Q: Q: Does an apple a day really keeps the doctor away?
A: Indeed, provided you have a perfect aim.
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Q: What’s orange and sounds like a parrot
A: A carrot
Q: Q: Does an apple a day really keeps the doctor away?
A: Indeed, provided you have a perfect aim.
_____________________________________________________
Q: What’s orange and sounds like a parrot
A: A carrot
Acute deer lived in Sudervan. His name was Peelu. He was disinterested in studying. Peelu’s parents wanted him to study and do something good. A new school had commenced in Sundervan. Peelu’s parents got his admission done in that school.
Peelu tried to study a lot, but he couldn’t concentrate on his studies. His parents got very upset with him on this issue. They kept him out of the house for a whole day without food and water. And keep scolding him. After that Peelu promised to study hard, but this couldn’t happen. He failed his exams.
Chinky Rabbit was Peelu’s neighbour. She was Peelu’s classmate and would always come first in the class. Chinky’s parents had organized a party to celebrate her success. Peelu and his parents were also invited to the party. Everyone asked about Peelu’s result. Peelu’s parents informed everyone with a heavy heart that Peelu had failed.
Peelu felt very bad. He couldn’t raise his eyes out of shame. He sadly came back home. He started feeling that he is useless. He can never pass, and can never do anything well.
The school started again after the summer break. Whatever his teacher would teach, Peelu couldn’t understand. He stopped talking to his friends because they used to make fun of him.
He would sit for studying out of fear for his parents, but he couldn’t concentrate. When the result for the exams was declared, he had again failed.
He didn’t go home as he was scared about what he would tell his parents. He was roaming in the jungle. Suddenly he heard some voices near the bushes. He hid behind the bushes and started listening. A wild boar and a jackal were talking.
The jackal told the boar, “See, we have laid a very nice trap. Sher Singh comes here for a walk daily. He will definitely get trapped in the net. Our king Krur Singh will be so happy on hearing this news. He will reward us for catching Sundervan’s King Sher Singh.”
Peelu was taken aback on hearing this. Sher Singh was going to come there soon. He thought that he had to save his king’s life. Without any delay, he started to find Sher Singh. He had just gone a little further when he found Sher Singh on the way. He told him everything.
Sher Singh went to that spot with Peelu. He threw a big stone in the net which then got trapped in it.
Sher Singh invited all the animals of Sundervan for tea in the evening. He welcomed everyone and said, “Friends, I have given this party in the honour of Peelu. He saved my life today.” Then he narrated the entire story.
He called Peelu’s parents too on the stage and gave Peelu a bag full of chocolates. Peelu’s parents were overjoyed. In front of everyone, they asked Peelu to forgive them for scolding him.
Peelu realized that he had fulfilled his duty. He was feeling happy at the contentment of his parents. He had developed confidence in him too.
He had developed confidence in him too.
His parents too stopped nagging him all the time for studying.
Peelu decided that he will study with complete devotion and come first in the class. After that, when Peelu opened his books and began studying, he could understand the concepts.
He started liking books. He was surprised that why hadn’t he read the books with interest before.
When the exams came near, he started studying harder. When the results were declared, he was astounded. He had come first in the class. His teacher and friends applauded his efforts. Even his parents were very happy now.
Pijju Pigeon along with his wife Pijji was noticing a pair of swans coming to the river daily. They really liked the white colour of the swans.
One day Pijju went to the pair of swans and said, “Brother Swan, will you be our friend? We like your white colour very much.”
The swan turned towards him and smiled, “Even your colour is white.”
From that day onwards both pairs became friends. Whenever they would meet at the banks of Champa River, they would communicate a lot.
Pijju would question Mikku Swan a lot and Mikku would answer him patiently.
One day Pijju asked, “What attributes should a good friend have?”
Mikku said, “Helping each other in times of need. Trusting each other. Suggesting the right thing and the other should follow it. These are the signs of true friendship.”
Pijju’s next question was, “How can one know about the traits of a friend?”
“First get to know each other, then test your friend. Such friendship never breaks up.
“I want to say something. I don’t like one thing about you.”
Pijju was startled, “What’s that?”
“Why are you so timid? Mausi takes advantage of your cowardice. As soon as you see her, you close your eyes thinking that closing your eyes won’t let her see too. A coward dies before dying.”
Pijju asked, “What should I do?”
“Fight her. Destiny too favours the brave.”
“How?”
“Use your brain.”
Pijju started thinking, ‘Mikku is right. Why should I accept defeat before fighting?’
Pijju had made a nest in the verandah of Shelly’s house.
Pijji laid 2 eggs in it. Pijju and Pijji would dirty the verandah quite a lot.
Shelly got angry at that. She broke the nest and threw it on the road. Pijji began crying seeing the eggs on the road.
Pijju saw a man coming on a cycle. The eggs were about to come under his tyres when Pijju flew and sat on his handle. The cycle turned in other direction in a flurry and the eggs were saved.
Pijju saw a small pit nearby. He put the eggs with his beak in the pit and covered them with dry grass.
The eggs hatched after 2 days and the chicks came out. The danger had been averted.
When Mikku heard, he told Pijju, “You have made me proud. I am very happy.”
After a few days Pijji was happily eating grains in the garden.
Pijju was sitting on the terrace. He saw Mausi coming near. Pijji’s back was towards her. He started thinking, ‘How to save Pijji?’
Sometime before the gardener had cleared out the thorny bushes and thrown them on the terrace.
Pijju quickly threw those bushes in Mausi’s way. The thorns started pricking her. She cried in pain and ran away from there.
When Mikku heard all this, he was elated.
Many animals and birds of Champakvan too gathered there. Patting Pijju, Mikku said, “Your wisdom and bravery saved the lives of your chicks as well as Pijji.
Those who get scared during tough times can never stand up. I am proud of our friendship.”
“Yes friend, you have made me brave,” Pijju said with pride.
All of them burst into laughter.
All the 7 tiny yellow-coloured chicks were looking very cute with Tina Duck. “Today I will teach you to swim in a pond,” One day Tina told them.
All of them reached the pond side. Tina taught everyone how to waddle in the water and told them to descend in the pond behind her.
Tina went down in water. 5 chicks too went with her, but Nikku and Tikku did not go with them.
Tina called them many times, but they started crying, “The water will be cold, we will drown.”
Tina said, “The membrane which we have in our feet serves as a paddle, nothing will happen to you.” But both of them didn’t listen to her.
The 5 chicks that had been in water were very fresh whereas Nikku and Tikku were feeling sluggish.
They both were surprised thinking that why their siblings were not feeling cold even when the weather was chilly.
Even after many days, Tina hadn’t succeeded in making Nikku and Tikku swim in water. That day too Tina was swimming with her 5 chicks while Nikku and Tikku were watching them standing at the bank.
Suddenly 3 big goats with their horns bent, came running towards them and said, “We will eat you all.” Even their voice was very frightening.
Both the chicks got terrified and ran calling ‘Mom…mom…’ to save themselves. They were surrounded by the goats from 3 directions. So they jumped in the water out of pressure.
They started waddling as their mom had taught them. They were feeling amazed that they were neither feeling cold nor were they drowning.
In fact, they enjoyed their stint in water. They swam for a long time. After coming out they were feeling very refreshed.
“Mom, why didn’t we get wet?” They asked Tina.
“There is a gland under the tail of ducks which secretes oil. It has a particular odour too which can tell anybody about our whereabouts.
That oil spreads on our wings and that is why we don’t get wet or feel cold. You are very young. Your body doesn’t secrete that oil, so I had put mine on your body. The oil is light floats on water and doesn’t let us drown.”
“Really? That is why we could swim so easily. We enjoyed so much. Mom, it was good that the goats came and frightened by them, we got down in the water. Now we will swim daily.”
