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Tiblu Tiger Goes Mountaineering

Tiblu was a tiger baby, and was very fond of exercise. In Champakvan, parents used to compare their babies with Tiblu and cite his example when they talked about fitness and good health.

Once Tiblu came to know that a mountaineering camp was being organised in the nearby jungle. So he told his mother that he wanted to go. The Blue Mountain was not too far from Champakvan, and was a well known place for adventure trips. Mother Tiger was a bit worried to hear this.

She said, “But Tiblu, Blue Mountain is very tall.”

“Yes, mother, and that is why I want to reach the top of the mountain. Many of my friends, Freddie the Fox, Zimba the Leopard, and Tony the Wolf are going for mountaineering. And we shall travel only for four days.”

This became a very exciting news, and everyone felt that this was a moment of pride for Champakvan animals.

Special arrangements were made for the animals that were going for mountaineering.

King of the Jungle, Lambart the Lion announced special food facilities for them, which included a high protein diet. The Rooster family, who was in-charge of providing eggs to animals, made an extra delivery of eggs for the mountain climbers.

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Gardener Percy the Peacock made sure that healthy fruits reached them for good nourishment.

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In a short time, the mountaineers’ team was well fed and healthily prepared for the mountaineering mission.

A week before the mountaineering mission was to start, Freddie and his father came to meet Tiblu’s father to discuss the planning for children’s travel and safety.

After some general discussions, Daddy Fox spoke to the Daddy Tiger, “I have heard that Billy the Goat, who lives in our jungle, is a very avid mountaineer. Should we take his advice?” Tiger Dad frowned. He could not see eye to eye with Billy, for which the reasons were unclear.

Tiger Dad coughed, and said, “Oh yes! How could I forget Billy? But I have heard that he prefers to be domesticated and does not live in our  jungle anymore.”

Fox Dad  hastily added, “No, Sir. He is still staying in the jungle. Can we talk to him tomorrow?”

Tiger Dad agreed finally, “Okay, okay! We will  meet him tomorrow.” Freddie and his father happily returned home. The next day Tiger Dad and his son Tiblu, Freddie and Fox Dad, as well as Tony with his father and Zimba with his mother went to see Billy.

Billy’s house was on a slope in the jungle. It was little difficult for the guests to climb to his house. However, as the Goat family saw the guests coming, Billy and his wife stood welcoming them.

It was difficult for the tiger to gulp down the ego while seeking help from a goat.

But considering that it would help his son, he spoke to Billy, “Hello Billy Goat! We have come to seek your advice on mountaineering. We have heard that you have climbed many tall mountains. Kindly provide my son and his friends the right guidance for it.”

Billy was a kind animal. He smiled and said, “Welcome to my home, dear Tiger. I can understand that as a father you will be anxious to send your son for mountaineering, but let me tell you that it is not at all difficult to climb a mountain.”

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All the four children and their parents looked gapingly at Billy as he described some of his adventures of climbing very steep mountains.

At the end, Billy concluded, “If you have a strong will, nothing is impossible. Another important thing is good food. Your food should not be too heavy when taken before starting and during the mountaineering activity. You must also carry food which can provide for instant energy and light luggage. Make sure to carry a battery for night safety, and some woolens for warmth as mountain tops are cooler than the land.”

He continued, “I understand that a tiger, a leopard or a fox do not have paws with a good grip like us to climb the steep slopes, but do not worry. Blue Mountain is a simple climb, and your children will enjoy it.”

Tiger Dad, Fox Dad as well as Wolf Dad and Leopard Mother were really happy to listen to the advice given by Billy goat.

Tiger Dad realised that he had wronged Billy till now. He was not a dangerous animal though he had long horns. In fact, he was very kind and helpful to animals who sought his advice.

Mountaineers followed Billy’s advice, and started to prepare for their adventure. This helped them a great deal. When the day arrived, they were all well prepared for the task.

Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba left for the mountaineering camp. They looked happy, and even their parents seemed to be relieved by their preparations.

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Mountaineers reached to the top of Blue Mountain on the third day as per the schedule, and the whole team jumped with joy and happiness! Their dream had come true!

Then they started descending the mountain. Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba safely returned back to their parents in Champakvan after a long and tedious trek.

The next day Tiblu, Freddie, Tony and Zimba went to thank Billy.

