children moral stories Archives - Page 3 of 3

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.

Baby Snatcher

Shrishti and Tanmay had been wanting to go for a picnic to India Gate. But with their Dad busy, their picnic would get postponed every time. But finally they decided that the following Sunday they all would definitely go to India Gate with their parents.

When their Dad returned home in the evening, they announced, “Dad, this Sunday we’re definitely going for the picnic to India Gate.”

To their surprise, Dad readily agreed.

“All right, then! Sunday it is, at the India Gate. I have asked my colleague Mr. Tiwari and his family to join us. He has two kids, Romu and Rohit and you may enjoy the picnic even more playing with them.”

Khushi and Tanmay readily agreed.

Soon it was Sunday. Both the children packed football and their badminton kit in a bag and asked Mom if she could make chole and puris for lunch.

At 4 p.m, Dad drove everyone towards the Raj Path.

“Mr. Tiwari and his family are also on their way. I just spoke to them,” said Dad while driving.

“Drive faster, Dad! We want to reach there quickly!” said Tanmay and Shrishti, in excitement.

Since it was a Sunday, the gardens near India Gate were crowded. Many balloon and toy sellers were selling things on the side walk along the Raj Path. Several kids were playing football and badminton and many other picnic goers were sitting on a blanket and enjoying themselves.

Mr. Tiwari had already found a spot and was waiting for them. Shrishti’s Dad coordinated with him and together both families placed their picnic baskets with food on the blankets, which they had carried from home. Shrishti and Tanmay took out the football and badminton kit and started playing with Romu and Rohit.

Rohit was just five years old. He was the youngest. The older kids were instructed to keep an eye on him, and not to let him go too far while playing. Because Rohit could not catch the ball easily, soon Tanmay, Shrishti and Romu started playing with each mostly.

A stranger was observing the children. He slowly walked towards Rohit, and asked him quietly, “Do you want to play with a balloon? I’ll play with you.”

Rohit jumped in excitement and started walking with the stranger.

While Shrishti was playing, she would keep watching out for Rohit. But when she had looked in the direction where Rohit was standing, she realised that he was not there any more.

Shocked, she cried out to Tanmay and Romu, “Where’s Rohit?”

Tanmay and Romu quickly scanned the ground with their eyes but could not see him.

Suddenly, Shrishti spotted Rohit walking away with a stranger and immediately called out loudly to her Mom who was sitting, “Mom! Look! Someone’s taking Rohit away!”

The elders quickly ran towards the stranger. Sensing danger, the stanger left Rohit and fled the scene.

Mr. Tiwari screamed, “STOP! STOP! THIEF! Catch him! He was trying to kidnap my child!”

The crowd responded quickly and caught hold of the man before he could escape. The two families also reached the spot by then. Rohit flew into his Mom’s arms.

The stranger was a baby snatcher. He would spot little kids who were not being watched and promise them balloons and toys, and then kidnap them. The crowd handed him over to the police who too had reached the spot by then.

“We all need to be careful about young children,” said the inspector to the
crowd.

He looked at Shrishti and said, “Shrishti, you are smart and brave, and saved Rohit. If you had not spotted them on time, we could have lost Rohit today.”

Everyone praised Shrishti and Rohit gave her a big hug and a kiss.

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.

Surprise Birthday Party

Dadaji was visiting Aayush for his birthday. Aayush had invited all his friends to his house for a party.

Aayush introduced everyone to his grandfather and the kids played many games. After spending an enjoyable evening, they bade goodbye and left.

“Aayush, all your friends enjoyed the party. But Rohan was quiet most of the time.” Dadaji said to Aayush when they had cleared the room.

“Dadaji, Rohan’s father was a captain in the army. He was killed during the Kargil war. Since then, Rohan remains sad most of the time.”

“Oh!” said Dadaji understanding Rohan’s quietness.

“Dadaji, why was the Kargil war fought?” asked Aayush sitting down.

“In our northernmost region of Kashmir, lies the mountain of Kargil on the line of control with our neighbour, Pakistan. The Kargil War was fought in 1999 from May to July to protect the line of control. It was a very difficult terrain and our soldiers fought bravely for nearly sixty days and finally succeeded in getting back the occupied territory on the 26th of July by fighting Pakistan’s soldiers. Many lives were lost on both sides due to the war.” explained Dadaji.

He continued, “Therefore every year on 26th July we celebrate Kargil Victory Day in memory and pay homage to our brave soldiers.”

“Rohan’s dad died in this war,” said Aayush sadly and added, “Not just that, he died on the day of Rohan’s birthday, which is why Rohan does not celebrate his birthday anymore.”

“He is a young child. He must be torn between celebrating his birthday and the memory of his father,” said Dadaji thoughtfully.

“Yes. And he misses his dad very much. His mother also does not want him to celebrate his birthday,” added Aayush.

“When is Rohan’s birthday?” suddenly Dadaji asked.

“Next Monday, Dadaji,” replied Aayush.

“Alright. Let’s get a good sleep. You must be tired.” said Dadaji.

“Goodnight Dadaji!” said Aayush and went to bed.

The following Monday at Rohan’s house, his mom asked him to wear new clothes.

