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Mattu’s Trip to Kumbhalgarh Fort

Mattu, the elephant was excited. His mother had promised him weeks ago that she would take him to a place of historical importance and that day had arrived. Together, Mattu and his mother set off early in the morning. They walked through jungles, up hills and across grasslands to reach their destination.

“Here we are!” announced Mattu’s mother. “This is Kumbhalgarh Fort.”

Mattu was at a loss for words. The fort was huge and unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Mattu’s mother explained that this fort is 1100 metres above sea level and was built by Maharana Kumbha who had also designed it. She also mentioned that it was built in the 15th century.

“What? How is it still so strong despite being built so long ago?” asked Mattu, astonished. But before she could answer, somebody had joined them. It was their guide and he’d been waiting to meet them.

Once the introductions had been made, it was time to explore the fort. The guide explained that the fort, built across several mountains was over 36 kilometres long. Mattu noticed that the walls went as far as his eyes could see. The guide also added that the walls were wide enough for four soldiers on horseback travel along it.

“This fort is almost unbeatable. Many kings have tried and failed. The only time this fort has not stood up against its enemies was when the forces of Akbar, Raja Man Singh of Amber, Raja Udai Singh of Marwar and the Mirzas of Gujarat joined forces during a severe water shortage,” said the guide.

As Mattu and his mom looked around, they saw crowds of people in the distance. The guide explained that ever since the fort had been made a UNESCO World Heritage site, it became an important place to visit. He also told them about the Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary nearby and told them about the light and sound show that took place every evening where the history of the fort was explained.

Mattu was enjoying his tour of the fort. They passed through the fort’s seven gates. The first was called Aarothpol, the second, Hallapol, the third and most important gate was called Hanumanpol.

Just as they reached the third gate, the tourists caught up with them. They were excited to see so many elephants and wanted to click photos with Mattu and the others.

Soon, the photos were clicked and they moved on. They passed through Rampol, Bhairavpol, Fagrapol, Topkhanapol and Nimbupol.

As they passed through them, Mattu was astonished by the grand scale in which each of these gates were built. Mattu was equally surprised to see fields, ponds and step wells inside.

The guide then took Mattu and his mother to the Cloud Palace or Baadal Mahal. When they got there, they were high up in on the mountain. It seemed like they were among the clouds.

The room was decorated with beautiful paintings and the guide told them that Maharana Pratap was born here. Mattu had learnt about him and his valiant horse, Chetak in school.

The view from the top was incredible. The interesting thing about the fort was that despite being so high up on a mountain, all the trees made it virtually impossible to spot from the ground.

As the guide took Mattu and his mom deeper into the fort, he explained that despite being several hundred years old, the fort was still just as strong as it was when it was built. Seeing the state of the fort, Mattu and his mom agreed.

The guide explained that the fort was not maintained by the Archeological Survey of India.

Mattu’s mom also told him that many of the palaces in the area had been converted into heritage hotels and that a lot of facilities were available. “The Kumbhalgarh Festival is held here every year where artists from around the world come to perform,” said Mattu reading out his guide book.

Just then, a few children had gathered around them. They asked Mattu’s mom if she could give them a ride. She agreed and took them around a section of the fort. While she was gone, a few other children played with Mattu. When Mattu’s mom returned, the children were very happy and thanked her for the ride.

The guide then showed them the rest of the fort. There were many shops there and Mattu’s mom picked up a little souvenir. All the sights and sounds at Kumbhalgarh had left Mattu and his mom feeling overwhelmed.

As they went back home from their tour of the Kumbhalgarh fort, Mattu’s mom told Mattu all about the bravery of the kings of Rajasthan, and what a great architect Rana Kumbha was.

Mattu had fun, and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to go explore the great old forts and monuments near his home.

Help Yourself

One morning, Bimpy, the fox climbed out of her den. She was hungry and off in the distance, saw Bholu, the bear. He had a big chunk of meat with him and Bimpy, feeling greedy wanted to eat it up. As she wondered how she was going to take the piece of meat from him, She remembered that Bholu was a kind bear. He could not see anyone in misery and can’t stop himself in helping them.

Bimpy sat down under a tree and pretended to feel unwell and weak. As Bholu passed by, he saw that she looked terrible and asked if she was alright.

“What’s the matter Bimpy?” asked Bholu. “Are you not feeling well?”

“What can I say, Bholu? I haven’t been keeping well lately and wasn’t able to find any food of my own. Now, I’ve grown so weak that I can barely move. Oh, what I would do to have a bite of some fresh meat,” she said and collapsed against the tree.

Bholu felt bad seeing Bimpy in this state. He gave her his piece of meat and wished her well.

This was the easiest meal Bimpy had ever eaten and realised that her plan was foolproof. The next day, as Lambu, the jackal was going home after a successful hunt, she played the same act and paraded around him, looking pathetic.

Taking pity on her, Lambu gave her his catch for the day and went on his way.

Soon, this became a habit for Bimpy and she routinely took advantage of the kindness of strangers. As the days passed, Bimpy grew out of shape and her legs ached if she walked too much or ran too fast.

One day, a mouse walked past her and she could barely keep with it, let alone catch it. She was thoroughly out of breath and truly unwell. By then, the animals of the forest had grown weary of her act and stopped walking past her den. Bimpy hadn’t eaten in several days and desperately needed help.

Fortunately, the jungle’s doctor, Pinchu, the giraffe, happened to pass by. He immediately understood that Bimpy needed his help and took her to his clinic. Bimpy was put on a drip and was fed lots of vitamin and mineral tablets.

When she began to feel a little better, Dr. Pinchu began serving her regular meals and put her on a strict exercise regimen. As the days passed, Bimpy began to feel better. A few days later, it was time for her to be discharged.

Feeling better than ever, Bimpy was about to go home when Dr. Pinchu had a word with her.

“Your health has improved tremendously, Bimpy. It goes to show how important regular exercise and a proper meal can do to improve a person’s help. If an animal keeps in mind the importance of doing your work on your own, we’ll all be healthy,” said Dr. Pinchu.

Bimpy understood the true meaning behind these words. She promised to never take advantage of the kindness of strangers and to always do her own work.

THE GOODNESS OF CACTUS

Deep in the deserts of South Africa was a little oasis garden. Filled with many wild trees and plants, it was full of life and was also home to a cactus plant and a rose bush.

One day, a swift wind brought with it a butterfly. It was new here and introduced itself to the rose bush. “Hi, my name is Nancy. I’m new here and was blown here by a strong wind. Would you mind if I lived here in your garden?” she asked. “Of course,” said the rose bush, welcoming Nancy. Soon, Nancy became a part of the garden and got along well with all the trees and plants. Among all of them, she was best friends with the rose bush.

She’d flit over to her, flapping her big, colourful wings and sip the nectar from the rose bush’s flowers. They’d talk for hours about this and that and their bond grew stronger still.

One day, the cactus turned to the butterfly and said, “Nancy, would you like to be my friend too?”

“What? Me become your friend? No way,” said Nancy, making a face.

“Why not?” asked the cactus, innocently.

“You’re full of thorns. That’s why,” said the butterfly.

“The rose bush has thorns too. How come you’re friends with her?” asked the cactus.

“You dare compare yourself to the rose bush?” asked Nancy, threateningly. “Even though she has thorns, the rose bush also has beautiful roses, full of nectar. You on the other hand have no good qualities.”

“That’s right, you have no good qualities. You’re all thorns,” added the rose bush and the two started giggling

The cactus felt terrible and didn’t bother them again.

Several days passed and the seasons began to change. The garden was getting warmer and as the days passed by, the weather grew hotter and hotter. The plants began to wilt and the leaves began to turn brown and shed. The once green garden became a bland, bed of brown.

Soon, the entire garden had wilted and all that was left was the cactus and rose bush.

Things weren’t as beautiful as before and the rose bush was looking sickly too.

“What’s the matter?” Nancy asked the rose bush. “You haven’t borne any new flowers in days now.”

“It’s the heat. Without any water, I just don’t have the energy to make more flowers. All I have are the ones that are already in bloom,” said the rose bush.

“Oh no, what am I going to do if you’re not going to be bearing any new flowers?” asked Nancy.

“Nancy, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here anymore. The summer has only started and things are going to get much worse. I suggest that you move to a cooler, greener jungle for a few months and return when it rains again,” suggested the rose bush.

While Nancy was keen on moving to greener forests, she was too afraid to make the trip. She was worried that she might not be able to make it that far. As she stayed on for a couple of more days, the dry winds wilted the last few flowers the rose bush had.

Now Nancy was left with no more food. She grew weary and sat on the branches of the rose bush. The expression on her face was enough for the cactus to tell that something was wrong.

“What’s the matter Nancy? Is everything alright?” the cactus asked.

“No,” said Nancy. “I want to fly away to a greener place, but I’m so tired and thirsty that I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it. I can barely fly across the garden.”

“Don’t worry Nancy. I’ll help you,” said the cactus and called his friend, Raaka, the vulture.

Raaka swooped down and asked the cactus what the matter was.

“Oh, nothing much, just helping a friend. Could you use your beak to carve a hole on one of my arms?” asked the cactus.

Raaka did so and out of the cut oozed drops of water.

“Now you can drink to your heart’s content,” said the cactus to Nancy.

Nancy took a sip of the sweet, cool water and felt much better.

“How are you so full of water when all the other trees and plants have dried up in the heat?” asked Nancy.

“That’s because nature has given cacti the ability to store water in their stems. We soak up all the water we can find when it rains and use it during the hot summer months. Cacti may not seem like much on the outside, but we have a lot going for us on the inside,” said the cactus.

“I’m sorry for saying mean things to you,” said Nancy. “I was under the impression that the only special beings on this planet are the ones who have beautiful wings or bear beautiful flowers. I never realised that there could be so much more. Please forgive me.”

The cactus accepted Nancy’s apology and said, “Don’t worry about flying away to another forest for now. Stay here and drink to your heart’s content. I’ll keep you safe here until the next summer.”

Nancy and the cactus spent the summer and the rest of their lives as best friends.

Gol Guttam Lakkad bottom

Mother!” Vinay called out when he woke up one morning. “Please give me some dugdh jal mishrit sharkara yukt parvatiya booty. And please hurry!”

“I’ll get it right away,” Mother replied from the kitchen.

“What is the matter, Vinay? Are you feeling unwell?” Mother asked when she entered the room with a cup.

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“I’m perfectly fine, Mother,” Vinay said. “What makes you think I’m unwell?”

“Well, you did ask me to get you this concoction of herbs, didn’t you?” Mother said, handing Vinay the cup.

“Huh? When did I ask for a concoction of herbs?” Vinay asked, peeping into the cup.

“Vinay,” Mother said. “Didn’t you just call out to me and ask me to give you some booty?”

“Oh Mother!” Vinay said. “You misunderstood me. I asked you to bring me dugdh jal mishrit parvatiya booty. That’s another name for tea.”

“You’re becoming more and more mischievous, Vinay,” Mother scolded and left the room.

Vinay shrugged and got out of the bed. He then went to take a bath. After a while, he called out to Mother again. “Mother!” he shouted. “I can’t find my kanth langot.”

“What?” Mother said, perplexed.

“I can’t find my kanth langot!” Vinay repeated. “Wherever did you keep my necktie?”

“Please be direct, Vinay!” Mother sighed.

“I won’t be able to finish my household chores if you keep confusing me just because you want to be mischievous.”

Mother then took Vinay’s necktie out of the wardrobe and put it around his neck.

“Mother, I am not being mischievous,” Vinay pleaded innocently. “Really!”

Later that day, Vinay’s teacher was testing the students’ GK in the classroom. “Children,” he said. “Tell me, what is Thomas Edison’s most famous invention?”

Vinay smiled and raised his hand to answer the question.

“Yes, Vinay,” the teacher said. “Please answer the question.”

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“Sir,” Vinay cleared his throat and said.

“Edison invented the vidyut prakashiya kanch golak!”

“Sit down if you don’t know the answer,” the teacher said, upset.

“Children,” he then told the class. “Thomas Edison invented the electric bulb.”

“Sir, I was saying the same thing,” Vinay stood up and insisted. “The vidyut prakashiya kanch golak is another name for the electric bulb.”

All the students in the class laughed heartily.

“Be quiet!” the teacher shouted. “Now, answer the next question. Which game is the Ramanuj Trophy associated with?”

“It is associated with ashthkoni kashth falak pe le takatak de takatak!” Vinay said.

“Vinay,” the teacher said angrily. “Are you making fun of me again? I had no idea that you could be so disrespectful.”

“Sir,” Vinay said sincerely. “I would never do that. But please believe me when I say that ashthkoni kashth falak pe le takatak de takatak is another name for table tennis.”

“Please keep quiet for the rest of the class, Vinay,” the teacher said furiously.

Vinay didn’t like being shouted at even though he had answered correctly.

But he obeyed his teacher and didn’t speak again.

“Rahul!” Vinay called out to his friend and neighbour when he returned from school later that day. “Will you come with me to watch the gol guttam lakad battam de danadan match? I have an extra pass.”

“What is that?” Rahul asked curiously.

“Well,” Vinay said. “A gol guttam lakad battam de danadan match is another name for a cricket match!”

Rahul laughed loudly.

“Yes, Vinay!” he said cheerfully. “Even I want to watch the match between India and Pakistan. We will have to go to the stadium by train. So let’s leave right away.”