They said, “Uncle, your advice was a great help to us. We were really motivated by that. Thank you for your guidance and tips for preparations.”

Billy smiled and said, “Children! No task is difficult in life, whether it be sports or studies or anything else. If you plan and prepare for it in advance, even climbing a mountain becomes a joy ride!”.

Mountaineering friends then hugged each other and started jumping joyfully! It was now time for celebration in Champakvan!

The Egg Thief

On the top of a tree lived Seenu, the sparrow. She had just built a nest and laid five eggs.

Seenu was very proud of her eggs and sat on them everyday and kept them warm. She would get up for some time every day to find something to eat. But, one day, Seenu returned to get the shock of her life.

In her nest were only four eggs today. Seenu searched high and low, but found no trace of her egg. She was devastated that her precious egg was missing and managed to console herself as it was nature’s way.

The next day when she returned to her nest, another egg was missing. Seenu was sure somebody was stealing her eggs and began to look for clues. As she searched the area around her tree, she found a handkerchief by the roots.

“This looks like Bunty’s handkerchief,” said Seenu to herself. Bunty, the monkey was Seenu’s arch enemy. He lived in the tree next to Seenu’s and he would always try to pick a fight with her. Certain that Bunty was the one who made off with her eggs, Seenu went straight to the king.

She narrated everything that had happened and the king listened intently. “Do you have any proof?” he asked her. Seenu gave Bunty’s handkerchief to the king.

The king ordered that Bunty be brought to him immediately. When Bunty was presented before him, the king asked him what he had done with Seenu’s eggs. But Bunty had no idea what the king was talking about.

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“Seenu told me that you have stolen her eggs. I order you to give it back,” said the king.

“Your majesty, I’m a vegetarian. There’s nothing I can do with Seenu’s eggs. Believe me, I’m innocent,” said Seenu.

“The evidence is against you. I will give you two days’ time. If you do not return Seenu’s eggs and own up for your misdeeds, you will be severely punished,” said the king and sent Bunty away.

Bunty was feeling low. He needed to somehow prove that he was innocent. He turned to his friend, Meeku, the rabbit. Bunty and Meeku were childhood friends and spent a lot of time together. Meeku believed Bunty and approached the king.

“Your highness, we request you to please give us a day’s time and we will prove that Bunty is indeed innocent, said Meeku, pleading the king. The king agreed and the plan was set.

The next morning, Seenu flew away from her nest in search of food. A few minutes later, Snaky, the snake came crashing to the ground. He had been living in the same tree as Seenu’s and had been living in a little hollow on the tree’s trunk.

He had an egg stuck in his mouth and begged Bunty, Seenu and Meeku, who had been hiding in the bushes all this while, to save his life.

“Help me. I can’t breathe,” said Snaky, his face turning blue. The three took Snaky to the nearest hospital. The egg was wedged firmly inside Snaky’s mouth and the doctor couldn’t pull it out. Snaky needed an operation. Snaky was given anesthesia and he fell asleep. A short operation later, the doctor removed the egg.

Snaky could breathe again and told them how he noticed that Seenu had laid eggs and how she would fly away everyday for some time. “Since she wasn’t at her nest, it was the perfect time to eat the eggs. But for some reason, the egg I tried to eat today refused to break after I swallowed it.”

“It’s no surprise that you couldn’t” said Bunty. “What you ate in fact was a stone. When we saw that Seenu’s eggs have been going missing, we knew that the perpetrator would return to the scene of the crime and try again. Unfortunately for you, we were smarter than you thought.”

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Snakey was arrested by the king’s guards. Seenu apologised to Bunty for wrongly accusing him of stealing her eggs. Bunty and Seenu managed to settle their differences and lived happily ever after.

 

Ratu, the Artist

Ratu, the mouse loved to draw and paint. His two best friends were his brush and his set of paints. While he had a lot of fun drawing and painting all day, his parents and family members were worried. They believed that Ratu was wasting his time drawing and painting all day.

They wanted him to study hard and become a successful engineer or a famous doctor.

The only animal in the entire forest who appreciated Ratu’s drawing and painting was old Lambu, the monkey, who was a painter himself. One day, Lambu said, “Ratu, I just heard that the king is going to conduct a big painting exhibition.”

“But Lambu Uncle, why are you telling me this?” asked Ratu.

