Champak Character: Meeku

Humans In A Cage

There was silence all around. Streets were deserted and parks, abandoned. No one could be seen on the roads. It seemed like all humans were holed up inside their houses.

The black smoke from the skies had disappeared and the air was less polluted. Rivers, too, were cleaner than before.

The animals of Champakvan couldn’t understand what was going on. They were called for a meeting by Blacky bear in the morning on the banks of Crysty River.

After greeting everyone, Blacky asked, “Where are the humans? What has caused this sudden change? Why do all the cities look deserted? What has caused the noise and air pollution to reduce?”

Blacky Bear asked many questions and looked at the other animals for answers.

“I have heard that a disease has taken over the cities, villages and towns. It is forcing the humans to stay in their houses,” said Jumpy monkey who had returned from the city last week.

“What kind of a disease? How can a disease cause the cities to shut down?” asked Jumbo elephant.

“I do not have much information. It is just something that I heard from somewhere,” replied Jumpy.

“Our water is cleaner too. It seems like nobody is working at the factories as the water is not as dirty as it used to be,” said Wooky alligator, popping his head out of the water.

“It surely means that something really serious has happened, otherwise humans don’t change so easily,” Elvy python added.

“Yes, Rocky rooster also told me that humans don’t come out of their houses even after the morning rooster call,” said Cheeku rabbit. 

After listening to all of them, Blacky took some time to think and then said, “We should try and find out what is happening. I hope this silence is not a warning for some kind of danger approaching our forest. Let’s find out if this is a conspiracy against us. We should send someone from our forest to the city.” 

“Meeku mouse can go. He is fast and small and can enter any house,” said Dumpy pig. 

“Yes, I agree. Meeku will be good for this job,” added Dodo Peacock. 

“Can you do it, Meeku?” asked Blacky. “Sure, I can. It will be my pleasure to be able to do something for our forest,” replied Meeku and left for the city immediately. 

On reaching the city in the afternoon, he noticed that many shops were shut and very few people were on the roads wearing masks. He went inside one of the houses and saw a family watching television. 

A news programme was announcing the rising number of cases and listing the precautions people should take. Meeku left from there and entered another house. 

Here, the television was on but no one was watching. He heard the news host saying, “Coronavirus is spreading fast. Those who have symptoms like runny nose, cough or fever should report immediately. An infected person needs to maintain distance from others. People should stay at home and only step out to buy essentials.” 

Meeku went into yet another house where he saw a little kid drawing and talking to his grandfather. 

“Grandpa, how do you like my drawing?” 

“Wow! Karan, this is lovely. You have shown how all the animals are roaming freely and humans are sitting at home,” said grandpa. 

“It’s true, grandpa. Now, humans are locked in cages while the animals are merrily roaming outside. They are free and not afraid of any virus. When will this coronavirus leave us, grandpa?” asked Karan.

“My dear Karan, until we find a vaccine that can save our lives, we have to follow certain rules of maintaining social distance, washing our hands regularly and eating healthy food. We cannot stop the virus but we can stop it from spreading and hope that this pandemic gets over soon,” explained grandpa.

“Why is it called a pandemic, grandpa?” asked Karan.

“Because it is a disease that has spread to all the countries in the world,” replied grandpa.

Meeku understood the situation. He left the house and ran towards the forest. Another meeting was called in the forest where Meeku explained the whole situation to everybody in detail.

He told them, “Champakvan is not under any threat. It is the humans who are facing a threat from a disease called coronavirus. Let us hope they learn something from this situation.”

This eased the unknown fear that the animals of the forest felt. They hoped that the helplessness the humans faced goes away for good.

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.

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.

Saving Rainwater

“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.

Baddy Steals The Show

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.

The Bushy Trap

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 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.

Stay Put Timbu!

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.

More from Champak: No Place to Play

“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.

