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Bondhu Seeks His Own Identity

There was a donkey named Bondhu (meaning foolish). Bhondu was named aptly, as he would often behave foolishly. His favourite activity was to copy others. He knew nothing else. When he saw monkeys leap about he would copy them, although he would fall down and hurt himself. Seeing horses race he would try to run as fast as them. Even the passersby would laugh at his antics.

One morning, Bondhu was walking past a peepal tree. He heard Ginni, the cuckoo’s melodious voice coming from there. Her cooing was melodious.

“Wow, what a sweet song. I will also sing like her,” Bondhu thought to himself.

The next morning, Bondhu placed a chair in front of his house and began singing loudly. However, instead of cooing, he brayed hee-haw, hee-haw.

“Why is this happening?” he wondered. “I am trying to coo, but all that I can do is bray.” He was puzzled. He wanted to sound just like Ginni.

He met Ginni and asked, “Ginni, what does one do to sing like you?”

She replied, “You should learn to sing. A music teacher can teach you to sing well.”

He said, “So that’s what it is. I was thinking that I was incapable of singing. All I need is a teacher. I will learn and become a good singer.”

He soon found a teacher who taught several animals in the jungle. He sat with the others and learnt the basic musical notes. He went home and practised what he had learnt. However, his voice still sounded like a broken flute.

Bondhu thought for a long time. Finally, he remembered that his teacher had used a guitar while teaching them to sing. He realised that he was trying to sing without the guitar. He then sat down with his guitar and started singing again. His neighbour, the crow, screamed, “Grrr… I have been tolerating Bondhu’s harsh voice for so many days. I can’t tolerate it anymore.”

Unfortunately for Bondhu, all his neighbours nodded their heads in agreement and told Bondhu to stop disturbing them.

“I have to face so many insults I just want to learn to sing.” Bondhu’s face fell. How could he practice if everyone around was objecting to it. He was almost in tears.

Mittu, the parrot who was passing by, asked, “What happened, Bondhu? Why are you so sad?”

Bondhu narrated the recent developments to the parrot.

Mittu replied, “If you want to learn to sing; listen carefully to the songs you want to learn and sing along with them. Then you will become a singer. Have you heard me mimicing everyone?”

Bondhu’s eyes were shining in anticipation. He bought some music discs and began singing along with them. However, he was still out of tune. He began to sing loudly. Although he realised that he couldn’t hold a tune, he still continued singing. After some time, no sound emerged from his throat. It was very sore.

“Well, Bondhu, are you enjoying your singing?” asked Minni, the bird, who was sitting on a branch nearby.

He replied sadly, “Go ahead, make fun of me and laugh at my helplessness.”

“I am not making fun of you. I am laughing at your foolishness. You cannot imitate everything. Nature blesses all individuals with certain unique gifts. Try as much as you can, you cannot get them by copying others. Since our brains are different we speak different languages. We also grasp things differently and at different paces.

Thus, a cuckoo cannot speak the language of a crow, nor can a crow speak the language of a cuckoo. Therefore, instead of copying others find your own identity. Make a name for yourself,” Minni advised him in a kind tone.

Bondhu understood. He thought, “By trying to copy the cuckoo, I lost my voice.” “Although it’s a bit late, I can still change myself.”

“Better late than never,” thought Bondhu, and he went in search of developing his own identity.

Literary Voyage

A famous Danish philosopher, Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855), said once that we are what we eat. Similarly, the books we read become a part of us. Books have a wonderful way to take us to places we’ve never visited. They help us experience and understand how life goes on in other parts of the world. Several masterpieces of literature are still read and admired. We bring five much loved books, set in beautiful locations across the world. Get ready to explore.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt and his brother in a fictional town along the banks of the Mississipi River. His best friends are Huckleberry Finn and Joe Harper while Becky Thatcher is the schoolgirl Tom falls in love with. The book tells us about the adventures of Tom and his friends; where they solve a murder mystery, have lots of fun, crack jokes, and share laughter and tears together.

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Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Heidi is an orphan child who lives in Switzerland with her grandfather, hundreds of goats, and her best friend Peter. Their life in the Alps, in the pristine mountain is a wonderful one, until Heidi is forced to move to Frankfurt, Germany to keep company with Clara. The book compares two different environmental sets: the natural one versus the industrial. Heidi who has lived amidst nature is healthy, and full of life, whereas Clara is paralyzed and has a less bubbling personality.

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Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

The book narrates a fantastic adventure of a scientist- inventor, Phileas Fogg and his French valet called Passerpartout. Phileas places a bet that he can complete a journey around the world in just 80 days. Phileas and Passepartout travel from London to Italy to Suez and then further ahead to Mumbai, Kolkata, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York, and finally back to London. They face many challenges; they get separated, get robbed, they even manage to save an Indian lady, and finally they reach on time and win the bet.

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Madeline by Ludwig Behelmand

This is a series that shows the adventures of Madeline, set in Paris. The book always opens with the line: “In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines…”. Among these girls is Madeline. In the first book, Madeline gets an appendicitis operation. Brave Madeline is least bothered about it. For her, a trip to the hospital is an adventure.

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The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

Most of Ruskin Bond’s books are influenced by his childhood spent in hill stations at the foothills of Himalaya. One such book is about a little girl, Binya, who trades her necklace for a pretty blue umbrella. Everyone loves her blue umbrella, much to the envy of the shopkeeper from whom she had traded it. Ultimately the shopkeeper convinces Binya to trade back the umbrella for her necklace.

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Jojo’s Junk Food Problem

“Young Jojo, the elephant was excited as he had been invited for his friend’s birthday party.

“It is Ronny’s birthday on Sunday. He is organising a pool party. We’re going to have a blast!” he said to his mother.

“Did you say, Sunday?” asked his mother, flapping her large ears.

“Yes. He says that there will be delicious food and lots of games,” said Jojo, now facing his mother.

“Jojo, I am sorry, but we may not be able to go,” said his mother. “Sunday is the Forest Elephant Day. I want you to come along. You’ll get to meet all your distant relatives and cousins.”

“No, mommy. I don’t want to go for that,” said Jojo, extending his trunk to touch his mother’s. “I cannot miss Ronny’s party. Please!” he said, making a cute face.

“The celebrations will be fun, Jojo. All the animals will assemble at the main ground. There will be a speech by our lion king praising the efforts elephants take to protect the forest. There will be delicious food,” said Jojo’s mother, trying to convince him.

“What food?” questioned Jojo, twitching his trunk.

“They will have watermelons, musk melons, pineapples, bananas of all varieties and jack fruits. Isn’t that great?” mother tried to impress Jojo.

“Oh, mommy!” said Jojo, rolling his eyes. “That is the food we eat every day. Such dull and unattractive food!” he said with a slight snort.

His mother was silent for a second. She then asked, “What is the menu at Ronny’s pool party?”

“He has ordered pizzas, burgers, wafers, noodles, and French-fries. There will be lots of cola drinks, too!” answered Jojo. “I’ll have a few bottles of cola once I reach Ronny’s house. Then I’ll have some after the cake-cutting. Then, I’ll have more while playing and finally, some more bottles of cola before leaving the party,” he rattled off in excitement.

“You know what you call this menu?” asked Jojo’s mother concerned. “It’s called JUNK! And junk food is not good for your health. By the way, what do they have for dessert?”

“Fruit salad,” replied Jojo, in a sad tone.

Jojo realised that his mother would not allow him to eat junk food.

His mother sensed that Jojo was sad. So, to lighten the mood, she asked him, “Didn’t you mention games? What games are you going to play at the party?”

Jojo immediately brightened up and replied, “We’ve planned a swimming competition. Then, there’ll be a throw ball competition and finally, a card game.”

“The games sound interesting,” said his mother, trying to cheer him up. “But avoid eating junk food. You can attend the pool party and then rush to the main ground to join me for the buffet.”

Jojo was happy that mother allowed him to attend the pool party.

Finally, Sunday arrived. Jojo and his mother got ready and left for their respective events.

Jojo and his friends had a great time at the pool party. Though mother advised him to avoid junk food, the temptation was too much for Jojo to resist.

“Mommy won’t find out. I’ll eat some fruits at the elephant festival. That way mommy will not doubt me,” he thought to himself.