“Why Ratu, because you’re one of the best painters this jungle has ever seen. This exhibition will be a great platform for you to showcase your work,” said Lambu.

Ratu thought Lambu was pulling his leg. Nobody had ever told Ratu that his paintings were good, let alone call him a good painter.

Ratu said, “I know you’re making fun of me Lambu Uncle. Why would anybody allow somebody like me to showcase my work in one of the biggest art exhibitions in the jungle?”

Lambu understood that Ratu was yet to realise his true worth. He was yet to understand the true potential of the talent hidden deep inside him. Lambu asked Ratu to meet Kaalu, the jackal, the animal in charge of the exhibition.

Kaalu was a famous painter too. He had put up several exhibitions and had gathered lots of fame and fortune. Ratu showed Kaalu some of the paintings Lambu had asked him to take with him. Kaalu realised that Ratu was an excellent painter. Jealous, he decided to put Ratu down.

Kaalu tossed Ratu’s paintings aside and said, “You call this art? Anybody with a brush and a paint set could produce drawings like these. If you put these up at the art exhibition, it would be a disgrace.”

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Thoroughly dejected, Ratu walked back home. On the way, he met Lambu Uncle. With tears in his eyes, Ratu narrated everything that had happened. Lambu Uncle was wise.

He knew exactly why Kaalu had behaved this way.

Lambu Uncle took Ratu straight to the jungle’s art college. His good friend, Nathu, the bear was the arts professor there. Nathu took a look at Ratu’s paintings and was blown away.

“Ratu, I must say, you have a lot of potential. Seeing that at such a young age, you have so much talent, I’m sure you’ll become a great painter very soon,” he said. “Tell me, are you taking part in the art exhibition?” he asked.

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Lambu told him everything that happened at Kaalu’s house. Nathu immediately went to his computer and began typing. He printed out a sheet of paper and said, “Ratu, you are going to present your work at the art exibition. If Kaalu stops you, just show them this letter of recommendation from me,” said Nathu and wished him luck.

Ratu and Lambu went straight to Kaalu. Seeing them Kalu said, “What are you doing here once again? Did I not tell you that your paintings weren’t good enough for the exhibition? If you think Lambu’s recommendation is going to get you a spot here, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“No sir, I’m just here to give you this letter from Prof. Nathu from the arts college,” said Ratu handing Kaalu the letter.

Kaalu had no choice now but to let Ratu in. Nathu was too powerful and well respected to cross.

On the day of the exhibition, Ratu had displayed all his best paintings. King Babbar dropped by to see all the paintings being displayed and had brought the famous painter, Lumumba, the giraffe, from Africa.

Among all the paintings at the exhibition, Babbar and Lambu loved Ratu’s paintings the most.

They bought one of Ratu’s paintings for two lakh rupees and soon, all of Ratu’s paintings were sold. Ratu had never been happier and both Lambu and Nathu couldn’t help but hold back their smiles. They were proud of Ratu.

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As King Babbar and Lumumba left the exhibition, they praised Ratu’s skill and called him a diamond in the rough. Kaalu, jealous at first soon realised the error in his ways. He understood that like diamonds, true talents shine brightest only after they have been discovered.

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.

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“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.

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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!

 

 

The Escape Plan

It was time for Munnu, the mouse to start for school. But he was worried. The previous day, he had seen Billu, the cat prowling along the path to school, looking for a prey.

Since most kids travelled together by school bus, Billu could not catch them. But Munnu usually rode his bicycle to school every day alone, so Billu was sure to catch him.

Just as he had anticipated, Munnu saw Billu standing by the side of the road, eyeing him greedily. Munnu pedalled as fast as he could and raced past him.

“That was close!” thought Munnu relieved.

However, on the way back from school, Billu was standing right in the middle of the road, blocking Munnu’s path.

“Munnu, my friend! How are you?” Billu greeted him with a sly smile.

“Oh no! I am done for! What will I do now?” Munnu wondered nervously.

Billu was stronger and faster than him, so there was no point in trying to run away.

“I have to stay calm and come up with an idea,” he thought.

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At that moment, he remembered his teacher once telling him that when someone is angry, they lose their ability to think clearly. So, Munnu had an idea. He slowly got off his bicycle. “Getting ready to run away?” asked Billu, narrowing his gaze.

