english short stories Archives - Page 10 of 13

TELEPATHIC BABA

Rani Deer and Soni Deer were the best of friends. They were neighbours too, since their homes were right next to each other.

Soni Deer was a tailor. She made a living by stitching the clothes for the animals who lived in the forest. Rani Deer was a schoolteacher. She was happy to teach the young animals who studied in the forest school.

Soni Deer was very superstitious. She believed in rituals and would spend all her free time performing rituals. Well, she had been having some tough times lately. The heavy rains that lashed the forest every monsoon, had damaged the roof of her house and made it leak. The house was drenched, and Soni Deer had to stay in Rani Deer’s house, and also pay the repairmen a huge amount of money to repair her roof.

When Soni Deer finally went home, she found that her sewing machine had stopped working. She had to pay a lot of money to repair it, and was out of work for many days.

Soon after that, she had a fall while running to the market, and hurt one of her legs.

One day, Soni Deer saw an old man with a long beard standing outside the house.

“This house has a spirit hovering above it,” the old man shouted. “It is a very evil one! It is causing trouble for the house owner!”

Soni Deer was flabbergasted.

“I’ve had so much trouble of late,” Soni Deer thought. “This old man must be right! He must be a seer and can probably see an evil spirit hovering above my house!”

Soni Deer called out to the old man and asked, “How do you know this, Baba? Are you a seer?”

The old man closed his eyes, and looked like he was lost in thought. He opened them a few minutes later. Soni Deer gasped. The old man’s eyes were flaming red.

“I can see the evil spirit that’s troubling you right now,” the old man shouted. “He has broken your roof and has also made you fall down. I think he has meddled with your sewing machine too. He is very evil and wants to cause more trouble for you!”

Soni Deer’s jaw dropped. Her eyes grew wide. She believed every word of what the old man was saying. “He definitely must be a great seer!” she thought.

“Baba,” Soni Deer then said. “Please tell me how I can protect myself from this evil spirit who wants to harm me!”

“Well, I can help you if you like,” the old man said. “I can come back after two days and perform a ritual. It will take a few hours to complete. But be assured that it will drive the evil spirit faraway from your house.”

Soni Deer trusted the old man. “He will drive the evil spirit away and solve all my problems,” she thought.

“Baba, let’s perform this ritual,” she told the old man eagerly.

“Please tell me what you will require.”

The old man gave Soni Deer a list of things that she needed to buy. He then told her that he would come back to perform the ritual after two days.

As soon as the old man left, Soni Deer ran to Rani Deer’s house. She told her about the old man and the ritual that he would perform to drive the evil spirit away.

But to her great disappointment, Rani Deer grew very upset and scolded Soni Deer harshly. “Soni, since when have you become so foolish?” Rani Deer shouted. “How can you believe this old man, huh? He must be a conman who’s trying to cheat you! There are no such things as evil spirits! You’ve just been having some bad days! We all have them at sometime or the other!”

Soni Deer was not convinced. “If the old man was a conman, how did he know about my troubles?” she asked.

Rani Deer shook her head and replied, “Everyone in the forest knows about your leaking roof, your sewing machine, and your fall. It’s a small forest and news spreads easily. The old man must have heard about you from someone you both know. Please listen to me and stay away from him.”

But Soni Deer didn’t listen to her friend. “Well, there’s no harm in performing a small ritual, is there?” she said and stormed out of Rani Deer’s house.

Rani Deer realised that it was useless to say anything more to her friend. She decided that she would secretly keep an eye on the old man when he went to Soni Deer’s house next.

After two days, the old man knocked on Soni’ Deer’s door. Soni Deer was very happy to see him. She invited him in to perform the ritual.

“Eat this,” the old man told Soni and gave her some food to eat. “It is part of the ritual!”

Soni Deer respectfully ate what she was given. She was convinced that the old man was her well-wisher, and that he would drive the evil spirit away from her house. She sat down as the old man began the ritual, and hoped that all her troubles would soon be over.

Suddenly, Soni Deer felt as though the world around her was spinning. “Unhh!” she cried. “Why am I feeling so giddy?”

“Don’t worry,” the old man said. “The evil spirit is leaving your house. That’s why you’re feeling uneasy.”

“Oh!” Soni Deer said, believing the old man.Little did Soni Deer know, that the old man, was young Nakul Jackal in disguise. He was a notorious conman who wanted to steal the money and gold that Soni Deer had in her house. Or that she was feeling giddy, because Nakul Jackal had mixed a sedative in the food that he had given her to eat.

Soni Deer found herself feeling drowsy, and in no time, she fell fast asleep. Nakul Jackal laughed when he saw Soni Deer sleeping. He quickly gathered all the money and gold he found in the house.

“I’ll leave before she wakes up,” he said, running towards the door. But the moment Nakul Jackal opened the door, he found Inspector Matru Bear standing in front of him.

Inspector Matru Bear handcuffed Nakul Jackal immediately. Rani Deer then rushed into the house with Dr. Appu Elephant, and ran towards her friend.

When Soni Deer woke up, Rani Deer told her what had happened. Soni Deer cried and held her friend’s hand.

“You saved me, my dear friend,” Soni said gratefully. “Had you not alerted the police, Nakul Jackal would have surely stolen all my gold and hard-earned money. But tell me, how did you suspect that he was a conman?”

Rani Deer replied, “Well, I stood outside your house to watch what was happening. When I heard you say that you were feeling giddy, I realised that something was very wrong. And so, I ran to alert the police and call the doctor. Inspector Matru Bear guessed that the old man was Nakul Jackal in disguise, since he is notorious for playing such tricks.”

“I have learnt my lesson,” Soni Deer said. “I won’t believe in evil sprits from now on. Or old men who claim that they are seers and can perform rituals. I’ll accept the bad days of life gracefully, for I know that they will be followed by good days!”

Rani Deer smiled. She was glad that her friend wouldn’t fall for a conman’s tricks ever again.

Astute Son-in-law

Many years ago, there lived a wealthy minister in China. He had a young daughter whose name was Fu Ya. Fu Ya was a beautiful and intelligent girl. She loved and respected her father very much. The minister loved his daughter too and always wanted the best for her.

When Fu Ya grew up, the minister started looking for an eligible groom for her to marry. The minister wanted his son-in-law to be an affluent man, so that his daughter could lead the comfortable life she was used to, even after marriage. He shortlisted many wealthy young men and asked Fu Ya to select one of them.

But to his great disappointment, Fu Ya refused to marry any of the young men her father had selected. The reason was that Fu Ya was in love with another young man. His name was Chin Lee. Chin Lee was a bright and intelligent fellow. He was hard-working, friendly and pleasant natured too. But he belonged to family that wasn’t very wealthy.

When Fu Ya told her father about Chin Lee, the minister grew unhappy.

“Fu Ya, my dear child,” he said. “You will not be happy if you marry a man who isn’t wealthy like us. He has a small house and he won’t be able to give you a comfortable life.”

Fu Ya tried to explain her point of view to her father.

“Father,” she said respectfully. “Intelligence and hard work can help anyone grow rich. I love Chin Lee. And I know that he isn’t rich today. But I’m sure he will soon be with his intelligence and hard work.”

The minister wasn’t convinced. He thought differently but at the same time, didn’t want to see his only daughter unhappy with a man she didn’t love.

The minister thought for a long time and then said, “Alright, Fu Ya. Let me see if Chin Lee is as bright and intelligent as you say. If he brings me the two gifts that I ask for, I will willingly give my consent to your marriage and accept him as my son-in-law.”

“What is it that you want Chin Lee to bring you?” Fu Ya asked in a soft voice.

The minister replied, “Go and tell Chin Lee that I want him to bring me two things as gifts. They are fire and air. But also tell him that I don’t want them as they are. I want them both to be brought to me wrapped inside paper.”

Fu Ya was shocked. “Fire and air inside paper? That sounds impossible!” she said. “Father, how can anyone wrap fire in paper? The paper will surely burn! And how can anyone bring air in paper too?”

“Well, Fu Ya,” the minister said. “If Chin Lee is as bright and intelligent as you say, he will surely know what to do. If he doesn’t bring me these gifts, you will have to bid him farewell and marry a man of my choice.”

“Yes,” Fu Ya said and bowed obediently.

That evening, Fu Ya went to convey her father’s odd request to Chin Lee.

Chin Lee listened calmly.

He thought for a long while and then said, “Don’t worry, Fu Ya. Go back to your father and ask him to give me a day’s time. I will bring him the gifts as soon as I can.”

The minister readily gave Chin Lee a day though he doubted his capabilities.

Chin Lee loved Fu Ya deeply. He didn’t want to lose her. And so, he kept awake all night thinking about the minister’s strange request.

The next evening, the minister saw a young man walk in to his house. He was carrying a lantern made of coloured paper. There was a small candle lit inside the lantern.

“I’m Chin Lee,” Chin Lee said and bowed respectfully. “I have brought what you asked for. Here’s fire inside paper, just as you asked for.”

The minister nodded and took the lantern from Chin Lee.

“What about the other gift I asked for?” he then asked.

Chin Lee promptly took a fan made out of paper from his pocket. He spread it open and began fanning the minister with it.

“Here’s air in paper!” he smiled and said. “Your other gift!”

The minister laughed and put his arm around Chin Lee. He was very happy. He realised that Chin Lee was the best suitor his daughter could ever have.

He immediately called Fu Ya out of her room and gave her hand in Chin Lee’s.

“You have my consent for your marriage.” the minister then said.

Fu Ya and Chin Lee were married the following week. Chin Lee worked hard and soon became a very wealthy man.

He bought a big house right next to the minister’s house and gave Fu Ya all the comforts that she was used to.

The minister was very happy. His daughter was leading the best possible life she could ever have. “What an intelligent son-in-law I have!” the minister said every time he saw Fu Ya and Chin Lee sitting in their garden.

Do Good and have Good

One afternoon, Bunty Monkey was returning home from school. He was crossing a tree over the river when he heard the sound of crying.

“I wonder who’s crying here?” Bunty said as he looked around. “Hello? Is there anyone out here?”

A little tortoise crawled out from behind a tree. Bunty saw that he was crying.

“Why are you crying, little one?” Bunty asked, looking very concerned

“I am hungry. My stomach is growling,” the tortoise wept. “My mum and dad are not at home right now and there is nothing for me to eat.”

Bunty Monkey felt very sorry for the little tortoise.

“Don’t cry,” he said gently. “I have two ripe guavas in my schoolbag. You can eat them both.” Bunty then took two guavas out of his schoolbag and gave them to the tortoise.

The tortoise ate both the guavas very quickly.

He then looked up at Bunty and said, “My stomach is still growling. I am still very hungry.”

“Don’t worry,” Bunty told the tortoise. “There are some guava trees here. I will get you some more guavas to eat.”

Bunty then jumped around and plucked more guavas for the tortoise to eat.

He gave them to the tortoise who started gobbling them up.

Bunty was amazed.

“This little tortoise is finishing all the guavas I have given him,” Bunty thought to himself. “He really is greedy. I am much bigger than him but can hardly eat more than one or two. If he asks me for more guavas now, I will refuse.”

The tortoise finished the guavas. He then quietly crawled back behind the tree.

Bunty was surprised.

“What? He didn’t even thank me! What a rude little tortoise he is!” Bunty muttered as he picked up his schoolbag and walked home.

The next day, Bunty was returning from school when he met the tortoise again.

“I am hungry,” the tortoise said as soon as he saw Bunty.

“Aha!” Bunty said. “So you are hungry and alone again!”

Bunty put his schoolbag down and plucked many guavas for the tortoise.

The Finder Of Lost Things

He then watched as the little tortoise gulped them down and crawled back behind the tree.

The same thing happened the next day. And the day after that. And for many more days.

The tortoise would see Bunty returning from school everyday and tell him that he was hungry.

Bunty would pluck the guavas and give them to the tortoise who would eat them very quickly.

Bunty didn’t mind for a few days. But plucking guavas for the tortoise everyday after school tired him no end. He found it difficult to refuse the hungry little tortoise too.

One day, Bunty decided that he wouldn’t pluck guavas for the tortoise anymore.

“Why don’t you tell your parents that you get hungry when they are away? They should leave some food for you before going out. I can’t pluck guavas for you everyday, you know,” Bunty told the little tortoise.

The little tortoise looked up at Bunty and said, “My mum and dad leave a lot of food for me to eat at home. But Kittu finishes it all and then wants more food.”