“All of them are my friends. I had told them to scare you so that you would come into the water,” Mom said smilingly.
All the three goats laughed and came out from behind the nearby bushes. Tina thanked them and said, “My chicks aren’t scared of water anymore because of you all.”
“What is there to thank? Everyone should help each other, but where were you from so many days? We were searching for you from so many days.”
“I was in the bushes, incubating the eggs. So I didn’t come out,” Tina told them.
“But we couldn’t smell your scent?”
“Yes, nature has made this arrangement to protect us. While we are incubating, our glands stop secreting oil and hence the scent stops. Our enemies don’t come to know where we are and we are able to nurture our eggs without any worry.”
“Wow…that is great. Bring your chicks to our home someday. It’s been long since we all have eaten together.”
Saying so, the goats went away.
The chicks too walked towards their home behind their mom.
After sweating it out in the harsh sun, when Minti, the ant came home with a grain of rice, she saw that someone had filled her whole house with mud.
Who could have done this?” Minti thought to herself and kept the grain aside. She went inside her house and started removing the mud.
After some hard work, Minti was able to remove all the mud from her house. Huffing and puffing, she brought the grain inside and then went out to collect some more.
When Minti returned, she again saw that someone had filled her house with mud. She started removing the mud again. She again kept the grains inside and went out to collect more.
When Minti returned home, she saw her house was filled with mud once again. She rested for a while and again she started removing the mud.
After a while, when Minti came outside Gauri, the sparrow, who had been watching her said, “Minti, I have been watching you. You go to collect the grains but in between someone fills your house with mud. Every time you remove the mud. Why don’t you make your house in a safer place? These kids are always filling your house with mud. You will be left cleaning it every time.”
“Gauri, I am an ant. A hard working being. When those children don’t get tired of putting mud in my house, how can I be tired of clearing it? I will never be tired and one day, those children will learn to accept it,” said Minti.
That is alright Minti. But this bravery is nothing but foolishness. You are so small and the children are big. If they want, they can just stamp on you. But you can’t do that,” said Gauri.
“So you want me to give in because I am small. Then the whole world will only be ruled by the strong. Little beings will always have to live in fear. But Gauri, things are not like that. Strength is not in sizes, it is in self-belief. Don’t consider us small. Despite being small, we can still make them accept our worth. If I leave this place in fear, where will I go?” asked Minti.
“Some other safe place,” said Gauri.
“This place used to be safe too but today it isn’t. What is the guarantee, the place I go to will always be safe? If I run away in fear, then there will be no safe place left. Everywhere someone will show their strength and will make me want to run away. In life, there will be a struggle. We should always fight with courage. That is why I don’t want to run away.”
Gauri was carefully listening to Minti.
“You are right Minti. We shouldn’t run away thinking ourselves to be small. We sparrows also work very hard but if someone makes us fly away, we fly. That is why there is always a chance of us being hunted,” said Gauri.
Minti was happy that Gauri understood what she had said.
More From Champak: The Boastful Parrot
“Alright. Then I will leave to collect my grains,” Minti said.
“Alright, you go. Your words have taught me that I can do something too. I will make sure that your house is not filled with mud. I will teach a lesson to that person who tries to put mud in my friend’s house,” said Gauri, while laughing. Minti also became very happy hearing what Gauri had to say.
“Thank you!” said Minti, and left to collect grains.
It was Sunday and the four rats Rinku, Minku, Chinku and Pinku had just finished their homework. It was raining outside so they decided to play some indoor games.
“It has been rather long since we played Ludo,” said Rinku.
Hearing what Rinku was saying about the game Chinku also got excited. He said, “Let’s play Ludo. It will be quite interesting, and I like to cut others’ token too.”
Hearing this Tinku said, “But when your token gets cut, you start crying.”
Chinku replied, “That was a long time back when I was younger. Today if my token gets cut, I will not cry.”
All of the friends started playing. They got some of their tokens cut and the other tokens reached home. They didn’t notice that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining outside.
The game was interesting, until suddenly Bunty, the rat came in and said, “My dear friends, please allow me to play with you.”
If Bunty had to play, one of the other four rats would have to leave as only four people are allowed to play Ludo on one board.
They thought about ways in which they could stop Bunty from joining this game.
Rinku who had a sharp memory said, “Bunty, we would have allowed you to play, but there’s a thing we don’t like about you.”
“What is that?” said Bunty, quite surprised.
“You don’t have a bath every day, and stink. We can’t make you sit near us,” said Rinku.
Hearing this Bunty said, “Ah! Luckily today I took a shower and I have worn neat clothes too. If you don’t believe what I’m saying, you can smell me. I am not stinking.”
All of them realised that Bunty was saying the truth.
“Now what can we tell him?” thought Tinku, scratching his head Tinku said, “It’s okay that you have taken a bath but your tail is still very dirty. It is too long. When you move around, it touches the ground.”
Bunty saw that his tail was really very long and dirty too.
“No problem, I will wash it and come back,” said Bunty.
Bunty went near the tap and washed his tail nicely. He came back and said, “Now you see how clean my tail is. Can I play with you?”
Rinku, Chinku, Tinku and Pinku saw Bunty’s tail was neat and clean.
“How can we tackle him?” thought Tinku.
Right then Pinku said, “Your tail is neat but it’s still wet. Go and dry it.”
“But how shall I dry my tail? I don’t have a towel or handkerchief to dry it,” said Bunty, sounding sad.
“Go and stand under the sun. When it dries, you can come in and play with us,” said Pinku.
Poor Bunty went and stood under the sun, waiting for his tail to dry.
When his tail dried, Bunty came in and said, “See, my tail is dry. Now, do you have any problem if I join you in your game?”
All four rats saw that Bunty’s tail was clean and dry. But they still didn’t want him to join their game and they were thinking of new reasons to send him away.
Rinku said, “It would be lovely if you could play with us, but you don’t know how to count. How will you move your token?”
Hearing Rinku’s words Bunty became very sad. He did not know how to read and write. His parents tried to send him to school but he did not go. He was only interested in playing games and roaming around. He started to cry.
More From Champak: Damru And The Play Cut
Seeing this, all four of them felt bad. Pinku said, “Don’t cry Bunty, we were just joking. Play with us, but you have to be somebody’s partner. You throw the dice and your partner will move the token. This way you will also enjoy the game. And from now on if you want to play this game you have to learn to count.”
Hearing Pinku’s words Bunty said, “From now on I will also go to school and study so that I can enjoy all these things. I have lost on many things because I did not know how to read and write. I was always dependant on other people to send messages, or to use a mobile, or play games or even while dialling a phone number.”
Hearing this, all four friends said, “We will help you in your studies and also teach you.”
Everybody started playing Ludo together and enjoyed it too.
In the forest called Greenland, there lived Chatur, the fox. He was a barber by profession.
One day, Chatur sat outside his shop feeling jealous about the queue of animals outside Malku, the bear’s barbershop.
An angry Chatur grumbled, “How long will I keep looking at them? Don’t I have any work to do?”
Chatur sighed and muttered sadly, “But what work can I do?”
Chatur continued thinking in self-pity, “Poor me! Hardly anyone comes here for a haircut and I know that I’m such a great barber. Why? These animals simply don’t have any appreciation for my great skills.”
The truth was that Chatur was such a bad barber that one could be sure of getting a bad haircut from him.
Chatur knew that sitting sadly in self-pity was not going to help. He got up and called out to the customers who were going into Malku’s shop.
“Hey Porky, come here. Shall I give you a nice trim?” Chatur cheerfully asked Porky the porcupine.
“No thanks, the last time I got one from you, I ended up looking like a sheared sheep,” Porky said angrily.
Poor Chatur’s face fell. But he did not give up.
Chatur called out to Chimpu, the chimpanzee who simply looked at him in horror and ran away.