Following the competitions, Ronny was declared the fastest swimmer, while Jojo was judged the best player in throw ball. Jojo was given a big bottle of cola as a prize. He was elated.

After the party, Jojo rushed home to hide his prize and then went to the main ground to join his mother for the Elephant Day celebration.

By the time Jojo reached the main ground, the celebration was in full swing. King Leo was thanking all the elephants for their role in maintaining the forest’s ecosystem. After his speech, the animals proceeded to the buffet.

All kinds of fruits were piled up to form big mountain-like structures.

Jojo’s mother carried a big watermelon and dropped it on the ground before him. But Jojo could hardly eat. His tummy was already full.

“If I eat even one more bite, I will puke,” he thought to himself.

“Why aren’t you eating?” asked Jojo’s mother concerned.

“I’m very tired, mommy. I just want to sleep,” said Jojo.

His mother quickly bid all her friends goodbye and walked home with Jojo. By this time, Jojo was already going through a terrible tummy ache. His stomach was rumbling quite loudly.

“I can hear your tummy, Jojo,” said his mother. “I’ll get you something to eat.”

“It is okay, mommy,” said Jojo, looking down. He could not face his mother as he had lied. He also realised how concerned his mother was regarding his well-being.

“It’s not okay,” said Jojo’s mother, leading him to the stream. “Drink some water. You’ll feel better.”

His mother was right. Jojo felt better after drinking the cool water from the stream.

Once they reached home, both of them went to bed. Jojo’s mother fell asleep almost immediately. But Jojo woke up and walked silently to the spot where he had hidden the cola bottle.

Jojo carried the bottle out and dumped it in a garbage bin. The bottle was gone and so were Jojo’s guilt and weakness for junk food!

A Cause for Celebration

It was a big day in the Arabian Sea. All the fishes were travelling towards the Sea Palace. It was the birthday of their princess, Julia, the mermaid.

Mermaids look different from ordinary fishes. A mermaid’s upper body is human and her lower half is a fish.

A grand birthday party was organised at the palace for which all the fishes were invited. Among the invitees at Princess Julia’s birthday party were the whales, sharks, lionfishes, jellyfishes, octopuses and the three-legged fish.

They all made their way to the palace carrying gifts.

The palace lawn had the food stalls. The menu included sushi, soups, noodles and stir-fried chicken. Besides, they had Asian bamboo rice, butter chicken, kebabs, Korean vegetable dumplings, and fruit ice cream.

The guests were enjoying the delicious food and the pastry.

A stage had been set up where several young fishes were performing a variety of dances including step-dance, hip-hop, salsa.

Another big stage was set up at the centre of the palace. It was beautifully decorated with glittering garlands, balloons, flowers and glowing stars.

On the stage was a large seven-tiered chocolate cake.

Princess Julia, wearing a beautiful blue gown and a diamond crown, arrived on the stage along with her friends. The guests welcomed her with a loud applause.

As Julia cut the cake, the guests sang, “Happy birthday to you, Julia!” Princess Julia was overjoyed.

Everyone was having fun at the party when suddenly, a dolphin whistled loudly. The other dolphins too followed suit.

Dolphins can make different kinds of sounds to convey different messages. The other guest at the party knew the sound that the dolphins were making now meant there was danger nearby. When the guests asked them, one of the dolphins said, “A big fishing vessel is on the way to catch us!”

All the fishes panicked. They started running helter-skelter but a blue whale stopped them.

“Do not panic! The humans don’t know that if I get angry, I can topple the whole ship!” said the blue whale. “I am after all the largest animal known to have ever existed—I am four times larger than a large dinosaur and weigh several tonnes more. Please carry on with the party while I go and teach those fishermen a lesson.”

“Please do not harm them. Just scare them away,” said Princess Julia.

The blue whale left the party accompanied by a large shark. When the two returned after a while, everyone eagerly gathered around them to find out what had actully happened.

When the blue whale and the shark opened their jaws, four fishermen with diving gear and spears came out of them. They looked terrified.

All the guests were shocked!

“Princess Julia, we should thank the dolphins for warning us in advance otherwise all of us would have been trapped in their net. These humans had come prepared to catch even the largest of fishes. They had large nets and spears with them,” said the blue whale.

“We must punish them severely for this, Princess Julia,” said the shark.

“Yes, we must punish them!” the other fishes agreed.

The fishermen trembled at the sight of all the angry fishes. They turned to Princess Julia and begged for forgiveness.

“We will never come here again. Please don’t punish us,” the fishermen pleaded.

Princess Julia felt sympathetic towards the fishermen.

“Today is a day of happiness. Let’s not punish these men. Let’s forgive them and include them in our celebrations so that they too can share our happiness,” said Princess Julia.

All the fishes were pleased with the princess’s decision.

“That’s how a princess ought to be!” they applauded her.

Pritam Wears An Umbrella

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.

The Special Treatment

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.

A Fearful Lesson

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.

Baddy Reforms Himself

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’s Adventure

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.

Holi in the Forest

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.

Holi in Champakvan

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.

Happy Holi!

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.

Holi for All

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 becomes Colourful

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’s Painting

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!

Unique Colours

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.

A COSTLY MISTAKE

Aditya was upset. His aunt, who he was close to, had just phoned him to inform that she would not be coming over during the summer vacation because some important work had come up.

Later that day, when Anju, the laundryman’s daughter, came to deliver the ironed clothes, she saw Aditya looking glum.

“What happened, Aditya? Are you unwell?” asked Anju.

“I am alright, Anju didi. I am just sad that my aunt, Reema won’t be coming over to stay with us during the summer holidays. I was really looking forward to her visit. She said she would teach me how to make toys with paper. We had also planned a short trip to Shimla,” said Aditya.

“That’s sad. In such cases, I have a way to make my wishes come true and it always works!” said Anju.

“What do you do?” asked Aditya, perking up.

“It’s a secret,” said Anju.

“Oh, please share your secret with me, Anju didi. I want my aunt to come as soon as possible!” Aditya pleaded.

“Okay, but you should not share it with anyone else,” said Anju.

“I surely won’t!” Aditya assured her.

“Okay. So, all you have to do is stand under a peepal tree at midnight, light a lamp and make your wish. It will come true,” said Anju.

“Who told you this?” asked Aditya.

“My grandma. She has a solution for everything,” said Anju proudly.

“I could try it but there’s just one problem: How will I step out of my house so late in the night without being accompanied by an adult?” asked Aditya.

Anju thought about it and then said, “I am older to you! I can accompany you.”

“Thank you, Anju didi!” said Aditya elated.

“You are my friend and you share all your toys with me. This is the least I can do for you. I will also bring the lamp,” said Anju.

“But didi, where will we find a peepal tree?” asked Aditya.

“Do you know the sweetshop at the junction? There is a peepal tree behind it,” said Anju promptly.

“Isn’t that a bit far?” wondered Aditya.

“So what? If you want your aunt to come, you will have to do it. I will meet you outside your house tonight and take you there,” said Anju.

“Okay. I will come out by 11.30 p.m. and meet you near the gate,” said Aditya.

That night, after his parents had gone to sleep, Aditya came out of his house and saw Anju standing by the gate. Together they walked to the peepal tree.

When they reached the peepal tree, Anju handed over the lamp to Aditya. Just when he was about to light it, a dog walked towards them barking.

Nitin’s Painting

Aditya got scared on seeing the dog and started to run. The dog ran after him, and Anju ran behind the dog. The dog caught up with Aditya and pulled his pants, because of which he fell down hard.

After sniffing around and realising that Aditya did not have any food, the dog walked away.

When Anju reached, she saw Aditya crying. Assuming that he had been bitten by the dog, Anju ran to inform his parents.

Aditya’s parents were surprised when they heard what happened. They immediately rushed him to the hospital.

Aditya woke up the next day at the hospital and saw his aunt standing next to his bed.

“Aunt Reema!” exclaimed Aditya. “How come you are here? I didn’t light the lamp under the peepal tree.”

“Peepal tree? Lamp? What are you talking about?” asked Aunt Reema puzzled.

After Aditya narrated the entire incident, Reema laughed. “Aditya, when did you start believing in such superstitions? And why didn’t you just call me if you wanted me to come?” she asked.

“Anju didi said her wishes always came true whenever she lit a lamp under the peepal tree at midnight. So, I wanted to try it too,” replied Aditya sheepishly.

