Champakvan story Archives - Page 2 of 2

True Friendship!

Jumpy monkey and Gingy squirrel were good friends. They stood by each other, no matter what.

But Kaalu jackal envied their friendship. He spread false rumours about them among other animals. However, his actions made no difference to Jumpy
and Gingy.

The animals of the jungle were well aware of Kaalu’s wicked and mischievous nature.

One day, Kaalu was standing outside Blacky bear’s sweets shop. Just then, Meeku mouse arrived, riding his favourite bicycle.

While parking, Meeku forgot to lock the bicycle as he was eager to purchase his favourite carrot halwa from Blacky’s shop. Blacky’s sold the best carrot halwa in the whole jungle. Many customers would go to his shop to buy it.

Kaalu saw Meeku carelessly park his bicycle. This was the chance he had been looking for. He saw the crowd at Blacky’s shop and knew Meeku would take time, which would be enough for him to steal the bicycle and flee.

But as Kaalu was about to ride away, Meeku turned around and saw him
steal it.

Meeku chased Kaalu, shouting, “Thief! Thief! My bicycle! Thief! Thief!” The other animals heard Meeku shout but because Kaalu rode fast, no one could get hold of him. Meeku, too, couldn’t catch him.

The animals surrounded Meeku. A few of them asked, “What was stolen? Did you get to see who was the thief?”

Meeku narrated the entire incident while sobbing bitterly. Jeetu cheetah, Jumbo elephant, Lambu giraffe, Sheru dog, Rattu rat and other animals assured Meeku that they will catch the thief.

Meeku had not seen the thief clearly so they didn’t know where to start. They
just followed the road and looked for the bicycle.

After riding for a while, Kaalu was tired. He saw a children’s park close by and thought he could take some rest. Suddenly, he realised that Jumpy and Gingy stayed near the park.

He saw Jumpy standing in one corner waiting for someone. He grabbed this opportunity and went to Jumpy with the stolen bicycle.

“Jumpy, I need to go to the toilet urgently. Can you please take care of my bike?” asked Kaalu and before Jumpy could respond, he handed the bike to him and went across the line of houses and hid behind the bushes.

Meanwhile, the crowd of animals chasing the thief reached the park. Seeing his bicycle standing there, Meeku screamed, “Here is my bicycle and this is the thief!”

Jumpy was shocked. The crowd of animals surrounded him. The sky above the park started to fill with noisy uproars. No one was paying attention to what he was trying to say. Everyone thought he was the thief! Hearing so much noise
in the park, Gingy came down from her treehouse.

Jeetu had grabbed Jumpy’s collar. He was about to hit him when Gingy cut through the crowd and reached the scene. Howling in a sharp voice, she said, “Stop! If anyone tries to touch my friend, there will be consequences.”

Hearing the sharp voice of Gingy and seeing her rage, Jeetu put his hand down and grunted, “Your friend, Jumpy, has stolen this bicycle. He deserves a beating and then we will hand him over to the police.”

“Jeetu uncle, you know Jumpy quite well. Do you think he can be the thief? I can say with certainty that Jumpy can’t be the thief. I believe in him. At least, give him a chance to explain,” said Gingy.

“She is right. We should give Jumpy a chance to explain. He has been trying to talk but we weren’t listening,” said Jumbo.

Jeetu released Jumpy from his grip and let him speak.

Jumpy narrated what had happened and pointed towards the bushes indicating that Kaalu had walked in that direction.

Kaalu was watching closely from behind the bushes. When Jumpy pointed in his direction, he tried to sneak without being caught. But the moment he moved, Jeetu grabbed him and dragged him out. Kaalu didn’t realise that Jeetu was quick.

Scared of the angry animals, Kaalu admitted to his mistake and apologised
to Meeku who immediately called the police.

Jumpy thanked Gingy for helping him.

“Jumpy, there is no need to thank me. I’m your friend and I will always help you in times of need,” cheered Gingy.

Filled with joy, Jumpy hugged Gingy and they went together for a ride around the forest

A Lesson For The Cat

Bhanku bear delivered milk in Gopavan forest. Every morning, he would wake up early and deliver milk to all the forest dwellers.

Like every day, he reached Moosram mouse’s house to deliver milk. “Moosram ji, it’s me, with your supply of milk!” he called, knocking at the door.

While Bhanku waited for Moosram to open the door, he heard some strange sounds coming inside the house. When the door opened, Bhanku saw a cat at Moosram’s door with a pan in her hand!

“How on earth is a cat here?” thought Bhanku to himself.

He smelled something fishy. “Who are you and what are you doing here in Moosram’s home?” he asked the cat.

“Uh…Mmm…I… I am his relative,” murmured the cat.

“What!” said a startled Bhanku. “How could a cat be the relative of a mouse?” he questioned.

The cat quickly tried correcting herself! “I am not his relative. I am his friend’s relative,” she said.

“Fine!” said Bhanku and thought for a moment. “Where is Moosram? Please call him out for a moment,” he said after some thought.

“He has gone out for some work. He asked me to take the milk from you,” said the cat, extending the milk pan towards Bhanku.

“Is that so? Fine then!” said Bhanku and poured the milk into the pan half-heartedly.

Just then he heard a voice from inside, “No Bhanku! Don’t give her the milk”. It was Moosram’s voice!

“She is a liar! She burried me inside my burrow. Thankfully I dug out another hole and came out. She is my enemy and not my relative. She has been chasing me and wants to eat me up,” shouted Moosram. “Please call the police!” he said gasping as he was now out of his confines.

Hearing this, Bhanku was shocked.

Now that the truth was out, the furious cat flung the milk pan on Moosram.

Moosram ran inside his burrow, managing somehow to save his life. “Bhanku ji, save me!” he screamed from his burrow.

Meanwhile, Bhanku gathered his courage and had acted wisely. He parked his milk-cart at the roadside and rang the police station.

After receiving information about the fraudulent cat, two police cars arrived at Moosram’s house immediately.

Seeing the police force, the cat jumped out of her skin. She fled as fast as she could and never returned to Gopavan again.

Meeku’s Fridge

Long, long ago, in Champakvan, the animals were not aware of any advancements in technology. They lived simple, happy and satisfying lives in
the forest.

Meeku mouse was a resident of the forest. He had completed his education in England and recently returned to Champakvan.

He had brought back with him a box, three times larger than himself, and called it a ‘fridge’.

After he settled in, his neighbour Skippy squirrel came to visit him. “Oh! What have you brought with you? It is huge! What will you keep in it?” she asked, laughing heartily.

“This? It is called a fridge. It will cool things in no time. I can keep whatever I want to store, like vegetables and fruits. Open it and see,” Meeku replied, looking proudly at his shining new fridge.

Skippy opened the door of the fridge and was filled with joy when she got a cold blast of breeze. “Wow! This fridge is wonderful!” she exclaimed.

She was called a tale-carrier in the forest as she was good at spreading news. So the news of the new fridge spread in the forest like a wildfire.

Soon crowds started gathering outside Meeku’s house to see the fridge. After all, it was the only fridge in the forest. Everyone would enter the house one-by-one and enjoy the cold blast of air from the fridge.

Meeku was forced to demonstrate his fridge to everyone. He would say to himself, “If only I had not told Skippy about the fridge! I should have told her that it was a simple box to store things. Then the word would not have spread this fast. So many animals wouldn’t gather and I would use my fridge for storing
my food.”

Soon, as time passed the number of visitors to see the fridge declined and now he could easily use it for storing.

One day, Skippy said, “Meeku, do you know my house is under the open sky?”

Meeku nodded his head in agreement.

“The tree I stay on is placed right under the harsh sun. My house becomes an oven in the afternoon and I get baked like bread. Can I live in your fridge instead?”

“How can you live in a fridge?” Meeku was shocked at this unusual request. “That is a fridge, not a hotel. You will be frozen inside.”

“Oh! I have enough warm clothes with me,” said Skippy, waving her sweater. “I will squeeze in a small corner, please….”

How could Meeku refuse her? “Okay. Bring your luggage,” Meeku frowned.

Skippy was overjoyed. She ran and quickly gathered her belongings. She came and dumped them in the vegetable container of the fridge and closed it from inside.

The very next day, Cheeku rabbit arrived at his house. He was a farmer and Meeku bought vegetables from his farm.

“Hello, how are you? I need a little help from you,” he said and Meeku understood, looking at the juice bottles in his hand that he needed his fridge for storage.

“This is carrot juice. Will you keep these bottles in your fridge? In my home, we all are very fond of cold drinks.”

Meeku was frustrated and it was now visible on his face.

“What happened, Meeku? Any problem?” asked Cheeku.

Meeku didn’t want to refuse Cheeku’s request. What if he stopped selling him vegetables. So, he managed a weak smile and said, “Keep them inside and consider it your own fridge.”

Cheeku promptly filled the fridge with his containers and made this a daily routine.

Skippy loved her stay in the fridge. She only went out to gather food and quickly returned. All the vacant place in the fridge was taken up with Cheeku’s juice jars. Meeku was unable to completely utilise his fridge.

Frustrated with the situation, he went to Blacky bear’s ice shop.

“Oh, Meeku, why are you here? You have a fridge at home, don’t you? What do you need here?”

Meeku narrated his plight.

“You are too nice, Meeku. These people are not bad, however, they are taking advantage of your hospitality. Sometimes you have to learn to refuse,” said Blacky.

“They have been good to me. I don’t understand how I can refuse them,” Meeku said to him.

“I have a plan. Come close and I will tell you.” Meeku’s face brightened when he heard Blacky’s plan.

He quickly reached home and set the freezer at maximum. Soon Skippy came out shivering and almost frozen.

“How did this fridge suddenly become as cold as Antarctica?” she asked.

Continue reading Meeku’s Fridge

The Naughty Lamb

Bholi goat and her son Monu lived in the Rajghat forest near the river. When he was young, Monu used to listen to his Mom, but as he grew older, he became mischievous and stopped listening to his mother. His behaviour worried the neighbours because sometimes, he broke their things and stole their food. He troubled many animals of the forest and their young ones.

As the matter grew serious the forest chief Basanth wolf met Bholi, to talk about Monu.

“If Monu does not mend his ways, I will be forced to go and complain to the police inspector Bhima bear. Either he will punish Monu or will make sure that Monu is not allowed to move around freely in the forest,” said Basanth and left.

Bholi was worried now. She did not want Monu to go to jail.

Her friend Polly parrot saw her and asked her why she looked sad. Bholi told him everything about Monu.

“So, this is the matter. Bholi, you have already told Monu but he still does not listen. I think the only way, is to use fear to make him understand,” said Polly.

Polly noticed the uncertain look on Bholi’s face and whispered something in her ears. When Bholi finished listening to Polly, she was hopeful that Monu would change.

The next day, Polly and her friends kept an eye on Monu who was busy disturbing Lucky rabbit. Lucky was running around, trying to hide from him.
Watching this, Polly and her friends signalled Rocky, asking her to go towards the forest. Monu followed Lucky. He thought that Lucky was escaping from him and that is why, she was going towards the forest.

Polly and her friends, Manu firefly, Dolly deer and Bhanu wolf, closely followed Monu.

When Monu reached the forest, night had fallen and the forest was dark. On Polly’s whistle, Lucky quietly hid behind the bushes.

Monu could not see anything because, it had become pitch dark. Now, Polly and her friends started working as planned.

Polly changed her voice, and screamed like a cheetah. The scream was a cue for Bhanu to walk close to Monu.

Polly’s scream left Monu horrified. He thought it was a cheetah and started sweating profusely. While Manu and some of the other fireflies shone brightly, Sonu deer stared at Monu with her eyes wide open.

“Help me please!” cried Monu.

“Monu, today I am going to eat you,” said Polly, changing her voice.

“Who are you?” asked Monu.

“I am the witch of this forest,” said Polly in a hoarse voice.

Monu started shivering, feeling even more scared.

“Please forgive me. I will not create trouble with anyone ever again,” cried Monu.

“I don’t believe you,” said Polly.

“I am telling you the truth. I will not trouble anyone. Please leave me,” begged Monu.

“Okay. There is a green tree behind you. Go and write on the tree, ‘If I trouble anyone in the future, a complaint will be sent to the king Lion and I will be punished’,” replied Polly.

“Okay, I will write that. But, how will I write in the dark?” asked Monu.

It was then that, Manu and the other fireflies gathered together and spread some light. Their light allowed Monu to write on the tree as instructed by Polly.

“I will show this to the king Lion, if you trouble anyone again. Please follow the light coming from the fireflies and go back home. Do not come back here again,” ordered Polly.

Monu quietly obeyed Polly and ran away to his house. As they watched him run away, Polly and her friends feel happy that they had taught Monu a lesson.

Next day onwards, Monu gave up troubling the animals of Rajghat forest. All the animals were surprised and happy to see a change in Monu’s behaviour.

Kabbadi Match!

Every year kabaddi matches were played between Ashokvan and Nandanvan. And like every year Ashokvan defeated their rivals because of their captain, Lara langur and his team.

Everyone was congratulating Lara and presenting him with gifts and flowers. Pistu monkey gave Lara a bouquet of beautiful white roses.

“What an excellent captain you are, sir! I have never seen such a set of skills. May I take a selfie with you?” asked Pistu as he gave the flowers to Lara.

“Yes, yes, Why not! But I did not recognize you,” said Lara.

“I am Pistu and a big fan of yours. I have come all the way from Paragvan to see your game. You are very agile and nimble-footed and you have magical control on your breath. You managed to out, all the players from the other team,” Pistu said praising Lara.

“All this is possible because of yoga and control of breath,” Lara said shyly. After taking the selfie, Pistu took Lara’s phone number and went away.

Next year, once again, it was time for the kabaddi match. Lara called his team and started the training. This time, there were two new players in his team of seven players.

He was explaining the rules to the new members. “The kabaddi court’s length is 13 meters and breadth 10 meters. The match is divided into two halves of 20 minutes each. After the first half, the teams change their sides. In this game, control of your breath and agility, are very important. You have to go into the other team’s side and try to make as many players ‘out’ as you can, without losing your breath” etc.