“Why should I wear new clothes, mom? We do not celebrate my birthday,” said Rohan, quietly looking up at his mother.

Even though Rohan did not understand what was happening, he did what his mother asked, and put on new clothes.

Just then the door bell rang and mom asked Rohan to open the door. When he opened the door, he saw Aayush’s Dadaji, Aayush and his friends standing there. They had balloons, a big cake and gifts in their hands. They all shouted together, “Happy birthday, Rohan!” Rohan did not know what to say and looked at his mother who was standing nearby smiling.

Dadaji told the children, “Come, let’s start decorating this room with balloons.” The children got busy with decorations and soon the room was ready.

“Happy Birthday, Rohan?” said Dadaji.

“But Dadaji, I do not celebrate my birthday.” replied Rohan.

“Dadaji spoke with your mom and explained her that if your dad had been here today, he would have loved to celebrate your birthday. So your mom and my Dadaji got together to arrange this surprise birthday party for you,” said Aayush.

Rohan looked at his mother with tears in his eyes. She just said, “Come, it’s time to cut the cake!”

Rohan cut the cake and the room once again was filled with wishes of “Happy birthday!” pouring in.

Annual Cycle Race!

Like every year, this year too, a cycle race was being organised in Haritvan. All participants had to get their names registered with Jumbo elephant.

Although the race was a week away, Rohan rabbit, Bholu bear, Dumpy monkey and Chunky donkey had got their names registered.

Chunky was taking part in the race for the first time. Rohan, Bholu and Dumpy had been taking part in it every year.

All of them, except Chunky, owned racing cycles.

Last year Rohan had won the race. This year too, he was confident of his victory. He had the best racing cycle in all of Haritvan, as his was from abroad.

Chunky was worried as his cycle had become old and rusty. Although, he had registered himself, he realised that he had no chance of winning the race with his old cycle.

All of his friends gathered at the Haritvan field in the evening for practice and preparation.

When Chunky reached the field, he found Rohan and Dumpy already practicing.

Chunky too joined them. But when they saw his old cycle, they started laughing at him.

“Chunky, your cycle should be put up as an antique in the museum. How do you expect to win with this junk cycle?” said Rohan.

“If you take my advice, Chunky, you should withdraw your name from the race. One needs a good racing cycle like ours to win the cycle race,” advised Dumpy.

Chunky was hurt but held back his tears. He left the field and quietly went back home. As soon as he entered the house, he dropped his cycle on the floor angrily and sat on his chair, crying.

When his mother saw him crying, she came up to him and asked, “What happened Chunky? Why are you crying?”

Chunky shared everything with his mother and asked her for a new cycle for the competition.

Chunky’s mum stroked his hair fondly and said, “Chunky, you know right now, we do not have enough money to buy a new cycle. As far as participating in a race goes, you can do that on your old cycle as well. You can win with it too.”

“Don’t give me false hopes, mum. How can I compete with Rohan and Dumpy’s new cycles with my old rickety cycle?” said Chunky, drying his tears.

“Don’t worry if your cycle is not new. Practice regularly. You still have a week before the race. Don’t pay any attention when Rohan and Dumpy tease you. Concentrate on practising,” said Chunky’s mum.

“We can spend some money and get your cycle repaired by a good mechanic,” his mum added.

The next day Chunky took his cycle to the mechanic who put oil in the chains, changed its gears, and gave it a polish.

Chunky’s cycle looked good and rode smoothly. Chunky started his practice with determination.

Every day, he spent two hours cycling around the ground. At first he would get tired easily but slowly, his stamina built and he was able to take many rounds of the field without getting tired.

Rohan, Bholu and Dumpy were full of confidence of their racing cycles. They did not practice much. Every evening they turned up at the field, but instead of practicing, they just sat there gossiping and laughed at Chunky.

Chunky did not pay attention to their comments and just kept cycling.

On the day of the race, the participants stood on the start line. Chunky was quiet while Rohan, Dumpy and Bholu, boasted of their sure-shot victory.

Cheetah Singh whistled and waved to start the race.

Rohan shot like an arrow and was soon ahead of all.

Just behind him were Dumpy and Bholu with Chunky coming in last.

But a little ahead, Rohan’s cycle started giving trouble and he got down to try to set it right.

Now Dumpy was in the lead. Bholu and Chunky followed him.

Chunky’s mother was there to see the race. She kept encouraging her son, “Well done Chunky! Keep on Chunky!”

After three rounds, Dumpy and Bholu started getting tired and they slowed down.

Chunky, because of his training, kept on cycling and left the others behind, and won the race easily.

Sheru lion went on to the stage and said, “The winner of today’s race is Chunky. Not only did he win the race, but has completed it in the shortest time, setting a new history in the cycling history of Haritvan. He gets a special award along with his trophy.”

Chunky went on the stage with a big smile on his face. He was thrilled when he was presented a brand new racing cycle along with the trophy. King Sheru asked him to speak a few words.

“I won the race because of my mother. If she had not encouraged me, I would not have taken part in the race, because my cycle was old and rusty. I felt I would not win the race on it. But my mother explained to me that to win a race, we need hard work and practice, and that is why I dedicate this to her.”