“Of course not! I am not scared of you. In fact, none of my friends find you scary,” Munnu taunted Billu.

Billu was taken aback. He did not expect Munnu to talk back confidently.

“Don’t my claws and teeth scare you?” Billu asked, flashing his razor-sharp teeth.

“They actually look funny!” laughed Munnu. “Moreover, I’ve seen the way you run. I can push my cycle along and walk home and still you won’t be able to catch me,” he taunted Billu, poking his tongue out at him.

“How dare you! I’ll teach you a lesson!” hissed Billu and ran towards Munnu.

This was the opportunity Munnu was waiting for. He pushed his cycle down and ran. Billu tripped on the cycle and fell down.

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“Come on, Billu. Don’t sleep. I am waiting for you to catch me,” said Munnu, from a short distance ahead.

This made Billu angrier.

“Wait till I get my hands on you!” growled Billu. He got up and ran after Munnu.

Munnu continued to run. “What shall I do next?” he wondered while running as fast as he could.

Suddenly, Munnu spotted a deep pit, a few metres ahead of him. He had an idea. Instead of running around the pit, Munnu waited for Billu to catch up.

When Billu was just an arm’s length away Munnu swiftly stepped aside, revealing the pit before him. It was too late for Billu to stop. He fell into the pit.

Billu struggled to get out. “Please help me get out of here, Munnu. I promise not to trouble you anymore,” he cried.

Munnu wanted to walk away, but then, he remembered his mother’s words: “One must always help those in distress, irrespective of who they are.”

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So, Munnu picked up a rope that was lying nearby, tied one end to a tree trunk and threw the other to Billu.

“Hold the rope and climb back up. I’m going home. Bye!” he waved Billu goodbye and ran home.

He was happy to have escaped unharmed.

And They Became Friends

Rohan and Meera were close friends. One day when Meera saw Rohan sitting on the school ground looking glum, she asked what was bothering him.

“I am upset with the behaviour of Shashi and his friends. They are always troubling other children. Today they tore Gautam’s diary. I saw everything yet I could not do anything about it,” Rohan said sadly.

“Oh! So, this is the reason. You know they cannot be reformed. Why are you spoiling your mood by thinking about them?” said Meera trying to cheer him up.

Rohan agreed with her and quickly changed the subject to exam preparation.

The next day, the Principal circulated a notice to all the classes, announcing that students, who write a good essay on “Our Camp”, will be appointed as volunteers at the summer camp. Three students had to be selected from each class

All the children were very excited and quickly got down to writing the essay. However, Shashi as usual wanted to make trouble and he started disturbing other students and would not let anyone write their essay.

“If you keep troubling us like this I will complain against you to the principal. He is very strict and he will expel you from the camp,” Rohan said.

Shashi stared angrily at Rohan and reluctantly sat down in his seat.

Meanwhile Meera had gone to the washroom and when she returned she saw that the paper on which she had been writing her essay was not on her desk.

“Where is my essay?” Meera screamed. She looked for it everywhere. Hearing the commotion, their teacher entered the classroom.’

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“Sir, Shashi has stolen Meera’s essay,” said Sonia. And all students joined her in blaming Shashi as he was the one who was always making trouble.

The teacher angrily said, “Shashi! I have been hearing complaints against you for a long time. Stealing is not a good behaviour. As a result, I am expelling you from the camp.”

To everyone’s surprise, Rohan came to Shashi’s defense.

“Sir, Shashi has not stolen Meera’s essay.

I was watching Shashi all the time so that he does not trouble’s anyone and so, I can say that Shashi did not steal the essay,” Rohan explained.

The teacher announced that he would check everyone’s bag to solve the mystery of the missing essay. Each student was asked to step out of the classroom for the search to begin.

While the teacher was saying this, Sonia quietly tore Meera’s essay and put pieces of paper in Shashi’s bag.

During the search, as suspected, the essay papers were found in Shashi’s bag. He was called inside to explain them.

Now tell us, Shashi, do you still say that you did not steal the essay? These were found in your bag,” the teacher said showing Shashi the torn pieces.

Once again Rohan defended Shashi. “Sir, I have proof that Shashi is not the thief but Sonia is,” said Rohan.

“Sir! These are the bits of paper of the essay, that I found in Sonia’s bag. Sonia stole the essay and tore them inside her bag.”