Just then, Pistu arrived there. “Hello sir, how come you have started preparing so early?” he asked.

“We have to start early if we want to win. How come you are in Ashokvan and how come you remembered me?” asked Lara.

“My friend, I never forgot you. You have been on my mind every day. I have come to take you to Paragvan. I want to invite you for my birthday which is just after two days.”

“Forgive me, my friend, it won’t be possible for me to go anywhere now. I have to train my team,” said Lara.

“What kind of friend are you? You call me your friend and at the same time, you break my heart as well! I have come from so far to personally invite you to my birthday party and you refuse to come. It is a question of only two days. After that, you can do as much practice as you wish.” Pistu forced so much, that Lara went to Paragvan with him.

Lara helped Pistu prepare for the party and in the meantime, ate well. He ate delicious cakes, sweets and delicacies. He knew this kind of food was not good for him, but Pistu pressed him so much, that he could not refuse.

On the fourth day, Pistu planned a picnic. Lara didn’t want to go, but Pistu again forced him. Pistu’s homemade food was delicious. Lara enjoyed it and even went for a second helping.

Lara was tired when he came back from the picnic. But Pistu kept talking to him till the night had settled in.

Next morning, Lara got up late. He was tired and so, he could not return to Ashokvan. In the evening, Pistu’s aunt came to meet them and invited them to her house to eat chhole-bhature.

“No Pistu, I am a sports player. I have to eat healthy food to be fit and active. I have already eaten too much,” saying this, Lara declined the invitation.
“But there is no harm in homemade food. My aunt makes the best chhole-bhature in the whole world,” said Pistu. And Lara postponed his departure because they were going to Pistu’s aunt’s house. The bhaturas were really very tasty and Lara ate a lot that day too.

The next day when Lara was returning to Ashokvan, Pistu again told him, “There is a very beautiful waterfall just a little distance from here. I’ve been wanting to go and visit the place. But, it is no fun going alone. Now that you are here why don’t we go together?”

“No, friend. You know that the kabaddi match will be held soon. I haven’t done any practice and I haven’t even trained my team. Two of the players from my team are new and they need to be given extra coaching. I should leave now,” said Lara.

“Why do you need any practice? No one can defeat you. You just need to take a deep breath and go to the other side, and defeat everyone,” said Pistu.

Lara was filled with Pistu’s praises. He had never eaten such tasty food which Pistu was feeding him and he was enjoying every bit of his stay there. So, he agreed to remain there for a few more days.

After visiting the waterfall and the springs, Pistu took him to eat pizza and noodles. While they were eating noodles Pistu asked Lara, “My friend, have you ever seen a 3-D movie?”

“No. I have heard that we have to see it wearing special glasses. But I have never seen one,” Lara replied.

“It is very lively, interesting and enjoyable. It almost feels like the actors have come out of the screen and are right on us. There is a cartoon film being screened now. We can go and watch it tomorrow,” said Pistu.

Lara could not resist the temptation of watching a 3-D cartoon film. During the film, Pistu offered him samosas and cold drinks.

This way, by eating and drinking, visiting places and enjoying life, Lara spent a many days in Paragvana.

When Lara returned to Ashokvan, there was rarely any time left for the match. Before leaving, he thanked Pistu for such an enjoyable stay and his excellent hospitality. He invited him to visit Ashokvan.

“Yes, surely. But first, I will come to Nandanvan to see your match. And then we will go to Ashokvan together to celebrate your victory,” Pistu promised.

On the day of the match, Lara’s team did not play well due to lack of practice. Lara was quite confident that like always he will defeat all of the others. But because he had been eating a lot of food and due to lack of exercise, he had gained weight. He was unable to run fast and soon became breathless.

With great effort he managed to tap every opponent player. But when he was returning to his side, they caught hold of him and pinned him down. He lost his breath and his team lost the match.

Lara felt terrible on losing the match. Then, he was just amazed to see the captain of the Nandanvan team, Mastu monkey, hug Pistu and look very happy.

“What are you looking at us for? Mastu is my brother. It was because he had asked me that I took such good care of you,” Pistu said smiling.

“So, all this was your trick to make me gain weight and miss my practice sessions. You cheated me,” Lara said sorrowfully.

In reply Pistu just showed him his teeth.

“Actually, it’s my mistake. I believed in your false praises and got tempted by the tasty food. Not only me, but the whole team has to pay a price for it,” Lara said loudly.

Lara decided that in the future he would not be swayed by others’ words and started practising from the very next day itself.

Trip To The Moon!

One day Baddy fox announced in Champakvan that he would like to take all the animals on a trip to the moon.

Everyone became very excited.

“Are you really taking us to the moon?” Damru donkey asked in amazement.

“Yes. All, but the big and heavy animals. Otherwise our rocket will not be able to take off from the ground.” Most animals started laughing at Baddy’s words.

“But where is your rocket?” Cheeku rabbit enquired. “And also, what would be the cost of taking us to the moon?”

“Our rocket is on an island not far from here. And for the cost, my motive is not business or to make money. I just want to give you the joy of going on the moon.
So you do not have to pay anything for the trip,” replied Baddy.

All the animals started shouting in joy.

“There seems to be something fishy here,” whispered Cheeku to Jumpy monkey.

“We have to be careful.”

Both went to king Shersingh and told him about Baddy’s trip to the moon.

“If Baddy wants to do this, then it is a very good thing. Why are you troubled by his offer?” asked Shersingh and told them to leave the matter.

Cheeku then said to Jumpy, “We will have to keep an eye on Baddy on our own.”

Meanwhile, in the forest there was a fierce competition among the animals to go to the moon. Most of the small animals had registered their names with Baddy.

“Please be ready for the trip tomorrow. I will take you on the motor boat, to the island. From there we will go on the rocket to the moon. If the weather remains favourable, then we will be able to go on the moon tomorrow itself,” said Baddy and all the animals became all the more excited.

“I will take my favorite dress with me,” said Titu butterfly excitedly.

“No, please don’t bring any clothes or anything else. You will have to wear space-suits to the moon that we will provide. And yes, one more thing, leave your money and jewellery back in your house,” Baddy said. “We will return in a week.”

All the animals waited impatiently for the evening.

In the evening Baddy came with a motor boat to take them.

“Cheeku, why are you not coming?” asked Baddy.

“Baddy, please go ahead. I have got some urgent work to finish. My friend Jumpy
will go with you,” said Cheeku with a smile.

As soon as the motorboat left, Cheeku rushed to King Shersingh.

“Sir, here is something very interesting,” said Cheeku opening his laptop. He started the search engine and typed Baddys’ name. Soon many web pages came on the screen. He selected one and clicked on it.

“This is Baddy,” said Cheeku. “But why has the police caught him?” King Shersingh spoke out.

“Because he and his companions had looted the animals of Sonavana. He was even sentenced to jail. But he tricked them and ran away. Now he has come here,” said Cheeku.

“What does this mean?” asked Shersingh.

“It means that Baddy and his friends are thieves. They promise to take the animals to planet Jupiter or to the moon, and take them away from their houses. Then at night his companion steals all valuables from the locked houses. As soon as Baddy is informed that all the valuables have been stolen, he escapes to another forest. And his companions join him there,” explained Cheeku.

“This is a big conspiracy!” exclaimed Shersingh. “Why didn’t you inform me earlier?” asked Shersingh who was visibly angry.

“I tried to warn you earlier sir, but you felt it was alright for Baddy to take the animals to the moon,” replied Cheeku.

“Now what shall we do?” asked Shersingh.

“Don’t worry sir. Nothing will happen. I have sent my friend Jumpy, with them. Tonight Baddy’s friends will try to steal from the houses of these animals. We can catch them red-handed. And with their help we can catch Baddy,” Cheeku explained.

“But we have to be very careful. If Baddy gets the wind of this, he may harm our citizens,” Cheeku continued.

“You need not worry. I am going to talk to Inspector Blacky Bear,” Shersingh assured Cheeku.

At night Inspector Blacky and his team spread out in the forest. They hid outside the houses of the people who had gone on the trip.

Suddenly some movement was seen outside Damru donkey’s house. Inspector Blacky gave the signal, and his team caught Laptu jackal from there and on questioning him they were able to catch all the others.

“But how do we catch Baddy? He is very cunning,” asked Shersingh who was really worried.

“We have a plan for that, too,” said Cheeku and whispered something in Shersingh’s ear.

Laptu jackal phoned Baddy, “Hello Baddy, we have collected all the treasure. Please come here quickly on your motorboat, so that we can get out of here immediately.”

“That’s perfect! I have mixed sleeping powder in the food of the animals. They are all sleeping soundly. I am coming on the motorboat. Meet me at the riverside,” Baddy said on the speakerphone, so that, Cheeku and Shersingh could hear whatever Baddy said.

In a few hours, Baddy was in police custody.

The next day when the animals woke up, they could not understand anything.

“Have we reached the moon?” asked Meeku rat looking around.

“No, you are not on the moon. You are in Champakvan. But Baddy who was taking you on a trip to the moon, is on a trip to jail,” said Cheeku. Shersingh and Inspector Bear started laughing. The other animals could not understand anything and they started looking at each others’ face.

Later when Shersingh told them what had happened, they all praised and thanked Cheeku.

Gracy’s Boutique

Gracy chimpanzee lived with her grandmother in the Ashokvan forest. Her parents had passed away when she was small. Gracy studied very hard but couldn’t score high marks. Her classmates, Teddy bear, Horny rhinoceros, Nancy and others, were top performers. They would boast about becoming a doctor, an engineer, a scientist or a professor. Gracy always kept quiet.

After high school, all students moved out of Ashokvan for college. But Gracy did not get admission in any of the colleges, because of her low marks. She was very sad. Her grandmother asked, “Why is my darling so upset?’’

“Granny, some of my friends have left Ashokvan for further studies, while some others are joining their family businesses. I too want to achieve something in my life but I am unable to get admission in any of the colleges because of my low score,’’ said Gracy tearfully.

“Not getting admission in a college is not the end. You can also think of a career for yourself with your skills or talent!’’ explained Granny.

“But I don’t know anything. Nor can I do anything,’’ replied a sad Gracy.

“Gracy, you have a hidden talent within you. Think about it,’’ encouraged Granny.

“What hidden talent do I have, Granny?’’ asked a stunned Gracy.
“Try to remember. You used to score A+ in crafts in your school. You made a mat out of old rags and a painting out of broken bangle pieces. The colourful paper flowers made by you were decorated all over the school building. Have you forgotten that?’’ Granny recounted.

“But you had helped me in making all those things,’’ replied Gracy.

“Of course! But you had designed and crafted them. I am ready to help you even now,” said Granny encouragingly.

“I just like making those things!’’ exclaimed Gracy at Granny’s idea.

Without wasting any time, Gracy chalked out a schedule to start her work. First, she went online to know how to set up her own business.

Then she went on to meet her art and craft teacher, Chimpy baboon. Chimpy liked Gracy a lot. She felt happy when Gracy expressed her desire to learn painting from her. She said, “I am free in the evenings between 4 to 6 p.m. You can come and learn during that period.’’

During the day, Gracy would learn ‘Phulkari’, ‘Chinkankari’, ‘Crotio’ and other types of embroidery originally from different states. In the evenings, she would go to Chimpy to learn painting from her.

In the afternoons, she would browse the internet and learn making flowers out of cloth and paper. Not only did Gracy have talent, but she was highly committed and hardworking. It didn’t take her long to master all these skills. Soon she became an expert in making all types of handicrafts. She started making artificial flowers, art pieces, paintings on old bottles and turned them into vases. She also made wall hangings out of coconut coir and ice cream sticks. Gracy started selling her handicrafts from home.

She also enrolled herself in a statue making class. She was a keen observer too. She would engrave beautiful concepts on her crafts. She introduced new and novel designs every day. The demand for her products grew rapidly so did her business. She started employing a few workers to help her out too.

Gracy’s handicrafts were the talk of the forest. One day, Bhoori monkey, Shilpi wolf and Disco duck met her in the market.

“I like the view of the sea. So I got a sea view painted on my bedsheet by Gracy,’’ said Shilpi.

“And I got a scene of a river flowing through the mountains on my dupatta,’’ said Bhoori.

“There’s no doubt in it. Whether you need to decorate your house or gift something innovative to someone, you get them all at Gracy’s store,’’ added Disco.

Gracy’s business expanded in no time. And Gracy opened a store that was the talk of the forest!

Summer holidays started and Gracy’s classmates were back home from their colleges. They were surprised to hear about Gracy. “This is just miraculous Gracy! We still have to pursue our studies for two more years and then we have to search for a job. But you have achieved a lot in such a short span of time. You are already running a successful business,’’ said everyone praising her.

After a few days, Gracy decided to join the Institute of Design. It was a part-time course.

Granny asked Gracy, “You are running such a successful business. Why do you have to enrol yourself for anything else?’’

“Granny, this way I will fulfil my dream of achieving higher studies. I can also learn new techniques to develop my career. My business will run more successfully,’’ replied Gracy.

Granny felt happy that Gracy had taken such a wise decision of fulfilling her dreams.

Birthday Aeroplane

Priyanshi was excited as her birthday was approaching in a few days. Last year, her father had gifted her a bicycle. This year, she was expecting an even bigger gift.

She said, “Papa, this year, please give me something that no one else has.”

“Yes, Priyu. This time, too, I will get you something special. Don’t worry about your gift. Just concentrate on your studies,” replied papa.

Priyanshi was happy to hear this. She couldn’t wait for her birthday. She focused on her studies but kept getting distracted with the thought of her birthday gift.

On the day of her birthday, her parents threw a party and invited all her friends who came with gifts. She was thrilled to see all her friends who had come to celebrate her special day, but she couldn’t find her father’s gift.