“Now, because of these superstitions, look what happened—you have fractured your hand and will have to take rest for at least two weeks,” said Aunt Reema.

“But how did you come?” asked Aditya.

“It was anyway my plan. I had informed your parents, but I told them not to tell you because I wanted to give you a surprise,” said Reema.

Aditya felt foolish. His aunt was here but he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the time with her because of his fracture.

“No more silly superstitions for me!” Aditya resolved.

THE GULAB JAMUN GHOST

“Hi, Jumpy. Could you give me a kilo of gulab jamuns please?” Dina deer asked Jumpy monkey, who owned a sweet shop in Champakvan.

“Right away!” said Jumpy and turned around to get some. He was shocked to find the tray of gulab jamuns almost empty!

Earlier during the day, when Jumpy had packed some gulab jamuns for a customer, the tray was full. Jumpy was perplexed.

“This is strange. Where did the gulab jamuns go?” Jumpy thought to himself.

“What happened, Jumpy? Something seems to be bothering you,” said Dina.

“Yes, Dina. For the last two days, my gulab jamuns have been mysteriously disappearing,” said Jumpy.

“Am sure while you were away, a few naughty kids would have stolen it. There’s no mystery to it,” said Dina.

“No. For the last two days, I have not stepped out for even a minute. That’s why I am puzzled. I have a feeling that it’s the working of a ghost,” said Jumpy nervously.

Dina got scared at the mention of the word “ghost”. She ran away hastily.

Jumpy mentioned about a ghost stealing his gulab jamuns to other customers as well and the news spread like wildfire through the forest. Everyone became convinced that it was indeed a ghost that was stealing the gulab jamuns. Out of fear, they all stopped going to Jumpy’s shop.

Jumpy was sad. Not only was there a ghost visiting his shop, his business was also getting affected. He discussed the situation with his friend Meeku mouse.

After Jumpy narrated the entire incident, Meeku said, “Don’t be silly, Jumpy. There’s no ghost! You are just imagining things.”

This annoyed Jumpy. “If there’s no ghost, then are my gulab jamuns magically disappearing into thin air?” he fumed.

“Calm down, Jumpy. Getting angry won’t solve your problem. We need to look at all possibilities,” said Meeku. He thought for a while and said, “Tomorrow, I will come along with you to the shop and try to find out about the missing gulab jamuns.”

“Sorry, I got angry, Meeku. I am frustrated. Please help me solve this problem, or else I will have to shut my shop,” said Jumpy.

Next day, Meeku and Jumpy went to the shop. The two ended up sitting idly the entire day as only two customers turned up. Yet, by the end of the day, they found that the gulab jamuns had disappeared.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough. I can’t run a business with a ghost trying to ruin it. I am going to sell this shop,” said Jumpy.

“Don’t do that, Jumpy. It is not a ghost; ghosts don’t exist. Just give me a day’s time and I will solve your problem,” said Meeku.

Jumpy agreed. The next day, the two of them went to the shop again. But this time, instead of sitting by the counter, Meeku hid behind the shelf from where he could see the tray of gulab jamuns.

Around afternoon, when Jumpy was falling asleep at his counter, Meeku saw a trunk enter the window and grab a few gulab jamuns. Meeku smiled. He now knew who the “ghost” was.

Later, Meeku woke Jumpy up to tell him about the “ghost” and shared an idea with him.

Jumpy laughed and said, “This will teach him a lesson.”

The following afternoon, Jumpy dozed off at his counter as usual, while Meeku hid behind the shelf. Just as they had anticipated, the trunk came in through the window and grabbed the gulab jamuns. Within a few seconds…

Acchhooo! Acchhooo!

Jumpy and Meeku rushed outside. There, they saw Jumbo elephant sneezing violently. His face was red and his eyes were watering. “Thanks to the pepper you added in the gulab jamuns, your ghost has been caught red-handed,” said Meeku.

“You mean red-trunked?” joked Jumpy.

Hearing the loud sneezes, other animals gathered too. Meeku and Jumpy felt sorry for Jumbo. They gave him some water and sweets. After Jumbo recovered from the bout of sneezes, he grinned at his friends sheepishly.

“I am sorry. I was advised by the doctor to not have too many sweets. Since Jumpy knows about it, I knew he wouldn’t let me have any. And how much ever I try, I can’t keep off my favourite gulab jamuns from Jumpy’s shop—they are so delicious,” explained Jumbo

Everyone had a good laugh.

THE PROMISE OF FRIENDSHIP

Sunny was a rich sheep who owned several farms. Everyone in the forest was in awe of his wealth. Some were even jealous of his success.

One night, when Sunny was on his way home, he saw a monkey tired and shivering in the cold.

When Sunny enquired about him, the monkey replied, “My name is Monty. I belong to the neighbouring jungle.

My home was destroyed in a forest fire. I managed to escape and arrived here. I would be grateful if you could give me a place to sleep tonight. I will leave first thing in the morning,” said Monty.

“Don’t worry. You can stay with me in my farm,” said Sunny

Sunny took Monty to his farm and served him dinner. Monty ate happily and went to bed.

When Sunny woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see all the chores done—the hedge was trimmed, the weeds were removed and the crops were watered. He realised that it was Monty who had done it all.

“Good morning, Sunny,” Monty greeted him cheerfully. “Thank you for allowing me to sleep in your farm. I will leave now.”

“No, wait!” Sunny stopped him. “Where will you go? Do you have friends or relatives here? It will be a while until your forest grows back.”

“No, I don’t know anyone here. But I will figure out something. I will find a job and then rent a place,” said Monty.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you work with me? I need someone to help me manage my farms. And you can stay at my farm,” said Sunny.

Monty was elated! He immediately agreed. That day on, Monty started to work at Sunny’s farm.

One evening, as Monty was returning from the farm, he heard someone call out to him. It was Ray, the rhino.

“Hey, Monty! We hardly see you around,” said Ray.

“That’s because the work at the farm is keeping me busy,” said Monty.

“You, poor thing. You work so hard and yet Sunny does not trust you,” said Ray.

“Why do you say that?” asked Monty.

“Sunny only gives you work to do around the farm. He does not let you handle the money,” said Ray.

“Yes. He is taking advantage of you,” said Harry, the horse, joining them.

“By the way, what are you doing now? We were planning to get together and gossip. Why don’t you join us too?” said Ray.

Monty hesitated at first, but agreed after Monty and Harry insisted.

“You stay in Sunny’s farm, right?” asked Krokie, the crocodile, who joined them.

Monty nodded.

“Let me be straightforward with you. We don’t like Sunny. He is arrogant and looks down on everyone. He has even insulted us many times,” said Krokie.

“We want to teach him a lesson and we need your help. We have a plan. If we succeed, we can send Sunny to jail and enjoy his wealth,” said Harry.

“I will surely help you! Like you have rightly pointed out, he is indeed taking advantage of me. Tell me what to do?” said Monty.

“Glad to know you are with us!” said Ray.

Krokie then handed a packet to Monty and said, “All you have to do is keep this packet in Sunny’s farm and we will take care of the rest. But make sure Sunny doesn’t see you.”

That evening, Monty placed the packet in a tree in Sunny’s farm and informed Ray and the others about it. The following afternoon, Sunny was surprised to see the police at his farm.

“We have received information that you have stolen King Leo’s jewellery. We need to search your farm,” said Inspector Freddy, the fox.

The police found the stolen jewellery in Sunny’s farm. Freddy handcuffed Sunny and took him to the police station. Everyone in the forest was shocked, except Ray, Harry and Krokie who secretly cheered.

That night, the three went over to the farm to celebrate with Monty.

“Monty, you did a great job. As a reward, we want to give you the biggest share in our loot,” said Krokie, opening his bag.

“All the jewellery in this bag has been stolen from different farms in this forest. Let’s divide these among ourselves,” said Harry. “And tomorrow, let’s divide Sunny’s valuables!” he laughed.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, taking them by surprise. Ray, Harry and Krokie were shocked to see Inspector Freddy and Sunny walk in.

“Surprised?” asked Monty smiling. “The moment you revealed to me that you wanted to take revenge on Sunny, I came up with a plan to get you three caught red handed. Inspector Freddy and Sunny were also in on the plan,” explained Monty.

“But you said Sunny was taking advantage of you!” said Ray disbelievingly.

