Manav was eagerly looking forward to his birthday, and more so, the presents. For his previous birthday, his grandfather had gifted him a remote-controlled bike and his parents had bought him a video game. He loved them both. He also received several toys from his friends and family.
“I wish I could celebrate my birthday twice in a year. That way, I would get twice as many gifts!” Manav told his parents.
There was a whole week to go before his birthday, but Manav could not contain his excitement.
“Grandpa! What are you going to gift me this time?” he asked eagerly.
“You will have to wait till your birthday to find out,” said Grandpa smiling.
On the day of his birthday, Manav woke up early in the morning and was greeted by his parents and grandfather. He then rushed to get ready for school, as he was eager to distribute his favourite chocolates among his friends and teachers.
That evening, all his friends and relatives gathered at his house for the birthday party.
Manav was overjoyed to receive lots of presents. Everyone had a good time playing games and dancing. After the cake-cutting, all the guests had dinner and left.
After the party, Manav was too tired to stay up and open his presents. So, after returning from school the next day, he sat down to open them straight away.
The first present was from his parents. It was an action figure that he had been asking them for. Manav was elated. Next, he opened a small packet from Grandpa.
“What’s this, Grandpa?” he asked puzzled.
“It’s a bank passbook. I have opened an account in your name,” said Grandpa.
Manav was disappointed. “But what will I do with it?” he sulked.
“I know it is not what you expected for your birthday but I wanted you to start saving your money. That way, you’ll be able to use it when the need arises,” said Grandpa.
“I can use my piggy bank for that. What is the use of a bank account?” asked Manav.
“In a bank, your money will multiply as you earn interest on the money in your account. Right now, I have deposited Rs.1000 in your account. You can deposit the money you have received as birthday gifts and your pocket money in it. This amount will keep on increasing as the interest keeps getting added over time, unlike in a piggy bank,” explained Grandpa. “I can take you to the bank tomorrow if you’d like to go and explain it all in detail.”
Manav was curious to understand how a bank works, so he agreed.
Next day, Grandpa and Manav visited the bank in which Manav had his new savings account.
Grandpa taught Manav how to fill up a deposit form and deposit the money he had brought along at the counter. Then, he explained to Manav how to get the passbook updated with the entries of all the recent transaction.
This was Manav’s first time at a bank. He felt quite proud of having made his first deposit. His parents had given his some money as well. So, his account balance was now Rs.2500.
“As you keep adding money into your account, you will have enough to buy that bicycle you have been asking your parents for,” said Grandpa.
“You are right, Grandpa. I could buy a bicycle with my own money without troubling my parents!” said Manav excitedly. “But what does the bank benefit out of it?”
“The bank will use your money to loan it to others at a higher interest rate. That’s how the banks make money. For example, if a bank pays you 2 percent interest on your deposit, it could charge 6 percent interest to the person borrowing money from the bank. This difference of 4 percent is what the bank will earn,” explained Grandpa.
Manav listened intently as Grandpa continued to explain. “Besides offering loans, banks also charge a small fee for transferring funds from one account to another, exchanging currency and using their locker facilities,” he said.
“I have learnt so much today, thanks to you, Grandpa! This is indeed the best birthday gift ever,” said Manav, hugging his grandfather.
It was a sunny day. Pritam was on his way to school when he saw a few dark clouds suddenly appear in the sky.
“This is unusual,” he thought and continued to walk.
The sky was soon overcast with dark rain clouds. A thunder rumbled, as if warning everyone to take cover.
Pritam loved walking in the rain. But today, he did not have his umbrella with him. He did not expect the weather to change so drastically. Since he was just a short distance away from home, he decided to rush back to get his umbrella.
But by the time he came out of his home with the umbrella, the rain clouds disappeared. The sky was clear again.
Pritam was annoyed. However, he didn’t think it was wise to leave the umbrella at home.
“Who knows when the weather might change again,” he thought.
Pritam had a habit of forgetting things, especially his umbrella. He had lost four umbrellas the previous year. His parents bought him the current one only after Pritam promised to be careful.
“What if I misplace this umbrella as well? Mom and Dad will be unhappy, especially since I promised to not lose this one,” thought Pritam.
Then, Pritam had an idea. He hung the new umbrella around his neck and said triumphantly, “Now I surely won’t lose it!”
When Pritam reached his school, the students looked at the umbrella around his neck and burst out laughing.
“Where did you get this new tie?” teased one of the boys.
Pritam ignored him and proceeded towards his classroom. Once he entered the class, all his friends pointed at him and started laughing.
One of his classmates said, “Usually, people wear chains or ID tags around their neck, but what new trend is this?”
The comments and laughter continued throughout the day. Pritam was hurt but he did not remove his umbrella because he was sure he would lose it.
During the break, when he and his classmates were playing in the ground, Pritam looked up at the clear sky.
“I wonder why it didn’t rain. It doesn’t seem like it is going to rain either. I shouldn’t have taken the umbrella today. Everyone is teasing me for it,” he muttered.
Pritam continued to walk around the entire day at school with the umbrella hanging around his neck for fear of losing it.
In the evening, when Pritam started for home, the weather was still clear. “It didn’t even drizzle! I had to hang this umbrella around my neck the whole day and listen to silly comments,” he sulked.
Suddenly, there was a roar of thunder. Pritam looked up and much to his delight, dark clouds covered the sky. It began to rain. Pritam happily removed his umbrella from around his neck and opened it up. He walked home with a bright smile on his face.
Harry, the fox had a farm in which he grew different kinds of vegetables and sold them at the market. Now, it was the season for bottle gourds. Since they were in high demand, Harry sold his big, peerless bottle gourds at the market for a handsome price.
Recently, some eggplants had sprouted from the patch nearby. They were in awe of the bottle gourds.
“Oh my! How beautiful you all look!” one of the eggplants complemented the bottle gourds.
“Thank you! We are indeed beautiful,” said the bottle gourds, admiring themselves.
“But how is it that some of you are unusually big?” asked another eggplant.
“There is nothing unusual about it. Our master gives us vitamin injections every day, early in the morning. They help us grow big and healthy,” said one of the bottle gourds, swinging in the air.
“Vitamin injections? Why? Are you unwell?” enquired the eggplants.
“No. Vitamin injections are given to make us more beautiful since master loves us the most,” replied the bottle gourds proudly.