Just before it was time to cut the cake, papa walked in with a big box. Priyanshi was elated to see such a big gift and wondered what was inside it.

But she knew she could only open her gifts after the party. So, she cut her birthday cake, ate the delicious snacks with her friends and once they left, she sat amidst all her gifts and opened them one by one. She always opened papa’s gift last. She carefully peeled the wrapping paper and was thrilled to see a colourful, remote-controlled aeroplane inside the box.

Priyanshi hugged her father and thanked him for the gift.

She started playing with the aeroplane immediately. Her grandfather saw the multi-colour aeroplane and asked, “Wow! Since when did we get such colourful aeroplanes?”

“Grandpa, this is my aeroplane. Absolutely unique! Papa bought it for me,” replied Priyanshi.

Grandpa laughed and said, “Ah! I have only seen white aeroplanes until now. Do you know why our real aeroplanes are white and not colourful?”

“I don’t know, grandpa. But I think they should be colourful so that they look like beautiful birds soaring in the sky,” replied Priyanshi.

“Priyu, there’s a reason why our planes are white and have less colour on them,” said grandpa.

“Why is that, grandpa?” asked Priyanshi.

“White colour on the plane keeps it cool as the rays of the sun bounce away from it. The machines that run the plane have to be kept cool so they function without a problem,” grandpa explained.

“I did not know that. But there are many other light colours so why is white chosen?” asked Priyanshi.

“White is a standard light colour. Engineers can easily catch sight of cracks, dents or any kind of damage on the body of the plane and fix it. If they don’t fix these, then even a small crack can lead to an accident,” said grandpa.

“You are right,” said Priyanshi.

Grandpa added, “Yes, we only see white aeroplanes and don’t know how important the colour is.”

“Grandpa, I don’t think you told all this to papa, which is why he brought me such a colourful aeroplane and not a white one,” said Priyanshi.

Grandpa and papa laughed.

“Priyu, this is just a toy for you to play with. But it’s good to know these facts. You wouldn’t know this if you didn’t ask so many questions,” said grandpa.

“Yes. I will share these facts with my friends. Right now, I need to find white paint for my aeroplane,” said Priyanshi.

Grandpa laughed loudly and hugged her.

Elephant In The Pit

Leo lion, the king of the jungle, was sitting in his palace when Monty monkey came to him and said, “Your Highness! Jojo elephant has fallen into a pit and we are not able to bring him out!”

“Jojo knows the forest at the back of his trunk! How did he fall into a pit?” asked King Leo.

“The hunters had recently dug a new pit and covered it with grass and dry leaves. Jojo didn’t realise and fell in it,” explained Monty.

“Jojo is such a kind elephant, always helping others. We must all go and get him out at once,” roared King Leo and marched out with Monty.

A big banyan tree with its spreading branches stood at the center of the forest. The pit was near the tree and many animals stood surrounding the pit.

Leo saw that Jojo was injured. He shouted, “Jojo! Don’t worry! I’m here! I’ll take you out of this pit immediately.”

Before anyone realised what was happening, Leo jumped inside the pit. “Jojo, move aside. I’ll push you from below and you climb out,” he instructed.

Jojo shifted a little. Leo grabbed him by his waist and pushed him up with all his might, “Out of the pit you go.’’

Leo began huffing but was not able to move Jojo an inch out. He wiped his brow on his sleeve and huffed, “Oh! Jojo, you haven’t moved even a bit! You’re quite heavy. But don’t worry. I’ll try again. When I push, you too try jumping out. I’m sure this time I’ll be able to push you out.”

Minister Brownie bear, was observing this. When Leo pushed Jojo again, he said, “Your Highness! We have all tried. But Jojo is heavy and difficult to be pushed out. We, too, haven’t been able to move him an inch. You should come out of the pit.”

“But we all love Jojo. We can’t leave him when he’s in trouble,” said Leo.

“We have to come up with another plan. You should come out,” said Brownie.

Leo jumped out and looked at the crowd. He said, “Everyone is gathered here. But I can’t see Rancho rhinoceros.”

“Your Highness! He sleeps all day. He probably doesn’t know about Jojo, otherwise, he would’ve been here,” said Monty.

“He is strong enough to bring Jojo out of the pit. Go and call him quickly,” said Leo.

Soon Monty came back with Rancho.

“Your Highness! Do not worry! I’ll go inside the pit and push Jojo out at once,” said Rancho as soon as he came.

Jojo heard him and screamed, “Rancho! Don’t come inside the pit!”

“Don’t worry, my friend! I’ll climb in carefully. I won’t stamp on you!” said Rancho, laughing.

“Wait! Wait! Listen to me first!” screamed Jojo.

“I’ll listen to you only after you’re out of the pit!” said Rancho, walking towards the pit.

“Oh, you silly animal! If you push me out, who will push you out?” said Jojo exasperatedly.

“Oh! I didn’t think of that!” said Rancho and stopped abruptly.

It was a complex problem. All the animals started thinking.

Dubdub donkey was standing among the crowd and observing everything. He said, “Rancho, don’t worry! It’ll be easy to bring you out of the pit.”

“How will that happen?” asked Rancho.

“You go in and push Jojo. Then Jojo will go inside again and push you out!” said Dubdub.

“And then I’ll enter the pit once more and push Jojo out, is it?” said Rancho raising an eye.

“You’re so smart! You understood my plan!” said Dubdub and laughed.

But Rancho cried out in anger, “Do you think we are fools like you that we’ll keep pushing each other out like in a circus?”

Dubdub realised he must have said something foolish so he kept quiet.

Leo put his paw on Rancho’s shoulder and said, “Calm down, Rancho! And think of a way to bring out Jojo.”

Neelu parrot suggested, “Your Highness! If we fill the pit with water, Jojo can swim his way out.”

The animals nodded liking the idea.

“Neelu, your idea is good but the pit can’t be filled with so much water, that a heavy animal like Jojo can swim out of it,” explained Leo.

“So then, we can fill the pit with mud. Jojo can step on the mud and come out,” said Titu rabbit.

“Jojo isn’t light-footed like you. He can’t step on top of loose mud. In fact, he’ll get further stuck in it,” said Leo.

Time passed, but no one could figure out a way to help Jojo.

Sally serpent was sitting there and seeing her Dola deer said, “Your Highness, if Sally lowers her tail inside the pit, Jojo can hold it and climb up.”

“Well, a light animal like you could climb out of the pit with the support of Sally’s tail. But if Jojo pulls it, Sally herself will fall into the pit,” said Leo.

“I didn’t think of that!” said Dola, disappointedly.

Something sparked in Dubdub as he heard Dola’s idea and he raised his hand and said, “I know the way!”

“Keep quiet! We don’t have time for your nonsense!” snapped Rancho.

“Just listen to me! This time I have a great idea!” said Dubdub, excitedly.

Rancho was about to snap at him again, but Leo interrupted him and said, “Rancho! Listen to his idea first!”

Then he looked at Dubdub and said, “Tell us your idea.”

“The world knows that donkeys are very strong when it comes to carrying loads or pulling heavyweights,” said Dubdub.

“That’s right!” nodded Leo.

“Tie Sally’s tail to my waist and let her hang with her face down into the pit.

When Jojo holds on to her, I’ll pull him out of the pit with all my strength.”

Hearing him, Sally screamed, “Hey! What are you saying? Whether Jojo comes out or not, I’m sure to be split into two pieces!”

“I told you Dubdub is always talking nonsense!” said Rancho angrily.

“Don’t be so angry, Rancho,” said Leo, patting his shoulder. “Dubdub’s idea may be nonsensical, but he has shown us the way to rescue Jojo.”

Sally was scared. She started pleading, “Your Highness, please have mercy! If you listen to Dubdub, I’ll end up in two pieces!”

“Don’t worry, Sally! What I mean is that we will follow Dubdub’s plan but instead of you, we will use strong banyan tree branches to pull Jojo up,” said Leo pointing at the hanging branches of the banyan tree.

Rancho was overjoyed hearing this idea. He said, “Wow! That’s a very simple solution! Why didn’t I think of it?”

“He, he, he! We donkeys are doing all the thinking these days!” said Dubdub, baring his teeth.

Leo addressed the crowd and said, “Dubdub’s plan is great! But instead of tying the branches to Dubdub, we will tie them to Rancho’s feet. He’ll easily be able to pull Jojo up.”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness! I’d have pulled Jojo, but your plan is better,”
said Dubdub, nodding his head.

The branches of the banyan tree were cut and tied together like a rope. One end was tied to Rancho’s feet and the other end was lowered into the pit.

Jojo tugged at the rope to test its strength. It was strong enough.

Monty called out to him, “Jojo! Are you ready?”

“Ready!”

Monty whistled signalling Rancho to walk ahead. With the support of the rope, Jojo too started coming out of the pit slowly. The other animals kept cheering for them.

Jojo was halfway out of the pit soon but his lower half was still inside the pit. He was quite heavy and could not completely pull himself out, no matter how much Rancho pulled.

Rancho now pulled with extra effort.

Jojo had now managed to come out almost completely when the rope started breaking. The other animals screamed in fear, but before the rope could break, Leo quickly caught hold of Jojo’s hands and pulled him out in one swift move.

“Hail our king, Leo!” cried all the animals together.

“Not me, you should praise Dubdub! It’s his plan that ultimately helped us rescue Jojo,” said Leo, smiling.

Jojo’s eyes had tears. He hugged Dubdub and said, “My dear, Dubdub! Please forgive us! We always make fun of you! But we are glad that you’re our friend.”

“Jojo and Dubdub! Best friends!” said Rancho and the other animals repeated it.

Leo had the pit filled with mud and put guards in the forest so that the hunters would not come this way again.

King Of Art!

Blacky bear loved painting. He would draw pictures during his free time. And sometimes when he drew during class, he would get a scolding from his teacher.

Blacky loved drawing sceneries like sunrises and snow-clad mountains. He drew flowers, plants and trees. He needed colours and brushes to finish these paintings.

But whenever he asked his parents for them, they would not buy them and instead tell him, he should concentrate on his studies.

At school, other children were busy with their studies that they hardly looked or paid any attention to Blacky’s drawings.

Blacky continued to draw different pictures to fulfil his hobby.

Everyone was fond of the banyan tree in the forest of Champakvan. Blacky would sit in its shadow and make drawings. Whenever Blacky felt sad, he would take his drawing book and sit in the shade of the banyan tree and draw.

The banyan tree would be pleased to see Blacky drawing.

One day, the banyan tree said to Blacky, “Blacky, you make such good drawings! I’m such a big tree! Can you draw me on that small paper?”

Blacky was happy that someone praised his drawing.

“Yes, Banyan tree! I can draw you! But I will need some time for that,” he replied.

That evening he went to draw the banyan tree.

One day, it rained heavily so Blacky could not go out.

Sitting at home, Blacky was drawing when his father came.

His father said, “What are you doing, Blacky? You keep drawing something or the other all the time. Pay attention to your studies. Only your studies will be helpful, not these drawings!”

Blacky stopped drawing and opened a book.

The banyan tree waited for Blacky to show the drawing.

But since Blacky had exams at school, he could not visit the banyan tree.

Once his exams were over, he went to the banyan tree to show him the drawing.

The banyan tree praised the drawing a lot. He said, “Blacky, why don’t you send your drawings to Champak magazine? They often have drawing competitions and you should participate.”

Blacky had no idea about it. The banyan tree would often read stories in Champak, so he was aware of it.

The banyan tree gave Blacky the address of Champak magazine and asked him to send his drawing there.

Blacky sent his drawing to Champak and won the first prize. Everyone in Champakvan loved his artwork!

As a prize, he received the same colours and brushes, which he often asked his parents to buy for him.

The news that Blacky was a great artist spread through the forest like wildfire.

At the assembly hall in school, the headmistress honoured Blacky by calling him on stage, giving him a prize and the title of ‘The King of Art’.

Blacky’s parents realised their son’s talent and promised to support him along with his studies.

Detective Pinky!

Piggu pig ran a poultry farm with healthy hens that laid many eggs. Piggu took good care of the hens and sold the eggs in the market.

One evening, when Piggu was getting ready to leave for the market to sell eggs, it began pouring. Piggu thought he’ll wait for the rain to slow down and then leave. However, it didn’t stop till dusk and Piggu decided to go to the market the next day.

Next morning, when Piggu came to collect eggs from the farm, he was shocked to see them missing. He looked everywhere but couldn’t find them.

Sad and disturbed, Piggu came back home. His daughter, Pinky saw him and asked, “Daddy, I thought you had gone to the market. How come you are back
so soon?”

“I have no reason to go to the market now,” Piggu replied sadly.

“Why don’t you have a reason to go to the market? And why are you sad? Please tell me,” Pinky asked, concerned.

“The eggs I was supposed to sell at the market have been stolen. I looked for them everywhere in the farm but couldn’t find,” replied Piggu.

“What! How did this happen? Let’s go back to the farm. I will help you look for the eggs again,” said Pinky.

Piggu and Pinky went back to the farm.

“I should have gone to the market yesterday. If I had taken the eggs yesterday, they wouldn’t have been stolen,” Piggu berated himself.

Pinky consoled her father, “Don’t worry daddy. We will find the thief who stole the eggs. The rain will help us.” And, she started observing the marks in the wet mud near the farm.

Piggu didn’t think the eggs would be found. “I know that you are fond of reading detective stories and watching such movies, but this is not a child’s play. I know I will never get the eggs back,” he said, hopelessly.

Pinky didn’t pay attention to what her dad said. She keenly observed the wet mud. “Look there, daddy! There are some tyre marks and footprints coming out of the farm. It looks like someone took the eggs in a handcart,” she pointed.

Still not hopeful of getting the eggs, Piggu asked, “How will this clue help us find who took our eggs?”

Pinky replied patiently, “We will follow these marks to where they lead. It will take us to the house of the thief who has stolen our eggs in this handcart.”

Somewhat convinced, Piggu followed the marks with Pinky. After a while, they reached a grassy stretch over which the tyre marks disappeared.