“I lied to you. Sunny has been a true friend to me. He helped me out when I had nothing or knew no one. I would never break my friend’s trust,” said Monty.

Inspector Freddy arrested the three crooks.

Sunny hugged Monty and said, “Thank you, Monty! You are indeed a true friend.”

STANDING UP TO THE BULLIES

Run! Run!” screamed Dima, the deer, running past a group of animals.

“Why? What happened?” asked Hiro, the hippo, who was new to the forest.

“The elephants must be on the rampage again!” said Ginku, the giraffe, starting to run. “You better run too. You don’t want to be standing in the path of a big herd of elephants that is out to create mischief.”

Within seconds, the entire forest wore a deserted look—all the animals had either hidden themselves or run away.

The moles and rabbits went into their burrows, the monkeys and squirrels moved to the top-most braches of the trees and the other animals ran to the far edges of the forest.

King Sheru, the lion was among the first to run away!

In the jungle of Sonavan, every afternoon, the elephants ran to the river, unmindful of the havoc they created along the way.

At the river, too, they did not allow any other animal near while they bathed or played. If any animal dared to question them, they would toss them away with their trunk or splash water on them.

Though the animals were getting increasingly frustrated with the elephants’ behaviour, they kept away from them for fear of getting hurt.

One day, all the monkeys gathered to discuss the problem.

“These elephants need to be taught a lesson. They have ruined the forest,” said one of the monkeys.

“Yes. We are scared to even send our kids out to play,” said a mother monkey.

“We have tried talking to them and explaining to them politely, but they do not seem to listen. Even King Sheru is powerless against them,” said another.

Then, Manu, the leader of the monkeys, spoke up. “Talking won’t work anymore. We need to use our strength against these bullies. I have a plan,” he said.

All the monkeys listened intently.

“Tomorrow, before the elephants start for the river, let’s dig pits along the path and cover them with leaves. When the elephants run through the forest blindly, they will fall into the pits and be trapped,” said Manu.

“But how will small animals like ourselves dig pits large enough to trap a herd of elephants?” asked one of the monkeys.

“Our strength lies in our number. When all of us get together to do the job, it will become easier,” explained Manu.

Next day, the monkeys began digging the pits early in the morning. When the other animals found out what they were up to, they too joined in and helped dig the pits.

That afternoon, when the herd of elephants charged through the forest, the animals went to their usual hiding spots. They saw the elephants fall into the pits one after the other. After struggling for a while to get out, the elephants finally gave up.

Manu came down from the tree and said to them, “We will help you get out, but only if you promise not to trouble us anymore. You must not come back to this part of the forest again.”

“Please help us! We promise to stay on the other side of the river and not trouble you anymore,” the elephants assured him.

All the animals got together to pull the elephants out using a strong rope. As soon as the elephants got out, they ran to the other side of the river.

Everyone celebrated the victory. The monkeys were hailed for their idea. King Sheru, too, congratulated them.

“You have saved the forest from the rowdy elephants. We are proud of you,” said Sheru.

“It wasn’t just us; all of us united to beat the bullies. So, we all deserve to be congratulated,” said Manu.

Mountain Exercise

Fatty bear was very sad because he was fat. He loved eating food because of which his weight kept increasing, even though he tried to control his eating habits.

The gym trainer Sam told him to join the gym, but Fatty did not want to.

Fatty said, “They will make me do difficult exercises in the gym, and there is a restriction on the food. The gym is also expensive for me.”

Fatty thought for a while and came up with an idea. “There is a mountain in front of my house. There is fresh grass on it on which I love to roll. I will climb the mountain to roll on the grass and this will help me lose weight.”

But there was a problem. The mountain’s slope was steep that made it difficult to climb it.

Fatty called his friend Gaplu deer who said, “Try and climb the mountain from the other side. It is flatter and easier to climb from there and then you can roll on the grass as much as you like.”

Fatty waited for a sunny day and then walked to the back of the mountain. Before climbing it, he looked at his body and said, “Hello my body weight. The time has come to say bye-bye to you.”

Soon, he was climbing the mountain, and though it was less steep here, he was breathless. But he climbed to the top of the mountain and from the top he could see the fresh green grass and his beautiful house.

His body was shaking with excitement.

He lay down and started to roll on the grass. In his excitement he forgot the slope was steeper on this side of the mountain. As he rolled down, his body picked up speed and soon he was rolling down the mountain like cannon ball. He tried to stop himself with his legs and hands but could not.

Finally, he reached the bottom of the mountain near his home. Luckily, the grass all along had been soft and fresh, so Fatty was not injured badly but his whole body was sore and he was crying.

Hearing his groans, his parents came out and on seeing him covered in grass and mud, they were shocked.

Fatty’s parents asked, “What happened to you Fatty?”

Heaving and weeping Fatty said, “I came rolling down from the top of the mountain. Oh mom! My back is completely sore and is hurting badly.”

Fatty’s father asked him, “How did you climb the mountain? It is such a steep climb.”

Poor Fatty could not give any answer.

Sam was coming that way and overheard Fatty’s father. “I will tell you about this. Fatty had climbed the mountain to lose his weight, but unfortunately, because of the steep slope he got hurt. He was scared to go to the gym and wanted to save on money. But what he has done is more remarkable.”

Poor fatty was in pain and was sweating

His mother patted and his father soothed him.

Fatty said, “I am saying bye bye to this mountain exercise. I will come and join your gym or run in the park and eat healthy to lose weight.”

Soon Fatty became better and joined the gym. The other animals who exercised with him teased him and said, “You are most welcome to the gym but do tell us about your mountain experience. Did you enjoy rolling down the mountains?”

Everyone including him, laughed at his mountain exercise.

THE BIRTHDAY GIFT

Boxy cat was very happy today. It was his birthday and everyone who met him, wished him as they passed by. Though naughty by nature, Boxy was an innocent and sincere cat. He would always lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

“Happy birthday, Boxy. You are looking quite handsome today, buddy!” said Mangu jackal as he wished Boxy.

“Hello Boxy, wish you a very happy birthday!” shouted Gappu elephant who was carrying a big bunch of bananas in his trunk.

Thank you Gappu. But why did you take so much trouble for me?” said Boxy.

“Wish you a very very happy birthday, brother Boxy,” said Golu bear as he entered.

“Hey Golu, how did you know that today is my birthday?” asked Boxy.

“Boxy, all the animals in the forest are aware about it. It’s the birthday of the most unlikely friends, Mini mouse and Boxy cat.”

Hearing that, there was big smile on Boxy’s face.

“Boxy!” he suddenly heard his mother calling his name and rushed home.

“Your father has been searching for you since a long time. He is planning a special dish for your birthday party,” she said.

“Mother, please tell me, what dish is father cooking for me?” asked Boxy.

“I, too, don’t know son, but he was sure that you will definitely like it.”

“Okay mother, then I will just go and meet my best friend. Today is her birthday too,” said Boxy.

“Who is your new best friend, son?” asked his mother.

“Not now mother. I will give you a surprise by introducing her to you in the evening,” answered Boxy as he raced towards Mini’s house.

Mini mouse lived with her parents, brother and sister on the banks of the river.

She was waiting for Boxy to come. Both of them let out squeals of excitement on seeing each other.

“Happy birthday to you!” “Happy birthday to you!” they both said to each other.

Mini hugged Boxy and said, “Come, mother and father are waiting for you since morning. Mother has made your favourite sweets.”

Happy birthday Boxy! Both of you are celebrating your birthday today. May you both remain together forever,” said Mini’s mother to both of them.

“Thank you aunty. You are so nice. You have made my favourite sweets too! Hey Mini, now let’s play outside,” said Boxy after eating and they rushed outside to play. They were so lost in playing that they did not realise that it was past afternoon now.

Boxy told Mini, “Hey buddy, I am getting late. My father must be waiting for me. He is making a special dish for me. You must come home in the evening. We will have a lot of fun.”

Saying so, Boxy ran in the direction of his house. Boxy thought he would be scolded for coming late but his father cuddled him lovingly.

“Father, what is the special dish that you have cooked for me? Please tell me. I have invited all my friends to come home today.”

“It is a surprise for you, Boxy. You will miss the fun if I tell you about it. Your mother also does not know about it. Go and play with your friends. I still have to make a lot of arrangements for your birthday party,” said his father.

