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THE LONG-LOST FRIEND

King Sher Singh was generally very cheerful. But there were days when he turned sad and irritable. This usually happened when he remembered his old friend Ramu Singh.

King Sher Singh would grow so miserable that he would even forget to eat his meals and lose interest in important matters.

“Ramu, my friend,” he would murmur in his sleep. “Where have you gone? Please come back and forgive me.” King Sher Singh would then wake up with a jolt and start crying softly

On days like that, King Sher Singh would even stop coming to his court. He would keep to himself and sometimes even neglect urgent official matters. His ministers and Queen Sherni would grow worried, for they knew that King Sher Singh couldn’t afford to neglect his kingly duties. But they couldn’t do much and they would patiently wait till he felt better.

But of late, Minister Chatur Jackal had noticed that King Sher Singh’s bouts of sadness were lasting for very long. And that, they were not only was affecting his duties as a king, but also his health.

Chatur Jackal couldn’t stop himself from going up to King Sher Singh. He was very concerned about him.

“Your Majesty,” Chatur Jackal said politely.

“I don’t mean to be inquisitive but may I ask what exactly makes you so upset sometimes? Why don’t you share your worries with me? You’ll feel much better if you do. And who knows, I might just be able to help you solve your problem.” King Sher Singh trusted Chatur Jackal and thought of him as a friend. And so, he decided to share his problem with him.

“Well, Chatur,” King Sher Singh said as a few tears rolled down his eyes. “I had a very dear friend in my childhood. His name was Ramu Singh. He was my best friend. We played games and studied together everyday. But one day, we had an argument. I lost my temper and said some very harsh things to my friend. Ramu Singh was hurt. He left the forest without telling anyone where he was going. I think of him sometimes and wonder where he went. How I wish that we were still friends.”

“Oh!” Chatur Jackal said to himself after hearing King Sher Singh’s story. “So, King Sher Singh is missing his old friend. Well, it is indeed sad. But he isn’t doing anything about it. There are many animals and birds in Champakvan who have been separated from their parents, siblings and children. I should introduce King Sher Singh to them and tell him what they do.”

Chatur Jackal then listed out the names of some of the animals who had been separated from their loved ones.

“Blacky Bear was lost when he was just a cub,” Chatur Jackal recalled as he noted the names down. “He has been looking for his parents ever since then. And Roopi Deer’s son had been kidnapped by Kalu Jackal a long time ago. She hasn’t given up hope and is still searching for him.”

Chatur Jackal then took King Sher Singh to meet Blacky Bear and Roopi Deer. After hearing their stories, King Sher Singh realised that he was not the only one who had lost someone he cared about. There were others too. But unlike him, they were working hard to find them.

King Sher Singh decided that he too would look for his long-lost friend. He then sent his soldiers to look for Ramu Singh.

“Go to all the rivers, mountains, fields, forests and lakes in the land!” he ordered. “Leave no stone unturned. You must find Ramu Singh.”

And so, the soldiers did as they were told. But they didn’t find Ramu Singh anywhere. King Sher Singh didn’t lose heart. Instead, he joined his soldiers in the search.

One day, King Sher Singh came across a rocky hill covered by trees. He noticed the marks of a lion’s paws on the ground.

“Hmm,” he wondered. “Could my long-lost friend be here?” King Sher Singh then ordered his soldiers to search the entire area thoroughly.

The soldiers soon spotted a lion sitting outside a small cave. He was dressing the wounds of some injured birds and animals. They went and told King Sher Singh about it.

King Sher Singh recalled how his friend Ramu Singh had always wanted to be a doctor. “Could that be Ramu Singh?” he said hopefully. He then ran to the cave.

King Sher Singh’s happiness knew no bounds when recognised the lion sitting there. Yes, he was his friend Ramu Singh.

“At last! There’s my long-lost friend,” he said to himself. “I can’t wait to talk to him!” King Sher Singh started to walk towards Ramu Singh. But then he hesitated and stopped mid-way. He remembered the last time they had met, and the harsh words that he had spoken. Chatur Jackal, who had accompanied King Sher Singh, understood his dilemma.

“Go on, Your Majesty!” he said and encouraged King Sher Singh to go further. “You have been waiting for this moment since very long!” King Sher Singh nodded and slowly walked towards Ramu Singh. Ramu Singh looked up and wondered who, dressed in royal attire, was coming to meet him.

When King Sher Singh came closer, Ramu Singh’s eyes twinkled. He recognised his friend immediately and jumped up and hugged King Sher Singh.

Long-lost-friend

Soon, the two friends had tears in their eyes. “I wish I hadn’t been so harsh, Ramu,” King Sher Singh said. “Please forgive me.”

“And I wish I hadn’t walked away in a huff and not kept in touch,” Ramu Singh said. “I’m sorry too.” The two friends then sat together and laughed and talked happily. Chatur Jackal and the soldiers were happy to see King Sher Singh look so cheerful once again.

“Your Majesty,” Chatur Jackal told King Sher Singh later that day. “Don’t you wish that you had looked for Ramu Singh right after he left, and apologised immediately?”

“I wish I had,” King Sher Singh said. “Had I done that, I wouldn’t have felt so miserable for so many years.”

After that, King Sher Singh never felt gloomy or irritable again. He didn’t neglect his duties either. He now understood that any misunderstanding in a friendship should be sorted immediately. He stayed in touch with Ramu Singh and was careful not to lose his temper or say anything that was harsh again. He didn’t want to lose his friend again.

A Taste of His Own Medicine

Chikki, the squirrel, Lonu, the lamb, and Dimpy, the duck were playing with a ball, when Chintu, the monkey arrived and said, “I want to play too!”

“No, you will create some trouble like you do every time you play with us,” said Chikki.

“You always cheat and end up fighting with us. We don’t want to play with you,” pitched in Dimpy.

“How dare you refuse to let me play!” fumed Chintu.

“Just sit quietly and watch us play until you learn to play fair,” said Lonu.

At that moment, one of them threw the ball up in the air. Chintu caught it in a flash and ran away shouting, “Ha ha! Now I’ll see how you continue to play without me.”

Chintu was notorious in the forest of Sonavan for causing trouble. Many animals would fall prey to his mischief. Once during the monsoon, there was a puddle of muddy water under a tree. Chintu sat on a branch of that tree and threw stones into it whenever any animal walked by, splashing muddy water all over them.

“I see that your clothes have gotten dirty,” Chintu commented cheekily after splashing muddy water on Dina, the deer. “But don’t worry; get them dry-cleaned at the laundry. I’ll pay for it!”

A little later, he threw a stone that splashed muddy water on Koni, the fox’s face. Chintu laughed and said, “That make-up looks good on you, Koni! You should do this every day, or just go to the parlour to get yourself cleaned up. I’ll pay for it!”

Koni walked away grumbling, “This Chintu is nothing but a menace.”

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Another time, Chintu had pushed Kitty, the cat off her bicycle because she wouldn’t let him ride it first. Chintu laughed at Kitty, who was moaning in pain and said, “Don’t make a big deal out of this. Go to the doctor and I’ll pay for it.” Such was his behaviour.

One day, after the incident with Chikki, Lonu and Dimpi, Chintu was sitting on a tree and eating fruits when he spotted the three huddled behind a bush and whispering something among themselves.

Chikki whispered something which Dimpy was unable to hear. So she asked loudly, “What did you say? On the tree? What’s in the large bag?” “Shhh! Be quiet, Dimpy! Someone might hear us,” cautioned Lonu.

The three of them started speaking in whispers again. Chintu was curious to know what they were talking about secretively. He tip-toed close to the bush to listen in on their conversation.

“We must reach the spot before anyone else does, otherwise we will lose out on the opportunity,” said Lonu.

“There are three date palm trees behind the mound at the other end of the lake. A short distance from there, you’ll find a lone peepal tree. That’s where we’re going,” said Chikki.

“So, it’s settled then! We will meet tomorrow morning by the lake. But remember, no one should know about this. It should stay just between the three of us,” said Lonu. The trio agreed and left for their homes.

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As soon as they left, Chintu thought to himself, “What could be in that large bag? Money? Food? Whatever it is, it must be something very special. And don’t they know that it’s impossible to hide something from someone as clever as me? When the three go there tomorrow, they will return empty handed because I am going to get my hands on it before them.”

Chintu left for the mound at once. He found the date trees and the peepal tree as described by Chikki. He climbed up the tree and began searching for the bag. It was getting dark, but he continued to search and finally found it. Chintu immediately opened the bag

Dimpy, Lonu and Chikki, who were hiding in a bush nearby, came out and said, “What’s the matter, Chintu?

Are you hurt? It looks like you have been stung by bees. Why don’t you go visit a doctor. We’ll pay for it.”

“You tricked me into coming to this place!” said Chintu, writhing in pain.

“But aren’t you’re the cleverest animal in the forest? Who can trick you?” said Chikki.

A-Taste-of-His-Own-Medicine

Chintu finally felt the pain of all those whom he had troubled and laughed at. “I am sorry,” he said, realising the folly of his ways. “I have been blinded by my own arrogance. Thank you for making me realise it.”