Chatur was definitely at a loss now. He sadly wondered how he was going to earn his living. Then, he had an idea.
Chatur went to Malku’s shop and requested to meet him outside where no customer would hear them.
Malku nodded out of curiosity.
When they were alone, Chatur suggested, “Dear Malku, why don’t we enter into a partnership? That way we both can make a huge profit. You can send half of your customers to my shop and I will do the same for you.”
But Malku was clever too. He said, “What do you mean by your customers? Nobody’ is the only customer you have. Nice try, Chatur but no thanks. I will have my customers and you can have ‘Nobody’ as your precious customer.”
Malku laughed and went inside.
Just then, Chatur spotted King Leo, the lion going towards Malku’s shop.
Chatur quickly ran to him and said with a polite smile, “Sir, please honour me by getting a haircut from me.”
Surprised, Leo asked, “From you? I have heard rumours about you. I don’t know. After all, my mane is my crowning glory.”
Chatur’s heart sank a little but he gave a quick smile. He said sweetly, “I am sure that lovely mane of yours requires to be royally pampered. And I am the best person to do it. I will first give your mane a nice oil massage, free of course for you, Your Majesty. Then I will give a haircut which will make everyone jealous. Just think about it.”
Leo hesitated but Chatur’s words were playing in his mind. He imagined his lovely mane looking all silky and pampered and being admired by many. So he decided to give Chatur a chance.
Leo gave in, “Alright. I will give you a chance. Make sure you do it right or else…”
Chatur was over the moon. Leo was his first customer in months.
Chatur immediately led Leo inside and seated him.
There was an impressive collection of beautiful oil bottles on the table.
Chatur used to keep empty oil bottles and fill them with cheap quality oils and creams unknown to even him. He never remembered what was mixed with what.
Chatur selected a fancy oil bottle and poured some of it on his hands.
Leo sniffed the air and asked in disgust, “What is that? Smells awful.”
Chatur said sweetly, “Forget the smell, sir. This oil is the best though it smells bad. It is made with thousands of herbs. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to smell it after a few minutes.”
“I hope so,” thought Chatur, for he had just lied.
Chatur rubbed the oil on Leo’s hair for some time and then picked up a pair of scissors to trim them.
Chatur accidentally chopped one section of his hair, cutting off a major chunk which fell to the ground.
Leo took one look at it and screamed, “What have you done, you clumsy fool? You were only supposed to trim it, not make me bald.”
Chatur gulped and said, “Err… don’t worry, sir. The haircut I am giving you is a very fashionable haircut. You will see at the end.”
Leo looked suspiciously at Chatur and warned, “Let us hope so, for your sake.”
The threat in Leo’s voice could not be missed.
Chatur cut another chunk of hair. He kept feeling that one side was longer than the other. In order to even it, he cut one side short and he had to redo it with the other side again.
Finally, feeling disappointed, Chatur put on a brave front and a fake smile. He said, “Your Majesty, your crowning glory can now be revealed to the world.”
Leo touched his mane but his mind was still filled with doubt.
Leo asked, “How much do I pay you?” Chatur said, “Just Rs. 100, sir.”
Leo paid him and left the shop. Chatur sniffed the oil bottle and thought, “I hope what I had used is a hair oil. I hope nothing happens to Leo’s mane.”
Just to be on the safer side, Chatur decided to close his shop and leave early.
King Leo stepped out and went in the middle of the crowd gathered outside Malku’s shop. He coughed with authority and asked, “Well?”
The animals stared at his mane with horror which now looked like it had been damaged by a group of rats.
But no one had the courage to say anything, not when Leo was looking for some admiration.
Leo again thundered, “Well, how do you find my mane?”
All the animals just stammered and looked at each other.
Leo then ran his fingers through his mane. Some of his hair came off in his hand in a bunch. Soon another section fell. This kept repeating so many times that Leo ended up having itsy bitsy hair in some places and big, round, bald patches in others.
It seemed that Chatur had used a hair removal oil instead of a nourishing one on Leo’s mane.
Everyone was horrified. Leo went to Malku’s shop to check his mane.
Leo roared furiously seeing his bald head in Malku’s mirror. By then, Chatur had already made his escape and closed his shop forever.
Six-year-old Rony was in a very good mood while returning from school one day. On his mind was the new storybook he would read before bedtime that night.
But as Rony walked into his bedroom, he found that his mother had moved all of his toys, clothes and books from his room to the big bedroom at the top of the stairwell.
Rony ran into the big bedroom and found his mother cleaning the cupboards.
“Why have you moved my things here, Mom? I don’t like this room!” cried Rony.
“Didn’t you say the other day that you loved the view from this room’s window? You can see the streets and the cars that pass by. You can see our entire garden and the valley from this window!” said Mom, excited.
Rony looked around the room. The window did have a beautiful view. Rony walked over to the window. His pet cat, Mister Paw, was sleeping under the huge spruce tree in the garden. His golden-brown fur shone in the afternoon sun.
Soon, the sun would set, and everything outside would be dark. Rony shivered at that thought.
“I know, but I don’t like this room at night!” cried Rony, his eyes full of fear. He didn’t want to be in this room alone. This room was farthest from his parents’ bedroom.
Mom patted Rony’s head and said, “You are a big boy now. There is no need to be scared, we are right across the hall. You can call me and I will be by your side. You have a big reading area here and look at the cupboard and trunk where you can keep all your toys. Isn’t this a much better place than your small bedroom?”
“No! I don’t want this room! Trisha says there’s a little old man with a long, white beard that reaches his shoes, he lives on the tree outside this window,” said Rony, pointing at the spruce tree. “She also said that he comes into this room every night! He searches the house for chocolates. If he doesn’t find any, he takes away little children and keeps them in his treehouse forever!”
“Rony, don’t listen to everything Trisha says. She reads horror stories all the time and gets scared. There are no old men in trees,” said Mom.
Rony stubbornly said, “I heard him last night! He was searching for chocolates outside my room! I will not sleep in this bedroom, Mom!”
“Rony, no more excuses. This is your room from today onwards and you will have to start sleeping here. I will not listen to your silly stories. You are going to be a big brother soon. You must start acting like one,” Mom firmly said.
Mom finished cleaning the cupboard and went out. Poor Rony could do nothing but sit on his little armchair and cry!
That night, as Rony finished eating his dinner of carrot soup and soft, warm bread, he suddenly realised he would be sleeping in his new, big bedroom. There was only a crib in his old bedroom, for the baby his parents were expecting.
Even the storybook at his bedtime failed to make Rony happy. He slowly made his way towards his bedroom with Mister Paw.
Standing in the doorway, Rony carefully looked around the room. His bed was in the middle of the room. To the right, there was a tall, wooden bookshelf that covered most of the wall. Mom had put all his books neatly.
There were a table and chair, along with a couch where Rony could lay all day and read his favourite books. Opposite his bed, there was a wardrobe which had his clothes. To the left of the bed, there was a big trunk with his toys. And right above the trunk was the window. Rony felt his legs wobble.
Rony decided to be brave, as his mother had told him to be. He thought to himself, “I am a big boy. Mom is right. I must not get scared. If the little old man comes tonight, I will be ready.”
Rony opened his school bag, took out a bar of milk chocolate and kept it in a corner of his room. He took his wooden sword and shield out of his toy trunk and got into bed. He hid them well under his blanket.
Rony’s room was nice and warm, and he felt much safer under the blankets. Surely, the little old man with a long beard would be cold outside. Rony jumped from his bed and went to the window. It was a windy night, with no clouds in the sky. The moon and stars shone against the deep blue sky.
Rony looked down. The leaves of the spruce tree in the garden was moving in the wind. Or was it the little old man climbing it? Rony ran back to his bed.
