Page 27 – Champak Magazine

The Flying Rabbit

Terry the Rabbit was very upset. He felt that he was inferior. He looked at the flying sparrows and thought, “These Sparrows are so lucky. How I wish I could fly like them! They can fly to places. They don’t even have to walk to school like me. I become tired by the time I reach school. I wish I could get wings somehow so that even I can fly.”

One day Terry was playing near the bank of a river. He happened to look around and found two feathers of a pigeon. Terry looked at them and felt immensely happy. He picked them up and brought them home. He carefully stuck the feathers onto his back using glue. Then he walked to the garden. Daisy the Sparrow was sitting on the branch of a Mango tree. Terry called out to her and said, “Daisy, now even I can fly like you.”

“Really? How come?” asked Daisy.

Terry hurriedly climbed up the Mango tree.

He tried to fly by fluttering the feathers, and with a thud he fell on the ground. Daisy burst out laughing. She said, “Terry, one can’t fly just by attaching two feathers.”

Terry got up and said, “Let’s bet on this. What would you give me if I start flying within a month?”

“Oh forget it!” said Daisy, “You shall never win the bet.”

“I will surely be able to fly within a month. I can vouch for that,” replied Terry.

“Well, if you win the bet, then I shall become your servant for a month,” said Daisy with a confident grin.

Terry agreed to the condition and walked away. He reached home thinking of ways to start flying. He spent a sleepless night thinking about the same thing; however, he couldn’t come up with a solution.

The next day he went to school. His science teacher Sammy, the Deer was talking about the year 1930, in which a balloon was made to fly by filling it with helium gas. He also mentioned that it was after this that the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane.

Terry got inspired by this and started thinking on the same lines. He went to the market and bought a big, transparent balloon and got it filled with helium. The moment it was filled with helium it rose up in the air. Terry held one end of the string in his hand and started flying off with the balloon. The birds who were flying at that time noticed this, and Daisy saw it too. They flew closer to Terry and were thrilled to see him flying. Daisy shouted out to Terry, “You have won the bet. You can come down to the ground now.”

Terry was unable to come down as the balloon was going higher up in the air. He was thoroughly enjoying the flight. Moreover, he was afraid that the birds and animals would see the balloon if he came down. After a while, the gas from the balloon started depleting and Terry fell on the ground with a thud.

He was bruised badly during the fall. Everyone saw the balloon lying beside Terry. Daisy said, “You deserved this because you tried to win the bet through unfair means.”

Teacher Sammy said, “Terry, nature has made everyone unique. Just like some birds cannot walk or run like us; similarly we too cannot fly like them. Therefore it is foolish to imitate anyone. Now let us all take Terry to the doctor.”

Terry had learnt a lesson. He apologized to Daisy and acknowledged the lesson learnt.

Intl Women’s Day

Preparation for Exams

Only the Brave Win

Mandy Monkey was known to be very cunning. All the animals of Champakvan would be reluctant to even talk to him. One day Meesha Cat and Blacky Bear were heading for school when Mandy suddenly came in front of them.

Both panicked wondering what would happen next.

Meanwhile, Mandy craftily took out tiffins from inside their bags and quickly climbed a tree.

Before Meesha and Blacky could react, Mandy made an excuse, “You both are
carrying such heavy bags. I felt like helping you. Please proceed to the school and I will come there with your tiffins.”

Meesha and Blacky believed him and went to school, but Mandy didn’t reach there.

Instead he ate their tiffins all alone.

Mandy would bother the animals in some way or the other and pretended to be
brave. Everybody was irked by him. Champakvan’s king decided that he would
teach Mandy a lesson.

The exam date was approaching. Everyone was busy studying, whereas Mandy
was plotting on how to come first without studying.

He thought of scaring everybody in the name of exams so that if they didn’t prepare well, they wouldn’t secure good marks.

He said to Cory Rabbit who was studying English “Study English later. If you study such a difficult subject before, you will forget it soon.”

Cory believed Mandy and left aside English and began studying math.

As soon as Mandy saw Cory studying math, he again brought forth his cunningness and said, “How can you study math now? This is a subject which you can’t understand even on the day of the exam.

How can you understand it only a few days before the exam? You should study math only two days before the exam.” Cory closed his math book too.

In this way Mandy confused and scared everybody.

Now they didn’t know how to prepare for the exam.

One day, Mandy saw Sara Sparrow studying. He went close to her and said, “Study as much as you want, but you can’t beat me. Studying is not so easy.

Only smart animals like me can come first.” With these words, he moved on,
leaving Sara perplexed.

With his cunningness he had distracted everyone from their studies. He was now acting high and mighty and believed himself to be the most intelligent animal of the forest. He had even started bullying and scaring the smaller animals.

Days passed. One day, when Champakvan’s King Sher Singh, was not around, an elephant from another jungle came there.

He said, “I will uproot all the trees of Champakvan with my trunk.”

Everybody panicked at his threat.

Mandy was the most frightened of all the animals at the prospect of losing his home.

He quickly went to his home and gathered all his belongings. He tried to hide away from the fearsome elephant.

Meanwhile, Bonnie Ant went to the elephant and reasoned with him, “Think before you do something drastic. If you uproot the trees here in Champakvan, somebody can do it in your jungle as well.”