“We just wanted to show you how it feels to be on the receiving end of your pranks. We are happy it worked,” said Dimpy.

The three of them helped take Chintu to the doctor and too care of him for the next few days. Then on, they all remained friends and Chintu did not revert back to his old ways.

The Missing Money

One morning, Baddy fox and Laptu jackal approached Cheeku rabbit for help. Cheeku was known to be fair and impartial. So, they were confident that Cheeku would help solve their problem.

“Yesterday, Laptu made some extra money at our store because of the festive sale. He couldn’t deposit it in the bank as it was quite late in the evening by the time he closed the shop. So, he came to my house and gave me the money for safe-keeping. But this morning, the money was missing,” said Baddy worried.

“Don’t worry, Baddy. We will find your money. Now, think calmly and tell me what you did with the money once Laptu gave it to you,” said Cheeku.

“Laptu had put the money in a yellow cover, which he handed over to me. After counting it, I hid it inside the rice bin to keep it safe,” said Baddy.

“Was anybody else there when you counted the money or placed it inside the bin? Do you suspect anybody?” asked Cheeku.

“Yes, I suspect Jumpy monkey. He was the only one who saw Laptu handing over the money to me. He even walked by my house a couple of times when I was counting the money,” said Baddy.

“In that case, let’s go to Jumpy’s house and find out. Come with me,” said Cheeku.

The three of them reached Jumpy’s house and there, they saw Jumpy and Meeku mouse counting some money.

Jumpy was surprised to see the three of them. “Hello! What brings you all here so early in the day?”

Cheeku explained about Baddy’s missing money. “Baddy says that you are the only one, beside him and Laptu, who knows about the money. So he suspects that you could have taken it,” said Cheeku.

“That is absurd! I did not steal the money!” said a shocked Jumpy.

“In that case, where did you get this money from?” asked Laptu, pointing to the bundle of cash in Jumpy’s hands.

“Meeku and I earned this money by selling the bananas from our farm,” said Jumpy.

“Liar! There’s no way you could have made so much money by selling bananas!” accused Baddy angrily.

“Calm down, Baddy. I will find out who the liar is,” said Cheeku. “Now tell me, how many notes were there and of what denomination? Since you counted the notes before you put in inside, you may know.”

Baddy became uncomfortable with the question. “Errr… There were 50 50-rupee notes,” said Baddy.

Cheeku took the bundle of cash from Jumpy and said, “Looks like Jumpy has all 100-rupee notes. So I guess, this is not your money.”

“I remember well. We had 100-rupee notes, not 50-rupee notes,” said Laptu.

“Aha! Who is the liar now? There are a couple of 50-rupee notes as well,” said Jumpy.

“You have been caught, Baddy! Now out with the truth! Why were you trying to frame Jumpy? Did you really lose your money?” asked Cheeku.

“Tell the truth, or else we will complain to King Shersingh about you,” said Jumpy.

Baddy and Laptu became scared and immediately confessed.

“Please don’t tell Shersingh! I am sorry I lied. We didn’t lose our money. Yesterday, while on the way to the shop, Laptu overheard Meeku and Jumpy talking about the money they made. So, we came up with a plan to get the money from them by wrongly framing them,” said Baddy.

The-Missing-Money

“Jumpy and Meeku made this money through hard work and not by cheating people. You should apologise to them,” said Cheeku.

Baddy and Laptu were ashamed of their behaviour. They apologised to Jumpy and Meeku for trying to cheat them.

The Boastful Parrot

Piku was a handsome parrot. But he took too much pride in his beauty. Whenever he met the other animals in the forest, he would only talk about himself.

One day when he was looking at his feathers and admiring himself, he heard a beautiful voice coming from near the lake. Piku wondered to whom the voice belonged. Unable to contain his curiosity, he flew towards the lake to find out.

There, he saw a beautiful swan with feathers as white as milk and a beak that glistened in the sun. She was singing and dancing in the lake. She noticed Piku looking at her.

“Hello, there!” said the swan sweetly. “My name is Sofi and I’ve just arrived in your forest.”

“Hi, Sofi. I am Piku. Welcome to our forest,” said Piku warmly.

Just when he was about to talk about his beauty, Sofi said, “Look at my feathers, Piku. Don’t you think they are shiny and soft? And my neck—it’s slender and curvy. You may not have seen any creature as beautiful as I am!”

Piku was irritated. “How much she talks about herself!” he thought to himself.

He listened to her talk more about herself, and then finally said, “Sofi, I must go now. I’m pleased to have met you. Hope we meet again. Bye!”

On his way back home, Piku met Mittu, the squirrel. “There’s a new guest in our forest. But do stay away from her,” said Piku.

“Who is this new guest? And why are you asking me to stay away from her?” asked Mittu curiously.

“Her name is Sofi. She’s a swan. All she talks about are her feathers, neck, eyes and how beautiful she is! I don’t like her at all,” said Piku.

“Ha ha! I am used to that, Piku. You do the same with me,” said Mittu.

“Whether you accept it or not, that’s what you do. Ask anyone,” said Mittu, walking away.

Piku then met Bhola, the bear. “Stay away from Sofi, the swan!” Piku warned him.

The-Boastful-Parrot

“But why? What has she done?” asked Bhola.

“She’ll bore you to sleep by constantly talking about how beautiful she is,” said Piku.

“Just like you! Now, do you realise how we feel when you keep boasting about yourself?” asked Bhola.

Suddenly, he heard Sofi’s voice again. It seemed like she was coming this way. Piku quickly left, not wanting another conversation with her.

Later, Piku sat down on a tree and pondered over what Mittu and Bholu told him. “Do I really talk about myself that much?” he wondered aloud. “They must be mistaken. It is Sofi who keeps talking about herself. I’ve never seen anyone so vain!”

Kalu, the elephant, who happened to walk by, heard Piku talking to himself. “Are you boasting about your good looks again?” Kalu asked Piku.

The-Boastful-Parrot

“No, I was talking about Sofi, the swan. She irritates others by talking only about herself,” replied Piku.

“But that is what you do as well, and we get irritated with you. But we don’t tell you about it because you are a good friend and we didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” said Kalu.

Piku finally realised his mistake. “I am sorry. I didn’t realise how vain I was being until today. I am going to change that about myself, and hopefully make Sofi understand this as well,” he said. “And next time, do tell me if I do something wrong. Don’t keep it from me just because I am your friend.”

“Don’t worry, Piku. I am sure we won’t have anything to complain about hereafter,” said Kalu with a smile.

 

 

Facing the Darkness

When Danny, the fawn opened his eyes in the middle of the night, his room was completely dark. He became scared and called out to his mother!

“Mom! Where are you? Why have the lights gone out? My room is very dark!” Danny screamed from his room.

“Don’t be scared, Danny. I am right here,” said his mother Dina, the deer, rushing into Danny’s room. “There is a power cut. I just called the electricity office and they informed me that it will be back within an hour,” she explained, as she patted his back to ease his fear.

“I will sleep beside you till the power is back. You know I am scared of the dark,” said Danny, holding on to his mother tight.

That night, Danny slept with his mother. He still could not sleep properly, because of which Danny was tired the next day and dozed off in class.

“Danny! Why are you sleeping in class?” his teacher Jimmy, the monkey scolded him.

Danny tried to stay awake but he dozed off again. His classmates laughed at him.

facing fear

During recess, Danny’s friend Marty, the mongoose said to him, “You look very tired today. Didn’t you sleep last night?”

“No, I did not. There was a power cut at home and my room became completely dark. So, I was scared and couldn’t sleep at all last night,” explained Danny

“So what if it was dark? You were in your house, not in the middle of the jungle!” said Marty.

“My room was pitch-black and I was all alone. What if someone had come into the house?” said Danny.

“If the doors and windows are locked, no one can enter your house, said Marty.

“What about ghosts? They don’t need doors and windows to enter. They can walk through walls!” said Danny, shuddering at the thought. “When I sleep, I cover myself fully with the blanket so that the ghosts can’t see me.”

Marty burst out laughing. “There is no such thing as a ghost! If you can overcome your fear of the dark, then you wouldn’t have an irrational fear of ghosts,” said Marty.

“How do I overcome my fear?” asked Danny, hoping for a solution. “I try sleeping with the lights on, but that doesn’t seem to help.”

“You have to face your fear. Instead of keeping the lights on at night, get used to the darkness a few minutes at a time. Switch off the lights for a minute, then for five minutes and then gradually keep increasing the time. Soon, you will become comfortable not having the lights on through the night,” suggested Marty.

“But what if I see a ghost?” asked Danny.

“Keep a flashlight by your side. In case you think you see a ghost, flash the light at it and it will go away. Ghosts are afraid of brave kids,” said Marty.

“Really? I didn’t know that,” said Danny excitedly. “I am going to try your suggestion tonight and see how it works,” he said cheerfully.