Rony tucked his sword and shield properly beside him and tried to fall asleep. He could feel the quietness around him. His parents had gone to bed already. The window was locked, he was safe for now. If the old man did manage to come in for the bar of chocolate, Rony thought he would spring out of his bed and beat him up.
Thinking about the old man, Rony fell asleep. Suddenly, he was woken up by a noise in the room. Someone was knocking at the window!
The knocks grew louder and louder. Rony stayed under his blankets, not daring to look outside. All of a sudden, he thought he heard a noise in the room.
“It must be the little old man! He has managed to sneak inside!” thought Rony.
Rony grabbed his sword tightly and jumped out of the blankets.
“Where is the little old man?” thought Rony. He switched on the bedside lamp and looked around. There was no one in the room!
Rony suddenly heard a noise from the corner of the room. He tiptoed across the room quietly. When he reached the corner, he found a big squirrel seated comfortably there, biting on the bar of chocolate Rony had kept for catching the little old man!
“It has been a squirrel all this time?” Rony sighed in relief. “Mom was right! There was no little old man! I have nothing to be afraid of.”
The next morning, when Mom asked Rony if he was comfortable in his new room, Rony said, “I love my room, Mom! I am a big boy now!”
Raju and his friends were on their way home from school when they heard a siren. They turned around and saw an ambulance. Raju felt bad for the patient inside.
A man got down from the ambulance and requested the other vehicles to give way but the cars were standing back-to-back. There was no place for the ambulance to move.
Raju and his friends were watching this incident. Raju noticed that the traffic jam was too long and was not going to clear that easily.
Raju ran forward to find out the reason for the traffic jam. He saw a big crowd and everyone was shouting slogans. Raju asked, “What’s happening?”
“We are on a strike because the government is not fulfilling our wishes,” someone replied to Raju.
Raju asked, “Would it not be better for you to be heard in a place where you are not blocking the entire road and creating problems for others?”
The man said, “If we don’t block the road, no one will hear us.”
Raju asked, “What’s that even supposed to mean?”
The man said, “Hey kid! If the traffic gets blocked, only then the government listens to us.” He started his sloganeering again.
Raju pleaded, “There is an ambulance at the back which has been waiting for a long time and the patient is in a critical condition. The patient has to be taken to the hospital as soon as possible. Could you please make way for it?”
The man said, “You go from here. We will leave only when our wishes are heard.”
Raju understood that the crowd was not going to move. He knew something else had to be done to make sure that the ambulance reached the hospital on time so that a life could be saved.
Raju called his friends and said, “Come, let’s do something.”
Raju said to the other drivers, “Please move your vehicles a little so that the ambulance can go near the divider.”
Raju and his friends took the traffic boards and created a ramp for the ambulance to cross the divider and cross over to the other side of the road.
On the other side, cars were moving slowly. Raju and his friends signalled the cars to leave a place in the middle of the road for the ambulance to move.
The ambulance slowly inched forward.
The man from the ambulance thanked Raju and said, “My son’s life will be saved because of all of you.”
Raju thanked his friends and everybody went to their respective homes. They were happy to have saved someone’s life.
Jerry, the mouse had troubled Ginger, the cat again. Ginger was upset and sitting under a tree.
Seeing her sad, Coco, the parrot asked, “What happened, Ginger?”
“Nothing, I am just tired,” she replied.
“Looks like Jerry troubled you again today,” said Coco.
“Don’t take his name. He is so naughty. One day I will break his bone,” said Ginger angrily.
“For that, you will have to catch him first,” laughed Coco.
“You are making fun of me,” said Ginger, feeling more upset.
“Nothing like that Ginger. I was joking so that your mood becomes better,” Coco explained.
“I don’t know why he troubles me so much,” said a tired Ginger.
Just then Melody, the nightingale, joined them.
“In whose thoughts are you lost Ginger?” asked Melody.
“Why do you want to know?” said Ginger, irritated.
“Tell me. You may feel better,” said Melody
“She is disturbed because of Jerry, the mouse,” said Coco.
“What about Jerry?” asked Melody.
“Nothing about him. But he has been troubling Ginger a lot,” Coco explained. “I have heard of mice being troubled by cats but here it is opposite,” said Melody.
“Can you think of a solution Melody?” Ginger asked.
“I can make you meet someone who may be of help to you,” said Melody.
“Who is that and why will they help me?” asked Ginger, curiously.
“Gogi, the squirrel, can help you,” said Melody.
“Why would she help me?” asked Ginger.
“She had told me Jerry keeps troubling her also. If you want, you can talk to her,” said Melody.
“Will you introduce me to her?”Ginger requested.
“Ok, come with me. I will introduce you to her,” said Melody as she flew to Gogi’s place.
Gogi was wandering around. Melody called out to her, “Gogi, come here. I want you to meet a friend of mine. Remember, you once told me how Jerry, the mouse, troubles you? My friend Ginger is also very troubled by him,” said Melody.
She then introduced Gogi to Ginger and told the entire matter. Ginger and Gogi started talking to each other.
Ginger asked Gogi, “How did Jerry trouble you?”
“Jerry would forcefully take away the food which I collected and kept,” said Gogi.
“And you could not stop him?” asked Ginger.
“Jerry would not listen. He would say he is stronger and just snatch my food. I am very angry with him,” said Gogi sadly.
“If you help me, I will teach him a lesson,” said Ginger.
“How can I help you?” asked Gogi.
“You will have to constantly keep an eye on him. I will then be able to catch him, know where he is,” said Ginger.
“Ok. I will start today itself,” said Gogi and left. Gogi was looking for food and did not see Jerry the whole day. In the evening, she saw him near a bush.
Gogi went there and seeing her, Jerry asked, “How are you Gogi?” Usually, Gogi would not answer, but today she replied, “I am very good. What are you doing here at this time?”
“I came for a walk and saw you. You are late in getting back home today,” said Jerry.
“I am just going back,” said Gogi.
Jerry started laughing “You look very happy,” said Gogi.
“Nothing, I remembered something,” Jerry said and left.
Gogi suspected that Jerry was laughing on her.
“Does he know I am spying on him?” Gogi thought to herself.
For a week, Gogi and Jerry met at the same spot. Gogi had told this to Ginger.
Ginger planned to catch him there, like every day, Jerry was out for a walk. Ginger sat hiding behind a tree. As planned, Gogi engaged Jerry in her talks.
While he was listening carefully to her, Jerry sat on a thin dried branch. Ginger thought it would be the right time to attack Jerry. She did not look around and jumped on him with all her might.
But Jerry was too quick for her and jumped away from the branch when he saw Ginger leap. The branch bent under Ginger’s weight.
As Ginger tried to move up, the branch sprang back and hit her on the face. She was hurt. Her nose swelled up. Jerry had escaped once again.
Gogi came by and was surprised to see Ginger’s swollen nose. “What happened Ginger?” asked Gogi.
“That naughty rat fooled me. You were a spying on him for so many days, didn’t you see that he was planning to trick me?”
“I really didn’t know. He did not do it in front of me,” said Gogi.
“He knew about you spying and you did not!” said Ginger.
“You are right,” said Gogi and left. She had understood the secret behind Jerry’s laughter that day.
Gogi broke her friendship with Ginger forever. Jerry had the last laugh on both of them.
The land of Durgapur was ruled by King Samudragupta. He was an able and intelligent ruler.
One day, two men who were quarrelling to his court.
King Samudragupta asked them, “What brings you here?”
The two men bowed and introduced themselves as Chandan and Shankar.
Chandan said, “Your Majesty, I am a traveller. I came to this city last night and requested shelter for a night at this man’s house, taking him to be a good man. I had a pouch of a thousand gold coins with me which I had earned recently.
While I was asleep, this man crept into my room and stole my pouch. He now claims it to be his. Please give me justice, Your Majesty.”
King Samudragupta asked Shankar, “What do you have to say to this?”