The eggplants were jealous of the special treatment that the bottle gourds were getting. They wanted to see those vitamin injections and if possible, get some for themselves. They did not like the way they looked—dark and stubby.
Early next morning, the eggplants waited eagerly to see what injection their master Harry administered to the bottle gourds. Fanny, the fox was walking by when she noticed the little eggplants huddled behind the leaves, their gaze focused on the bottle gourds.
“Hello! Looks like somebody’s secretly admiring the beautiful bottle gourds,” said Fanny smiling.
The eggplants were taken by surprise. They did not expect to see Fanny so early in the morning. She usually came the farm later in the day to collect fresh vegetables for Dr. Giro, the giraffe at whose house she worked.
“No, no! We were just trying to find out what injection does our master Harry administer to the bottle gourds that makes them grow so big and beautiful,” said the eggplants embarrassedly.
“What injections?” asked Fanny curiously.
“The bottle gourds said they are some vitamin injections that Harry gives them every morning,” replied the eggplants.
Fanny recalled that just the previous day she had made bottle gourd juice for Dr. Giro and he had sent it back saying it was too bitter. And many animals had come to Dr. Giro’s clinic complaining of food poisoning and the common food that all of them had eaten was bottle gourd.
“I think Harry has already given the bottle gourds the injections. See! There’s a bottle lying under their creepers,” said an eggplant.
Fanny checked the ground where the eggplant was pointing to and found a small bottle. She quickly pocketed the bottle and hurried home.
As soon as she reached home, Fanny told Dr. Giro about the vitamin injections that Harry was giving the bottle gourds and handed over the bottle she had found in Harry’s farm.
Dr. Giro did some tests on the residue in the bottle. When the results came, his face turned serious.
“What is it, Sir? Is something wrong?” asked Fanny worried.
“Yes, Fanny. This is an oxytocin injection given to artificially boost the growth of vegetables. With this injection, the bottle gourds grow big and mature in just 3-4 days, so Harry is able to sell lots of them in a short span of time, and that too at a good price,” said Dr. Giro. “This is the reason that the animals have been falling sick after consuming the bottle gourds.”
“How does it harm our health, Sir?” asked Fanny.
“By consuming vegetables or fruits with oxytocin in them over a long period of time, our liver could get affected. This chemical can also cause the blood pressure to shoot up, leading to diseases of the heart,” explained Dr. Giro.
“Oh no! Harry is causing so much harm to all the animals just for his own greed. We must inform the police,” said Fanny.
“You’re right, Fanny,” agreed Dr. Giro. He dialled the police station and informed Inspector Chiro, the cheetah about Harry.
Next day, Chiro caught Harry red-handed while he was injecting the bottle gourds with oxytocin. The news of Harry’s arrest spread across the forest. All the animals were astonished that Harry had been injecting the vegetables in his farm with chemicals.
The bottle gourds too were surprised to learn about it and were ashamed of themselves. Meanwhile, the eggplants were relieved that they hadn’t been injected. They no more wished to change anything about themselves.
Chimpu, the young monkey was known to be a troublemaker. He would never miss an opportunity to play tricks on others or make fun of them. He would trip Tinu rabbit’s kids when they hopped around and snatch food from Binky squirrel’s young ones.
Chimpu’s mother constantly received complaints from all the animals. She tried telling that if he rubbed everyone on the wrong side, he might get into trouble someday. But Chimpu did not listen to his mother. He continued to come up with new ways to annoy the animals in the neighbourhood.
One day, Monu deer was sitting outside his house and eating a guava. Chimpu noticed him from up a tree nearby and had an idea to annoy Pinku. He tip-toed up to Monu, snatched the guava and rushed back up the tree.
“Give me back my guava!” cried Monu.
On hearing him cry, his mother Dina rushed out to see what had happened. When she saw Chimpu up on the tree with Monu’s guava, she understood.
“Chimpu! Return the guava to Pinku right away,” said Dina sternly.
Chimpu laughed and continued to eat the guava. This angered Dina.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough of his antics. Everyone in this neighbourhood is also fed up of his behaviour. Let me teach him a lesson,” Dina thought to herself and went back inside along with Pinku.
A couple of days later, Chimpu was playing near a tree when Dina quietly came up from behind and caught him. Chimpu was taken by surprise. Dina swiftly carried him deep into the forest.
“What are you doing, Aunt Dina? Where are you taking me?” asked Chimpu, struggling to escape from her grip.
“Stay quiet, you naughty monkey! It’s high time someone taught you a lesson and I am doing just that!” said Dina.
Dina walked quite a distance into the forest and tied Chimpu to a tree.
“You can stay here till you learn how to behave,” said Dina, turning to walk away.
“Aunty, wait! Please don’t leave me here. I am scared!” cried Chimpu. “I promise not to play pranks on anyone anymore. Please take me back to my mother.”
Dina turned a deaf ear to his pleas and walked away.
Chimpu continued to cry for help, but no one could hear him. Gradually, darkness fell. Chimpu was scared and tired from all the struggling and screaming.
Suddenly, Chimpu heard some footsteps. He became scared. Sheru tiger stepped out from amid the bushes. Everyone in the forest was afraid of him.
“Please don’t eat me, Uncle Sheru!” cried Chimpu. “I am sorry for all that I’ve done. I promise not to trouble anyone anymore.”
“What do you mean?” asked Sheru puzzled. He was surprised to see Chimpu tied to a tree in the middle of a forest. He immediately freed him and said, “I came here because I heard someone crying. What happened? Who tied you up?”
Chimpu narrated everything to him. Sheru became angry.
“Come with me!” he said, dragging Chimpu along to Dina’s house.
Dina was surprised to see Sheru at the door. She became nervous when she saw Chimpu along with him.
“Is this any way to treat a child?” roared Sheru. “Whatever he may have done, you could have explained his mistake to him in a nice way. How would you feel if someone punished your child this way?”
Dina hung her head in shame.
Sheru calmed down a bit and said, “What you did was irrational. If something had happened to him, imagine his parents’ plight. There are ways of dealing with a problematic child. Inducing fear is certainly not a solution.”
“Forgive me, Sheru. I was acting out of impulse and anger. He is a child and I should have treated him like one,” said Dina. She turned to Chimpu and said, “I am sorry, Chimpu. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted you to learn that what you did was wrong and I explained that to you nicely.”