“If Kittu eats all of your food, why don’t you complain about him to your parents?” Bunty asked surprised.

“Well, I am Kittu!” the little tortoise said innocently. He then quickly ate all the guavas Bunty had plucked for him and crawled away before Bunty could say anything.

“Wow! He has quite an appetite!” Bunty muttered and returned home.

A few days later, Bunty was very tired. He had a long and tiring day in school. He was on his way home when he saw Kittu waiting for him on the other side of the river.

“If he asks me to pluck guavas for him today, I will firmly refuse,” Bunty thought as he started to cross the river.

“Hey! You’re late today! Did it even cross your mind that your friend must be hungry and waiting for you?” Kittu said as soon as he saw Bunty.

“Which friend of mine is hungry and waiting for me?” Bunty asked surprised.

“Who else but Kittu?” Kittu said innocently.

Bunty couldn’t help smiling. He immediately put his schoolbag down and plucked some guavas for Kittu to eat.

More From Champak: Jamun’s Prudence

Bunty didn’t see Kittu for many days after that. He assumed that Kittu’s family had shifted to another part of the river.

It was a rainy day a few weeks later. Bunty was returning home from school when it started pouring heavily. There was thunder and lightning too.

Bunty jumped onto a tree and began crossing the river. The tree’s branches were wet and slippery because of the rain and Bunty found it difficult to balance himself. He slipped and fell in the river.

“Are you all right?” a small voice asked as Bunty lay on the river bank.

“Yes, I am,” Bunty said, wondering who had saved his life. He sat up and looked around to see who his rescuer was.

“Kittu? You saved me?” said Bunty surprised to see the little tortoise. “Where have you been?”

“Yes, I saved you!” Kittu laughed. “I was on a holiday. I returned just today. In fact, I was hiding behind the tree and waiting for you so that I could surprise you. I saw you fall into the water and jumped in to help you.”

“Thank you, friend!” Bunty said gratefully.

“Please don’t thank me! Friends are supposed to help each other,” Kittu said cheerfully. “Your clothes are wet. Why don’t you come to my house? I will give you my clothes to wear.”

“OK, friend!” Bunty said.

“We will meet tomorrow then. I hope you will pluck more guavas for me!” Kittu said.

“Of course!” Bunty said and waved. He then walked home happily. He was glad that he had met Kittu.

Plucking a few guavas now and then for a hungry little tortoise had made him a friend who had saved his life.

The Two Rats

Lajo Cat was famished. Her stomach was growling and she hoped that she would come across a plump rat soon. She tiptoed into a house and crept inside the kitchen.

Lajo Cat wished that she would find a few rats scampering there. If there were no rats, she hoped that she would at least find some milk or curd.

But to Lajo Cat’s dismay, there weren’t any rats in the kitchen. And the milk and curd were inside the refrigerator. “Sheesh,” Lajo Cat muttered.

“Why do people use refrigerators?

Refrigerators have doors that are hard to open. They deprive us cats of milk and curd.”

Lajo Cat felt disappointed and turned to go when a sound startled her. She turned to see if somebody from the house had spotted her and was coming after her with a stick. But Lajo Cat saw something that made her grin from ear to ear.

Two plump rats named Janu Rat and Manu Rat were drinking oil from an oil can. They were dipping their long tails, one at a time, in the oil can. They were then licking the oil off their tails.

Lajo Cat’s joy knew no bounds. “These rats are brilliant,” she said and giggled. “They are drinking oil from the can, without even touching it. I’m really lucky to have found them. I will catch hold of one of them for my dinner.”

Janu Rat and Manu Rat heard Lajo Cat giggling and looked up. They began trembling as soon as they saw her. They were sure that she wouldn’t let them escape.

But Janu Rat didn’t want to give up so easily. He gathered all the courage he had and said, “Aunty Cat! Come and look inside this box! It contains some buttery chapattis. I think you’ll like them. They are quite delicious!”

“I am not your aunt,” Lajo Cat hissed. “So, stop calling me that! I have made up my mind to feast on one of you today. Nothing can change that. Not even buttery chapattis!” |

“Er… Feast on one of us?” Manu Rat asked. He was shaking like a leaf in the wind. “Yes, I will definitely eat one of you,” Lajo Cat said and laughed. “And remember, there can only be one relation between us. That of a hunter and prey!”

“A hunter, huh?” Janu Rat said, thinking quickly. “Aunty Cat, have you heard of King Venkatraman Singh of Reeva? He was a great hunter too. My grandmother has told me many stories about him. He was very strong. It seems that every time he threw a spear, it would tear open the trunk of a tree.”

I’ve heard that too,” Lajjo Cat said, showing off. “I know what a good hunter King Venkatraman Singh was. I know many stories about him too.” Lajo Cat then tried to recollect what else she knew about King Venkatraman Singh. Janu Rat and Manu Rat noticed that she was distracted and tried to slip away. But Lajo Cat was quite sharp.

“Hey!” she hissed angrily. “Stay where you are! I am going to eat one of you now.”

Janu Rat decided that he would keep Lajo Cat talking. He then said, “Aunty Cat, did you know that the real hunting was done by King Venkatraman Singh’s favourite white lion? His name was Mohan. By the way, have you ever seen a white lion? I have heard that white lions are found in Reeva. Have you ever been there? I have always wanted to go to Reeva and see if it’s true.”

“No, I haven’t seen a white lion or been to Reeva,” Lajo Cat said. “But I am quite sure that white lions exist. We cats are related to lions, you know. We are cousins. And if white lions exist I’ll definitely meet them whenever I go to Reeva.”

Lajo Cat continued talking. She didn’t notice Janu Rat and Manu Rat tiptoeing out of the kitchen and running far away from her.

The Clever Turtle

There were a few families of turtles that lived in a river that flowed through a jungle. These families would come out of the river every morning and swim to the riverbanks. The older turtles would lie there and bask in the sun. But the younger turtles were far more energetic and would look forward to playing games.

Sometimes, they would jump into the river water and race with each other. Some other times, they would play games like hide and seek and hopscotch along the riverside. This was the turtles’ little world and they were always happy here.

One morning, when the young turtles were playing, as usual, a vixen came to the riverside. She spotted the young turtles laughing and playing. The vixen’s mouth began to water. She was very hungry and the sight of the young turtles seemed very tempting.

Turtle meat was the vixen’s favourite delicacy too. She licked her lips and slyly made her way towards the young turtles. The vixen was just about to reach the young turtles when she sneezed loudly.

“ACHOO!” The vixen wiped her mouth and kicked herself.

The turtles, who had heard the vixen sneeze, became alert. They looked around cautiously to see where the sound came from. They spotted the vixen standing quite close to them.

“Run!” the turtles cried and ran towards the water to save their lives. Tiny Turtle was the littlest turtle. He was lying in a faraway corner, basking in the warmth of the sun. He heard his friends’ cries and wondered what had happened.

The vixen spotted Tiny Turtle and pounced on him before he could reach the river. But Tiny was a clever little turtle. He pulled himself into his shell before the vixen could catch hold of him and hid there. The vixen was hungrier than ever now. She tried her best to break the shell open. She tried every possible shell-breaking trick she knew but just couldn’t break Tiny Turtle’s shell open, or even manage to crack it.

Tiny Turtle’s little body was trembling with fear inside the shell. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the vixen would find a way to break the shell open. And so, he came up with a plan that he hoped would help him escape.

“Miss Vixen,” Tiny Turtle said politely from inside the shell. “I’m sorry but my shell is very hard to break. You will have to soak it in water if you want to soften it. Why don’t you put me in the river for some time? I’ll call out to you as soon as my shell becomes soft. You can pick me up and break my shell and eat me then.” waited.

The vixen was starving now. Her plump little stomach was growling loudly. She had been hunting all morning and was feeling quite weak and tired. She couldn’t think clearly on an empty stomach either.

“Very well then,” the vixen told Tiny Turtle. “I will put you in the water. But promise me that you will call out to me as soon as your shell turns soft enough for me to break.”

And so, the vixen put Tiny Turtle into the river water.

“How long will it take for your shell to soften?” the vixen then asked Tiny Turtle. Tiny Turtle was a clever little fellow. “It will take half an hour,” he said. “Why don’t you sit down for a while? You must be tired and hungry.”

The vixen sat under the shade of a tree and waited patiently. After a few minutes, Tiny Turtle peeped out of the shell and saw that she was a good distance away. The vixen’s eyes were closing and she was about to fall asleep. Tiny Turtle pulled his little head and arms out of the shell and waved to the vixen.

“Thanks for putting me in the water,” he said. “I’m going to swim home now. Please find yourself something else to eat! Goodbye!” Tiny Turtle then dived into the water and disappeared. The vixen jumped up.

“Oh no! What have I done?” she cried. “How could I forget that turtles live in water? And that water can’t soften their shells! How silly of me!”

But it was too late for the vixen to do anything. Tiny Turtle was deep in the river, swimming towards his house near the riverbed. The vixen kicked herself hard and decided that she wouldn’t be so foolish the next time she met a clever little turtle.

Kirtivan Becomes Hi-tech

“Chamku, will you get down or not? How long will you hang like this?” Lion Singh roared at Chamku Bat. He was hanging down the roof out of fear. What else could he do? It was a big thing that at least his life got saved. He was cleaning the palace along with Janglu the Jackal a little while back when Singh the Lion pounced on them in anger, accusing them of not working properly. Janglu got caught, but Chamku managed to escape.

Janglu pleaded for his life. Even Queen Liona requested Lion Singh to leave Janglu, but he did not relent. Janglu had to die. The King made him his prey. Had Chamku gotten caught, even he would have faced the same consequence. In order to save his life, Chamku kept hanging on the roof. He was aware that Lion Singh couldn’t reach there. And for him, it was not a problem at all. After all, he was a bat!

This was happening very frequently. If Lion Singh would get annoyed with any of his servants, he would kill and eat them. On the days when he would not find any prey, these incidences would further increase. Due to this the animals of the jungle stopped working in the palace.

Queen Liona was very upset with the happenings in the palace. She even tried to make sense with the King, but he would not listen. So the poor Queen had to live without a single helper and had to do all the chores herself, despite being a Queen.

Prince Leo came home during his vacations. He was studying in a city college. He saw his mother doing household chores all through the day. He asked in surprise, “Mother, you are the Queen of Kirtivan and you don’t even have a single servant…?”

Queen Liona told him everything and said, “Now tell me, Son, who would want to work with us?”

The prince felt very bad at his mother’s situation. He contemplated on the problem and assured his mother, “Don’t worry, Mother. When I come back on Jungle Day’, I will bring 3 servants with me.”

“No, Son, no…don’t do that. Your father will eat them up. I don’t want any animal to lose his life unnecessarily.” Liona refused her son’s offer.

Leo laughed loudly upon hearing his mother’s words. He said, “Don’t worry, Mother. The servants whom I will bring will work a lot. They will do whatever you will ask them to do. And father would never be able to prey on them!”

“Son, what are you saying? Can any animal be stronger than the lion that he will be saved from being prey to your father?” Liona was surprised. She began wondering which animals Leo was bringing as servants. However, Leo kept mum about it. He told his mother again, “I promise that this time I will definitely bring servants with me.”

Prince Leo was studying computer engineering in the city. He built three robots after getting back and gave them the appearance of animals. They looked and behaved like real animals. And they could do any work!

When the prince took them home on Jungle Day’, nobody could make out that they were not animals. Queen Liona got worried, “Son, how will these poor animals stand in front of Maharaj? He will make them too his prey.”

The prince said, “Mother, don’t worry. Forget killing. Maharaj won’t be able to go even near to them.” Then Leo explained that these were robots. They neither felt hunger nor thirst They were not scared of anyone and nobody can eat them.

The prince put a computer in the Queen’s room. Bluetooth devices and cameras were installed in the robots. The Queen could see everything because of that. They even had GPS System. The prince had put in the maps of their palace and the jungle and the programs of the chores to be done inside the robots. He had even explained to his mother how to get work done and keep a control on them. Meanwhile Maharaj Lion Singh was very happy upon seeing the servants.

Prince Leo returned back to the city after Jungle Day’. By that time, the Queen had learnt to control the robots very well. Maharaj wasn’t told about the reality of the robots.

One day, Lion Singh was in a furious mood. He pounced on a robot, but what was this? He received a jolt and was thrown away and hit the wall. Lion Singh couldn’t understand what happened. He thought that he was imagining things and so he pounced again, but this time the jolt was even more powerful.