MEEKU’S FAN

It was hot in Champakvan. Summer had taken a toll on all animals. Meeku, the mouse wasn’t feeling well due to this sweltering heat. Inside the small hole he lived in, he felt suffocated. Outside, he found the hot wind difficult to deal with. He would often try to save himself from this heat but would get no respite.

One day, he was lazing under the shade of a tree. The heat was too for him to handle. There was no wind and sweat kept dripping from every corner of his body. Around that he noticed Jumbo, the elephant walking carefree by the river. Jumbo came stood next to Meeku.

Meeku Saves the Day

“Hey Jumbo, you don’t look tired. Aren’t you feeling hot?” Meeku asked him.

Jumbo said, “Meeku, it is indeed hot but I am not as dirty and lazy as you are. I keep taking baths in the river, which keeps my body cool. Here, come and feel my fat skin, it is cold.”

Meeku, obviously, was not as tall as Jumbo and was not able to reach up to his back. So, Jumbo picked him up by his trunk and placed him on his back. He realised that Jumbo’s skin was cold.

After a while, when Jumbo was resting under the tree, Meeku jumped off his back. He thought about whispering something into Jumbo’s ear. But just at that moment, Jumbo flapped his fan-like large ears vigorously, which gave Meeku a whiff of fresh air. He instantly felt as if he was transported to the streets of Nainital.

More from Champak: Cheeku and Meeku are Walking into the Forest.

He was happy at the thought of using Jumbo’s ears to get rid of the afternoon heat. But then again, he did not want Jumbo to know about it. He was scared that if Jumbo found out, he would stop flapping his ears.

However, Meeku realised that Jumbo usually flaps his ears when a fly buzzes near his ear.

He thought to himself that it would be brilliant if flies constantly kept buzzing around Jumbo’s ears. Then, he would be able to enjoy the fresh air he got from the flapping of Jumbo’s ears all the time.

He came up with an idea. He knew that there was another tree somewhere close by with a beehive. He went to the beehive and got a couple of drops of honey from the queen bee and quietly put it on Jumbo’s ear.

The honey made all the bees buzz near Jumbo’s ears and he started flapping his ears so that the bees would fly off. That is exactly what Meeku wanted. The more Jumbo flapped his ears, the better it was for Meeku, as he was able to enjoy loads of fresh air. In this way, his afternoon was well spent.

Since then, every afternoon, Meeku would be on the lookout for Jumbo and Jumbo would always be found taking his afternoon nap somewhere below a tree. Meeku would quietly put some honey on Jumbo’s ears and Jumbo would start flapping his ears. Thus, Meeku’s “fan” saved him from the dreadful summer.

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.

A-Trip-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.

A-Trip-To-America

“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.

A-Trip-To-America

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.

A-Trip-To-America

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.

 

Party Time in Champakvan

New Year was only a month away. Preparations were on in full swing for the New Year party celebrations.

The local market was full of activity and different shops and stalls were selling decorative items, delicious snacks and were open day and night.

Meeku mouse bought traditional hand-crafted cushions, Blacky bear bought some exquisite copper and brass jars filled with honey, and Teetu butterfly picked up some shiny and colourful bangles.

Meanwhile, Jumpy monkey looked very pleased bringing an expensive, embroidered carpet and scented candles.

Baddy fox was decorating his cottage with ornate lighting fixtures and mirrors.

King Shersingh was not too fond of grand celebrations and huge spending.

In the first week of December, Shersingh called for a meeting,

Shersingh said, “Dear friends! Thank you for coming on such short notice. I wanted to talk to all of you regarding the upcoming New Year celebrations. While it is great to see everyone so happy and festive, it concerns me that a lot of hard-earned money is being spent on buying harmful crackers, toys and items made from toxic plastic substances.”

“These things are dangerous to one’s health and also bad for the environment,” said Shersingh with a serious expression.

Cheeku rabbit was now puzzled. He asked, “In that case, what will we gift our friends and relatives? Most shops are selling these items.”