All the animals cheered him and his mother was very proud and happy for him.

Rainwater Harvest!

This summer had been very hot in Champakvan. All wells and ponds had dried up.

Due to water scarcity, King Shersingh announced, “All citizens of our forest are requested not to waste water. Until the rains start, water will be supplied just for one hour in the morning and evening everyday. Everyone will have to manage with it.”

All the animals of Champakvan realised that the water problem was serious and started using water sparingly.

But Titu butterfly did not care, and would wash the leaves of her plants and sprinkle the ground with water daily. She loved playing with water.

All tried to persuade Titu not to waste water but she continued to use water carelessly.

All the animals complained to King Shersingh who called her.

He said, “Titu, you are so small. You need just a little water for drinking and bathing. Then why do you use so much water? Though you are using the water given to you, when you use it for this purpose, it makes all the others angry in the jungle.

Titu said, “I suffer from dust allergy. When dust is around, I get sick and start sneezing and am unable to breathe well. I cannot sleep. That is why I have to sprinkle water around my house.”

“Even then Titu, try to save water as much as possible. If you can, instead of washing the leaves, wipe them with water.

In front of the king, Titu agreed but when she went home, she kept using water as per her wish.

All the animals wanted to go to King Shersingh to complain against her.

Cheeku rabbit lived near Titu’s house.

He said, “It is not wise to trouble the King for every small thing. I have thought of a plan so that Titu can continue playing with water and yet it will not be wasted.”

“How is that possible? asked Meeku mouse.

“Let’s see. I will not talk about it!” said Cheeku.

Next day, the animals saw that Cheeku was burrowing beds under Titu’s tree. After two days, he planted vegetable seeds in the beds.

Titu did not realise that she was watering vegetable plants because she was busy watering her leaves and home.

In a few days, small shoots appeared from the beds. The vegetable garden grew under Titu’s home.

When Shersingh learnt about it, he too was happy.

At that moment, he received an invitation from Dara rhinoceros, the Minister of their neighbouring forest, Kanchanvan.

The invite said, “Like every year, this year too, we are organising water sports in our big pond. We request you to be Chief Guest at this year’s water sports.”

Shersingh was bewildered. He asked the messenger, Nitu porcupine, “In our forest, with great difficulty, we are able to provide water. Our wells and ponds are dry and you are having water sports. How have you kept your ponds full of water?”

“If you too celebrate the Forest Festival like us, then there will be no scarcity of water in Champakvan,” said Nitu.

“Forest Festival? What is that?” asked Shersingh.

“We plant plenty of trees in our forest. And we take care of our existing plants and trees, make the best possible use of objects made from wood. Pencils and paper that are made by cutting trees, are not wasted, so as to avoid cutting trees. Because of this, our forest is quite cool and we don’t need to run air conditions and coolers. That way, we have water and electricity. Most importantly, we collect and store rain water by water-harvesting. We use the stored water for all our needs, and the wells and ponds in our forest never dry up. All these help us in organising water games even in summer.”

“Now I understand. We too will plant trees in abundance in our forest and will collect rain water by water harvesting. We too will celebrate Forest Festival. Please tell Dara that I will surely come and enjoy the water sports. I thank him for the invitation.”

Caught In The Snare

Jaggu wolf, Tima jackal and Pengu rhinoceros were skilled thieves.

One day, they were walking down a narrow bylane when they noticed a board hung outside an office that said, ‘Employment for Thieves – Contact this office.’

“Look! Look! This board says, ‘Employment for Thieves’,” Pengu pointed at the board, excitedly.

Jaggu and Tima stared at the board with their eyes wide open. They could not believe it.

“Come, let’s go inside,” said Tima, and all three of them went in.

Montu rabbit was sitting in the office. On the table lay sample applications and stacks of old and new files.

Jaggu, Tima and Pengu did not recognise Montu. Though he belonged to Shantivan, he had spent his childhood in the city.

“Are you looking for employment?” Montu asked when he saw them inside his office.

“Yes. But is the board true?” Jaggu asked him doubtfully.

“Yes, it is true. We provide employment for thieves. If all of you are thieves and have adequate experience in theft, pickpocketing and loot, then you can apply here for work,” replied Montu.

Jaggu, Tima and Pengu felt hopeful of getting a job here.

“What work will we have to do?” asked Pengu.

“Work of theft and loot. A company in a foreign country provides employment to thieves, gangsters, dacoits, pickpockets and robbers. I represent that company,” said Montu.

“Three of us are skilled thieves. It is difficult now to live on small thefts and pickpocketing. Hence, we would like to take up employment. What do we have to do for it?” asked Jaggu.

“Once you fill this application form, you have to appear for a written test and an interview. If you are successful, then I will send you to the foreign country on an airplane. You will be paid a salary and will be given all the comforts in this company.”

Listening to Montu, their eyes brightened with hope and joy.

“But how do we give you proof of our theft, loot and pickpocketing? We have no proof of our work,” asked Jaggu.

“Don’t worry about that. On this form, write the number of thefts, who did you loot and whose houses you broke into. Mention all this in the interview too. That’s all!” said Montu.