Bonnie said further, “We all should stay friends. If your jungle requires any help in future, then Champakvan will definitely come forward to help you.” The elephant simmered down and gave a smile.

He said to Bonnie, “Don’t worry, I will not harm your forest. I was here on the request of Sher Singh. I did all this only to scare Mandy Monkey.” He also commended Bonnie for her quick thinking and bravery to stand up for her forest mates.

Mandy realised then that confusing and scaring people was not bravery. Distracting them from their studies was not an intelligent thing either.

Real bravery came by behaving in a fearless and responsible manner and intelligence came from studying. He vowed to change his ways.

The entire forest cheered him. Mandy felt truly happy.

Damru & Peelu Monkey

The Wise King

There was once a king in ancient China. He was a very cruel king and would punish his subjects for the slightest of mistakes. The punishments were extraordinarily cruel and he would take great pleasure in delivering them. Many of his ministers tried advising him against such punishments, but he never listened.

One day, one of his ministers suggested that he should expand the size of his kingdom. This seemed like a good idea to the king and called for an army to be put together. Soon, the army was ready and all the soldiers were well built, strong men. The king marched his army straight into his neighbouring kingdom.

The sheer size of the army was enough for the neighbouring king to surrender.

In exchange for peace, the king also offered him his soldiers and a lot of wealth. It was the same story is many other kingdoms and the king grew even more powerful. One of the king who had surrendered suggested that the king conquer India.

India was a land of wealth and the king was very tempted to gain control. So, he marched his soldiers all the way across China. They stopped at what is now modern day Singapore. From the coast, the king’s troops set sail across the waters, in search of India.

News of the impending attack reached the ears of the Indian king. He had heard about the size of the Chinese army and knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Hence, he gathered all the scholars and economists in his kingdom and asked them to think of a plan.

The scholars and economists thought about and discussed their plans for several days until they had the perfect plan.

When the plan was narrated to the king, he was pleased and gave orders to carry out the plan. This, in a few days, a huge ship reached the coast of Singapore. As soon as it arrived, it was captured by the Chinese king’s troops.

When it was discovered that the vessel was from India, they crew were presented to the king.

The Chinese king demanded that the sailors tell him the route to India if they valued their lives. The sailors agreed to tell him the route and asked to be executed. They said that they’d never be able to see their homeland ever again and burst into tears.

When the king enquired further, the sailors revealed that when they had sail, they were all young men. They had been at sea for so long that they had grown old. Another sailor pulled out a few needles and said that when they had set sail, these needles were iron rods. The trip to Singapore was so treacherous that the salt water had corroded them and that all that was left were these needles.

A third pulled out a dried up piece of fruit and said that when they had set sail, he had planted a seed. He went on to explain that over the years, the seeds had grown up and borne fruit too, All they had left was a Nihil fruit from the second tree.

The king was shocked to learn that the journey to India was full of so much trouble and would take so long. He realised that by the time his troops landed on Indian shore, they’d no longer be fit for a fight.

The Chinese king immediately canceled his plans and ordered his troops to march back to China and also gave the sailors lots of money and restocked their ship so that they would be comfortable in their old age. Thus, a few intelligent people defeated an entire of army with just their brains.

A lot can be achieved by not giving in to fear, and thinking with a cool mind and a little imagination.

The Missing Prints

Tiblu Tiger Goes Mountaineering

Tiblu was a tiger baby, and was very fond of exercise. In Champakvan, parents used to compare their babies with Tiblu and cite his example when they talked about fitness and good health.

Once Tiblu came to know that a mountaineering camp was being organised in the nearby jungle. So he told his mother that he wanted to go. The Blue Mountain was not too far from Champakvan, and was a well known place for adventure trips. Mother Tiger was a bit worried to hear this.

She said, “But Tiblu, Blue Mountain is very tall.”

“Yes, mother, and that is why I want to reach the top of the mountain. Many of my friends, Freddie the Fox, Zimba the Leopard, and Tony the Wolf are going for mountaineering. And we shall travel only for four days.”

This became a very exciting news, and everyone felt that this was a moment of pride for Champakvan animals.

Special arrangements were made for the animals that were going for mountaineering.

King of the Jungle, Lambart the Lion announced special food facilities for them, which included a high protein diet. The Rooster family, who was in-charge of providing eggs to animals, made an extra delivery of eggs for the mountain climbers.

Gardener Percy the Peacock made sure that healthy fruits reached them for good nourishment.

In a short time, the mountaineers’ team was well fed and healthily prepared for the mountaineering mission.

A week before the mountaineering mission was to start, Freddie and his father came to meet Tiblu’s father to discuss the planning for children’s travel and safety.

After some general discussions, Daddy Fox spoke to the Daddy Tiger, “I have heard that Billy the Goat, who lives in our jungle, is a very avid mountaineer. Should we take his advice?” Tiger Dad frowned. He could not see eye to eye with Billy, for which the reasons were unclear.

Tiger Dad coughed, and said, “Oh yes! How could I forget Billy? But I have heard that he prefers to be domesticated and does not live in our jungle anymore.”

Fox Dad hastily added, “No, Sir. He is still staying in the jungle. Can we talk to him tomorrow?”