“It will take time for the sahastra chakra lauh pathgamini to arrive,” Vinay said. “So let us walk towards the sahastra chakra lauh pathgamini viram sthal.”

“Now whatever is that?” Rahul asked, staring at Vinay.

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“Sahastra chakra lauh pathgamini is a train,” Vinay explained. “And sahastra chakra lauh pathgamini viram sthal means a railway station.”

“Which language are you speaking in today, Vinay?” Rahul asked, giggling. He was unable to control his laughter. Vinay’s incoherent jabber had made him feel both curious and thrilled.

“We have a new Hindi teacher in our school, Rahul,” Vinay explained. “His name is Mr. Sharma. He says that our national language gives us values. And that we should be proud of it rather than being slaves to foreign ones. Mr. Sharma has also told us how our national language should be respected. He suggests that we talk in Hindi as often as we can so that we discover what a rich language it is.”

“Ah!” Rahul said and laughed. “So that’s what you’ve been up to today.” Praveen Uncle, who was the boys’ neighbour, saw them laughing.

“What’s making you boys laugh?” he asked good-naturedly.

“Uncle,” Rahul told Praveen Uncle. “Vinay has resolved to talk in a new language from today.”

“Really?” Praveen Uncle said curiously. Rahul then told Praveen Uncle about why Vinay was trying to speak in Hindi.

“Son, your new teacher has taught you the correct thing,” Praveen Uncle said. “But you have not understood what he really meant.”

“What makes you say that, Uncle?” Vinay asked, surprised.

“We should definitely respect our national language,” Praveen Uncle said, “but along with that, we should also know other languages so that we progress in life.”

Vinay and Rahul listened patiently.

“Tell me,” Praveen Uncle then said. “Why do we use a language?”

“So that we can communicate our thoughts to others,” Vinay said.

“Vinay,” Praveen Uncle then said. “Is everybody able to understand you from the way you are speaking today?”.

“No,” Vinay said, sounding disappointed. “Everybody is making their own inferences about what I am saying. Mother thinks I’m being mischievous while my teacher thinks I’m making fun of him.”

“Well, Vinay,” Praveen Uncle said softly.

“A language should be such that it is understood by everyone. Did you know that words from other languages were included in Hindi in order to make it easier to understand? That has made it possible for it to reach out to more people than it originally did.”

“Is that so?” Vinay and Rahul asked, astonished.

“Yes,” Praveen Uncle said. “Not only English but words of Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Marathi and many other languages have assimilated with Hindi. And you will be surprised to know that Hindi is now being taught in schools and colleges all over the world.”

“Uncle, I have now realised that the knowledge of other languages is as important as that of one’s own national language. Knowledge is never a setback in one’s progress. In fact, it facilitates it all the more!” Vinay said cheerfully.

“That’s correct, Vinay!” Praveen Uncle said. “Why don’t we go for some dugdh jal mishrit sharkara yukt parvatiya booty now?’

“What’s that, Uncle?” Rahul asked, confused.

“Tea, Rahul!” Praveen Uncle said. “Your favourite drink!”

“Good idea!” Rahul said, laughing. “And after that, let us all go for the gol guttam lakad battam de danadan match. I can’t wait to see India win!”

Everyone laughed and walked towards the tea shop.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

For what could have been the thousandth time, Bob, the bear said to his little brother Teddy, “Stop eating so much honey! How will you climb trees to pick honeycombs if your tummy gets in the way?”

Teddy would not listen and all of his brother’s words would go in vain. His favorite word was ‘honey’ and if he ever ran, it was always towards a jar of it.

At parties, their mother would always say, “Teddy, I want you to control yourself. Leave some food for the other guests,” But Teddy couldn’t help himself.

Teddy’s fondness for food made him an easy target for all kids at school. They decided to play an April Fools prank on him. Harry, the fox, Jolly, the jackal and Bruno, the bull stopped Teddy after school.

“Hey Teddy, we heard that you love honey. This morning, we walked by a tree with a huge honeycomb on it,” said Harry. “We are going to take it down and have some honey. Care to join us?”

“No, let it be,” said Teddy. “Maybe I’ll join you some other time.” Teddy was more worried about what his brother Bob would say had he decided to go with them.

“See, I told you he wouldn’t come with us,” said Bruno. “Climbing trees and cutting down honeycombs is not an easy task especially for those as plump as Teddy. I told you he would be too scared to climb trees with us.”

Their April fool’s day prank was in action! The previous day, Bruno, Harry and Jolly had found a particularly thorny babool tree and hung pieces of gunny bags on a branch with long poles. From far away, it looked just like a huge honeycomb.

When they reached the tree, Teddy was ready to show them that he could climb any tree. He ran full speed towards the tree and began to climb it. The thorns of the babool tree cut his skin. With difficulty he climbed up to the branch, bruised and bleeding.

When he realized that the honeycomb was a gunny bag, the three pranksters jumped with joy shouting “April fool! April fool!

We got you! Yay!” and ran away.

Teddy began to cry and climbed down the tree and slowly made his way back home.

When his mom saw him, she was shocked. “What happened to you Teddy?” she asked. Teddy told her what happened.

Both Teddy’s mom and his brother applied ointment on Teddy’s wounds. “Don’t feel bad Teddy,” said Bob. “You should be more careful while dealing with such bullies. Stay strong little brother.”

A few days went by, Teddy’s mom packed toast and honey for lunch. Bob slipped a bottle of honey in to Teddy’s bag.

When the lunch bell rang, Teddy sat down for lunch and unwrapped the toast and honey his mom had packed for him. The smell of the fresh honey and the crunch of the crispy toast began to tempt Harry, Jolly and Bruno

“Hey Teddy, how are you? Are you still mad at us for the prank?” asked Jolly. “We were just having fun. Plus it was April fool’s day. Let’s all forget about all this and share some of your lunch with us”

As Jolly distracted Teddy, Bruno reached in to Teddy’s bag and pulled out the jar of honey. “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” he cried. The three made faces at Teddy and opened the jar.

They dipped the hands in to the jar and licked up all the honey. Suddenly Bruno’s eyes opened wide. Jolly and Harry spat out whatever was in their mouths and started looking for water to drink.

Teddy smelled the jar and realized what had happened. The jar contained honey, but it also had a special ingredient- vinegar. Teddy felt happy knowing that his brother, Bob was looking out for him. Bob knew Harry, Jolly and Bruno would pick on Teddy again and planted the ‘special jar of honey to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Teddy helped Bruno, Harry and Jolly wash the taste of vinegar away. The three of them had learnt a very valuable lesson and apologized to Teddy. They never played pranks again.

Jay’s April Fool’s Surprise

Jay, the deer was naive. While, he lived peacefully with all the animals of Nandavan, the animals would always try to take advantage of Jay’s innocence. They would play pranks, but Jay would never feel bad and always had a smile on his face.

One day, the animals realized that Jay was missing for a few days. The next day, Sanju, the jackal saw Jay behaving suspiciously. Jay was headed in the direction of the old banyan tree. Sanju followed him and from a distance. He saw Jay hiding a piece of paper. Then, he went away. When Sanju picked up the paper, the note read, “Just two more weeks and victory will be ours. We will rule the forest.

When Sanju showed the note to the other animals, they were shocked. They all wondered what Jay was up to. More importantly, they were all wondering who Jay’s partner was.

Jay was nowhere to be seen for another week until Heera, the parrot noticed him sneaking up to the old banyan tree. Like last time, he placed a note there.

When the other animals read his message, they were even more upset. “The day of our victory is drawing close. I can hardly wait. In a few more days the entire forest will bow their heads before us and obey our every command,” read the message.

Now the animals needed to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Heera was given the responsibility of finding out who Jay’s partner was. He watched over the tree for five days, but nobody came.

On the sixth day he realized that the grass near the hollow of the banyan tree was suddenly fresh and green, it had been dry all this while. Heera quickly called the other animals.

There they found yet another note. “Our wait has borne fruit. The day is finally here. All necessary preparations have been taken care of. Meet me tomorrow at 9 o’clock in the morning near the peepal tree by the river. Be careful nobody should know of our plan,” said the message.

All the animals were very eager to find out who the mysterious person was and what Jay’s plan was. They decided that they would all go to the river bank and get to the bottom of this mystery. That night, the animals hardly slept. They gathered around a bonfire and discussed what they could do the next day.

The next morning, when they reached the peepal tree, they were all annoyed. Everywhere they looked, there were signs that said “April Fool!”

When all the animals began to walk back to their homes, they found Jay walking towards them. “What’s the matter?” he asked trying hard not to laugh.

“All these years you played tricks on me and I said nothing and took it in sport. I played along because I realized it made you happy. But now, I have managed to fool each and every one of you,” said Jay.

All the animals apologized for taking Jay for granted and promised not to repeat their mistake. Jay had managed to teach them a valuable lesson.

They all had a hearty laugh and walked back home with Jay on their shoulders.

The Minister of Laughs

The king of Champakvan, Maharaja Sher Singh was under a lot of stress. He stopped visiting the royal court. He just stayed in his chambers, lost deep in thought. He no longer ate or slept properly and barely spoke to the other Ministers.

“What happened to the king?”

“What caused our jolly king’s mood to turn?”

“What will become of our kingdom?”

Such questions spread across the kingdom. The people too were feeling no better. The king had given strict orders not to let anybody disturb him. Animals who set off in hopes of cheering the king up returned disappointed.

One day, the king was standing by his window. He enjoyed standing there as the greenery that surrounded his palace made him happy.

Below his window, he saw children playing. Samba, the cub was one of them.

“Look, over there,” said Samba. “It’s Damru, the donkey. Let’s play a prank on him.”

“Let’s send him to the palace,” said the rest of the gang.

They called out to him and as he walked towards them, Samba said, “Don’t forget to keep a straight face OK? If we burst out laughing, the whole plan will be ruined.”

“Oh Damru, we’re so glad we found you. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. The king wants to see you immediately,” said Samba.

“The king wants to see me?” asked Damru. “But why?”

“We’re not sure, but we heard the news from the Ministers that the King is looking for a new Minister. Your name was being brought up a few times. They asked me to go fetch you,” said Samba.

“Wow! Do you know what this means Damru? The king wants to make you his minister. Go meet the king at once!” said Lambu, the giraffe.

“We will be waiting for you right here. Don’t forget to bring us sweets!” said the children.

Damru could hardly believe his ears. He jumped with joy and quickly set off towards the palace. Once Damru was out of earshot, the children burst in to laughter.

The king remembered it was April fool’s day. He thought of his days as a young cub and all the pranks he had played. They stirred such strong memories that he too began to laugh.

His laughter grew louder and louder. A Minister ran in to the chambers hearing the commotion and found the king holding his stomach and gasping for air.

Before he could raise an alarm, the king managed to say, “I’m fine. Don’t worry. Damru is coming to see me. Ensure he is sent in. I want to meet him.”

When the Minister reached the entrance, the guards were laughing at Damru. “I’m telling you,” he said. “The king sent for me. He wants to appoint me as his minister.”

With a stern voice, the Minister said, “Let him in.”

The guards quickly stood in attention and allowed Damru to pass. They walked together in to the royal chambers where the king waited.

When he saw Damru, the King couldn’t help but smile. Damru felt a little uneasy.

“Don’t be afraid Damru,” said the King. “It seems the children have played an April fool’s day prank on you.”

Damru’s face fell.

“Don’t feel bad Damru,” added the King. “I’m still going to make you my minister. From today, you are going to be my Minister of Laughs. You will be the royal entertainer at my court.” |

Damru was so excited, he could barely control himself. He jumped with joy and danced around the room.

Meanwhile, outside the children were getting worried. Damru had still not returned. They hoped something bad hadn’t happened to Damru. They waited for him by the palace entrance when the gates opened.

The guards announced “Make way for the Royal Minister of Laughs” and out walked Damru. The children were both shocked and surprised; Damru had actually become the king’s minister.

Soon, the news of the king cheering up spread like a wildfire and all the animals of Champakvan ran to the royal court. Damru entertained them and soon, the entire forest was back to being happy.

Once the celebrations had drawn to a close, Maharaj Sher Singh addressed the gathering.

“Laughter is crucial if one needs to lead a healthy life. I have been in a bad mood all this while, it must never happen again. This is why I have appointed Damru as my Minister of Laughs.”

From that day onwards, Damru always kept the king in a good mood. With a happy ruler leading the kingdom, Champakvan prospered.

Bondhu Seeks His Own Identity

There was a donkey named Bondhu (meaning foolish). Bhondu was named aptly, as he would often behave foolishly. His favourite activity was to copy others. He knew nothing else. When he saw monkeys leap about he would copy them, although he would fall down and hurt himself. Seeing horses race he would try to run as fast as them. Even the passersby would laugh at his antics.

One morning, Bondhu was walking past a peepal tree. He heard Ginni, the cuckoo’s melodious voice coming from there. Her cooing was melodious.

“Wow, what a sweet song. I will also sing like her,” Bondhu thought to himself.

The next morning, Bondhu placed a chair in front of his house and began singing loudly. However, instead of cooing, he brayed hee-haw, hee-haw.

“Why is this happening?” he wondered. “I am trying to coo, but all that I can do is bray.” He was puzzled. He wanted to sound just like Ginni.

He met Ginni and asked, “Ginni, what does one do to sing like you?”

She replied, “You should learn to sing. A music teacher can teach you to sing well.”

He said, “So that’s what it is. I was thinking that I was incapable of singing. All I need is a teacher. I will learn and become a good singer.”

