbo.
“No need, I will take all of you free of cost. I will spend for all expenses; I have just come to search for a good dancer. I have the money and don’t need to collect any fees,” said Bobby.
“If everybody thought like you, it would be so good,” said Meeku.
Cheeku asked, “I know that for going abroad we need a passport and visa, and we don’t have anything. How will we be able to go?”
“Leave everything to me. I will take care of all the formalities. I have contacts at the embassy,” Bobby reassured them.
24 people filled and gave their forms.
After checking the form Bobby said, “Everybody’s form is correct. Tomorrow evening, all of you come with your luggage and we will all go abroad in my private plane,” said Bobby.
The next morning, there was a huge crowd in the hotel. Meeku and Jumbo were very excited and they both came to the hotel early by scooter.
“Bobby why are you so upset? Has the private plane come?” asked Meeku.
“There was a problem in the plane on the way from America,” said Bobby in a worried voice.
“What problem?” asked Jumbo feeling scared.
“My private plane has developed a technical problem, and it will take one week for it to be repaired,” said Bobby.
“So we can’t go to America?” asked Meeku with a grumpy face.
“We have to book ticket for another flight, and each ticket costs Rs. 40,000 each,” said Bobby.
“Rs. 40,000!” Jumbo was shocked.
“Yes, Rs. 40,000. But don’t worry. After reaching America I shall return your money immediately. If you give me the money by tomorrow morning, I will book the evening flight for America. Anyway, the competition will begin in a couple of days. If we get late today, then we won’t get a chance to participate in the competition,” said Bobby.
“We will not get a chance to go to America again. We must give the money to Bobby and book our tickets. We will get our money back once we reach America,” said Meeku.
“Yes, Meeku is right. This golden opportunity will not back come again,” said Jumbo.
Cheeku stopped them. He warned them, “Too much greed is not good. How can we believe Bobby and give him money?”
Meeku got angry and said, “Cheeku it’s not right to doubt Bobby, I have full faith in him. He is very rich and he will not cheat us. If you don’t want to go then don’t come. I will definitely go to America for a trip.”
Next day all the animals got their money and Bobby collected it. He said, “Now nobody can stop you from going to America. I will buy the tickets and we will leave in the evening.”
All of them decided to wait for him.
“He should have come by now,” said Meeku, looking at his watch.
Just then Cheeku reached and said, “It’s waste of time to wait for Bobby. He is not going to come.”
“How can you say that?” asked Meeku.
“If Bobby was coming back then he should not have left the hotel and gone. He has cheated everyone,” said Cheeku.
“So has Bobby disappeared with our money?” asked Jumbo, sadly.
Everybody started crying. Cheeku told everybody, “There is no use of regretting your actions. I had warned you. But you were all crazy about going to America.”
“Cheeku, we realise that we made a big mistake. We don’t want to go to America but just want our Rs. 40,000 back,” said a teary-eyed Jumbo.
“If you promise me that that you won’t make this mistake again then I will help you,” said Cheeku.
“We promise you that we will not repeat this mistake,” said everybody in same tune.
Cheeku signalled towards the back of the hotel and they saw King Shersingh Lion came out with Bobby. He was handcuffed.
When Shersingh removed Bobby’s spectacles and the hat, all the animals were startled.
“Hey this is Baddy,” said Jumbo.
“Yes, this is Baddy. He fooled everyone by calling himself Bobby. He was going to cheat you of your money and run away. Cheeku told me everything at the right time. There is no dance competition in America. And all his stories were fake. Here, this is the money that you gave Baddy,” said Shersingh.
Cheeku continued, “Baddy was going to rob us of all our money. He made us greedy with the thoughts of going to America free of cost so that we would believe him. He also made up a false story that the plane had gone for repair to get the money from you all. When Baddy asked for Rs. 40,000 I got a doubt, then I went to the police station and gave the inspector all the information about Baddy.”
Shersingh returned everybody’s money. All of them thanked Cheeku, and promised to never let greed affect the way they looked at things.