“It is okay, Aunt Dina. I know I pushed you to do this. I need to change my behaviour and I promise to do it,” said Chimpu smiling.
That day on, Chimpu stuck to his promise and everyone was happy for him.
Every birthday, we grow a year older. Our body also ages with time. This is true of most living beings, except a type of jellyfish that has the ability to reverse its life cycle!
Turritopsis dohrnii, a species of jellyfish lives in the Mediterranean Sea and in the waters around Japan. This small bell shaped jellyfish grows up to 4.5 mm in diameter as well as in height—that is about the size of a fire ant.
Generally, a jellyfish starts life as a polyp—a cucumber-shaped organism that attacks itself to the ocean floor or a coral reef. Depending on the species, a polyp takes between a week and a month to grow into an adult.
When an adult Turritopsis dohrnii is injured, it goes to the bottom of the ocean floor and transforms back into a polyp—its infant state. It does so by first retracting its tentacles and then gradually shrinking its body. Once it reaches its polyp state, it starts to grow back into an adult jellyfish. This makes the jellyfish immortal. It has the ability to do this over and over again, until it is either eaten by a predator or dies of some disease.
Turritopsis dohrnii has inspired scientists to use this process of “rebirth” to try and renew damaged or dead human tissues of a dysfunctional organ and restore it to its normal state.
Cheeku: Your attendance is very low. I cannot allow you to sit for the exams.
Meeku: Never mind, sir. I will take them standing.
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Henry Hen: What does a bicycle call its dad?
Jumpy Monkey: A popsicle! (Pop- cycle).
All the animals of Champakvan avoided Baddy fox. He had a habit of picking fights with everyone and enjoyed playing mean pranks.
One day, all the animals gathered to discuss Baddy’s behaviour. They wanted to find a way to deal with him.
“We must try to avoid Baddy. Whenever he is around, we must get out of his way,” said Cheeku rabbit.
“But why should we avoid him?” asked Jumbo elephant. “He must be taught a lesson. We cannot walk around hiding from him.”
“It is easy for you to say, Jumbo. He frequently picks on us small animals,” said Meeku mouse. “I feel Cheeku is right. It is better to stay away from Baddy.”
“I am not afraid of him. If he ever dares to cross my path, I will surely teach him a lesson,” said Jumbo.
Baddy who was intently overhearing their discussion, became angry when he heard Jumbo speak.
“Who is he to teach me a lesson? I will teach him a lesson instead,” thought Baddy.
Baddy came up with a plan to prank Jumbo. He cut the pipe that supplied water to Jumbo’s field. When the field dried up, Baddy waited for Jumbo to become furious and pick a fight with him. Instead, Jumbo quietly repaired the pipe and continued farming.
After a couple of weeks, Jumbo’s warehouse caught fire. Because of Jumbo’s alertness and some help from his neighbours, the fire was put out in no time and any damage was averted.
Though Jumbo knew Baddy was behind this mischief, he did not confront him. Baddy was puzzled by Jumbo’s behaviour.
That week, Baddy was on his way to the market on his cart to sell some sacks of grains. One of the wheels of the cart got stuck in the slush. When Baddy got down to push the cart, he slipped and fell into a pit that he had dug.
No matter how hard Baddy tried to get out, he slipped and fell right back. He tried calling out for help, but there was no one around.
“If I am not able to get out of this pit, I wonder how the smaller animals would have got out. I now understand how much trouble I have caused. I should not have dug these pits at all,” regretted Baddy.
Soon, it began to get dark and Baddy was still stuck in the pit. He was cold and hungry. Even the few animals that passed by refused to help him saying he deserved it.
When this news reached Jumbo, he said, “If we too think and act like Baddy, what is the difference between him and us?”
Jumbo requested everyone to help Baddy, and they all agreed. Together, they lifted Baddy out of the pit.
“I am ashamed of the way I behaved with all of you; especially you, Jumbo. Please forgive me,” apologised Baddy.
“To accept one’s mistake is in itself a big step towards change. You should use your strength and intelligence to help others,” advised Jumbo.
From that day on, Baddy turned a new leaf. He stopped troubling others and began helping everyone.
Milo, the mouse was watching a programme on television about hot air balloons and how humans travelled in it. Milo was awed by it and thought, “This is such a great idea! Animals like me who don’t have wings can fly in a hot air balloon!”
That evening, he met his friend Kiki, the bird to discuss it.
“Hey, Kiki! I have found a way to fly!” Milo said excitedly.
“How? Are you going to grow a pair of wings?” asked Kiki amused.
“Don’t be silly, Kiki! I saw a programme on the television about hot air balloons on which people float in the sky and even travel great distances,” said Milo.
“Wow! I have only seen aeroplanes do that. Are these hot air balloons like aeroplanes?” asked Kiki.
“No. A hot air balloon looks just like a regular balloon, but much bigger. There’s a basket attached underneath it, in which people can stand,” explained Milo.
Kiki was intrigued. She asked more questions about the hot air balloon: “How does it work? What if the person wants to land? And how does the balloon know which direction to go?”
Milo laughed. “So many questions! Okay, let me explain,” he said. “There is a burner below the opening of the balloon, the flame from which heats up the air trapped inside the balloon. Since hot air is lighter than the relatively cooler air outside the balloon, it slowly rises, lifting the balloon and the basket along with it. A person controls the burner depending on how much hot air is required, thereby adjusting the height at which the balloon floats. The wind helps gently blow the balloon in a particular direction.”
“Wow! You know so much!” said Kiki amazed. “But what I don’t understand is how are you going to fly?”
“I have some balloons left over from my birthday party. I will inflate them, tie them to a big cup or basket in which I will sit and fly!” said Milo.
“Great idea, Milo!” said Kiki.
“But I don’t have a big cup or basket,” said Milo, wondering what else he could use.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” said Kiki. She flew away and came back in a short while with a paper cup.
“This is perfect!” exclaimed Milo.
Milo pierced four holes on the cup and tied a lengthy piece of rope to each.
“The basket is ready. Now, for the balloons,” said Milo.
Together, Milo and Kiki blew into the balloons and inflated them. When they had enough, Milo asked Kiki to hold the four ropes together while he tied the balloons to them. He then sat inside the cup and asked Kiki to let go of the ropes.