That night, Danny went to bed with a flashlight by his side. To his mother’s surprise, he even switched off all lights in his room. As soon as it was dark, Danny held on to his flashlight tight and lay still. After a few minutes, Danny was slowly getting used to the darkness. It did not seem so scary after all.

Suddenly, he felt a figure moving towards his bed. Danny wanted to scream but he remembered what Marty told him: “Ghosts are afraid of brave kids.” So, he closed his eyes and lay still. After a minute, he opened his eyes to find the figure missing.

facing fear

“Maybe it is hiding under the bed. Let me flash the light at it and chase it away,” thought Danny. He switched on the light and looked under his bed. To his relief, there was nothing.

Danny felt triumphant. “Hurray! There is no ghost in the room. Now that I have become brave, the ghost must have become afraid of me and run away!” he said to himself.

Danny switched off the flashlight and went back to bed. He slept peacefully that night.

The next day, at school, Danny thanked Marty for helping him overcome his fear of the dark.

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the dark. “I am glad I could help you,” said Marty. “But now, you don’t have an excuse to fall asleep in class,” he joked. Danny laughed with him.

 

THE TRUE WINNER

Grandma was waiting at the bus stop for her grandsons Rohit and Mohit.

“The school bus is late today,” she murmured to herself.

After sometime, the school bus arrived.

The twins, Rohit and Mohit jumped out of the bus and ran up to her.

“Grandma, today I scored full marks in a surprise test on Moral Education!” said Rohit excitedly.

“Very good, Rohit! Keep it up. And what about you, Mohit?” asked Grandma.

“I wasn’t well prepared. So, I scored only 17 on 20,” said Mohit.

“That is still a good score. We shall celebrate both of your achievements with pav bhaji tonight. And I’ll ask your father to buy some ice cream on his way back from work,” said Grandma.

Rohit and Mohit jumped with excitement.

Later that evening, Rohit and Mohit were watching television when the doorbell rang. Rohit answered the door and saw his classmate Varun standing outside.

“Hi, Rohit. As you know, I was absent from school for the past few days. Can you help me with the classwork? I also need to borrow your notes,” said Varun.

“Why don’t you take help from your best friend Mahesh?” asked Rohit.

“He has gone out of town with his family and will be back only next week,” replied Varun.

“I am sorry, Varun. I don’t have the time to help you now. And my notes are incomplete,” said Rohit.

Varun was disappointed. He turned away to walk when he heard Mohit call out to him.

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“Hey, Varun! I can help you,” said Mohit, walking up to the door. “Bring your books over. We can study here.”

“Thanks, Mohit. I’ll be back in 10 minutes,” replied Varun and quickly left to get his books.

Mohit closed the door and turned around to see Rohit staring at him angrily.

“Why did you offer to help Varun? You know him well. He always troubles us in class,” fumed Rohit.

“Calm down, Rohit. Right now, he came to us asking for help and not to trouble us. There is no harm in helping him out,” said Mohit.

Rohit became upset. He went to his room and did not talk to Varun when he returned later. Meanwhile, Mohit and Varun sat down to study.

After dinner, the twins, their parents and Grandma were all gathered in the living room and eating ice cream.

“Grandma told me that Rohit scored full marks in a surprise test. Good job, Champ!” congratulated their father.

“We should congratulate Mohit as well and give him an extra scoop of ice cream as a reward,” said Grandma.

Mohit was surprised. “Me? Why?”

“Moral Science is a subject that teaches you morals and values of life and can guide you to do the right thing in a situation. Rohit might have got full marks in the test, but Mohit put those values to use today,” said Grandma.

“Oh yes, I saw Mohit helping Varun with his schoolwork when we came back home from the office,” said their mother.

“Rohit, when Varun came to you asking for help, and the right thing to have done was to help him, irrespective of whether he is your friend or not. We should not let people down when they need our help,” said Grandma.

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“I am sorry, Grandma. I didn’t realise my mistake. Now on, I shall help everyone,” said Rohit. He then turned to his brother and said, “Congrats, Mohit. You are the real winner!”

“Thank you!” said Mohit.

“I think now Rohit too deserves an extra scoop of ice cream!” said their father.

The twins enjoyed their well-pav bhaji and ice cream.

 

Sweety Learns a Valuable Lesson

Sundays always saw Sweety in a great mood. Sundays were special as Sweety’s mother would be busy with work during the weekdays. So, on Sundays they would always go to the mall. Although Sweety was a good kid, she did not always listen to her parents.

“Sweety, the mall will be crowded today. Do not go anywhere without telling me. Walk along with me,” mother told Sweety.

“Yes mom. I want to play games and have a softy ice-cream, a savoury pastry and a tub of popcorn!” said Sweety, excited.

The mall was a huge three-storied building. It was crowded as many families had come there, since it was a Sunday.

Sweety and her mother first purchased some clothes for Sweety. Then Sweety’s mother said, “I have to buy this month’s groceries. This place is very crowded. Let’s go to the payment counter with these packages. You just be careful and stick with me.” Sweety nodded her head.

Sweety’s mother packed the rice and wheat that she had purchased and went to check its weight at the counter.

The toy rack behind them caught Sweety’s attention. She thought, “There are so many toys and games on that rack. I can quickly check the toys and come back.”

Sweety went to the rack without informing her mother. Meanwhile, the crowd in the store was increasing. Sweety was so busy examining the toys that she forgot to stick with her mother.

Sweety’s mother paid the bill but she panicked when she discovered that she could not see Sweety anywhere.

Sweety’s mother asked people if they had seen a small, curly-haired girl nearby. But there were just too many people and nobody had seen Sweety.

About half an hour later, Sweety came back to the counter where she had last seen her mother. She got scared and started crying when she did not see her mother.

“I can’t find my mother,” said Sweety, wiping her tears.

The lady said, “Don’t be scared… Let’s go to the first floor. The customer care people will make an announcement, and then your mom will come to pick you.”

Both of them quickly went to the first floor. The lady told the customer care people what had happened.

 

SWEETY'S-LEARNS-A-VALUEABLE-LESSON

One of them made an announcement, “A child has been separated from her mother in this mall. Her name is Sweety, she has curly hair and she is wearing a red frock. If her mother is hearing this, please come soon to the customer care centre.”

Sweety’s mother heard the announcement and rushed over. Sweety was relieved to see her mother again. She hugged her mother tightly and narrated the entire incident. Her mother thanked everyone for helping sweety and they left the mall.

But mother was angry with Sweety. She said, “I told you to stick with me. Despite that, you wandered off. Did you think about what could have happened if somebody kidnapped you?”

Sweety understood her mistake. She said, “I am sorry mom, I made a mistake. I will listen to everything you say henceforth.” Her mother then let her play for some time and later they went to have a soft-serve cone and a savoury pastry.

Sweety had learnt a valuable lesson. She mended her ways and started listening to what her parents told her. •

 

THE POWER OF HARMONY

Alfred had two mobile phones. He had put a SIM card of a different network in each mobile phone. One day, while Alfred was browsing in a shop, he came across a mobile phone that had a unique feature.

“This mobile phone lets the owner insert two SIM cards in it simultaneously,” the shopkeeper told Alfred.

“It would be better if I buy this mobile phone,” Alfred thought. “It will simultaneously hold my two SIM cards and save me the trouble of carrying two mobile phones. My other phones have become quite old anyway.”

He bought the new mobile phone the next day itself. Alfred’s new mobile phone worked very well for a few days, but then something very strange happened.

The two SIM cards that Alfred had inserted in the new phone began fighting with each other.

“Alfred uses me more often to make calls,” one of the SIM cards boasted. “You are in here just for namesake. You are always lying in a corner.”

The other SIM card grew furious. It didn’t like being spoken to in such an insulting manner.

“Don’t act smart,” the other SIM card shouted. “All the incoming calls are made to me. I am far more useful to Alfred than you are!”

“You are cheap and everybody knows that cheap things are not durable,” the first SIM card said and sniggered.

“Why should one buy expensive things when the inexpensive ones can provide the same convenience for much less, huh?” the second SIM card said, not wanting to be left behind.

The battery inside the phone had been silently witnessing the SIM cards’ fight for a long time. It couldn’t hold itself back anymore.

“Calm down now,” it said. “You both are arguing pointlessly.”

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“You ugly, black battery…who asked you to interfere with us? Did anyone ask for your advice?” both the SIM cards said, forgetting about their fight and starting a new one with the battery.

“What do you think I am? You both can’t utter a word without me,” the battery said, blowing its own trumpet. “Don’t you know that the mobile phone won’t work unless it has battery power? So, technically speaking, I am your boss!”

The intensity of the fight increased, and soon the entire handset began trembling because of the commotion inside it. Before the handset could say anything, there was a phone call and Alfred picked up the mobile phone and answered it.

But he couldn’t hear the caller at the other end clearly, because there were too many odd sounds coming from the handset. “There is something wrong with this mobile phone,” Alfred said and immediately took the mobile phone back to the shop. He asked the shopkeeper to repair it but the shopkeeper returned it to Alfred saying that it seemed perfectly all right.

