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Motorcycle Ghost!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bablu was shocked. The ghost spoke well!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What Ghost?” asked the skeleton, surprised.

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

“But why?” said the ghost confused.

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh!” said the ghost looking sheepish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The motorcycle zoomed fast ahead.

A Lesson Learnt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He started enjoying his days.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Value Of Freedom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At the first opportunity, she jumped inside the net.

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

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

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

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

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

She was very happy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hardworking Ant!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Champakvan’s Flag

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why is the Lion here?

Meeku mouse was playing hide and seek with his friends.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suddenly, Meeku heard a voice from behind the rocks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meeku and Cheeku went into hiding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 But Damru continued laughing.

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

“Stop Damru’’ warned Baddy.

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

Saying so, Damru let out a loud roar again.

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

Problem Solved

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“But how will you row it on water?”

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

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

He then called Pilu and Nini to the front.

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

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

“We didn’t understand, your majesty.”

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

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

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

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

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

All applauded.

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

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

Toto’s Nest!

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

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

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

She finished stitching half of her nest in no time.

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

Kallu flew over to her and started to caw mockingly.

“Why are you cawing?” asked Toto.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why do you say that?” asked Toto. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Toto looked at Cheeku with tears in her eyes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Toto understood what Cheeku was saying.

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

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

Will guessing work?

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

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

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

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

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

Soon, it was the day of the first exam. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baddy’s result surprised everyone including Jumbo Sir. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Cyclone In Forest!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why so, Cheeku?” asked Meeku mouse.

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

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

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

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

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

But Jumpy did not listen.

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

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

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

“Oh, dear!” Jumpy trembled in fear.

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

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

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

After some time, the storm was calm.

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

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

The animals returned home.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jumpy smiled and hugged him.

Jojo’s Confusion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greeting Card

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

Shanno cat was employed as the caretaker of the orphanage.

King Shersingh visited the orphanage once a month.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes!” said the kids and nodded.

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

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

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

Meeku brought the card and presented it to Shersingh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Humans In A Cage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Grandpa, how do you like my drawing?” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Environment Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Blacky, what is happening in the forest? Why is it decorated so beautifully? Is there a wedding happening?”

“Don’t you know?” asked Blacky looking at Baddy in surprise.

“No. That is why I am asking you,” said Baddy, rolling his eyes.

“June 5 is Environment Day. We are making these preparations to celebrate that great festival in Champakvan,” replied Blacky.

“Oh! So these decorations are for Environment Day,” whispered Baddy to himself.

“Did you say something?” asked Blacky.

“No, no! I didn’t,” muttered Baddy and walked away.

At the Brave Hardy Crossing, the main crossing of Champakvan, named after one of its scientists, many animals had gathered. They were discussing something important amongst themselves. Baddy wanted to know what they were talking about, so he sat down quietly at one side to listen to them.

“We should ask King Shersingh to be our chief guest,” said Dola deer.

“But he is from our forest. How can someone from our forest be the chief guest? We should look for someone else,” said Cheeku rabbit.

“You are right, Cheeku. If we get someone from Sundarvan, it will be better. When they see the environment celebrations, they will go back and praise our forest in their forest,” said Greta giraffe.

“Whom can we invite?” asked Cheeku and scratched his head.

“How about Baddy fox?” suggested Dola.

“No! No! Baddy always wants to harm Champakvan. How can we make him our chief guest?” Cheeku objected.

“Maybe Dola is right. Baddy may be planning against Champakvan, but we never think of harming him. Perhaps, when he is invited as our chief guest, he may improve and become a good person,” said Greta.

All agreed with Greta’s suggestion. Suddenly, Cheeku caught sight of Baddy, sitting behind a bush, quietly.

“Look! Baddy is here. Let us go and invite him for the function,” he said excitedly.

All animals went to Baddy and invited him to be their chief guest.

Baddy had been feeling uneasy listening to the conversation, and now he was more troubled. He could not even think how of a fitting reply.

“I…I…,” he stammered and then said, ‘’I will surely come.”

On his way back, Baddy started wondering about what had happened. “Here, I was thinking of harming Champakvan and these animals are inviting me to be their chief guest.”

On the day of the function, Baddy came to Champakvan forest. He was given a very warm welcome and presented a garland of fresh flowers and made to sit on the sofa comfortably.

The animals of the forest put up skits telling everyone the importance of trees and why more trees should be planted. They said in chorus, “Fewer trees means heating of the atmosphere, less rain and homes will disappear.”