The conditions for employment seemed easy. So, all of them submitted their applications and went home.

After a week, all of them came back to Montu’s office for the test and interview. In the test, they wrote about the details of theft, pickpocketing, and loot.

In the interview, Montu asked Pengu, “Tell me the names of the people who were your victims.”

“Tengu tortoise, the teacher, was buying vegetables in the market. I stole his
wallet that had his full month’s salary,” said Pengu.

Then Montu turned to Tima, “And what have you done?”

Tima replied, “It was Diwali night. Kalu bear had gone to the hills to celebrate with his family. I made a tunnel into his house and crawled out with his jewellery, mobile and 20,000.”

Then Montu looked at Jaggu who said, “Actually, all the incidents of theft, loot, dacoity and pickpocketing in Shantivan have been our doings. We have stolen 10,000 from Dodo dog’s shop.

When contractor Ganju elephant was coming out of the bank after withdrawing 10 lakh, we looted him and ran off with the cash. We had worn masks, so no one recognised us.”

“Very well, this is enough proof! All of you have passed the test and have got
the jobs. You all are truly skilled thieves! Next Monday, come with your luggage here. First, we will go to Delhi and then get on a flight. Congratulations!” said Montu.

Next Monday, Jaggu, Tima and Pengu arrived at Montu’s office with their luggage.

Just then a closed van stopped in front of the office too. “Go and sit in the van with your luggage,” said Montu.

All three of them got in the van.

About half an hour later, the van stopped at the main police station.

Jaggu, Tima and Pengu peeped through the window.

“Is this Delhi or a police station?” asked the three of them.

“We are caught in a snare!” Jaggu stammered.

The door of the van opened. “Get down,” ordered Inspector Jagdal elephant. Seven constables were standing around the van with their rifles.

“Why, what have we done?” Tima asked the inspector in a trembling voice as he got down.

“You have committed criminal acts of stealing and pickpocketing. You picked the pocket of Tingu teacher, stole Kalu’s jewellery and mobile and looted Ganju contractor. You yourselves have admitted to these thefts in writing. Therefore, you are arrested,” said Inspector Jagdal and put them behind bars.

Montu was happy with his achievement. He had recently moved to Shantivan and after completing his training as a detective, this was his first successful assignment.

Clever Rizo!

Rizo mouse was returning home. On the roadside, Coco cat was walking with a limp.

“I have sprained my ankle. Will you please help me walk to my house?” Coco requested Rizo.

“I don’t trust cats. What if you eat me?” Rizo said, walking away quickly.

“Oh, kind mouse! Please don’t be afraid. I have stopped eating mice. I am a vegetarian. My ankle is sprained and I am unable to walk. It would be very kind of you to help me walk to my house,” said Coco with an innocent face.

Rizo felt pity for Coco and decided to help her reach home.

After reaching home, Coco smiled and said, “Thank you for your help! You must be exhausted with the heat outside. Come inside and have a cool drink. You’ll be refreshed.”

Since Rizo’s mouth was dry, he agreed and went inside the house with Coco.

She got a glass of cool drink from the kitchen.

After having the drink, Rizo was ready to leave. Suddenly, his head began to spin and he fell down.

Waking up, he found himself inside a wooden rat cage. On one side of the cage was a little door. On the other side, there was an iron net. Besides him, there were two other rats inside the cage.

After a while, the door opened and Coco entered the room. “This cat cheated and trapped me,” Rizo murmured to himself.

Looking at Rizo through the iron net, Coco made a frightening face and said, “To trap clever mice like you, I have to take the path of cheating. Otherwise, what will I eat? I will die of starvation.”

“I made a mistake in trusting you,” said Rizo.

“A cat and a mouse can never be friends. Who makes the mistake has to suffer! Sit here and count your days. I am travelling for two days. On returning, I will eat you as my delicious meal,” said Coco and threatened the mice with her sharp claws.

Coco opened the cage’s door and slid a bowl of water and bread inside.

“I am keeping the food here so that you don’t die out of hunger and thirst,” and Coco locked the door and walked away.

The other two trapped mice were Kukoo and Neeloo. They too had been cheated and tricked by Coco.

“There is no point in crying over what has happened. We have to find a way to get out of this cage. We only have two days,” Rizo said to Kukoo and Neeloo.

“It is impossible to get out of this cage,” said Neeloo.

“Yes, even I have tried several times. My teeth can’t even drill this wooden door,” Kukoo added.

Rizo looked at the two mice and said, “Look, friends, the three of us must find a way out of this trap. Otherwise, the evil cat will eat us.”

They began thinking of ways to escape.

Rizo used a lot of force and tried to break the door of the cage. However, it was sturdy and did not break. Besides, there was also a lock at the door. All his efforts were in vain.

Just then, the bowl of water caught Rizo’s attention. He observed the bowl carefully. The bowl was old. Its surface had a lot of lines and there was a crack in it.

Rizo picked the bowl and started to break it with his sharp teeth. Kukoo and Neeloo stared at him.

After a while, Rizo succeeded in breaking the bowl into two pieces. He then picked up a piece to use it like a knife. He held the smooth edge and placed the sharp end on the other side of the iron net.