Tiger Dad agreed finally, “Okay, okay! We will meet him tomorrow.” Freddie and his father happily returned home. The next day Tiger Dad and his son Tiblu, Freddie and Fox Dad, as well as Tony with his father and Zimba with his mother went to see Billy.

Billy’s house was on a slope in the jungle. It was little difficult for the guests to climb to his house. However, as the Goat family saw the guests coming, Billy and his wife stood welcoming them.

It was difficult for the tiger to gulp down the ego while seeking help from a goat.

But considering that it would help his son, he spoke to Billy, “Hello Billy Goat! We have come to seek your advice on mountaineering. We have heard that you have climbed many tall mountains. Kindly provide my son and his friends the right guidance for it.”

Billy was a kind animal. He smiled and said, “Welcome to my home, dear Tiger. I can understand that as a father you will be anxious to send your son for mountaineering, but let me tell you that it is not at all difficult to climb a mountain.”

All the four children and their parents looked gapingly at Billy as he described some of his adventures of climbing very steep mountains.

At the end, Billy concluded, “If you have a strong will, nothing is impossible. Another important thing is good food. Your food should not be too heavy when taken before starting and during the mountaineering activity. You must also carry food which can provide for instant energy and light luggage. Make sure to carry a battery for night safety, and some woolens for warmth as mountain tops are cooler than the land.”

He continued, “I understand that a tiger, a leopard or a fox do not have paws with a good grip like us to climb the steep slopes, but do not worry. Blue Mountain is a simple climb, and your children will enjoy it.”

Tiger Dad, Fox Dad as well as Wolf Dad and Leopard Mother were really happy to listen to the advice given by Billy goat.

Tiger Dad realised that he had wronged Billy till now. He was not a dangerous animal though he had long horns. In fact, he was very kind and helpful to animals who sought his advice.

Mountaineers followed Billy’s advice, and started to prepare for their adventure. This helped them a great deal. When the day arrived, they were all well prepared for the task.

Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba left for the mountaineering camp. They looked happy, and even their parents seemed to be relieved by their preparations.

Mountaineers reached to the top of Blue Mountain on the third day as per the schedule, and the whole team jumped with joy and happiness! Their dream had come true!

Then they started descending the mountain. Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba safely returned back to their parents in Champakvan after a long and tedious trek.

The next day Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba went to thank Billy.

They said, “Uncle, your advice was a great help to us. We were really motivated by that. Thank you for your guidance and tips for preparations.”

Billy smiled and said, “Children! No task is difficult in life, whether it be sports or studies or anything else. If you plan and prepare for it in advance, even climbing a mountain becomes a joy ride!”.

Mountaineering friends then hugged each other and started jumping joyfully! It was now time for celebration in Champakvan!

Clever Rabbit

The Egg Thief

On the top of a tree lived Seenu, the sparrow. She had just built a nest and laid five eggs.

Seenu was very proud of her eggs and sat on them everyday and kept them warm. She would get up for some time every day to find something to eat. But, one day, Seenu returned to get the shock of her life.

In her nest were only four eggs today. Seenu searched high and low, but found no trace of her egg. She was devastated that her precious egg was missing and managed to console herself as it was nature’s way.

The next day when she returned to her nest, another egg was missing. Seenu was sure somebody was stealing her eggs and began to look for clues. As she searched the area around her tree, she found a handkerchief by the roots.

“This looks like Bunty’s handkerchief,” said Seenu to herself. Bunty, the monkey was Seenu’s arch enemy. He lived in the tree next to Seenu’s and he would always try to pick a fight with her. Certain that Bunty was the one who made off with her eggs, Seenu went straight to the king.

She narrated everything that had happened and the king listened intently. “Do you have any proof?” he asked her. Seenu gave Bunty’s handkerchief to the king.

The king ordered that Bunty be brought to him immediately. When Bunty was presented before him, the king asked him what he had done with Seenu’s eggs. But Bunty had no idea what the king was talking about.

“Seenu told me that you have stolen her eggs. I order you to give it back,” said the king.

“Your majesty, I’m a vegetarian. There’s nothing I can do with Seenu’s eggs. Believe me, I’m innocent,” said Seenu.

“The evidence is against you. I will give you two days’ time. If you do not return Seenu’s eggs and own up for your misdeeds, you will be severely punished,” said the king and sent Bunty away.

Bunty was feeling low. He needed to somehow prove that he was innocent. He turned to his friend, Meeku, the rabbit. Bunty and Meeku were childhood friends and spent a lot of time together. Meeku believed Bunty and approached the king.

“Your highness, we request you to please give us a day’s time and we will prove that Bunty is indeed innocent, said Meeku, pleading the king. The king agreed and the plan was set.

The next morning, Seenu flew away from her nest in search of food. A few minutes later, Snaky, the snake came crashing to the ground. He had been living in the same tree as Seenu’s and had been living in a little hollow on the tree’s trunk.

He had an egg stuck in his mouth and begged Bunty, Seenu and Meeku, who had been hiding in the bushes all this while, to save his life.

“Help me. I can’t breathe,” said Snaky, his face turning blue. The three took Snaky to the nearest hospital. The egg was wedged firmly inside Snaky’s mouth and the doctor couldn’t pull it out. Snaky needed an operation. Snaky was given anesthesia and he fell asleep. A short operation later, the doctor removed the egg.

