Countless stars in the sky,
I love to see them in the night.
When they twinkle in the night,
They bring to my heart, delight.
One shines, while another is shooting,
Everyone holds their breath while looking,
They come out in the night and hide in the day,
They steal my heart, in the month of May.
They brighten up the dark sky,
That is why we find them nice.
Countless stars in the sky,
I love to see them in the night.
-Anhad
15 years
Mukerian
Giant river otters are found in the rivers and creeks of north-central South America. They are the largest sub-species of otters and can grow as long as six feet. Otters are social animals and live in groups. Each group is called a family or bevy, and has about 3-20 members. The giant river otters are the chattiest species of otters and scientists believe that they have developed a large vocabulary because of the large families that they live in.
Giant river otters whistle to warn to other otter families in case of danger, hum or coo to reassure their group’s members or their young ones and also make ‘hah’ sounds to show interest.
Families of otters have a unique group song or chorus that they shout at other otter families in order to share their identity.
Young giant river otters are also capable of making 11 unique sounds, including some that are seen only in younger otters. For example, they squeak to attract attention. They also whine and wail while participating in group activities.
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.”
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.
“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.
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 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.
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.
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.
I’ll be as bold as a hill,
and stand tall to face all hurdles.
I’ll be as soft as a breeze
and bring pleasure and treasure.
I’ll be as fast as a wave,
washing away all stones coming in my way.
I’ll bring fame and never shame;
I’ll shine as bright as a star;
I’ll fight all obstacles with all my might;
But nobody knew that it was my last night.
Anmol Kaur Mongia,
12 years, Chandigarh
Damru: How long did the British rule India?
Henry Frog: From page 52 to 78.
____________________________________________________________________
Pinku Hen: When can 20 elephants be under an umbrella and not get wet?
Cheeku: When it’s not raining.
Jumbo Giraffe was a cute little giraffe. He had recently shifted to Amarvan with his parents.
But Jumbo Giraffe wasn’t very happy in Amarvan, and he often wondered if he would ever be happy.
Well, the reason was that Jumbo Giraffe hadn’t made any new friends as yet, and he felt lonely since he stayed at home all day long.
One day, when Jumbo Giraffe’s parents went out of the house, he decided that he would go out and explore the forest. And so, he went for a long walk. A cool breeze was blowing, and Jumbo Giraffe looked around at the lush green trees that were growing all over. “I don’t know why Mum and Dad still think of me as a baby,” he said with a sigh. “They don’t let me go out by myself. I am so big and tall that even Khemu Uncle looks tiny in comparison,” Jumbo Giraffe muttered when he saw Khemu Rabbit who was his neighbour, gnawing on a big red carrot.
Soon, he spotted some baby tortoises. They were flying a kite together. Jumbo Giraffe really wanted to make new friends and have fun playing games with them, just like he did with his friends in the forest where he lived before. And so, he walked towards the baby tortoises.
“Hello! I’m Jumbo!” he said with a friendly smile. “I’m new to Amarvan. Can I play with you all?” The baby tortoises looked at Jumbo Giraffe and shook their heads.
“Oh no!” one of the tortoises said. “You are so big and tall! We cannot play with you!”
They then turned their backs towards Jumbo Giraffe and continued flying their kite.
Jumbo Giraffe shrugged and sighed. “Well, Mum and Dad think of me as small. And these tortoises think of me as big!” he thought to himself and quietly walked away.
He walked further into the forest, wishing that he had at least a friend or two to talk to, when something suddenly hit his leg.
“Hey!” he then heard some voices call.
“Please throw our football back to us.”
Jumbo Giraffe looked up and saw a herd of elephants calling out to him. They were playing in the forest playground, and the football obviously belonged to them.
He picked up the football and walked towards the elephants.
“Hi! Will you let me play with you? I’m new to the forest!” he said hopefully.
“No,” the elephants said firmly. “You cannot play with us. You are very small and you might get hurt if you play with us. If that happens, your parents will be very upset with us. So, we cannot allow you to join our games!” The elephants took their football from Jumbo Giraffe and went back to their game.
Jumbo Giraffe sighed. He felt very disappointed but didn’t say a word. He sat on a nearby rock and watched the elephants quietly.
“I really cannot figure out whether I am big or small,” he said to himself. “Some of the animals insist that I am too big to play with them. And there are others who refuse to let me join them saying I am too small! Sigh!”
Tears welled in Jumbo Giraffe’s eyes. He had never felt so sad or lonely ever before. He heard the sound of chattering and looked up only to see a baby monkey hanging from the branch of a nearby tree. The monkey seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly.
“This monkey is far better off than I am,” Jumbo Giraffe thought to himself. “He can amuse himself with his own antics. I can’t even hang like him. Hey! Maybe I can ask him to play with me. He might just agree.”