“Now, I will try and cut the iron net with the help of these pieces. If we take it step by step, we will be able to cut the net in a short while,” Rizo explained and handed one piece to Kukoo. They began to tear away the net.

When Kukoo got tired, Neeloo took over. And like this, the three mice took turns in cutting the net of the cage.

After a few hours, there was a slight tear in the net.

“Hurray! Friends, we are making progress. Just a few more turns and we will be free from this cage,” Rizo encouraged Kukoo and Neeloo.

The three continued to cut the iron net.

After a few hours, the net had been torn from one corner.

Rizo bent the torn portion with his paws. There was enough space to get out of the cage. First, Kukoo came out, then Neeloo followed and at last, Rizo came out.

Coming out of the cage, the three mice breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now, let’s move out before Coco returns,” Kukoo said.

They spotted a small window-like opening at the top of the room and the three climbed up and escaped.

Coming out of Coco’s home, Neeloo and Kukoo thanked Rizo, “We were able to escape the cage only because of your cleverness. If you hadn’t been there, we would have died.”

“I would not have been able to cut the net alone. Both of you helped me because of which we were we able to escape the cage. This is the victory of our unity and hard work,” said Rizo and smiled.

The three pledged to never trust a cat again and walked towards their homes.

Matter Of Cheap Milk

In those days, Kaalu buffalo’s milk business was profitable. He was very hardworking. Kaalu would sell milk all day long and return home only after checking the accounts.

The animals of Kanchanvan liked the pure milk sold at his dairy. But Jojo jackal was very jealous of Kaalu. Jojo too wanted to open a dairy but was not successful at it.

“If Kaalu sells a litre of milk for INR 50, I will sell it at half the price,” Jojo thought to himself. To make milk cheaper, Jojo mixed the pure milk with chemicals and powder, adulterating it. The adulterated milk looked exactly like pure milk.

“Now, no one will be able to doubt this milk,” Jojo chuckled.

The following day, Jojo opened his dairy with a board that read, ‘Pure and fresh milk at half the price’.

Soon, his dairy was crowded with animals who wanted to buy cheap milk.

“Oh wow, good-quality milk at half the price!” Rinki cat exclaimed while reading the contents of a milk packet. “Is this milk fresh?” she asked.

“Do you have any doubt? One of my friends has opened a milk factory in a nearby village. Every morning, I go to the factory and bring pure and fresh milk,” Jojo assured.

There were many customers standing in a long queue outside Jojo’s shop and he earned a huge profit that day.

“So much money in just one day! If my luck works like this each day, very soon I will become a millionaire,” he said to himself.

Very few animals bought milk from Kaalu buffalo’s dairy.

“I wonder why the animals didn’t come to buy milk today,” he thought and sent his friend Chotu mouse to investigate.

After investigating, Chotu explained that all the regular customers had bought milk at Jojo’s shop who was selling milk at half the price. “Should we also lower the price of milk?” he asked.

“No. We sell pure milk at the right price. We earn a small profit from it. If Jojo can sell milk at a cheaper price, let him do so,” Kaalu answered.

Next day, again Jojo’s dairy was filled with customers while there were none at Kaalu’s dairy.

When King Lion came to know about this, he came to Kaalu’s dairy and said, “The milk from your dairy costs too much. Jojo is selling the same milk at half the price.”

“I know, your majesty. But I cannot lower the price of milk,” Kaalu answered.

“By selling milk at such a high price, you are robbing the animals of Kanchanvan,” King Lion roared in anger. “I will see how you should be punished,” saying this he walked away. Many animals watched this. Kaalu’s eyes filled with tears, but he remained silent.

It was time for King Lion’s son, Sheru’s birthday. To make sweets and kheer for his son’s birthday party, King Lion ordered several litres of milk from Jojo’s dairy. Jojo’s joy knew no bounds.

At the birthday party, the animals licked off the yummy sweets and kheer. But not long after midnight, many animals began to feel sick. Some started to vomit while others had loose motions.

“I am unable to understand. Every ingredient in the food was of good quality. Then, how come everyone is falling sick!” King Lion roared.

“Majesty, I think that there was some problem with the milk,” minister Browny bear said with suspicion. “You see, I did not eat either sweets or kheer, and I am absolutely fine.”

“Hmm, I think you are right. Every year, milk is brought from Kaalu’s
dairy. But this year, we brought it from Jojo’s dairy.”

“Let me investigate the matter,” saying this Browny left the party.

After keeping an eye on Jojo for a couple of days, Browny saw Jojo mixing chemicals in the milk at his house.

On learning the truth of the matter, King Lion was filled with rage. “The cheap price of Jojo’s milk fooled all of us.” He ordered Jojo to be arrested immediately.

Next day, when Kaalu opened his dairy, he found King Lion standing there. “Majesty, you, in my dairy?”

“Yes. I am here to have a cup of tea from your dairy. And also, to apologise,” saying this King Lion told Kaalu everything. “Kindly forgive me, Kaalu. I insulted you in front of all the animals that day.” Kaalu immediately forgave King Lion.

“Here is a cup of tea for you, majesty,” said Chotu Mouse cheerily while serving the king.