Much to Milo’s excitement, the balloons began to rise, carrying him along. As they continued to rise, Milo looked down and saw his home getting smaller in size. He floated over his neighbourhood. Kiki clapped in glee. She began to fly along with Milo.
As the balloon went higher, the ground seemed far away. Milo began to panic.
“Kiki! Kiki!” shouted Milo.
“I am right here, Milo! What happened?” asked Kiki.
“I am scared. I am too high up in the air. Also, I hadn’t thought of a way to get down!” panicked Milo.
“Oh! Even I didn’t think of that!” said Kiki.
“I have an idea! Why don’t you sit on the balloons? Your weight will stop the balloons from going up any further,” said Milo.
“Yes, good idea,” said Kiki and sat on the balloons. Just as they had hoped for, the balloons stopped rising any further.
Now, how do we get you to land?” asked Kiki.
Milo thought for a while and asked, “Would you be able to pop a couple of balloons?”
“Oh, yes! With fewer balloons, you will be able to descend gently,” said Kiki.
She popped a couple of balloons and gradually, Milo began to float towards the ground.
But they were far from Milo’s house. Kiki flapped her wings and guided the balloon in the direction of his house. Soon, Milo landed safely right outside his house.
“Phew. Thanks, Kiki! That was quite an adventure we had today,” said Milo relieved to be back on the ground.
“Imagine if you had watched a programme on rockets! I wouldn’t be able to fly to space to fetch you back,” joked Kiki.
The two had a hearty laugh.
Jumpy Monkey: Which city is the most dangerous city?
Meeku: Electricity
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Sher Singh: The Arabian sea belongs to which state?
Meeku: Liquid State
Manu and Moosa, the mice had recently been to the city. There, they were awed by the grand preparations that were going on for the upcoming of Holi festival.
Once they returned to the forest, it was all they spoke about to any animal they met along the way.
“You should see the arrangements that were going on in the city. There were banners, flowers and decorations everywhere!” they said to the animals who had gathered around.
“You two are right,” said Kanu crow, who flew to the city every day. He had seen the preparations too. “With the variety of colours, food and music, the celebration is a treat to watch,” he said.
“Holi is in two weeks and we are the only ones who are not celebrating,” said Bani parrot glumly.
“In that case, why don’t we organise a Holi celebration in our forest?” suggested Bittu bear.
“Yes, let’s celebrate!” the other animals agreed enthusiastically. So, a meeting was fixed to discuss the details and all the animals of the forest were invited.
Within an hour, all the animals gathered, including King Rana the lion. Sona deer, Rinu fox and Jitu jackal were put in charge of the decorations, while Bittu bear, Dhanu elephant and Tinu tiger volunteered to clear the ground where the celebrations would take place. The birds were put in charge of collecting fruits for the feast.
“My dear friends, I have a suggestion,” said King Rana. “From what I understand, humans use artificial colours that are difficult to wash off, and also stain the water and soil. Taking a lesson from that, why don’t we use natural colours from flowers and berries? That way, even when we wash ourselves at the river, the water will not be polluted with artificial colours.”
“Excellent suggestion!” said Tinu. “We should also avoid using plastic plates and cups for the feast. The ground will be littered with plastic after the celebration and it will be difficult to clean. If one of the kids swallow a plastic cover by mistake, it is very dangerous.”
Everyone agreed and set about executing the tasks assigned to them. The monkeys collected fruits and berries to prepare different colours for the Holi celebrations. Some animals sewed leaves together to make plates and cups. Meanwhile, the koels and cuckoos practised their songs, and the horses practised their drums. The entire forest began to wear a festive look.
Finally, the day of Holi arrived. King Rana was impressed by the effort put in by all the animals.
Soon, the celebrations began. There was a riot of colours as the animals splashed colours on one another.
The kids sprayed each other with their pichkaris and some danced to the music.
The news of the grand Holi celebrations reached the animals in the neighbouring forests. Some of them dropped by to see the celebrations. They too were invited to take part in the festivities.
“Celebrating Holi is a lot of fun. I wonder why we didn’t do it before. Henceforth, let us celebrate any festival or event that spreads cheer and happiness, not just in our forest but in all the forests,” declared King Rana.
All the animals cheered the King Rana’s announcement. They continued celebrating through the day.
Champakvan was in a festive spirit! It was the colourful festival of Holi. Sweety Nightingale had perched herself on the branch of a tree. She was singing songs and reciting poems about Holi, while Jumpy Monkey was beating a drum with his tail.
Teetu Butterfly was dazzling everyone with her wings. They were even more colourful today for they had been drenched in bright shades of red, yellow, green, blue, pink and other Holi colours.
Cheeku Rabbit came out of his house. He looked around and saw everyone having fun. He then smiled and blew the saxophone that he had with him.
PEEE! PEEE! PEEE!
“Friends!” he shouted cheerfully. “Come here please.”
All the animals rushed towards Cheeku Rabbit. Jumbo Elephant, who was in a hurry, put his big leg in a tub and spilled some redcoloured water out. Anty Ant, who was sitting inside the tub, shrieked. “Jumbo! You stupid elephant!” she shouted. “Can’t you see where you’re going?”
Jumpy Monkey somersaulted in his haste to get to Cheeku. He tripped in the bargain and broke his drum. It went right over him and only his naughty little face stuck out.
Harry Frog and Tarry Frog jumped from one tub to the other and made themselves as wet as sponges. And Dumpy Donkey ran so fast, that he accidentally kicked Baddy Wolf with his strong legs. The string of Dumpy Donkey’s pajamas came loose too, and his pajamas almost fell down! All the animals looked so funny by the time they reached Cheeku Rabbit that they all burst out laughing.
“OK! Calm down now and listen to me,” Cheeku Rabbit said with a smile. “I have an announcement to make! We will celebrate Holi with King Sher Singh this year!”
“Celebrate Holi with King Sher Singh?” the animals said, confused. “How can we do that, Cheeku? King Sher Singh doesn’t go out of his palace on Holi day. And he doesn’t allow anyone who has water or colours to go in either.”
“We will surprise King Sher Singh,” Cheeku Rabbit said and grinned. “And when he plays with us, he will have plenty of fun too!”
“It will be like putting a bell around the cat’s neck,” Dumpy Donkey said. “Whoever has the courage to do that?”