It was an electric shock. The robots had a system which caused high electric current when somebody attacked them. Lion Singh’s entire body shook violently. He felt so weak that he had to rest for many days to recuperate. It was then that Queen Liona told him everything about servant robots. Ironically, Maharaj became better after being cared for by those servant robots.

Lion Singh was very impressed with those robots. The electric shocks too had a favourable effect on him. He calmed down and began behaving nicely with everyone. He made a plan with the help of the prince to tighten up the security of Kirtivan. Robots were deployed everywhere in the jungle, even at the border. All activities were monitored with the help of the GPS System of the robots. They even had guns installed in their mouths which could be used if required by Cheetah Singh, who remote-controlled them.

This is how Kirtivan’s security system became excellent under the able guidance of Lion Singh and Cheetah Singh. Kirtivan became the ‘hi-tech’ jungle of the twenty first century. Nobody could harm animals in any way in Kirtivan due to this ‘hi-tech’ security.

Kukku’s Car

Kukku Crow lived on a Neem tree. He had the habit of showing off. Sharmaji’s family lived in a bungalow near the tree. Sharmaji had bought a new red-coloured car. He began parking his car under the tree.

Kukku loved the car. Every day Sharmaji would drive in it to his shop. By the time he returned, Kukku would have fallen asleep. So the crow used to get up early every morning to play on the car.

One morning, when Kukku woke up, he saw Sharmaji and his entire family boarding a taxi. They had a lot of luggage. Kukku realised that they must be going for a long vacation. He knew that the car would be parked all the time under the tree. He spent the entire day on the car.

A pigeon, who lived on a tree nearby, asked, “What is the matter, Kukku? Why are you sitting on this car?”

Kukku told him that he had bought the car. Hence, he would stay on it.

“Really? Where did you get so much money from?” the pigeon questioned.

“I had saved money. Who are you to ask?” Kukku said.

The pigeon wondered, “We can’t even save a few grains. How could he have saved so much money?”

Chinchin Sparrow asked, “Won’t you go for a ride in it?”

Kukku replied, “What fun can we high-fliers have on the road? I have bought it to spend some time on it.”

Within three days, all the birds living nearby got the news. They came together and asked, “Kukku, won’t you let us sit in your car?”

“First go and look at your face in the car mirror. Are you worthy of sitting in it? Don’t you even dare to look at it,” said Kukku.

Everybody went back, disappointed.

The next Sunday, Kukku informed his relatives and friends that he was giving a party on his new car. In the evening, nearly 20 crows were perched on top of the car. They were feasting on the food brought by Kukku. Their cawing could be heard everywhere.

Meanwhile, Sharmaji’s family returned from their trip.

Sharmaji thought, “What is this noise?”

When he saw the crows on top of his car, he was furious. He waved his stick towards the crows. He chased them away shouting, “How dare you dirty my car!”

Kukku fled. His guests also flew away after making fun of him. Sharmaji soon built a garage in his bungalow’s backyard. He began parking his car in it.

Kukku didn’t have the guts to meet anyone or show off.

All his neighbours were saying, “This is what happens when one tries to show off.”

Kukku had learnt his lesson.

The Pitcher’s Stomach Ache

A small clay pitcher was lying in the corner of a field. The farmers who worked on the field, stored water in it on hot summer days, so that the water would remain cool for them to drink.

The pitcher had now been empty for a few days since the farmers were on a holiday. The water it contained had evaporated with the heat.

One day, Chunmun Sparrow was flying above the field when she heard the sound of wailing. She looked down and saw the pitcher weeping. Chunmun Sparrow flew down to the pitcher and asked, “What happened to you, pitcher? Why are you crying?”

“Oh!” the pitcher groaned. “My poor stomach! It has been aching since a few days! I can’t bear the pain anymore!”

Teetu Parrot heard the pitcher talking and flew down to the field.

“Well, Chunmun Sparrow,” Teetu Parrot said. “Whenever I am hungry, my stomach starts to ache. I think the pitcher must be hungry too.”

“I don’t think that pitchers feel hunger, Teetu,” Chunmun Sparrow explained.

Kagu Crow, who had been watching the scene from a nearby tree, flew to the spot too.

“I think the pitcher must have a swelling on its intestine,” he suggested. “Usually, the stomach aches when there is a swelling on the intestine. I had a similar problem some years ago too!”

Chunmun Sparrow sighed and replied, “Kagu Uncle, I don’t think pitchers have intestines. So, there’s no chance of any swelling.”

Soon, Munmun Starling, Pintu Pigeon, Rinky Butterfly and Rangeela Peacock heard of the pitcher’s problem and flew to the field to offer their opinions.

But Chunmun Sparrow wasn’t convinced with anything they said.

Suddenly, the pitcher began screaming at the top of its voice.

“Aargh! My poor stomach!” it shrieked. “The pain is becoming unbearable! I think I’m going to die.”

The pitcher’s cries made Sweety Ant creep out of her house. She climbed to the top of a vine that was growing near the pitcher and shouted to get the others’ attention.

“Please do something! Call a doctor or else the pitcher’s stomach will burst open!” she begged.

“Sweety Ant is right. We should consult Dr. Chuheram,” Chunmun Sparrow suggested. “He’s a good doctor and will cure the pitcher’s stomachache, no matter what the ailment is!”

Chunmun Sparrow and the others then went in search of Dr. Chuheram.

They found him in his clinic and brought him to the field as soon as they could. But to everyone’s great surprise, the pitcher had disappeared from the field.

“Where could the pitcher have gone?” Chunmun Sparrow said, scratching her head. “It was right here when we left a few minutes ago!”

“This is a mystery,” Kagu Crow said.

“Hey! What is this pumpkin doing here?” Teetu Parrot said, pointing to a big, fat pumpkin that was snoring loudly in the pitcher’s place. “It wasn’t here when we left!”

Chunmun Sparrow poked the pumpkin with her beak. “Pumpkin!” she twittered. “Wake up, you sleepyhead!”

The pumpkin opened its eyes and yawned.

“Why did you wake me up?” the pumpkin asked sleepily.

“Have you seen a pitcher on the field? It was on the very spot you were sleeping in,” Kagu Crow inquired. “Have you any idea where it could have gone?”

The pumpkin then gestured to some broken clay pieces that were scattered all around.

“This is very strange!” Sweety Ant said. “I noticed that there was a pumpkin vine here earlier. But there was no sign of the pumpkin then. Pumpkin, where did you suddenly come from?”

“Well, I was sleeping here all along,” the pumpkin said, yawning again.

“Huh? Sleeping here?” everyone asked together. “Why didn’t we see you earlier? Where exactly were you?”

The pumpkin smiled and said, “You would have surely seen me had you looked inside the pitcher’s stomach!”

“What?” everyone asked, sounding very surprised.

“Yes,” the pumpkin said. “When I was just a tiny seed, the pitcher swallowed me and kept me inside its stomach. And now, when I’ve grown bigger, it cracked and fell apart. That’s how I’ve came out.”

“Does that mean that you killed the pitcher?”

Dr. Chuheram asked and looked at the pumpkin rather sharply.

“No, I didn’t!” the pumpkin said sternly.

“I had warned the pitcher several times even when I was a baby seed. I had told it not to swallow me. But the pitcher didn’t listen. All it wanted to do was fill its empty stomach. It laughed and didn’t believe me when I cautioned that tiny pumpkin seeds grow into rather big pumpkins.”

Chunmun Sparrow, Teetu Parrot, Kagu Crow and the others looked at the broken pieces of the pitcher and felt very sorry for it. They shook their heads sadly and returned home with heavy hearts.

The pumpkin simply closed its eyes and started to snore once again.

Dub Dub Turtle

Browny Turtle lived in the sea. One morning, she carefully dug a hole in the sand and laid four eggs in it. She then covered the hole gently with some sand and twigs.

“I am tired now,” Browny Turtle then said to herself. “I should go for a swim and refresh myself.”

Browny Turtle then dived into the sea and went for a long swim.

After a few days, Browny Turtle’s eggs hatched, and four tiny baby turtles emerged from the egg shells. Browny Turtle was overjoyed to see her children.

“My babies!” she said happily. “I am so glad to see you! Welcome to the world!”

Soon, the peaceful and picturesque sight of the sea prompted the baby turtle to swim in it.

“Mama,” the baby turtle told Browny Turtle one day. “May we swim with you? The sea looks so inviting! The waves look like fun! We can’t wait to dive in and swim!”

“Yes, my dears,” Browny Turtle smiled and said. “Come with me!”

The baby turtle then crawled and followed Browny Turtle into the sea.

Dubdub Turtle was Browny Turtle’s littlest baby. No one realised that he had been left behind. Dubdub Turtle slowly crawled towards the sea, hoping to catch up with his mother, and brothers and sisters.

It was then when he noticed a tiny crab that was walking sideways. The crab’s body seemed to be shining and looked quite transparent too.

Dubdub Turtle was astonished to see the crab. He hadn’t seen one before.

“How wonderful everything is! Life was boring inside the egg! There is so much for me to see in the world now!” he thought happily.

Then instead of going towards the sea, Dubdub Turtle crawled towards a cluster of shells and admired them. They were a bright pink in colour and Dubdub Turtle was quite fascinated to see them.

Little did Dubdub Turtle know that while he was marvelling at the sights around him, someone was watching him from the sky, with greedy eyes. It was none other than Mighty Eagle who was looking for lunch.

Mighty Eagle was a big and dangerous bird. He had a sharp beak and huge talons that he used to tear his prey apart with. All the turtles including Browny Turtle feared Mighty Eagle. They dived into the sea, every time they saw him hovering in the sky.

Mighty Eagle flew closer to Dubdub Turtle.

Now, Dubdub Turtle was very young, but he spotted Mighty Eagle and sensed that he was dangerous. He saw Mighty Eagle swooping towards him from the corner of his eye.

“Something doesn’t feel right about that bird,” Dubdub Turtle told himself. “For some reason, I feel afraid of him. He probably eats little turtles like me! I must be very careful!”

Dubdub Turtle then gathered all the courage he had and spoke to Mighty Eagle.

“Hello there!” Dubdub Turtle said cheerfully. “I was waiting for you.”

Mighty Eagle was surprised. “Waiting for me, huh?” he asked. “How come?” |

“I’ve heard that you cannot walk on your talons,” Dubdub Turtle explained.

Mighty Eagle grew annoyed.

“Who told you that?” he shouted. “Of course, I can walk on my talons.”

“No, you cannot,” Dubdub Turtle. “I have heard that you look like a clown, every time you try to walk on the sand!”

Mighty Eagle stomped his talons angrily and kicked some sand in the air.

“I definitely don’t look like a clown,” he argued.

“Well, I’ll decide for myself,” Dubdub Turtle said, looking towards the sea. “Why don’t you show me how you walk?”

“I’ll show you how well I walk!” Mighty Eagle said. He then began walking on his talons right in front of Dubdub Turtle.

“Not bad! Not bad at all!” Dubdub Turtle said. “But is it true that you can’t somersault like us turtles. Anyway, can you do this?”. Dubdub Turtle then asked and demonstrated a somersault.

“Yes, I can do that,” Mighty Eagle said huffily. He then tried doing somersaults but kept losing his balance.

“Hold on! I’m out of practice!” he told Dubdub Turtle and panted. “I’ll show you a perfect one in just a few minutes.”

“Don’t worry!” Dubdub Turtle said and slowly inched towards the sea. “Take your time! I’m waiting! I’m in no hurry!”

Dubdub Turtle then called out to Mighty Eagle and said, “Forget somersaulting on the sand now. How about somersaulting in the sky? Can you do that? Or can you only fly in the sky?”

“Somersault in the air?” Mighty Eagle said and laughed. “What a silly little turtle you are! Don’t you know that’s child’s play for me?”

“Can you show me how you do it? Please!” Dubdub Turtle said, sounding very excited.

“All right then!” Mighty Eagle said, putting his chest out. “Watch me go!”

Mighty Eagle then flew up the sky. He first flew left, then right, then higher up, and then started somersaulting in the air. He flapped his wings noisily to show off too.

After sometime, Mighty Eagle felt very hungry.

“I better eat that little turtle now,” Mighty Eagle said. “All this somersaulting has made me very hungry.”