Saviour Blanket
King of the Muck
Cheeku was a naughty rabbit. He lived in Champakvan. He played the whole day. He spent the day eating juicy, red carrots. He had become round and chubby. Whenever Baddy the fox saw him, he felt tempted to eat Cheeku.
However, Cheeku knew that Baddy wanted to eat him. Therefore, he stayed away from him. Cheeku spent most of his time hiding in the bushes or playing.
One day, Cheeku was sitting near a mucky pond. He was happily enjoying carrots when he saw Baddy coming towards him. He did not have enough time to escape. So he thought of an alternate plan.
He entered the mucky pond. He covered himself with muck. He applied dirt to his entire body and face. His entire body, except his eyes, was muddy. He looked like a brown lump with red eyes. Instead of running away, he sat in a corner of the mucky pond.
Just then Baddy arrived. He felt that Cheeku was around. He searched for Cheeku in the bushes. However he couldn’t find him. He did not have the slightest idea that Cheeku was hiding in the pond.
Cheeku thought that Baddy would go away as he had not found him in the bushes. However, Baddy came towards the pond. He was thirsty. He wanted to quench his thirst. Cheeku got scared knowing that if Baddy found him, he would definitely kill him.
Cheeku was a smart fellow. He never gave up easily. He started thinking about what he should do next.
He shouted at Baddy, “You strange animal! Who are you? How dare you come near my pond to drink water? Don’t you know who I am?”
Baddy gazed around. He realised that the sound was coming from a small creature that was half sunk inside the pond. Its eyes were a dangerous red in color. He was stunned to see such a weird creature talking to him.
No one had ever spoken to him in such a manner.
Baddy replied in a nervous tone, “Sir, I have come to drink water from this pond. I was totally unaware that you own this pond. I have never seen you before. May I please drink water from your pond?”
“No,” said Cheeku. He added, “You can drink water from my pond on one condition.”
Baddy was very thirsty. He couldn’t wait to go elsewhere to drink water. He said, “What is the condition, Sir?”
Cheeku said, “I don’t know who you are, but let me introduce myself. I am the King of Muck.”
Baddy became nervous when he heard the word ‘King’. He had seen the Lion who is the king of the jungle. However, he had never heard of the King of Muck. He was surprised to meet another king. He thought that a Lion staying in muck is known as the King of Muck’.
Baddy was deep in thought.
Suddenly Cheeku shouted, “Listen to me carefully. I ate a big fat rabbit a while ago. However, I am not satisfied with it. I did not like its taste.”
Baddy was now very frightened. He was sure that this king had eaten Cheeku since he was around a while ago. He was surprised that he did not like the taste of a rabbit.
He said, “Sir. Rabbits are very tasty. How come you did not like its taste?”
Cheeku replied, “My brother, who stays in the jungle, had come to meet me yesterday. He brought a few pieces of fox’s meat for me. That meat was so delicious. After eating that meat, I don’t like any other type of flesh.”
Hearing this, a chill ran down Baddy’s spine. He started shivering in fear. He thought that if the King of Muck realised that he was a Fox, then he would get killed. He started thinking of ways to escape from there.
“I want to eat a fox,” said Cheeku. “There might be foxes in this forest. You have to get me and my friends a few foxes. I want to treat my friends. They will arrive in a couple of minutes. You can drink water from my pond only after you get me some foxes.”
By now, Baddy was sweating and trembling. He thought that if the king’s friends came to the pond they might recognise him. Then, they would tear him apart and feast on him. He realised that it was thus best to run away from the pond at the earliest.
Baddy said, “Sir, there are a lot of foxes in this jungle. I shall quickly go and fetch a few for you and your friends. I will be right back with some delicious food for you.”
He began to walk away.
Cheeku said, “I am not in a hurry at all. Tell me your name before you leave.” Baddy replied, “I do not have that much time, Sir. First, let me get some foxes for you. Then, I will sit and chat with you.” Baddy ran away never to return. Cheeku laughed at Baddy’s foolishness. He walked to the nearest river. He washed his body and removed all the muck and dirt.
Cheeku now breathed a sigh of relief. He felt proud of his intellect as it helped him get to rid of Baddy.