Both his parents started discussing about the arrangements to be done for the party.

Boxy left them alone and went into the kitchen to drink milk. As he came out, he overheard his father talking.

“I am thinking of hunting down the plump and healthy mouse family living near the bank of the river for Boxy. I have heard that someone in their family too is celebrating their birthday today. I have even traced a secret way to enter their hole.”

Boxy was astonished to hear his father say so. His father was about to hunt down his best friend’s family!

Boxy thought about it for a while. He then asked his mother’s permission to go out and ran towards Mini’s house. He told everything to Mini and her parents. He told them to be careful and asked for their forgiveness.

“You are facing all these problems because of me. Alas! If only I could help you!” he said.

Mini’s mother hugged him and said he had done his best and should not worry.

Boxy was sad after coming home. He went and sat in a corner of the house.

Seeing him like this, father asked, “What’s the matter, Boxy? Why are you so sad? You were so excited a while ago.”

Boxy didn’t answer him.

When his father questioned him again, Boxy mustered courage and asked, “Father, how much do you love me?”

His father said, “I love you more than my life.”

“Father, today is my birthday. How would you feel if something happens to me today?” he asked.

Boxy’s mother stepped in at this moment and said, “You should not say such things. We won’t be able to bear it if something happened to you.”

Boxy said, “Then I want you to promise me something.”

Boxy’s father thought for a while and smiled and said, “Tell me, what do you want?”

Hearing his father say so, Boxy had tears rolling down his eyes.

Boxy said, “The family that lives near the river is my best friend, Mini mouse’s family. I don’t want a birthday gift in return for this promise. Mini is my best friend. I will feel lonely without her. Please father, don’t hurt her or her family.”

Boxy’s parents were happy to see this love of Boxy for his friend, Mini and her family.

Boxy’s father promised he will not ever harm them.

He said, “Now go. Run to your friend Mini’s house and tell her to come here along with her family and friends. We will celebrate both your birthday. Every person has the right to live happily and enjoy his freedom.”

Both of them celebrated their birthday together with a lot of noise and happiness.

The Race Contender

Golu Deer always kept his eyes on the racing ground. He had been fond of racing since his childhood, but unfortunately his right leg was of no use due to a problem since birth.

Despite his lameness, he so loved racing that when the racing ground would be empty in the evening, he would run with his three good legs. Nobody would notice in the dark of the night that somebody was running alone.

When he was very young, he had been disheartened with the fact that he couldn’t participate in a race due to his crippled leg. Even though everybody was sympathetic towards him, he didn’t feel happy. Watching animals like the horse, deer and rabbit running, his deepest desire would surface up, but then he couldn’t do anything.

But how long can one live in dejection? Everybody has a right to happiness and hope. Golu had to find his happiness despite his disability, which he did. He targeted on not winning any racing competition but on enjoying the feeling of running. He didn’t want to feel sorry for himself; he rather just wanted to run in the playground. So he would run in the ground for hours when nobody would be there. Initially he did face some problems, but then he began enjoying running with his three legs as much as any pro athlete. Though Golu had now gained the expertise for running, he couldn’t take part in any competition. However, he was fine with his life. He had been able to fulfil the expectations he had from himself to a certain extent. He was satisfied and content.

A huge crowd had gathered in the ground since morning. “Bholu, is some race getting held again?’ Golu asked his friend Bholu Deer.

“Golu, don’t you know? Selections are on for the London Olympic. Their team has arrived in our jungle too. All the horses and deer have been practicing for months for this only!”

Hearing these words, Golu felt his desire of running in a competition surging up, but then he checked himself.

Nonetheless, he got worried thinking that now the ground won’t be available for him to run.

“When will the race start?” Golu asked.

“The race will start from tomorrow morning and it will be a day and night thing then,” Bholu replied.

“Let me not miss this opportunity of running tonight. I don’t know for how many days the ground will be occupied then,” Golu said to himself.

By evening the entire ground had become empty. Like every day, Golu began his running when he felt that nobody would watch him now. He ran for a longer time than usual. Then thinking that his mother would get worried for him, he decided to go back home.

“Wait.” He heard a voice when he was about to leave. He turned to find himself looking at a stranger.

“What were you doing now? Are you a contender for the race? Were you practicing?” he asked.

“No, I am Golu. I cannot take part in the race because my right leg is crippled,” Golu told everything about himself to the stranger. “I run here daily because I cannot live without it. It is my passion.”

“Do you know who I am? I am the judge of this race. Athletes selected by me only will go ahead. Why don’t you participate in the race? You are very good at running,” the judge said.

“But I have already told you about my problem.”

“So what if one of your legs doesn’t work? Still you are a good runner. We require skilled athletes like you only. You can definitely take part in Paralympics,” The judge told Golu.

“Paralympics?”

“Yes, Paralympics is the race for those who have some physical disability. You run like a champion athlete. You will be easily able to win the Paralympics,” The judge explained.

“But I have never participated in a race. Will I be a good enough contender in comparison to others?” Golu was still hesitant.

Why are you getting nervous? Your hard work, dedication and confidence are enough for you to win. You must have gone through many depressing situations since your childhood, but your enthusiasm helped you overcome all the obstacles. You kept practicing without even participating. Despite your disability, you have your dreams and the zeal to fulfil them. Then why won’t you win? You are an example to others. I am confident that you will definitely win. Now I don’t want to hear anything from you. Come with me, I’ll write your name in the list.”

Hearing Judge Uncle’s encouraging words, Golu’s eyes moistened with tears. The next moment he was walking with Judge Uncle towards the sports office.

The Problem in Champakvan

In the forest of Champakvan, Jumpy, the monkey, Damru, the donkey, Jumbo, the elephant and Meeku, the mouse lived in peace and harmony. They played together, studied together and were the best of friends.

Another animal who had made Champakvan his home was Baddy, the fox. He hated the friendship the other animals had between them and was always trying to break them up. He was jealous of their friendship and deep down inside wanted to be their friend too.

One morning, as he was reading the papers, Baddy got an idea. It was the perfect plan to break up Jumpy and the others. As he looked up from his paper, he saw that Jumbo happened to be out on one of his walks. Baddy put on his running shoes and ran up to him.

He made some small talk with him, asking him about the weather and how his parents were doing before jumping into his plan. “You know what? Meeku said something the other day and I really felt bad for you,” said Baddy.

“Why? What did he say?” asked Jumbo.

“He said that the animals of Champakvan were dumb and the only reason they’re together was because it would take their collective brain powers to get things done. He also said that you were the dumbest among all the animals,” said Baddy.

Jumbo turned red with rage. “If he thinks he’s so smart, why does he ask me to help him with all the heavy lifting? Why doesn’t he do it himself?” Jumbo said and stormed off.

Baddy was ecstatic. His plan was finally working. But, he wasn’t done yet and decided to meet a few of the other animals. He next went to Jumpy’s house and met him as he came back from school.

“Congratulations, Jumpy. heard that you came first in class. Damru seems to be quite the tutor,” said Baddy.

“Damru didn’t teach me. Meeku did,” said Jumpy.

“Really? Well in that case you should also know that he told me that if it wasn’t for him you would have barely passed and that you’re as dumb as a stump,said Baddy.

“That’s no good donkey! If it wasn’t for me and all the notes I share with him, he wouldn’t have passed. And to think, he’s got the gall to say such things about me!” said Jumpy and stormed into his house.

Baddy had never been happier. His plan was working perfectly and soon, none of the animals were speaking anymore.

Seeing that the animals of Champakvan were no longer friends anymore, the king, Shersingh, grew worried. He called his minister, Cheeku, the rabbit, and asked him to find a solution to this problem.

Cheeku was very bright and he immediately spoke to each and every animals of the forest individually. Through his interviews he learnt their reason for not being friendly and also learnt that Baddy has been behind all this.

Cheeku then came up with the perfect plan to get the animals of the forest back together. He announced that there would be a competition and all the animals were to participate. The competition would involve various activities, for which the winner would be awarded points.

The animal with the most number of points would be the winner.

All the animals of the forest readily participated. After all, they had to prove to the others that they were better.

The activities kicked off and the first was a tree climbing event. The first one to climb up a tree and back down would be the winner. Jumpy quickly completed the activity and was announced the winner.