The fight hadn’t stopped as yet. The charger too joined the battle, and argued with the SIM cards and the battery. “Stop thinking of yourselves as superior,” the charger said proudly. “If I don’t charge the battery, none of you will have any existence at all. You should be thankful to me for keeping you in working condition!”

The battery had no answer to the charger’s claim. “Hey! Have you all have forgotten me?” the handset said, trying to prove how important he was too. “You all are fixed inside me. I am your true boss! You all are, after all, my parts.”

The squabble was escalating. And in the bargain, all the parts had completely forgotten that they needed to get back to work. Alfred was very disturbed. He found that his mobile phone wasn’t working, and he was missing out on making and receiving important calls.

He took the mobile phone and the charger back to the shopkeeper again and banged them on his counter angrily.

“Refund my money. This mobile phone is completely useless. There is definitely something wrong with it,” he shouted. “There are strange sounds coming from it.”

The shopkeeper took the mobile phone and charger back from Alfred and told him that he would check them. He then requested Alfred to come back after a day.

Just as Alfred walked out of the shop, a man entered with his mobile phone and charger.

Now, this man had accidentally overcharged the battery of his phone. It had damaged the mobile phone and made it irreparable.

“Your mobile phone and charger are of no use to anyone anymore,” the shopkeeper said loudly, after examining the faulty mobile phone. “They are only worth throwing in the dustbin now.”

The shopkeeper’s words gave the parts of Alfred’s mobile phone a big jolt. The SIM cards got worried. The battery was terrified. The handset and the charger felt quite nervous. “What if this happens to us?” one of the SIM cards said. “What if the shopkeeper tells Alfred we must be thrown away?”

“We won’t let that happen,” the other SIM card said.

“We will never let this kind of situation come upon us!” “We will forget about our fight and work together as a team!” the battery said.

“I agree!” added the charger.

“So do I,” said the handset.

And so, the SIM cards, the battery, the charger and the handset decided that they would forget about their petty squabble and live and work together in harmony.

“Your mobile phone is working now,” the shopkeeper told Alfred when he returned to the shop the next day. “Please pay me two hundred rupees for servicing the parts.”

The SIM cards, the battery, the handset and the charger knew that there was nothing wrong with them, and that the shopkeeper hadn’t serviced them at all. They felt very ashamed that their owner Alfred, who took such good care of them, had to pay the shopkeeper, just because they had quarrelled.

They apologised to each other and made a pact never to fight again.

“We will live and work in harmony from now on,” they promised.

The result of this pact was that the mobile phone worked very well. Alfred was very satisfied. “This mobile phone is better than the ones I owned before,” he told his friends “I am really happy with it!”

When the SIM card, the battery, the charger and the handset heard Alfred, they looked at each other and smiled. They were glad that they had decided to work and live together in harmony.

 

 

TIGER BILLA

Tiger was an alley cat. He had no home and no one cared or worried about him. He did not even share whatever little he had with the other cats who lived on the streets. Well, this was because all the animals who lived on the streets struggled to stay alive. Their days were spent foraging for food. Tiger too roamed on the streets all day long. He wandered in the back alleys of the city, searching for food. He was always hungry with a terrible ache in his belly. As a result of this, he was never really happy. No one ever seemed to care whether he was tired or thirsty or hungry or sleepy or unwell. Poor Tiger!

“Oh, how I wish I had someone to take care of me,” Tiger would often say. “I am so lonely. I am so sad. No one cares about me or even gives me a second look.”

Each day was as difficult for Tiger. He would wake up feeling famished and go looking for food. Well, food was scarce and Tiger would have to walk long distances and even sift through dustbins. Well, there were too many stray cats and not much food to go around. Tiger felt lucky if he found even a morsel to eat. As time went by, Tiger felt more and more miserable.

He stopped purring like happy cats usually did. And he lost interest in smiling and playing. Whenever he came across children, he ran away. He even stopped trusting everyone he encountered. Well, life was not easy as a stray.

One day, it rained very heavily. Tiger found that he was soaking wet. He shivered and felt terrible when he realised he had to sleep on the wet ground.

Tiger wept and wished he had a better life.

“Life is so lonely without any friends,” he sobbed. “And this rain is making me feel worse. We cats hate water and today, I’m all drenched.”

Suddenly, Tiger heard a voice. “What is a cat who hates water doing outdoors on a wet day like this?” the voice said softly and gently. “The poor thing!”

Tiger wondered if he was dreaming.

“Oh! What a lovely dream I’m having! Someone is actually worrying about me even though it’s a dream!” he thought.

Tiger then felt a pair of dry hands pick him up and cradle him in the crook of an arm. He realised that he wasn’t dreaming and that what was happening was quite real!

Tiger looked up and saw that he was in the arms of a little girl. She had picked him up as she knew that cats hated getting wet. And then to Tiger’s great surprise, the little girl took him into her house.

Tiger’s joy knew no bounds.

“At last I’ve found a friend!” he thought to himself. “There’s finally someone who cares about me!”

Tiger placed him on her lap, as she sat and rocked on a big brown rocking chair.

Tiger was no longer cold or scared, for he had found someone who loved and cared for him. The friendship between the alley cat and the little girl blossomed, and the two soon became inseparable.

TIGER-BILLA

Now all Tiger does is purr and purr. He even smiles a contented smile at everyone who looks at him.

“A little bit of caring was all that it took to make my life happy,” Tiger tells everyone he meets. “My heart felt full of happiness and joy the moment I found that someone actually cares about me.”

Well, Tiger is right. A little bit of caring is all that it takes to make someone’s life happy and joyful. So, when you come across anyone who looks lonely, sad or blue, do something kind and help them feel loved and cared for.

 

 

Root and Branches

There was a huge Banyan tree on the corner of the road that led to the village. It had stood there for years. The passers-by halted under the tree when they became tired. The tree happily gave them shelter, it gave the tree a sense of joy.

One day, the branches of the tree felt proud of themselves and said to its root, “We are so great. We, along with the leaves, give shade to the tired travelers and they thank us in return, Nobody even acknowledges or knows you.” The root replied, “You are forgetting something. I am your strength. You all would not survive without my support. I am the real life of this tree.”

“We agree that you provide us support,” said a branch, “but if we do not take in air and Sunlight with the help of the leaves, then we wouldn’t survive. What role do you play in this?”

The root replied, “Water is necessary for survival and I absorb water from the soil. The water reaches the leaves and the branches through capillary action. This water keeps you and the leaves alive.”

“Whatever it is, we are more important than you are,” said the branches.

The root raised an objection and said, “No, I am more important.”

Amidst this argument, suddenly the ground started trembling. The leaves and the branches started shivering. Clearly it was an earthquake. This was the time for the root to show its might. It fearlessly held on to the ground with a strong grip. The branches and the leaves got scared but the root said to them, “There is no need to worry. I am doing my work very well.”

The tremors vanished after sometime. Everything became peaceful again. The tree wasn’t harmed at all. With all the arrogance, the root said, “Be thankful to me. I saved you all from destruction.”

Before the branches could reply, a violent storm struck the place and winds started blowing fiercely. If the branches fell apart, then the tree would become useless. So it was the time for the branches to fulfill their duty.

The branches strengthened themselves and remained unaffected by the winds. The storm came under control in a few minutes and the tree was still standing intact. Now it was the time for the branches to praise themselves. They turned towards the root and said, “Had we fallen apart, the tree would have lost its value. So do you agree that we are more important?”

roots-and-branches

A squirrel that was sitting on the tree was listening to all the arguments between the branches and the root. The squirrel finally said, “The storm and the earthquake have made you realize that you both hold equal importance. Then what is the point of arguing now? Just fulfill your duties and work collectively to save the tree.”

The root and the branches understood each other’s importance and that they were wasting their precious time in arguing over a petty matter.

They smiled and said, “True, Miss Squirrel. You are absolutely right. Each one holds importance and can help others in need.”

 

THE SUN WILL BE DESTROYED

Hey, Chunchun, what happened? Is everything alright?” Meeku Rabbit asked in concern as Chunchun Mouse had come to meet him in the morning itself.

Chunchun replied, “Oh! Just came over to see you. Everybody is generally at home in the morning. That’s why I came so early.”

Meeku laughed, “You are right, but tell me what the matter is?”

Chunchun scratched his head, “I have been thinking for many days that the Sun has already completed one-third of its life. What will happen when it isn’t there anymore? Just think! The entire world will be submerged into darkness.”

Hearing Chunchun’s words, Meeku burst out laughing and his laughter continued for a long time. Then he told Chunchun, “Friend Chunchun, you made me laugh. I am laughing so heartily after many days.”

Chunchun said sheepishly, “Brother Meeku, what is there to laugh at? What wrong did I say? The Sun will really get destroyed one day, I swear!”

Meeku nodded his head, “You are right. I agree that the Sun has already completed one-third of its life and one day, it will complete the remaining two-thirds of life too and then it will be destroyed.”

sun-will-be-destroyed

“Then why did you laugh on my words?” Chunchun got a little annoyed.