Baddy became thoughtful and realised he would have done something horrible if he had cut the trees. He decided that he would never again harm the trees of any forest.

He would also stop the woodcutters from cutting trees.

The function came to an end and the animals requested Chief Guest Baddy to address the gathering with a few words.

“I am very happy to be here and I promise that from today, I will not harm the trees in any way. I promise to plant 100 trees in Champakvan and look after them.”

Hearing him, all the animals were very happy. Baddy had truly been transformed.

Do it yourself!

“How hot it is! When will it rain, mom?” asked Bolt, Misha cheetah’s cub.

Anandvan forest had no rains. Animals did not have enough food. The forest had always been short of water and now, whatever little water was there, quickly dried up under the hot sun.

The days were hot and dry, and the nights were eerily uncomfortable. Birds and animals with fur like bears were suffering the most.

Misha lived in the forest with her cubs.

Clouds would form in the sky every day but would break without rain. The months of monsoon passed, but not a drop of rain fell from the sky.

Drought was declared in the forest. The Forest Administration advised all animals to move to other forests.

When the animals started migrating with their kids, the hawks arrived from other forests and said that animals from other forests were moving towards their forest. There was a drought everywhere and no one knew where to go.

The animals called for a meeting. It was decided that no animal would eat another during the meeting.

Deer, squirrels, buffaloes, zebras, cheetahs, tigers, bears, foxes, and rabbits—all came together.

King Sheru said, “Friends, we are facing drought because of the human race.

Because they believe they are superior, they have cut down trees and destroyed forests, constructed dams over rivers, drying them, and leading the planet towards destruction. The weather has altered. It doesn’t rain during monsoons, it isn’t cold during winters, and summers are increasingly hot. Our food chain is being destroyed because of no food and bad water.”

“So we too must destroy the humans.

Down with humans!” shouted Foxy fox.

The others repeated after him, “Down with humans! Down with humans!”

The whole forest started chanting in hatred of humans.

“Quiet!” said King Sheru in his firm voice and everyone fell silent. “Tonight, we shall attack the human city closest to the forest and take their food and water. They too should know what it feels like when they starve.”

The animals clapped at their king’s decision and waited for nightfall. As soon as the sunset, tigers, bears, jackals, and cheetahs crossed the forest borders to hunt the human territory.

But the humans had good security systems in place, so the animals could not do much and just about escaped the traps set for themselves and returned.

The news about their failure spread through the forest.

King Sheru called for another meeting.

Some hyena who had been beaten up by the humans were standing in one corner and shivering with fear.

“Residents of the forest! We can’t live in fear! We must keep fighting! In this struggle for survival, we must…”

But before King Sheru could finish, Misha interrupted him and said, “Your majesty, with your permission, may I say something?”

Misha was loved and respected by everyone because she was a wise animal who found solutions without blaming or fighting.

The king nodded, and Misha said, “Friends! Our fight is not with humans but with what they have done. They have misused their knowledge and have caused destruction to nature. The earth is heating up. The glaciers are melting but not just us, the humans too are suffering because of it. In some years, they too will face scarcity of food and water.”

Everyone listened to her attentively.

“If we attack humans,” continued Misha, “we will not survive. They are stronger than us.”

Some animals, like the hyenas, who had been beaten agreed with her, but the others still wanted revenge.

“Do you have a solution to the problem, Misha?” asked the king.

“I do, your highness, but it’s going to be time-consuming and slow,” said Misha.

“Do tell us!” said the animals.

“We should try and grow our own food instead of stealing food and water from humans. Everyone will have to work hard and have the patience to see the results.

If it does not work, we will try another way,” she said and explained what had to be done.

Next morning, the work started. Barren lands were dug by oxen and birds got the seeds sown. Elephants and bears got water from far away lakes that still had water.

All the animals and birds contributed to the cause based on their skills and all helped each other.

Working hard, they believed Misha’s plan would bear fruits. They knew about farming as they had seen humans do it.

Days passed into weeks. But neither did the weather improve, nor was there any sign of food.

All their hard work seemed to have failed.

They started thinking they would rather have stolen food. They decided to go and attack humans and called for a meeting with their king.

They had only just reached his cave when lightning struck. The entire forest lit up in a flash and it started raining. Where seeds were sown, saplings appeared and the lakes started filling up.

With the crops growing, food problems also slowly began going away. Since the herbivores could now eat, the carnivores were hopeful about having food too.

Misha’s plan had worked, though it took time.

If they had attacked humans, there was no guarantee of a continuous supply of food and water.

They had learnt that if you wish to do something, the best way was to “do it yourself.”