Shankar replied, “Your Majesty, Chandan is lying. This is my hard-earned money which he stole from my house when I was asleep. He is taking advantage of my hospitality. He is a liar.”
After listening to both of them, King Samudragupta sat lost deep in thought. His courtiers wondered how he was going to solve this case.
Suddenly, King Samudragupta asked them about their work. Both replied that they were traders. The king then asked, “What do you deal in?” He learnt that they both were horse traders.
The king nodded and asked them to follow him to the Royal Stables.
At the stables, the king murmured something to the horsekeeper. The keeper immediately brought a horse in front of all of them.
King Samudragupta said, “Since both of you are horse traders, I would like to have your valuable opinion regarding this horse which I have recently bought.
What do you think of this classic Arabian horse? Do you think I can use it in the army? Kindly inspect it and let me have your opinion separately in the court.”
Chandan first met the king in the court. He said, “Your Majesty, that Arabian horse is truly magnificent. It is of good breed, excellent and reliable to be used in the army. I am sure, you can win any battle with him. It won’t let you down.”
King Samudragupta smiled and said, “Thank you for your valuable opinion.
May I know from where you buy your horses? Have you bought any Arabian horses?”
Chandan smiled and replied, “Oh yes, Your Majesty. I have bought many Arabian horses. I have also spent years in Arabia. In fact, I specialise in Arabian horses mostly.”
King Samudragupta said thoughtfully, “The Sultan of Arabia, Sheik Ahmed Ali is a dear friend of mine. It has been a long time since I have met him.”
Nodding, Chandan said with a smile, “Oh yes, Sultan Sheik Ahmed Ali is indeed a very noble person like Your Majesty.”
King Samudragupta smiled and called Shankar after Chandan left.
Shankar bowed and said humbly, “Your Majesty, I regret to say that someone has tricked you. That is not an Arabian horse as Your Majesty had mentioned but is from a local breed. Secondly, it is not fit for the army as the horse is aged. One can notice the signs of aging by looking at its droopy lips, sunken eyes, drooping joints, rough coat etc.”
King Samudragupta listened attentively and put forth the same question which he had asked Chandan.
Shankar replied, “I buy Arabian horses from Arabia, Your Majesty. I go there once a year, stay for a few months and bring back the best of Arabian horses and sell them here for a profit. That is how I make my living.”
King Samudragupta mentioned his friend Sultan of Arabia, Sheik Ahmed Ali to him.
Surprised, Shankar said, “Please pardon me for correcting you. The Sultan’s name is Haider Ali Khan and not Sheik Ahmed Ali. In fact, Haider Ali Khan has been the Sultan of Arabia for years.”
The courtiers could not understand what the king was doing. They felt that their king had forgotten the case of the gold coins and gone completely off track.
King Samudragupta asked Chandan to be bought back.
In the presence of the two men and courtiers, the king said, “All of you have heard the two different versions given by Chandan and Shankar.
By asking them a few questions, I learnt a lot about them. I purposely showed them an aged horse belonging to a local breed and asked for their opinion. Only Shankar could answer correctly. My second test was when I spoke about the Sultan, purposely not giving out his real name. While Chandan went along with me, it was Shankar who corrected me because he is the real trader and has been to Arabia.
Chandan has been lying since the very beginning. His lack of knowledge about the horses gave him away, and the name test revealed that he had never been to Arabia.
I hereby order my men to arrest Chandan and order him to return the pouch of gold coins to Shankar, the rightful owner.”
Chandan was arrested, and Shankar bowed gratefully before the king. The king also offered Shankar the task of buying Arabian horses for the Royal Stables.
The courtiers sang the praises of their king who, with his intelligence had solved the case rightfully.
Titan, the watermelon was very stubborn by nature. He never respected anyone, even if they were older than him. Titan was not only big, but he was strong too. Seeing his heavy build, the other vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, ladyfingers and muskmelons were all scared of him.
The watermelon patch was in a corner of the farm so Titan was not visible to Nandu, the farmer. When Nandu came near him, Titan would hide behind the leaves. He liked ruling over all the other vegetables and enjoyed making fun of them by calling them, weaklings.
The tomatoes would turn red at Titan’s comments. The cucumbers became leaner because they were scared of Titan, they kept leaning away from him and lost their shape.
The poor ladyfingers were so tired of fear that they actually became like a skeleton. They stopped growing in size.
The big cucumbers hated Titan so much that their hearts became full of bitterness.
The muskmelons were angry too, but they could only change colours. The muskmelons lacked the courage to stop Titan.
Titan continued growing and strengthening himself by doing sit-ups and working out. He would then show off his strong biceps and arms to scare everyone. The ladyfingers and cucumbers wished that Nandu would spot Titan and pluck him.
The ladyfingers and cucumbers wished that Nandu would spot Titan and pluck him.
Let’s hope Nandu sees and takes Titan to the market, or else throws him away in the wastebasket. At least we will be relieved from his pride and conceit,” they said to each other.
The day finally came when Nandu saw Titan. But he was so heavy that Nandu could not carry him. Nandu went back from the farm.
Titan’s pride increased. The tomatoes become redder, the ladyfingers became skinnier, the small cucumbers lost their shape, the big cucumbers became more bitter and the muskmelons started to change their colour again.
“Hey all you weaklings, mark my words. I will be the costliest watermelon sold in the market. All of you will be on one side and I will be on the other,” said Titan.
Nandu came with his son Chandu. Together they picked Titan with great difficulty and put him inside the cart. Nandu and Chandu plucked some tomatoes, cucumbers, ladyfingers and muskmelons too. They kept
all the vegetables along with Titan inside a huge bag.
Nandu set off to the market where he arranged them. He kept all the vegetables in a line and he kept the watermelon in the centre.
Customers came and bought the tomatoes, cucumbers, ladyfingers and muskmelons. Everybody took a look at the watermelon, but nobody bought him.
When Nandu asked the customers to buy the watermelon all of them gave some excuse. One customer said, “Nandu, how will I take it to my house?”
“This will not even go inside the fridge, and even the rickshaw driver will ask extra money for this,” said another customer.
Hearing the customers’ remarks Titan felt disappointed. He realised his size and weight had no value here.
“What’s the use of being big and heavy when nobody wants me? All those whom I had been teasing have now been sold at a good price,” Titan thought to himself.
Thinking about this brought tears in Titan’s eyes and his pride too was washed away with it. He felt calmer and lighter now.
Seeing Titan cry the remaining tomatoes, cucumbers, ladyfingers and muskmelons felt bad and sorry for him.
They tried to motivate him and said, “Titan you should not boast as everyone has their own value. Now that you gave up boasting, we too don’t have any ill feelings in our hearts. Mark our words, very soon you will also be sold at a very good price.”
On hearing this Titan felt very happy and smiled. Right then, a shopkeeper came with his house help and bought Titan for his large family.
Titan waved at his friends and went away happily to the shopkeeper’s home.
Little Peeku, the parrot used to tell a lot of lies, just to have fun.
Due to this habit, he got scolded a number of times by his parents and friends.
Once, Croaky, the crocodile asked him, “Little Peeku, what is the time now?”
Peeku innocently said, “It is 2 o’clock now, Croaky uncle.”
Croaky left for his home and asked his wife, “What have you prepared for lunch? I hope it’s something yummy.”
Croaky’s wife got very angry and said, “It is just 11 o’clock. I have not even started cooking yet. Why did you come back so early? Go back to your hunting.”
So, Croaky went back to the forest and looked for Peeku. Peeku laughed at him and flew away.
On a Sunday, Peeku’s mother had gone to the market. When she came back, Peeku said, “Mom, your friend Rimi aunty had called. She wanted you to make some cutlets today evening. She is coming here with her family.”
Peeku’s mom mashed potatoes and peas to make yummy cutlets. She waited for Rimi to come.