“Then at the right moment Sonia shoved these bits of paper into Shashi’s bag. She did it so that Shashi would get caught and she would not be suspected,” continued Rohan.

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“If Shashi had stolen the paper, how are same bits of it in Sonia’s bag,” asked Rohan showing the bits of the essay in Sonia’s bag.

Sonia was asked to explain herself to everyone.

Sonia then said that she was jealous of Meera and stealing her essay was the only way to stop Meera from volunteering for the camp. Since Shashi had a reputation for being the troublemaker it was easier to put the blame on him.

The teacher expelled Sonia from the camp. Shashi thanked Rohan for his support and promised that from now onwards he would mend his ways. After some time, Rohan and Shashi became good friends. •

 

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.

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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!”

Newlook Beauty Parlour

Hank hippo was passing by, when he stopped in his tracks to see two strangers walking into Rainbow forest. They were dressed in trendy outfits and had rather stylish hair styles.

“Hello! My name is Hank. What brings you to Rainbow forest?” greeted Hank and asked them.

“Hello Hank. This is Beauty fox. She is a beautician. And I am Rancho jackal, her assistant,” introduced Rancho.

“Are you here on a holiday?” asked Hank further.

“No. We are here to open a beauty parlour so that we can introduce new styles to you. But for that we will need permission and a place to set up our parlour,” answered Beauty

Hank was delighted to hear this. He told them, “There is an unoccupied cave near the old mound. But you will need to take our King Eddie elephant’s permission to open your parlour there.”

“Thank you for your suggestion Hank. We will meet you there in a while. Will you get all the other animals near the cave?” asked Beauty.

The news about the beauty parlour spread like wild fire all over the forest and everyone assembled near the old mound to meet Beauty and Rancho, who had also come there.

Beauty said, “Hello everyone! We are really delighted to come to Rainbow forest. I have checked the inside of the cave. It is quite spacious and if his highness, King Eddie agrees, then we can set up our “New Look” beauty parlour here.”

Sif Just then King Eddie reached the spot and said, “I don’t have any issues if all the animals of my forest are happy with the parlour being opened. Both of you can stay in the cave and run your beauty parlour.”

“Thank you so much King Eddie. If each one of you could come and design your look with us, then we could get the products that are required from the city. You will have to pay an advance to us to start the parlour,” said Beauty

None of the animals had a problem with this. Hank was the first one to come forward. He said, “I have a very hard, rough and dry skin. I want a smooth skin instead.”

“That can be easily done,” said Beauty. “You will have to undergo a deep cream massage treatment for a long time. You need to deposit Rs.3000 with us, and we will take the remaining amount once the treatment is over,” said Beauty. Hank immediately left to get the money.

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Then, Harry crane came in next. He said, “I am so handsome, but my long legs spoil my beauty. I want to have my legs shortened.”

“We will need to call a doctor from the city and perform a small operation on your legs to shorten them. You need to deposit Rs.5000 with us,” said Beauty

Then, Harry crane came in next. He said, “I am so handsome, but my long legs spoil my beauty. I want to have my legs shortened.”

Harry too hurried to arrange the money.

Blacky bear was waiting for his turn desperately. He rushed in and said, “I am bored with my long black hair. I want to cut my hair and have my body designed like that of a giraffe.”

“It can be done. We can remove your hair and make permanent tattoos on your body using herbal colours. You will need to deposit Rs. 10,000 for this,” answered Beauty.

Blacky agreed immediately.

Similarly, most of the birds and animals wanted to undergo a change in their looks. King Eddie spoke in the end, “I too want my outer teeth, the tusks pushed inside. Can you do this job in your parlour?”

New-Look-beauty-parlour

“Of course, your majesty! You will have to put on some springs called braces on your tusks for a few years. We will get these from the city for you,” said Beauty.

“How much will it cost?” asked King Eddie.

“Your highness, you have given us the permission and a place to setup this parlour. How can we charge anything from you?” said Beauty with a smile.

“No. I can’t use the cave for my personal needs. You must tell me the cost for the braces,” King Eddie said.

“If you insist, your majesty. You need to deposit Rs.10,000 with us,” Beauty said immediately

“Okay,” said King Eddie nodding and left from there with a smile on his face.

The next day, all the animals of Rainbow forest, came to Beauty and Rancho with the money. King Eddie was also there.