“Be quiet, Dumpy!” Jumpy Monkey scolded. We will work together to put the bell around King Sher Singh’s neck. Er…I mean to play Holi with him.”
They then discussed some ideas. Soon, all the animals marched together towards King Sher Singh’s palace. Gajju Elephant was leading the procession. He was carrying a special chair made of balloons. The other animals were carrying colour pistols and were dancing on the way.
Sweety Nightingale was singing a song that she had made up,
“Holi is here!
Holi is here!
It’s a time to be with those who are near and dear! And so Champakvan’s procession is here!”
All the animals stopped when they reached King Sher Singh’s palace.
“We want to meet King Sher Singh,” Cheeku Rabbit told the guard outside the palace door.
“I don’t think I can let you go in,” the guard said, hesitant to let the animals into the palace. Before the guard could say anything else, Teetu Butterfly sprayed some coloured water on him. “Yikes!” the guard shouted and ran inside to inform Sher Singh.
A few minutes later, King Sher Singh stepped out of the palace. “What are you all doing here?” he roared. “You very well know that I don’t play Holi.”
“Er… Your Highness,” Jumpy Monkey said in a respectful voice. “We have just come to convey our good wishes.”
“Thank you,” King Sher Singh said politely. “I wish you all well too but please leave now.”
“Your Highness,” Cheeku Rabbit said suddenly. “Now that you have come out, please sit with us for a while. We will be happy if you talk to us for a few minutes.”
“Alright,” King Sher Singh said. He then began looking for a chair to sit on.
Gajju Elephant immediately offered the chair of balloons that he was carrying.
“Why don’t you sit on our special chair today?” Gajju Elephant said. King Sher Singh looked at the chair. “What a unique chair this is!” he said.
But as soon as he sat down, there was a loud sound! And the balloons that the chair was made from burst, squirting coloured water all over! King Sher Singh’s jaw dropped once he realised that he was drenched from head to toe in coloured water.
And then, all the animals picked up their water pistols and threw tiny jets of water at King Sher Singh. King Sher Singh felt ticklish and giggled.
Cheeku Rabbit then went forward and put gulal on King Sher Singh’s cheeks. “Happy Holi, Your Highness!” he said. “From all the animals of Champakvan!”
King Sher Singh laughed heartily. “Oh Cheeku!” he said happily. “Your wit has worked again today when I was trying my best to hide indoors!”
King Sher Singh then invited everyone into his palace for a cup of tea and special Holi sweets. All the animals were very happy. Holi was more fun when they celebrated with their dear King Sher Singh.
Champakvan looked colourful as it was celebrating the festival of Holi. Dumpy the Donkey, Jumbo the Elephant, Jumpy the Monkey, Vicky the Deer, Blacky the Bear and Freddy the Giraffe were happily playing Holi with each other. They were spraying water using colourful pichkaris and rubbing colours on each other’s face. The entire place looked cheerful.
After a short while, Barney the Hyena, Baddy the Fox and Spotty the Cheetah arrived. This trio was very mischievous.
“Holi celebrations with just the gulaal? This is indeed a very dull festival,” said Barney the Hyena.
“True,” said Baddy the Fox. “This is so boring Holi should be played like this.” he said and caught hold of Vicky the Deer. He stained Vicky’s face with black colour.
Vicky angrily asked, “What have you done, Baddy? What have you applied on my face? I am feeling a burning and itching sensation.” He started scratching his face.
Baddy, Barney and Spotty burst out laughing. They said, “Well, this is the real fun. Now all of you get your face painted black. Then let’s go to the main road. There, we’ll stain the faces of every passerby.”
“We shall not do that. You have spoilt our celebrations. We were playing with gulaal. It is an eco-friendly colour. It doesn’t harm anyone. Your kind of Holi is disgusting. What is the point in painting someone’s face black? It makes them look awful. Look how troubled Vicky is. He will have to put in so much effort to get the colour off his face. A lot of water will be wasted,” said Dumpy. “I was always for celebrating Holi without the use of water but friends insisted so I agreed.
Getting this gulaal off our face will not use a large amount of water.”
“Vicky will have a tough time washing the colour off his face. It is not good to use muck, soil, dung, coal tar and other itchy substances to play Holi. We would appreciate it if the three of you went away from here,” added Jumbo. “We wanted to play Holi with you as well. Now, I am not in the mood. It is better that you go away before I lose my temper.”
Barney said, “Jumbo, you seem to be really upset. According to us, this is the actual fun of Holi. If you so wish, we shall go from here.” He added, “Baddy, Spotty, let’s go.”
“Sure,” said Spotty. He splashed some muck onto Freddy’s face before leaving.
Dumpy and Jumbo could not tolerate this anymore. They did not let them go. Jumbo caught hold of Spotty.
He held him in his trunk and started twirling him around. Dumpy, on the other hand started kicking Barney continuously.
Baddy the Fox tried to escape. Freddy the Giraffe caught hold of him. Jumpy the Monkey and Blacky the Bear started hitting Baddy. Vicky also joined the gang. He began poking Baddy with his long, sharp horns.
Some other animals of Champakvan saw this. They thought that the kids were enjoying the festival. They thought that Spotty was enjoying being twirled in Jumbo’s trunk. They were happy for the kids. The animals also saw Dumpy kicking Barney. They assumed that it was a new way of celebrating Holi. After a few minutes, they heard Spotty, Baddy and Barney’s cries for help. That was when they realised that these three were being beaten up by the others. They rushed to help them. They asked the kids as to why they were beating the trio.
Dumpy narrated the entire incident to the other animals. He added, “We are aware that Champakvan is facing an acute shortage of water this year. If we waste water playing Holi, we shall face worse problems in the near future. I tried explaining the same to Barney, Baddy and Spotty. These three didn’t listen. They kept applying muck on our faces. Thus, we had to teach them a lesson.
The oldest Lion of Champakvan, Leonard heard this. He angrily said, “True. They deserve this punishment. These three have cut down many trees in order to light a fire for Holi. They have also destroyed some huts. They are indeed wicked. All of you should hit them a little more.”
“Sorry, Grandpa,” replied Spotty, Baddy and Barney. “Please forgive us. We shall not repeat this mistake.” All three of them kneeled down. They started begging for forgiveness.