But before Jumbo Giraffe could say a word, the baby monkey jumped on to another tree and disappeared deep into the forest.
“Oh!” Jumbo Giraffe said, feeling quite left out once again. He decided to return home since he could not find anyone to play with. He started to walk away when he saw the elephants’ football fall into a swamp.
“Oh no!” the elephants said, sounding very disappointed. Jumbo Giraffe watched as the elephants tried their level best to take the football out of the swamp with the help of their trunks.
He realised that they couldn’t go very close to the swamp since they had heavy bodies and were likely to get stuck in the swamp. Unfortunately, the elephants’ trunks were not long enough to pull the ball out of the swamp either.
Jumbo Giraffe felt very sorry for the elephants. They had been having so much fun just a few minutes ago. They looked very disappointed now. “May I try taking the football out of the swamp?” he asked politely. The elephants looked at him hesitatingly.
One of them then said, “We would be highly obliged if you could do that. But please, do take care of yourself and don’t go very close to the swamp. We do not want you to get into any trouble.”
Jumbo Giraffe nodded and went closer to the swamp. He tried pulling the football out with his legs, but wasn’t successful. “I am unable to reach the football on my own,” he told the elephants. “Can somebody hold me from behind please? I will be more relaxed when I try to reach it then.”
One of the elephants then held Jumbo Giraffe tightly from behind as per his suggestion. Jumbo found that he could reach the football easily now. In no time, he retrieved it from the swamp and smartly kicked it towards the elephants.
“Hurray!” the elephants cheered as they picked up and hugged their football. All the elephants then thanked Jumbo for his help and invited him to play with them.
Jumbo Giraffe accepted the elephants’ invitation graciously.
He played with them till it was time him for him to go home. He then left the playground, promising that he would come back the next day, and started walking towards his house.
On the way, he saw the baby tortoises he had met earlier. They were looking at a tree and seemed very worried. “Why are you looking so worried?” Jumbo Giraffe asked the baby tortoises. “And why are you looking at that tree?”
“Our kite is stuck there,” one of the tortoises said and pointed towards a high branch of the tree. “Is that so?” Jumbo said. “Wait, I’ll get it down for you.” Jumbo was quite tall since he was a giraffe. And so, all he had to do was stand on his toes and stretch to be able to reach up to the branch of the tree. In no time, he took the kite out of the tree and gave it to the baby tortoises.
“Thanks a lot!” the baby tortoises said, feeling thrilled now that they had their kite back. “And sorry about the way we behaved earlier. We will be your friends now on. Come, fly the kite with us.”
Jumbo smiled. He was glad that the baby tortoises wanted him to be their friend and join their games. “Thank you,” he said politely. “But I will join you tomorrow. It is time for me to go home now.”
“OK,” the baby tortoises said. “But please promise us that you will come back tomorrow!”
“I promise!” Jumbo said and waved. He then walked back home, feeling quite happy. He was sure that he would be happy in Amarvan too, just like he had been in the forest where he lived before, now that he had so many friends.
Chimpu, what are you doing?” Champu Kaka, Chimpu Monkey’s father, shouted as Chimpu Monkey ran away with the box of rasgollas that was lying on the table. Chimpu Monkey chuckled. He knew that his sweet tooth had turned him into the naughtiest little animal in Champakvan.
“What?” Chimpu’s mother Champa Kaki said, looking very annoyed, when Champu Kaka told her about their son’s antics. “Chimpu ran away with a box of sweets again? How can we go to Lalluram’s house emptyhanded now? The rasgollas were for him. I told you to be careful of Chimpu. He’s become very greedy.”
Champu Kaka shook his head sadly. “Chimpu doesn’t realise that if he keeps eating so many sweets, he will fall ill someday,” he told his wife, sounding quite worried.
Champa Kaki was anxious too. She frequently explained the dangers of eating too many sweets to Chimpu and tried to persuade him to eat fewer sweets. But neither Champa Kaki nor Champu Kaka were able to control him. Chimpu would pick up anything that was sweet and gobble it up as soon as he could. He had also developed the bad habit of standing near kitchen windows and picking up sweets as soon as the house owners left their kitchens.
Everyone in Champakvan was tired of Chimpu’s bad habit. They tried to explain to him that sweets, when eaten in excess, could be harmful.
Even King Sher Singh, who was the King of Champakvan and liked to eat something sweet after his meals, had been deprived of his dessert on several occasions, thanks to Chimpu.
Whenever King Sher Singh would finish his meal, he would find Chimpu lurking in the palace, with his mischievous little eyes fixed on the plate of sweets.
Chimpu would try his best to steal the sweets without being noticed. But King Sher Singh would always catch him. Chimpu’s smiling face and naughty eyes would melt King Sher Singh’s heart, and he would simply smile at the little thief. Chimpu would use the opportunity to eat the sweets and walk away.