Just then, Inspector Jeetu wolf and Tony cheetah arrested Beauty and Rancho and brought them out of the cave.

New-Look-beauty-parlour

King Eddie shouted, “Throw both the goons behind bars.” Everybody was shocked. If these two were to go to jail, then who would give them their new look!

“Reveal the identity of Beauty and Rancho before everyone. They will decide for themselves whether these two are really capable of giving them a new look,” said King Eddie.

Tony immediately removed the wig and goggles from Beauty and Rancho’s faces.

“Hey, this is Chamko fox and Jagoo jackal,” all shouted in surprise.

“Yes, these two thieves ran away from the jail, a few days ago. They came back in disguise to cheat us,” explained King Eddie.

New-Look-beauty-parlour

“Ellen eagle, the forest detective keeps an eye on all the strangers coming into the forest. When she told me that these two reached the cave near the old mound without asking for directions from anyone, I grew suspicious. I asked them on purpose to bend my tusks inside though I like them being outside. Only an orthodontist can set your teeth inside your mouth,” said King Eddie.

“But, these two started talking about using a wire to tie my teeth and push them inside. Then, I understood that these two were trying to cheat me. I asked Ellen to hide inside the cave and listen to their conversations. She told me that, these were two were Chamko and Jagoo. They were planning to escape after collecting the money,” explained King Eddie.

Further, King Eddie said, “Nature has blessed us with a beautiful body based on our environment and eating habits. Why do you want to undergo a change by imitating others? Blacky, when you go to the hive to extract honey, this long black hair of yours protects you from honey bees.”

New-Look-beauty-parlour

“And you Harry, your long legs help you to stand in the pond and catch fish. Hank, your thick, hard skin protects you from enemies,” explained King Eddie to all of them.

They realised their mistake. This was an eye opener for them. And everyone thanked King Eddie for saving them from being cheated.

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.

Rancho's-Challenge

“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.

Rancho's-Challenge

“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.

Rancho's-Challenge

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 Aliens Are Coming!

What was that?” asked Squiggy, the squirrel startled.

“What? Where?” asked Danny, the deer, looking around.

“There!” said Squiggy, pointing to the sky. “It flew over the tree to the other side.”

“I didn’t see anything,” said Danny, still confused. “What did you see?”

“I don’t know. It looked like a plane but there was no sound,” said Squiggy.

Danny came to the conclusion that it must have been an alien spaceship. He immediately told his friends about it and the news spread like wildfire across the forest. Even the news channels started reporting it.

“Did you really see an alien spaceship?” asked King Tammy, the tiger.

“I did see something fly past but it was unlike anything I had seen before. So, I am not sure what exactly it was,” said Squiggy, thinking hard.

“Did it make a sound?” asked Minister Monty, the monkey.

“No, it did not,” replied Squiggy.

“Hmmm…then Danny must be right. They are aliens!” declared Monty. “If aliens have come to the forest, we must welcome them. I’ve heard that they are very powerful.”

“You are right, Monty. Even I’ve read that their technology is several years ahead of ours. Let’s organise a grand welcome party for them,” said Tammy.

The entire forest prepared for the welcome party. A large open spot was chosen where balloons and banners were put up. Then, all the animals waited patiently for the aliens to show up.

Three days had passed and there was still no sign of the aliens or their spaceships.

“I don’t think the aliens are going to come,” said Tammy disappointed.

“Perhaps Squiggy lied about seeing the aliens,” said Monty.

“I think so too. Squiggy made a fool of us!” said Tammy angrily. “Bring him to me!”

Squiggy went up to Tammy and said, “I did not lie, Your Highness. I really saw something, but I did tell you that I am not sure what it was,” said Squiggy scared.

The aliens are coming

“We trusted you and made so many arrangements, and now we look like fools! It was an utter waste of our time. You will be punished for it,” roared Tammy.

“But…but…,” Squiggy tried to explain but Tammy wouldn’t listen.

“I give you a day’s time to find out what it really was or get ready to face your punishment,” said Tammy, before walking away.

“This is my fault!” thought Danny, realising what he had done. “If I had not spread the news, my friend would not have got into trouble,” he regretted.

Danny too began looking for the spaceship. He came across a clearing where he finally found the aliens!

That evening , Tammy  was taking a walk, when  all of a sudden, he saw something fly swiftly over his head.