“Alright!” Leonard said. “We forgive you. Do not repeat such mischief again. It is a festive occasion. We must celebrate it with love and happiness. We must make friends and not enemies. Now patch up with Jumbo, Dumpy, Vicky, Blacky and Freddy.” Baddy, Spotty and Barney were still nervous about extending a hand of friendship towards the other kids. Dumpy and Jumbo came forward. They gave them a warm hug.
Everyone felt happy with this gesture from Dumpy and Jumbo. All the animals then proceeded towards Leonard’s house. They played Holi with each other till the evening. It was a colourful Holi using dry colours; with a feeling of love and brotherhood. It was indeed a memorable Holi celebration at Champakvan.
Three days before the festival of Holi, some birds and animals of Sonavan convened a meeting. It was headed by Pihu peacock, the king of the birds and Simha lion, the king of the animals.
“This year, let’s not involve any of the dark birds or animals in the Holi celebrations. The colour does not show against their dark skin and feathers. It’s just a waste of colour and effort,” said Simha.
“I agree. The price of colour powder has skyrocketed, so buying extra packets just for them will be too expensive,” said Sona deer.
We also won’t be able to make special arrangements for water tankers for them like we do every year, as the nearby ponds have all dried up. Even if we have to buy water, who is going to pay for it?” asked Pihu.
All the animals agreed that banning the dark birds and animals from the Holi celebrations was a right move. Pihu and Simha signed an order to that effect.
Next day, huge banners were put up across Sonavan. They read: “No Holi for dark animals and birds. – By order of the Kings of Sonavan.”
On seeing the banners, the dark animals and birds felt humiliated and angry.
“How can they pass an order concerning us without even consulting us in the first place?” fumed Kalu crow.
“It is a common festival. Everyone has the right to celebrate,” said Bholu elephant. After much discussion, the dark animals and birds decided to organise their own Holi celebrations. They eagerly set out preparing for it.
On the day of Holi, Pihu, Simha and the other animals celebrated with great fervour. They smeared colours on each other, sang songs and danced.
Suddenly, the sound of their celebration was drowned by music coming from another part of the forest. They could also see big clouds of colour rising above the treetops.
“Who else is celebrating Holi in our forest? The music is even better than ours!” said Simha.
When Rinku rabbit saw through his binoculars, he was stunned.
They were the dark birds and animals! They were having a spectacular celebration. The bear, the dark horse, the rhino, the wilder beast and the chimpanzee were beating the drums, while the cuckoos sang and the crows danced. The music echoed through the forest.
“Well, who is it?” asked Pihu impatiently.
The dark birds and animals,” said Rinku.
Everyone was shocked.
“Not only have they defied our orders, but they are celebrating Holi grander than us!” thundered Simha.
“With their splashes of colour, they even look more colourful than us,” said Rinku, looking through the binoculars again.
Meanwhile, the group of dark animals and birds had reached them. Bholu stepped forward and sprayed everyone with colour water from his trunk.
“On behalf of the dark birds and animals, I wish you all a happy Holi!” he said.
“How dare you defy my order and celebrate Holi. You will all be punished for this!” roared Simha.
“Please do not mistake us, Sir. We would never defy your orders. You banned us from participating in your celebrations. So, we organised our own Holi celebrations and we would like to invite you all to join us,” Kalu explained politely.
Simha could not refute that point. “Well, they are right,” he thought.
“Holi is a festival celebrated to welcome spring. The colours are just part of the celebrations and not the purpose of the celebration itself. So, if you had a problem with the colours not showing on us, you could have discussed it with us, and we would have offered you a solution or we could have celebrated differently,” said Bholu.
The other animals were ashamed. Instead of looking for a solution, they banned the dark birds and animals from participating.
“Please forgive us,” said Pihu. “We were so blinded by our arrogance that we failed to see the real purpose of a festival—to bring us together.”
“Pihu is right. Henceforth, I declare that all festivals should be celebrated together. There will be no discrimination announced Simha, throwing colours on Kalu and Bholu.
Everyone cheered and joined in the celebrations!
“This is the real delight of playing Holi,” said Simha, looking at all the happy faces.
Chinku Jackal ran a laundry in Champakvan. He enjoyed washing and ironing clothes so much that he often gave his customers big discounts. This made him very popular with all the animals who lived in Champakvan.
But there was something about Chinku Jackal that everyone disapproved of. Well, Chinku Jackal could be very naughty. He enjoyed playing pranks on everyone around him. He never stopped to think if his pranks were causing anyone trouble.
When spring came and Holi was around the corner, all the animals in the forest began preparing for the festival. While some of them busied themselves with cooking Holi delicacies, some others went to buy Holi colours from the nearby towns.
When the festival came even closer, Chinku Jackal, who was working in his laundry, decided that it was time for him to play another prank.
“I must play a prank on everyone this Holi,” he thought. “I will have plenty of fun!”
And so, Chinku Jackal went to the nearest town and bought packets of red, yellow, green, pink and all the other colours that he could find. He then mixed them all in a tub of water and made a solution that was a bright pink in colour.
Chinku Jackal then took all the clothes he had in his laundry and soaked them in the tub. After a while, he pulled the clothes out and grinned. They all had had big pink stains all over them. He then put them out to dry.
Chinku Jackal giggled, when he left his laundry to deliver the clothes the next morning.
“Don’t feel bad!” Chinku Jackal said along the way as he practiced the explanation he would give his customers. “It’s Holi after all!”
He soon reached Minky Cat’s house. She was one of his oldest customers.
“Good Morning, Minky Aunty!” Chinku Jackal said cheerfully.
“Good Morning, Chinku!” Minky Cat replied in an equally cheerful tone. “Have you brought my clothes?”
“Of course, I have!” Chinku Jackal said and chuckled.
Minky Cat shrieked the moment she saw her clothes. “What has happened to my clothes?” she wailed. “Why have they turned pink?”
“Don’t feel bad, Minky Aunty!” Chinku Jackal said with a giggle. “It’s Holi after all!”
Minky Cat grew furious. “Is this another prank of yours, Chinku?” she shouted. “Have you deliberately soaked my clothes in pink colour?”
“I have,” Chinku Jackal admitted and laughed. “But since it is Holi tomorrow, you shouldn’t be angry with me!”
Chinku Jackal then went to deliver the rest of the clothes. He giggled when he saw Chubby Mouse, Daboo Lion and the others panic the moment they saw their clothes. And when they scolded him, he simply shouted, “Come on! It is Holi after all!”