“Now, what should we do?” said Piggu losing the faint flicker of hope.

“Don’t lose heart, daddy. At least we got a direction. Let’s go ahead and look for more clues,” replied Pinky.

After walking for some more distance, they noticed three carts that were kept in front of three different houses.

Pinky observed the tyre marks carefully and said, “Daddy, out of the three, the tyre marks on two of the carts match with the one we have been following. But one handcart’s tyres are clean, while the other one still has fresh mud on it. This is it! The house with the dirty handcart is where our thief lives and he used it to steal the eggs.”

“This is Danny donkey’s house. I caught my thief! Let me teach him a lesson,” said Piggu marching towards the door and thumping on it loudly.

“Wait, I am coming. You will break the door!” said Danny’s voice from inside as he rushed to open the door.

Piggu pushed Danny down and asked, “Where have you hidden my eggs?” and stomped inside, looking for them in Danny’s house but not finding them.

“What eggs? I do not understand what you are saying,” said Danny getting up.

“Don’t act innocent. We followed the tyre marks from my poultry farm and saw your muddy cart outside your house. Isn’t that your muddy cart outside?” asked Piggu.

“Yes, that is my cart. But I am unwell and haven’t left my house at all. That’s why the wheels are muddy,” explained Danny.

“You are lying! You have hidden my eggs somewhere,” Piggu accused Danny.

Danny tried to convince him and said, “Why would I lie, brother? We are friends and I would never steal eggs from you.”

Pinky quickly interrupted and said, “Daddy, please have patience. Danny uncle is right. He has not stolen our eggs.”

She looked at Danny and asked, “Uncle, do you know someone who has hurt his left leg and is limping?”

Danny thought for a moment and replied, “No child, I don’t know anyone.”

“Hmm. Is there any hospital or doctor’s clinic nearby?” Pinky asked.

“Yes, Dr Bhallu bear’s clinic is ten minutes away,” replied Danny and shared the doctor’s address with Pinky. Pinky thanked him and rushed towards the clinic with Piggu.

Confused, Piggu said, “Why are we going to the clinic instead of finding the thief who stole the eggs!”

Before Pinky could answer, they had reached the clinic.

She went to the desk where the doctor and nurse were sitting and politely asked, “Doctor, we are looking for someone who has hurt his left leg and is limping. Can you please tell us if anyone like that has come to your clinic?”

The doctor paused for a moment and said, “Yes, Belu hyena’s left hind leg is wounded. He comes here to get it bandaged.”

Pinky asked, “Will he be coming today also?”

“Yes, he comes in the evening,” Kerry cat, the nurse, replied.

Pinky was now restless. “We can’t wait till evening. Can you please share his address?” she asked.

“We can’t share his address but he must be living nearby as he comes walking in spite of the injury,” Kerry replied.

Pinky thanked Kerry and left the clinic.

Still confused, Piggu asked, “Why did you want to know who was injured? Why are we after Belu?”

“Because Belu is the thief,” Pinky said, confidently. Pigu and Pinky asked around and they found Belu’s house.

When Piggu and Pinky reached Belu’s house, he got scared.

“Belu, did you steal our eggs?” asked Piggu.

When he didn’t say anything, Piggu angrily went in to search the house and found the eggs. Since Belu was hurt, he couldn’t run away.

“Do you accept your crime?” asked Piggu looking at Belu.

“Yes, I stole the eggs. When I saw you leave the eggs at the farm because it was pouring, I found the perfect opportunity to steal them. I saw that Danny wasn’t around and took his cart to steal the eggs and run away.”

Piggu handed Belu over to the police.

While returning home, Piggu praised Pinky and said, “You have become a great detective. But how did you know that Belu stole the eggs?”

“Daddy, along with the tyres marks, I looked closely and studied the footprints also. While three of the four footprints were deep, one was barely visible. I understood that the thief had one injured leg and was limping,” replied Pinky.

“Danny uncle wasn’t injured, so I understood that he wasn’t the thief. Since Danny uncle didn’t know of anyone who was injured, I figured that the thief must be someone who has been hurt recently. That’s the reason I took you to the nearest clinic to find out who had been injured,” added Pinky.

Piggu was proud of his daughter and thanked her for not losing hope.

Thereafter, talks about Pinky’s wisdom spread throughout the forest

Fear Of Coronavirus!

All the animals of Champakvan were scared of at the speed with which the corona pandemic was spreading.

One morning, when Meeku mouse went to the market to buy some vegetables, he saw that everyone in the market was following social distancing while shopping and that they all wore masks.

Meeku always bought his vegetables from Blacky bear’s shop. He stood in the queue like everybody else. When it was his turn he handed over the list and his bag to Blacky and said, “Blacky, here is my list, please weigh the vegetables for me.”

“Right away,” said Blacky.

Blacky was weighing the vegetables when suddenly Meeku coughed.

Blacky stopped immediately and asked, “Meeku, you are coughing! Are you sure you’re not infected by coronavirus?”

“No, I am absolutely fine. Something just irritated my throat and so I coughed,” said Meeku, embarrassed as everyone was looking at him accusingly.

“How is that possible? I am sure it is coronavirus and you are hiding it. I cannot give you vegetables. You go to the hospital immediately and get yourself checked,” said Blacky, rudely.

Jumpy monkey and Damru donkey who were buying vegetables from the next shop moved away quickly. “Run, Meeku is infected by coronavirus. We will get infected too if we stay here,” Jumpy screamed.

“Yes, you are right. It is not safe to stay here,” shouted Damru, trotting away.

Soon, the entire market knew about Meeku coughing and all the shopkeepers started shutting their shops and ran.

Meeku was not able to understand what was happening around him. He tried to stop everybody. “Don’t run away from me, please stay,” he pleaded. “Could they be right, am I really infected?” he thought to himself. He became very upset and sat there and started to cry.

Dola deer was also visiting the market at the same time to buy vegetables. When she heard the noise and saw Jumpy, Damru and Blacky running away, she stopped them and asked, “Why are you all running? What is the problem?”

“Dola, Meeku is infected with coronavirus and if we stay here we will get infected too,” said Jumpy, out of breath.

“If you want to save yourselves you better run too,” Damru added.

Dola tried to calm them and asked, “First you all stop running and tell me who told you that Meeku has coronavirus?”

“I saw Meeku coughing,” said Blacky.
“Yes, we also saw him coughing,” Jumpy and Damru said in a chorus.

“Coughing does not necessarily mean that one is infected by coronavirus and treating Meeku like this based on your suspicion is not right after all he is also a member of our family,” Dola explained.

“Dola, we don’t know all that but we are very scared that we may get infected too,” said Jumpy fearfully.

Dola consoled him and said, “Don’t be scared, Jumpy. Only a doctor can say if Meeku is infected or not. Let us take him to the hospital.”

They all agreed with Dola and took Meeku to the hospital.

Doctor Jumbo elephant screened them all as they reached the hospital. He asked them to sit on the chairs placed at a distance and asked them, “What is it? Why do you all look so scared?”

“Doctor, Meeku has been infected with coronavirus. Please admit him in your hospital,” said Jumpy.

“But how do you know that he has been infected?” asked Doctor Jumbo.

“Meeku was coughing that’s how we know,” Jumpy replied.

Dola then explained the situation to Doctor Jumbo, “Actually Doctor, everybody doubts that Meeku was coughing because he is infected and that is why we have brought him here to know for sure.”

“You did the right thing by bringing him here. Let me check for his symptoms,” and Doctor Jumbo took Meeku inside for a check-up.

After taking a swab test and a full examination Doctor Jumbo came out and said, “The swab test report will take a few days to come. But I have physically examined Meeku and he is not infected by coronavirus. There is no need to hospitalise him.”

“Then why was he coughing? I have heard that Corona patients cough,” asked Blacky.

“Coughing alone does not mean that one is infected. High fever, breathlessness, headaches, diarrhoea, loss of taste and smell are some of the other symptoms of this disease. Meeku always uses a mask and he regularly sanitizes his hands. Also, he has not been in contact with any corona patients in the last few days. He does not have any symptoms,” said the doctor.

“Why was Meeku coughing then?” Damru wanted to know.

“Meeku drank cold water before leaving for the market as it was really hot and he had ice cream last night and that’s why he was coughing. I have given him medicines for his sore throat,” he explained.

Jumpy, Blacky and Damru were all embarrassed after finding out the truth from the doctor.

They all apologised to Meeku, “We accused you without any reason and took you to be a coronavirus patient. We ran away from you and treated you badly, please forgive us.”

Jumpy turned to Dola and said, “Had it not been for you we would have never got him to the hospital and known the truth.”

“Don’t be scared of coronavirus, just be alert. It can happen to anybody but a little precaution can prevent us from this disease. Wearing a mask while going out, washing our hands regularly, maintaining social distancing, covering our nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing are some of the things that can prevent us from this disease. Also, contact a doctor in a nearby hospital if you notice any symptoms. Most importantly, do not treat a coronavirus patient badly, try to help them instead,” advised Doctor Jumbo.

Meeku thanked doctor Jumbo and said, “I am thankful to you for giving us so much information about coronavirus. For a moment even I was scared but now I am no longer scared.” He also thanked Dola for her help.

Cheeku’s Reformation!

In Nilgiri forest all the animals lived together. All the kids of the jungle went to the forest school to study. Jumbo elephant was the teacher and the students enjoyed learning from him.

But Cheeku rabbit was very lazy. Neither did he like to study, nor did he like to go to school. He only wanted to roam around and to eat carrots the entire day. He would postpone doing both his homework as well as housewash.

The thought of sitting to study made him giddy and whenever his mother would ask him to study, he would make some excuse and get away from there.

His parents were very worried about Cheeku’s dislike for studying. Although Cheeku had reached Class VII, he could not read or write well. He managed to scrape through the exams by copying or looking into his classmates’ notebooks.

His classmates made fun of him. But it did not bother Cheeku.

After his final exams, Cheeku decided to visit his maternal uncle for the holidays. He urged his parents that no matter what happens he would go to uncle’s house this year.

Festival season was fast approaching and Cheeku’s father had a lot of work at office, so he could not go to drop Cheeku. His mother also could not accompany him as his grandmother was unwell.

Cheeku decided to go alone and asked his parents for permission.

His parents allowed him to go alone and Cheeku’s mom accompanied him to the bus-stand. On reaching the bus-stand, Cheeku noticed that there were many buses stationed. His uncle lived in Kajrivan. Since he could not read well he had to ask the people standing there which bus went to Kajrivan for the journey.

Everyone was busy and could not believe that Cheeku could not read. He was ashamed. “You are quite a grown-up boy and yet you can’t even read what is written on the bus? Hasn’t your school taught you anything?”, mouthed Baddy Fox.

Meeku mouse who was at the bus-stand to see off a relative, felt sorry for Cheeku and said, “There, that bus is going to Kajrivan.”

Cheeku thanked Meeku and quickly got on the bus.

As soon as the bus started and was on the road, Blacky bear, the ticket conductor, came to Cheeku and asked him kindly, “Yes son, where do you want to go?”
Cheeku replied, “Please may I get a ticket for Kajrivan.” He handed Blacky his purse and said, “Please take the money for the ticket from here and give me back the rest.”

Blacky stared at Cheeku and said politely, “Son, this bus is not going to Kajrivan; it is coming from Kajrivan and is going to Haritvan via Champakvan. You have boarded the wrong bus.” Then he added, “Also, you should not hand over all your money to anyone. A thief or a cheat would take it and run away. Don’t you know how to read and to count?”

Cheeku became red with shame. He felt bad that he had not paid attention at school and could not read and write. Had he learnt reading, writing and counting, he would not have to face the situation he was in today. No one would have laughed at him.

He felt like crying. Also he was worried because he had boarded the wrong bus and feared that the conductor would be rude to him.

He told Blacky bear that it was true he did not know how to read and write well. He promised that he will do so now.

Blacky felt sorry for Cheeku and asked the driver to stop the bus. Then he stopped the bus that was going to Kajrivan and asked Cheeku to board it.
Cheeku thanked him and when he reached his uncle’s house he told his uncle about what had happened.

Cheeku’s uncle, Shersingh was a teacher. He explained to Cheeku, “Son, to be able to progress in life, studies is necessary. It makes us independent. In current times, one has to be not just literate but also educated. So work hard and study well.

At the start of the new session, Cheeku started working hard in school. He was no longer lazy. Soon he not only surprised his parents but also his teacher and his classmates with his performance in school. He started scoring well in all his tests and no one teased him anymore by calling him lazy or illiterate.

Senior Citizens’ Club!

Ballu and Benny bear ran a food court in Nandanvan. As it was a food court, they had to open it early in the morning before breakfast and close it late at night after dinner. Due to such a hectic schedule, they didn’t find much time to spend at home. Their son Teddy went to a morning school and came back in the afternoon. Ballu’s father Bob who was quite old used to be at home alone. Bob felt lonely in the house the entire day and he lacked company or any activity to do.

One afternoon he was sitting in his easy chair in the house when Teddy came back from school. Teddy saw that his grandpa was very sad and lost in some deep thought. He asked him, “What happened grandpa? Why do you look so sad?”

Bob caressed Teddy’s head and said, “My dear boy, nothing is the matter.” But Teddy could see that grandpa was trying to hide something.

That evening when Teddy was busy with a school project, his mom and dad came back from work. Teddy shared the conversation he had with grandpa in the afternoon. On hearing Teddy, Ballu became worried for his father. Benny said, “I think it may be because of old age that he fears he will lose his independence. He might be really struggling but you know he is too proud to admit that he needs some help. Since we are away most of the days, he may not be comfortable to share his feelings with us”.