He soon found a teacher who taught several animals in the jungle. He sat with the others and learnt the basic musical notes. He went home and practised what he had learnt. However, his voice still sounded like a broken flute.

Bondhu thought for a long time. Finally, he remembered that his teacher had used a guitar while teaching them to sing. He realised that he was trying to sing without the guitar. He then sat down with his guitar and started singing again. His neighbour, the crow, screamed, “Grrr… I have been tolerating Bondhu’s harsh voice for so many days. I can’t tolerate it anymore.”

Unfortunately for Bondhu, all his neighbours nodded their heads in agreement and told Bondhu to stop disturbing them.

“I have to face so many insults I just want to learn to sing.” Bondhu’s face fell. How could he practice if everyone around was objecting to it. He was almost in tears.

Mittu, the parrot who was passing by, asked, “What happened, Bondhu? Why are you so sad?”

Bondhu narrated the recent developments to the parrot.

Mittu replied, “If you want to learn to sing; listen carefully to the songs you want to learn and sing along with them. Then you will become a singer. Have you heard me mimicing everyone?”

Bondhu’s eyes were shining in anticipation. He bought some music discs and began singing along with them. However, he was still out of tune. He began to sing loudly. Although he realised that he couldn’t hold a tune, he still continued singing. After some time, no sound emerged from his throat. It was very sore.

“Well, Bondhu, are you enjoying your singing?” asked Minni, the bird, who was sitting on a branch nearby.

He replied sadly, “Go ahead, make fun of me and laugh at my helplessness.”

“I am not making fun of you. I am laughing at your foolishness. You cannot imitate everything. Nature blesses all individuals with certain unique gifts. Try as much as you can, you cannot get them by copying others. Since our brains are different we speak different languages. We also grasp things differently and at different paces.

Thus, a cuckoo cannot speak the language of a crow, nor can a crow speak the language of a cuckoo. Therefore, instead of copying others find your own identity. Make a name for yourself,” Minni advised him in a kind tone.

Bondhu understood. He thought, “By trying to copy the cuckoo, I lost my voice.” “Although it’s a bit late, I can still change myself.”

“Better late than never,” thought Bondhu, and he went in search of developing his own identity.

Pritam Wears An Umbrella

It was a sunny day. Pritam was on his way to school when he saw a few dark clouds suddenly appear in the sky.

“This is unusual,” he thought and continued to walk.

The sky was soon overcast with dark rain clouds. A thunder rumbled, as if warning everyone to take cover.

Pritam loved walking in the rain. But today, he did not have his umbrella with him. He did not expect the weather to change so drastically. Since he was just a short distance away from home, he decided to rush back to get his umbrella.

But by the time he came out of his home with the umbrella, the rain clouds disappeared. The sky was clear again.

Pritam was annoyed. However, he didn’t think it was wise to leave the umbrella at home.

“Who knows when the weather might change again,” he thought.

Pritam had a habit of forgetting things, especially his umbrella. He had lost four umbrellas the previous year. His parents bought him the current one only after Pritam promised to be careful.

“What if I misplace this umbrella as well? Mom and Dad will be unhappy, especially since I promised to not lose this one,” thought Pritam.

Then, Pritam had an idea. He hung the new umbrella around his neck and said triumphantly, “Now I surely won’t lose it!”

When Pritam reached his school, the students looked at the umbrella around his neck and burst out laughing.

“Where did you get this new tie?” teased one of the boys.

Pritam ignored him and proceeded towards his classroom. Once he entered the class, all his friends pointed at him and started laughing.

One of his classmates said, “Usually, people wear chains or ID tags around their neck, but what new trend is this?”

The comments and laughter continued throughout the day. Pritam was hurt but he did not remove his umbrella because he was sure he would lose it.

During the break, when he and his classmates were playing in the ground, Pritam looked up at the clear sky.

“I wonder why it didn’t rain. It doesn’t seem like it is going to rain either. I shouldn’t have taken the umbrella today. Everyone is teasing me for it,” he muttered.

Pritam continued to walk around the entire day at school with the umbrella hanging around his neck for fear of losing it.

In the evening, when Pritam started for home, the weather was still clear. “It didn’t even drizzle! I had to hang this umbrella around my neck the whole day and listen to silly comments,” he sulked.

Suddenly, there was a roar of thunder. Pritam looked up and much to his delight, dark clouds covered the sky. It began to rain. Pritam happily removed his umbrella from around his neck and opened it up. He walked home with a bright smile on his face.

Holi for All

Three days before the festival of Holi, some birds and animals of Sonavan convened a meeting. It was headed by Pihu peacock, the king of the birds and Simha lion, the king of the animals.

“This year, let’s not involve any of the dark birds or animals in the Holi celebrations. The colour does not show against their dark skin and feathers. It’s just a waste of colour and effort,” said Simha.

“I agree. The price of colour powder has skyrocketed, so buying extra packets just for them will be too expensive,” said Sona deer.

We also won’t be able to make special arrangements for water tankers for them like we do every year, as the nearby ponds have all dried up. Even if we have to buy water, who is going to pay for it?” asked Pihu.

All the animals agreed that banning the dark birds and animals from the Holi celebrations was a right move. Pihu and Simha signed an order to that effect.

Next day, huge banners were put up across Sonavan. They read: “No Holi for dark animals and birds. – By order of the Kings of Sonavan.”

On seeing the banners, the dark animals and birds felt humiliated and angry.

“How can they pass an order concerning us without even consulting us in the first place?” fumed Kalu crow.

“It is a common festival. Everyone has the right to celebrate,” said Bholu elephant. After much discussion, the dark animals and birds decided to organise their own Holi celebrations. They eagerly set out preparing for it.

On the day of Holi, Pihu, Simha and the other animals celebrated with great fervour. They smeared colours on each other, sang songs and danced.

Suddenly, the sound of their celebration was drowned by music coming from another part of the forest. They could also see big clouds of colour rising above the treetops.

“Who else is celebrating Holi in our forest? The music is even better than ours!” said Simha.

When Rinku rabbit saw through his binoculars, he was stunned.

They were the dark birds and animals! They were having a spectacular celebration. The bear, the dark horse, the rhino, the wilder beast and the chimpanzee were beating the drums, while the cuckoos sang and the crows danced. The music echoed through the forest.

“Well, who is it?” asked Pihu impatiently.

The dark birds and animals,” said Rinku.

Everyone was shocked.

“Not only have they defied our orders, but they are celebrating Holi grander than us!” thundered Simha.

“With their splashes of colour, they even look more colourful than us,” said Rinku, looking through the binoculars again.

Meanwhile, the group of dark animals and birds had reached them. Bholu stepped forward and sprayed everyone with colour water from his trunk.

“On behalf of the dark birds and animals, I wish you all a happy Holi!” he said.

“How dare you defy my order and celebrate Holi. You will all be punished for this!” roared Simha.

“Please do not mistake us, Sir. We would never defy your orders. You banned us from participating in your celebrations. So, we organised our own Holi celebrations and we would like to invite you all to join us,” Kalu explained politely.

Simha could not refute that point. “Well, they are right,” he thought.

“Holi is a festival celebrated to welcome spring. The colours are just part of the celebrations and not the purpose of the celebration itself. So, if you had a problem with the colours not showing on us, you could have discussed it with us, and we would have offered you a solution or we could have celebrated differently,” said Bholu.

The other animals were ashamed. Instead of looking for a solution, they banned the dark birds and animals from participating.

“Please forgive us,” said Pihu. “We were so blinded by our arrogance that we failed to see the real purpose of a festival—to bring us together.”

“Pihu is right. Henceforth, I declare that all festivals should be celebrated together. There will be no discrimination announced Simha, throwing colours on Kalu and Bholu.

Everyone cheered and joined in the celebrations!

“This is the real delight of playing Holi,” said Simha, looking at all the happy faces.

Chinku becomes Colourful

Chinku Jackal ran a laundry in Champakvan. He enjoyed washing and ironing clothes so much that he often gave his customers big discounts. This made him very popular with all the animals who lived in Champakvan.

But there was something about Chinku Jackal that everyone disapproved of. Well, Chinku Jackal could be very naughty. He enjoyed playing pranks on everyone around him. He never stopped to think if his pranks were causing anyone trouble.

When spring came and Holi was around the corner, all the animals in the forest began preparing for the festival. While some of them busied themselves with cooking Holi delicacies, some others went to buy Holi colours from the nearby towns.

When the festival came even closer, Chinku Jackal, who was working in his laundry, decided that it was time for him to play another prank.

“I must play a prank on everyone this Holi,” he thought. “I will have plenty of fun!”

And so, Chinku Jackal went to the nearest town and bought packets of red, yellow, green, pink and all the other colours that he could find. He then mixed them all in a tub of water and made a solution that was a bright pink in colour.

Chinku Jackal then took all the clothes he had in his laundry and soaked them in the tub. After a while, he pulled the clothes out and grinned. They all had had big pink stains all over them. He then put them out to dry.

Chinku Jackal giggled, when he left his laundry to deliver the clothes the next morning.

“Don’t feel bad!” Chinku Jackal said along the way as he practiced the explanation he would give his customers. “It’s Holi after all!”

He soon reached Minky Cat’s house. She was one of his oldest customers.

“Good Morning, Minky Aunty!” Chinku Jackal said cheerfully.

“Good Morning, Chinku!” Minky Cat replied in an equally cheerful tone. “Have you brought my clothes?”

“Of course, I have!” Chinku Jackal said and chuckled.

Minky Cat shrieked the moment she saw her clothes. “What has happened to my clothes?” she wailed. “Why have they turned pink?”

“Don’t feel bad, Minky Aunty!” Chinku Jackal said with a giggle. “It’s Holi after all!”

Minky Cat grew furious. “Is this another prank of yours, Chinku?” she shouted. “Have you deliberately soaked my clothes in pink colour?”

“I have,” Chinku Jackal admitted and laughed. “But since it is Holi tomorrow, you shouldn’t be angry with me!”

Chinku Jackal then went to deliver the rest of the clothes. He giggled when he saw Chubby Mouse, Daboo Lion and the others panic the moment they saw their clothes. And when they scolded him, he simply shouted, “Come on! It is Holi after all!”

In the evening, all the animals gathered together and grumbled about Chinku Jackal’s prank. “Chinku Jackal’s pranks are becoming more and more troublesome,” they all complained. “We must teach him a lesson and put an end to his mischief.”

Later that day, Chubby Mouse went to Chinku Jackal’s laundry.

“It is Holi tomorrow, Chinku,” Chubby Mouse said. “All the animals have decided to celebrate together. We are meeting at 8 o’clock in the playground tomorrow morning. Why don’t you join us? It will be fun.”

Chinku Jackal was delighted. “I will surely join you all!” he said. “Thanks for inviting me!”

The next morning, Chinku Jackal walked to the playground. He was looking forward to playing with his friends. But when he reached the playground, he found that there was no one there. Am I too early?” Chinku Jackal wondered. “There’s no one else here.”

He looked around and saw some colourful balloons hanging on the branches of the trees. There was a table full of plates of sweets like ladoos and jalebis nearby. There were some water pistols kept on the table too. And a huge tub filled with coloured water was right beside the table.

“Ah!” Chinku Jackal thought. “The animals are having a grand celebration! I’m glad that they invited me! I’m going to have plenty of fun here!”

Chinku Jackal then stretched his arm out and tried to pull one of the balloons down.

SPLASH!

The balloon burst and splashed some bright red coloured water right on to his face!

“Eek!” Chinku Jackal shouted as he wiped his face. “Eww!” he screamed as he spat some of the water that had gone into his mouth.

He ran to the table and popped some of the ladoos and jalebis into his mouth, hoping to change the awful taste. But to his surprise, the sweets weren’t one bit sweet! They were bitter! And full of a dark green colour!

“Ugh!” Chinku Jackal shouted. “What horrible sweets! They have turned my mouth bitter and green!”

He turned to go home but just before he could leave the playground, Chubby Mouse, Minky Cat, Daboo Lion and all the other animals whose clothes he had stained, jumped out from behind the trees. They picked Chinku Jackal up and dunked him in the tub of coloured water.

“Oh no!” Chinku Jackal screamed, realising that he was now completely drenched. He was about to burst out crying when he heard all the animals singing, “Don’t feel bad, Chinku! It’s Holi after all! It’s Holi after all!”

Minky Cat went closer to Chinku Jackal’s ear and whispered, “How did you like our prank, Chinku? Was it as good as yours?”

Chinku Jackal realised what Minky Cat wanted to say. He hung his head low. “I’ve been playing pranks on you all for a long time,” he said. “That’s why you have played one on me today.”

“Holi is a festival that is celebrated with love and harmony, Chinku,” Minky Cat said. “It’s not meant for playing pranks or annoying anyone.”

“She’s right, Chinku,” Daboo Lion added. “Holi is a festival for everyone to have fun but not at the expense of others. Come on! Let’s celebrate with the right spirit!”

All the animals then helped Chinku Jackal climb out of the tub. They played with him and brought him some ladoos and jalebis that were really sweet to eat.

Chinku Jackal had the best Holi ever. He spent the rest of the day washing all the clothes he had stained. And he made up his mind not to play pranks on anyone again.

Nitin’s Painting

Nitin woke up early as usual and got ready for school. But today, he was excited because it was the last day of school, and also the day of his favourite exam—drawing.

“I can’t wait for the vacations to start!” he thought, as he went to have breakfast.

Nitin’s grandfather was seated in the living room browsing through an old photo album.