The next activity involved moving a huge boulder, which Jumbo won with ease. The other activities were won, one by one, by a different animal.

Soon, the event was over the it was time to announce the winner.

Cheeku announced that all the animals had been awarded the same number of points because they had each won a event that they were each good at. The animals realised that they were all equal. Each person had something of worth and each person is important and special in their own way.

Cheeku said, “It is to get you all to understand this point that I organised this competition.

Friends, I also know why you have been fighting all this while. Someone has been saying mean things about you behind your backs to others and creating rifts between you.”

As Cheeku was about to point to him, Baddy decided to slip away unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, Cheeku stopped him and asked him to admit that he was the one behind the fights or face Shersingh’s punishment.

Fearing being sent to jail, Baddy confessed and apologized to all the animals for trying to break them up. He promised not to do it again and promised to always help.

Cheeku realized that the reason Baddy did all this was because he had no close friends of his own, and he felt angry towards the other animals. In the contest, everyone had seen how good Baddy was at running, and soon, some other animals wanted to be his friend as well.

Thus, with Cheeku’s intelligence, the whole forest was back together again, and they even forgave Baddy and included him in their group.

Bholu’s Invention

There was once a beautiful forest called Haritvan. In Haritvan lived Tinku, the monkey. Tinku was a prankster and nobody really liked him. His favorite pastime was to climb up a mango or a jamun tree and pelt passersby with the seeds. He was also very adamant and would always throw a tantrum if he didn’t get what he wanted.

Also living in the same forest was Bholu. Bholu was a wellknown scientist and was also the smartest animal in the forest. But, Tinku didn’t really like him and always went out of his way to make fun of Bholu and his inventions. Bholu would be working up in the trees putting together his inventions with wires and pulleys, and all of a sudden Tinku would show up, pelting Bholu with sticks and undoing all his hard work. Bholu believed this was because he had complained to Tinku’s uncle about his behaviour.

One afternoon, Tinku ran out of his house because the food served for lunch was not to his liking. He set off in search of bananas when lo and behold, there was a whole bunch of them right in front of him in a clearing under a tree.

Thinking that somebody must have forgotten and left their bananas behind, Tinku ran up to them and bend down to pick them up.

But, as he stepped close to the bananas, he was swept off his feet and before Tinku could understand what was going on, he was hanging upside down from the tree above him and there was a rope tied to his leg.

Tinku tried hard to free himself, but he couldn’t. The rope was made of nylon and he couldn’t break it or cut it with his teeth. He realised that he had been trapped by hunters who put him in a cage and went away. From their discussions, Tinku gathered that they intended to take him out of the forest.

As the hunters prepared for their trip out of the forest, they were suddenly hit by fruits and vegetables.

The attacks seemed to be coming from the trees. Completely confused, the hunters decided it was best to run away. As the attacks continued, Tinku was glad he was in the cage, safe from the attacks.

Kiku, the sparrow happened to be passing by when she noticed Tinku stuck inside the cage.

The attacks had stopped by then. She flew up to him and calmed him down before flying off to find Tinku’s uncle Cheeku.

Cheeku ran to the spot where Tinku had been trapped and rescued him. Meanwhile, Kiku had arrived with few more animals from the forest. When Tinku told them about the mysterious attacks on the hunters, everybody was curious to find out who saved Tinku.

Kiku then told everyone that the attacks were from one among many machines that Bholu had installed across the forest. Using a network of wires and sensor, Bholu’s animal security system could detect whether there were any hunters coming into the forest.

Once the location of the hunters was fixed, the machines in the trees would fire fruits and vegetables at them to scare them away.

Tinku realised that the very machine he had made fun of, a long time ago, had saved his life.

He realised that making fun of others wasn’t a nice thing to do and neither was throwing fruits at others. Tinku vowed that he would be more responsible and not hurt others in any way.

Gus Yearns for Freedom

“What lovely weather!” exclaimed Gus, the grasshopper, while on his usual morning walk.

Along the way, his eyes fell on a glass bowl placed on the window of a house. Some fishes were swimming in it.

“What are these fishes doing inside a bowl? Don’t they usually live in a pond or river?” Gus wondered. He flew up to them to ask.

“Hello!” the fish greeted him cheerfully.

“May I ask what you are doing in this bowl when you could be living happily in a big pond?” asked Gus.

“We are happier in this bowl!” replied one of the fish.

Gus was surprised. “How is that possible?” he asked them.

“In the bowl, we don’t have to go looking for food. We are fed two times a day by the humans. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about predators. All that my friends and I do is play, eat and sleep all day long,” said another fish.

“It does sound like all play and no work. It must be fun to live like that,” thought Gus.

He bid the fish goodbye and was about to fly out when something caught his leg. It was a human! Gus was quickly trapped inside a glass jar and placed by the window.

Gus tried to get out, but the jar was too heavy and strong. He was dazed at first, but soon calmed down.

“Perhaps, it won’t be so bad. I may have a good time like the fishes and best of all, I will be served food right here,” he thought and became cheerful.

Gus was lazing inside the jar and looking out when he saw a honey bee hovering nearby.

“Good morning, Miss Honey Bee. I am Gus. How are you doing?” he greeted her.

“Good morning, Gus. I am Holly. You do look quite cheerful for someone stuck inside a glass jar,” said Holly.

“Yes. What is not to like about it? I will get free food, good views and don’t have to worry about being eaten up by some slimy frog,” said Gus.

“That’s true. But don’t you miss the freedom of going wherever you feel like and eating whatever you want?” asked Holly.

Gus became irritated. “You are asking such a question because you are jealous of me! I don’t blame you. You have to work all day gathering honey and take orders from your queen. But I can sit here doing nothing other than singing and watching the scenery outside,” he said.

“Why are you getting angry at me?” asked Holly offended. “I was just asking to know how you feel. What you do is up to you. Anyway, I have work to do. Goodbye!” she said curtly and flew away.

Around afternoon, Gus was fed some grass and leaves. They were not fresh like the ones he had in the fields. But he was hungry and had no choice.

After lunch, Gus lay on his back looking outside. The day dragged on and so did the night. He missed the soft bed of grass that he slept on. He looked endearingly at the garden outside the house when he noticed a centipede walking by.

“Hello, Mr. Centipede!” Gus called out from the window, hoping to chat.

“Hello! Sorry, I do not have time to stop and chat. I am already late and have to reach home before my kids go to bed. And my wife is waiting with hot dinner,” he said, continuing to walk swiftly.

The mention of home and family made Gus miss the comfort of his house. He missed his friends Betty, the butterfly, Lola, the ladybug and Cary, the caterpillar.

“Holly was right. I do miss being free,” Gus thought sadly. He could not sleep that night.

Early next morning, Gus was woken up by a familiar voice.

“Gus! Wake up!”

Gus opened his eyes and saw his friend Betty fluttering outside. He felt elated to see her!

“Betty! How glad am I to see you!” Gus cried in joy. “How did you find me?”

“Yesterday, Lola, Cary and I were waiting for you all evening at the spot where we meet every day to chat. When you did not show up, we went to your house to check, but you weren’t there too. That’s when we began to worry. It was already dark by then, so we couldn’t go out looking for you.

This morning, the three of us set out in different directions to search,” explained Betty. “But how did you get stuck inside this jar?”

“I was talking to the fishes when a human trapped me inside this jar. I thought it would be fun being inside, not having to do anything, but it’s not so. I miss my home, my friends and most of all, I miss being free. Please let me out,” pleaded Gus.

“I have an idea,” said Betty. She murmured something to Gus.

After a while, the human in the house woke up and came to window to feed Gus. But Gus was lying limp at the bottom of the jar.

Thinking that the he had died, the human removed the lid of the jar to check. In a flash, Gus got up and flew away.

Betty was waiting for him in the garden.

“Thank you, dear friend,” Gus said to her. “I am so happy to be free again!”

The two then flew home together.

Friendship is Necessary

Santu and Mantu squirrels were close friends. They used to play together every evening in the lawn. They also studied in the same school and same class. They went to school together in the bus chatting all the way long.

They made fun and laughed at everybody in the bus including the driver and the conductor. While some animals grumbled and complained about going to school, Santu and Mantu were happy to go to school because they wanted to have fun in the school. because they wanted to have fun in the school.

English class was going on and Ms. Lucy Leopard, their English teacher suddenly announced that there was going to be a dictation in that lesson. She gave them ten minutes to study.