Next day, Teddy kept thinking about his grandpa and the conversation between his mom and dad. He wanted to help his grandpa and many more such senior citizens of Nandanvan like him. Suddenly that evening he had an idea and he ran to his grandpa and said,” Let’s start a senior citizen club in Nandanvan. Bob was surprised by Teddy’s sudden proposal and asked, “What do you mean Teddy?” Teddy explained, “Grandpa, you and some of other senior citizens like you residing in Nandanvan can start a senior citizen club. The club members may jointly organize various activities like get-togethers, yoga camps, tea party, and picnics. You can tie up with our school for some lectures based on your real-life experiences that may be practical learning for students.”

Benny who came early from work heard all this at the door steps and said, “This is a good suggestion Teddy. This way all senior citizens will get each other’s company and be involved in some activity. Since Ballu and I are out for work during the day, our home can be used for your meetings and get-togethers.”

Bob was happy to see that though he was feeling lonely, his family was concerned about him. He took a lead and with Teddy’s help, formed the club and invited members.

In a short span of time, the Senior Citizen Club of Nandanvan was the talk of the jungle and all the members who joined the club started participating in various social activities, picnics, yoga sessions, swimming and get-together parties. The food for the senior members for the club programmes was of course sponsored by Ballu’s Food Court!

Plastic Bag Menace

Jumbo elephant worked hard to collect money from all the animals of the forest to buy a garbage-collecting van. He did not want anyone to dump waste in front of their homes. In spite of his repeated requests, Bholu bear would fill the garbage in plastic bags and dump it in the middle of the road.

While passing by, the two bulls Cleo and Gabby would stop seeing the garbage and start eating out of it. Other pedestrians felt it difficult to walk on that road because of the stench coming out of the dumped garbage. Jumbo could not bear this. He called Bholu and said, “Bholu, please don’t dump your plastic garbage bag in the middle of the road. You are not helping our CLEAN OUR FOREST MOVEMENT.”

“Then I will just litter the garbage on the road instead of dumping it in the plastic bag.” Bholu replied back harshly.

“Don’t do that Bholu! Please dump your waste into the garbage van when it stops by your house.”

Bholu was listening to whatever Jumbo was saying but he was turning a deaf ear. Next day again Bholu threw about fifteen to twenty banana peels on the road. A little later, Laptoo fox was passing that way and stepped on one of the peels, slipped and got hurt badly. He shouted in pain, “Who threw these peels here? I am not going to spare him.”

No one answered him! Bholu was watching everything from behind the tree and laughed by himself. Laptoo stood up with a lot of difficulty and limped his way on.

The next day, the local newspaper carried the following notice, “Plastic is highly toxic, equivalent to poison. Buying and selling plastic bags is prohibited. The government will levy fine on all those breaking this rule.”

But colourful plastic bags were still being sold. Jumbo shared with his friend Damroo donkey, “This problem will be solved if the government stops manufacturing plastic bags.” Damroo said, “Then how will people carry things? To stop manufacture is not a solution, but we all have to find an alternate to plastic. Not all plastic is bad.”

Not only the government, but all the citizens of the jungle did not wish to find a solution to the garbage and plastic problems.

One day, when Cleo and Gabby were walking, Bholu threw a plastic bag full of garbage on the road. Cleo felt happy to see the bag and he gobbled the garbage along with the plastic bag at one go. Gabby just stared at him.

The next day Cleo was writhing in pain. He was suffering from severe stomach pain. He said to Gabby, “I can no longer bear this pain. Let us go to the doctor.’’

Gabby took him to Doctor Sheru lion. Sheru came out of his cave and asked Cleo to lie down and said “Stretch yourself. I will check your tummy.”

Cleo lay down. Sheru took an ultrasound machine and found a plastic bag with garbage inside Cleo’s stomach. He gave Cleo some pills to remove the pain and Cleo felt relieved.

Next day Sheru called for a meeting in Champakvan. He explained the hazards of using the plastic bags to everyone.

“We will not use plastic but we must also stop their manufacturing”, said Gabby.

“You are right. Let me talk to the manufacturers as well.” said Sheru.

Sheru searched every nook and corner of the forest but it was futile. He could not locate the plastic bag manufacturing unit.

Suddenly he heard the screeching sound of a machine coming from a cave, located at the far end of the forest. He went to the cave and peeped inside. Kutkut squirrel was sitting on a machine along with her helpers. Something was being melted in a big bowl kept near the machine. Harman fox filled a mug with that liquid and poured it into one end of the machine and plastic bags were coming out from the other end of the machine. Around a hundred bags were being made in no time.

Sheru then called a meeting between the jungle residents and Kutkut squirrel, who promised to stop making single-use plastic bags that were not easily biodegradable. All the animals along with Kutkut promised to study the alternatives of plastic use and not jump to hasty conclusions.

Senior Citizen Award!

Pihu pigeon was everyone’s favourite in Champakvan for her kindness and manners.

She was adventurous and flying off to faraway places to experience things and new lessons. She loved watching trees, hills, rivers and fields while flying. Her dream was to fly like an eagle above the clouds!

Pihu was friends with Mittu maina who lived in the village near the forest, at a farmer’s house. She would visit Mittu with sweet fruits. Once in a while, Mittu would visit Pihu in Champakvan with corns and wheat grains from her house. Mittu understood human language very well and thus, Pihu was able to learn a lot about human lives as well.

One day when Pihu came to Mittu’s house, she saw her relaxing on the branch of the golden shower tree at the courtyard of the farmer’s house. Pihu sat near Mittu and gave her some fruits. At a distance, she could see a small gathering of villagers. They were discussing something very seriously but happily.

Pihu was curious to know and learn new topics. Mittu knew her friend’s habit. So, she took Pihu to the old mango tree under which the meeting was taking place. Pihu requested Mittu to listen carefully and translate it into bird’s language.

Pihu and Mittu sat quietly on a big branch of the mango tree listening.

Pihu could not understand anything, yet she enjoyed the actions and reactions of the villagers. Finally, there was a huge applause and the crowd dispersed.
Now, it was Mittu’s turn to explain to Pihu.

“The villagers were discussing about celebrating World Senior Citizens Day,” said Mittu.

“When is that?” asked Pihu.

“Hey Pihu, please don’t interrupt. I may forget all the points,” warned Mittu and continued – “I heard about it for the first time. World Senior Citizens Day is celebrated on 21st August every year. The idea of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about the factors and issues affecting older people and also to study issues that affect their lives. Elderly people, these days, are abused in many ways and hence activists have come up with assistance to protect and shelter the elderly.”

Pihu got excited and asked Mittu – “Why were a few people clapping and cheering at the end of the meeting?”

“Your observation power is really praiseworthy,” appreciated Mittu.

“It is also a day to recognize and appreciate the contributions that older people make to the society. Hence, the Village Head has approved the proposal of honouring such important personalities during the celebration,” Mittu stopped her talk and took a long breath.

“This is really wonderful. We must always respect, support and love our elders. I am lucky to have visited you today or else I would have never learned about it,” said Pihu.

Mittu and Pihu flew back to the golden shower tree. Both of them enjoyed swinging to the waves of the cool breeze. Red dragonflies and yellow butterflies were fluttering around the wheat fields. Sapna, the farmer’s little daughter came out of the house and called Mittu with strawberries in her hand. Mittu asked Pihu to join her to eat the delicious strawberries. Sapna greeted Pihu as well. After a while, Pihu left for Champakvan happily. Her mind was full of thoughts and plans.

Pihu shared the information about Senior Citizens Day with her parents and beloved friends Pyaree peacock, Princy parrot, Sweety siskin and Chinju cuckoo. Pihu too wanted to celebrate the day in Champakvan for the first time by giving a surprise to the older animals and birds. Pihu’s parents loved the idea.

Pihu took up the responsibility of inviting all the birds and animals for the occasion. The big banyan tree near the waterfalls was selected for the venue. Pihu requested Princy parrot to accompany her. Pyaree peacock and Sweety siskin took up the responsibility of arranging food and gifts.

Finally, the Senior Citizens Day was here. All the animals and birds were clueless as to why they were invited. While the birds sat on the branches of the trees, the animals sat under the trees and a few on the black rocks near the waterfalls. There were little monkeys and squirrels who played around joyously.

As soon as Raja Gabru lion came with his minister Jambu elephant, the function began. Chinju cuckoo welcomed all with a melodious hymn.

Pihu told the crowd about the significance of the day and the purpose of the celebration. All were quite surprised on hearing about Senior Citizens Day. There was a big round of applause when Pihu announced about honouring the elderly and old members.

Chinju cuckoo invited the very old Mottu monkey, Bittu bear and Cheeru crow on the stage. Pihu read out the contributions made to Champakvan. Regardless of age and other health issues, Mottu, Bittu and Cheeru had worked hard for the betterment of the inhabitants and the development of Champakvan.

Pyaree peacock and Sweety siskin requested Raja Gabru to present the awards to the honourable guests. All the animals and birds clapped for the guests of honour.

Raja Gabru appreciated the organizing committee for their initiative and goodwill. He presented a bouquet to the little pretty Pihu who had introduced the idea of celebrating Senior Citizens Day in Champakvan. Everybody enjoyed delicious food and chatted happily.

Suddenly, Pihu heard the flaps of her dearest friend Mittu main a. “Well done, Pihu” appreciated Mittu. Pihu and her friends welcomed Mittu to join their celebrations

Motorcycle Ghost!

Bablu looked at the dark road ahead and screamed, “Dad! Ghost!”

“Where?” asked his Dad, and stopped his motorcycle. “There” said Bablu pointing to a human skeleton on a motorcycle that stood on the road ahead. Everyone was avoiding him and going the opposite way.

“Is it a ghost or are we simply imagining it?” asked Bablu’s Dad, looking ahead carefully.

“Dad! Let’s also turn and go the other way,” said Bablu feeling terrified. But his Dad kept looking at the skeleton.

He said, “Bablu! I’m not convinced that it is a ghost riding a motorcycle! Let’s go and see the ghost clearly.”

Bablu was feeling petrified but wondered if a ghost could really ride a motorcycle.

His dad started their motorcycle and carefully went close to the skeleton.

“Hello! Hmm.. Dear Mr. Skeleton, what’s the matter?” asked Dad politely.

The skeleton looked up from trying to start his motorcycle and said casually, “Oh, nothing much! My motorcycle had suddenly stopped.”

Bablu was shocked. The ghost spoke well!

“Why don’t you fly and go wherever you’re headed? Ghosts can fly, right?” asked Bablu now when he felt he could talk to a ghost.

“Fly?” now the ghost was shocked. “Why are you joking, son? If I could fly, why would I be riding a motorcycle?” Then he looked at his motorcycle, and said, “It simply wouldn’t start.”

“I see,” said Bablu’s Dad without blinking an eye as if talking to a ghost was usual, and walked to the ghost’s motorcycle. He carefully turned the key, kicked on the pedal, but the motorcycle would not start.

He then asked, “Where are you headed?”
The ghost said, “I’m participating in a play in the neighbouring village. I’m headed there.

Bablu’s Dad looked at the motorcycle and said, “There could be three reasons why the motorcycle is not starting. First, the key is incorrectly inserted, secondly, it has run out of petrol or thirdly it may be dissipating current. I have checked the first two causes,” then he looked at the ghost and asked, “Does it have petrol?”

“Yes, I just filled a litre petrol in it,” said the ghost.

“Why isn’t it starting, then?” asked Dad.

Bablu said, “I think the motorcycle too is scared seeing a ghost and that is why it won’t start!”

“What Ghost?” asked the skeleton, surprised.

“Bablu may have a point!” said Dad. “Look, people are running away after seeing you from afar.”

“But why?” said the ghost confused.

“Look at yourself in the mirror,” said Bablu, turning the rear view towards the man.

When skeleton looked at his reflection in the mirror of the motorcycle, he jumped seeing himself.

“Oh! A ghost!” he cried out and he took two steps backwards.

“What happened?” asked Bablu.
“A ghost!” he said pointing to his reflection and quickly took out water from the backseat and started washing his face. “I look really scary in the dark—like a real ghost! The village did not have a green room, so I got dressed from my home and was going on my motorcycle. But then I did not realise that in the ghost dress, She would look like a real ghost. But how come you weren’t scared?”

“I was scared,” said Bablu’s Dad. “But then I thought that a ghost could not be riding a motorcycle and something else was the matter. So I approached you.”

“Oh!” said the ghost looking sheepish.

Bablu’s Dad said, “Oh, I see the key for petrol supply was turned off. That’s why the motorcycle could not start. Saying so, his father turned the key for petrol and started the motorcycle.
The ghost removed his costume and put it in a bag. He sat on his motorcycle and said, “Thank you so much! I’ll be going now.”

“Where are you going? Don’t you have a play to act in?” asked Bablu’s Dad.

“No, thank you. I won’t play the role of a ghost who got scared of himself!” he said and headed back home.

Bablu said, “Dad, we easily get scared seeing a ghost. Some people take advantage of this and scare us more. Had we been scared and gone the other way, I too, would have been forever scared of ghosts.”

“Yes, Bablu! We get scared and fail to see the truth,” said his Dad and together, they headed back home on their motorcycle.

Bablu was mighty pleased with himself. He had actually met a ghost! He wanted to narrate the experience to his Mom.

“Faster, Dad! I must tell Mom about how we met a ghost today!”

The motorcycle zoomed fast ahead.

A Lesson Learnt

One day Charlie monkey walked out of the forest towards the village. There was some commotion near the village, and Charlie climbed a tree to see what was going on.

He saw several people were seated along the roadside and were holding their hands out to people who were passing by. Some of the passers by handed them money or fruits.

Charlie was delighted seeing this, “This is great! I have to work so hard and even after searching, I am hardly able to find fresh fruits or good food to eat. And these people are getting food by sitting at one place! I should also do the same. But if I sit here, people may shoo me away. I must do something about it,” said Charlie to himself.

He thought for a while and then went and grabbed a blanket from a house nearby.

He wrapped it around himself and went and sat at the roadside, a little away from the other beggars.

Copying others, Charlie too held out his hand at people passing by.

If someone gave him money, he would throw it away, but when they gave fruits or other food, he would eat it with relish.

He started enjoying his days.