“Whose photos are these, Grandpa?” asked Nitin, looking at the photos.

“They are all mine. They were taken when I used to live in the village with your grandmother,” replied Grandpa.

“See this one,” said Grandpa, pointing to one of the photos. “That’s your mother when she was six years old.”

“Wow! I can’t imagine Ma as a little girl,” said Nitin, looking at the photos curiously. “But Grandpa, why are there no colours in these photos?”

“At the time when these photos were taken, the cameras we had didn’t take colour photos. That technology came in much later. So, all the photos you see are in shades of black and white,” explained Grandpa.

Just then, Nitin’s mother called out to him. “Nitin, are you ready? It’s almost time to leave,” she said.

Nitin quickly finished his breakfast and started packing his bag. He had kept all his drawing stuff on the sofa. He put the drawing board, pencil box and a box of colour pencils into his bag.

Nitin did not notice that the box with the colour pencils was open and that many of them had fallen out. He quickly closed his bag and rushed to school.

At school, all the children were excited about the last day of school. They discussed their plans for the summer vacation.

When the bell rang, they went to their respective classrooms and took their seats for the exam.

In the class, Nitin’s art teacher announced the topic for the exam:

1. A village scene

2. Wildlife

3. Water conservation

Nitin was eager to start drawing. He took out his pencil box, drawing board and box of colour pencils from inside his bag and arranged them on the desk. That is when he noticed that most of the colour pencils were missing. He frantically searched his bag thinking they may have fallen inside, but they were not there either.

“Oh no! How will I draw without my colour pencils?” Nitin panicked.

Nitin’s art teacher saw him looking worried. When she realised that he did not have his colour pencils, she said, “Don’t worry, Nitin. You can borrow from your friends once they have finished their drawing.”

Nitin thanked his teacher but he knew that if he had to wait for his classmates to finish, then he would not able to finish his painting.

Nitin looked at the colours he had in the box: black, blue, brown and white. He wondered if he could draw something using just these colours. He then remembered the black and white photos in his grandfather’s album. He also remembered seeing a photo of Grandpa on a horse in his farm.

“It is a stunning picture. I could recreate that on paper, and it requires only two colours,” thought Nitin and began to draw.

Nitin began by drawing the outline of a horse with a pencil and then filled it mostly with black colour and added bits of grey to give the effect of light. Once he was satisfied with it, he proceeded to draw a man on a horse. For the man, he added more shades of grey, black and white to add details of clothing and facial features.

At the end of the hour, when the bell rang, the students submitted their drawings to the teacher.

While their teacher graded each one, all of them, except Nitin, waited eagerly for the results. Nitin was not happy with the drawing he had submitted. Though it was technically good, he thought it would have been better in colour.

After a while, their teacher distributed the drawings back to the students along with their grades marked on them.

Nitin’s name was the last to be called out. He was sure the teacher was going to scold him for submitting a black and white drawing. Instead, she smiled at him.

Nitin’s teacher displayed his drawing for everyone to see and said, “Nitin has primarily used only two colours in his drawing. See how beautiful it looks and the details are highlighted with just two colours. I especially appreciate him because even though he did not have most of his colour pencils, he made the most of whatever he had instead of giving up.”

Nitin beamed on hearing his teacher’s words. It was the best ending to the last day of school!

THE PROMISE OF FRIENDSHIP

Sunny was a rich sheep who owned several farms. Everyone in the forest was in awe of his wealth. Some were even jealous of his success.

One night, when Sunny was on his way home, he saw a monkey tired and shivering in the cold.

When Sunny enquired about him, the monkey replied, “My name is Monty. I belong to the neighbouring jungle.

My home was destroyed in a forest fire. I managed to escape and arrived here. I would be grateful if you could give me a place to sleep tonight. I will leave first thing in the morning,” said Monty.

“Don’t worry. You can stay with me in my farm,” said Sunny

Sunny took Monty to his farm and served him dinner. Monty ate happily and went to bed.

When Sunny woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see all the chores done—the hedge was trimmed, the weeds were removed and the crops were watered. He realised that it was Monty who had done it all.

“Good morning, Sunny,” Monty greeted him cheerfully. “Thank you for allowing me to sleep in your farm. I will leave now.”

“No, wait!” Sunny stopped him. “Where will you go? Do you have friends or relatives here? It will be a while until your forest grows back.”

“No, I don’t know anyone here. But I will figure out something. I will find a job and then rent a place,” said Monty.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you work with me? I need someone to help me manage my farms. And you can stay at my farm,” said Sunny.

Monty was elated! He immediately agreed. That day on, Monty started to work at Sunny’s farm.

One evening, as Monty was returning from the farm, he heard someone call out to him. It was Ray, the rhino.

“Hey, Monty! We hardly see you around,” said Ray.

“That’s because the work at the farm is keeping me busy,” said Monty.

“You, poor thing. You work so hard and yet Sunny does not trust you,” said Ray.

“Why do you say that?” asked Monty.

“Sunny only gives you work to do around the farm. He does not let you handle the money,” said Ray.

“Yes. He is taking advantage of you,” said Harry, the horse, joining them.

“By the way, what are you doing now? We were planning to get together and gossip. Why don’t you join us too?” said Ray.

Monty hesitated at first, but agreed after Monty and Harry insisted.

“You stay in Sunny’s farm, right?” asked Krokie, the crocodile, who joined them.

Monty nodded.

“Let me be straightforward with you. We don’t like Sunny. He is arrogant and looks down on everyone. He has even insulted us many times,” said Krokie.

“We want to teach him a lesson and we need your help. We have a plan. If we succeed, we can send Sunny to jail and enjoy his wealth,” said Harry.

“I will surely help you! Like you have rightly pointed out, he is indeed taking advantage of me. Tell me what to do?” said Monty.

“Glad to know you are with us!” said Ray.

Krokie then handed a packet to Monty and said, “All you have to do is keep this packet in Sunny’s farm and we will take care of the rest. But make sure Sunny doesn’t see you.”

That evening, Monty placed the packet in a tree in Sunny’s farm and informed Ray and the others about it. The following afternoon, Sunny was surprised to see the police at his farm.

“We have received information that you have stolen King Leo’s jewellery. We need to search your farm,” said Inspector Freddy, the fox.

The police found the stolen jewellery in Sunny’s farm. Freddy handcuffed Sunny and took him to the police station. Everyone in the forest was shocked, except Ray, Harry and Krokie who secretly cheered.

That night, the three went over to the farm to celebrate with Monty.

“Monty, you did a great job. As a reward, we want to give you the biggest share in our loot,” said Krokie, opening his bag.

“All the jewellery in this bag has been stolen from different farms in this forest. Let’s divide these among ourselves,” said Harry. “And tomorrow, let’s divide Sunny’s valuables!” he laughed.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, taking them by surprise. Ray, Harry and Krokie were shocked to see Inspector Freddy and Sunny walk in.

“Surprised?” asked Monty smiling. “The moment you revealed to me that you wanted to take revenge on Sunny, I came up with a plan to get you three caught red handed. Inspector Freddy and Sunny were also in on the plan,” explained Monty.

“But you said Sunny was taking advantage of you!” said Ray disbelievingly.

“I lied to you. Sunny has been a true friend to me. He helped me out when I had nothing or knew no one. I would never break my friend’s trust,” said Monty.

Inspector Freddy arrested the three crooks.

Sunny hugged Monty and said, “Thank you, Monty! You are indeed a true friend.”

Mountain Exercise

Fatty bear was very sad because he was fat. He loved eating food because of which his weight kept increasing, even though he tried to control his eating habits.

The gym trainer Sam told him to join the gym, but Fatty did not want to.

Fatty said, “They will make me do difficult exercises in the gym, and there is a restriction on the food. The gym is also expensive for me.”

Fatty thought for a while and came up with an idea. “There is a mountain in front of my house. There is fresh grass on it on which I love to roll. I will climb the mountain to roll on the grass and this will help me lose weight.”

But there was a problem. The mountain’s slope was steep that made it difficult to climb it.

Fatty called his friend Gaplu deer who said, “Try and climb the mountain from the other side. It is flatter and easier to climb from there and then you can roll on the grass as much as you like.”

Fatty waited for a sunny day and then walked to the back of the mountain. Before climbing it, he looked at his body and said, “Hello my body weight. The time has come to say bye-bye to you.”

Soon, he was climbing the mountain, and though it was less steep here, he was breathless. But he climbed to the top of the mountain and from the top he could see the fresh green grass and his beautiful house.

His body was shaking with excitement.

He lay down and started to roll on the grass. In his excitement he forgot the slope was steeper on this side of the mountain. As he rolled down, his body picked up speed and soon he was rolling down the mountain like cannon ball. He tried to stop himself with his legs and hands but could not.

Finally, he reached the bottom of the mountain near his home. Luckily, the grass all along had been soft and fresh, so Fatty was not injured badly but his whole body was sore and he was crying.

Hearing his groans, his parents came out and on seeing him covered in grass and mud, they were shocked.

Fatty’s parents asked, “What happened to you Fatty?”

Heaving and weeping Fatty said, “I came rolling down from the top of the mountain. Oh mom! My back is completely sore and is hurting badly.”

Fatty’s father asked him, “How did you climb the mountain? It is such a steep climb.”

Poor Fatty could not give any answer.

Sam was coming that way and overheard Fatty’s father. “I will tell you about this. Fatty had climbed the mountain to lose his weight, but unfortunately, because of the steep slope he got hurt. He was scared to go to the gym and wanted to save on money. But what he has done is more remarkable.”

Poor fatty was in pain and was sweating

His mother patted and his father soothed him.

Fatty said, “I am saying bye bye to this mountain exercise. I will come and join your gym or run in the park and eat healthy to lose weight.”

Soon Fatty became better and joined the gym. The other animals who exercised with him teased him and said, “You are most welcome to the gym but do tell us about your mountain experience. Did you enjoy rolling down the mountains?”

Everyone including him, laughed at his mountain exercise.

Bholu’s Invention

There was once a beautiful forest called Haritvan. In Haritvan lived Tinku, the monkey. Tinku was a prankster and nobody really liked him. His favorite pastime was to climb up a mango or a jamun tree and pelt passersby with the seeds. He was also very adamant and would always throw a tantrum if he didn’t get what he wanted.

Also living in the same forest was Bholu. Bholu was a wellknown scientist and was also the smartest animal in the forest. But, Tinku didn’t really like him and always went out of his way to make fun of Bholu and his inventions. Bholu would be working up in the trees putting together his inventions with wires and pulleys, and all of a sudden Tinku would show up, pelting Bholu with sticks and undoing all his hard work. Bholu believed this was because he had complained to Tinku’s uncle about his behaviour.

One afternoon, Tinku ran out of his house because the food served for lunch was not to his liking. He set off in search of bananas when lo and behold, there was a whole bunch of them right in front of him in a clearing under a tree.

Thinking that somebody must have forgotten and left their bananas behind, Tinku ran up to them and bend down to pick them up.

But, as he stepped close to the bananas, he was swept off his feet and before Tinku could understand what was going on, he was hanging upside down from the tree above him and there was a rope tied to his leg.

Tinku tried hard to free himself, but he couldn’t. The rope was made of nylon and he couldn’t break it or cut it with his teeth. He realised that he had been trapped by hunters who put him in a cage and went away. From their discussions, Tinku gathered that they intended to take him out of the forest.

As the hunters prepared for their trip out of the forest, they were suddenly hit by fruits and vegetables.

The attacks seemed to be coming from the trees. Completely confused, the hunters decided it was best to run away. As the attacks continued, Tinku was glad he was in the cage, safe from the attacks.

Kiku, the sparrow happened to be passing by when she noticed Tinku stuck inside the cage.

The attacks had stopped by then. She flew up to him and calmed him down before flying off to find Tinku’s uncle Cheeku.

Cheeku ran to the spot where Tinku had been trapped and rescued him. Meanwhile, Kiku had arrived with few more animals from the forest. When Tinku told them about the mysterious attacks on the hunters, everybody was curious to find out who saved Tinku.

Kiku then told everyone that the attacks were from one among many machines that Bholu had installed across the forest. Using a network of wires and sensor, Bholu’s animal security system could detect whether there were any hunters coming into the forest.

Once the location of the hunters was fixed, the machines in the trees would fire fruits and vegetables at them to scare them away.

Tinku realised that the very machine he had made fun of, a long time ago, had saved his life.

He realised that making fun of others wasn’t a nice thing to do and neither was throwing fruits at others. Tinku vowed that he would be more responsible and not hurt others in any way.

Gus Yearns for Freedom

“What lovely weather!” exclaimed Gus, the grasshopper, while on his usual morning walk.

Along the way, his eyes fell on a glass bowl placed on the window of a house. Some fishes were swimming in it.

“What are these fishes doing inside a bowl? Don’t they usually live in a pond or river?” Gus wondered. He flew up to them to ask.

“Hello!” the fish greeted him cheerfully.

“May I ask what you are doing in this bowl when you could be living happily in a big pond?” asked Gus.

“We are happier in this bowl!” replied one of the fish.

Gus was surprised. “How is that possible?” he asked them.

“In the bowl, we don’t have to go looking for food. We are fed two times a day by the humans. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about predators. All that my friends and I do is play, eat and sleep all day long,” said another fish.

“It does sound like all play and no work. It must be fun to live like that,” thought Gus.

He bid the fish goodbye and was about to fly out when something caught his leg. It was a human! Gus was quickly trapped inside a glass jar and placed by the window.