Meeku suppressed his laughter and said, “Chunchun, I will tell you. The Sun has been giving light to this Earth since 5 billion years and it is still going to be there for another 10 billion years. Now you should know that one year has 365 days and 100 years make one century.”

Chunchun interrupted, “Yes, yes, ones, tens, hundreds, one thousand, ten thousands, one lakh, ten lakhs…”

Chunchun couldn’t say any further. Meeku laughed again, “Why are you quiet? You forgot? After ten lakhs, its one crore, ten crores, one billion and then ten billions. Did you get it?”

Chunchun held his head. He said thoughtfully, “This is too much. I was unnecessarily worried.”

Meeku explained, “Correct, you got it right. Do you know that the Sun is the closest star to the Earth? Whatever energy we are using on this Earth is derived from the Sun. The interesting part is that the Sun is mainly fire, but it is a gaseous sphere. That means it is neither solid, nor liquid.”

Chunchun again scratched his head, “Oh! I wasn’t aware about it. I didn’t know that the chapati sized Sun was so interesting, really!”

Meeku said, “Chunchun, the Sun is not chapati sized, but gigantic! The radius of the Sun is an unimaginable 14,00,000 kilometers. Its huge size can be imagined by this fact that it takes 25 days to complete one circle around its own orbit.”

“Oh My God, this is really interesting, Brother Meeku.”

Meeku said, “However it is true that the Sun will be destroyed one day. The hydrogen present in the Sun is getting depleted with time and helium is getting formed in its place.”,

Chunchun asked, “Does that mean that the Earth will be in darkness?”

Meeku said, “I will tell you what will happen. After the entire hydrogen will be finished, the Sun will start expanding. It will become cold and turn into a huge red star. It will grow 250 times its size and swallow Mercury, Venus and our Earth. Then it will start shrinking. Then the Sun will become a white star. With time, though, it will lose its sheen and turn into a black sphere.”

sun-will-be-destroyed

Chunchun’s eyes widened with horror. “Oh no! What will happen? How will we live then?”

Meeku began laughing, “Don’t worry about it now. I am sure humans would have found another Earth to live on by then. That’s what I believe.”

Chunchun began clapping and they both had a hearty laugh together.

Rockstar Guitar

Rockstar Guitar was ready to rock the show. His friends – Stylo Sitar, Bingo Violin and Perky Trumpet were practicing along with him. The concert hall was packed to capacity and the rival group was unusually eager to start the show.

Rockstar Guitar thought, “They seem to be overconfident. I wonder why? We are equal competitors after all. Not less in any manner.” The stage was set. The compere for the show, Chintu Rabbit announced, “And now, for the grand show of the evening, the musical concert- a grand contest between two musical troupes Rockstar Guitar and his band and The Tableturners. Let’s give them all a big hand.”rockstar-guitar

The applause for the start of the show was heartening. The curtains drew apart and there was Rockstar Guitar and his band assembled on stage. Rockstar Guitar introduced himself and his group members. He started his music and singing. He strummed and sang along, “Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom,” and the audience enjoyed every bit of it.

Bingo Violin accompanied his singing and music with its beautiful notes. The song went on and on… ‘Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom, Let’s all just dance to rock and roll, Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom Let’s all just dance with twists and turns,

Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom. Yay, yay, yay, ra, za, zoom, Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom…’

In the middle of the song, Stylo Sitar tried its music but found itself stuck and no notes came forth from it. It looked at Rockstar Guitar with pleading eyes and Rockstar Guitar understood the situation at once. Rockstar Guitar thought, “Stylo Sitar is in trouble. I should save this situation.”

To save his band member, Rockstar Guitar began playing the musical notes of Stylo Sitar himself. Stylo Sitar was swaying happily and stylishly with a smile on his face and everyone thought that the music was coming from Stylo Sitar, whilst actually Rockstar Guitar was playing Stylo Sitar’s music. Perky Trumpet rendered itself wholly into the beat of the song. No one could make out the faux pas and the band rocked the evening.

The rival group, The Tableturners, was dismayed. “We were here to turn the tables on the other group. How did the tables turn back on us?” they thought disappointedly. Striko Cymbal, which had been given the task of tampering with Stylo Sitar in Rockstar Guitar’s band, was beaten in anger by their group head, Dumroo Drum. “Couldn’t you do this one job properly?” bellowed Dumroo Drum.

rockstar-guitar

“I really did cut Stylo Sitar’s strings,” Striko Cymbal pleaded, but to no avail. The other members of The Tableturners, Gabla Tabla and Trummy Trumpet started quarrelling among themselves backstage, for not having “fixed” the other group.

They all came to blows with every instrument blaming each other. The harmony in the group was lost. When they heard the thunderous applause from the audience for Rockstar Guitar’s band, they became jealous. There were butterflies in their stomach. Now it was their turn to perform.

Rockstar Guitar and his band humbly bowed before the audience and went backstage to their room. Stylo Sitar thanked its group head, Rockstar Guitar for having saved the day with his mind blowing music and presence of mind.

rockstar-guitar

The Tableturners came on stage and started their music and singing. But it was evident that something was missing. The initial excitement to perform well was lost with their plot going haywire. The team spirit was lackluster and nowhere did it have the feel and depth associated with great music.

Moreover, the infighting amongst themselves had tired them out even before the performance. Striko Cymbal couldn’t make any music properly and Trummy Trumpet had an upset tummy. Instead of a sizzling performance, their performance fizzled out. The audience did clap but halfheartedly.

By this time, it was obvious who would win.

The Tableturners realized that they had spent more time in trying to tamper the other group’s performance. This had resulted in their plan backfiring and the tables being turned on them instead. They could have instead utilized the time to build up their practice. They decided that henceforth they would not waste their time in useless pursuits and would build a good band with sincere practice and dedication. Rockstar Guitar and his band stole the show and won the contest. The audience was ecstatically singing “Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom.” A good team led by a good leader always wins.

The Tableturner had learnt a lesson. They resolved to play fair and worked hard at becoming good musicians. Last heard, The Tableturners had even changed their group name to The Headturners.

 

Sweety’s Dance

Sweety Vixen was the neighbour of little Bulbul. One day, she suddenly thought of something and began singing. A crow flew by and said, “Sister Sweety, do you want to chase away everybody from here today?” and he burst out laughing.

Sweety became angry, “What a thing to say! Can’t I even sing?” She started singing even more loudly.

Hariyal Parrot was passing by and asked, “Sister, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

“Am I crying? What do you know about classical music?” She screamed furiously which made Hariyal fly away in haste.

Now Sweety was angry with everybody. She looked towards little Bulbul’s house. The door was closed and one could hear her singing in her melodious voice.

‘Let me hear which song she is singing,’ Sweety thought, and tried to listen. Bulbul was singing, “She is my best friend I will dance with her. We will have more fun…”

Just then Hansa Deer, who was Sweety’s friend, passed by. Sweety was distracted and couldn’t hear the song any longer.

“Aren’t you coming for running?” Hansa asked.

Sweety said, “No, you go. I have nothing to do with running. I have stopped playing now.”

“You don’t want to run? Nobody can run as fast as you. What has happened to you?”

“This time I want to take part in a music competition,” Sweety said.

“Really?” And Hansa too burst out laughing.

Everybody tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen. She could easily have won Gold.

Medal for running just like last year. But Sweety was stuck on singing. She would practice all day. If someone said black pepper was good for the throat, she would get it the same day. Even if someone said something in jest, she would follow their advice seriously.

Then came the Spring Festival where various competitions were held. Mainah came to participate in the Tansen Music Competition. The Swan too arrived. Bulbul had already been practicing, Sweety too registered her name for the competition.

However, she would turn her face on seeing Bulbul. She had heard her singing and was worried about Bulbul making fun of her. The day Sweety was going to sing, she had invited the entire jungle. They all appreciated her running, but now were curious to see how she sang.

When Sweety was about to leave, her doorbell rang,

Who would have come now,’ she thought and then heard Bulbul’s voice.

“Hello, Sweety, best of luck. You have prepared well for your singing today.”

“How does that matter? You are going to get the prize,” Sweety said.

“How do you know?

“You sing so well!”

“That is true, but you too sing well. In fact, you dance so well. I can’t dance at all. All animals make fun of me.”

All the animals gathered under the banyan tree in the evening.

sweety's story

Bulbul had registered her name along with Sweety.

“How’s that possible? Only one can sing here,” Minky Monkey said.

“But this is a music competition. Why can’t we do that?” Bulbul said.

But, Bulbul, do you really want to sing with Sweety?” Hathiram asked.

“Yes, Uncle, this is for ‘fun’. This is what should happen. Everybody should get a prize.”

As soon as Sweety started her song, everybody began giggling. Elephant Uncle’s trunk began jiggling due to his laughter. Sweety saw that after some time, everybody was clapping loudly. Bulbul had started singing in her beautiful voice, “Sweety is my best friend

I will dance with her.

We would have more fun…

We are here for the fun

We want all the friends

Come and dance, have fun”

Sweety was dancing very elegantly at the song.

Seeing her dance, Bheema Bear too got up and began dancing. Neelu Peacock too had joined in.