“Chimpu, too much of anything can be very harmful. Don’t eat so many sweets at one time,” King Sher Singh would often warn. But Chimpu would run off ignoring the King’s good counsel.
One day, it was time for the grand celebration that everyone in Champakvan, including Chimpu, looked forward to. It was King Sher Singh’s birthday.
The jungle was decorated beautifully and there was a huge feast being held in the palace in King Sher Singh’s honour.
This year’s feast, however, had a special attraction. Lambu Giraffe had taken special cooking classes, and had learnt how to bake a cake. But that’s not all. The cake was planned to be as tall as Lambu Giraffe himself!
The cake looked delicious when it was finally complete. It had many layers laden with rich cream. It had chocolate chips and chocolate sauce all over it too.
Chimpu sneaked into the palace. He could not stop himself from eating the cake.
“But it is King Sher Singh’s birthday cake,” he said to himself. “How can I eat it before he cuts it?”
Chimpu tried his level best to stay far away from the cake, but he just could not hold himself back. “I’ll taste just a little bit of the cake,” he said. “If I hang from the branch of a tree, I will be able to reach the top of the cake. No one will know if a small bit is missing from the top.”
Chimpu climbed up a tree and hung upside down, with his tail around one of the branches. He tried to reach the cake. However, Chimpu found that he had to stretch himself to be able to touch the cake. He kept on stretching and stretching. And then, something terrible happened.
Snap! The branch from which Chimpu was hanging broke. And Chimpu fell right into the cake, smashing it and spilling it all over.
Lambu Giraffe was furious when he saw what had happened. And so were all the animals who had gathered to see the cake. The news spread like wild fire. Everyone was sure that King Sher Singh would punish Chimpu severely.
When King Sher Singh heard the news, he got very angry. He immediately asked all the animals to assemble near the destroyed cake. He then roared loudly and everyone in Champakvan started to tremble.
Chimpu was very scared. He was sure that he would not be able to escape the King’s fury this time. And although everyone loved Chimpu, they felt that he needed to be taught a lesson.
“Chimpu, what you have done today is unforgivable,” King Sher Singh thundered. “You have become very greedy. You have ignored my advice and the fact that you were stealing my birthday cake. You have crossed all limits today.”
Chimpu started shivering. He had never seen King Sher Singh so angry before.
“As your punishment,” King Sher Singh roared. “You will eat what’s left of this cake. Right now, in front of all of us.”
Chimpu was surprised.
“Is that all?” he said happily, feeling certain that King Sher Singh had forgiven him yet again.
All the animals present were shocked. “King Sher Singh is being lenient with Chimpu instead of teaching him a lesson,” they told each other.
But Chimpu was thrilled. He started gobbling the cake immediately. All the animals watched as he ate mouthful after mouthful. In no time, he finished eating whatever was left of the topmost layer of the cake.
Chimpu felt quite full now and was about to walk away when King Sher Singh roared, “I didn’t tell you to stop, Chimpu. Please finish the whole cake.”
Chimpu was really worried now. He was already full and the cake was barely eaten. It had many more layers.
“How will I eat the rest?” he wondered. He looked at King Sher Singh and smiled but King Sher Singh looked at him sternly. Chimpu realised that King Sher Singh was serious about what he had said. He continued eating the cake till his stomach began to ache and he felt very sick.
Doctor Deer was called to examine Chimpu. He asked Chimpu to take some rest and stay at home for a few days.
All the animals felt very sorry for Chimpu. They knew how he hated being sick. They all visited him, one after the other, and gave him boxfuls of rosgullas, ladoos, burfis, gulab jamuns and other sweets. This, of course, was as per King Sher Singh’s suggestion.
Chimpu felt sick when he saw the sweets all around him. “I feel like throwing up,” he would say the moment he looked at the sweets. He swore that he would never eat sweets again.
When Chimpu felt better, he went to meet King Sher Singh. He apologised for destroying his cake and thanked him for teaching him a worthy lesson. He also told him about his decision to give up sweets.
“No, my dear,” King Sher Singh said. “The lesson was not that you should not eat sweets at all, but rather that you should eat them in moderation.
Moderation is the key to everything. If you eat within limits, you will never feel sick and everything would be fine.” Chimpu understood what King Sher Singh
Chimpu understood what King Sher Singh wanted to say. He promised to practice moderation in eating and never ate too many sweets again.
Sher Singh: Is it true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Blacky Bear: Yes, it is true, provided you have good aim.
________________________
Foxy Fox: Meeku, why haven’t written anything in your school notebook? Hasn’t your teacher taught you anything?
Meeku: He has. I take down notes as he writes on the board. But when he erases the board, I too erase my notes.
If I made a mistake,
then I would have to retake,
and do it once again,
even feel the pain.
But there also lays a prize,
and that made me realise that,
even if I was to fail,
it would be a learning trail.