“You may present them fresh fruits, dry fruits, honey, flowers, and fresh saplings for their gardens,” Shersingh suggested.

“Sir, what about you? We were thinking of giving you a gift. What would you like for New Year?” asked Blacky.

“Hmm. I would prefer something environment-friendly. In fact, this is a great moment for everyone in Champakvan to come up with some really good eco-friendly ideas.”

Everyone was excited now. They all asked, “What do you want sir? Tell us!”

“I want a crystal jar full of dew, a pumpkin fitted in a surahi (a bottle-necked earthen pot), and a bright New Year night without using any electric bulbs, oil and candles. Whoever manages to accomplish this, I will declare that person to be the pride of Champakvan and also my environment minister!”

“Wow! This is unbelievable!” many animals exclaimed, surprised by the unique contest that Shersingh had announced and also the huge reward accompanying it.

Party time in champakvan

“This is impossible,” said Jumpy monkey.

“I have never heard of such a thing before!” Cheeku said, scratching his head with his furry paws.

Meanwhile, Meeku mouse was excited. He was always coming up with new and unique solutions to different problems.

Days went past quickly and it was finally New Year’s Eve.

Everyone arrived in their best outfits, carrying flowers and bouquets, to Sher Singh’s palace lawns.

A grand spread of tea, coffee, muffins and other food items were laid out.

However, Meeku was nowhere to be seen. It was strange because everyone had been expecting a lot from him. The animals started whispering among themselves.

“What a shame! After so much promise, Meeku didn’t even come.”

“Meeku should have never taken upon himself such a difficult task. Now regretting, I am sure.”

It was soon night. According to Sher Singh’s orders for the contest, all artificial lights were switched off around midnight. It was pitch dark. Suddenly, the entire jungle became bright and lit.

There was Meeku mouse standing among them, with a beautiful crystal jar full of dew and an earthen mug with fresh and ripe pumpkin.

Everyone, including Shersingh, exclaimed in wonder.

“How did you manage all of this? This is a miracle!” said Shersingh.

Meeku said, “I will explain all of it step by step. It was a long process and involved a lot of mental work. So, for the first task, I took a thick layer of cotton and spread it on my terrace every night, for three weeks. In the morning, I squeezed and poured the dew from the cotton into the vase. Drop by drop, the crystal jar was filled with dew.”

Party time in champakvan

Blacky bear had his doubts.

Blacky said “How do we know this water is dew? You could have simply filled it from the riverside. Show some proof!”

Meeku replied “I knew this would be asked so I got it certified from the laboratory of water testing, located in Madhuban jungle across the valley. You may confirm it with them if you like!”

“We believe you. The Madhuban jungle laboratory is well-known across the country. Now tell us about your second task!” said Shersingh, full of curiosity.

“For the second task, I placed this earthen vase near the climber of the pumpkin and put a very tender sapling inside the vase. Day by day, it became bigger and now the surahi is filled with the pumpkin,” explained Meeku.

“It didn’t take much, to be honest. Just a simple, logical puzzle,” said Meeku, humbly.Party time in champakvan

The crowd was quite impressed.

“And what about these bright lights all over? This looks like a natural glow! No electric light or candle is on right now,” said Shersingh.

“Yes, this was quite a difficult task. However, with a little brainstorming, I took phosphorus, a non-metallic element that occurs naturally in different phosphate rocks and appears luminous in the dark and applied it on thousands of small, dry twigs and requested my friends, the sparrows and the sunbirds, to carry these twigs to their nests on the occasion of New Year’s Eve.

I also requested the fireflies to come. Huge thanks to all of them. That is why this was possible!” said Meeku mouse.

“Three cheers for the birds and the fireflies and for Meeku!”, everyone applauded again.

Shersingh honoured Meeku in front of the entire jungle, pleased with his hard work, efforts and declared him as the new environment minister of Champakvan.