Soon, the other monkeys in his troop noticed that Charlie was not around and became curious.

One evening, when Charlie returned to the forest, the other monkeys came to him and asked, “Charlie, you don’t come with us these days to the orchard to eat guavas? Where are you the whole day?” one of them asked.

“Oh, I’m really enjoying myself these days. You guys should join me,” he said, rubbing his tummy and explained his scheme.

“Charlie, we may be naughty but we’re not lazy and will not eat by cheating. I suggest you too should stop begging for food. If the humans ever find out that you’re fooling them, they will beat you up,” advised an elderly monkey.

“No, they’ll never find out! I’ve been fooling them for a month now and they have no idea yet about it?” laughed Charlie.

The other monkeys tried to stop him from begging, but he did not listen to anyone.

Several days passed. When people noticed that Charlie would not accept money, they began giving him more food thinking that he was some higher person who did not have greed for money.

Soon, the other beggars on the road began getting lesser money as people gave more attention to Charlie. But they could not do anything about it.

One day, Charlie was sitting and holding out his hands to passers-by as usual, when suddenly there was a gust of wind.

As the winds become strong, Charlie held on to the blanket that was wrapped around him. He tried hard to hold it, but the wind was too strong and blew it away from his hand.

When the other beggars and the people saw that a monkey had been sitting as a beggar, they became angry.

“Oh! this monkey has been fooling us for so many days,” they all shouted and ran behind him with sticks to beat him up.

Seeing the danger, Charlie quickly climbed a nearby tree. But people started throwing stones at him. Some of the stones hit Charlie and he was injured but he somehow managed to escape and save himself.

“The other monkeys were right! If I had listened to them and hadn’t given in to greed of free food, I wouldn’t have been in this condition today,” thought Charlie as he limped back towards the forest. He promised himself never to do so again!

Value Of Freedom

Elsa was a small and beautiful fish. She had rainbow-coloured stripes on her body that sparkled in the sunlight.

She lived in Chandan Lake with other fishes. There were many houses near the lake and in the evening, people came at the lake for a stroll or to rest.

Dory was Elsa’s closest friend. They were always together. One day, while searching for food near the bank of the lake, Elsa saw some people strolling around.

“Dory, I am bored living in this lake. We have to search far and wide for food. Why can’t we go and enjoy life?” asked Elsa.

“What are you saying, Elsa? We have everything that we need here. I like my life here in the lake very much. We are free to roam around and the water is clean. We have friends here,” replied Dory.

“Oh! Is this what you call life? With whole day’s hard work, we manage a small frugal meal and we don’t have a proper place to live,” Elsa said sulking.

“But at least we can live here in freedom. The whole lake is our home. We can go wherever we want and do whatever we wish,” said Dory.

“I don’t want to stay here even for a minute. If I get a chance I will surely
go out into the outside world,” retorted Elsa.

After a few days they were again near the bank of the lake. They saw two young men doing something there. Elsa stopped.

“Dory, see there. What are those two men doing there? Come, let us go and see,” said Elsa.

“Don’t be crazy,” cried Dory. “They are putting up a net to catch fish. Let us get out of here quickly or we will get caught in it.”

“What do they do with the fish they catch?” asked Elsa still rooted to the place.

“They keep colourful fish like us in an aquarium in the house for decoration,” Dory explained and started swimming away.

“I am also beautiful and colourful. If they catch me, will they also put me in their house in an aquarium?” asked Elsa getting excited.

“Don’t be mad! If you get caught, you will lose all your freedom. Our safety is in running away from here as fast as possible,” Dory said trying to get Elsa away.

But Elsa did not listen. She swam towards the net as she desperately wanted to get out of the lake.

At the first opportunity, she jumped inside the net.

The young men were very glad to find the beautiful rainbow-coloured fish in the net. One of them took her to his house and put her into an aquarium. It was filled with fresh clean water and beautifully decorated plants. The floor was covered with colourful pebbles and the electric bulb gave a soft blue light.

“Ah ha! How peaceful and neat this place is!” said Elsa delightfully as she swam round in the aquarium.

After some time, the man came again and put some food in it. Elsa found the food delicious. Elsa smiled to herself, “How tasty this food is and so easily got without any hard labour.”

The aquarium was near the window. Elsa could see the lake clearly. She remembered her friend Dory. “How nice it would be if Dory was here!” She felt sorry for Dory.

Elsa had everything in the aquarium. She roamed in it the whole day and was given food on time. She did not have to search for it. The visitors to the house came to see her and all praised her beauty. Elsa felt very happy and proud when she heard them.

She was very happy.

One day while swimming around she became breathless. “I think my weight has increased,” she thought and looked at her body. The colourful stripes were losing their glow. For the first time she felt choked and suffocated.

She looked out towards the lake and started crying. “All my beauty is fading away in this small aquarium and I have become fat and lazy. Life in the lake was much better. Oh! If only I could go back to to the,” she sighed.

Elsa remembered Dory’s words and felt sorry that she had not listened to her. She wanted to get out of the aquarium and go back to the lake. She tried to dash against the glass sides of the aquarium to break them. But it was of no use.

She stopped eating and kept thinking of a way to get out.

One day she was in a corner of the aquarium. She heard someone coming. She lay down on the floor flat on her back and stopped breathing.

The man looked at Elsa and tried to shake and wake her. But she stayed there without moving. “Looks like this fish is dead,” said the man. He took her out and threw her back in the lake.

Elsa’s joy had no bounds back in the lake. She took deep breaths and went out to look for her friend Dory.

“Dory, where are you? See, I have come back to you,” Elsa called again and again.

Hearing Elsa’s calls, Dory came running to her. At first, she did not believe her eyes as it was difficult to recognize her, but then hugged her lovingly.

“Elsa, how lonely I was, after you left,” cried Dory with tears in her eyes.

“Yes, my friend, I made a big mistake by not listening to you. I have understood the importance of freedom. The open air of the lake is something very different. In spite of all the facilities in the aquarium, I felt suffocated there. I became trapped. I will never think of going away from here.” Elsa said.

“I am happy that you are back,” replied Dory.

And both friends left for a long swim in the lake.

Hardworking Ant!

Anokhi ant was very lazy. Monsoons were fast approaching and all the animals were working hard to collect food, but Anokhi would just laze around the whole day. One day, Somu sparrow could not hold herself back and said, “Anokhi, you too gather and store food for the rainy season or you will be in a problem”.

Anokhi smiled and said, “Oh! let it be. I have good friends like you who will help me out.” And saying so, left Somu.

Soon there were dark clouds over the forest and it rained heavily continously for three days. All the animals and birds were locked indoors. Since they had stored food ahead of the rainy season, they were not worried. Only Anokhi was left starving. It was tough for her to spend the three days without food.

As soon as the rains stopped, Anokhi stepped out. She met Bholi bee on her way. “Bholi, please give me some honey. I am starving. You have a lot of honey in your hive.” requested Anokhi.

“Do you think making honey is easy? I have to collect nectar from each and every flower. Then I bring back the nectar and deposit it in the hive. Just imagine the number of trips I make from flowers to my hive and back! Making honey is hard work.”

Bholi continued, “I have to save honey for the others in the hive. I am sorry, I won’t be able to share any with you.” And Bholi flew from there in a hurry. Anokhi was left wondering what had happened to Bholi.

She then went to Kittu spider asking for some sweet treats. Kittu was arrogant. He immediately said, “Collecting sweets is not easy! It involves a lot of hard work.”

Kittu added, “Often, I have to save myself from being stamped when I go out to collect the sweets. You should collect your own sweet treats. I can’t afford to feed you and that too for free.” Anokhi felt sad listening to him. She was already starving and Kittu’s words hurt her more.

She decided to visit her friends in the village near the jungle. She went to her friend Kiran cat’s house.

Kiran was drinking milk when Anokhi said to her, “I am feeling very hungry. Will you share some milk with me?” But Kiran too responded like Kittu. She told Anokhi about the difficulties involved in getting milk.

“Whichever house I enter, people chase me with sticks and crow bars. The other day, I nearly lost my tail when the Landlord’s daughter threw a big stone at me. Nowadays it is hard to find ghee and cream too. I am forced to satisfy myself with milk! If I give this little milk then I will starve.” Anokhi understood that Kiran would not share food with her.

Anokhi was too tired and she sat down helplessly. Just then she saw Jimmy dog coming from the opposite side. She started walking towards him because she was sure that he would give her something to eat. Jimmy was holding a fritter in his mouth. She asked Jimmy, “Brother can you please share your fritter with me. I am starving.”

Hearing her say this, Jimmy gobbled the fritter in a hurry and told her, “I got this fritter from a sweet shop and had to stay awake the whole night to guard the sweet shop for it. I visit many houses where people live. Some give me a roti and some hit me with a stick. Why don’t you go to the sweet shop by yourself?”

Anokhi set out towards the sweet shop. On reaching there, she saw jalebi, bits of laddoo and kalakand scattered on the floor. She started eating without wasting any time. She felt really happy and satisfied after finishing her meal.

Anokhi realized not only she was full but, she had worked for her food without begging to anyone.

She understood that everyone has to work hard to earn their food. She had been foolish and lazy in asking others to share the food with her.

It is believed from that day on, the ants have been working hard to gather food for themselves, bearing a symbol of hard work, dedication and sincerity.

Champakvan’s Flag

King Shersingh was relaxing in his den while watching a program on television. The program was about historical events that happened in India and the history of the Indian flag. Suddenly the thought that flashed across Shersingh’s mind was that Champakvan too should have its own flag.

He immediately called his chief advisor, Jumbo elephant who came quickly, worried why Shersingh was calling him urgently. When Shersingh shared his idea about Champakvan having its own national flag, Jumbo relaxed and became excited about the idea as well.

They both discussed, that the next day Shersingh will make an announcement in Champakvan about the idea of adopting a Champakvan flag and invite designs for the flag, with the reasoning behind the design. The winner would be announced a week before the Champakvan National Day and would receive a certificate and prize during Champakvan National day celebrations.

The next day, Shersingh made the announcement on TV and radio. All the animals of Champakvan were excited about designing the flag. Rangeela peacock, Kitty squirrel, Gini giraffe, Meeku mouse, Fishy fox and many others became busy thinking about the design for the flag.

In every nook and corner of the forest, the only topic one could hear was about flag designing. Finally, the day came and all the participants submitted their designs of the flag. The collected designs were displayed so that all the animals could see the flag ideas.

Shersingh along with Jumbo and other ministers started reviewing the designs of flags submitted by everyone. They found many creative work like Rangeela’s design that showed the rainbow as a national flag with each colour meaning something, Gini’s design had a flame as a symbol of illumination. Most of the ministers were impressed with Fishy’s design in which she had put king Shersingh’s photo in the center of a red colour triangle in the flag.

Shersingh asked Jumbo what he thought about Fishy’s design. Jumbo was puzzled at the direct question but said that in his opinion, Fishy’s design was not ethical. Shersingh and all the ministers were surprised by Jumbo’s answer. Shersingh again asked Jumbo to explain.

Jumbo said, “Your majesty, I do not agree with Fishy’s flag design because it is person-specific. It only shows the strength of Champakvan as its King. A flag should be used to represent the place and its people. It should talk about shared values, history and moral standing of the people in the kingdom.”

Jumbo then moved to the simple design made by Meeku that had a tree on a white background. The white represented light, goodness, innocence, purity, and the tree symbolized the generations of a family. A tree sprouts from a seed, grows and branches out, sees how far it can go, and then creates a new fruit that gives life to the next generation. Tree is a symbol of growth and strength. So I would suggest that we should select Meeku’s design for Champakvan’s flag,” said Jumbo.

Shersingh liked Jumbo’s reasoning and they all declared that Meeku’s flag design would be officially adopted as the flag of Champakvan. It would be hoisted on the upcoming Champakvan day celebrations.

All the animals congratulated Meeku for creating a wonderful and thoughtful flag for the forest and Shersingh and Jumbo for selecting such a flag.

Why is the Lion here?

Meeku mouse was playing hide and seek with his friends.

He counted,”.1, 2, 3, 4, 5……10’’ and asked aloud, “I hope all of you have hidden? I am coming out to catch you.’’ said Meeku as he came out from behind the tree.

There were a lot of bushes near the trees but Meeku could not see anyone behind them.

“I am sure that Baddy must be hiding inside the bushes. I know him very well. He is very lazy and won’t go too far to hide,” thought Meeku as he entered the bushes.

It was Laptu jackal and not Baddy who was actually resting there. Seeing Meeku, he got annoyed.

“Sorry Laptu, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was searching for my friends.” apologised Meeku, ready to run.

“You’ve disturbed me and you will have to pay for this,” said Laptu as he leapt towards Meeku. Hearing him say this, Meeku started to run.

“Ha…ha …. ha…’’ laughed Meeku as he left Laptu behind. Just as he was catching his breath, he thought he saw something that looked like a pair of ears behind the bushes.

“These look like Baddy’s ears”, Meeku said to himself and then watched closely. He noticed a tail outside the bushes.

“Caught you! I have seen your tail outside the bushes, Baddy. Come out of your hiding.” said Meeku.

Baddy came out of his hiding, looking like a thief caught in the act.

“I thought Laptu wouldn’t let you go off easily,” said Baddy laughing.

“Stop laughing Baddy … I have to catch Cheeku rabbit. Let’s see where he is hiding,’’ said Meeku and set out again.

Suddenly, Meeku heard a voice from behind the rocks.

“I caught you Cheeku!” he shouted putting his hand behind the rocks to pull Cheeku out.

“But …this is Blacky bear.” he realised when he put his hand.

“Sorry uncle. We were playing hide and seek and when I saw a figure behind the rocks, I thought it was Cheeku hiding there,” said Meeku and ran off, barely giving any chance to Blacky to speak.

“Oh! What an escape!” said Meeku to himself panting. “I should be a bit more careful. I may land in trouble, searching for Cheeku.”