“Are you sure that this cup of tea has been made from Kaalu’s milk?” hearing this, the entire Kanchanvan was filled with the roars of 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!

Lizard in Pudding?

“I am really late today,” said Rentu rat walking faster. It was dark outside and the streets were deserted.

Suddenly, Fanny cat blocked his way. “Oh! You? Here?” asked Rentu, surprised. “I hope you haven’t come to bully me again!”

“No, Rentu,” said Fanny, looking around nervously. “I’m in big trouble! Please
help me!”

“Why, what happened?” asked Rentu.

“Baddy wolf is after me. He’s been harassing me for a few days. He
was chasing me, but I somehow ran away and escaped.”

“I see,” said Rentu, thinking. “But how can I trust what you are saying?”

“Rentu, this is not the time to fight! Baddy won’t let you go either, if he catches me. Think of a plan, quick! I promise, I’ll never bully you,” pleaded Fanny.

“You don’t have to ask twice. I never back down from helping my neighbours. Just follow my instructions.”

Rentu went and got some pudding from Manjari cow. Then he threw the pudding container on the road.

“Why did you do that?” asked Fanny, taken aback.

“Grab your tummy and lie down as though you’re in pain. I’ll handle the rest!” said Rentu. By now, Baddy had reached near Fanny and Rentu.

“Wow! Two preys at one place! I’m going to have a feast tonight!” he said, his mouth watering.

Then he noticed Fanny lying on the road, wriggling in pain.

“What happened to you, Fanny?” he asked.

But Fanny did not answer and kept lying down holding her stomach.

“Don’t ask her, I’ll tell you. Ow! It hurts so badly!” said Rentu, as he staggered on his feet, grabbing his tummy.

“I made this pudding today,” Rentu said. “It was so tasty! I was eating it here on my own. Then Fanny came…”

“Then what happened?” prompted Baddy.

“Yes…then…wait…See my condition! I don’t know how long I’ll stay alive,” said Rentu.

“Tell me, what happened!” said Baddy, angrily.

“Yes, I was eating the pudding when Fanny sneaked up behind and pounced on me. I pleaded with her to let me go. But she was very hungry. So she didn’t leave me!”

“And then?” asked Baddy.

“I told her to eat the pudding instead, and let me go. Fanny agreed. Both of us then had the pudding…”

“Then what happened? Why are you grabbing your stomach?” asked Baddy, puzzled and irritated.

“Our stomachs soon started hurting after we ate the pudding. But it looks like Fanny’s in a worse condition. She’s already vomited several times,” said Rentu.

“The pudding… the pudding… must be something in it,” said Fanny, in a
weak voice.

“Yes, of course! It’s the pudding that caused this. I think it’s poisoned,” said Baddy.

“You are right!” said Rentu. “I think a lizard must have fallen into the pudding. There are many lizards in my house and I think I had kept the pudding on the table without a lid.”

“What?” asked Baddy. “A lizard?” He was disgusted.

“Yes, yes, it must be a lizard,” said Fanny, agreeing with Rentu. “But I can’t bear this pain now. Baddy, you wanted to feast on me anyway. Go ahead, please eat me!” she wailed.

“Yes! Even my body is hurting badly,” said Rentu. “Baddy, please eat me first. Then feast on Fanny.” And he started walking towards Baddy.

“No, no, never! I don’t want to die of poisoning! Don’t come anywhere near me!” said Baddy, running away.

“Ha! Ha!” Rentu laughed after Baddy had gone. “Look how I made him run away!”

“You’re amazing, Rentu! I thought I was the smart one! But you’re way smarter!” said Fanny, patting his back.

“But we’ve wasted the pudding!” said Rentu, dejectedly.

“Don’t worry about that! Come to my house! I’ll make pudding tomorrow specially for you!” said Fanny.

“OK, but make sure that it’s lizard-free!” said Rentu, teasingly.

Fanny broke into laughter.

Rina Learns A Lesson

Rina’s dad worked at a bank and was transferred to a small city. As her annual examinations were over, Rina too went to the new city with them and her parents took her admission in a school there.

The infrastructure of the new school was not as modern as her old school’s, though the teachers and education was up to the mark.

On her first day, after returning from school, Rina threw her bag on the sofa and said angrily, “I’m not going to this school from tomorrow!”

“But why? Today was just the first day!” asked mom.

“I don’t like the school nor do I like the students!” she said angrily.

“Rina, you shouldn’t judge people so quickly, before you get to know them. You may make friends here too,” explained mom.

“Huh!” said Rina, and stomped to her room.

Rina was a smart kid, but she could not bring herself to like the new school. She thought that the students here were less than her in the way they spoke, the clothes they wore—in every way.

She wouldn’t mingle with them. She was too proud of her knowledge and intelligence and became a nuisance in class, always looking for weaknesses in others and making fun of them.

The other students avoided her because of her behaviour. Even though the class teacher advised her to make friends, she turned a deaf ear to him.

At home, mom explained, “You shouldn’t look down upon others. Everyone is different and special in their own way.” But nothing could convince Rina to change her behaviour.