Gus tried to get out, but the jar was too heavy and strong. He was dazed at first, but soon calmed down.

“Perhaps, it won’t be so bad. I may have a good time like the fishes and best of all, I will be served food right here,” he thought and became cheerful.

Gus was lazing inside the jar and looking out when he saw a honey bee hovering nearby.

“Good morning, Miss Honey Bee. I am Gus. How are you doing?” he greeted her.

“Good morning, Gus. I am Holly. You do look quite cheerful for someone stuck inside a glass jar,” said Holly.

“Yes. What is not to like about it? I will get free food, good views and don’t have to worry about being eaten up by some slimy frog,” said Gus.

“That’s true. But don’t you miss the freedom of going wherever you feel like and eating whatever you want?” asked Holly.

Gus became irritated. “You are asking such a question because you are jealous of me! I don’t blame you. You have to work all day gathering honey and take orders from your queen. But I can sit here doing nothing other than singing and watching the scenery outside,” he said.

“Why are you getting angry at me?” asked Holly offended. “I was just asking to know how you feel. What you do is up to you. Anyway, I have work to do. Goodbye!” she said curtly and flew away.

Around afternoon, Gus was fed some grass and leaves. They were not fresh like the ones he had in the fields. But he was hungry and had no choice.

After lunch, Gus lay on his back looking outside. The day dragged on and so did the night. He missed the soft bed of grass that he slept on. He looked endearingly at the garden outside the house when he noticed a centipede walking by.

“Hello, Mr. Centipede!” Gus called out from the window, hoping to chat.

“Hello! Sorry, I do not have time to stop and chat. I am already late and have to reach home before my kids go to bed. And my wife is waiting with hot dinner,” he said, continuing to walk swiftly.

The mention of home and family made Gus miss the comfort of his house. He missed his friends Betty, the butterfly, Lola, the ladybug and Cary, the caterpillar.

“Holly was right. I do miss being free,” Gus thought sadly. He could not sleep that night.

Early next morning, Gus was woken up by a familiar voice.

“Gus! Wake up!”

Gus opened his eyes and saw his friend Betty fluttering outside. He felt elated to see her!

“Betty! How glad am I to see you!” Gus cried in joy. “How did you find me?”

“Yesterday, Lola, Cary and I were waiting for you all evening at the spot where we meet every day to chat. When you did not show up, we went to your house to check, but you weren’t there too. That’s when we began to worry. It was already dark by then, so we couldn’t go out looking for you.

This morning, the three of us set out in different directions to search,” explained Betty. “But how did you get stuck inside this jar?”

“I was talking to the fishes when a human trapped me inside this jar. I thought it would be fun being inside, not having to do anything, but it’s not so. I miss my home, my friends and most of all, I miss being free. Please let me out,” pleaded Gus.

“I have an idea,” said Betty. She murmured something to Gus.

After a while, the human in the house woke up and came to window to feed Gus. But Gus was lying limp at the bottom of the jar.

Thinking that the he had died, the human removed the lid of the jar to check. In a flash, Gus got up and flew away.

Betty was waiting for him in the garden.

“Thank you, dear friend,” Gus said to her. “I am so happy to be free again!”

The two then flew home together.

Friendship is Necessary

Santu and Mantu squirrels were close friends. They used to play together every evening in the lawn. They also studied in the same school and same class. They went to school together in the bus chatting all the way long.

They made fun and laughed at everybody in the bus including the driver and the conductor. While some animals grumbled and complained about going to school, Santu and Mantu were happy to go to school because they wanted to have fun in the school. because they wanted to have fun in the school.

English class was going on and Ms. Lucy Leopard, their English teacher suddenly announced that there was going to be a dictation in that lesson. She gave them ten minutes to study.

Santu and Mantu realized that while Santu had brought his English textbook, Mantu only had the notebook where they would do their schoolwork.

“Let me study from the textbook, Santu,” said Mantu.

“No, I will study from the textbook, you study from your notebook,” replied Santu. Santu turned his back to Mantu and started studying from the textbook, while Mantu could only study from the notebook.

After 10 minutes, the teacher started dictating the words. She said “Necessary.”

Santu wrote “Nursery” and Mantu wrote it correctly. Santu looked over to Mantu, and saw him writing the answers down without with stopping, while Santu was having trouble with every word.

Soon, the teacher corrected all the papers and Santu had got one wrong answer. But, Mantu got all correct.

Santu had to write the word “Necessary” 100 times. Santu’s hands were aching due to the imposition. He told Mantu, “It is all because of you. I am not going to talk to you. You wrote all the correct answers without studying.” Santu tried to say something but Mantu left the class angrily.

That evening, Santu’s mom went to see her sister. Mantu’s mom also went to her friend’s place.

Santu was feeling hungry. He opened the fridge. All the nuts were over and only butter and jam were there. “I can’t wait till mom comes. I will go and buy some bread from the bakery.”

Mantu was also feeling hungry. He opened the fridge. He saw some bread slices but there was no butter or jam. He also went to buy some butter and jam. Both of them met in the lift but they turned their faces in the opposite sides.

When the lift opened, they went to Sams Bakery. But, Uncle Sam was closing the bakery.

Santu said, “Please uncle, I just want bread. Nothing else.

“Mantu said, “ Uncle, just a bottle of jam for me.” But, Uncle said, “I am sorry boys. My stock is over. I have just got some broken biscuit pieces. Come tomorrow morning, you will have whatever you want.” Both Santu and Mantu were disappointed. They went to Linda’s Grocery stores. Linda was sitting on a chair and her face was very sad. Santu asked her, “What happened Madam Linda? Why do you look so sad ? I want some bread. “Mantu said,” And Madam Linda, butter or jam for myself. I have bread at home.”

Linda said in a feeble voice, “Santu and Mantu. I cannot help you because this afternoon, when I had gone for lunch, somebody looted my shop. I have made a police complaint dear. I am sorry.”

Santu and Bantu finally went to Robin’s “Cakes and Bakes” shop. Robin looked so furious and was shouting loudly. Both Santu and Mantu went near him.

They were scared to see him in a fit of anger. So, they asked slowly, “Robin uncle, can we get some bread and butter?” Robin screamed at them, “Hey boys, leave this place at once. I am already troubled by these wicked and cunning rats, who eat away all my pastries and eatables. I am myself so confused thinking about how to get rid of this rat menace. Leave me alone.”

Santu and Mantu started walking back to their homes. Their tummies were roaring with hunger.

Suddenly, they heard somebody giggling from behind. It was Patty Pig. Santu looked at her and said,”Why are laughing, you silly Patty? I am already very hungry and do not tease me by laughing like this.” Mantu also said, “Patty, why are you following us? I saw you at Sam’s Bakery also. Don’t you have any useful job to do?”.

Patty said, “Okay, I thought I will help both of you by giving an idea. But, if you are calling me silly, then I will have to go.”

Santu said, “Oh, I am sorry. What is your idea, by the way?” Patty said, “Santu, you have butter and jam at home. Bantu, you have bread with you. Why both of you are roaming here and there. Santu, share the butter and jam with Mantu and you Mantu, share your bread with Santu. Problem solved.”

Mantu looked at Santu and Santu at Mantu. Then, they shook hands with each other. They told Patty pig, “Hey Patty, thanks for the idea and also for making us friends once again. “Patty pig said, “Okay, but I do not give ideas free of cost. I charge one bunch of lettuce leaves for my wonderful ideas. Bring them when you come to school tomorrow. Bye!”

Both Santu and Bantu had Bread with butter and strawberry jam. “Friendship is Necessary. I won’t make this spelling mistake again” said Santu and Mantu laughed loudly.

The Flying Rabbit

Terry the Rabbit was very upset. He felt that he was inferior. He looked at the flying sparrows and thought, “These Sparrows are so lucky. How I wish I could fly like them! They can fly to places. They don’t even have to walk to school like me. I become tired by the time I reach school. I wish I could get wings somehow so that even I can fly.”

One day Terry was playing near the bank of a river. He happened to look around and found two feathers of a pigeon. Terry looked at them and felt immensely happy. He picked them up and brought them home. He carefully stuck the feathers onto his back using glue. Then he walked to the garden. Daisy the Sparrow was sitting on the branch of a Mango tree. Terry called out to her and said, “Daisy, now even I can fly like you.”

“Really? How come?” asked Daisy.

Terry hurriedly climbed up the Mango tree.

He tried to fly by fluttering the feathers, and with a thud he fell on the ground. Daisy burst out laughing. She said, “Terry, one can’t fly just by attaching two feathers.”

Terry got up and said, “Let’s bet on this. What would you give me if I start flying within a month?”

“Oh forget it!” said Daisy, “You shall never win the bet.”

“I will surely be able to fly within a month. I can vouch for that,” replied Terry.

“Well, if you win the bet, then I shall become your servant for a month,” said Daisy with a confident grin.

Terry agreed to the condition and walked away. He reached home thinking of ways to start flying. He spent a sleepless night thinking about the same thing; however, he couldn’t come up with a solution.

The next day he went to school. His science teacher Sammy, the Deer was talking about the year 1930, in which a balloon was made to fly by filling it with helium gas. He also mentioned that it was after this that the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane.

Terry got inspired by this and started thinking on the same lines. He went to the market and bought a big, transparent balloon and got it filled with helium. The moment it was filled with helium it rose up in the air. Terry held one end of the string in his hand and started flying off with the balloon. The birds who were flying at that time noticed this, and Daisy saw it too. They flew closer to Terry and were thrilled to see him flying. Daisy shouted out to Terry, “You have won the bet. You can come down to the ground now.”

Terry was unable to come down as the balloon was going higher up in the air. He was thoroughly enjoying the flight. Moreover, he was afraid that the birds and animals would see the balloon if he came down. After a while, the gas from the balloon started depleting and Terry fell on the ground with a thud.

He was bruised badly during the fall. Everyone saw the balloon lying beside Terry. Daisy said, “You deserved this because you tried to win the bet through unfair means.”

Teacher Sammy said, “Terry, nature has made everyone unique. Just like some birds cannot walk or run like us; similarly we too cannot fly like them. Therefore it is foolish to imitate anyone. Now let us all take Terry to the doctor.”

Terry had learnt a lesson. He apologized to Daisy and acknowledged the lesson learnt.

THE HARMFUL HERMIT

Pussy, the cat was feeling glum. She sat under the shade of a tree, looking forlorn. The reason for her sadness was that, over the years she had put on quite a bit of weight and was having trouble catching little mice and birds. Every time she would chase them, she would feel tired almost immediately and stop to catch her breath. By then, the mice and birds would be long gone.

Seeing her friend feeling sad, Lucy the cat walked up to her and asked her what the matter was.

“Oh, I was just thinking what it would be like to get your meals served to you without putting in any effort,” said Pussy. “It’s just that I’ve had so much trouble finding food lately that I haven’t had a single bite to eat in two days.”

“Oh Pussy, don’t be silly,” said Lucy. “Everybody knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You will always have to work hard to get the things you want. Stop wasting your time on these stupid thoughts and come with me. I’ll treat you to the yummy milk and cream I have at home.”

The two went to Lucy’s house and were enjoying some milk and cream when an old friend of Pussy’s walked up to them. It was Scruffy, the fox. He had changed quite a bit and had lost a lot of weight too.

“How are you, Pussy? You seem to be living well, your fat tummy proves it so,” said Scruffy.

“I’ve been alright, Scruffy. But tell me, where have you been all this while? You look different and in a good way,” sad Pussy.

“Well, I’ve given up my ways of cheating and living extravagantly and have moved to the himalayas. I spend the entire day meditating,” said Scruffy.

“The Himalayas? Isn’t is far away from civilization? What do you do for food there?” asked Pussy.

“To tell you the truth, food is the least of my concerns. The power of meditation is such that I can have the dish of my choice any time I want. In fact, anything I wish for can be had and all I need to do is meditate,” said Scruffy.

Pussy was in awe of how easy life was as a hermit. She thought of how difficult it was for her to catch mice every day, and how much she missed it. “Will you take me with you and teach me how to meditate? Life here has become too hard and I don’t like it one bit. Please take me as your student, I’ll go with you to the Himalayas and you can teach me your ways,” said Pussy.

“Oh Pussy, you don’t need to come to the Himalayas for this. I could teach you the incantation right now,” said Scruffy. “But…” began Scruffy and trailed off.

“What’s the matter, Scruffy? Please, go on,” said Pussy, earnestly.

“Well, the problem is that I can not teach the incantation to someone without accepting a teacher’s fee. You’re like my sister and I’m just thinking what I should do,” said Scruffy.

“Oh,” said Pussy and began to think. “All I have is this bowl of milk and cream,” she said. That was also all the food she had, and it wasn’t much.

“The teacher’s fee is a sign of respect and love, so the quantity does not matter. This will do just fine,” said Scruffy and whispered the incantation in Pussy’s ear.

“All you need to do is chant this incantation from sunset till sunrise the next day and the power will be unleashed. All you will need to do then is close your eyes and wish for your heart’s desire. When you open your eyes, it will be right in front of you,” said Scruffy and went on his way with the bowl of milk and cream.

The same evening, Pussy started chanting just when the sun set, chanted throughout the night, and only stopped when the sun’s rays touched the ground the next morning. She was ecstatic. She ran to Lucy’s house and said, “You treated me to milk and cream yesterday and today, I’ll be treating you to the same.”