Snaky could breathe again and told them how he noticed that Seenu had laid eggs and how she would fly away everyday for some time. “Since she wasn’t at her nest, it was the perfect time to eat the eggs. But for some reason, the egg I tried to eat today refused to break after I swallowed it.”

“It’s no surprise that you couldn’t” said Bunty. “What you ate in fact was a stone. When we saw that Seenu’s eggs have been going missing, we knew that the perpetrator would return to the scene of the crime and try again. Unfortunately for you, we were smarter than you thought.”

Snakey was arrested by the king’s guards. Seenu apologised to Bunty for wrongly accusing him of stealing her eggs. Bunty and Seenu managed to settle their differences and lived happily ever after.

A home of her own

Minar Fun

3-D Art

You will need:

Mount board, tinted coloured papers, pencil, glue, scale, scissors, marker, double sided foam tape, textured paper, straws.

Tip: Stick the background coloured paper on the mount board to give it support.

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1. Draw the scene that you want on the coloured background paper using pencil. Here we have drawn a bridge.

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2. Draw the other parts of the scene on coloured paper, cut them out, and glue them on the background

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3. Cut straws in varying lengths according to where they have to be pasted and paste them there.

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4. Paste other parts of the scene by putting one, two or more layers of tape under it for the 3-D effect.

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5. Make sure you use different layers of tape to give each component a unique look.

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Use 4 layers of tape for the outer frame, and your 3D artwork is ready to hang on your wall!

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Make your own 3D art and send us photos at writetochampak@delhipress.in

Save Water

Damru & Babbu Bear

THE HARMFUL HERMIT

Pussy, the cat was feeling glum. She sat under the shade of a tree, looking forlorn. The reason for her sadness was that, over the years she had put on quite a bit of weight and was having trouble catching little mice and birds. Every time she would chase them, she would feel tired almost immediately and stop to catch her breath. By then, the mice and birds would be long gone.

Seeing her friend feeling sad, Lucy the cat walked up to her and asked her what the matter was.

“Oh, I was just thinking what it would be like to get your meals served to you without putting in any effort,” said Pussy. “It’s just that I’ve had so much trouble finding food lately that I haven’t had a single bite to eat in two days.”

“Oh Pussy, don’t be silly,” said Lucy. “Everybody knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You will always have to work hard to get the things you want. Stop wasting your time on these stupid thoughts and come with me. I’ll treat you to the yummy milk and cream I have at home.”

The two went to Lucy’s house and were enjoying some milk and cream when an old friend of Pussy’s walked up to them. It was Scruffy, the fox. He had changed quite a bit and had lost a lot of weight too.

“How are you, Pussy? You seem to be living well, your fat tummy proves it so,” said Scruffy.

“I’ve been alright, Scruffy. But tell me, where have you been all this while? You look different and in a good way,” sad Pussy.

“Well, I’ve given up my ways of cheating and living extravagantly and have moved to the himalayas. I spend the entire day meditating,” said Scruffy.

“The Himalayas? Isn’t is far away from civilization? What do you do for food there?” asked Pussy.

“To tell you the truth, food is the least of my concerns. The power of meditation is such that I can have the dish of my choice any time I want. In fact, anything I wish for can be had and all I need to do is meditate,” said Scruffy.

Pussy was in awe of how easy life was as a hermit. She thought of how difficult it was for her to catch mice every day, and how much she missed it. “Will you take me with you and teach me how to meditate? Life here has become too hard and I don’t like it one bit. Please take me as your student, I’ll go with you to the Himalayas and you can teach me your ways,” said Pussy.

“Oh Pussy, you don’t need to come to the Himalayas for this. I could teach you the incantation right now,” said Scruffy. “But…” began Scruffy and trailed off.

“What’s the matter, Scruffy? Please, go on,” said Pussy, earnestly.

“Well, the problem is that I can not teach the incantation to someone without accepting a teacher’s fee. You’re like my sister and I’m just thinking what I should do,” said Scruffy.

“Oh,” said Pussy and began to think. “All I have is this bowl of milk and cream,” she said. That was also all the food she had, and it wasn’t much.

“The teacher’s fee is a sign of respect and love, so the quantity does not matter. This will do just fine,” said Scruffy and whispered the incantation in Pussy’s ear.

“All you need to do is chant this incantation from sunset till sunrise the next day and the power will be unleashed. All you will need to do then is close your eyes and wish for your heart’s desire. When you open your eyes, it will be right in front of you,” said Scruffy and went on his way with the bowl of milk and cream.

The same evening, Pussy started chanting just when the sun set, chanted throughout the night, and only stopped when the sun’s rays touched the ground the next morning. She was ecstatic. She ran to Lucy’s house and said, “You treated me to milk and cream yesterday and today, I’ll be treating you to the same.”

Pussy closed her eyes tight and wished for two bowls of milk and cream. She opened her eyes expecting to see the bowls in front of her, but there were no such bowls anywhere.

Pussy tried again and once again, there were no bowls of milk and cream.

Pussy tried once more before giving up. “Scruffy said this would work,” said Pussy, feeling let down.

“What did he tell you?” asked Lucy.

“He asked me to chant an incantation and said that if I wished for something it would appear in front of me,” said Pussy.