Mighty Eagle swooped down to the sand. But to his great disappointment, Dubdub Turtle was no where in sight.

“Where are you, little turtle?” Mighty Eagle asked, looking around. “Are you hiding in the sand? Come out at once!”

Dubdub Turtle was hiding behind a rock in the sea. He peeped and saw Mighty Eagle looking for him. Dubdub Turtle giggled and shouted, “It was a great show Mr. Eagle! You really can somersault in the sky! But I don’t think you can dive or swim in the sea like me.”

Dubdub Turtle then dived into the water and swam to join his family.

Mighty Eagle felt very foolish.

“I have been outwitted by a baby turtle!” he grumbled.

He flew back to the sky and hoped that he would find something else to eat for his lunch.

In search of the New World

_________

Champak, India’s favourite children’s magazine, presents a story about the discovery of the ‘New World’ – the Americas – by the famous explorer Christopher Columbus.

Story: Kumud Kumar Illustrations: Sonal & Sumit, Freepik Like and follow Champak on: facebook.com/ChampakMagazine/ for more stories, comics, puzzles and jokes!

Unique Picnic

Mony and Tony had come with their friends Antu and Jojo for a picnic near a lake.

Antu and Jojo found an old motorboat and took it out to the lake, while Mony and Tony stayed at the lakeside to cook.

Chickey and Mickey were two young crocodiles who lived in the lake. They were fascinated to see the old motorboat speeding in the lake after so long. They decided to race with the motorboat much to Antu and Jojo’s delight.

Antu was quite a mischievous fellow. He began to increase and decrease the speed of the motorboat, just to tease Chickey and Mickey.

“You will tire yourselves,” Jojo teased. “You will not be able to compete with our speeding motorboat.”

“I know,” Chickey said. “But listen to me now. You don’t know much about this lake. It has many hidden reefs. We’ve had a lot of fun racing but I suggest you slow down now. If you continue speeding, there are chances that you might run into a reef and have a mishap.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Antu said with a laugh. “But we both are experts when it comes to riding motorboats. Don’t worry! Nothing will happen to us!”

Chickey and Mickey realised that the foxes were overconfident and wouldn’t pay any attention to their warning. They stopped following the motorboat.

“Very well then,” they then told Antu and Jojo. “We are going to swim home now. But please take care of yourselves. The weather seems to be deteriorating too. We hope that you’ll reach the lakeside safely.”

Mony and Tony had decided to cook some almond pudding at the lakeside.

They were singing songs and chopping almonds and whipping cream when Julu Elephant saw them.

The warm and sweet aroma of the pudding and the fun Mony and Tony seemed to be having, compelled Julu Elephant to march towards them.

“Hello!” Julu Elephant said in a friendly voice. “I couldn’t stop myself from coming here! You seem to be having so much fun! And I see that you’re making something that looks delicious too. May I join your picnic? I’d like to be your friend.”

To Julu Elephant’s surprise, Mony grew very angry.

“No!” Mony shouted rudely. “We have come here with our friends. I am sorry but you’re not welcome to join us or be our friend. Please go away.”

“Well ok,” Julu Elephant said, looking disappointed. “But at least let me taste some of your pudding. It smells scrumptious!”

“You will not get a morsel of our pudding, you greedy fellow,” Tony said angrily. “Go away from here! Don’t spoil our fun.”

“Okay,” Julu Elephant said, sadly. “I’m leaving. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Just then the sound of screaming pierced the quiet of the lakeside.

“That sounds like Antu and Jojo,” Mony said, looking quite alarmed.

“They seem to be calling for help from the motorboat!” Tony said as the screaming continued.

Chickey and Mickey suddenly leaped out from the lake and ran towards Mony and Tony. They both looked very worried.

“Hi! Do you have a long rope?” Mickey asked in a worried voice.

“Er… no, I don’t,” Mony replied. “But what do you need one for? Is everything ok?”

“Well, the motorboat has hit a reef,” Chickey said, looking quite shaken. “The engine has stopped working.”

“Oh no!” Tony cried with fear. “What will happen to our friends now?

They don’t know how to swim! They will surely drown if the motorboat sinks!”

“Well, we are trying to help them,” Mickey said. “But we will need a long rope to pull the motorboat out of the lake.”

“Don’t worry,” Julu Elephant piped in. “I have a long rope. It’s quite thick and strong too. I’ll get it right now.”

“Thank goodness!” Mickey said, sounding relieved. “You’re a big help!”

And so, Julu Elephant hurried home and returned with the rope in no time.

Julu Elephant then joined Chickey and Mickey in the rescue operation. He held one end of the rope with his trunk and gave the other end to Chickey and Mickey.

“Tie the motorboat to the rope tightly. Call out to me when you finish. I will pull it towards the lakeside with my trunk,” Julu Elephant said politely.

Chickey and Mickey dived into the water and swam towards the motorboat as fast as they could. Antu and Jojo were relieved to see them. The motorboat was beginning to sink and they were quivering with fear.

Chickey and Mickey called out to Julu Elephant once they had tied the motorboat to the rope. Julu Elephant then used all his might and pulled the motorboat towards the lakeside.

As soon as Antu and Jojo reached the lakeside, they jumped out of the motorboat and ran towards their friends.

“Chickey and Mickey had warned us about the reefs but we didn’t pay any attention to their warning,” they both admitted, feeling ashamed of their carelessness. “We are sorry, Chickey and Mickey,” they said, apologising to the two young crocodiles.

Mony and Tony turned towards Julu Elephant. They looked quite ashamed of what they had done too.

“Well, we made a mistake too. We were rude to Julu Elephant when he asked to be our friend. Please forgive us, Julu Elephant.”

Julu Elephant smiled. And so did Chickey and Mickey.

“Don’t worry!” they said cheerfully. “We were happy to help!”

After that, everyone sat down together and had a bowlful of the almond pudding that was quite delicious. They then played games and sang songs and enjoyed their unique picnic.

Smart Mice

Sonu was staring at the piece of cake fallen on the floor for quite some time. Two tiny mice quietly came to gobbleup the cake. Before they could do that, Sonu clapped once and scared them away. He was really amused by this and started laughing.

“What happened, brother? Why are you laughing?” asked Sonu’s younger brother, Monu.

“Just before, two mice had come to eat this piece of cake that is lying on the floor. I clapped loudly and they both got petrified and thus fled,” replied Sonu.

“Wow!” exclaimed Monu. “It would be so much fun to scare away the mice. Where are they?”

Sonu replied, “They are hiding somewhere. You come and sit next to me on this cot. They will come again after a while.”

Sonu suddenly recalled something and said, “Wait, let me do something else, it would be more fun.”

“Do what?” asked Monu.

“You just wait and watch,” said Sonu. He then tied the piece of cake to a string and suspended it a few inches above the floor.

Monu asked, “Why did you do that, brother?”

“Don’t ask anything now. Just wait and see what happens,” said Sonu and both of them sat patiently waiting for the mice.

After a few minutes, one of the mice came, stood on its hind legs, and tried to reach the piece of cake in vain. Upon trying further, the mouse lost its balance and tumbled down.

Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there. Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there.

A few minutes later, another mouse came and tried to grab the cake. Some other mice too came there but none of them succeeded in reaching the piece. They tried desperately but had to return empty handed.

Sonu and Monu enjoyed the desperation of the mice and kept laughing at them.

Sonu yawned and said, “Monu, let us go to sleep now.”

“What about the cake?” asked Monu.

Sonu grinned and said, “Let it be hung and let the mice keep trying.”

“It was fun seeing the mice desperate and irritated,” said Monu.

“See how I troubled the mice who generally trouble people. Am I not great and intelligent?” asked Sonu with pride.

“Yes I totally agree that you are indeed intelligent and great,” replied Monu and went to sleep.

The next morning when they woke up, they were astonished to see that the piece of cake was missing from the string

“Where has the cake gone?” asked Monu.

“I have no idea,” replied Sonu.

Monu said, “Mom or Dad must have thrown away the cake.”

“That is not possible. Had they thrown the cake, they would have thrown away the string too. Since the string is untouched, they have not done it,” said Sonu.

“Then how did the cake vanish?” asked Monu.

“I think the mice have devoured the piece of cake,” replied Sonu.

Monu asked, “But they could barely reach the cake, then how can they eat it up?”

Sonu said, “If we want to find out, we will have to hang another piece of cake in a similar manner and keep a watch.” Sonu got another piece and suspended it in the same manner.

Sonu and Monu quietly sat on the cot observing the mice. One of the mice came there and tried to reach the cake but failed.

“This happened yesterday too,” whispered Monu.

Sonu signaled him to be quiet and watch on

Just then, another mouse came there and stood on its hind legs. The mouse that was already present there climbed on the other mouse’s back and quickly cut the string. The mice then took the piece of cake and fled.

Sonu was shocked to see this. He said, “I never thought mice could be so clever.”

“That is true,” said Monu, “The mice have also proven two things.”

“What are they?” asked Sonu.

“They proved Unity is Strength’. If we work together, then we can even accomplish difficult tasks with ease. The second thing that they proved is that one should never underestimate anyone. Others can be more clever than you are,” said Monu.

Sonu smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

And the Fire Began to Burn

Long time back, the mice of Mushakvan didn’t know about fire. Once it was very cold, and the mice didn’t dare get out of their holes. They impatiently waited for the winter to end.

One day, it was less cold than usual. The leader of the Mushakvan, Chunchun, called for a meeting.

“Dear friends, as we all know, the weather is very chilly these days. We will have to think of some way to protect ourselves from this extreme cold. Can anyone suggest what we can do to survive this cold?”

“Chunchunji, we should run around the entire day. This will keep our body warm and thus we will feel less cold,” Chaplu Mouse stood up and said.

“Chaplu, this is not the solution to the problem. How long can one run? And even if we do follow it, only the young mice can do it. The small and the old mice won’t be able to do it,” Chunchun said.

“Chunchunji is right. We will have to think of some other way,” Cheenu Mouse said, shivering with cold.

“Let’s sit near the paddy grains inside our holes. You all must have noticed that some grains like paddy emanate heat,” Chantu Mouse suggested.

“Chantu, even this suggestion is not suitable as the heat given out by such grains is not enough to give us much protection in this intense cold,” Chunchun said.

After that, all the mice gave their suggestions but none seemed useful.

“No suggestion is such which can relieve us from this cold,” Chunchun was very disappointed.

“If only we could bring down the heat from the sky, then we would have found some respite from this biting cold.” These words by an old mouse surprised everyone.

“The heat from the sky? How’s that?” Chunky Mouse asked.

“Chunky, some years back a hot lightening had fallen from the sky on our jungle, which had illuminated the entire place and had caused a lot of heat,” another old mouse said.

“So much heat that we started perspiring!”

“Dadaji, it could be summer season which led you to perspire, but you thought that it was because of the heat from the sky!” Chimpu Mouse tried to make fun of the older mice while playing with some stones.

“You should be ashamed, Chimpu. Here we are discussing something very important and you are playing with stones and making fun of us. Throw away these stones,” Chunchun said angrily and snatching the stones from Chimpu’s hands, threw them away.

As soon as the stones touched the ground, sparks flew out of them but nobody noticed this except Chimpu.

The other mice got busy talking again. Chimpu went close to the stones and looked at them intently. He didn’t find , anything special in the stones. So out of curiosity, he picked them again and threw them on the ground. This time there were no sparks.

Chimpu didn’t lose heart and kept repeating his act again and again. When he saw sparks coming out two-three times he began rubbing two stones against each other.

This caused a spark to emerge which touched Chimpu’s hand. He let out a shriek.

Chimpu, you are not giving us any good suggestion, but you are successfully distracting us by creating noise. This is not good,” an elderly mouse said.

“I have found heat,” Chimpu said while caressing the burn caused by the spark on his hand.

“What do you mean?” When all the mice asked him, Chimpu rubbed the stones and showed them the spark.

“But how will this help? We won’t get any protection with this little heat,” Chaplu said.

“I have seen that the lightening from the sky burns dry trees and plants. We should also collect small dry plants, wood and grass and try the same thing,” one mouse suggested.

They made a pile and after some efforts, that heap caught fire with the sparks. When heat emanated from the burning mound, the mice felt extremely happy. After all, they had found a way to beat the cold and also to generate the heat from the sky (fire).

Tiff in Space

Raju was a fifth standard student and lived in a village. He stayed there with his grandfather. He studied most of the time and spent leisure time with his grandfather.