Pussy closed her eyes tight and wished for two bowls of milk and cream. She opened her eyes expecting to see the bowls in front of her, but there were no such bowls anywhere.

Pussy tried again and once again, there were no bowls of milk and cream.

Pussy tried once more before giving up. “Scruffy said this would work,” said Pussy, feeling let down.

“What did he tell you?” asked Lucy.

“He asked me to chant an incantation and said that if I wished for something it would appear in front of me,” said Pussy.

Lucy laughed and said, “It seems like Scruffy’s been up to one of his tricks. How could you believe him?” she asked, laughing. “Nothing ever comes from nothing. For everything you need to do work, or in Scruffy’s case, dupe someone out of their hard work and trick them into giving it away.”

Pussy realised that Scruffy had cheated her out of her bowl of milk and cream and felt silly for believing him.

“Come on,” said Lucy. “Let’s go to the jungle and catch some mice.”

Pussy agreed and off they went. Pussy had learnt that the only secret to fulfilling your heart’s desires is hard work.

The Proud Little Cherry Blossom

It was the month of March, but the wind still blew cool. The sun was not yet ready to shed his warmest rays on the waiting earth. Some of the birds had come back, and more were coming back. Gorgeous blossoms were already showing their pink and white blooms. And from bush and tree, field and flower, came the glad cry, “Spring is here! Spring is here.”

A beautiful maiden stopped in the orchard which was in full bloom. She picked a branch of cherry blossoms to take home with her. Whoever saw the blossom praised its beauty and fragrance. Soon, the blossom became proud, and thought that beauty was the only valuable thing in the world.

One day, as the cherry blossom thought, “None of the plants are as beautiful as I am. They seem just poor and plain.”

A little common yellow flower, which seemed to lift up its sunny head and grow everywhere caught her attention. Seeing the flower, the cherry blossom said, “Plain little flower, what is your name?”

“I am called the dandelion,” replied the little flower.

“Poor little plant,” said the cherry blossom. “It is not your fault. You must feel sad to have such a plain and ugly name.”

But, before the little plant could even think of a suitable reply, a lovely little sunbeam came dancing along. It said, “I see no ugly flowers. All flowers are beautiful!”

The sunbeam kissed the cherry blossom and turned to the dandelion. It gave a lingering, long to kiss the little yellow fellow.

Soon, some little children came tripping across the field. They laughed in joy when they saw the dandelions and kissed the flowers with delight. They made wreaths and dainty chains out of the dandelions. Carefully, they plucked those that had gone to seed, and tried to blow the feathery down off with one breath, making joyous wishes.

“Do you see the beauty of the dandelion?” asked the sunbeam to the cherry blossom.

“Only to children are they beautiful,” replied the proud cherry blossom.

An old woman came into the field. She gathered the roots of the dandelions, out of which she made tea for the sick, and she sold others for money. “But beauty is better than all this,” said the cherry blossom, haughtily.

Just then, the beautiful maiden arrived. She carried something which looked like a flower in her hand. She covered it carefully from the wind.

Children, what do you think it was? It was the feathery crown of the dandelion. “See! how attractive it is!” she said. “I will paint it in a picture with the cherry blossoms.”

Before going home to rest, the sunbeam first kissed the cherry blossom. As he stooped low to kiss the dandelion, the cherry blossom blushed with shame.

Real Freedom

Anisa the Butterfly was in an elated mood. She was enjoying the pleasant weather and flying through the park.

Suddenly, a bumble bee appeared in front of Anisa. Anisa got afraid, and changed her way. She turned around and saw that some more bumble bees were following her.

She tried to fly faster, however the bumble bees reached her.

Two of them blocked her way. “Why are they following me? What do they want from me? Have I ever done any wrong to them that they are here to take revenge?” Millions of such thoughts started crossing her mind.

She remembered her friends complaining of the troubles caused to them by those bumble bees. They were suffering because of the harm caused by the bumble bees. She slowed down as the bumble bees approached her.

The bumble bees surrounded Anisa. She was startled and couldn’t speak a word. One of the bumble bees went ahead and caught hold of her wing. Anisa found it difficult to move. All she did was look at the bees with helpless eyes and wonder what they were going to do with her. She looked around but there was no one who could rescue her. The bumble bees made fun of Anisa and laughed at her. Anisa was on the verge of crying.

After troubling Anisa by surrounding her and blocking her path for a while, the bumble bees flew away.

Anisa breathed a sigh of relief. She was no more in danger, however she kept thinking about the incident over and over again. She also kept brooding over the fact that the other butterflies were facing the same situation daily.

She thought, “Why is it that we do not have the freedom to be safe like others? Why can’t we fly wherever we want without anyone harassing us? Is this what the society is made for?

Why can’t our society think of taking appropriate steps to curb these practices?”

Anisa was weeping inconsolably. She had intended to enjoy the pleasant climate but ended up spoiling her day instead.

There was a tiny rose plant who had witnessed the entire episode. He looked at Anisa and called out to her, “Why are you weeping? Come here. Sit on the rose petal.”

Anisa sat on one of the petals. She immediately fluttered her wings and got up from there.

“Why did you get up?” asked the plant.

“These thorns hurt me,” replied Anisa.

The plant smiled and asked, “How are my flowers?”

“Very beautiful! Very soft! Very delicate!” replied Anisa.

The plant said, “So when these delicate flowers can protect themselves, then why can’t you?”

“What do you mean?” asked Anisa.

“You have to change with circumstances,” replied the plant, “These buds were as delicate as you are. They too were troubled by others. They learnt to defend themselves with the thorns. One should change according to the need of the hour. You are delicate, beautiful and soft, but you should become strong when someone tries to take advantage of your innocence.

You will have to fight your battle alone. Don’t depend on others to come to your rescue every time. Be strong and courageous. You cannot live a helpless and a dependent life. The wind changes its direction, the climate keeps changing, time too changes continuously. Similarly, you have to adapt to changing circumstances. Have strength and courage to fight the injustice. And that will enable you to experience real freedom.”

Anisa realised that she had to help herself and find solutions to her problems.

She said to the plant, “Thank you, friend. You have shown me the right path. I have no complaints against anyone now.”

Anisa said this and flew high in the air with happiness and cheer. Her flight indicated that she was confident enough to defend herself and had no worries. She was indeed free!

Lazy Coco

Coco was a lazy bird who lived in Sunshine Woods. He would fool unsuspecting animals and get his work done. While some animals were aware of his ways and would stay clear of him, many fell prey to his tricks.

One day, a cyclone hit the forest. It rained heavily for days. Nobody could step out. All the animals were given a prior warning about the cyclone and were asked to stock food at home. But Coco hadn’t paid heed to the warning, so he was stuck in his nest without anything to eat.

After three days, it finally stopped raining. Coco flew out of his nest to look for some food. He was starving.

After searching for a few minutes, Coco decided it was too much effort to look for food. So, he went to meet his neighbour Becky, the cow.

“Hello, Becky! How are you?” asked Coco.

“I am okay. The cyclone was severe, wasn’t it?” said Becky.

“Yes. I was quite scared,” said Coco.

“I just met our neighbours. They were all terrified, too,” said Becky.

“I don’t care about them. I was talking about myself,” said Coco. “I haven’t eaten since the cyclone hit. I am very hungry.”

“Then what are you doing here? Hurry up, and go find some food before it starts to rain again,” said Becky.

“Where will I look for food in this slush? Why don’t you share your food with me?” suggested Coco.

“Sure. If you will eat grass, I’ll be happy to share some with you,” said Becky.

“I can’t eat grass! I’ll figure something else,” Coco said irritatedly and flew away.

“That lazy Coco always tries to reap the benefit of someone else’s hard work. He had enough time to stock food before the cyclone but he didn’t. And now he wants my food,” Becky said to herself.

Meanwhile, Coco was in search of someone who he could fool into giving him food. Just then, he saw Billy, the goat.

“Hello, Billy! How are you, my friend?” greeted Coco.

“I am doing great!” said Billy.

Coco was surprised. “Really? Didn’t you go hungry from being stuck at home for days?” he asked.

“Not at all. The moment they issued a warning about the cyclone, I collected enough food to last me for days and stored it at home,” said Billy.

You are very smart, Billy,” appreciated Coco. “But you have overlooked an important problem.”

“What problem?” asked Billy.

“When it rains, the moisture in the air increases. This moisture will spoil stored food,” said Coco.

“Oh! I didn’t know that!” said Billy.

“You need to check your food right away. I can help you if you like,” offered Coco.

“Thank you, Coco. That would be great. Please come along,” said Billy, leading the way to his house.

At Billy’s house, the two checked the sacks of food.

“This sack is full of worms,” said Coco, inspecting a sack of grains.

“Where? I can’t see anything,” said Billy.

“Your eyesight is weak, Billy. Trust me. I’ll clean this up for you,” said Coco, quickly gobbling down fistfuls of grains.

“What are you doing?” asked Billy shocked.

“Can’t you see? I am cleaning the grains,” said Coco.

“You’ve cleaned it enough. Give it back to me!” said Billy, snatching the sack from Coco. By then, Coco had emptied half of it.

“See? The grains have become clean,” said Coco.

“You think I don’t know what your plan is? You are lazy to find your own food, so you fooled me into giving you some. Why didn’t you just tell me so?” asked Billy.

“Where’s the fun in that? All you animals would have anyway stocked loads of food, so why should I take the effort to look for food,” replied Coco coolly.

“I should have listened to the other animals who warned me about you. Get out of my house, you sly bird!” said Billy angrily.

“Fine! Bye, Billy!” said Coco, flying away.

This time, it was Billy who had learnt a lesson about not trusting those who mean no good.

The Plants Started Smiling

Kiku was a notorious child and each time he entered the garden all the flowers- marigold, jasmine, gulmohar and rose felt scared and angry. They whispered to each other, “The naughty boy is here. He will pluck us and pull off our tender leaves.”

The marigold plant on the side said, “Jasmine dear, he tramples my tiny plants under his feet. It hurts me so much.”

And soon what the flower plants were saying came to be true as Kiku started plucking and breaking all the flowers one by one.

Just then his sister came into the garden and saw him plucking the flowers and shouted at him, “Kiku, you are again breaking the flowers and the plants. How many times I have said that you are not to pluck and break the flowers! What do you get by breaking them?”

Unaffected by his sister’s words he laughed loudly.

“Wait, I will teach you a lesson,” she said and ran after him. Kiku started running in the garden while his sister tried to catch him.

Suddenly, he bumped into a flowerpot and fell down with a big thud and hurt his hand against the stone fence. At the sight of his bleeding wound, Kiku got scared and started to cry in pain. On hearing the noise his mother came out of the house and looked at Kiku’s wound.

“Look, mummy, Kiku plucked all the flowers again,” his sister complained to their mother and told her everything.

“Go inside quickly and bring some cotton and antiseptic cream,” mother told the sister.

“See, Kiku, how much it pains when you get hurt! And you hurt these flowers and plants everyday. They too feel the pain as you do,” Kiku’s mother tried to explain him.

Kiku was confused by what his mother was saying about plants. He said “Mummy, how can plants feel pain? They are lifeless like my toys.”

“No son, they too have life in them like us,” said his mother.

“If they have life like us, why do they keep standing in one place? Why don’t they walk and run like us?” Kiku asked his mother.

“Kiku, they are fixed to the soil with their roots. They get their nourishment from the soil. You have seen that if we do not water the plants, they dry up and die. The green leaves become yellow or grey,” his mother explained.

“Do the plants also eat food? Who cooks food for them?” Kiku asked innocently.

His mother smiled. She replied, “The plants make their own food with the help of sun rays. They get their energy from the sun. And with the help of this energy their roots take the nourishing matter from the soil and send it to the stems. From the stems the nourishing materials go to the branches and then to the leaves, which are the food factory of the plant.”

Kiku still could not understand. So, his mother said, “Okay, tell me one thing. When you pluck flowers, then don’t new flowers grow again on the plants in a few days? This is because they have life in them. You must have seen small plants growing and becoming big. Do your toys ever grow?”

Kiku realized what his mother was trying to make him understand. “I had not thought about this, he said.

Meanwhile his sister brought the medicine and cotton. Kiku’s mother cleaned the wound with water and cotton and put ointment on it.

Kiku apologized to his sister and said, “Now I have realized my mistake. I will not pluck flowers or break their leaves or trample on plants. I did not realize they were living things and get hurt.”

Hearing this not only his mother and sister became happy, with them all the plants too started smiling in relief.

Character is what makes a Mouse

Mohan Mouse liked to walk home from school everyday. Often, along his way home, he would think about everything that had happened during the day in his class. He would recollect the things his friends did and said, and what his teachers taught and spoke of during the lessons.

The walk made Mohan Mouse feel good. Not only did it help him exercise but it also made him feel relaxed and at ease since the route home was surrounded by some shady green trees.

The only thing that Mohan Mouse didn’t like during his walk was his thoughts being interrupted. And today, Mohan Mouse was strolling along as usual. He was smiling as he recollected how his teacher had praised him for the assignment he had done so well when he was suddenly interrupted.

hita Mohan Mouse’s shoe hit a big rock that was lying on the sidewalk. Mohan tripped and swayed and almost fell down.

“Ow! This is ridiculous!” Mohan Mouse said furiously. “I could have fallen down and hurt myself. It was fortunate that I didn’t lose my balance. Who would be silly enough to leave a rock this big on the sidewalk?” Mohan Mouse was really very annoyed. “And what I am most upset about is that my pleasant thoughts have been interrupted because of this silly rock!” he grumbled.