The clock struck six in the evening but Rimi didn’t turn up. Peeku’s mom called Rimi and said, “Hi Rimi! When are you coming over?” Remember you called and said that you were coming in the evening.
Rimi said, “I’ve had a fever for the past few days. Right now I’m going to see the doctor. I never called you.”
Peeku enjoyed the cutlets while his mother scolded him.
One day, Peeku went to the school without doing his homework.
His teacher Doodle, the duck asked him, “Why have you not done your homework?”
Peeku made a sad face and said, “My grandma Ellie fractured her hand and I was helping her at home. I did not have the time to do the homework.”
Doodle excused Peeku. That evening, Doodle duck went to the fitness club and after swimming happily in the pool, she went to have a cup of tea.
Doodle saw Ellie parrot using the gym. Ellie was lifting weights. Doodle was surprised.
She went up to Ellie and said, “Didn’t you fracture your arm yesterday? How are you using your hand freely today?”
Ellie parrot laughed and said, “Who said I fractured my hand? Yesterday I had gone to see the circus with my grandson, Peeku. I am quite alright.”
Doodle whispered something into Ellie’s ear.
The next day, when the school began, Peeku was surprised to see his
grandmother in the school. She had a cast on her hand.
More From Champak: The Kind Parrot
Peeku ran up to her and asked, “What happened to your arm, grandma?”
Ellie said, “Peeku, didn’t you tell your teacher that I had fractured my arm? I felt so bad about your lie that I went to the doctor and told him to put a cast on my arm till you don’t stop your habit of lying.”
Peeku felt ashamed and realised that he had not even thought about his
grandmother’s health when he had lied.
Peeku made a promise to everyone that he would stop lying.
In the evening, Peeku went with grandma Ellie to the doctor and removed the cast. He also decided to cast off his habit of lying.
Blacky bear was returning home carrying a pot filled with honey.
Suddenly, a lot of thorns got stuck in his foot. He cried out in pain. He sat down and kept the honey pot on the side and started removing the thorns from
his feet.
“Why are there so many thorns on the path?” thought Blacky to himself.
After some time, when Blacky had removed all the thorns, he went to pick up his pot but saw that it had disappeared. It was no longer on the spot where he had kept it. He started searching for the pot everywhere but could not find it.
“What are you looking for?” said Teetu butterfly who was passing by.
“Someone stole my pot that was filled with honey,” said Blacky sadly. He explained what had happened to Teetu.
“Was your pot brown in colour?” asked Teetu curiously.
“Oh yes! How do you know?” asked Blacky surprised.
“While I was coming here, I saw Baddy fox running away with a brown pot,” Teetu replied.
“Oh, how dare he! I am going to teach him a lesson. But I don’t know how to find him,” said Blacky in dismay.
“Why don’t you ask Cheeku rabbit to help you? He is the best detective we have in Champakvan. He can surely help you,” suggested Teetu.
“Thank you for the idea Teetu, but I don’t think Cheeku will help me this time,” said Blacky, his face falling even more.
“Why do you say that?” asked Teetu, surprised.
“It so happened, a few days back there were some guests at Cheeku’s house.
They wanted to taste the honey from our forest. Cheeku came to me to ask for some honey but I refused to give it to him despite having some with me. Cheeku is upset with me since then,” Blacky told Teetu.
“What you did is wrong Blacky. A good neighbour should always help other neighbours in times of need,” said Teetu.
“I agree it was my mistake. I forgot we need each other in times of difficulties. Not sharing the honey was not good behaviour on my part. Now you tell me how I should patch up with Cheeku?” said Blacky who was feeling bad.
“I can help you if you promise to not behave so selfishly in future. I will talk to Cheeku and ask him to help,” said Teetu.
Blacky promised Teetu that he would be a better neighbour and Teetu and Blacky left to meet Cheeku.
Teetu explained everything to Cheeku and Blacky apologised. They both hugged each other. Blacky then told Cheeku what had happened to him.
“Was the pot filled with honey till the top?” Cheeku questioned.
“Yes, the pot was filled to the brim. Also, there was also no lid over it,” said Blacky.
”And Teetu said that she saw Baddy running with the pot on his shoulder. Teetu, which direction were you coming from?” Cheeku asked Teetu.
“I was coming from the west,” said Teetu.
“Hmmm… The Black Mountain forest is to the west. Baddy must be staying in that forest for some days,” Cheeku thought to himself.
“Each criminal leaves behind some clues that help us find them. Let us walk towards the Black Mountain and see if we can find anything,” Cheeku said to both of them.
After some time, they were standing on the way towards the Black Mountain.
Everyone knew that naughty thieves usually lived there. Even during the day, the way was quiet and empty.
“See, there are a few drops of honey on the ground. The honey must have spilled while Baddy was running,” said Cheeku pointing towards the drops on the ground. “This clue is enough for us to get to him.”
“How can a few drops of honey help us catch Baddy?” asked Blacky, confused.
“With the help of this robotic fly,” said Cheeku as he removed something from his pocket. “This fly has a sensor. It can smell the honey and find out if there is more of it in the area of 100 kilometres from here,” explained Cheeku with a smile.
“So, this robotic fly will reach exactly where Baddy has kept the honey pot,” said Teetu with excitement.
The robotic fly smelled the honey and flew away. Cheeku then took out his laptop and opened it. After some time they could see Baddy on the screen. He was enjoying the stolen honey along with his friends.
“See how the robotic fly has shown us exactly where Baddy is. The robotic fly has a spy camera in it because of which we are able to see Baddy on the screen here,” Cheeku told both Teetu and Blacky.
“Now let us inform inspector Jumbo elephant about Baddy’s new hiding place in the Black Mountain,” said Cheeku.
“But I want to punish him and teach him a lesson,” said Blacky angrily.
“The police are there to teach him and his naughty friends a lesson. You should be happy, Blacky. You are getting your honey pot with some honey still left inside it,” explained Cheeku.
The police caught Baddy and his friends. Blacky shared the remaining honey with Teetu and Cheeku. He realised there is more happiness in sharing than having everything by himself.
One Sunday afternoon, four friends Jai, Juee, Om and Rakhi were playing a game called Lingocha in the park near their house. The four were playing till afternoon and not realising how hot it was.
Rakhi’s mother called from the window and said, “Rakhi, it is afternoon. Come in for lunch.”
“Some more time please,” said Rakhi. Everybody wanted to play for some more time, nobody wanted to go home.
In the afternoon there were not many people on the road. On the opposite side of the park an old lady, almost the age of their grandmothers, was walking with two bags in her hand. One bag was full of vegetables, the other was full of fruits.
Suddenly, they heard a loud sound. The kids turned around and looked at the road. The old lady had fallen down, and all the vegetables and fruits were on the road.
Rakhi said, “We must go and help grandma.”
Om said, “But we don’t even know her.”
Upon hearing this, Jai said, “So what? If someone is in trouble, we must help them.”
Juee said, “You are right Jai, we all must go and help her.”
All four of them went near the lady and saw that she was not moving.
“She must have become unconscious because of the heat. Jai, please go and bring my water bottle,” said Rakhi.
Jai brought the water bottle quickly. Then Rakhi took some water and splashed it on grandma’s face.
Grandma regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes.
Juee saw grandma’s face and said, “I have seen you on my way back from school. “She turned to her friends and said, “Maybe she stays somewhere near my building.”
Jai said, “Well let me pick up all the fruits and vegetables from the ground.” He kept all of them inside the bag.
Om said, “We should help her get up and make her sit on the bench.”
They took grandma to the park and made her sit on the bench. Rakhi gave her some water to drink.
Juee asked, “Grandma, do you stay near the temple?”
“Yes, I stay in the opposite building. It’s called Vasthu Residency,” said grandma.