The audience threw in a big round of applause.

“Bulbul, why didn’t you tell me before?”

“What?”

“That you love me so much! I was under the wrong impression.”

Bulbul laughed, “Sweety, we are friends. I know that you dance very well. I can sing very well and together we could do so beautifully.” Elephant Uncle gave Sweety a huge trophy for her performance.

sweety's story

When Neelu Peacock congratulated her, Sweety realized that she was really being appreciated. Now she understood the meaning of Bulbul’s words and her eyes began searching for Bulbul in the big crowd. Meanwhile, Bulbul was talking in her sweet voice to Hariyal and others, praising Sweety for her dance.

 

Friends Of A Feather

There was a huge tree in a jungle. Many birds lived on that tree. One day, following a storm, it started raining heavily. The branches of the tree started swaying violently from side-to-side.

All the birds decided to stay within their nests. The warmth of the nests was quite comforting.

Browny, a Baya Weaver bird, had made a very comfortable nest. While she was sitting inside, she heard a cry for help.

When Browny peeped out of her nest, she saw Chillo Eagle’s little baby lying on the ground. He was screaming for help. Looking at his pitiable condition Browny felt sad.

She decided to help the baby. Blacky Crow was watching her from his nest.

Blacky tried to stop Browny. He said, “Don’t go out in such bad weather. Something bad can happen to you.”

Browny disagreed. She said, “Blacky, I don’t think we should be selfish. If we don’t help this baby, the poor thing will die of cold.”

Blacky continued, “I am telling you, forget the baby Eagle. Stay warm in your nest.”

However, Browny couldn’t do so.

She brought the baby Eagle to her nest.

The baby said, “Thank you Aunty. Some of my friends may also be shivering in cold. I am worried about them. I don’t know how they would be. We were playing together when the storm came. Thus, we got separated.”

“Don’t worry. I will try to find them,” assured Browny.

She flew out of the nest to search for the other babies.

Blacky made fun of Browny. He said, “It seems as if your brain has stopped working. Are you making your nest a lodge by bringing all of them here?”

Browny soon found the baby Parrot, the baby Woodpecker and the baby Bat near some bushes. They were shivering. The baby Kingfisher was also crying. Browny brought everyone to her nest.

The nest was quite warm and welcoming. The friends were reunited in Browny’s nest. They were happy.

Browny had some walnuts. The Woodpecker broke the shells with his beak. All of them ate walnuts together. The real fun had now begun!

The Parrot could sing. He sang songs and entertained everybody. The Bat hung down a branch. His actions made everybody laugh and clap.

Everyone was having fun in Browny’s nest. However, Blacky was feeling bored in his nest. He had nobody to talk to. He was feeling lonely and sad.

Blacky thought, “I wish I had helped somebody like Browny.”

Blacky now came out of his nest. He flew to Browny’s nest and said, “Friends, I can neither sing well nor play well, but I can dance. If you wish, I can entertain you.”

friends-of-feather

They welcomed him to the nest. Blacky began dancing. His funny dance moves made everybody laugh a lot. He was very entertaining.

Blacky enjoyed himself in their company. He was happy. From then onwards, he decided that he would always help others.

Happy Garden

Sunny was an adorable little flower. He grew in a tiny pot in a garden at Gulbaug. Being the youngest flower, he was loved by all the other flowers and plants. They pampered him like a baby. They took utmost care of him.

The Jamun tree would bend down to caress and cuddle Sunny gently. The Gulmohar tree would shower him gently with its flowers.

At bedtime the old Banyan tree narrated stories to put him to sleep.

Sunny was a cheerful flower. He was always smiling. He spread his fragrance throughout the garden. He used to enjoy the monsoons. He would dance and sing along with the plants. Sometimes he spoke to the sparrows that sat on the nearby trees. He giggled and laughed at their jokes. The sparrows told him stories of the world outside the garden. Everyone adored him in their own way.

The bees were also fond of Sunny. They sat on his delicate petals and sang sweet songs. Champu the Bear owned the garden. He also loved Sunny.

He pampered him whenever he came to water the plants. Sunny was happy. He enjoyed the attention paid to him to the fullest.

One morning, Sunny opened his eyes to the warm sun rays. He looked around.

He found a small bud on a nearby plant. It seemed to be asleep. A thought struck his mind. He became upset. He was sad when he realised that he would no longer be the youngest anymore. He felt that everyone would start loving the new flower. They would now pay less attention to him. The affection that he previously got would now be divided once the new bud bloomed into a flower.

After a while, the news of the new bud spread throughout the garden. The entire garden was seen to be in a celebratory mood. Preparations for its arrival began in full swing. When a new bud was about to bloom in the garden there usually was a grand celebration. Everyone was happy to welcome the new guest.

The Banyan tree specially invited a cuckoo who sang a song for the newcomer. The leaves clapped aloud.

The bees sang in chorus. The squirrels performed an entertaining dance. Everyone showered their love on the bud. They waited for it to bloom into a beautiful flower.

Sunny was not happy with the attention that the new bud was getting. However, he still managed to be a part of the celebrations. Although he was cared for by others, he felt jealous of the new bud. Jolly flower was his best friend. He understood what was going on in Sunny’s mind. Jolly immediately went to the Banyan tree and told him everything.

The Banyan tree thought for a while. He sent a signal to all the plants and trees. They got the message. They gathered around Sunny. They began patting, cuddling and kissing him.

The Banyan tree affectionately said, “Son, all of us love you. Our love for you shall not reduce on the arrival of the new flower.”

The Guava tree said, “The new bud is very tiny and delicate. Therefore it needs lots of care. This doesn’t mean that we will not care for you.”

Jolly stepped forward and said, “Before you were born, I was the youngest flower in this Garden. Your arrival did not make me sad. I was happy thinking that I would have a companion to play with.” The green grass added, “Young ones need care and affection. It feels good to love and to be loved. You will surely adore the new flower when it blooms.”

All these words brought a wide smile on Sunny’s face. He understood that his thinking had been wrong. He was convinced that he would always be important to everyone.

He embraced the Banyan tree. He said, “You are so nice. You love me so much. I was unnecessarily feeling sad and insecure.”

He then turned to the other plants and said, “I love all of you. Now, even I am eager to see the new bud bloom.”|

children story

Sunny looked at the bud and smiled. The bud seemed to be smiling back at him. A smile spread on everyone’s face. The Gulmohar tree showered its flowers on Sunny. Once again, the garden was filled with joy and happiness.

 

The Two Rats

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

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

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

“Why do people use refrigerators?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The two Rats

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

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

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

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

Flashing Fireflies

There was no electricity in Satpudavan. Darkness gripped the whole forest as soon as the sun went down. There was nothing but pitch blackness after sunset. The animals that lived in the forest faced a lot of trouble during the nights without any light.

One day, Makalu Fox went up to King Sher Singh of Satpudavan. “Maharaj,” he said. “I saw a huge colony of fireflies near a swamp outside the forest last night. They made such a bright sight. I think these fireflies have a lot of electricity. If they come to our forest and give us their electricity, we won’t have any trouble seeing at nights.”

King Sher Singh sent his messengers to call the fireflies to his palace. The fireflies were humble and came as soon as they received the message.

“Please give us whatever electricity you have,” King Sher Singh said to the fireflies. “We will pay you whatever you ask for. We want to utilize your electricity to light up our forest at nights.”

“I am sorry, Maharaj. But this cannot be done. We have inherited the light. It is part of our bodies. We cannot just give it away,” Jagmag Firefly said. He was the leader of the colony of fireflies.

“How dare you decline our King’s request? Makalu Fox said in a threatening voice. “Give us your electricity or you will be punished!”flashing-fireflies

“Please don’t get angry,” Jagmag Firefly pleaded. “You must understand. Even if we give you the electricity we have within us, it won’t be of any use to you. It won’t work without us. We will perish if we give it to you.”

Minister Gajju Elephant heard the commotion and came to see what was happening.

He greeted the King and then said, “Maharaj, the fireflies are right. It is true. The light fireflies have is made by a biological action. They can’t give it away.”

“Is that so? King Sher Singh said. “I don’t understand. Please tell me more.”

“Maharaj, the fireflies belong to the arthropods community,” Gajju Elephant explained. “I read about them in an encyclopedia. They have a special element coming out of their bodies which can be seen at night. It is because of this element that they appear to flashlight at night.”

“That is why I have called them here. I want them to illuminate our forest with their light,” King Sher Singh said. “They must share their element with us.”

“Maharaj, the fireflies can’t give you their element even if they wanted to,” Gajju Elephant explained patiently. “The fireflies’ light is known as ‘bioluminescence’. It means ‘organism light’ which is emitted because of a special kind of chemical product found in the fireflies’ bodies.”

“I will tell you more about this, Maharaj,” the leader of the fireflies said respectfully.

“That’s a good idea, Jagmag,” Gajju Elephant said. “It will be best if you explain.”

“The chemical element in our bodies is called ‘Luciferin’ It is present in our cells. We can use it as many times as we want. It doesn’t get over.”