“The aliens are here!” he screamed in joy.

Hearing  the commotion, the other animals  of the forest quickly  gathered around.

“I just saw the alien spaceship! It flew over my head,”  said Tammy excitedly.

“Squiggy was speaking the truth”,  said Monty.

“Yes.  There’s no need  to punish him now,”  said Tammy, waiting  for the aliens to show up again.

Suddenly, a small helicopter  flew over  Tammy’s head and landed before him. Everyone was puzzled.

The aliens are coming

“That’s not alien spaceship, Your Highness,” said Danny, making his way through the crowd. “While looking for the alien spaceship, I found a few kids playing with their remote-controlled toy airplanes and helicopters close to where  Squiggy and I were talking the other day. Squiggy must have seen one of these toys and got confused.”

The realisation downed Tammy. “So the aliens were actually living among us,” he said smiling. He then turned to Squiggy and said, “Please forgive me for accusing of you lying. I should have verified the rumour instead of trusting  it blindly.”

“You are right, Your Highness. This is a lesson for all of us,” said Monty.

All the animals agreed.

 

 

Wicked Friendship!

________________________________

Story: Abrar Mohsin
Illustrations: Sonal & Sumit, Freepik

Like and follow Champak on: facebook.com/ChampakMagazine/ for more stories, comics, puzzles and jokes!

 

Bunny Cat’s Valentine

Bunny, the cat’s school teacher had told the students about Valentine’s Day that is celebrated on 14th February every year and it is a day to express love for near and dear ones. Bunny was thrilled when she came to know about this.

Coming back from school, Bunny sat down to decide to who she should gift a greeting card as a Valentine gift. Bunny’s grandmother was nearby.

Bunny said, “Dadi, can you help me? I was thinking about who should be my Valentine?”

Dadi suggested that Bunny should show gratitude towards people who she learns from. She said, “Bunny your friends, teachers, relatives and family members can be your Valentine. It helps you…”

“Dadi! Please I already know that. My teacher has already told us everything,” Bunny interrupted her Dadi, making a face.

“Okay dear. But let me know once you finish,” said Dadi leaving Bunny alone.

“Shall I make a card for my friend Sofie who sits beside me? No. She didn’t show her new compass box to me.”

“Shall I give a gift to Jimmy? Na! Na! He pulls my tail every now and then,” Bunny murmured to herself.

“Bunny, I am leaving for your aunt’s house. I will be back tomorrow morning. Don’t trouble Dadi,” said Bunny’s mother and left.

“Mom. I know. I will take care of myself. Please don’t disturb me,” fumed Bunny.

Few hours had passed since her mother left, and Bunny was still engrossed in making her special valentine card and deciding on who to give.

“Shall I gift it to Dadi? But last week only I had given her a birthday gift. Now I should think of someone else,” thought Bunny to herself.

She had gone over all the names of her friends, but Bunny was still unable to settle on any one name. By now it was evening

Bunny came to the balcony to take a break. She saw the sun and waved it good bye. She kept gazing at the sun for a long time. She felt a sense of loneliness as the darkness increased. She could not understand what was bothering her.

Bunny looked up at the sky. The birds were flying hurriedly to their home and the children waiting for them. Seeing the birds, Bunny too started missing her mother.

Bunny-Cat's-Valentine

Bunny decided to spend some time with her Dadi; and sat on the sofa watching her favourite show on television. But nothing seemed to make her happy. Dadi served her favourite ice-cream, but Bunny was not interested. She had never been silent before.

Bunny had never lived without her mother for a single day. She was used to see her mother taking care of her, loving her, making her favourite dishes, taking up homework and all other things with her.

“Oh mom! Where are you? I am missing you a lot. Please come back soon,” Bunny said aloud.

“I have taken you for granted. I’m so sorry mom. I love you,” Bunny realised her deepest love for her mom that day.

The next morning when her mother came back, Bunny ran as fast as she could and snuggled into her. She didn’t utter a word.

Her mother patted her lovingly, but was curious to know what happened to Bunny.

Then she saw a greeting card in Bunny’s hand.

She removed and started reading, “To my dearest mom, Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you a lot. But please don’t leave me alone again. Yours, Bunny.”

Bunny’s mother hugged her and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day to you, dear. I love you too.”