Mohan Mouse lifted his foot and gave the rock a hard kick. He thought that the rock would roll and go further ahead, far away from him. But the rock didn’t move an inch.

He then gathered all his strength and gave the rock another kick. The rock flew through the air now. And to Mohan Mouse’s great horror, it hit the glass pane of a window of a nearby house.

“Yikes!” Mohan said and gasped. “I have broken someone’s window and caused them damage.”

Mohan Mouse’s knees began to shake. He was terrified. He flew like the wind, hoping no one had seen him. He knew that running away was a cowardly thing to do. But at the same time, he was scared and didn’t want anyone to come out of the house and scold him.

Mohan Mouse knew that he would be in big trouble if someone saw him. And so, he ran all the way and only stopped after he had entered his house. He then shut himself in his bedroom.

“Oh dear me!” Mohan Mouse muttered to himself. “Maybe I should tell someone about what I’ve done? Maybe I should tell Ma and Pa?” But he then decided against it. “They might punish me for being careless and for damaging someone’s property,” he thought. “I better keep quiet about it. It will be my little secret, that’s all!” Mohan Mouse began to feel relaxed. He was sure that he would get away scot free since he was sure that no one had seen him. “No one knows I was responsible for breaking the window,” he thought confidently. “I have no reason to fear.”

But then something happened that surprised Mohan no end. He found that he could think of nothing else but the incident. “I have done something wrong,” he thought and sighed every now and then. “I should own up and tell someone the truth.”

Soon, Mohan Mouse started feeling guilty. He found that he couldn’t sleep a wink at night. He sat up in bed, wondering what to do.

“I am very ashamed of myself,” Mohan Mouse whispered to himself. “I will go to the house tomorrow and apologise to the owner for breaking the window.”

The next morning, he told his parents about what had happened. “I have money saved in my piggy bank,” he said. “I am going to offer to pay for the damage I’ve caused.”

Mohan’s parents felt very proud of him. “Since you have been so honest and told us the truth, we will help you and pay for the damages. You can keep your money in the piggy bank and use it another day. We appreciate your truthfulness and this will be your reward, Mohan.”

Mohan Mouse felt happy that he had such supportive parents. He then scampered towards the house. He rang the door bell and waited, his heart thumping like a drum. A man opened the door. “Can I help you?” he asked Mohan Mouse, looking slightly surprised. “Er…I broke your window pane accidentally yesterday,” Mohan Mouse said politely, even though he was feeling very nervous. “I have come to apologise. I am really very sorry.”

Ah!” the man said. “So, it was you who broke my window?”

“Yes,” Mohan Mouse said softly. He then gave the man an envelope which contained the money his parents had given him. The man opened the envelope and looked puzzled. “I’d like to pay for the damages,” Mohan Mouse said bravely.

The man smiled at Mohan and patted his little head. “It was very brave of you to come back and offer money for the repairs,” he said. “I’m sorry once again,” Mohan Mouse replied sincerely.

“You coming back here and owning up shows that you have character,” the man said. “Your parents must be very proud of you.”

Mohan Mouse smiled. He felt much better. He realised that even though he had made a mistake, he had set it right, by doing the right thing.

“I am glad I have character,” he said to himself as he walked away. “After all, it is character that makes a mouse!”

Rancho’s Challenge

Ever since Barry, the buffalo had won the National Forest Boxing Championship, he was on cloud nine. Having proved that he was the strongest, he began to consider himself better than the rest of the animals. He especially did not think that smaller animals were even worth talking to.

“Move out my way or else I’ll throw you aside!” Barry threatened Rancho, the porcupine, one day.

“Watch how you speak, Barry. I am not scared of you,” retorted Rancho.

“Really? Let me teach you a lesson,” said Barry, lifting Rancho and tossing him afar.

Fortunately, Rancho landed on a soft bed of grass, and was uninjured.

“Whew! That was a close shave!” said Rancho, massaging his waist.

A few days later, some animals gathered at Polly, the peacock’s tea stall to discuss Barry’s behaviour.

“Barry’s bullying is intolerable,” said Frodo, the frog. “Yesterday, he tried to trample me under his feet for talking to him. He said, being a small creature, I shouldn’t even dare to look at him.”

“That is outrageous! He thinks he is superior to all of us,” said Gina, the squirrel, enraged.

“We should do something about his behaviour,” said Misu, the mouse.

“I complained about him to our king Leo, the lion. He said that since he has just become the king, he doesn’t want to cause a rift between animals by taking a stand. Moreover, most of the larger animals respect Barry, so he doesn’t want to anger them and lose their support,” said Rancho.

“What about our support? Don’t we matter to King Leo? We have rights too,” said Polly. “We live in this forest and work as hard as any of them.”

“You are right, but who’s going to support us? Who will take a stand to protect us?” asked Anto, the ant.

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Barry had come out of nowhere and was charging towards them. All the animals who had gathered at the tea stall, ran helter-skelter. Rancho tried to stop them, but no one listened to him. Rancho was left to face Barry alone.

“So, you are the leader of these animals! How dare you rally them against me?” fumed Barry.

“We were discussing how your behaviour has got out of hand. We, the smaller animals, have decided to not tolerate your bullying anymore,” said Rancho.

“Oh, really? What do you plan to do? Fight me?” Barry laughed.

“Yes! Let’s meet at the ground tomorrow in the presence of all the animals and fight. If I win, you should apologise to all of us and stop bullying us,” said Rancho.

“I accept. But if I win, you should accept you are inferior to me and do my bidding,” said Barry.

Rancho agreed much to the shock of his friends who had gathered around by then.

“See you tomorrow, loser. Get ready to serve me,” said Barry, walking away.

“What have you done, Rancho? How will you fight him?” asked Gina worried.

“If it takes a fight to win back our dignity and respect, then so be it. But I will need all your support,” said Rancho.

“You’ve taken such a big risk for our sake; we will definitely support you!” all the animals assured him.

Next day, everyone, including King Leo, gathered at the ground to witness the fight. They all felt sorry for Rancho.

“How will this tiny porcupine defeat the strong and mighty Barry?” they wondered.

“Are you ready to lose, you tiny creature?” Barry taunted Rancho.

“Wait and see who is really going to lose,” said Rancho. He swiftly landed a punch on Barry’s stomach and ran.

“Come back, you coward! Let me teach you a lesson,” Barry shouted and ran after him.

As soon as Barry started to run, his feet sank into the ground. He struggled to move.

“What is the matter, you big bully? Can’t you run?” teased Rancho.

This enraged Barry even more. But the more he struggled to get out, the more he seemed to sink into the ground. He was helpless. The spectators laughed at Barry.

“Look at our boxing champ struggling to even walk!” said one of them.

“He let a small porcupine get the better of him,” laughed another.

Barry was embarrassed.

Rancho walked up to him and said, “You are indeed stronger than all of us, but you should use your strength to help those who are weaker than you; not bully them.”

Barry felt bad for the way he had treated the smaller animals. “Forgive me, Rancho. My arrogance blinded me. I apologise to everyone.”

Rancho and his friends accepted Barry’s apology, and helped him get out.

Later that day, King Leo invited Rancho to the palace to applaud him for his win over Barry. “How did Barry sink into the ground and you didn’t?” he asked Rancho.

“Last night, I got the help of my mole friends who dug several tunnels under the ground and made it loose. It was done in such a way that if any large or heavy animal walked or ran on it, the ground would cave in, trapping the animal,” said Rancho.

King Leo appreciated Rancho’s smartness.

The Boy Who Could Carry the Mountain- An Indian folktale Retold by Rohini Ramakrishnan

Rakesh and Ramu came running to the riverside. They wanted to be the first to reach, so that they could grab the best aerial roots of the big banyan tree to swing on.

“Where is Hari?” asked Ramu. Their friend was nowhere to be seen.

“He must be still eating his breakfast,” joked Rakesh.

“Yes. He does loves his idlis,” said Ramu.

“His mother makes the most delicious onion chutney and drumstick sambar,” said Ramu, remembering the breakfast he had shared with Hari recently. The river flowed on smoothly. The sun was shining brightly. It was a warm morning. Rakesh and Ramu looked up at the banyan tree. None of the other children from the village had turned up yet, so they were free to choose their roots leisurely. Usually, an argument would erupt over the choice of roots.

“Where is this boy?” grumbled Rakesh.

Suddenly, the two boys heard Hari shouting out to them.

“Raamuuu! Rakesh! Come here quickly!”

They saw Hari almost rolling down the small hillock a few metres away.

“What happened?” they asked.

Gradually, Hari’s panting stopped and he was able to speak.

“You must come and see this,” said Hari.

“See what?” asked Ramu.

“I’ll tell you in a bit; just come with me now,” said Hari, running back the same way he had come.

The other two ran behind him. Together, they climbed the hillock. When they came down, they were near the village boundary. The river water tumbled over the big, black boulders. There were goats grazing and they could hear the buzz of the bees around a hive that was on an enormous jackfruit tree.

Hari kept running till he reached a boy standing near the river. He was of their age. As they went near him, Hari turned to his friends and introduced the boy, “This is Sethu. He is new here. He says he can carry this mountain on his shoulders.”

Rakesh and Ramu turned to look at the mountain behind Sethu. They knew the mountain all too well. They had climbed up its slippery slopes numerous times to search for lost goats. They had even hid behind the huge boulders while playing hide-and-seek.

“This is the funniest thing we’ve heard all day!” the two laughed loudly.

Hari felt bad. He looked at Sethu, who simply smiled a quiet, wise smile. Rakesh and Ramu were puzzled by his smile.

“You really mean it?” asked Ramu surprised.

“Of course I do,” replied Sethu calmly.

“Then prove you can lift the mountain!” said Rakesh.

Sethu continued to smile confidently and said, “Alright. I will prove it to you but only on one condition.”

“What condition?” asked Ramu.

“You have to feed me for three days and on the fourth day, I will carry the mountain,” replied Sethu.

Ramu, Rakesh and Sethu huddled to discuss it.

“Do you think he can really carry the mountain?” asked Ramu in a low voice.

“There is no harm in giving him a chance to prove his claim,” said Ramesh.

“And besides, if he does carry that mountain, we would be the first among our friends to have seen such a thing. Then we can use this fact to demand the best roots to swing on every day,” said Sethu excitedly.

The three friends agreed. For the next three days, the three friends took turns to feed Sethu.

On the first day, Hari brought a big tiffin carrier filled with big, fluffy idlis, sambar and fiery, red-hot onion chutney. Sethu gulped them down within minutes.

On the second day, Rakesh and Ramu brought lunch, which included tamarind rice, potato fry, papads, curd with pickles and a big bottle of buttermilk to wash it all down. After eating, Sethu laid down under the shady banyan tree to have a nap.

On the third day, the three brought whatever snacks their mothers had made at home—murukkus, samosas, laddus, roasted groundnuts, vadas and so on.

“Some rotis and chicken curry would have been nice. But these will do, too,” said Sethu, while munching on a samosa.

Sethu enjoyed three days of tasty meals and relaxing naps.

“This must be in preparation for the feat,” thought the three friends.

That night, the boys were so excited that they could not sleep a wink.

The next day, as discussed, the friends met at 4 p.m. at the foot of the mountain. As soon as Sethu joined them, the friends could not contain themselves anymore. They started to ask Sethu all sorts of questions.

“Did you bring a shovel to dig the mountain?”

“Are you going to use a magic spell to lift the mountain?”

“How can you hold it up with your skinny hands?”

Sethu did not answer them. Instead, he took his time assessing the mountain—walking up and down, stopping in between to get a good look it, and holding his head thoughtfully as wondering which would be the best way to lift the mountain.

Finally, he turned to look at them and gave them a calm, wise smile and announced, “Okay, I am ready.”

The three friends looked on wide-eyed in anticipation.

Sethu took his position near the mountain and said, “Now you three can lift the mountain and carefully place it on my shoulders.”

The friends were stunned.

“Hurry up! I don’t have all day,” said Ramesh

“But…but…” is all the other three could say.

Looking at the confusion on their faces, Sethu said, “I said I would carry the mountain on my shoulders; not lift it off the ground.”

The boys realised that Sethu had tricked them. Their shock turned to a frown.

“Please don’t hate me. I did it for a reason,” said Sethu, smiling sheepishly.

“What is the reason?” asked Sethu.

“I had heard so much about your mothers’ cooking that I wanted to try some for myself. So, I came up with this plot to get you guys to feed me,” confessed Sethu.

The three friends looked at each other and then burst out laughing. The sound of their laughter filled the valley.

“You sly fox!” said Ramesh laughing.

“I have an idea! How about we use this to trick the other kids into giving us the best roots to swing on?” suggested Ramu. “This is a great idea!” they all agreed.

The four friends ran back to banyan tree, eager to try the trick.

The Proud Tortoise

All the animals in Shringar forest lived in love and harmony. Kutkut squirrel, Minku monkey, Chatori sparrow, Bhola bear and Kuchoo rabbit lived along the river which flowed through the forest. Kachaalu tortoise also lived in the river. Unlike everyone, he was very proud and arrogant by nature.

Kutkut squirrel lived on the tree near the river and tried to make friends with Kachaalu who would not speak to anyone. He was always ready to pick a fight with anyone he could find. He was very proud of his personality and looks. He ignored all the animals of the Shringar forest.

If any of the animals wanted to ride along the river on his back, he would not answer them or he would take them and topple them midway inside the river and mock them.