Lucy laughed and said, “It seems like Scruffy’s been up to one of his tricks. How could you believe him?” she asked, laughing. “Nothing ever comes from nothing. For everything you need to do work, or in Scruffy’s case, dupe someone out of their hard work and trick them into giving it away.”

Pussy realised that Scruffy had cheated her out of her bowl of milk and cream and felt silly for believing him.

“Come on,” said Lucy. “Let’s go to the jungle and catch some mice.”

Pussy agreed and off they went. Pussy had learnt that the only secret to fulfilling your heart’s desires is hard work.

A Thief of Champakvan

Champakvan, a once peaceful forest, was in deep trouble. Lately, somebody had been stealing the animals’ belongings. Damru, the donkey’s motorcycle, Meeku, the mouse’s gold chain and Blacky, the bear’s four pots of honey had all mysteriously gone missing.

The king, Shersingh was very upset with this and called for a meeting. He also invited Damru, Meeku and Blacky.

“Tell me exactly what happened with your motorcycle,” said Shersingh to Damru.

“Well your majesty,” Damru began. “When I turned in for the night, I had just checked on my motorcycle, it was right outside my house. But, when I woke up the next morning, it had disappeared without a trace.”

Meeku went next and said, “Your majesty, I had spent the day with my friend, helping him with some work. When I returned that evening, I noticed that my cupboard was open and found that my gold chain was missing.”

“With great difficulty I managed to gather four pots of honey. I woke up one morning to find that they are all gone. My hard work has gone to waste,” said Blacky and burst out crying.

The king, Shersingh turned to the chief of police, Inspector Jumbo, the elephant. “Give us a few days, your majesty. We will investigate and get to the bottom of this,” said Inspector Jumbo.

“You have three days to find out who the thief is. If you fail, be prepared to step down from your position,” said the King and left the court. Jumbo, wiped the sweat from his brow. There was a lot at stake here and there was only one person he could turn to.

Inspector Jumbo called one of his best agents, Cheeku, the rabbit. Inspector Jumbo gave him all the information he needed and off Cheeku went towards Champakvan.

Cheeku began to investigate and headed towards the hills surrounding Champakvan. As he climbed up the narrow path, he noticed a few shards of a broken pot. Upon closer examination, Cheeku found trace amounts of honey. He was on the right track. As he climbed higher up the mountain, Cheeku noticed footprints. As it was growing dark, Cheeku decided to come back the next day and investigate.

Cheeku came back to the same spot the next day and was just about to follow the footprints when he hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Off in the distance was Bobby, the ape. He had something in his hand. As soon as Bobby saw Cheeku, he fled.

“That’s strange,” Cheeku said to himself. “Why did he run away? What was that in his hand? I must report this to the inspector.”

Cheeku went back to Inspector Jumbo’s office and told him everything that had happened.

Inspector Jumbo was pleased and praised Cheeku for doing a good job. The next day, they would go to King Shersingh’s court.

All eyes were on Inspector Jumbo who was beaming with pride. As soon as King Sher Singh sat down on his throne, he asked Inspector Jumbo what he had learnt.

“Your majesty, I sent Cheeku, the rabbit to investigate and he found Bobby, the ape near the mountains and enough evidence to prove that he is the culprit,” said Jumbo.

“Bring me Bobby, the ape,” roared King Sher Singh.

Bobby was immediately brought to the court. “Why did you steal?” asked King Sher Singh.

“Your majesty, I am innocent. I have been framed,” said Bobby.

“Your majesty, Bobby is lying,” said Jumbo.

“Your majesty, may I ask Bobby a few questions?” Cheeku interjected. The king agreed and the cross examination began.

“Bobby, were you not at the mountain path yesterday afternoon?” asked Cheeku. “What did you have in your hands and why did you suddenly disappear?”

“Yes I was. I had my bicycle with me and I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to do something, which is why I had to go back,” said Bobby.

“Were you going back to the place where you had stored Damru’s motorcycle, Meeku’s bangles and Blacky’s five honey pots?” asked Cheeku.

“Five? There were only four and I dropped one on the way,” said Bobby before realising what he had said.

Bobby knew there was no turning back now. He immediately fell at King Sher Singh’s feet and asked not to be punished. “Your majesty, I didn’t seal on purpose. I was made to steal,” he said and burst out crying.

“You have five minutes to tell me everything,” said the king.

“Your majesty, my son has been ill for many years now. I have spent all my money on his treatment and he is still not cured. I only stole enough for his treatment. Please don’t put me in jail. Without me, there will be no one to take care of him,” said Bobby.

King Sher Singh forgave Bobby. He released him and also asked his ministers to ensure that Bobby’s son received treatment from a good doctor.

Ratu, the Artist

Ratu, the mouse loved to draw and paint. His two best friends were his brush and his set of paints. While he had a lot of fun drawing and painting all day, his parents and family members were worried. They believed that Ratu was wasting his time drawing and painting all day.

They wanted him to study hard and become a successful engineer or a famous doctor.

The only animal in the entire forest who appreciated Ratu’s drawing and painting was old Lambu, the monkey, who was a painter himself. One day, Lambu said, “Ratu, I just heard that the king is going to conduct a big painting exhibition.”

“But Lambu Uncle, why are you telling me this?” asked Ratu.