If I hope for medals and a cup,
I can’t just rely on luck
I must do hard work,
to show the world my worth.
That’s the essence of never giving up!
Kriti Johri, 12 years Madhya Pradesh
How many of the following can you find in this scene:
_____
Learn how to make an Aquarium Box with the simplest and easy techniques Enjoy. 🙂
For You Need:
Box
Colour Paper
Pencil
Scissor
Glue
Double-sided Tape
Black pen
Thread
Transparent gelatin Paper
Shells
Transparent Tape
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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.”
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.
Ktty was one of the cutest kittens living in Gopalvan. She was very playful. All the birds and animals of Gopalvan were very fond of her. She eventually grew up and became a beautiful cat. Kitty remained a loving and caring cat. She was very helpful.
Once, Kitty visited a fun-n-fair. She bought a cow. She took good care of the cow. She bathed her every day. She also took her out to graze. She made butter out of the cow’s milk. She sold the butter in the market. Kitty earned a lot of money by selling butter. She used this money to build a beautiful house for herself.
Whenever Kitty went to the market with a pot-full of butter, the kids of Gopalvan used to run behind her asking for some butter. Kitty used to give some butter to each one of them. She would then proceed to the market. She never refused to give them butter. Thus, the kids were fond of Kitty.
One evening, Champi the Mouse came to Kitty’s house.
“What is the matter Champi? Why are you upset?” Kitty asked.
“My son Sonu is not keeping well. He wants butter. I cannot afford to buy it as it is very expensive,” said Champi, with tears in her eyes.
Kitty smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Champi. I will give you some butter for Sonu every day.”
Kitty gave her one tablespoon of butter. Champi thanked Kitty. She returned home.
Every morning, Champi went to Kitty’s house. She returned home with a spoonful of delicious butter. Manglu the Fox saw this. He became jealous. He asked Champi, “Can I tell you something?”
Champi wondered what Manglu wanted to tell her. She asked, “Manglu, what is it?”
Manglu said, “I have a fantastic idea. We can steal Kitty’s cow. Then we can use its milk to make butter. We can sell the butter and earn money. This way we’ll become very rich.”
At first, Champi was a little annoyed. However, she soon became greedy. She agreed to be a part of Manglu’s plan to steal Kitty’s cow.
Champi knew each and every entry point at Kitty’s house. That night, Manglu and Champi went quietly to Kitty’s house. They stole her cow. They hid the cow in Manglu’s house.
The next morning when Kitty couldn’t find her cow, she realised that someone had stolen it. Kitty was upset. She asked Kalu the Crow, Bholu the Monkey, Bantu the Dog and a few other animals whether they had seen her cow. However, no one knew its whereabouts.
On the other hand, Manglu and Champi secretly started making money by selling butter prepared from the cow’s milk. They earned a lot of money. Soon they became rich.
One evening, Bantu was returning home from the market. He happened to pass by Manglu’s house. He heard a cow mooing. He thought that the sound came from Manglu’s house. He wondered whether Manglu had stolen Kitty’s cow.
It was quite dark. Bantu peeped through the window into Manglu’s house. He saw that Champi and Manglu were happily relishing butter while the cow was sitting nearby. Bantu knew that it was Kitty’s cow. Therefore, he decided to teach them a lesson.
Bantu told Kitty, Bholu and Kalu about the incident. That night, four of them headed towards Manglu’s house with sticks in their hands. They knocked on the door. As soon as Manglu opened the door, they started trashing him. Hearing his screams, Champi, who was asleep, woke up. She also got a good beating from Bantu.
Manglu’s legs were badly injured. He could barely walk. Bantu hung Champi upside down on a tree because she had cheated Kitty.
Manglu’s legs were badly injured. He could barely walk. Bantu hung Champi upside down on a tree because she had cheated Kitty.
Kitty was happy to get her cow back. She thanked Bantu, Kalu and Bholu for helping her punish the thieves. Kitty returned home with her cow. That night she slept peacefully..
Either winter or monsoon
spring or summer,
this unsinkable ship,
floats forever.
This is my only lifeboat,
on which I can survive.
It is warmer than anything else,
and has always helped me to revive.
Parishka Gupta,
12 years Hyderabad
You will need:
1. Place the magazine on a sheet of mountboard and cut around it so that the cutout is slightly bigger than the magazine.
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2. Make two more rectangular cutouts that are narrower but about the same height as the cutout in step 1. These will form the sides of the rack.
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3. Make another rectangular cutout for the base using the measurements from the previous two cutouts as shown.
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4. Stick the cutouts from Step 2 along the sides of the cutout from Step 1 as shown. Then stick the base as well.
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5. Cut two thin strips from the mountboard and stick to the front of the rack. Paint the rack.
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Now you can put in your favourite Champak magazine in your very own magazine rack!