Raju’s grandfather would narrate informative stories to him every night. Raju had gotten habituated to falling asleep after listening to the stories and used to dream about them.

It was a pleasant night of the summer season. Raju and his grandfather were sleeping on the terrace of their house. The sky looked vast with the brightly shining moon amidst millions of twinkling stars.

Raju was staring at the stars. He asked, “Grandpa, why don’t these stars and the moon fall on us?”

“Because they revolve around the Sun,” said his grandfather, “Earth also revolves around the Sun.”

Raju asked, “Who stays in space?” Grandpa replied, “There are eight planets and the dwarf planet Pluto, their satellites and stars in space. The planets and their satellites revolve around the Sun.”

Raju found this fascinating and kept thinking about space. He fell asleep in some time and found himself touring space.

Raju saw that there was a fight going on between the planets and satellites. They were fighting over who holds the most importance.

The Sun and planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, all were busy praising themselves.

“I am the brightest planet,” said Venus, “I am unique because I revolve from west to east, while you all revolve in the opposite direction. I am considered to be God.”

The Earth gave a smirk and said, “I am the only planet which supports life and has water and an atmosphere.”

“I am red in colour and am known as the God of War,” said Mercury.

“I have the maximum number of satellites,” said Jupiter.

“And I am counted amongst the biggest of planets,” interrupted Saturn.

Uranus said, “I am huge and green in colour. The Greeks consider me as their God and worship me.”

“I am blue in colour and very big and I am known as the “Sea-God,” said Neptune.

The Moon was getting irritated with the praises from all the other planets. With an angry tone, the moon said, “I am the most beautiful. I am the only satellite of the Earth. There is an estimate that there may be life on my surface. I can also bring about eclipses.”

The Moon was extremely proud of himself and was rude to others, so nobody commented. Pluto was quiet as he had nothing to say. He was a dwarf planet and did not want to intervene in the fights.

The arguments went on and finally, Pluto said, “You all are fools. The Sun is the most powerful.”

“How come?” asked the other planets.

“You all revolve around the Sun,” said Pluto, “It has the maximum temperature and planets get their energy from it. It is the brightest planet that gives light to all the other stars and planets.” “There are hot gases found on the Sun and the Sun’s presence determines the day and night cycles,” added Pluto.

All the other planets were enlightened about the power of the Sun.

They apologized to the Sun.

“It is because of the Sun that we are alive and that the plants get light and nutrition,” interrupted Raju but nobody seemed to be paying heed to what he said.

“Raju, wake up. Its 7 am,” said Grandpa.

Raju woke up and realized that it was a dream. But he enjoyed the thought that he was in space for some time and got to meet all the stars and planets.

It was indeed a very pleasant morning for Raju.

New Year’s Magic

It was a lousy morning. The sunrays were slowly scattering in all the directions. Cheeku, the Rabbit woke up when his room was entirely brightened by the glistening rays of the sun.

Cheeku’s parents entered his room and wished him a Happy New Year. He had forgotten that it was the first of January. His friends had told him that the year 2019 will be a magical year. They had said that every act done on the first day of the year 2019 would be multiplied throughout the year.

Cheeku was an eighth standard student. He woke up late because he had a holiday from school. He took a bath and had his breakfast. His mother was planting a sapling in their garden. He asked his mother about the same and learnt that she had resolved to plant a sapling every year.

Cheeku was impressed by his mother and he too wanted to take a resolution for the New Year. He started thinking about what resolution he should make. Mother suggested that Cheeku should resolve to inculcate some good habits, like getting up early in the morning and studying, doing his homework on time, eating healthy food, etc.

Cheeku liked mother’s suggestions and resolved to do all his work on time. He was lazy and also ate junk food in plenty. Thus he also decided to eat healthy food and always be active.

It was not easy for Cheeku to live up to the resolutions. The next day he managed to wake up early since he had school in the morning, but he felt lazy to study in the morning. He started doing some reading after his mother encouraged him to study.

Cheeku also found it difficult to shake off his fondness for junk food. Mother helped him this time too. Whenever he asked for junk food like pizza, burger, chopsuey, etc, she gave him carrots, cucumber, spinach and other nutritious fresh vegetables. This made Cheeku feel that his stomach was full and then he couldn’t gorge on junk food.

Mother was impressed by Cheeku’s resolutions and helped him to devote appropriate time to study as well as play. Cheeku and his friends initially created a lot of nuisance in the house, but now Cheeku had become much disciplined.

It is said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. This means that if one practices an activity for 21 days at a stretch, it automatically becomes his habit.

It was more than 21 days that Cheeku was practicing good habits. All his friends were surprised at his disciplined behavior. Cheeku too observed that by doing everything on time, he got sufficient time to play. He started excelling in his studies. Subjects like algebra and geometry which were a scare for him previously were now very interesting.

One day, Cheeku recited his self-composed poem in front of his school teacher. His teacher liked the poem and praised Cheeku. All the students also congratulated him. Everything was going well with Cheeku ever since the New Year started. He secured a rank amongst the top students in his class. He also started to enjoy studying. Cheeku was now considered as one of the clever students of the school.

Cheeku’s parents were very happy with his progress in studies. His friends started inculcating good habits as Cheeku had done. They studied and played at pre-decided timings. In the remaining time, they nurtured the plants that Cheeku’s mother had planted.

Cheeku and his friends also excelled in sports. They won medals and secured places in big tournaments. Their parents were proud of their success and showered praises on them.

Cheeku’s mother had planted saplings some time ago which had now grown into plants. In the same way, Cheeku’s resolutions had also grown into a good habit that gave him a happy life. He was now a source of inspiration for all his friends, he was a hero! It was indeed a magical year for Cheeku!

The God in the Mirror

Cheeku rabbit was very happy today, as he was carrying a plate of puja offerings and in it, there were two Rs. 500 notes as well.

Meeku mouse saw him and asked, “Where are you going with the puja plate and money?”

“My wish has been fulfilled. I have been cured now. The Baba had promised that he would solve everyone’s troubles. For something like this, I would not hesitate to offer the Baba even Rs. 5000. I was saved in the nick of time from dying. Nothing can be greater than that,” explained Cheeku and continued walking towards the temple.

Baddy fox had come to Champakvan in the guise of a new Baba a few days ago.

Baba claimed to solve the problems of people and in return, they would offer him money and sweets. Baba’s ashram was always very crowded. Some people would come to get their wishes fulfilled and some to make an offering after their wishes were granted.

“God did not listen to me. I’ve failed this time too. What should I do now?” cried Jumpy monkey, standing next to Cheeku.

“You need to work harder. When the right time comes, your problem will be solved,” said Baba while hitting Jumpy on his head with the holy broom. Saying this Baba turned to the next person. As Cheeku came out after giving his offerings, Damru donkey, came to him shouting “Jai ho! Jai ho!”

“What happened Damru? You look very happy,” asked Cheeku.

“I saw God! I found God! I saw the miracle of God,” said Damru dancing with joy and moved ahead.

Everyone was surprised to hear this.

The news that Damru saw God spread like fire in the jungle.

“How is that possible? What does God look like?” everyone was curious to know. Everyone headed to Damru’s house in a group. “If Damru can see God, then why can’t we?” some of the animals thought.

“Damru, will you not make us see God too?” asked Teetu butterfly pleadingly.

“Why not! Anyone can see God. Let me show you now,” said Damru as he put a hand in his pocket and gave a mirror to Teetu.

“You can see God in this,” said Damru.

“But this is a mirror. I can only see my own face in this. Where is God in this?” said Teetu.

Cheeku too peeked into the mirror and saw his own face instead of God.

Damru went near Cheeku so his reflection too appeared in the mirror. Damru jumped up and said, “See! See! There are two Gods now.”

“Silly! These are our own faces,” said Cheeku angrily.

“How do you know these are our own faces?” said Damru.

Everybody laughed when they heard Damru say this.

Jumpy shook his head and said, “Damru there is a scientific reason behind seeing our faces in the mirror. It happens due to the reflection of light and we can see our face in the mirror. This is not called seeing God.”

“If you understand all this then why do you go and bow down in front of the Baba?” asked Damru angrily.

Everyone was surprised to know the relationship between devotion to Baba and the reflection in the mirror.

Damru took a deep breath and said, “Friends! There was a time when people did not know about mirrors.”

“Yes,” said Cheeku in agreement.

“They did not understand that light reflection makes us see our face in the mirror. But today we know about this. Science has helped us. But why do we still believe in things like miracles by Baba?”

“For occurrences where there is a reason, we do not think of them as a miracle of God. But for things which we don’t know a scientific reason, we think them to be miracles of God,” said Damru. “Everyone runs to the Babas and temples and they trap you.

We make offerings to them saying that God should fulfil our wish. The work gets done through a scientific reason but people will think the work has been done through the miracle of a Baba. If their work does not get completed, people will think it is not time yet. Baba will get the work done when the time is right.” Listening to Damru, everybody was shocked.

It was the truth. Work or no work, everyone was running to the Baba, but why? Truly, what good can a Baba do, except being a crook.

“We should stop this foolishness,” said Meeku immediately.

“Damru is right. Thank you for making us see the truth about Babas, Damru. From today onwards, nobody will go to the Baba, and follow them blindly,” said Cheeku, loudly.

All the animals agreed and then returned to their homes.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

THE LITTLE DOVE

Little Rudra lived in a small house, with his parents, near the city garden. His parents loved him very much.

Now that he was five years old, he thought himself to be very big. Sometimes, he would not listen to them.

One day, Rudra saw a small dove in his lawn. He approached it. It was bleeding. Rudra’s mother also came out to the lawn, when she saw that it was injured. She took the baby dove inside the house. She cleaned its wounds. She gave the bird something to eat.

Rudra was very curious. So many questions came to his mind. From where had the bird come? Where were its parents? Why couldn’t it fly? How did it get hurt? He wondered.

That night, Mother made the bird sleep in a cardboard box. She fed it the next day. She took good care of it. The next day, Rudra went to school very reluctantly. At school, Rudra kept thinking about the bird.

As soon as he returned home, he went to see the dove. It seemed to be recovering. Mother had put it back into the lawn. It was walking.

Suddenly, Rudra saw a big dove approaching. The baby dove ran towards it. The mummy dove had something in her mouth. She fed her baby.

Rudra called out to his mother. Both of them were very happy to see the mummy dove feed the baby dove throughout the day. That night, his mother kept the baby dove inside the house. It still could not fly. If it was kept outside, they feared that the cat would kill it.

His mother explained to Rudra that the baby dove must have disobeyed his parents. It might have come out of the nest when its wings were not strong enough. Therefore, it must have fallen down and hurt itself.

Every day, his mother took the baby dove out and put it on the lawn. Its mummy used to come and feed it. The baby dove soon recovered.

One evening, while Rudra was watching, mummy dove fed the baby. A little later, both of them flew away. Rudra thought to himself, “Perhaps its wings become strong.”

Rudra felt sad after his friend, the baby dove, had left. He was also happy that at last the little dove would be with its family.

Rudra vowed never ever to disobey his parents. He had learnt that whatever the elders say, they say so for our good. We must follow them.

The Poem Feat

Sundarvan’s King Shaatir Lion was very fond of poems. He would reward anyone who recited even average poems.

When Bunky Monkey came to know this, she said to her husband, Beeru Monkey, “You should go and narrate a poem to get the reward from the king.”

Beeru said, “That’s fine, but the problem is I don’t know any poem. What will I say in front of the king?”

Bunky was clever. She suggested, “While going there, just narrate whatever you see on the way, in the form of a poem. Be confident. You will definitely be rewarded.”

Beeru liked her suggestion. He immediately set out for the king’s palace.

On the way, he saw a crow sitting on a rock, near the pond. He was repeatedly filling water in his beak, pouring it on the rock and rubbing it with his beak. Beeru instantly made up a poem.

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

After creating the poem, Beeru felt good. He went to the palace. He narrated his poem in front of the king. The king appreciated his effort. He rewarded him suitably.

The king’s minister, Lukkhu Hyena, wanted to kill the king. He wished to become king himself.

The king’s barber, Blacky Bear, was also involved in this conspiracy. Lukkhu had made a plan.

When Blacky would go to the palace to shave the king’s beard the next day, he would slit his throat with the razor.

Blacky, as per the plan, did reach the palace. However, he couldn’t muster the courage to kill King Shaatir. He kept pouring water on the slab and rubbing the razor against it.