Santu and Mantu realized that while Santu had brought his English textbook, Mantu only had the notebook where they would do their schoolwork.

“Let me study from the textbook, Santu,” said Mantu.

“No, I will study from the textbook, you study from your notebook,” replied Santu. Santu turned his back to Mantu and started studying from the textbook, while Mantu could only study from the notebook.

After 10 minutes, the teacher started dictating the words. She said “Necessary.”

Santu wrote “Nursery” and Mantu wrote it correctly. Santu looked over to Mantu, and saw him writing the answers down without with stopping, while Santu was having trouble with every word.

Soon, the teacher corrected all the papers and Santu had got one wrong answer. But, Mantu got all correct.

Santu had to write the word “Necessary” 100 times. Santu’s hands were aching due to the imposition. He told Mantu, “It is all because of you. I am not going to talk to you. You wrote all the correct answers without studying.” Santu tried to say something but Mantu left the class angrily.

That evening, Santu’s mom went to see her sister. Mantu’s mom also went to her friend’s place.

Santu was feeling hungry. He opened the fridge. All the nuts were over and only butter and jam were there. “I can’t wait till mom comes. I will go and buy some bread from the bakery.”

Mantu was also feeling hungry. He opened the fridge. He saw some bread slices but there was no butter or jam. He also went to buy some butter and jam. Both of them met in the lift but they turned their faces in the opposite sides.

When the lift opened, they went to Sams Bakery. But, Uncle Sam was closing the bakery.

Santu said, “Please uncle, I just want bread. Nothing else.

“Mantu said, “ Uncle, just a bottle of jam for me.” But, Uncle said, “I am sorry boys. My stock is over. I have just got some broken biscuit pieces. Come tomorrow morning, you will have whatever you want.” Both Santu and Mantu were disappointed. They went to Linda’s Grocery stores. Linda was sitting on a chair and her face was very sad. Santu asked her, “What happened Madam Linda? Why do you look so sad ? I want some bread. “Mantu said,” And Madam Linda, butter or jam for myself. I have bread at home.”

Linda said in a feeble voice, “Santu and Mantu. I cannot help you because this afternoon, when I had gone for lunch, somebody looted my shop. I have made a police complaint dear. I am sorry.”

Santu and Bantu finally went to Robin’s “Cakes and Bakes” shop. Robin looked so furious and was shouting loudly. Both Santu and Mantu went near him.

They were scared to see him in a fit of anger. So, they asked slowly, “Robin uncle, can we get some bread and butter?” Robin screamed at them, “Hey boys, leave this place at once. I am already troubled by these wicked and cunning rats, who eat away all my pastries and eatables. I am myself so confused thinking about how to get rid of this rat menace. Leave me alone.”

Santu and Mantu started walking back to their homes. Their tummies were roaring with hunger.

Suddenly, they heard somebody giggling from behind. It was Patty Pig. Santu looked at her and said,”Why are laughing, you silly Patty? I am already very hungry and do not tease me by laughing like this.” Mantu also said, “Patty, why are you following us? I saw you at Sam’s Bakery also. Don’t you have any useful job to do?”.

Patty said, “Okay, I thought I will help both of you by giving an idea. But, if you are calling me silly, then I will have to go.”

Santu said, “Oh, I am sorry. What is your idea, by the way?” Patty said, “Santu, you have butter and jam at home. Bantu, you have bread with you. Why both of you are roaming here and there. Santu, share the butter and jam with Mantu and you Mantu, share your bread with Santu. Problem solved.”

Mantu looked at Santu and Santu at Mantu. Then, they shook hands with each other. They told Patty pig, “Hey Patty, thanks for the idea and also for making us friends once again. “Patty pig said, “Okay, but I do not give ideas free of cost. I charge one bunch of lettuce leaves for my wonderful ideas. Bring them when you come to school tomorrow. Bye!”

Both Santu and Bantu had Bread with butter and strawberry jam. “Friendship is Necessary. I won’t make this spelling mistake again” said Santu and Mantu laughed loudly.

A Tip For Not Getting Lost

The summer holidays had just begun. Eight-year-old Harish had invited his two friends, Rahul and Advit, to play games at his house. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Harish’s neighbour Guddu walked in.

“Friends,” Guddu said, cheerfully. “The holidays have just begun and here you are, all cooped up in the house! Do you know that there’s a fair being held in our town?

I am going to visit it now. Are any of you interested in joining me?

“A fair?” Harish said, sounding very excited. “Where is it being held?”

“On the grounds of the Municipal Corporation,” Guddu said. “My father is already there with his friends. I’m going to join him now. Why don’t you come along?”

“Yes, we’ll come along!” all the boys said unanimously.

They all then left for the fair.

Since, Guddu knew the way to the fairground, Harish and Rahul held his hands and walked beside him. The three of them then chatted about cricket, movies, school and other things.

Advit, on the other hand, was a few steps behind. He was walking by himself quietly.

“Oh! I am so tired,” Rahul complained after they had walked for a while. “We have been walking for a long time now.”

“Don’t worry, Rahul,” Guddu said. “The fairground is just a short distance away.”

The boys then walked through a narrow lane and crossed a river. They walked a little further and finally reached the fairground. They then stopped to buy tickets from a counter and went in.

Guddu spotted his father soon after they entered the fairground. “I am going to join my father and his friends,” he said, running away. “Please manage on your own now.”

Harish, Rahul and Advit walked around the fairground. They played some games and rode on a merry-go-around and a giant wheel. They also stopped to eat some snacks and buy some candy floss.

After a while, they spent all their money and decided to go home.

But the moment they left the fairground, Harish and Rahul panicked. There were two roads right outside the gate. Harish and Rahul scratched their heads and
wondered which one would lead them home.

“Shall we go back to the fair and ask Guddu which road to take?” Harish asked.

“We’ll have to buy tickets again,” Rahul said. “And we’ve finished our money.”

Advit was standing behind. He was watching his friends quietly.

“What will we do now?” Harish said anxiously.

Suddenly, Advit broke into a smile.

Harish and Rahul looked at him angrily. “Advit!” they said. “Why are you smiling? Is it funny that we don’t know our way back?Tell us, how will we go home now?”

“Hey! Relax! Don’t worry!” Advit said cheerfully. “I know the way back. Come
with me.”

Harish and Rahul were surprised to hear Advit talking so confidently. They wondered if he really knew the way. But they realised they had no choice but to follow him quietly.

Advit then pulled out a diary that he had in his pocket. He opened it and looked at a page. He then went up to a rickshaw driver and asked politely, “Can you tell us how to get to Ajanta Theatre?”

“Go straight and then turn to the left,” the rickshaw driver said, giving Advit the
directions.

Advit thanked the rickshaw driver and walked forward. Harish and Rahul followed him. And soon, they found that they had reached Ajanta Theatre.

“Here’s Ajanta Theatre,” Rahul said. “But why have you brought us here, Advit?”

Advit didn’t reply. He looked at his diary again and asked a hawker where Jawahar Hospital was. Advit then followed the hawker’s directions and led his friends to Jawahar Hospital. There, he asked a security guard the way to the river.

The boys then followed the security guard’s directions and walked to the river.

Harish and Rahul realised that it was the same river they had crossed when they were with Guddu.

“We know the way from here!” they said happily. They then asked Advit how
he had managed to bring them back so confidently.

Advit smiled and said, “When the two of you were chatting with Guddu, I carefully observed the route we were taking. I noted down all the landmarks in my diary.”

“Landmarks? What are landmarks?” Rahul asked.

“I had written down the names of the big shops, the hospital and the theatre located on this route, so that we could find our way back with their help,” Advit said. “Such places are called ‘landmarks’. They help you find your way about. Remember to note them down the next time you’re in a place you’re not familiar with. It’s a useful tip for not getting lost.”

Harish and Rahul were amazed to see how wise Advit was. They promised to use his tip and pay attention to such details so that they wouldn’t lose their way again.

Minny Moth’s Search For Colours

One day, a butterfly came and perched on a lily in the garden where Minny, the Moth lived. The butterfly’s wings were purple, yellow and red, and as she fluttered them, they glowed in the sunlight.

The butterfly was so pretty that all the flowers in the garden nodded their heads eagerly and urged the butterfly to come and sit on their petals. After a while, the butterfly flew to a bright pink zinnia.