Just then, Meeku noticed a white-coloured ear behind the tree.

“Now, you have been caught, Cheeku! I have seen your long white ears behind the tree. Come out.” said Meeku. Cheeku came out of his hiding on hearing Meeku.

“Too bad! I have been caught because of my long ears.’’ said Cheeku angrily.

“Come on. Both of you go and hide now. I will count till 10.” said Baddy and went behind the tree to close his eyes.

Meeku and Cheeku went into hiding.

“I am coming for you.” said Baddy and set out to look for them.

Suddenly Baddy heard a lion roar at a distance, and he started to sweat.

But he had a feeling that his friends were playing a prank on him. So, he shouted loudly, “Look, don’t you dare try to scare me.”

Baddy felt really scared when he heard the roar the second time.

“Cheeku and Meeku, you had better stop scaring me.” warned Baddy.

“I am not making these sounds.” said Cheeku coming out from behind the bushes. “I am also wondering where the sound is coming from.’’

“That means this is Meeku’s prank.’’ said Baddy and set out to look for him.

He could hear the roar over and over again. Both Baddy and Cheeku stopped on their tracks, as they turned pale with fright.

“Believe me, it’s not me whose letting out these roars.” said Meeku as he came out of his hiding. “This sure is the roar of a lion, which is coming here.” said Meeku filled with fear.

Hurry! Let’s go and hide somewhere.” said a worried Baddy.

“Yes.” shouted Cheeku and Meeku. They leaped into the bushes without wasting any time.

All three of them hid in the bushes for quite a long time, waiting for the lion to come.

“Hey? Where is the lion?” The three friends spoke among themselves.

“Haa … Haa …….’’ Just then they heard Damru donkey laugh.

“Damru, go and hide in some place safe. A lion is coming here.” said Cheeku on seeing Damru.

But Damru continued laughing.

“Stop laughing …We will all get killed because of you.” shouted an angry and irritated Meeku.

“Stop Damru’’ warned Baddy.

“Oh, please stop panicking.” said Damru trying to control his laughter. “I am that lion who was trying to scare you! Let me also play with you or I will keep making these sounds to frighten you.”

Saying so, Damru let out a loud roar again.

“Okay, join in for a game. But stop roaring. Else, a real lion will surely pop up from somewhere.” said Baddy. Everyone burst into laughter.

Problem Solved

“See, Nini, what I got. We can use it as a boat.” shouted Pilu mouse, joyfully dragging half a coconut shell that looked like a cup.

“Won’t this sink in water?” asked Nini.

“No, it does not,” and Pilu dropped the coconut shell in the river. It floated.

“Oh, good. Now our work is done,” said Nini taking it out of water. “Come, let us fill it with maize and wheat grains.”

Both got busy and filled the coconut shell with grains and put it on the water.

“Where are you going, taking these grains?” Kalu crow asked from the
tree above.

“Kalu bhai, some of our friends live across the river; we are taking these grains to them and will bring barley and millet from there,” Pilu explained.

“Yes, millet and barley grow in plenty there,” Nini completed the information.

“But why don’t you use the bridge?” asked Kalu.

“The bridge is very far from here. And we will have to carry the grains all the way to the bridge. It will take a lot of time and effort,” Pilu said.

“Taking the grains across the river is closer and easier. That is why we got this boat,” Nini explained.

“But how will you row it on water?”

“See these two sticks. We will use them as oars,” said Pilu, showing him
the oars. Then both of them got on to their handmade boat and left.

The next day, the king of the Champakvan forest, Shersingh lion, called a meeting of all forest dwellers.

He then called Pilu and Nini to the front.

Both started trembling with fear, “What mistake have we made, your majesty?” they asked.

“Don’t be afraid, Pilu and Nini. You have made no mistake. Your intelligence has made me think of a solution for the forest.”

“We didn’t understand, your majesty.”

“I’ll explain,” Shersingh addressed the audience. “You all know the roads of our Champakvan forest are crowded. Because of the traffic jams, our animals are not able to reach their workplaces on time. Pollution has also increased. We tried to solve the problem by making more use of two-wheelers, car-pooling, using double-decker buses on busy routes and constructing flyovers. We made green corridors by planting trees on both sides of the roads. We also made vertical gardens on the pillars of the flyovers. There has been some difference by these methods but the problem has still not been solved. Yesterday, you both showed me a way to solve the problem with your intelligence.”

“And what is that, your highness?” asked Minister Jumbo elephant.

“You all know the river that flows through many parts of our forest. If we use the river for our transport, then we can solve the traffic problem.”

“Transport on the river? I do not understand,” said army general
Blacky bear.

“We will operate boats on the river. Small boats can ferry light goods and passengers and bigger boats will carry heavy goods. This will also provide employment to many persons, ease traffic jams on the roads and reduce pollution. We will construct ports where passengers and goods can embark and disembark from the boats.”

All applauded.

“I am not the person you should applaud. Pilu and Nini deserve it. Yesterday, when I was on tour of the forest, I saw these two using a coconut shell as a boat and exchanging grains with their friends across the river. I wish to award them
for this.”

Pilu and Nini were thrilled. They had been of use to their Champakvan forest.

Toto’s Nest!

One day Toto, a tailor bird, thought of building a nest for herself. She flew around and found a garden on the banks of a river in Champakvan forest. She was delighted to see a variety of plants and trees and animals and birds in the garden.

Toto made introductions with the residents of the garden and thought, “This place is beautiful. I should make my nest here.”

Toto chose a large tree and started to build her nest on it.

She finished stitching half of her nest in no time.

Kallu crow who also stayed on the same tree saw her nest and thought, “Her nest is so artistic and mine looks shabby in front of hers. Anyone who sees our nests, will only praise hers.”

Kallu flew over to her and started to caw mockingly.

“Why are you cawing?” asked Toto.

“Why wouldn’t I?” replied Kallu. “You are working so hard to build a nest on a tree that is not safe at all!” he continued.

“Why do you say that the tree is not safe?” asked Toto.

“This tree is home to many predatory birds who keep coming here,” said Kallu.

“But your nest is here too?” she pointed.

“I too, am looking for a new tree to build my nest,” replied Kallu. This was enough to convince Toto and she left her unfinished nest and started looking for a new tree to build a nest on.

She looked around and saw a mango tree and started to weave a nest on it. While she was still stitching her nest Kutty cuckoo visited her and said mockingly, “O Toto, you are being so stupid!”

“Why do you say that?” asked Toto.

“This river floods whenever it rains heavily and the nest will get washed away into the river when that happens,” Kutty explained. Toto looked at the rapid river flowing near the tree.

“Look, even I haven’t made my nest. I just hide among the leaves of the mango tree and spend my days here,” said Kutty.

The fear of getting carried away by the flood waters, Toto gave up her unfinished nest and started looking again for a new place.

She saw a cluster of shrubs nearby and decided to build her nest on a nice shrub. As she was weaving her nest, Jumpy monkey came and started looking at her nest in amazement. “What are you looking at?” asked Toto.

“I am observing how hard you are working to build your nest by bringing twigs over one by one and then weaving them into your nest. But, did you check whether the timing was auspicious to do so? You started building your nest at a time which is not lucky,” said Jumpy. His words scared Toto.

“I am a priest; I can tell you the right time to build your nest and can perform the necessary pujas too,” he offered.

Toto was swayed by Jumpy and she broke her nest in the fear of it being unlucky for her and requested, “Jumpy, please tell me the correct time to build my nest.”

Jumpy took out a thick book from his bag and picked out an auspicious time
for Toto and took his fees and left from there.

When the time was right, Toto performed the required rituals and then started to build her nest.

Cheeku rabbit, who stayed nearby, had been observing Toto since morning. He had seen her destroy her nest at Kallu and Kutty’s insistence.

It was the third time when Toto had broken her nest in the shrubs after being fooled by Jumpy’s words. Cheeku felt sorry for her.

He went to her and said, “You have been trying to build a nest but you leave it unfinished because of what others say.”

Toto looked at Cheeku with tears in her eyes.

“You look tired. Come to my house for the night and take rest. Then start building your nest tomorrow morning,” offered Cheeku, kindly.

“But then the auspicious time for building the nest will be gone,” she said worriedly.

“All this is nonsense! Jumpy fooled you but that’s his business,” Cheeku explained.

Toto was exhausted after repeated attempts at building her nest and had no energy to build a new one. She was extremely hungry too.

She thanked Cheeku for his offer and went with him to his house. Cheeku served her food that she ate to her heart’s content.

“You are sincere and hard working. And you are skilled at making nests.”

“But…?” asked the Toto looking at Cheeku questioningly.

“You don’t believe in yourself. Anyone who doesn’t have faith in themselves gets easily swayed by other people’s opinions. Not having self-belief makes us think that we cannot finish anything successfully. A person who believes in herself can do things even before starting a project,” explained Cheeku.

He further added, “You listened to Kallu when he scared you of predatory birds, but the truth was that he was jealous of your beautiful nest. When Kutty told you that your nest will be destroyed by the floods, she said so because she too was jealous of your nest-building skills as she has never built a nest in her life. Later you got carried away by Jumpy’s words of superstition. If you had kept faith in yourself, your nest would have been ready by now and you wouldn’t have to
go through so much trouble.”

Toto understood what Cheeku was saying.

Next morning, she woke up early and built her nest with self-confidence. Her nest was ready in a hours and she hosted a party.

She did not forget to invite Kallu crow, Kutty cuckoo and Jumpy monkey for the feast. After all, they too had made her realise her shortcomings!

Will guessing work?

Champakvan Public School was one of the prestigious schools of Champakvan. All the parents wanted their children to study there as it had many good teachers and facilities. Toto turtle too was a student of the school. Though he moved slowly, his brain was fast and he was a sharp and bright student. He usually stood first in his class.

Baddy fox studied in the same class as Toto. Baddy never paid attention to his studies. He would ask others for answers during exams. He spent a lot of his time and energy learning new ways to cheat. He had been punished a number of times for cheating in his exams but he did not mend his ways.

A few days before their half-yearly exams, their teacher Jumbo elephant explained, “The question paper in your half-yearly exams shall carry all objective type questions so you must all prepare accordingly. Each question shall have four answers and you have to choose the correct answer. And remember do not even think about cheating. If anyone is caught cheating he or she will be thrown out of the school,” warned Jumbo.

The children were happy with the multiple-choice paper, as then they wouldn’t have to write long answers.

All were well prepared for their exams except for Baddy fox. He was nervous as he had not studied for the exams and became worried as the days passed.

Soon, it was the day of the first exam.

Baddy started sweating as soon as he saw the question paper. He did not know what to do. The question paper had four answers to each question and the students were supposed to write the correct answer in their answer sheet.

Baddy didn’t know the answers to any of the questions. He started guessing the answers and writing them in his answer sheets. He did the same for each question.

While the other students were writing their answers after carefully thinking about each question, Baddy chose the only way he knew and guessed all the answers.

Some of the students skipped the questions they found difficult and went back to solving them after writing the answers they knew.

After the exams, all the students were excited to know their marks.

On the day of the result, the students started guessing who would score how much, all in fun.

The results were announced and Toto stood first in his class. All the children clapped and congratulated him.

Baddy’s result surprised everyone including Jumbo Sir.

Baddy had cleared the exams with good marks. Guessing worked for him. Baddy jumped as he soon as heard he had score 75%. He had scored good marks for the first time and felt very proud of himself.

After school, Baddy teased his friends and said, “You all worked so hard and I cleared the exam without studying. You all should learn something from me.”

His constant boasting annoyed others but they kept quiet. Baddy now stopped studying completely. He started wasting his time even more. The half-yearly results had made him arrogant.

Time slipped and soon it was time for the yearly exams. Baddy had wasted all his time in teasing the others and was now stressed as he had not studied at all.

This paper was very different than the multiple-choice paper. It had questions in which one had to write short and long answers. As soon as Baddy saw the question paper, his mouth dried. He could guess no more. He sat through his exams without writing anything as guessing was of no use this time.

A few days later, the results were announced and the students saw their marks on the notice board. Baddy had failed in his exams. Now, the others made fun of him.

But when Toto saw him crying, he went up to Baddy and soothed him. “Baddy, guessing does not work all the time. There are no shortcuts to success. We can achieve success only if we work hard. Guessing helped you once but it does not work every time. If you study every day, you won’t have to depend on guessing and you will not fail.”

Baddy understood what Toto was saying. “You are right, Toto. From today, I will also work hard and pay attention to my studies. I promise not to take the shortcut.”

Baddy and Toto became friends and Toto started helping Baddy every day with his studies. Baddy was no longer nervous about exams.

A Cyclone In Forest!

I need to speak to the King right away! I must meet him now,” said Cheeku rabbit to the King’s guards.

King Shersingh heard and called him in. “Cheeku, what’s the matter?” he asked.

“A cyclonic storm is gaining speed and will soon reach Champakvan. We should take precautions or we’ll end up in big trouble. Many homes will be destroyed,” said Cheeku in a hurry.

King Shersingh was worried. This was the first time a storm was approaching Champakvan forest.

“What will happen when this storm hits Champakvan?” asked King Shersingh as he wanted to know what they should be prepared for.

“The cyclonic storms are moving towards us and will hit Champakvan in 2 days. It will bring heavy rain and strong winds that will destroy trees, homes and may cause floods,” informed Cheeku.

“That’d be terrible! We should alert all the animals right away and build a shelter for them to stay till the storm calms down,” said King Shersingh.

And soon, the news about the approaching cyclonic storm spread through Champakvan. All the animals stocked up on food in their homes.

“What can we do, Cheeku?” asked Blacky bear.

“We have to stay alert. It’ll start raining before the storm arrives. There’ll be strong winds. We have to ensure all the animals have moved to the safe shelter before that. We must keep our mobiles fully charged. We have to move the animals who live in weak houses.”

“Why so, Cheeku?” asked Meeku mouse.