“Why Ratu, because you’re one of the best painters this jungle has ever seen. This exhibition will be a great platform for you to showcase your work,” said Lambu.

Ratu thought Lambu was pulling his leg. Nobody had ever told Ratu that his paintings were good, let alone call him a good painter.

Ratu said, “I know you’re making fun of me Lambu Uncle. Why would anybody allow somebody like me to showcase my work in one of the biggest art exhibitions in the jungle?”

Lambu understood that Ratu was yet to realise his true worth. He was yet to understand the true potential of the talent hidden deep inside him. Lambu asked Ratu to meet Kaalu, the jackal, the animal in charge of the exhibition.

Kaalu was a famous painter too. He had put up several exhibitions and had gathered lots of fame and fortune. Ratu showed Kaalu some of the paintings Lambu had asked him to take with him. Kaalu realised that Ratu was an excellent painter. Jealous, he decided to put Ratu down.

Kaalu tossed Ratu’s paintings aside and said, “You call this art? Anybody with a brush and a paint set could produce drawings like these. If you put these up at the art exhibition, it would be a disgrace.”

Thoroughly dejected, Ratu walked back home. On the way, he met Lambu Uncle. With tears in his eyes, Ratu narrated everything that had happened. Lambu Uncle was wise.

He knew exactly why Kaalu had behaved this way.

Lambu Uncle took Ratu straight to the jungle’s art college. His good friend, Nathu, the bear was the arts professor there. Nathu took a look at Ratu’s paintings and was blown away.

“Ratu, I must say, you have a lot of potential. Seeing that at such a young age, you have so much talent, I’m sure you’ll become a great painter very soon,” he said. “Tell me, are you taking part in the art exhibition?” he asked.

Lambu told him everything that happened at Kaalu’s house. Nathu immediately went to his computer and began typing. He printed out a sheet of paper and said, “Ratu, you are going to present your work at the art exibition. If Kaalu stops you, just show them this letter of recommendation from me,” said Nathu and wished him luck.

Ratu and Lambu went straight to Kaalu. Seeing them Kalu said, “What are you doing here once again? Did I not tell you that your paintings weren’t good enough for the exhibition? If you think Lambu’s recommendation is going to get you a spot here, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“No sir, I’m just here to give you this letter from Prof. Nathu from the arts college,” said Ratu handing Kaalu the letter.

Kaalu had no choice now but to let Ratu in. Nathu was too powerful and well respected to cross.

On the day of the exhibition, Ratu had displayed all his best paintings. King Babbar dropped by to see all the paintings being displayed and had brought the famous painter, Lumumba, the giraffe, from Africa.

Among all the paintings at the exhibition, Babbar and Lambu loved Ratu’s paintings the most.

They bought one of Ratu’s paintings for two lakh rupees and soon, all of Ratu’s paintings were sold. Ratu had never been happier and both Lambu and Nathu couldn’t help but hold back their smiles. They were proud of Ratu.

As King Babbar and Lumumba left the exhibition, they praised Ratu’s skill and called him a diamond in the rough. Kaalu, jealous at first soon realised the error in his ways. He understood that like diamonds, true talents shine brightest only after they have been discovered.

Playground fun

Hysteric Antic

Jumbo Elephant: What will a buffalo give if you milk it after an earthquake?

Damru: A milkshake.

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Jumpy Monkey: How will you catch a squirrel?

Franky Frog: Climb up a tree and act like a nut.

Learn Mountaineering!

The Proud Little Cherry Blossom

It was the month of March, but the wind still blew cool. The sun was not yet ready to shed his warmest rays on the waiting earth. Some of the birds had come back, and more were coming back. Gorgeous blossoms were already showing their pink and white blooms. And from bush and tree, field and flower, came the glad cry, “Spring is here! Spring is here.”

A beautiful maiden stopped in the orchard which was in full bloom. She picked a branch of cherry blossoms to take home with her. Whoever saw the blossom praised its beauty and fragrance. Soon, the blossom became proud, and thought that beauty was the only valuable thing in the world.

One day, as the cherry blossom thought, “None of the plants are as beautiful as I am. They seem just poor and plain.”

A little common yellow flower, which seemed to lift up its sunny head and grow everywhere caught her attention. Seeing the flower, the cherry blossom said, “Plain little flower, what is your name?”

“I am called the dandelion,” replied the little flower.

“Poor little plant,” said the cherry blossom. “It is not your fault. You must feel sad to have such a plain and ugly name.”

But, before the little plant could even think of a suitable reply, a lovely little sunbeam came dancing along. It said, “I see no ugly flowers. All flowers are beautiful!”

The sunbeam kissed the cherry blossom and turned to the dandelion. It gave a lingering, long to kiss the little yellow fellow.

Soon, some little children came tripping across the field. They laughed in joy when they saw the dandelions and kissed the flowers with delight. They made wreaths and dainty chains out of the dandelions. Carefully, they plucked those that had gone to seed, and tried to blow the feathery down off with one breath, making joyous wishes.

“Do you see the beauty of the dandelion?” asked the sunbeam to the cherry blossom.

“Only to children are they beautiful,” replied the proud cherry blossom.

An old woman came into the field. She gathered the roots of the dandelions, out of which she made tea for the sick, and she sold others for money. “But beauty is better than all this,” said the cherry blossom, haughtily.