There were happiness and laughter everywhere.

Don’t Hurt Plants

Jumbo elephant had a beautiful garden with different varieties of flowers. Gardening had become his passion. He planted new trees, flowering bushes and maintained his garden very well.

“Trees and plants are the pride of the Earth. They are the one to provide us with life,” sang Jumbo while watering his plants.

“Wow Jumbo, you have such beautiful flowers in your garden!” said Cheeku rabbit as he was crossing Jumbo’s house.

“Oh thank you, Cheeku. I love to take care of them,” said Jumbo while looking at his plants lovingly.

“You sure do. If I need some flowers for my house, I will take them from your garden only,” said Cheeku, touching one of the flowering plants.

Jumbo was not happy with what Cheeku had said. “Beware Cheeku. Don’t you dare touch that flower!” he said.

“What happened Jumbo? Why are you getting so mad at me?” asked Cheeku, a little shocked.

Jumbo said, “You were going to pluck my beautiful flowers and I shouldn’t even get angry? Do you know that even plants and flowers have life and when someone plucks them, they feel the pain?”

Cheeku did not seem to agree with what Jumbo was saying. “It is not so Jumbo,” said Cheeku.

This made Jumbo angrier. “Come here, I will pick you up and throw you down. Then let’s see whether you feel the pain or not,” he said angrily.

Jumbo quickly moved his trunk towards Cheeku to scare him. Cheeku ran away from there.

“Cheeku is worried about his pain. For him, it is fun to crush plants and pluck flowers. He does not think how much pain my dear plants will feel if he plucks them,” Jumbo mumbled to himself. He took a good look at his garden once again and went inside the house.

In the evening, Meeku mouse was passing by Jumbo’s house, riding his bicycle. As he was crossing Jumbo’s garden, Meeku’s bicycle wheel got stuck in a pothole and he lost his balance.

Meeku fell down on a bush in Jumbo’s garden along the road. Some plants and flowers were crushed because of Meeku and his bicycle falling on them.

Jumbo was reading inside his home when he heard the loud noise of the crash. He rushed out to see what had happened.

Jumbo was furious to see his plants damaged, the flowers crushed and the mud scattered all around.

Jumbo shouted, “You useless mouse. You have damaged my plants! You did not think about the pain they would feel.  I will lift you and throw you on the ground. Maybe that’s when you’ll understand how much pain you’ve given my plants.”

Meeku tried to explain his side of the story but Jumbo was in no mood to listen. He wrapped his trunk around Meeku and picked him up.

“Jumbo, forgive me. I did not do this on purpose. I lost my balance because of the pothole and crashed into your garden,” pleaded Meeku.

But Jumbo was still furious.

“If you don’t know how to ride a bicycle then you shouldn’t ride it. I am not going to listen to any of your excuses. Today I will show you what pain is,” Jumbo continued as he shook Meeku with his trunk.

Meeku was too scared. Jumbo was just about to throw him to the ground when Cheeku came there.

“Jumbo put Meeku down! You’ve been thinking of the pain we would cause to your plants but are you thinking about the pain you’re putting Meeku through?  He has been your friend for so many years and yet look at the way you’re treating him,” said Cheeku loudly.

Jumbo was surprised with what Cheeku had just said. “What are you saying Cheeku?” said Jumbo, calming down.

Cheeku explained gently, “Jumbo, you are getting angry because your plants are hurt. But what about the hurt that you are causing Meeku? Is it right to hurt someone to make them understand how much pain you or your plants are feeling?”

Jumbo realised his mistake. “I am sorry Meeku,” he said.

“I forgot that it is wrong to hurt others for my love of plants. I will not hurt others to give this message,” said Jumbo as he placed Meeku on the ground.children fiction

Jumbo then started to clear the destroyed plants and both Meeku and Cheeku helped him in the garden work. Jumbo realised that his blind love for plants had been hurtful to his friends. He now knew that both were equally important.