Seeing him do so, again and again, King Shaatir remembered the poem that he had heard from Beeru the day before. He repeated that poem

“Rub, rub and rub, While pouring water, I know, O Blacky, What is there in your heart?”

Blacky was stunned when he heard these words from King Shaatir. He fell at the king’s feet. He pleaded, “Maharaj, I am innocent. Minister Lukkhu Hyena asked me to do this. Please forgive me. I am not at fault.”

The king was taken aback by Blacky’s words. Blacky revealed the entire plan. The king set him free. He ordered that Lukkhu should be arrested. He punished him for his deeds.

The king received Beeru in his palace with great respect. He told him how his poem had saved his life. The king applauded Beeru. He gave him credit for saving his life through his poem. He gave Beeru very high remuneration. This ended all of Beeru’s problems.

WE ARE FRIENDS

After searching for a long time, Minni Mynah found a grain of maize. She sat on a branch of a tree to eat it. As soon as she tried to eat it, the grain slipped out of her grip. It fell down.

Before Minni could pick it up, Ginni Sparrow flew away with the grain.

“Wait, this grain is mine,” Minni called out. However, by that time Ginni had flown away. Minni felt bad. Someone had taken her food and she couldn’t do anything. Once again, she flew in search of food.

She didn’t find a single grain. She just found a piece of a chapatti. She tried to satisfy her hunger by eating it and drinking water. Then, she flew back towards her nest.

Minni was angry with the sparrow who had taken her grain. Minni was tired. She fell asleep.

The next morning, when Minni woke up, she felt another bird’s presence on the tree that was in front of her nest. When Minni looked closely, she recognised the bird.

“You! You are the one who took my maize grain yesterday. How dare you come here?” Minni shouted in anger.

“Which maize grain?” the sparrow asked.

“Hmm, yesterday you took my grain and today you’re acting innocent.” Minni reminded the sparrow of the incident that had happened the day before.

Ginni questioned, “What’s my fault in that? I saw a grain on the ground. I picked it up. I didn’t know that the grain had fallen down from your grip.”

Minni said, “Don’t lie. I called after you but you didn’t answer.”

Ginni replied, “Did you call me by name? No… then how could I have known that somebody was calling me?”

“Well, you can’t stay here!” Minni was still furious.

“Who are you to stop me? I am not going anywhere, I will stay right here,” said Ginni.

“Don’t you dare come near my nest in this rubber plant!”

“I am not even interested,” said Ginni. She flew away.

Minni and Ginni could never see eye-to-eye. Minni wouldn’t go to the guava tree where Ginni lived. Ginni never visited Minni’s nest on the rubber plant.

A few days later, Ginni noticed that Minni had stopped coming out of her nest. She would go out only for a short while.

“Does she want to harm me?” Ginni wondered.

She became alert.

One day, Ginni could hear the chirping of birds from Minni’s nest.

“Oh, it’s the sound of babies chirping! Minni has laid eggs that have hatched. That is why she was not leaving her nest. I was unnecessarily getting worried,” thought Ginni.

She flew out to pick grain.

Ginni found some grains nearby. She returned to her nest.

Just as she sat down to eat the grains, she heard Minni’s babies crying for food.

Ginni looked towards Minni’s nest. She saw that Minni was not there. She said, “It seems as if their mother has gone to get grains for them. Meanwhile, these poor chicks are very hungry. Should I feed them? What if the mother sees me near the nest? Well, I will wait and see what happens.”

Within a few minutes, Ginni thought, “I can’t watch these chicks in distress.”

Just as she was about to go, Minni returned. This made Ginni feel a little uneasy.

Ginni said in a hesitant tone, “I am sorry, I came near your nest by mistake.”

Minni said with a choked voice, “I should be the one asking for forgiveness. I fought with you. Yet, you fed my hungry chicks. I saw you feeding them while coming.

Ginni replied, “I am happy that I was able to help you.”

“Will you be able to forget what happened earlier? Will you be friends with me?” Minni asked with hesitation in her voice.

“Yes, why not? We should live in harmony. After all, all of us need each other at some point of time,” said Ginni with a smile.

Thereafter, Minni and Ginni became good friends.

Thank you very much

Two garbage bins had been placed across a street. The street houses dumped their garbage into these bins.

The road sweepers also used the same bins to dump the waste collected from the roads. Every evening, a large dumping van came by. It emptied these bins. Thus, the two bins were empty at the end of each day.

The kind of domestic waste that was put into the bins said a lot about each household. Egg peels in the bins showed households that consumed non-vegetarian foods. The two bins used to discuss the type of waste inside them.

“Yesterday, house number 3 had cooked lady’s finger,” said the first bin.

“I am sure that number 9 had cooked kebabs,” said the second The broom that was kept nearby heard the conversation. It said, “Both of you are destined to live with dirt and garbage. How are you so happy?”

The bins replied, “We have no complaints whatsoever with our job. We gather all the waste inside us. Thus, the entire colony is clean. This gives us immense happiness and satisfaction.”

The broom had nothing to say.

One day, as usual, the garbage collector dumped the waste into one of the bins. Along with the garbage, he accidentally dropped in a diamond necklace. The bin was shocked to see this.

“Such a beautiful necklace!” exclaimed the first bin. “It must be worth a few lakhs.” …

…“True,” said the other bin. “We serve people every day. Someone must have sent this as a reward. Now, you are the owner of this beautiful necklace. Congratulations!”

The first bin happily said, “Thank you. It feels good to own something as precious as this.”

Just then, the first bin heard an inner voice speak. It said, “The person who owns this necklace must be sad right now. Think about her.”

The bin felt a sense of guilt.

“If you do not wish to keep this necklace, then give it to me. I am waiting to put it on,” said the second bin.

The first bin said, “It’s not right to keep someone else’s property. Recollect the time when you had lost one of your handles. You were so tense and upset. Right now, the owner of this necklace must be going through similar pain. I am going to return this to its owner.”

“Stop talking like a fool,” said the other bin. “Hide the necklace in a corner. The van will arrive soon. It will take the necklace along with the garbage.”

The second bin tried to convince the first one to hide the necklace. The first bin did not act. It looked around as it wanted to speak to Golu, the dog. Golu couldn’t be seen anywhere. However, his wife Julie was walking on the other side of the road. The bin called out to Julie. It put the necklace around her neck.

Julie was amazed to see such a pretty necklace. She said, “Wow! It’s so cute. Thank you. Is it for me?”

The bin said, “It’s neither mine nor yours. It belongs to someone else. We have to return it to the owner. Will you help me do so?”

“Yes. I will,” said Julie.

The bin hid Julie behind it so that no one could see her wearing the necklace.

Just then the bin saw a lady. She seemed to be searching for something. She was very tense. She was weeping. The bin understood that the lady must be the owner of the necklace. She was crying because she has lost it.

The bin told Julie, “Go and return the necklace to that lady.” |

Julie walked towards the lady. She stood in front of her. When she saw her necklace, the lady stopped crying. She was happy. She picked up the necklace from Julie’s neck.

She said, “Thank you very much.”

She hugged Julie and patted her. She also gave her biscuits to eat. She said that she would feed Julie every day.

Julie turned to the bin and said, “Thank you. You deserve the credit. The work that you have done today is praiseworthy.” The bin smiled. It said, “Good work always pays. It brings immense joy and satisfaction.”

Two Old Friends

Ring…ring…’ the doorbell was ringing. Jambu, the jackal was shaving his beard. He came out with shaving cream still on his face.

“Who is it?”

Again he heard, ‘Ring… Ring…’

“Yes, I am coming.” Opening the door, he recognised his friend.

“Bhalla! When did you come?” He hugged his close friend so tightly that Bhalla’s neck was smeared with half of the cream.

Bhalla, the bear had taken a day’s off from his job. Early that morning he had thought of meeting his old friend.

Jambu caught hold of his hand and pulled him in, saying “Are you going to stand outside? Come in. Have some snacks and tea before going home.”

Bhalla started smiling while drinking tea.

“What is the matter?”

“I am recollecting our childhood days. Leave the snacks aside. Come, let us go and kick up a racket in the forest just like the good old days.”

Both of them looked at each other and within minutes they were off.

In front of the bazaar where the four tamarind trees stood, a monkey selling icecream shouted, “Milk, frozen milk. Buy one to feel cool!”

The naughty friends looked at each other. Bhalla asked, “How much is the mango bar?” “Ten rupees!” “Oh! This is daylight robbery!” Bhalla said and sat down. Now Jambu took over and said, “Brother, have some pity on him.”

“Uncle, this is the rate,” said the monkey.

“Okay! Take this.” Jambu took out money from his pocket and handed it to the monkey and gave the ice cream bar to his friend.

Bhalla was enjoying the ice cream with closed eyes. Now Jambu nudged him and said, “Greedy old man! Will you eat alone? Give me some of it.”

Bhalla turned his face away.

“Will you not give me some?” asked Jambu facing him. This went on for quite a while. Jambu started circling Bhalla.

“Sir, you also take ice cream,” said the monkey, trying to pacify him.

“You will give me one?” Jambu acted surprised.

“Yes, why not?”

Jambu was delighted. He took the ice cream from the monkey. Then the monkey extended his hand and asked, “Sir, money. Please pay for it.”

“Money for what?” Both the friends asked slapping their chest.

“Oh! For the ice cream. What else?” The terrified monkey stammered.

Both their voices grew loud. “You gave it yourself. Did we ask you?” Jumbu shouted.

The monkey was shocked. He shouted, “You tried to trick me!”

The two mischief makers laughed and walked away. In the same way, they cheated the snacks vendor. They were playing their childhood pranks even now.

Finally, they reached the playground where the children of the hippos, wolf, rabbit, and kangaroo were playing gulli danda.

Bhalla asked his friend, “Would you like to play?”

“Why not? I am no beginner.” Jambu replied stroking his grey moustache.

“Hey, just give me the stick. Watch how we play.”

Bhalla threw the gulli. Jambu swung and hit it so hard that the children were astonished. The game progressed. Then Bhalla picked up the stick. He tossed the gulli in such a way that the children were speechless. Oh! These old men were good. They could compete with anyone.

The gulli shot like an arrow from Jambu’s hand. Bhalla struck it really hard. The gulli flew like a hawk. Far away on a mango tree there hung a honeycomb. Instantly the gulli hit it like a bullet. Within minutes an army of honeybees emerged… Booo… booo…

“Run! It’s dangerous!”

The children started to run away. The two old men also started to run. But could not run as fast. Both of them suffered from pain in their legs. They were groaning and running.

Soon they started panting. The bees were chasing them too. The news of the broken beehive spread in the forest. Everyone came running. Mr. Hippo, Mr. Wolf, Mirza, the rabbit, and Babu, the kangaroo were very angry. “Whose mischief is this? Our children were playing quietly. Who did this?”

“These two are the culprits.” All the fingers, of the children and the snacks vendor, were pointing towards Jambu and Bhalla.

“Is this your doing Uncle? What a shame!” said Mirza, the rabbit.

The monkey also chipped in saying, “Brother, they took an ice cream from me and ate it. They did not even pay for it.”

The two friends stood downcast. The other animals of the forest surrounded them.

Jambu quietly asked, “Did you hit the honeycomb on purpose?”

Bhalla said shamefacedly. “Yes. The moment I saw the honeycomb my mouth started watering. Instinctively I hit the gulli on the honeycomb.”

“You have long hair. The bees got entangled in them.

Think about me? See my state?” said Jumbu. Big rashes had appeared on his body.

“Sorry friend, but what is a bear’s child if he does not put his life at stake for the sake of honey?” said Bhalla.

They apologised to all for their behaviour and the ice-cream monkey.

All the animals walked away.

Jambu winked and said, “If the end is sweet then everything is sweet. Isn’t it true? Come friend we will soon eat honey and not create any mischief in the future.”

The Winner

Bill and Tarun were neighbours and attended the same school. Moreover, they shared similar habits too. They came from two well-to-do families and enjoyed all the comforts. They had everything a child could wish for. Too much indulgence and pampering by their parents had made them spoilt kids. For them, life was nothing, but enjoyment and fun.

Both of them went to school every morning, or at least their parents believed so. In the afternoon, when they returned home, they groaned and complained about their studies. But that was far from the truth. They hardly ever attended school and regularly bunked classes. If any teacher spoke to the Headmaster about their behaviour, it made no difference. The Headmaster called them to his office, scolded them and warned them not to do it again. It became a routine.