Minny was sitting on the stem of the zinnia plant, but she was so quiet that the butterfly didn’t notice her at first. But when Minny flapped her wings, the butterfly spotted her.

“Hello!” said the butterfly with a smile. “I’m Betty, the Butterfly! What’s your name?”

The moth said, “My name is Minny.”

Betty the butterfly asked Minny curiously, “Why are your body and wings such a dull brown? Have you lost your colours?”

Betty raised her wings proudly, and showed off her colourful wings. “

“I’ve never had any colours,” Minny said softly. “I’ve been this way ever since I came out of my cocoon.”

“I’m glad I don’t look as dull as you do,” Betty said, with pride. “I am so pretty that every flower in this garden wants me to sit on it! It must be awful to be as plain and unattractive as you are!”

Now, until this time, Minny had not thought about her appearance at all, and had been quite content with her life in the garden. But Betty’s scornful words kept ringing in her mind over and over again.

So she went to a little puddle in the corner of the garden, and looked into it to see herself clearly.

When Minny saw her reflection in the water, she was shocked.

“What Betty said is true,” she thought. “I look very dull and plain because I have no colours on my body or wings. I must do something to make myself prettier!”

Minny began to think hard, and after sometime, she got a good idea. She would ask some of the colourful flowers in the garden if they would share some of their lovely colours with her!

Minny immediately flew to an exquisite red rose, and asked the rose, “Can you share some of the bright red that you have on your petals with me?”

The rose nodded her pretty head. “I am willing to give you one of my fragrant red petals,” she replied graciously. “But what will you do with it?”

“I will drape it over my wings,” said Minny proudly, “so that it looks like a fine velvet cloak! I’m tired of being a plain, mousy brown. I want to be bright and colourful like Betty butterfly. She will be so envious when she sees my red cloak!”

The rose shook her head. “Your cloak will not last for very long,” she said. “My petals wilt, and their colour fades very quickly, you know.”

Minny bent her little head in disappointment when she heard this, and sat under the rose bush.

The red rose was moved by Minny’s sorrow.

“Why don’t you ask the sunbird to give your one of his yellow feathers when he flies into our garden?” she suggested. “Feathers don’t fade like petals, and will make a fine cloak too”

“What a good idea,” Minny said brightening up at once. “I’m going to fly around the garden, and see if I can find the sunbird.”

So Minny began to fly around the garden. She soon spotted Betty sitting on a tree stump, looking very beautiful, with her delicate wings spread out.

Betty was busy sunning herself, and was not paying any attention to what was going on around her.

But Minny noticed that a fat garden frog was hiding in the grass near the tree stump and looking greedily at Betty as he smacked his lips! “Look out, Betty!” Minny cried out loudly.

Betty leapt up with a start, and flew into the air just as the frog leapt towards her.

But the frog was just a bit too late! Betty had been saved by Minny’s warning.

“Thank you for warning me about the frog,” Betty said to Minny in a trembling voice. “I’m so lucky that you were nearby to warn me.”

“I was there because I was searching for some colours to drape on my body,”
Minny said thoughtfully. “But now, I’ve decided that I’m not going to continue the search any more.

The frog spotted you so easily in the garden because of your bright colours, but he’s never spotted me because I merge so well into the background. I’m glad I’m
alive, and I think I’m better off and happier just the way I am!”

Animals, bird, and insects often use their colouring to merge into their background, so that enemies will not notice them. This is called camouflage.

Brave Marty

“What is happening?” Little Rabbit Marty thought. Marty watched birds every day after coming from school, sitting at the lakeside. He didn’t play bat and ball or hide and seek with his friends. He was afraid that he would get hurt. And anyway, he didn’t have any close friends. Everybody called him a coward; and so was isolated in school too.

But he sensed something amiss when he reached the lakeside today. Herons, cranes, parrots…nobody was there. Only two crows were present there. A foul smell had spread in the atmosphere. Two trucks full of garbage came over and started dumping the garbage in the lake.

This act on the part of truck drivers angered even the fearful Marty. He ran towards the drivers and said, “What are you doing? Everyone drinks water from this lake. So many birds come here. You are polluting the lake.”

“Keep quiet,” Driver Gurg, the Wolf shouted at him. “My master, Seth Wiley Wolf will make flats on this area and sell them. So many people will live here. What will this dirty lake serve anyone?”

What could Marty say? He ran towards his home with tears in his eyes and told everything to his mother. Mother said, “Such greedy animals! They will even sell away the air of this jungle!”

“Where will the poor birds go, Ma? They will never come back here again.”

“Who will stand up for this cause? What will you do, son? You don’t even go out for playing for the fear of getting injured.”

Marty felt a pinch at his mother’s words. He thought, “So even mother thinks of me as a coward! Damn!” He quietly went on the terrace. Migo, the Monkey saw him and got down from the tree, “What’s the matter? Why are you looking so glum?” Marty told him everything

“This is bad news for Timberland.”

“Can we do nothing?” Marty was feeling very helpless.

“Come. Let’s complain to the jungle police.”

But to their dismay, Inspector Jared, the Jackal began laughing at them, “Kid, concentrate on your studies. This matter is not your lookout.”

“But the lake will get destroyed!”

“Let it be. Why are you bothered? Many flats too will be built there. Go, run. Do not bother me.”

When they came outside, Migo said, “It seems he is helping them. That’s why he didn’t listen to us. Now we will have to do something.”

“What can we do? Nobody even knows us.”

“My uncle’s friend Skipper, the Flying Squirrel, who lives on the Peepal tree, is a TV reporter. I will contact him with Mama’s help. He will talk about the lake getting polluted on his news channel and inform other animals.”

Skipper heard both the children and gathered some of the animals and birds of Timberland. A long discussion took place. Next day, two trucks stopped at the entrance of the jungle. Jared, who was sitting on his bike, smiled and began talking to Gurg. Unknown to them two porcupines came and punctured all the truck tyres. Skipper was recording everything on his camera.

“How did this happen?” Gurg jumped down. “All the twelve tires of both the trucks are flat! Unbelievable!” Flapping his wings, Parry Parrot began encircling around Gurg’s head, “Ha..ha..ha..have fun, son!”

“Really?” Gurg tried to pounce on Parry Parrot, but no avail. Sam and Shade, the two kangaroos reached the spot and started pelting the drivers with small stones they had carried in their pouches.

“Oh! Aah!” both the wolves, Gurg and Wiley fell flat on the ground.

Now it was Marty’s turn. Migo’s friends had pinned the wolves tightly to the ground and all the rabbits were tickling them with grass. The wolves couldn’t decide whether they should laugh or cry. Then two bears came who threw them inside the garbage of the truck. “Oh! Such a foul smell!” Both began feeling nauseated.

“Why? You were throwing this in the lake?” Marty said.

Now the last of the warriors were the birds. All the crows began throwing the garbage on the wolves. “Please leave us now,” they cried.

The Elephants got together and threw the trucks out of the jungle. Marty asked the wolves, “Will you come again to throw the garbage in the lake?”

Both said, “Never. Please forgive us.”

Marty, Migo and all the animals clapped and said, “Keep Timberland clean and never be afraid of rogues.”

This came as breaking news in the afternoon. Everybody helped in cleaning the lake. Mother hugged Marty when he returned home. “I didn’t know that
my son is so brave!” she said.

Marty had tears in his eyes – tears of happiness

SEO Keywords: adventure stories for kids

Bondhu Seeks His Own Identity

Literary Voyage

Jojo’s Junk Food Problem

A Cause for Celebration

Pritam Wears An Umbrella

The Special Treatment

A Fearful Lesson

Baddy Reforms Himself

Milo’s Adventure

Holi in the Forest

Holi in Champakvan

Happy Holi!

Holi for All

Chinku becomes Colourful

Nitin’s Painting

Unique Colours

A COSTLY MISTAKE

THE GULAB JAMUN GHOST

THE PROMISE OF FRIENDSHIP

STANDING UP TO THE BULLIES

Mountain Exercise

THE BIRTHDAY GIFT

The Race Contender

The Problem in Champakvan

Bholu’s Invention

Gus Yearns for Freedom

Friendship is Necessary

A Tip For Not Getting Lost

Minny Moth’s Search For Colours

Brave Marty

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