Meeku Saves the Day

Late one evening, Blacky bear, Baddy fox, Jumpy monkey and Meeku mouse were returning back home in Jumpy’s car after a picnic.

“Drive carefully, Jumpy. It’s getting dark and the roads are quite bad too,” said Meeku.

“Don’t worry, Meeku. I am an excellent driver,” replied Jumpy coolly.

Just as he finished talking, the car started shaking.

“Jumpy! Do excellent drivers shake their cars like this?” said Baddy irritated.

“It’s not my fault. Seems like we have a flat tyre,” said Jumpy.

He brought the car to a halt to the side of the road. They all got out and saw that one of the wheels had a puncture.

“Oh no! How will we reach home now?” said Blacky worried.

“Don’t worry, Blacky. There is a spare tyre in the car’s boot. We’ll just replace the flat tyre with the spare one,” said Jumpy.

Jumpy fetched the spare tyre from the boot of the car, while Blacky removed the punctured one.

“Baddy, now fix the spare tyre so that we can resume our journey soon,” said Blacky.

“Why should I fix it? You removed the flat tyre, so you should be the one fixing the spare tyre,” said Baddy.

“That makes no sense!” said Blacky.

“It does! When we play cricket, whoever throws the ball into somebody’s house is the one who has to go and get it back, isn’t it? By that logic, whoever removed the tyre has to fix it,” said Baddy.

Blacky got angry. “You are just trying to come up with a reason to not do any work! You better fix the new tyre; if not, you have no idea what I will do to you!” threatened Blacky.

“You cannot do anything to me,” said Baddy.

“I’ll show you!” said an enraged Blacky.

As the two were arguing, Baddy’s legs brushed against the punctured tyre. The nuts on the tyre were loose and they rolled down a steep ditch. Jumpy and Meeku saw the nuts rolling, while the other two continued to fight unaware.

“Stop fighting both of you!” said Jumpy. “See what you have done. Without the nuts and bolts, how will we replace the spare tyre now?”

“This is all Blacky’s fault. If he had just changed the tyre without arguing, we would have been on our way now,” said Baddy.

“Why couldn’t you do it then without arguing?” Blacky snapped at Baddy.

The two began fighting again.

“Will you both calm down and think of a solution for the problem?” said Meeku.

“There’s no use, Meeku. Without the nuts and bolts, we cannot fix the tyre. And the closest mechanic shop is quite far away,” said Jumpy sadly.

“Don’t lose heart, Jumpy. Every problem has a solution. All we need to do is to look for it,” said Meeku.

“So says the smallest and weakest one among us!” mocked Baddy.

“But I do have a solution,” said Meeku.

“What is it?” asked Jumpy eagerly.

“Just as Baddy mentioned, I am small and weak. You three can lower me down the ditch with a rope so that I can pick up the bolts and nuts, and pull me back up after that. We can then fix the tyre and be on our way. But for this, we will have to work together,” said Meeku looking at Blacky and Baddy.

“This is a great idea! I also have a rope in the boot of the car. We can tie that around you,” said Jumpy, running to fetch the rope.

They tied it around Meeku and lowered him down the steep ditch. After he picked up all the nuts and bolts, the other three pulled him up.

Baddy then helped Blacky fix the spare tyre.

“Thank you, Meeku. Because of your idea, we will be able to reach home now,” said Blacky.

Baddy agreed with him. “You are right, Blacky. Even though I mocked him, he remained calm and came up with a solution—he is indeed bigger than all of us!” he said and apologised to Meeku.

The four friends then got back into the car and resumed their journey home.

Everything is Possible

Meeku, the mouse was taking a walk when he saw an apple fall from a tree.

“An apple! Let me take it home. I’ll wash and eat it,” thought Meeku.

As he walked away, Billu, the cat reached there.

“You better hand over that apple over to me,” said Billu.

“No. I found it first,” said Meeku.