Just then, the beautiful maiden arrived. She carried something which looked like a flower in her hand. She covered it carefully from the wind.

Children, what do you think it was? It was the feathery crown of the dandelion. “See! how attractive it is!” she said. “I will paint it in a picture with the cherry blossoms.”

Before going home to rest, the sunbeam first kissed the cherry blossom. As he stooped low to kiss the dandelion, the cherry blossom blushed with shame.

Real Freedom

Anisa the Butterfly was in an elated mood. She was enjoying the pleasant weather and flying through the park.

Suddenly, a bumble bee appeared in front of Anisa. Anisa got afraid, and changed her way. She turned around and saw that some more bumble bees were following her.

She tried to fly faster, however the bumble bees reached her.

Two of them blocked her way. “Why are they following me? What do they want from me? Have I ever done any wrong to them that they are here to take revenge?” Millions of such thoughts started crossing her mind.

She remembered her friends complaining of the troubles caused to them by those bumble bees. They were suffering because of the harm caused by the bumble bees. She slowed down as the bumble bees approached her.

The bumble bees surrounded Anisa. She was startled and couldn’t speak a word. One of the bumble bees went ahead and caught hold of her wing. Anisa found it difficult to move. All she did was look at the bees with helpless eyes and wonder what they were going to do with her. She looked around but there was no one who could rescue her. The bumble bees made fun of Anisa and laughed at her. Anisa was on the verge of crying.

After troubling Anisa by surrounding her and blocking her path for a while, the bumble bees flew away.

Anisa breathed a sigh of relief. She was no more in danger, however she kept thinking about the incident over and over again. She also kept brooding over the fact that the other butterflies were facing the same situation daily.

She thought, “Why is it that we do not have the freedom to be safe like others? Why can’t we fly wherever we want without anyone harassing us? Is this what the society is made for?

Why can’t our society think of taking appropriate steps to curb these practices?”

Anisa was weeping inconsolably. She had intended to enjoy the pleasant climate but ended up spoiling her day instead.

There was a tiny rose plant who had witnessed the entire episode. He looked at Anisa and called out to her, “Why are you weeping? Come here. Sit on the rose petal.”

Anisa sat on one of the petals. She immediately fluttered her wings and got up from there.

“Why did you get up?” asked the plant.

“These thorns hurt me,” replied Anisa.

The plant smiled and asked, “How are my flowers?”

“Very beautiful! Very soft! Very delicate!” replied Anisa.

The plant said, “So when these delicate flowers can protect themselves, then why can’t you?”

“What do you mean?” asked Anisa.

“You have to change with circumstances,” replied the plant, “These buds were as delicate as you are. They too were troubled by others. They learnt to defend themselves with the thorns. One should change according to the need of the hour. You are delicate, beautiful and soft, but you should become strong when someone tries to take advantage of your innocence.

You will have to fight your battle alone. Don’t depend on others to come to your rescue every time. Be strong and courageous. You cannot live a helpless and a dependent life. The wind changes its direction, the climate keeps changing, time too changes continuously. Similarly, you have to adapt to changing circumstances. Have strength and courage to fight the injustice. And that will enable you to experience real freedom.”

Anisa realised that she had to help herself and find solutions to her problems.

She said to the plant, “Thank you, friend. You have shown me the right path. I have no complaints against anyone now.”

Anisa said this and flew high in the air with happiness and cheer. Her flight indicated that she was confident enough to defend herself and had no worries. She was indeed free!

Jungle King

Vowels in Volcanoes

Damru Turns Bus Conductor

The Escape Plan

It was time for Munnu, the mouse to start for school. But he was worried. The previous day, he had seen Billu, the cat prowling along the path to school, looking for a prey.

Since most kids travelled together by school bus, Billu could not catch them. But Munnu usually rode his bicycle to school every day alone, so Billu was sure to catch him.

Just as he had anticipated, Munnu saw Billu standing by the side of the road, eyeing him greedily. Munnu pedalled as fast as he could and raced past him.

“That was close!” thought Munnu relieved.

However, on the way back from school, Billu was standing right in the middle of the road, blocking Munnu’s path.

“Munnu, my friend! How are you?” Billu greeted him with a sly smile.

“Oh no! I am done for! What will I do now?” Munnu wondered nervously.

Billu was stronger and faster than him, so there was no point in trying to run away.

“I have to stay calm and come up with an idea,” he thought.

At that moment, he remembered his teacher once telling him that when someone is angry, they lose their ability to think clearly. So, Munnu had an idea. He slowly got off his bicycle. “Getting ready to run away?” asked Billu, narrowing his gaze.

“Of course not! I am not scared of you. In fact, none of my friends find you scary,” Munnu taunted Billu.

Billu was taken aback. He did not expect Munnu to talk back confidently.

“Don’t my claws and teeth scare you?” Billu asked, flashing his razor-sharp teeth.

“They actually look funny!” laughed Munnu. “Moreover, I’ve seen the way you run. I can push my cycle along and walk home and still you won’t be able to catch me,” he taunted Billu, poking his tongue out at him.

“How dare you! I’ll teach you a lesson!” hissed Billu and ran towards Munnu.