In the evening, all the animals gathered together and grumbled about Chinku Jackal’s prank. “Chinku Jackal’s pranks are becoming more and more troublesome,” they all complained. “We must teach him a lesson and put an end to his mischief.”
Later that day, Chubby Mouse went to Chinku Jackal’s laundry.
“It is Holi tomorrow, Chinku,” Chubby Mouse said. “All the animals have decided to celebrate together. We are meeting at 8 o’clock in the playground tomorrow morning. Why don’t you join us? It will be fun.”
Chinku Jackal was delighted. “I will surely join you all!” he said. “Thanks for inviting me!”
The next morning, Chinku Jackal walked to the playground. He was looking forward to playing with his friends. But when he reached the playground, he found that there was no one there. Am I too early?” Chinku Jackal wondered. “There’s no one else here.”
He looked around and saw some colourful balloons hanging on the branches of the trees. There was a table full of plates of sweets like ladoos and jalebis nearby. There were some water pistols kept on the table too. And a huge tub filled with coloured water was right beside the table.
“Ah!” Chinku Jackal thought. “The animals are having a grand celebration! I’m glad that they invited me! I’m going to have plenty of fun here!”
Chinku Jackal then stretched his arm out and tried to pull one of the balloons down.
SPLASH!
The balloon burst and splashed some bright red coloured water right on to his face!
“Eek!” Chinku Jackal shouted as he wiped his face. “Eww!” he screamed as he spat some of the water that had gone into his mouth.
He ran to the table and popped some of the ladoos and jalebis into his mouth, hoping to change the awful taste. But to his surprise, the sweets weren’t one bit sweet! They were bitter! And full of a dark green colour!
“Ugh!” Chinku Jackal shouted. “What horrible sweets! They have turned my mouth bitter and green!”
He turned to go home but just before he could leave the playground, Chubby Mouse, Minky Cat, Daboo Lion and all the other animals whose clothes he had stained, jumped out from behind the trees. They picked Chinku Jackal up and dunked him in the tub of coloured water.
“Oh no!” Chinku Jackal screamed, realising that he was now completely drenched. He was about to burst out crying when he heard all the animals singing, “Don’t feel bad, Chinku! It’s Holi after all! It’s Holi after all!”
Minky Cat went closer to Chinku Jackal’s ear and whispered, “How did you like our prank, Chinku? Was it as good as yours?”
Chinku Jackal realised what Minky Cat wanted to say. He hung his head low. “I’ve been playing pranks on you all for a long time,” he said. “That’s why you have played one on me today.”
“Holi is a festival that is celebrated with love and harmony, Chinku,” Minky Cat said. “It’s not meant for playing pranks or annoying anyone.”
“She’s right, Chinku,” Daboo Lion added. “Holi is a festival for everyone to have fun but not at the expense of others. Come on! Let’s celebrate with the right spirit!”
All the animals then helped Chinku Jackal climb out of the tub. They played with him and brought him some ladoos and jalebis that were really sweet to eat.
Chinku Jackal had the best Holi ever. He spent the rest of the day washing all the clothes he had stained. And he made up his mind not to play pranks on anyone again.
Nitin woke up early as usual and got ready for school. But today, he was excited because it was the last day of school, and also the day of his favourite exam—drawing.
“I can’t wait for the vacations to start!” he thought, as he went to have breakfast.
Nitin’s grandfather was seated in the living room browsing through an old photo album.
“Whose photos are these, Grandpa?” asked Nitin, looking at the photos.
“They are all mine. They were taken when I used to live in the village with your grandmother,” replied Grandpa.
“See this one,” said Grandpa, pointing to one of the photos. “That’s your mother when she was six years old.”
“Wow! I can’t imagine Ma as a little girl,” said Nitin, looking at the photos curiously. “But Grandpa, why are there no colours in these photos?”
“At the time when these photos were taken, the cameras we had didn’t take colour photos. That technology came in much later. So, all the photos you see are in shades of black and white,” explained Grandpa.
Just then, Nitin’s mother called out to him. “Nitin, are you ready? It’s almost time to leave,” she said.
Nitin quickly finished his breakfast and started packing his bag. He had kept all his drawing stuff on the sofa. He put the drawing board, pencil box and a box of colour pencils into his bag.
Nitin did not notice that the box with the colour pencils was open and that many of them had fallen out. He quickly closed his bag and rushed to school.
At school, all the children were excited about the last day of school. They discussed their plans for the summer vacation.
When the bell rang, they went to their respective classrooms and took their seats for the exam.
In the class, Nitin’s art teacher announced the topic for the exam:
1. A village scene
2. Wildlife
3. Water conservation
Nitin was eager to start drawing. He took out his pencil box, drawing board and box of colour pencils from inside his bag and arranged them on the desk. That is when he noticed that most of the colour pencils were missing. He frantically searched his bag thinking they may have fallen inside, but they were not there either.
“Oh no! How will I draw without my colour pencils?” Nitin panicked.
Nitin’s art teacher saw him looking worried. When she realised that he did not have his colour pencils, she said, “Don’t worry, Nitin. You can borrow from your friends once they have finished their drawing.”
Nitin thanked his teacher but he knew that if he had to wait for his classmates to finish, then he would not able to finish his painting.
Nitin looked at the colours he had in the box: black, blue, brown and white. He wondered if he could draw something using just these colours. He then remembered the black and white photos in his grandfather’s album. He also remembered seeing a photo of Grandpa on a horse in his farm.
“It is a stunning picture. I could recreate that on paper, and it requires only two colours,” thought Nitin and began to draw.
Nitin began by drawing the outline of a horse with a pencil and then filled it mostly with black colour and added bits of grey to give the effect of light. Once he was satisfied with it, he proceeded to draw a man on a horse. For the man, he added more shades of grey, black and white to add details of clothing and facial features.
At the end of the hour, when the bell rang, the students submitted their drawings to the teacher.
While their teacher graded each one, all of them, except Nitin, waited eagerly for the results. Nitin was not happy with the drawing he had submitted. Though it was technically good, he thought it would have been better in colour.
After a while, their teacher distributed the drawings back to the students along with their grades marked on them.
Nitin’s name was the last to be called out. He was sure the teacher was going to scold him for submitting a black and white drawing. Instead, she smiled at him.