However, the teacher who complained against them was in for trouble, as they then teased him in class. The teachers, therefore, let them have their way. A report to their parents was ineffective too. In fact, it was their parents who were responsible for their bad behaviour.

Both of them were strong and clever. They were leaders of their groups and led their followers into all kinds of new mischief every day.

The neighbours were fed up of their activities. Sometimes they complained to their parents, but it didn’t matter.

Creating trouble was their only pastime. What fun they had!

Although they were close friends, they always wanted to prove who was more superior than the other. They thought of some new tricks to surprise each other. They bragged about their ‘brave deeds’ and tried to impress one another.

One day, as they sat together with their group, Bill said, “Tarun, our old mischievous ways does not amuse me any longer. How do we decide who is superior?” “Think of a new activity,” replied Tarun. “You always say you are more creative than I am.” Bill thought for a little while. Then his face beamed with smile.

“I have a wonderful idea,” said he. “Look here, let us start our activities tomorrow morning and meet here with our groups in the evening. We’ll then describe our day. Two members from each group will be appointed as judges. They will decide which group has performed better. The leader of the other group will have to accept the superiority over the other.”

“That’s a good idea!” shouted everybody in unison, “It would be fun.”

That the evening both the groups met at the appointed place. A big crowd had gathered there. Bill’s group was in the high spirits. His boys were shouting, howling and whistling in excitement.

On the other hand, Tarun’s group looked, confused and worried. Tarun had not arrived as yet. Nobody could understand the reason for his absence. How could he abandon his group on such an important occasion? It was a matter which involved the honour and dignity of the group.

“Where’s your great Tarun?” Asked Bill. “I think he’s here but is invisible.”

His boys burst into a loud laugh and gave various answers, “…Has turned a tail…can’t show his face…accepted his defeat…is a coward….”

All of a sudden, there was silence. Tarun was coming toward them. His eyes were downcast, his neck was bent and he looked upset.

He sat in a corner lost in deep thought.

Amidst the shrieking and whistling of his group, Bill said. “Let us hear what deeds we have done during the day and decide who’s greater. The first group, I’ll describe the achievements of my group. Here they are:

Tied crackers to a donkey’s tail and made him run. Threw stones at the madman and had great fun. Broke two nests of crows, stole ripe mangoes from Kallu’s garden, misguided a stranger who wanted to go to the railway station, snatched the biscuit packet from a child and made him cry, smeared Bholu’s newly painted wall with dirt.

“These are wonderful deeds,” shouted his group joyfully, as he completed the list. “Come on, Tarun tell us what achievement you can boast of?”

Tarun simply answered. “I’m sorry I’ve come to accept my defeat and Bill’s superiority. I can’t be his equal.”

Everyone was stunned. “At least tell us what happened to you,” asked Bill. “What have you been doing today?”

Tarun spoke with a sigh. “I left home in the morning to join my group. I wanted to begin the day with a ‘great deed. Suddenly, I saw an old blind man moving toward a deep pit dug in the middle of the road. I thought I’ll push him into the pit.”

“As I placed my hands on his shoulders, he spoke out, ‘An angel has come to support a blind man. You must be a great man who thinks about a helpless old man.” His words struck me like lightning. I felt ashamed of myself. I pulled him away from the pit. His body was burning with fever. I took him to a doctor. I paid for the medicines with my pocket money.

Then I took him to his old and broken hut where I found his wife. The old man showered me with his blessings. He said, “I wish you all the joys of life. You seem to be a noble boy; you’d be the pride of your parents. I can’t thank you enough.” His wife held my face in her hand and kissed my forehead. Bill…I take back the challenge.”

The boys shouted in joy, “Bill has defeated Tarun. Come on judges, what have you to say?”

A garland of flowers was put around Bill’s neck amidst the noise of his group. Then everyone was stunned to see what seemed unbelievable. Bill took his garland and put it around Tarun’s neck and said in a chocked voice. “Tarun you are a great leader. Lead both the groups to greater heights. I salute you.”

New Friend

The Elephant is huge and hungry. They get talking and eventually Bantu helps the new animal find food to satisfy his big appetite.

Story: Manoj Roy

Illustrations: Helena

Blood Donation Camp

Jumbo, the elephant walked out merrily one morning. While on his way, Leelu, the kangaroo met him and asked, “What is the matter Dadu? You seem very happy. Where are you going?”

“I am going to the grounds for the camp,” told Jumbo.

“Which camp?”

“Blood donation camp,” said Jumbo, as he walked away.

“Blood donation camp!” Leelu was excited. “I will go and see for myself whether Jumbo Dadu is really donating blood or not?” Leelu skipped and hopped towards the grounds. Damru, the donkey saw her on the way and asked, “Leelu, where are you going early in the morning?”

“I am going to the blood donation camp. You can come along if you want.” As soon as he heard this, Damru joined Leelu.

When Jumpy, the monkey saw them, he inquired, “Where are both of you going this morning?”

“We are going to the blood donation camp.” Damru shared. Jumpy laughed and asked, “Are you going to take blood or give it?” Damru’s face fell.

Jumpy spread the news to his friends. Some laughed, while others made fun. When Blacky, the bear heard it, he became serious and said in anger, “When this small lanky Damru can donate blood, why can’t we?”

“Blacky is right.” Geetu, the rhinoceros said. “We should go there too,” said Geetu and both of them walked to the camp. There was a big crowd outside. All the animals, whether small, fat, thin or lean were standing in a queue.

Leelu and Damru soon got a chance to enter. Blacky and Geetu were upset about seeing them go in.

“Big animals like us are standing out, while that tiny Damru is inside.” The two charged in elbowing aside others in the queue. Inside they saw Damru and Leelu talking to Mili, a member of the camp.

“Can we donate blood too?” asked Damru.

“Yes, why not! If all tests are clear you can easily donate blood. By giving blood you maintain good health. You will also come to know how healthy your body is,” Mili explained.

“There is no problem in donating blood?” questioned a scared Damru.

“There is no need to worry if your body is healthy. Besides we take blood from a healthy person only. Blood is not taken from a weak body. We take only one unit of blood which is produced again in two days. There is no discomfort to the donor,” Mili said with a smile.

“Can the donated blood be given to anyone?” Damru inquired.

“Yes! Only to them whose blood group matches the donor,” Mili replied. “Blood group?” he asked.

“Yes. Blood also has groups. They are of four types.” Mili explained.

“I think I have heard about them. Perhaps there are four groups. ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘AB’ and ‘O”, “Damru said thoughtfully.

Mili smiled and glanced at the place where the blood tests were being conducted. A few people were waiting there. She looked at her watch and said, “Come I will show you. You are right. There are four types of groups-A’, ‘B’, AB’ and ‘O’. ‘AB’ is the only blood group which accepts blood from any group, but can give blood only to someone with “AB”. Therefore, it is called the universal acceptor.

“Like our Jumbo Dada who eats everyone’s lunch, but does not give anyone,” Leelu said and all three laughed.

Mili continued, “O’blood group is just the opposite of AB’. It can give blood to anyone, but cannot accept blood from any group. A patient with ‘O’blood group needs blood from ‘O’only.”

“Then this blood group must be very useful. It can help anyone.” They said.

“Yes! That is why it is called the ‘Universal Donor’. No special condition is required for other groups. ‘A’ blood group can take blood from ‘O’or ‘A’ and give to ‘A’ and AB”. Similarly ‘B’ blood group can take from ‘B’ or ‘O’ blood group and be given to ‘B’ or ‘AB’. Therefore the blood group is checked first. Once the blood is collected, it is stored safely and can be used anytime. Now I am taking your blood sample for the test. Do not be afraid,” said Mili and brought the needle near Damru’s finger.

As soon as she did this Blacky, immediately rushed and said, “I will donate blood first, then this tiny one.”

“Okay brother you can get it done first,” said Damru as he stepped aside.

Mili took Blacky’s blood sample. It was sent for testing

First Kanny, the tortoise put the blood sample in a liquid. Within minutes the blood went down, formed a ball and rose up.

She said, “If this comes up in the form of a ball, then the hemoglobin is alright, and if it stays at the bottom then it is less.”

Then she performed three more tests, and then said, “Everything is fine. Get your Blood Pressure checked”.

“Why do I have to check that? It must be alright too. Don’t you see how healthy and strong I am?” murmured Blacky. Then he got his BP checked.

“Your blood pressure is very high therefore you cannot donate blood. Only those who have normal blood pressure can donate blood. It should be 120-90,” Sikku, the fox, a worker at the camp explained to Blacky.

Blacky was staring at her in astonishment. He could not believe that someone as healthy and strong as he could not donate blood. He went and sat in a corner crestfallen. By now Damru’s blood sample was taken and the tests were conducted.

“Everything is normal,” informed Mili and asked for the BP checkup.

Sikku checked and said, “Your blood pressure is normal 120-90. You can donate blood.”

“What if the pressure was low?” Damru asked.

“It would be an issue, as pressure too high or low is not good,” Sikku explained.

“Then there is no problem if I donate blood.”

“No! No! There is no problem. You are absolutely healthy. Go ahead,” said Sikku.

Damru went eagerly towards the bed. Blacky was watching all this with a downcast face.

“Blacky why are you sad? Damru is absolutely fit though he is thin. If you are fat doesn’t mean you are healthy,” said Mili.

Geetu saw Blacky’s fallen face and said, “Forget it! Instead of growing fat, we should look after our health. We should become healthy and strong like Damru. Look he is donating blood. We came here for the sake of our pride, but he had come to help the needy. We should also think similarly.”

Blacky looked at Damru. He went up to Damru and said, “Friend you are doing a very noble thing. We should all come forward to do this without fear. Please forgive me. I tried to trouble you for no rhyme or reason.”

Blacky said this and went out of the camp. Damru heaved a sigh of relief. He was happy for doing a good deed, as well as for bringing about a change in Blacky’s thinking.

Deru has fun in the Snow

Winter had arrived and it started to snow. All the leaves were completely covered with snow.

Seeing this, little Deru bear was scared.

“Papa, what will happen now? It is very cold here. Where will we stay?” asked Deru.

Deru had accompanied his father, Bholu, who was visiting a friend Motu, the polar bear. They had woolen coats, scarves and gloves and were looking for Motu’s house.

“Deru, we will reach there soon,” Deru’s father tried to comfort him.

“But Papa my feet are sinking in this snow, and I can’t walk. My shoes are full of snow. I am feeling hungry, too. I am unable to see any pond where I can catch some fish,” Deru cried.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a frozen pond. There was a small hole on the surface and some fish were swimming there.

Deru, without a second thought, jumped. Although there were fishes in the water, they were swimming beneath the frozen layer, causing Deru to get hurt.

“Son, be careful. Our destination is close. Look Uncle Motu is coming,” said Bholu pointing to the big, white bear running towards them. Motu patted Deru on his back, but Deru did not smile. He was in a sour mood, as he had hurt himself on the ice.

“Where will we stay? There’s so much snow.” Deru whined.

“In a snow house called the igloo,” said Motu laughing and the three walked off.

“Won’t we shiver in the cold?” Deru asked tearfully. They had reached around the house made from snow, which had a small door. The three entered the house.

“Oh! It is not cold here!” Deru was surprised. “Why is this house not cold even though it is made of snow?”

“Son, because the construction of this house is like the concave lens. The heat from the lamps inside strike the walls.

The warmth is trapped inside instead of going out. This keeps the house warm,” Motu explained.

Deru was relieved. He was happy to finally find a warm house.

“Uncle, I am very hungry,” Deru said.

“Come, let’s catch fish,” said Motu said taking his snow cart.

“There is no pond here. The fishes are swimming in the water that is covered with a layer of ice. How will we catch the fish?” Deru asked Uncle.

Motu explained. “Come with me. I will show you how we can catch the fish.”

Deru was about to leave but suddenly stopped.

“No, Uncle! I will not come, my feet will sink in the snow. I am unable to walk,” Deru said sadly.

Motu took out his sledge and said, “You can sit on this. Now, let’s go.”

“But it has no wheels.”

“Don’t worry son! My friends will move it. You need not to walk.” Then they got out.

Motu’s friends helped pull the cart. Soon they reached a pond where they found many fish swimming beneath the ice. Motu kicked the ice and it broke after a tries, causing the fish to jump out.

“Oh! This is how the fishes are caught!” Deru said surprised.