“Look! I want to eat fruits today. Otherwise, I would have eaten you first and then the apple,” threatened Billu.

“How can I trust him? He may gobble the apple and then eat me too,” thought Meeku and ran from that there.

Billu followed Meeku. Meeku reached a bridge and saw Bhiku, the wolf coming from the other side. Meeku froze. By then Billu also closed in on him.

“How will you save yourself now?” asked Billu, as he walked towards Meeku.

“Wait! Take the mouse if you want, but leave the apple for me. I have put on weight and the doctor has advised me to eat only fruits,” said Bhiku.

More from Champak: Musu’s Smart Escape

“My doctor has told me to have fruits because of my increased weight too. And I will spare this mouse as well. He has made me run so much that I am very hungry now,” said a panting Billu.

“Take the mouse if you want and leave the apple for me. You ran a long distance and so you must have lost weight. Now you don’t need to eat the apple,” said Bhiku.

“If that is the case, then I’ll take the apple and release this mouse. You chase him and lose weight,” said Billu.

“Stop arguing, Billu. It wouldn’t be good if I got angry!” warned Bhiku.

“Don’t try to dominate me. I’m not afraid of a foolish wolf like you,” replied Billu.

“How dare you call me foolish! Now, this mouse as well as the apple are mine,” said Bhiku, pulling Meeku towards him.

“You can’t do that. I had seen the mouse first, and so I will take the mouse and the apple with me,” said Billu, pulling Meeku towards himself.

Billu and Bhiku then began fighting over Meeku.

More from Champak: Meeku Saves the Day

“Why don’t you decide between yourself whom I should go with,” Meeku questioned while flinching with pain.

“Don’t interrupt!” shouted Billu.

“Both of you are pulling me and expect me to keep quiet!” cried Meeku. But Billu and Bhiku ignored him and continued fighting.

“Fighting will yield no result. Talk and find a solution” said Meeku.

“Meeku, we are know that you will play a trick on us to escape, but we won’t let that happen,” said Billu.

“I’m not trying to trick you. I just don’t want you to fight with each other,” replied Meeku.

“Really? Then how would you solve our problem?” asked Bhiku.

“Why don’t you toss a coin and decide?” suggested Meeku.

“That is a good idea,” agreed Bhiku. “Let’s do it then” said Billu.

“I’ll opt for heads,” said Bhiku. “I’ll go for tails,” replied Billu.

“And what if we get neither heads nor tails?” asked Meeku.

“What do you mean?” asked Billu and Bhiku in confusion.

“What would happen if the coin lands perpendicular to the ground that neither heads nor tails are up?” asked Meeku.

“How can that be possible?” they asked.

“Let’s just suppose that it happens. Then what shall we do?” asked Meeku.

“Then we will let you go,” said Bhiku and Billu in jest.

“Let’s go to the bank of the river and toss a coin,” said Meeku.

More from Champak: The Clever Turtle

“Why can’t we do it here?” asked Billu.

“If we toss here, my coin may fall into the river and I do not have another coin to toss again,” explained Meeku.

“In that case, let’s go to the bank,” said Billu.

All three walked down the bridge and came to the bank of the river.

“I’ll toss the coin in the air. If it’s heads, then Bhiku will win and if its tails, Billu will win,” said Meeku and tossed the coin.

Bhiku ran to see if it was heads or tails.

“Wait!” said Billu. “I don’t trust you. You may turn the coin in order to win.” He let go of Meeku’s hand and ran behind Bhiku.

When the two found the coin, they saw it standing perpendicular to the ground due to the moist and soft soil.

“Meeku was right! Everything is possible,” said Bhiku. Billu nodded in agreement.

“Look! Meeku is running away!” screamed Bhiku.

“Let him go. If we caught hold of him, we would have to argue again as to who would get the apple and who would get him,” said Billu.

“You are right,” said Bhiku.

The two returned home disappointed.