“So, the Luciferin stays constant and doesn’t get over?” Sher Singh asked, looking very surprised.

“That’s correct, Maharaj! The Luciferin supply in our cells remains even after we make light.” Jagmag Firefly explained.

“Okay, but how does the light go on and off?” King Sher Singh said.

“Maharaj, this entire process is governed by our nervous system. Luciferin is present in the inner surface of our respiratory tracts.” Jagmag Firefly continued. “When we breathe in and out, our nerves let the air go out with gaps. And so, it seems like our light is flashing or going on and off.”

“I think I understand now,” King Sher Singh said.

“Maharaj, please understand our problem. If we give this chemical substance of ours to you, it will be of no use. We will perish instead,” Jagmag Firefly folded his hands and said.

“I won’t let you perish, Jagmag,” King Sher Singh said kindly. “But can you and your friends do me a favour?”

“Of course, Maharaj!” Jagmag said. “Please tell us what we can do for you?”

“Spread out in our forest instead of staying together in one place during the nights. The whole forest will be lit up that way.” King Sher Singh requested.

“Yes Maharaj, we will do that,” all the fireflies said together.

From that day onwards, the fireflies scattered themselves throughout the forest at nights. The whole forest was illuminated with little sparks of light.

All the other animals thanked the fireflies and rejoiced.

A Dangerous Doctor

Doctor Dunky Donkey was very sad. No patient would come to his hospital now. The reason was that whatever operations Dunky had done, had all been unsuccessful. Now all the animals had started calling Dunky as Dangerous Doctor.

One day Doctor Dunky was relaxing in his hospital. He thought, ‘No patient came today too. All animals think I am a dangerous doctor. Now I will have to do something else so that patients come to my hospital.’

Thinking so, Doctor Dunky went out in search of patients. All of a sudden, he heard a cry of pain from behind the bushes, “Meow…meow…somebody help me.”

“Who’s that? Catty, is it you?” Seeing Catty Cat writhing in pain, Dunky asked, “What happened, Catty? It seems you are sick. Tell me, I am a doctor. I have treatment of all diseases.”

Catty thought for a while, ‘If I go to Dunky’s hospital, I will die of his wrong treatment and if I don’t go, I will die of pain. What should I do now? There is no hospital nearby. I have no choice but to go to this dangerous doctor.’

Catty screamed in pain and said, “Doctor, I was running behind Chunchun Rat. I was just going to catch him that all of a sudden he jumped into my open mouth and reached my stomach. Doctor, please do something. Take out that rat from my stomach.”

The doctor was very pleased to hear Catty’s story. He thought, ‘I have to prove myself to be a good doctor this time.’

Then Doctor and Catty quickly went to the hospital.

The Doctor got engaged in the operation. Many animals gathered together in front of the hospital.dangerous-doctor

“Now Catty’s life is really in danger,” One animal said.

Doctor Dunky operated Catty with trembling hands and took out Chunchun alive. Then he put stitches on Catty’s stomach.

After that Doctor Dunky came out and happily told everyone, “My operation was successful.”

Oh, Catty is alive. This is a miracle.”

Everyone was surprised. “Wow, Doctor, you have done a good operation.”

Dunky was overjoyed. He started thinking, ‘Now many patients will come to my hospital. I will keep busy. Hahaha…’

But Dunky’s happiness couldn’t stay for many days. The next day itself Catty Cat came back with the complaint of stomach pain, “Oh Doctor, what did you do to my stomach?”

Then all animals together took Catty to Doctor Sheru Lion’s hospital in Champakvan.

When Sheru operated Catty, he found a scissor in her stomach.

Actually, Doctor Dunky had carelessly left the scissor in Catty’s stomach during the operation. That is why Catty’s stomach was paining so much.

When other animals came to know about Dunky’s blunder, they pelted his hospital with stones and shouted, “Dunky, close your hospital. You are not fit to be a doctor.” Humiliated, Dunky lowered his head and went to Dighu Dog.

THE SECRET OF THE STONE

Today all friends had come to Meet’s house. All four were playing carrom. Then Aneesha told Aryan, “Let us leave now, Brother, it’s already 7 O’clock. Mother must be waiting for us.”

“All right. Okay Meet, we will meet in school tomorrow. Goodbye,” Aryan said. All of them had come on their bicycle, so they were returning alone.

Aryan’s bicycle got punctured midway.

‘Oh, such bad luck! I won’t even find anybody to repair the cycle here,’ Aryan thought. Meet’s house was at the outskirts of the city. Aryan returned back to his house and walked back towards his own house after keeping the bicycle there.

He was going through the deserted highway right then he spotted a beggar. He was digging in front of a milestone at the roadside. He put a small blue coloured packet in the pit and filled it up.

Aryan was watching all this hiding behind the bushes. After finishing his work the beggar walked towards the city acting like a blind man with the help of his stick.secret-of-the-stone

Aryan thought, ‘What was that thing which the beggar put inside the pit? Let me check.’ Aryan dug again and took out the packet. When he opened it, his eyes widened. It had many bunches of thousand rupee notes.

“So much money? The currency is real. But how did that poor beggar get so much money? Something is definitely fishy,’ Aryan thought.

Aryan put the packet back in the pit and rushed to Meet. Meet was surprised to see him returning back again.

“What happened? Don’t you want to return home today? What’s the matter now? Were you pricked by a thorn in your feet?”.

“No, come with me immediately. I have to show you something.”

Meet understood that it must be something urgent. He came with Aryan. On the way, Aryan told him the whole story.

Both were going towards the same pit when they saw a blue car coming towards that milestone. Aryan and Meet hid behind the bushes. One man got down from the car.

He dug out that blue packet quickly and replaced it with a green packet. He took the blue packet and the car swiftly went away.

Aryan and Meet came out from their hiding. They took out the green packet and opened it, “What is this thing like a white powder?”

“This is brown sugar. I have smelt it before too. These small packets have intoxicant materials worth lakhs of rupees. Now I can understand what’s going on,” Aryan said.

“Tell me too,” Meet wanted to know.

“It seems that beggar and his boss deal in drugs.”

“That beggar keeps money here and in turn, drugs worth that money is put back which is taken later. What a unique way!”.

“Inspector Sharma uncle too was telling a few days before that the business of drugs is flourishing in the city,” Aryan said.

“What will you do now?”

“That beggar will come back again to take the green packet. He comes walking, so we can easily follow him.”secret-of-the-stone

Both of them kept back the packet and waited for the beggar.

Aryan was right as usual. After 15 minutes the beggar came back walking with the help of his stick.

He checked around. Finding nobody there, he took out the packet. Putting it in his raggedy bag, he again began acting like a blind man and moved towards the city.

But this time 2 detectives were behind him. Very soon he reached the bungalow of a rich businessman Lalchand. He knocked the door and went inside.

Aryan told Meet, “It seems he comes here daily. That means Lalchand is the man who runs the racket of drugs in our city. This beggar works for him.”

They informed Sharma uncle. Inspector Sharma raided Lalchand’s bungalow and seized drugs worth lakhs of rupees. Lalchand and all his aides were arrested.

Aryan’s astuteness busted the drug racket going on in the city.

Please Let Me Play with You

It was Sunday and the four rats Rinku, Minku, Chinku and Pinku had just finished their homework. It was raining outside so they decided to play some indoor games.

“It has been rather long since we played Ludo,” said Rinku.

Hearing what Rinku was saying about the game Chinku also got excited. He said, “Let’s play Ludo. It will be quite interesting, and I like to cut others’ token too.”

Hearing this Tinku said, “But when your token gets cut, you start crying.”

Chinku replied, “That was a long time back when I was younger. Today if my token gets cut, I will not cry.”

All of the friends started playing. They got some of their tokens cut and the other tokens reached home. They didn’t notice that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining outside.

The game was interesting, until suddenly Bunty, the rat came in and said, “My dear friends, please allow me to play with you.”

If Bunty had to play, one of the other four rats would have to leave as only four people are allowed to play Ludo on one board.

No Place to Play

They thought about ways in which they could stop Bunty from joining this game.

Rinku who had a sharp memory said, “Bunty, we would have allowed you to play, but there’s a thing we don’t like about you.”

“What is that?” said Bunty, quite surprised.

“You don’t have a bath every day, and stink. We can’t make you sit near us,” said Rinku.

Hearing this Bunty said, “Ah! Luckily today I took a shower and I have worn neat clothes too. If you don’t believe what I’m saying, you can smell me. I am not stinking.”

All of them realised that Bunty was saying the truth.

“Now what can we tell him?” thought Tinku, scratching his head Tinku said, “It’s okay that you have taken a bath but your tail is still very dirty. It is too long. When you move around, it touches the ground.”

Bunty saw that his tail was really very long and dirty too.

“No problem, I will wash it and come back,” said Bunty.

Bunty went near the tap and washed his tail nicely. He came back and said, “Now you see how clean my tail is. Can I play with you?”please-let-me-play-with-you2

Rinku, Chinku, Tinku and Pinku saw Bunty’s tail was neat and clean.