A few months later, the school arranged a visit to a historical site, a few hours away from the city. Rina too, put her name upon the insistence of her parents.

The bus left at eight o’clock in the morning with two teachers and students. All the students were excited about the trip and were laughing and talking amongst themselves, except Rina.

After they reached the spot, they all had their breakfast and trekked to see the fort.

As per the teacher’s instructions, they all walked in small groups. Only Rina walked alone.

The rains had started and the hilly region had become moist. Rina was admiring the greenery around when her foot hit a boulder and she tripped and fell.

The students closest to her rushed to help. Her face and head were bleeding. The teachers too came to help her. Some of the students ran and got the first-aid box from the bus. One of the teachers applied to medicine, put a bandage on her wound and asked her to rest in the bus.

Rina was sad because her trip was ruined, and because she was hurt, her eyes
started watering.

After the students came back, they all had their lunch and the bus started its return journey.

Seeing Rina quiet and upset, the other students told her stories about the fort, and asked if she wanted water. One of them told her many jokes to make her laugh. They all looked after her and Rina now regretted her behaviour. She had wasted a lot of time without making friends because of her pride.

After the bus reached school, everyone headed for home. When Rina reached home, she told her mom everything.

Two days later when Rina went back to school, she could not see eye-to-eye with anyone. She quietly sat at her desk. During lunch break, she took her tiffin-box and went to a small group of friends who were surprised to see her approach them.

“I’m so sorry for how I’ve behaved with all of you. Please forgive me. Can I sit with you for lunch?” she asked.

They were stunned for a moment, but then welcomed her warmly and joined as if nothing happened before. Rina was overjoyed because she had made many friends today.

She returned home and told her Mom about her new friends. Ma too was happy seeing the change in her daughter’s behaviour.

Unforeseen Drama!

Raj stepped out of his house, swinging his cricket bat and placing a cap on his head, dashed to his friend, Vineet’s house.

As soon as he rung the doorbell, the door was immediately opened by Vineet.

“Hey, I was just waiting for you. Let’s go,” Vineet said excitedly tossing the cricket ball up in the air.

Laughing, both of them headed to the ground.

They took their positions and started to play.

At one point, Raj hit the ball so hard that it went flying through the air.

“What a shot, Raj! Superb!” clapped Vineet.

Raj grinned and said, “Thanks. How about going and getting the ball now?”

“Very smart.” Vineet made a face and left.

Vineet looked for the ball but was unable to find it.

Puzzled, he wondered where the ball could have fallen.

Then he looked at the huge building next to the ground where construction work had stopped and hesitated.

From the ground, one could see the back of the building.

Vineet wondered whether the ball could have gone through one of the back windows.

He decided to go inside the building and find the ball. As he entered the building, a man with a gruff voice came out from inside it and ordered him to stay out.

“Uh…I wanted to come and find my ball that may have fallen in through
the back windows of the building,” Vineet explained.

Glowering, the man barked, “Go away.”

Vineet got scared and turned away reluctantly.

He wondered who that man was and why he looked so angry.

Vineet walked away and then looked back.

He saw the man was shouting at someone on his mobile phone, looking very tense.

Vineet hid around the corner and waited patiently.

After a few minutes, the man disconnected the phone. With his eyes on the road, the man started walking to and fro, as if waiting for someone to come.

The area around the building was deserted. Suddenly Vineet saw an old beat-up car come in speedily and brake near the gate of the building.

From inside it, three men jumped out, dragging a bound and gagged boy who looked as old as Vineet.

The four men then dashed inside the building with the boy.

Wide-eyed and horrified, Vineet realised that this was a scene right out of a movie. The only difference being that this was no movie but real life.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Scared and ready to scream, he turned around. To his relief, he saw Raj and Vineet felt himself go weak at the knees.

“Gosh, you scared me!” Vineet gushed.

“Let’s get out of here,” Raj whispered.

Soundlessly, the boys ran away from there and went to Vineet’s house. In his room, they discussed what they had seen.

Raj too had seen the men drag the boy inside the building and they knew the boy had been kidnapped.

It was decided that Raj would get permission to sleep over at Vineet’s house that night so they help the kidnapped boy.

After everyone had gone to sleep, the boys crept out and walked towards the building site. Both were wearing black clothes and carried backpacks. They paused near the corner of the building and looked around.

Finding the lot empty, they went towards the front. Apart from a scarecrow tied to a pole on the first floor to ward off evil, there was no one around.

They bravely tiptoed their way in. As they went in, they could hear faint sounds of laughter coming from the far end of the building.

Cautiously, the boys reached the end and peeped inside a room there.

The four men were playing cards and cracking jokes. Next to them on a chair, the boy was gagged and tied to it.

Without making a noise, and placing his phone on silent, Raj took several snaps
of the kidnappers and the boy on his mobile phone.

Asking for help, he forwarded the photos and their location to the local police station number that he had saved on his phone earlier in the evening.

Just as the boys were feeling relaxed, one of the men asked, “Is the car ready, Dev? We have to leave from here in half an hour.”

“Yes, all ready,” nodded Dev.

The boys were shocked to hear this as they hadn’t expected the men to leave.

Vineet whispered, “Now what?”