Kachaalu would say, “I am not a tortoise up for rides. I am here to take the world for a stride! I am best suited for the seas and not this river.”

Kutkut squirrel, Minku monkey, Chatori sparrow, Bhola bear and Kuchoo rabbit would play in the forest the whole day. Unlike them Kachaalu would stay away, building castles in the air. One day Kachaalu asked everyone to gather and declared, “I am travelling towards the larger part of the world, the sea. All of you continue your stay in this small Shringar forest while I am off to have some fun!”

Having said this, Kachaalu set out on his journey. After swimming for a week, he reached the sea and was overjoyed at the sight of it.

Kachaalu kept wandering here and there in the sea. He wanted to be friends with the big fish in the sea but they just drove him away saying, “We will never be friends with a small tortoise like you.”

Tears rolled down Kachaalu’s eyes. He now missed the love and affection showered on him by the animals Shringar forest even though he had always quarrelled with them.

“No one is concerned about me here!

Neither do they want to be friends with me nor are they are bothered about my welfare,” he thought to himself.

Kachaalu thought of going back to Shringar forest. But what would he do if everyone in the forest laughed at him.

But he felt homesick and decided to go back to the forest. Kachaalu was scared. His mind raced with thoughts about his old friends and if they would forgive him. He wondered if they would love him like before. With these feelings Kachaalu made his way to the forest.

On reaching Shrinagar forest, Kachaalu saw his friends looking worried. He asked Kutkut squirrel, “Oh Kutkut, why are so sad?” At the sound of Kachaalu’s words she jumped in surprise.

“Hey Kachaalu, Are you fine? We were all worried about you,” she said with happiness.

Hearing her words, Kachaalu started to cry. “Please forgive me, my dear friend. You always tried to love me but I was too proud. I should leave from here. I don’t deserve your love.”

Just then, Bhola bear said, “No, my dear friend, you are not going anywhere. This Shringar forest will always continue to be your home as it has been till now. Wipe your tears and give me a hug.”

Putting an end to this, all the animals rushed to hug Kachaalu.

Shringar forest thus was once again home to lots of love, joy, harmony and happiness.

Little Zena

Zena was a little girl. She was small for her age and small in size. She was an active and a happy child until she was very small. As she started growing up, things began to change.

Zena used to drink milk. She also ate milk products like butter, cheese and milk sweets.

However, when it came to eating vegetables and other healthy foods, she would not touch them. Her mother used to worry.

Her mother thought, “What will happen to my Zena if she doesn’t eat well? Where will she get energy from?”

So Zena’s mother came up with an idea. She bought a pet dog, Gimps for a little Zena. During meal times, she used to keep the dog with Zena. With the dog for company, she would eat well.

However, things soon changed. Since Zena didn’t like the food, she began to feed all her food to Gimps when her mother was not looking. This went on for a while.

After a few months, when Mummy took little Zena to the doctor, she had neither grown in height nor in weight. Her skin was paler.

Unlike before, she also began to cry over little things. This surprised both Zena’s mother and the doctor.

The doctor asked Zena’s mother, “Why is it that your baby is not growing into a healthy child? Don’t you give her proper food?”

Zena’s mother didn’t know how to answer this question. She had thought that Zena had finally been eating well.

This situation remained so for a few months.

Then, one day a strange thing occurred. Little Zena was sleeping. Gimps, her pet dog, was also sleeping near her on the floor.

While sleeping, Zena dreamt that her dog Gimps was eating all her food. Day by day, he was growing into a bigger dog, whereas Zena had remained the same tiny little girl.

Not only her dog, but all the insects in the house, and the birds and animals that passed by her house had started growing. All of them looked like giants.

As she saw them, Zena was terrified.

Suddenly, she woke up from her nightmare and started crying.

Her mother, who was sleeping next to her, also woke up with a start.

She tried to console her little girl. She offered her milk as she thought Zena might be crying as she was hungry.

However, Zena continued crying. She asked her mother for green vegetables. This made her mother smile.

Perhaps Mummy now knew the reason why Zena had finally agreed to eat healthy foods.

From that day onwards, Mummy never had to force Zena to eat healthy foods. As the years passed by, Zena grew up to become a very healthy and strong girl.

Sir Humphry Davy

Penzance, England was a 17th century village situated near the sea. It was a small village covered with dense forests on all sides. There were huge mountains, valleys and mines at some distance from the village. The villagers worked in these mines and earned their living.

Little Sir Humphry Davy was a resident of this village. He was a pensive kid. He sat near the seashore and kept staring at the waves and slipped into deep thoughts. He had good analysing skills and was very imaginative. He had an eye for detail while his imagination was out of the box.

Sir Humphry Davy’s friends were always busy in playing and having fun, whereas Sir Humphry Davy kept himself busy in studying the mountains. Sometimes he tasted the seawater and wondered why it is salty. “What in the sea water gives it a salty taste?” he thought. He often smelt the gases coming out of the stove and tried to find out what effect those gases have on human body.

Sir Humphry Davy was keen on studying nature more than his studies. He studied the trees, birds, animals, wildlife, sky, mountains, and stones. He also made notes in his diary.

One day, Sir Humphry Davy drew a picture of a strange lamp in his notebook. It was an oil lamp that was covered by a mesh of olive branches.

“How foolish is this!” said his friend looking at the picture, “If you make a web of olive branches, they will get burnt.”

“And the web will decrease the brightness of light. What is the use of designing a lamp that doesn’t provide adequate light?” added another friend.

“Now please stop drawing such useless pictures and come out to play with us,” insisted his friends.

Sir Humphry Davy replied, “I am sorry. I won’t be able to join you. I have bought a book on chemistry from the library. I have planned to read the entire book today.”

Sir Humphry Davy began to read the book with utmost interest. He also conducted some minor experiments.

He did not have sufficient resources. Hence he managed with whatever little he had. He used his kitchen stove as the laboratory burner to conduct heating experiments. He used to get so engrossed with his work that he often forgot to have meals. Sometimes he stayed up all night working.

When Sir Humphry Davy became an adult, he developed interest in a new kind of gas. He found a gas which would make one laugh hysterically when one smelt it. Scientists believed that it was a poisonous gas and was fatal to human beings as well as animals.

Sir Humphry Davy was brave and curious. He repeatedly smelt the gas a number of times, and hence proved that it is not a fatal gas and can be put to use for beneficial purposes.

The chemical name of that gas was nitrous oxide. It is also known as ‘Laughing gas’. It is known to reduce the sensation of pain. Medical practitioners soon accepted Sir Humphry Davy’s research, and stated using the laughing gas prior to surgeries. It helped in easing the pain sensation in patients. Sir Humphry Davy became famous all over owing to his research.

Sir Humphry Davy now started his research on electricity. He found that if light energy is passed through water, the latter splits into hydrogen and oxygen. He passed light through various acids, solutions and mixtures. He noticed several chemical changes taking place in the mixtures. This was known as electrolysis of water.

Sir Humphry Davy also extracted salt from the sea and studied it. He discovered two elements called sodium and potassium from the salt.

Sodium is a very active salt. It catches fire when it comes in contact with water. Hence sodium is always kept immersed in oil. The discovery of sodium and potassium was another feather in Sir Humphry Davy’s cap.

During those times, people had to frequently face explosions in mines. The primary reason for these explosions were combustible gases called Firedamp, one of which is methane. These gases accumulated in large amounts in those mines. People had to light lamps to get rid of the darkness in the mines. This lighting of the lamp and the presence of damp gases caused the mine explosion. Many people lost their lives due to these explosions.

Sir Humphry Davy started studying the combustible gases in the year 1815. He found that damp gases required a lot of air and high temperature in order to catch fire. He also found that these gases cannot catch fire in a metal pipe as the metal reduces the surrounding temperature. Sir Humphry Davy thus invented a safety lamp based on this principle.

He made a thick elemental mesh around the lamp. The lamp emitted bright light inside the mine. The metal framework lowered the temperature, eliminating the risk of an explosion. This discovery of Sir Humphry Davy was considered no less than a miracle. In this manner, the lamp allowed miners to work safely in the presence of combustible gases. This lamp was named as ‘Davy’s Safety Lamp’.

This lamp looked exactly like the one Sir Humphry Davy had drawn in his childhood, and his friends had made fun of it. The only difference was that this lamp had a metal framework as opposed to lamps made up of olive branches.

With all of his discoveries and inventions, Sir Humphry Davy proved that imagination is useful and is a gateway to reality.

One can manifest his imagination into reality if he works hard and is dedicated. And thus one can aid in the betterment of mankind.

3-Step Magic Plan

Champakvan was abuzz with excitement. All the animals had been working hard for months preparing for the Champakvan Annual Vegetable Competition. Finally, the day arrived when their farm produce would be judged and the “Best Vegetable” award would be announced.

As always, King Shersingh lion and Prime Minister Blacky bear were the judges. The participants eagerly awaited their turn to present the ‘vegetable of their labour.

There were giant pumpkins, enormous cabbages, huge carrots and tall drumsticks. Cheeku rabbit, Damru donkey, Jumbo elephant and Baddy fox stood proudly next to their exhibits. Next to these eye-catching displays was Jumpy monkey’s small stall with a basket of regular-sized tomatoes. The other animals could not control their amusement at seeing Jumpy’s poor display. They were sure that Jumpy would not even qualify for the competition.

“I am sure to win this competition. Look at the size of my pumpkin,” said Jumbo proudly.

“Don’t be so confident. My carrots shine like gold,” said Cheeku.

“Yes. But we all know who isn’t winning the competition this time,” said Baddy, looking at Jumpy.

“Jumpy, don’t forget to get your participation certificate before you leave,” said Damru.

Everybody laughed. Jumpy did not respond to the comments. He continued to quietly wait for his turn to be judged.

Meanwhile, Shersingh and Blacky visited each participant’s stall. They tasted each vegetable and asked questions about how the vegetables were grown and made notes about them.

“Look at the size of that pumpkin!” exclaimed Shersingh, surveying Jumbo’s display.

“So, how did you grow it, Jumbo?” asked Blacky.

“The secret to its growth is the use of pesticide,” said Jumbo. “I sprayed a good amount of it to kill all the worms. Then I removed chunks of soil to build a solid cement platform on which I placed the pumpkin so that it could continue to grow on a clean base.”

Next, it was Cheeku’s turn. “My gigantic, shiny carrots are the result of a special chemical spray that prevented the caterpillars and earthworms from getting anywhere near my vegetable patch. I also removed all the other plants that grew around the carrot patch, to make a place for those plants to grow without any competition.”

Baddy and Damru too explained how they used special chemicals to make their vegetables grow.

Baddy even diverted water from the stream to his garden to make sure his vegetables were always watered.

Finally, it was Jumpy’s turn. The judges tasted the tomatoes and were surprised at how tasty they were.

“Wow! Your tomatoes are so tasty!” said Shersingh. “What chemicals did you use?”

“Thank you, Sir. I did not use any chemicals at all,” said Jumpy.

Everyone was surprised. “Then, how did you manage to grow such tasty tomatoes?” asked Blacky.

“I began by tending to the soil using what I call the ‘three-step magic plan’. First, I dug a shallow pit, planted the tomato seeds and then watered them. This shallow pit held the water within it,

so the seeds had adequate water and there was no wastage of soil because the water wouldn’t run. Then, I planted lots of other plants around the tomato patchplants that would not compete with the tomato plants for the same nutrition. These plants made sure that the soil was not blown away by the wind,” said Jumpy.

Jumpy continued, “And lastly, I added bio-degradable waste, like vegetable peels and fruit pulp, to the soil to act as organic fertiliser and improve the quality of the soil. This is what made the tomatoes tasty.”

Shersingh and Blacky were impressed by Jumpy’s ‘three-step magic plan’ that was simple yet effective.

After a round of discussion with Blacky, Shersingh announced the winner of the Annual Vegetable Competition.

“I am proud to declare Jumpy as the winner of this year’s contest!” announced Shersingh. “Moreover, I also request all animals to hereby follow his ‘three-step magic plan’ while growing their fruits and vegetables.”

Jumpy was ecstatic. The other animals were puzzled.

“But his tomatoes were so small and dulllooking!” whined Jumbo.

“And what’s so special about his so-called magic plan?” asked Baddy.

“His tomatoes may be small but they were the tastiest of all the vegetables I tasted today. They were fresh and free of any chemicals, too. His magic plan is not about magic but about being environmentally conscious while growing plants. His method enriched the soil, did not waste water and did not kill the earthworms,” said Shersingh.

“Of what use are earthworms? They are just pests,” said Cheeku.

On the contrary, earthworms are extremely useful for your plants. They loosen up the soil, which helps increase the amount of air and water that gets into it. They also break down organic waste, like leaves and vegetable peels, into a form that the plants can use,” explained Shersingh.

The animals now realised why Jumpy was declared the winner. They went up to him to congratulate him.

“Congratulations, Jumpy! Your win was well deserved,” said Cheeku.

“Yes, it was. And we have also learnt how we can also grow vegetables and fruits without causing harm to the environment and wasting resources,” said Jumbo.

“We want to apologise for making fun of you earlier,” said Baddy.

“Thank you, friends. I am happy that you have learnt that it is not the size and appearance of the vegetable but how it is grown that matters,” said Jumpy.

“Could you help us with our farming? Our vegetables would be much better if we followed your method,” said Damru.

“Of course! I would love to help you all,” said a beaming Jumpy.

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