Juee said, “It is very close to the building I stay in.”
Om asked, “Grandma, what’s your name?”
Grandma said, “My name is Veena.”
“We would love to help you, let us take you to the building. Please eat a banana for some energy,” said Jai. He gave grandma a banana to eat. They helped her and took her to the building.
Om carried her bags.
Jai asked grandma, “On what floor do you stay?”
Grandma said, “I stay on the first floor, flat number 104.”
They helped her in the lift. When they rang the bell of the house, her family was shocked to see her like this. The children told her son and daughter what had happened. Both of them thanked the children.
Grandma said, ”All four of you must eat lunch here before you all leave.”
They all refused to eat, but grandma did not listen to them. The children became good friends, and they would visit each other often. One Sunday afternoon, four friends Jai, Juee, Om and Rakhi were playing a game called Lingocha in the park near their house. The four were playing till afternoon and not realising how hot it was.
Rakhi’s mother called from the window and said, “Rakhi, it is afternoon. Come in for lunch.”
“Some more time please,” said Rakhi. Everybody wanted to play for some more time, nobody wanted to go home.
In the afternoon there were not many people on the road. On the opposite side of the park an old lady, almost the age of their grandmothers, was walking with two bags in her hand. One bag was full of vegetables, the other was full of fruits.
Suddenly, they heard a loud sound. The kids turned around and looked at the road. The old lady had fallen down, and all the vegetables and fruits were on the road.
Rakhi said, “We must go and help grandma.”
Om said, “But we don’t even know her.”
Upon hearing this, Jai said, “So what? If someone is in trouble, we must help them.”
Juee said, “You are right Jai, we all must go and help her.”
All four of them went near the lady and saw that she was not moving.
“She must have become unconscious because of the heat. Jai, please go and bring my water bottle,” said Rakhi.
Jai brought the water bottle quickly. Then Rakhi took some water and splashed it on grandma’s face.
Grandma regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes.
Juee saw grandma’s face and said, “I have seen you on my way back from school. “She turned to her friends and said, “Maybe she stays somewhere near my building.”
Jai said, “Well let me pick up all the fruits and vegetables from the ground.” He kept all of them inside the bag.
Om said, “We should help her get up and make her sit on the bench.”
They took grandma to the park and made her sit on the bench. Rakhi gave her some water to drink.
Juee asked, “Grandma, do you stay near the temple?”
“Yes, I stay in the opposite building. It’s called Vasthu Residency,” said grandma.
Juee said, “It is very close to the building I stay in.”
Om asked, “Grandma, what’s your name?”
Grandma said, “My name is Veena.”
“We would like to help you, let us take you to the building. Please eat a banana for some energy,” said Jai. He gave grandma a banana to eat. They helped her and took her to the building.
Om carried her bags.
Jai asked grandma, “On what floor do you stay?”
Grandma said, “I stay on the first floor, flat number 104.”
They helped her in the lift. When they rang the bell of the house, her family was shocked to see her like this. The children told her son and daughter what had happened. Both of them thanked the children.
Grandma said, ”All four of you must eat lunch here before you all leave.”
They all refused to eat, but grandma did not listen to them. The children became good friends, and they would visit each other often.
Jumbo elephant had a beautiful garden with different varieties of flowers. Gardening had become his passion. He planted new trees, flowering bushes and maintained his garden very well.
“Trees and plants are the pride of the Earth. They are the one to provide us with life,” sang Jumbo while watering his plants.
“Wow Jumbo, you have such beautiful flowers in your garden!” said Cheeku rabbit as he was crossing Jumbo’s house.
“Oh thank you, Cheeku. I love to take care of them,” said Jumbo while looking at his plants lovingly.
“You sure do. If I need some flowers for my house, I will take them from your garden only,” said Cheeku, touching one of the flowering plants.
Jumbo was not happy with what Cheeku had said. “Beware Cheeku. Don’t you dare touch that flower!” he said.
“What happened Jumbo? Why are you getting so mad at me?” asked Cheeku, a little shocked.
Jumbo said, “You were going to pluck my beautiful flowers and I shouldn’t even get angry? Do you know that even plants and flowers have life and when someone plucks them, they feel the pain?”
Cheeku did not seem to agree with what Jumbo was saying. “It is not so Jumbo,” said Cheeku.
This made Jumbo angrier. “Come here, I will pick you up and throw you down. Then let’s see whether you feel the pain or not,” he said angrily.
Jumbo quickly moved his trunk towards Cheeku to scare him. Cheeku ran away from there.
“Cheeku is worried about his pain. For him, it is fun to crush plants and pluck flowers. He does not think how much pain my dear plants will feel if he plucks them,” Jumbo mumbled to himself. He took a good look at his garden once again and went inside the house.
In the evening, Meeku mouse was passing by Jumbo’s house, riding his bicycle. As he was crossing Jumbo’s garden, Meeku’s bicycle wheel got stuck in a pothole and he lost his balance.
Meeku fell down on a bush in Jumbo’s garden along the road. Some plants and flowers were crushed because of Meeku and his bicycle falling on them.
Jumbo was reading inside his home when he heard the loud noise of the crash. He rushed out to see what had happened.
Jumbo was furious to see his plants damaged, the flowers crushed and the mud scattered all around.
Jumbo shouted, “You useless mouse. You have damaged my plants! You did not think about the pain they would feel. I will lift you and throw you on the ground. Maybe that’s when you’ll understand how much pain you’ve given my plants.”
Meeku tried to explain his side of the story but Jumbo was in no mood to listen. He wrapped his trunk around Meeku and picked him up.
“Jumbo, forgive me. I did not do this on purpose. I lost my balance because of the pothole and crashed into your garden,” pleaded Meeku.
But Jumbo was still furious.
“If you don’t know how to ride a bicycle then you shouldn’t ride it. I am not going to listen to any of your excuses. Today I will show you what pain is,” Jumbo continued as he shook Meeku with his trunk.
Meeku was too scared. Jumbo was just about to throw him to the ground when Cheeku came there.
“Jumbo put Meeku down! You’ve been thinking of the pain we would cause to your plants but are you thinking about the pain you’re putting Meeku through? He has been your friend for so many years and yet look at the way you’re treating him,” said Cheeku loudly.
Jumbo was surprised with what Cheeku had just said. “What are you saying Cheeku?” said Jumbo, calming down.
Cheeku explained gently, “Jumbo, you are getting angry because your plants are hurt. But what about the hurt that you are causing Meeku? Is it right to hurt someone to make them understand how much pain you or your plants are feeling?”
Jumbo realised his mistake. “I am sorry Meeku,” he said.
“I forgot that it is wrong to hurt others for my love of plants. I will not hurt others to give this message,” said Jumbo as he placed Meeku on the ground.
Jumbo then started to clear the destroyed plants and both Meeku and Cheeku helped him in the garden work. Jumbo realised that his blind love for plants had been hurtful to his friends. He now knew that both were equally important.
Kanga, the kangaroo, jogged a little where she stood. She tried to loosen her body. She felt nervous as she stepped on the start line. She secretly wished that all other participants in the race would stumble and fall.
“I keep wishing for this though I know it will never happen,” thought Kanga.
Soon, the chequered flag went up and the whistle was blown. The race began. All the animals ran ahead in no time leaving big clouds of dust behind.
When the dust settled, everyone saw that Kanga, too, remained behind.
Zack, the zebra was Kanga’s coach. He could not believe his eyes. “Go Kanga! Go! Go!” Zack screamed.
Hearing Zack’s voice, Kanga came out of her daydream. She started hopping quickly, but it was too late.
Many animals were about to reach the finish line. But Kanga didn’t give up. To make up for her lost time, she pushed a monkey from behind. It was a bad idea because the monkey fell and hurt his knee.