“How can we tackle him?” thought Tinku.

Right then Pinku said, “Your tail is neat but it’s still wet. Go and dry it.”

“But how shall I dry my tail? I don’t have a towel or handkerchief to dry it,” said Bunty, sounding sad.

“Go and stand under the sun. When it dries, you can come in and play with us,” said Pinku.please-let-me-play-with-you3

Poor Bunty went and stood under the sun, waiting for his tail to dry.

When his tail dried, Bunty came in and said, “See, my tail is dry. Now, do you have any problem if I join you in your game?”

All four rats saw that Bunty’s tail was clean and dry. But they still didn’t want him to join their game and they were thinking of new reasons to send him away.

Rinku said, “It would be lovely if you could play with us, but you don’t know how to count. How will you move your token?”

Hearing Rinku’s words Bunty became very sad. He did not know how to read and write. His parents tried to send him to school but he did not go. He was only interested in playing games and roaming around. He started to cry.

More From Champak: Damru And The Play Cut

Seeing this, all four of them felt bad. Pinku said, “Don’t cry Bunty, we were just joking. Play with us, but you have to be somebody’s partner. You throw the dice and your partner will move the token. This way you will also enjoy the game. And from now on if you want to play this game you have to learn to count.”

Hearing Pinku’s words Bunty said, “From now on I will also go to school and study so that I can enjoy all these things. I have lost on many things because I did not know how to read and write. I was always dependant on other people to send messages, or to use a mobile, or play games or even while dialling a phone number.”

Hearing this, all four friends said, “We will help you in your studies and also teach you.”please-let-me-play-with-you4

Everybody started playing Ludo together and enjoyed it too.

A Sweet Trouble

Bobby, the bear cub was browsing the website Honey.com on his father’s laptop. It was a famous online store that sold honey on the Internet. The website had mouth-watering image of a beehive dripping with honey.

To the left of the screen, the different flavours of honey were listed: strawberry, cherry, mango, pineapple, mint, rose and mixed fruit.

“Yesterday, I had strawberry honey, so today let me try the cherry-flavoured one,” Bobby decided. He clicked a button and ordered a big bottle.

Bobby was alone at home as his parents were travelling. They had left their Debit card behind by mistake which Bobby now used to make the online purchases. He knew the card’s security number as he had helped his mother with her online transactions.

By afternoon, Bobby received the honey from Honey.com through a courier. As soon as Bobby opened the lid of the bottle, the smell of fresh honey made his mouth water.

“Wow! It smells heavenly,” said Bobby.

After drinking half the bottle of honey, his stomach became full but not his taste buds and finished the entire bottle. Rubbing his tummy contently, Bobby slowly drifted to sleep.

The next day, Bobby ordered mango-flavoured honey and the day after, the rose-flavoured one. This continued for a few days—he would order honey, feast on it, and then doze off. He had not stepped out his house the entire week. He put on weight and was feeling sluggish. But this did not bother him.

One day, after downing an entire bottle of honey, Bobby’s stomach started hurting. He wanted to go out and get help but he could not move. He began crying as the pain was unbearable and nobody was at home to help him.

Just then, Bobby’s neighbour, Gabby giraffe happened to pass by and heard Bobby crying. Gabby became worried and rang the doorbell to check on Bobby.  When no one answered the door, he peeped through the window and saw Bobby lying on his bed, clutching his stomach.

“What happened, Bobby? Why are you crying?” asked Gabby worried.

“Uncle Gabby, my stomach is paining a lot. Can you please take me to the doctor?” asked Bobby moaning in pain.

“Of course! Quickly open the door,” said Gabby.

“I can’t, Uncle. I can’t even move out of my bed,” said Bobby.

Gabby quickly called up Dr. Moo, the sheep and asked her to come over. Gabby also asked Haya, the elephant to help break open the door to Bobby’s house.

Haya used her strong trunk and smashed open the door. Soon, Dr. Moo arrived.

“He seems to have consumed a lot of honey which is causing the stomach ache,” said Dr. Moo after checking Bobby. “Where did you get so much honey from, Bobby?”

“I…er…my parents bought me the honey,” said Bobby.

“I see….” said Dr. Moo.

“How will you cure his stomach ache, Dr. Moo?” asked Gabby.

“That’s simple. I will drill a hole in his stomach, insert a big pipe, and pump all the honey out,” said Dr. Moo.

On hearing this, Bobby became scared and started crying.

“Please, don’t make a hole in my stomach, Dr. Moo. That will hurt a lot,” pleaded Bobby.

“Then tell me the truth. From where did you get so much honey? If you answer me honestly, I will not make a hole,” said Dr. Moo. She knew that Bobby’s parents had gone out of town.

Bobby explained that he ordered honey online using his parents’ debit card.

“Bobby, first of all, it was wrong of you to buy anything without your parents’ consent and that too using their card,” said Dr. Moo.

Bobby hung his head in shame.

“Secondly, if you have too much of anything, it will hurt you. You have eaten a lot of honey and that is why your stomach is hurting,” explained Dr. Moo.

“I am sorry, Dr. Moo. I was greedy and irresponsible. I will not repeat my mistake again,” said Bobby earnestly.

“Good. And don’t worry, I will not drill a hole in your stomach. I will just give you some tablets and you will be alright,” said Dr. Moo smiling.

Bobby was relieved to hear this. He smiled sheepishly.

A Dance for Granny

Sanju was unhappy. Her grandmother had come to stay with her family, and Sanju had to give up her study room for her grandmother to use.

Sanju was upset because it was not just her study room, it was where she spent most of her time listening to music, playing, dancing or relaxing with a book. A lot of her precious stuff was in that room. Now, what was she going to do? Why had Uncle Rajesh left Granny with them?

Granny lived with Uncle Rajesh in their ancestral home. Sanju had met Granny only a few times as her parents hardly found time to pay them a visit.

To Sanju, Granny was an old person, who was ill and confined to a wheelchair. “What would she know about the current generation?” thought Sanju. Whenever Granny tried to talk to her, Sanju would promptly make her escape.

As days passed, Granny kept to herself in the room and spent most of the day listening to music in her old tape recorder. Sanju did not make any effort to talk to her, despite her parents’ insistence, and went to her room only if she wanted to get any of her things.

 

A Unique Birthday Gift

One day, Sanju was watching her favourite cartoon show, when the music from Granny’s room distracted her. It was a classical song that she was familiar with, as her dance teacher had just taught her a routine set to that song. The song was being played again and again.

“Ma, why is Granny playing that song again and again?” Sanju whined to her mother.

Ma shut her laptop and went to Granny’s room along with Sanju. She knocked but there was no answer. Ma slowly opened the door.

Inside, Granny was sitting in the armchair with her eyes closed. She was smiling and her eyelids flickered as if she was dreaming. Her fingers tapped on the armrest rhythmically.

“What is she doing, Ma?” asked Sanju.

“She is dancing,” said Ma, smiling at Sanju.

Sanju stared blankly.

“Come with me. Let me show you something,” said Ma.

Ma closed the door behind her and led Sanju to her room. She took out a bag from the cupboard and handed it over to Sanju.

“Take a look,” said Ma.

Inside the bag, there were several trophies and certificates from various dance competitions. All of them had Granny’s name on them!

“Granny was a dancer?” asked Sanju disbelievingly.

“Yes, she was a great dancer! But she stopped dancing after we were born. I found this among her belongings,” said Ma.

Sanju rummaged through the bag. At the bottom, she found an old video cassette.

“What’s in it?” asked Sanju curiously.

“Let us find out,” said Ma.

Ma brought down their old video player from the attic. She dusted it thoroughly, connected it, and played the cassette.  It was a video of Granny dancing.

“I can’t believe Granny was so young and beautiful once! And look how well she dances!” exclaimed Sanju.

“Actually, she looks somewhat like you in her dance costume!” said Ma.

Sanju smiled. She was proud of her Granny.

“So, poor Granny imagines herself to be dancing every day,” said Sanju thinking loudly.

“Yes, that seems to make her happy,” said Ma.

Suddenly, Sanju brightened up. “Ma, I have an idea! How about we surprise Granny tomorrow?” she asked.

More from Champak: The Gift

“How do you plan to do that?” asked Ma.

Sanju whispered her plan into Ma’s ears and the two chuckled.

The next morning, Ma wheeled in Granny to the living room which was beautifully decorated. Pa and Sanju were standing near the table, on which Granny noticed a cake.

“What is going on? What is this cake for?” asked Granny puzzled.

“It’s for you Granny! To the best dancer I know!” said Sanju, hugging her.

Granny was surprised.

“But before you cut the cake, here is a special performance by Sanju,” announced Ma.

Granny’s favourite song started playing, and Sanju danced to it.

Granny was overwhelmed with emotion. She laughed and cried, and applauded loudly when Sanju finished the dance.

Granny pulled Sanju into a tight hug and kissed her forehead.

“I love you, Granny,” said Sanju.

“I love you too, my child. This is the best gift ever,” said Granny, wiping away tears of joy.