Deru caught many fish and everyone had a hearty meal. Now he was enjoying himself. After eating the fish, they went for a drive. The snow cart raced along the ice. They saw many spots, snow-covered trees, houses and even an apple orchard. All the houses were igloos. They came home after seeing many beautiful sites.

“Uncle you catch fish every day in this cold after so much work,” said Deru, removing his shoes.

“We don’t work the entire year. We polar bears eat and roam for most of the year. The rest of the year we sleep,” said Motu.

“Why?” Deru was surprised.

“We spend some months sleeping to escape from the cold. It is called hibernation,” Motu said.

“The long hair on our body protects us from the cold. In the summer months, we store enough fat in our body so that we do not have to worry about the winter months. We sleep most of the time to conserve energy. This is the lifestyle of polar bears,” Deru was listening carefully to Uncle Motu.

Though both were bears there was a vast difference between the two.

“It seems that both are created to suit the environment they live in. My friends will be very surprised when I tell them about all that I have learnt,” Deru said.

The next day, Deru wanted to go for a drive again and wouldn’t sleep, as he was enjoying listening to Uncle Motu talk.

“Son, won’t you sleep?” asked Motu.

“Uncle, I will sleep soundly once I return home. At the moment let me enjoy talking with you,” laughed Deru.

Motu also laughed. The three of them continued to exchange stories.

Roshni’s Greedy Lesson

Roshni, the rabbit saw some jars outside a house on her way back from school. She opened one and saw mango pickle in it. “Mango pickle is kept in the sun to dry,” she said to herself. Seeing that no one was around, she picked one piece and went home sucking it.

The next day Roshni did the same too. On the third day when she got up in the morning she had a sore throat. She did not listen to her mother and went to school. She had severe pain in her throat. When her teacher asked her a question, she could not answer. Roshni went to the blackboard and wrote the answer. “I am unable to speak,” she explained to the teacher.

The teacher sent Roshni back to her seat. Roshni’s throat was dry because she had eaten sour pickles. When she went home, her mother saw that Roshni had high fever.

Roshni’s mother took her to the doctor. With great effort Roshni told the doctor the truth. She took the perscribed medicines and lay on bed. She had to take three days leave from school. She stayed in bed the whole day.

That night Roshni remembered that there was a competition in school. She could not take part in it because of the fever. The next day Roshni’s fever was less. Some of her school friends visited her to enquire about her health.

“Do you know there is a race in school tomorrow?” asked her friends.

“My body is weak. I will not be able to take part in it,” Roshni replied tearfully.

“It is my fault. I could have taken part if I had not been greedy.”

She told her friends the whole story. At that moment her mother came in. She touched her lovingly and said, “That is why they say children should not eat pickle. The spices in pickles are bad for their tender throats.”

“You should have told me. I would have made sweet mango chutney for you,” Ma said, as she stroked her lovingly.

“It would have been shameful if someone had seen you stealing the pickle. You would have got into trouble.”

“It is truly said that greed is bad. It always creates problems.” All her friends agreed with her mother.

Roshni’s eyes became moist with tears. “Last year I won a prize in the 100 metres race. Now I have to miss out because of my mistake.”

Roshni promised her mom that she will never steal and eat. Her mother explained to all the children, “Always ask grown ups before eating anything, whether it should be eaten or not. This will keep you away from trouble.”

The Importance of Reading

The teachers of Champs School were upset. The students were good at studies, but they did not read anything besides their textbooks. They were not interested in any books that were there in the library.

If they had any free period they would play in the ground. If any project was given, they would just quickly search the internet for information and not go into details. The teachers had tried explaining the benefits of reading, but they never understood this. The children said, “Internet is the best.” Rest of the time they played games on the net or used social websites.

The children felt bored, as they had to study the whole time. They began their day in school and then tuitions. They felt that there should be some play time too.

Their parents were worried as their children were not interested in reading. The parents and the teachers held meetings. They came up with a plan.

The next day the Principal made an announcement. She said the student who gave 50 interesting facts would be given an award. The children were thrilled to hear this. They thought it would be easy, as they would search online and the work would be over in minutes.

However, she clarified that no one could take the help of the internet for this. They could only use the books in the library. They would have to write the names of the books they referred too.

The information had to be on different subjects. They were given a month’s time to complete the work. The children were astonished to hear this. They whispered to each other, “Now what will happen?”

Each child wanted to win. Therefore, they started going to the library every day. The library remained packed with children whether it was lunch time or a free period. Surfing social sites on the internet had also reduced. They would issue books from the library and read them at home.

They gathered a lot of information on language, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and physics. No subject was left untouched. The parents and teachers were very happy to see their diligence. All the children submitted their papers within a month.

They eagerly waited for the results. They were feeling anxious.

In the meantime, everyone noticed a change in the children’s behavior. They were still borrowing books from the library and reading them. Besides this, the children were borrowing books from other kids and reading them. They read many stories, essays, poems and biographies.

After a week the day of the results arrived. The intelligent children were sure they would definitely get the award. The children were surprised when the Principal Madam announced Deepika’s name as the first prize. How can she get the first prize?

But it was true. Though she was not bright in studies, reading was her hobby. She had read more books than anyone else and thus provided interesting information on every subject. The information given by other children was nearly the same. Their Principal told the children that it was Deepika’s interest in books that had got her this prize. If the other children formed the habit of reading then they too would get good information.

As an outcome of this competition, the children thus learnt the importance of reading. They said in unison, “Thank you Madam” and clapped their hands.

Now the children frequently visited the library. They had opened a book club near their house and exchanged books amongst themselves to read. Books had become their true friends.

Sara’s New Mom

Christmas was around the corner. Almost everyone in the neighbourhood was busy getting ready to celebrate the festival.

But Sara was upset and was in no mood to celebrate. Sara used to celebrate Christmas with her mother every year and enjoyed helping her mom bake cakes for their family and friends. Her mom had passed away about six months ago and the festival only reminded her of her mother more than ever.

Every year, Sara would ask for something or the other from Santa Claus. Sara’s grandpa would buy whatever Sara wished for and would keep it for her under the Christmas tree a few days before Christmas.

Sara would think that Santa himself had dropped by and left those gifts for her.

Sara sat on the sofa with her teddy bear looking sad.

Grandpa saw her sitting there and came to her and asked, “What’s the matter, Sara? Why do you look so sad?”

Sara burst into tears and said, “I keep thinking about mom. And I heard that dad is getting a step-mom for me now. But I want my own mom. I am going to ask for my own mom from Santa this year. I want to meet Santa Claus.”

Sara’s grandpa felt sorry for her. He hugged her and wiped away her tears.

Grandpa decided that on Christmas day, he himself would dress up as Santa Claus and talk to Sara about her step-mom.

Next day was Christmas. In the evening, Sara sat under the Christmas tree, waiting for Santa Claus. She had a feeling that Santa would indeed turn up.

Soon, Sara’s grandpa, dressed up like Santa Claus, arrived at their home.

She was overjoyed to see him.

Sara ran towards him and asked, “I was sure that you would come. But where’s my mom?”

Santa said, “Sara, I can’t bring your mom. But you’re going to get a new mom. And you will find your own mom in her too.”

“But I’ve heard that step-moms are bad. My friends told me the story of Cinderella, and even in that, the stepmom was such a bad person,” said Sara.

“No, Sara, not all step-moms are bad. I have met your new mom. She’s a kind person. You can teach her your favourite dishes and play games with her. You may want to know what she likes and do those things with her too. Give her a chance and see,” said Santa, before leaving.

Sara took Santa’s words to heart. When Sara’s new mom came, Sara and she took their time to know each other.

Over time, Sara accepted her as her own mother. Not a step-mom; she became like her real mom.

Sara’s grandpa was overjoyed to see Sara’s bonding with her step-mom. He felt that the family was complete.

The New Santa Claus

The residents of Silver Forest were eagerly awaiting their king, Leo, the lion’s announcement that came a few days before Christmas every year.

Next day, the king called everyone and said, “As you all know, every year we select one animal among us to be Santa Claus. So please start preparations, as only two days are left for us to decide who will be the Santa this year.”

For the animals, being Santa Claus was a matter of honour. Everyone began preparing for the competition. Some started decorating their houses, while others started dressing up smartly.

Piku, the peacock, was drying his feathers after taking a bath. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

“Help me! I can’t carry this bag alone!”

Piku looked out to see who it was. An old and dark animal was carrying a heavy bag on his shoulders and was saying, “Please help me! I can’t carry this bag by myself.”

“Help? I’m sorry, but please ask someone else. This bag is so heavy and dirty as well. I have just taken a bath. I don’t want to get dirty again,” said Piku, declining to help him.

“My house isn’t far. Please help me. I’m too old to take this bag,” pleaded the animal.

“I just said no. Can’t you hear me?” said Piku, losing his temper. “Now get moving from here. I’m preparing for the competition to become Santa Claus. Don’t disturb me!”

The animal walked away sorrowfully. Some distance away, he came across Hinni, the deer.

“Please help me! I can’t carry this bag anymore,” the animal cried out. Hinni saw that an old animal was asking for help, but declined. “Please ask someone else. Can’t you see I’m busy preparing for the Santa Claus competition? I’ve just applied the cream on my body. If I help you now, the cream will get dirty and my skin will not shine anymore,” said Hinni, and turned away.

Suddenly, Dabbu, the donkey arrived at the scene. He was passing by and stopped on hearing the old animal’s cry for help.

“Let me help you,” he said. Dabbu took the bag from the old animal.

“Yes, please help him out,” said Hinni, laughing. “Anyway, who’ll choose you to be Santa Claus?”

Dabbu did feel bad, but he chose to ignore her.

“Careful! The bag’s quite heavy!” said the old animal to Dabbu.

“Not a problem,” said Dabbu.

“And it’s dirty as well.”

“Don’t worry! I will wash it afterwards,” said Dabbu, smiling at him. “Where is your house?”

“It’s quite far. You can put the bag down if you want. I’ll ask someone else for help,” said the old animal.

“Don’t worry at all. Let’s go,” said Dabbu, and started walking behind him.

After walking some distance, they arrived near an old house.

“Please keep the bag down here,” said the old animal. “Thank you so much!”

As Dabbu was about to leave, the old animal called out, “Haven’t you prepared for the Santa Claus competition?”

“Who will make me Santa Claus? Neither am I good looking nor do I have any special skill,” saying that Dabbu left.

Dabbu then went and cleaned his house and set up a Christmas tree.

That night, all the animals, including Dabbu, gathered on the ground to hear the results of the competition.

“This time I’ll surely be Santa,” said Piku, spreading his feathers. “Who’s more beautiful than me?”

Everyone admired Piku’s beautiful and colourful feathers.

“You’re really handsome,” some of the animals complimented him.

“Oh, but wait till you’ve seen me! Look how fair I look,” said Hinni, the deer. Everyone turned to her.

“Yes, yes, you too could be Santa Claus,” said the other animals. Hinni was elated.

“Hey, even Dabbu has come! You’ve come just as you are, Dabbu. You should at least have dressed up,” said Piku, laughing at him.

“He’ll never change!” said Hinni, laughing as well.

“Friends!” said Leo, their king from the stage. “The results this year can come as a shock to all of you. This time our Santa Claus is…”

Piku and Hinni both were ready to go on to the stage.

“…Dabbu!” Leo announced.

“What?” everyone at the gathering, including Dabbu himself, was shocked. Leo knew that all the animals were asking why.

“Please Dabbu,” Leo said. “Come up to the stage.”

“All of you must be wondering why Dabbu and no one else can be a better Santa than him. He is kind and helpful. He helped a weak and old animal who was refused help by many others.” Saying this, Leo narrated the whole story.

“But how can you be so sure that Dabbu actually helped out that old animal? It sounds like a made-up story,” said Romy, the squirrel.

“He’s right! He’s right!” said a few others in support.

“No, it’s not a story. Because that animal was me,” said Leo.

Everyone was quiet.

“Yes,” said Leo. “I had set out in disguise to search for this year’s Santa Claus.”

All the animals praised king Leo for his smart decision.

“We’re sorry for being rude, Dabbu,” said Piku and Hinni. “You truly deserve to be Santa Claus.”

“Yes, Dabbu, I wish we realised our mistake sooner,” said Hinni.

“Forget it, friends,” said Dabbu. “Come, let’s celebrate Christmas together!”

Everyone cried out in joy, “Merry Christmas!”

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