This was the opportunity Munnu was waiting for. He pushed his cycle down and ran. Billu tripped on the cycle and fell down.

“Come on, Billu. Don’t sleep. I am waiting for you to catch me,” said Munnu, from a short distance ahead.

This made Billu angrier.

“Wait till I get my hands on you!” growled Billu. He got up and ran after Munnu.

Munnu continued to run. “What shall I do next?” he wondered while running as fast as he could.

Suddenly, Munnu spotted a deep pit, a few metres ahead of him. He had an idea. Instead of running around the pit, Munnu waited for Billu to catch up.

When Billu was just an arm’s length away Munnu swiftly stepped aside, revealing the pit before him. It was too late for Billu to stop. He fell into the pit.

Billu struggled to get out. “Please help me get out of here, Munnu. I promise not to trouble you anymore,” he cried.

Munnu wanted to walk away, but then, he remembered his mother’s words: “One must always help those in distress, irrespective of who they are.”

So, Munnu picked up a rope that was lying nearby, tied one end to a tree trunk and threw the other to Billu.

“Hold the rope and climb back up. I’m going home. Bye!” he waved Billu goodbye and ran home.

He was happy to have escaped unharmed.

Lazy Coco

Coco was a lazy bird who lived in Sunshine Woods. He would fool unsuspecting animals and get his work done. While some animals were aware of his ways and would stay clear of him, many fell prey to his tricks.

One day, a cyclone hit the forest. It rained heavily for days. Nobody could step out. All the animals were given a prior warning about the cyclone and were asked to stock food at home. But Coco hadn’t paid heed to the warning, so he was stuck in his nest without anything to eat.

After three days, it finally stopped raining. Coco flew out of his nest to look for some food. He was starving.

After searching for a few minutes, Coco decided it was too much effort to look for food. So, he went to meet his neighbour Becky, the cow.

“Hello, Becky! How are you?” asked Coco.

“I am okay. The cyclone was severe, wasn’t it?” said Becky.

“Yes. I was quite scared,” said Coco.

“I just met our neighbours. They were all terrified, too,” said Becky.

“I don’t care about them. I was talking about myself,” said Coco. “I haven’t eaten since the cyclone hit. I am very hungry.”

“Then what are you doing here? Hurry up, and go find some food before it starts to rain again,” said Becky.

“Where will I look for food in this slush? Why don’t you share your food with me?” suggested Coco.

“Sure. If you will eat grass, I’ll be happy to share some with you,” said Becky.

“I can’t eat grass! I’ll figure something else,” Coco said irritatedly and flew away.

“That lazy Coco always tries to reap the benefit of someone else’s hard work. He had enough time to stock food before the cyclone but he didn’t. And now he wants my food,” Becky said to herself.

Meanwhile, Coco was in search of someone who he could fool into giving him food. Just then, he saw Billy, the goat.

“Hello, Billy! How are you, my friend?” greeted Coco.

“I am doing great!” said Billy.

Coco was surprised. “Really? Didn’t you go hungry from being stuck at home for days?” he asked.

“Not at all. The moment they issued a warning about the cyclone, I collected enough food to last me for days and stored it at home,” said Billy.

You are very smart, Billy,” appreciated Coco. “But you have overlooked an important problem.”

“What problem?” asked Billy.

“When it rains, the moisture in the air increases. This moisture will spoil stored food,” said Coco.

“Oh! I didn’t know that!” said Billy.

“You need to check your food right away. I can help you if you like,” offered Coco.

“Thank you, Coco. That would be great. Please come along,” said Billy, leading the way to his house.

At Billy’s house, the two checked the sacks of food.

“This sack is full of worms,” said Coco, inspecting a sack of grains.

“Where? I can’t see anything,” said Billy.

“Your eyesight is weak, Billy. Trust me. I’ll clean this up for you,” said Coco, quickly gobbling down fistfuls of grains.

“What are you doing?” asked Billy shocked.

“Can’t you see? I am cleaning the grains,” said Coco.

“You’ve cleaned it enough. Give it back to me!” said Billy, snatching the sack from Coco. By then, Coco had emptied half of it.

“See? The grains have become clean,” said Coco.

“You think I don’t know what your plan is? You are lazy to find your own food, so you fooled me into giving you some. Why didn’t you just tell me so?” asked Billy.

“Where’s the fun in that? All you animals would have anyway stocked loads of food, so why should I take the effort to look for food,” replied Coco coolly.

“I should have listened to the other animals who warned me about you. Get out of my house, you sly bird!” said Billy angrily.

“Fine! Bye, Billy!” said Coco, flying away.

This time, it was Billy who had learnt a lesson about not trusting those who mean no good.

Dignity

You get dignity,

When you stop thinking wrong

When you do what you learn right

You can live dignified,

When you live a lifestyle that,

matches your vision.

You can get dignity

when you renounce the “ego of individuality”.

and rejoice ups and downs of life.

There is dignity,

when you have good thoughts,

in your heart and mind.

-Manasvi Mehra, 13 years

Gwalior

How to Make A Mosaic Photo Frame with CD

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Materials Required:

1. Mount Board
2. Pencil
3. Scale
4. Scissors
5. OHP Sheet
6. Glue
7. Old CD’s
8. Black Paint
9. Brush
10. Tape

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