Raj’s mind raced and then his face brightened.

He whispered, “Go and deflate one of the tyres of the car. And wait there for me.”

Vineet nodded and dashed off.

Raj soundlessly made his way up the steps to the first floor. He reached the edge of the building and untied the scarecrow.

Grabbing it, he went downstairs and flattened it against a tree.

He took out a can of kerosene from his backpack and drenched the scarecrow. And then he left a trail of kerosene from the tree to a faraway bush, where he had planned to hide with Vineet.

Then going up to Vineet, Raj signalled him to follow him to the bushes and wait for the kidnappers to come out.

They came out of the building after some time, pulling the boy with them.

As they neared the car, Dev exclaimed, “Oh no! We have a flat tyre!”

The boss roared, “You idiot! You said the car was ready. Change the tyre immediately.”

While they all waited impatiently, Raj lit the trail of kerosene which caught fire and soon the scarecrow was also on fire.

Horrified, the boy forgotten, the men ran towards the scarecrow.

Taking this opportunity, Vineet and Raj came out of their hiding place and took the boy to their hiding spot. They quickly freed him.

When the men realised the boy was missing, they started shouting at each other.

Just at that moment, with sirens blaring, the police arrived and captured the men.

Raj and Vineet came out of their hiding place and took the boy to the police who then called the boy’s parents.

The police praised Vineet and Raj but also told them that next time, instead of capturing the kidnappers themselves, they should immediately alert the police and their parents.

Both boys nodded at that because they realised they could have risked their and the kidnapped boy’s lives in trying to save him by themselves.

Dhruv’s Balloon

Dhruv belonged to a poor family. His father was a labourer and his mother worked as a maid. Dhruv wanted to go to school but his father didn’t have money for his education. He barely earned enough to buy food.

Dhruv didn’t understand this. He really wanted to go to school.

“Papa, when will I go to a school? All other children my age go to school. I wish to go too. Even I want to have a school bag, a pen, a notebook. I hate picking trash,” sobbed Dhruv.

“Dhruv, going to school is expensive. How am I going to buy you a uniform or books? I don’t earn enough to send you to school. When I earn more, I will surely send you to school,” replied Papa.

“You have been saying that for the last two years. I’m nine years old now. When will I go to school? I want to know how to write my name” said Dhruv, in between sobs.

“I will do something about it very soon,” said Papa and left for work.

Dhruv was sad. His dream would never come true. His father could not do anything and neither could he.

He took his bag and dustpan and left to collect garbage from the street corners.

He had a couple of friends who used to collect garbage with him. Dhruv did not like them much. They always fought and Dhruv hated that. They used to make fun of Dhruv since he always talked about studying.

They would say, “Dhruv is only interested in education like rich people. Poor people shouldn’t care about education.”

But Dhruv wished to study. He wanted to be successful in life and do something so that no child had to live like him.

One afternoon, Dhruv saw a balloon seller. He was filling gas in the balloons that rose and flew high in the sky.

Dhruv saw a mother buy a balloon for her daughter who was crying. She said, “Don’t cry, Sakshi. Take this balloon! It flies very high!”

Sakshi took the balloon and wiped away her tears immediately. She was happy and played with her balloon.

Dhruv thought the balloon wipes away sadness and maybe it could help him find a way to go to school so that he wouldn’t be sad.

He had some money in his pocket and went to the balloon seller to buy a balloon.

He asked the balloon seller, “Will this balloon make me happy?”

“Of course! It makes everyone happy! It can fly very high, even higher than the sky. It costs five rupees only,” said the balloon seller.

“Please be honest. Will this make me happy?” asked Dhruv.

“I’m saying nothing but the truth. This balloon goes very high in the sky,” the balloon seller replied.

A teacher was listening to this conversation. He too was buying balloons for his children. He found Dhruv’s questions interesting.

The teacher asked Dhruv, “Why are you asking the seller such questions?”

“I want to be happy and the only way I can be is if I study. This balloon made that girl happy so I’m sure if I buy it, I may find a way to go to school and be happy,” said Dhruv, full of hope.

“Is that so?” the teacher inquired.

“Yes, I wish to go to school like other children. Even I want to study. Does being poor mean I have no right to get an education?” Dhruv asked, tearfully.

“Don’t worry, boy. You will start going to school very soon,” the teacher said, gently placing his hand on Dhruv’s head.

“But I haven’t bought the balloon yet,” said Dhruv, confused.

“Don’t worry, my dear boy. I am a teacher at a school nearby. Now tell me, where is your home? Take me there. I will talk to your family about sending you to school,” the teacher told Dhruv.

Dhruv was overjoyed. He and the teacher walked to his house.

“Our government provides free education to poor children. You should send Dhruv to a government school. You won’t have to pay fees. And if there’s any other expense, related to education like tutoring or buying more books, I will pay for the other expenses. You need not worry about anything,” the teacher explained.

Dhruv’s parents were delighted to know that. They didn’t know that school admission was free. With the help of the teacher, they completed Dhruv’s admission process.

After a few days, Dhruv started going to a nearby school. He didn’t have to collect garbage anymore. He was happy and started studying with dedication.

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.

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