Nitin’s teacher displayed his drawing for everyone to see and said, “Nitin has primarily used only two colours in his drawing. See how beautiful it looks and the details are highlighted with just two colours. I especially appreciate him because even though he did not have most of his colour pencils, he made the most of whatever he had instead of giving up.”
Nitin beamed on hearing his teacher’s words. It was the best ending to the last day of school!
Cheeku: What will you remove from seven to make it even?
Meeku: Just one alphabet. The letter ‘S’!
________________________________
Freddy Frog: Why shouldn’t you tell jokes to an egg?
Jumpy Monkey: Because it may crack up!
Whitey Rabbit was very proud of his skin. It was as soft as silk and as white as snow. He took good care of it and always tried to keep it clean. He was even more careful now that the festival of Holi was approaching. Whitey Rabbit still shuddered when he recalled the terrible experience he had just the year before.
Whitey Rabbit had been watching his friends playing Holi. They had been throwing colours and water on each other. It was then when Gappu Elephant had suddenly turned around and thrown a bucketful of blackcoloured water on Whitey. Whitey Rabbit had screamed. His delicate, white skin had turned black because of the colour in the water. He had scrubbed himself with soap many times and used countless buckets of water. But the black colour just wouldn’t go. Whitey Rabbit learnt that Gappu Elephant had mixed a dye meant to darken clothes and not a regular Holi colour in the water. It had taken three whole months for the colour to come off. Whitey Rabbit had started dreading Holi after that.
The day before Holi, Whitey Rabbit went up to his friends. “Please don’t think I’m a spoilsport,” he said. “But I won’t be playing Holi with you this year.”
“Why not?” Whitey Rabbit’s best friend Catty Cat asked, surprised.
“Don’t you remember what happened last year, Catty?” Whitey Rabbit said with tears in his eyes. “Thanks to Gappu Elephant, I ended up looking like a ghost for three whole months! I had turned as black as coal. Everyone made fun of me for months and called me names!”
“But Gappu Elephant had drenched Bunty Monkey with the same coloured-water too,” Toto Parrot remarked. “And Bunty had managed to look clean in just a day! You mustn’t have used soap or washed yourself properly, Whitey.”
“I had!” Whitey Rabbit said firmly. “I had used several bars of soap and plenty of water too!”
“Bunty Monkey had applied mustard oil on his body before he came out to play!” Meenu Starling explained. “It had formed a coating on his skin. That’s why he could wash the colour off so easily.”
“Whitey, why don’t you apply mustard oil on your body this time?” Toto Parrot suggested. “You will be able to play Holi with us without spoiling your skin.”
“No!” Whitey Rabbit shouted and shuddered. “I will never ever apply mustard oil on my beautiful white skin. It will only make my fur oily and my body stink!”
“Then how will you protect yourself from the colours of Holi, Whitey?” Meenu Starling asked, seeming very concerned. “We all know that Gappu Elephant is hoping to put more coloured water on you this year.’
“I’ll hide somewhere on Holi day and come out only when it’s safe,” Whitey Rabbit said.
“Don’t be silly!” Toto Parrot said. “Gappu Elephant will surely find you. You won’t be able to hide from him for very long.”
Whitey Rabbit shuddered. The thought of his precious skin turning black again scared him to no end.
“Don’t worry, Whitey,” Catty Cat said reassuringly. “You needn’t be afraid of Gappu Elephant or anyone else on Holi day. I have an idea that will surely help.”
And so, Holi day finally arrived. All the animals in the forest were having a good time. They were playing with colours and throwing buckets of water and water balloons at each other. Some of them were even squirting water out from water pistols. Nobody was left out.
Happy Hippo was singing Holi songs that were completely out of tune, and some of the animals were dancing too. There was joy and laughter everywhere.
Gappu Elephant was part of the celebrations too. And even though he was enjoying the singing and dancing, his eyes were quietly scanning the forest. He was looking for Whitey Rabbit. And just like the year before, Gappu Elephant had a bucketful of black coloured water ready to pour on him.
When Catty Cat saw Gappu Elephant looking around so carefully, he understood what his intentions were.
Catty Cat slowly sneaked up to where Gappu Elephant was.
“Gappu,” he whispered. “I have brought some special colour for you to put on Whitey. I know how you have been waiting to colour him.”
Gappu Elephant’s eyes grew wide. “Special colour?” he said, curiously. “Show it to me please!”
“I’ll need to use your bucket for that, Gappu,” Catty Cat said, taking Gappu Elephant’s bucket away. He then threw the black-coloured water out and filled it with some tap water. Catty Cat then pulled two bottles out of his pocket.
“Here it is, Gappu!” Catty Cat said, pointing to the white solutions in the bottles. He then poured the solutions into the water which turned a dark pink.
“This is a nice dark colour to put on Whitey!” Gappu Elephant said gleefully.
Gappu Elephant then grabbed the bucket. He soon found Whitey Rabbit hiding behind a bush. Gappu Elephant quickly turned the bucket over and poured each and every drop of the dark pink-coloured water on Whitey Rabbit
“Please don’t do that!” Whitey Rabbit begged. “Please! You’ll ruin my skin!”
But Gappu Elephant simply laughed and ran away.
Whitey Rabbit found that he had turned a dark pink.
He was coloured right from head to toe. No one else bothered to put any more colour on him after that.
At noon, all the animals went to the lake to wash up. The sun was shining in the sky and the animals’ bodies began drying in the warmth of the sunlight.
Whitey Rabbit found something strange happening to the colour on his body. It was fading away on its own. And by the time he reached the lake, he found that there wasn’t a trace of the dark pink colour left on him.
Gappu Elephant couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Whitey Rabbit was his clean, white self already. “How did Whitey clean himself so quickly?” he wondered. “He must have applied some mustard oil before coming out to play.”
Catty Cat whispered to Whitey Rabbit, “That wasn’t any ordinary colour. It was a special colour made of two white solutions. Magicians often use it for their magic shows. It evaporates on its own when it dries!”
Whitey Rabbit smiled and thanked his friend. “That was a wonderful idea you had, Catty!” he said gratefully. “I played Holi without spoiling my skin. Thanks to you. You really are a true friend!”
Catty Cat smiled. Happy Hippo then began singing a song that was completely out of tune again.
All the animals burst out laughing and then went to eat the special Holi feast.