“Because weak houses might break due to strong winds. Not just that, electric poles can also fall during thunderstorms and cause more damage so the electricity supply to the entire forest will be cut until the storm passes. There may be floods, so we have to stay on higher grounds,” explained Cheeku.

“My house is in a bad shape,” said Jumbo elephant. “Where can I stay when it rains?”

“We have built shelters for the animals on the hill. Food has also been arranged. There’s enough space for everyone to move there,” said Cheeku.

“My house is on the mango tree. And the mango tree is very strong. Be it cyclone or thunderstorm, I’ll stay right there!” said Jumpy monkey with a grin.

“Jumpy, your house is closer to the sea. It’s important to keep ourselves safe. Come to the shelter with us,” said Cheeku.

But Jumpy did not listen.

Two days later, all the animals took shelter on the hill except Jumpy.

Soon, strong winds began to blow and it rained heavily. The animals were happy that they were safe. At the end of the day, the winds grew stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, Jumpy was still in his house. When the storm hit the mango tree, he began shaking terribly.

“Oh, dear!” Jumpy trembled in fear.

He regretted his decision. He, too, should have gone to the shelter along with the other animals.

The strong winds uprooted the mango tree. Jumpy’s house collapsed. He managed to escape but there was a flood.

He took shelter on a strong tree as he was injured and couldn’t travel too far.

After some time, the storm was calm.

“Looks like the storm has passed. We can go back now. But we need to be careful. A lot of trees may have fallen on the way,” said Cheeku to all the animals.

“Be careful!” said King Shersingh. “If anyone needs help, my guards are around to help you.”

The animals returned home.

“Who knows what condition Jumpy is in?” said Cheeku. He was worried about him and set out in search of him.

“Cheeku, look! The mango tree has fallen down! The storm must have uprooted it,” said Roma sparrow.

“Jumpy’s house was on this tree! I hope he’s fine,” said Cheeku, anxiously.

All the animals started looking for him. Jumpy was lying on the branch of another tree. His head was bleeding. They rushed him to the hospital.

He was weak as he had not eaten anything the entire day and had hurt his head. The doctors gave him medicines and saved him.

“I’m sorry, Cheeku,” Jumpy apologised as soon as he woke up. “If I had listened to you, I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

“Come on! You are fine now!” said Cheeku, patting his head.

Jumpy smiled and hugged him.

Jojo’s Confusion

One day in Champakvan, a little monkey was found all by himself. No one in the forest knew whose child he was. Jumbo elephant asked the monkey his name and the little monkey sobbed and said his name was Jojo, and he was lost.

Jojo had come to Champakvan from another forest. Torti tortoise, who was the eldest member of the forest, asked, “Son, what is the name of your forest?”

But Jojo didn’t know the name. He said that his mother’s name was Timmy and his father’s name was Romi. However, the names of his parents were not enough to search for them.

Everyone in Champakvan welcomed him in and asked the police to find out about Jojo’s parents from the neighbouring forests. And Jojo started living in Champakvan.

Animals of Champakvan were kind and shared food with Jojo. Children of Champakvan played with Jojo, but Jojo wasn’t happy living there and playing with other kids and eating food with them. He missed his parents and forest and wanted to go back as soon as possible.

The other monkeys who lived in the forest had gone on vacations to visit their cousins and relatives living in other forests. Jojo did not even have their company. The other animals tried their best to take care of him.

One day, Jojo decided from that day, he would search and find his own food. Since it was summer, watermelons were ripe and growing everywhere. Jojo found a spot where there were many watermelons growing on creepers. He had heard that watermelon was a juicy fruit that fulfilled both hunger and thirst.

From the creeper, Jojo picked up a watermelon and bit on its hard peel. The moment he bit it, Jojo felt a bitter taste inside his mouth.

Damru donkey who was standing near explained, “Son, this is not the correct way to eat a watermelon.”

“Please don’t try to explain to me. But since you have already interrupted my meal, tell me what you wish to tell me,” said Jojo rudely.

Being older, Damru overlooked Jojo’s behaviour and explained, “For us to relish the taste of this fruit, we need to remove its peel and eat the pulp inside it.”

“Oh, so this is how it should be eaten!” said Jojo. “I have understood how to eat a fruit,” He left from there and jumped to another creeper; a creeper of muskmelons.

“Now I shall enjoy these!” said Jojo with his mouth watering.

He picked up a muskmelon from the creeper and as he had learned from Damru, he popped the melon, split open its peel and started eating the pulp inside it. But the next moment, he spat the pulp from his mouth. The pulp was a tasteless, stringy substance with lots of seeds. This time too, he couldn’t enjoy the fruit.

With a frown on his face, Jojo muttered to himself. Camu camel was walking by and seeing Jojo spitting the fruit, Camu understood his confusion. He said, “Son, you need to eat the hull of the fruit, not its pulp.”

Jojo now thought that Damru had not explained the right way to eat a fruit. So, he decided to follow Camu’s advice.

Jumping all over the place, Jojo climbed a walnut tree. Excitedly, he plucked a walnut from the tree and popped open its shell. But the moment he ate the inside of the shell, he felt a bitter taste and his teeth ached.

He ran towards the river to rinse his mouth with water. Standing nearby, Bullo buffalo was drinking water from the river. She asked, “What happened Jojo? Why are you gulping water?”

“Aunt Bullo, I followed the advice of Camu and tried to eat the shell of a walnut. After eating it, I’m feeling uneasy and my teeth are aching.”

“Oh ho, Jojo! We need to eat the inner portion of a fruit and not its outer part,” she said. Jojo nodded. “Okay, I shall follow this now.”

This time, he hopped onto a pear tree. As adviced by Bullo, Jojo ate the inner portion of the pear fruit. But it was full of seeds and this time too, his mouth felt nothing, but a bitter taste.

Walking always with his belly aching with hunger and head full of anger, he felt like crying. Roaming hungry under the bright sun all day long had left him exhausted.

Jojo could not understand what had gone wrong and started crying loudly. Hearing him cry, many animals of Champakvan gathered around him.

Jacky giraffe patted him tenderly and asked, “What happened, Jojo? Why are you crying?” Jojo narrated the entire incident in tears. Listening to his story, the animals couldn’t resist laughing.

“Jojo, not all things come with one exact formula. Every fruit has to be eaten in a unique way. However, don’t you worry! You can stay with us for some days and learn about these things For now, eat
these sweet bananas.”

Then, Cheeku peeled two bananas and gave them to Jojo. With his stomach growling from hunger, Jojo quickly ate the bananas. But even now, he couldn’t understand what went wrong and what was one exact formula. But for now, he just wanted to eat bananas!

Greeting Card

Champakvan had an orphanage devoted to the care of orphans. It was home to a lot of children. The boarding, lodging and studies of these children was completely undertaken by King Shersingh.

Shanno cat was employed as the caretaker of the orphanage.

King Shersingh visited the orphanage once a month.

One Sunday, when Shersingh reached the orphanage, Shanno was waiting for him at the gates to welcome him.

“Shanno, I hope the kids are well taken care of?” asked Shersingh.

“Yes, my King! I take care of them like my own kids. I am at their service throughout the day. I am always concerned about them,” replied Shanno.

“My King, I request you to come and see for yourself how well these kids are taken care of,” she continued taking Shersingh to the kitchen.

Lunch was being prepared in the kitchen. There was chapati, rice, dal, vegetables and rice pudding on the menu.

“This food smells good here!’ said Shersingh, taking in the aromas of the food.

“Yes, my king! We serve tasty and nutritious food to the kids every day. They are also served milk, nuts and fruits in the morning,” Shanno added.

“That is excellent! I wish that these kids never face any inconvenience while they are here. Let me know if you need any help,” offered Shersingh.

Then, Shersingh visited the kids in their rooms. Cheeku rabbit, Meeku mouse, Jumpy monkey and the other kids greeted the King.

“Children, are you all comfortable here?” asked Shersingh.

“Yes!” said the kids and nodded.

“My King, like I said, the kids here do not have any problems. We care for them like our own kids. Each and every need of theirs is taken care of,” Shanno added quickly.

As soon as Shersingh got up to leave, Cheeku interrupted and said, “My king, we have made a greeting card for you and we would like to present it to you.”

Shersingh happily accepted their request and said, “Yes, of course! Bring it quickly. I want to see what my lovely children have made for me.”

Meeku brought the card and presented it to Shersingh.

Shersingh opened the greeting card and smiled and said, “It is a very beautiful card. I have never been presented with anything like this before. I will always treasure it.”

“Shanno, you are working really hard to help these kids. You deserve a reward for your efforts. I will return soon,” said Shersingh as he left.

That night Shersingh visited the orphanage with Inspector Tommy Dog and his team.

Shanno was surprised to see Shersingh with the police. She came out quickly and asked, “What is it Inspector? Is there a thief here?”

“Yes, we are here to catch a criminal. A crime has been happening for many days and now we have the proof for it,” said Inspector Tommy and hand-cuffed Shanno.

“Why are you taking me in, Inspector? What crime have I committed? I look after the kids in the orphanage. I am not a thief,” cried Shanno.

“You should be ashamed of yourself! I trusted you and you took advantage of my trust. Now you will spend the rest of your life in prison,” roared Shersingh, his eyes red with anger.

“My King, there is some misunderstanding. I have not done anything. Please leave me!” pleaded Shanno.

“There is no misunderstanding. The children of the orphanage gifted me the card and it mentioned all the details of your wrong doings. You have been torturing these little children by hitting them and threatening them. How you fed them stale food that too, just once a day.

All the food that was being prepared was just to fool me. You have been keeping all the money that was sent for the welfare of the kids, for yourself. Your misdeeds have finally come to light now,” Shersingh growled.

Seeing his rage, Shanno admitted to her crimes. Shersingh demanded a tough punishment for Shanno.

Then Shersingh praised Cheeku, Meeku and Jumpy for their presence of mind and said, “We were able to uncover Shanno’s wrongdoings due to your intelligent thinking. I assure you, that you will never face such a problem again. You will all be looked after well!”

Shanno was sent to prison and the children lived happily with another caretaker.

Humans In A Cage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Grandpa, how do you like my drawing?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Environment Day

Baddy fox wanted to cut the trees of Champakvan. He did not know why, but he disliked the animals of Champakvan and was always thinking of new ways to harm them.

“If there are no trees, then the forest will be destroyed by itself. The animals will suffer from hunger, heat and shelter. And that’s what I want,” Baddy told this to the woodcutter with a cunning smile.

“Yes, and I will get to sell the tree in the city for a profit,” said the woodcutter picking up his axe.

“We must work cleverly and no one should know our plan,” said Baddy.

“No one will know. Otherwise, it will be tough to cut the trees,” the woodcutter agreed.

“Tomorrow, I shall go to Champakvan and figure out which day you can begin cutting the trees,” said Baddy.

“Let me know when you think the time’s right and I will come with my companions and axes and saws,” replied the woodcutter and bid goodbye to Baddy.

Next day, Baddy went to Champakvan. The forest was beautifully decorated. Colourful ribbons were tied to the trees. Fairly lights hung from every branch. The animals had decorated their homes. Baddy was curious and wanted to know why the forest had been decorated.

Just then he saw Blacky bear handing balloons to Jumpy monkey on the tree.

“Blacky, what is happening in the forest? Why is it decorated so beautifully? Is there a wedding happening?”

“Don’t you know?” asked Blacky looking at Baddy in surprise.

“No. That is why I am asking you,” said Baddy, rolling his eyes.

“June 5 is Environment Day. We are making these preparations to celebrate that great festival in Champakvan,” replied Blacky.

“Oh! So these decorations are for Environment Day,” whispered Baddy to himself.

“Did you say something?” asked Blacky.

“No, no! I didn’t,” muttered Baddy and walked away.

At the Brave Hardy Crossing, the main crossing of Champakvan, named after one of its scientists, many animals had gathered. They were discussing something important amongst themselves. Baddy wanted to know what they were talking about, so he sat down quietly at one side to listen to them.

“We should ask King Shersingh to be our chief guest,” said Dola deer.

“But he is from our forest. How can someone from our forest be the chief guest? We should look for someone else,” said Cheeku rabbit.

“You are right, Cheeku. If we get someone from Sundarvan, it will be better. When they see the environment celebrations, they will go back and praise our forest in their forest,” said Greta giraffe.

“Whom can we invite?” asked Cheeku and scratched his head.

“How about Baddy fox?” suggested Dola.

“No! No! Baddy always wants to harm Champakvan. How can we make him our chief guest?” Cheeku objected.

“Maybe Dola is right. Baddy may be planning against Champakvan, but we never think of harming him. Perhaps, when he is invited as our chief guest, he may improve and become a good person,” said Greta.

All agreed with Greta’s suggestion. Suddenly, Cheeku caught sight of Baddy, sitting behind a bush, quietly.

“Look! Baddy is here. Let us go and invite him for the function,” he said excitedly.

All animals went to Baddy and invited him to be their chief guest.

Baddy had been feeling uneasy listening to the conversation, and now he was more troubled. He could not even think how of a fitting reply.

“I…I…,” he stammered and then said, ‘’I will surely come.”

On his way back, Baddy started wondering about what had happened. “Here, I was thinking of harming Champakvan and these animals are inviting me to be their chief guest.”

On the day of the function, Baddy came to Champakvan forest. He was given a very warm welcome and presented a garland of fresh flowers and made to sit on the sofa comfortably.

The animals of the forest put up skits telling everyone the importance of trees and why more trees should be planted. They said in chorus, “Fewer trees means heating of the atmosphere, less rain and homes will disappear.”

Baddy became thoughtful and realised he would have done something horrible if he had cut the trees. He decided that he would never again harm the trees of any forest.

He would also stop the woodcutters from cutting trees.

The function came to an end and the animals requested Chief Guest Baddy to address the gathering with a few words.

“I am very happy to be here and I promise that from today, I will not harm the trees in any way. I promise to plant 100 trees in Champakvan and look after them.”

Hearing him, all the animals were very happy. Baddy had truly been transformed.

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