Despite this, Kanga did not win the race. Zack was unhappy. It showed on his face. “What happened?” Zack asked Kanga.
“The whistle wasn’t loud enough, and the chequered flag did not go up either,” said Kanga.
“It did, Kanga. And the whistle is the same one that has been used for years,” said Zack.
“Maybe it is broken now,” said Kanga.
“Stop it! I heard the whistle. It was loud and clear,” shouted Zack.
“Were you daydreaming again? And why did you push others on the track? That is not sportsmanship,” said Zack.
“Others also push us on the track. What’s wrong with that?” replied Kanga.
“Maybe some do, but not us. Our club wants to win because of our talent. Playing smart is one thing Kanga, but cheating to win is another,” explained Zack.
Kanga didn’t say a word. She just felt angry about everything and everyone around her.
Zack and Kanga had been practicing for three years to make Kanga the best runner in the jungle. Kanga was good at running. With just a few long hops she would make others disappear behind her. Zack knew that she could be the best.
But she thought more about others than improving herself.
“Concentrate!” Zack used to tell her during practice.
“Focus on your game,” Zack always whispered to her before any race.
Zack wanted her to think about her own performance. But Kanga always looked at others to check how others were faring. She had even started pushing others now. Zack scolded her, but that was not enough.
After the fight with Zack, Kanga went hopping alone. She felt too angry and upset to go and meet her friends.
Kanga ate some soft green grass and went to have some cool water at the pond. Many animals would come to the pond to drink water.
As Kanga was sipping water, she heard someone say, “You hoped quite well in the race!” She looked up, surprised, to see Gary, the giraffe.
Gary was in the same sports club, but he was training under another coach.
“What?” asked Kanga.
“I said, nice hopping in the race,” told Gary.
“Yeah, but I did not win the race. Now everyone is laughing at me because I forgot to start when the whistle blew,” said Kanga sadly.
“It is okay. Such things happen sometimes,” said Gary.
Kanga said, “My coach isn’t happy that I pushed the monkey. Why are you are praising my hopping?”
“Because I liked your hopping. Your hops were filled with energy. You could have won the race if you had started on time,” said Gary.
“You have long legs. Do you think you won the race because of that?” asked Kanga.
“Could be, but I cannot hop,” said Gary.
Kanga did not understand what Gary was trying to say. Gary looked at her confused expression and explained, “See Kanga, the rhino has strength, the horse has power, and the cheetah has strong muscles. I have long legs. And you can hop. Each one of us has our own strengths.”
Gary was right. Kanga remained silent.
“It is about you, Kanga. Think about what you have. Use your strengths wisely. Make them better by practice. Then you too can win someday,” said Gary with a friendly smile.
Kanga realised what her coach Zack had been trying to tell her all this while.
“You are right Gary. My coach tried to explain this to me many times, but I did not understand,” said Kanga, looking sad.
Kanga decided that she would meet Zack and say sorry to him.
“Thank you so much, Gary. And hearty congratulations for winning the race,” Kanga smiled at Gary, without a hint of jealousy in her mind.
“Thank you, Kanga. Good game to you too!” cheered Gary happily.
Kunal was visiting his Aunt Madhavi in Chicago, USA for a few days. His aunt and uncle lived there on their own. Aunt Madhavi would take him out to visit different places every day. Kunal noticed that in all the big malls, there were lots of pumpkins that had strange and scary faces carved on them.
Curious, Kunal asked Aunt Madhavi, “Why are there so many scary pumpkins everywhere, aunty?”
Aunt Madhavi said, “Kunal, I forgot to tell you. October 31 is Halloween. It’s a day of fun and frolic for kids. Adults also take part in the celebrations.”
“But we also celebrate Halloween in our school in India. All the kids dress up in different costumes and dance and sing. The teachers tell us scary stories. But I’ve never seen such pumpkins there,” said Kunal.
Aunt Madhavi told Kunal, “Even we celebrate Diwali here in America, but it’s not as bright and lively as it is in India. Similarly, traditional festivals of America are not celebrated in the same way in India. These pumpkins are called Jack-o’-lanterns. On Halloween, candles are lit and placed inside them, and they are kept outside the house.”
“Why aunty?” asked Kunal, curiously.
Aunt Madhavi said, “There is a legend about them. A long time ago, there was an evil man called Jack, who, one day, met the devil on the street. He was scared that the devil would take him. Jack came up with a plan. He requested the devil that before he went with him, he wished to have an apple. The devil agreed and immediately climbed up an apple tree to pluck an apple.”
“Why did Jack ask the devil to climb the tree?” asked Kunal.
“The tree belonged to the king of fruits-Apple. When the devil climbed it, the king woke up, got angry and trapped him. Jack knew this would happen, and so as soon as the devil climbed the tree, he ran from there. The devil was furious with Jack for tricking him. He pleaded with the king to let him go. The King agreed and let him climb down,” explained Aunt Madhavi.
“What happened next?” asked Kunal. He was enjoying the story.
Aunt Madhavi said, “Well, a few days later, Jack passed away. Since he was evil, he could not go to heaven. At the same time, the devil did not let him enter hell.”
The devil told Jack, “There’s no place for you here. Go back to earth.”
“Jack kept wandering from one place to another on earth. People were scared of him. The devil told him that on the day of Halloween, you could see other people, but even on that day, people will carve scary faces on pumpkins, light candles in them and keep them outside their houses so that you are kept away,” continued Aunt Madhavi.
”Aunty,” said Kunal. “Is there a real heaven and hell?”
Aunt Madhavi said, “Oh, no, Kunal. It’s all just folklore. In all countries and cultures, the concept of heaven and hell has been introduced to encourage people to do good deeds and stop them from doing anything bad. These are just stories.”
More from Champak: Halloween Way
“I see,” said Kunal. Aunt Madhavi continued, “That’s not all. On this day, kids in groups visit all homes in the neighbourhood and ask: ‘Trick or treat?”‘
“What does that mean, Aunty?” asked Kunal, curiously.
“Trick or treat means either give us a treat or prepare to get tricked. Most people give candies, chocolates and maybe some money,” said Aunt Madhavi.”But there are some who refuse to give them anything.
These people are then given punishments.” “What kind of punishments?” asked Kunal.
“Sometimes the kids leave garbage in front of their houses or break their fences. Stuff like that which they get amused by!” said Aunt Madhavi.
“I see,” said Kunal. Aunt Madhavi continued, “That’s not all. On this day, kids in groups visit all homes in the neighbourhood and ask: ‘Trick or treat?”‘
“What does that mean, Aunty?” asked Kunal, curiously.
“Trick or treat means either give us a treat or prepare to get tricked. Most people give candies, chocolates and maybe some money,” said Aunt Madhavi.”But there are some who refuse to give them anything. These people are then given punishments.”
“What kind of punishments?” asked Kunal.”Sometimes the kids leave garbage in front of their houses or break their fences. Stuff like that which they get amused by!” said Aunt Madhavi.
“Thank you for sharing with me, Aunty,” said Kunal. “I’ll go back to India and share it again with my friends. But there’s just one more thing Why are these pumpkins called Jack-o’-lanterns?”
Aunt Madhavi said, “People had started putting them outside their houses mainly to keep evil Jack away. So, they came to be known as Jack-o’ lanterns. Initially, large beets were used to carve faces. Later when Europeans came to America, they noticed the large orange pumpkins. In the light of the
candles, they appeared really bright. And so they started carving faces on the big pumpkins.”
She continued, “Carving faces itself became an art. We have competitions for carving faces during Halloween. The most detailed and scary face is given prizes.
Many stories have also been written on such pumpkins.”
“Oh, please tell me one such story!” pleaded Kunal. Aunt Madhavi placed her hand on Kunal’s head and said, “No, not today! I’ll tell you a story some other day. It’s time to go to bed now. Good night!”