Cleanliness Campaign

Neel and his friends were waiting for siblings Jay and Khushi to join them at the colony park. After waiting a while, the kids decided to go to their house to call them.

When Neel knocked on the door, the siblings’ mother, Reena aunty opened the door and invited them in. Inside, they saw Jay and Khushi lying on the bed while being attended to by the neighbourhood physician, Dr. Kumar.

“What happened to them, Aunty?” asked Neel concerned.

“They fell ill after they came home from the park last evening,” replied Reena aunty.

“Do you know why they fell ill?” Dr. Kumar asked the kids. “It is because of the lack of cleanliness in your society, especially in the park where you play. There is garbage everywhere, old tyres and plastic bottles are discarded in the park. It is the perfect environment for germs to thrive.”

“You are right, Dr. Kumar. Also, water gets collected in the puddles, as well as, inside the discarded tyres and coconut shells where mosquitos breed,” said Reena aunty.

“Mosquitos are the main transmitters of diseases such as dengue and malaria. You kids should stay away from the park,” advised Dr. Kumar.

In the evening, Neel told his father about Dr. Kumar’s advice against playing in the park.

“But Dad, the park is the only open space we have to play in. If we cannot play there, where else can we go?” asked Neel.

“Our society has a committee that is supposed to look into these issues but no one seems to have the time. Only if someone comes forward and starts something, will everyone else join. That is the problem,” said Neel’s father.

Next day, after school, Neel and his friends met to discuss the situation.

“Since the adults don’t seem to have the time, it is up to us to do something to clean up our society. Otherwise, we will not be able to play without our parents worrying about us falling ill,” said Neel.

“You are right. Let’s first start by clearing the scrap materials lying around. I will ask my mother to call up the scrap vendor who comes to our house to collect the old newspapers and bottles,” suggested Nina.

“That’s a good idea. Meanwhile, we will talk to the committee and get their permission,” said Neel.

A-Campaign-for-Cleanliness

The kids met the following evening and sold all the scrap material to the vendor.

“We got a good amount of money from selling all that scrap. But this may not be enough to continue with our plan,” said Kevin.

So, the kids decided to pool their pocket money and the savings from their piggy banks.

The money the kids had collected was insufficient to cover all the expenses, but Jay’s father was impressed by their initiative and agreed to contribute some money. A few other parents came forward to contribute money as well.

Soon, the work was underway in the neighbourhood. Within a few days, the work was completed.

That Sunday, the residents of the colony woke up to a cleaner neighbourhood. The roads were fixed, the pavement was cleaned, there were dustbins placed every few metres and signs asking the residents to keep the society clean were put up. Though the residents knew that the kids had been working on cleaning up the society, they were pleasantly surprised by the results.

A-Campaign-for-Cleanliness

In the evening, the committee convened a meeting and appreciated all the kids.

They also promised to take efforts to upkeep the cleanliness. The kids were happy that their efforts had paid off, more so because they could now play in the park without worrying about falling ill.

Ellie Learns his Strength

Ellie, the young elephant calf lived in the forest of Green Woods. He was much bigger and stronger than his friends, because of which he would often get into trouble unknowingly.

Once, Ellie saw a beehive on the branch of a tree. Fearing that the beehive may fall and the bees might hurt themselves, Ellie decided to help by placing the beehive down on the ground. When he tugged at the branch, he held it too tightly and broke it. The bees swarmed out of the hive angrily and scolded Ellie for being careless.

Another time, Ellie’s friends were playing football with Monty, the monkey’s new ball. In his eagerness to play, Ellie kicked the ball so hard that it burst with a loud boom! The children were angry at Ellie for ruining the ball .

After this incident, his friends started to avoid him. But Ellie Could not understand what his mistake was.

One day, when the children did not include him in their game, Ellie sat alone under a tree and started crying.

Barry, the bear, who was passing by, saw Ellie crying. He stopped to ask, “What is the matter, Ellie? Why are you crying?”

Ellie told Barry how all his friends had stopped talking to him baecause he always messed things up.

“Don’t worry, dear Ellie. The day you do a good job, everyone will realise your good intention and become your friend again,” consoled Barry.

“Thank you for the kind words,” said Ellie, feeling a little better.

The next day, as Ellie was walking by the playground, he noticed that the plants around the playground had become dry and their flowers had wilted.

“Perhaps, I should water these plants and make them bloom again. That way all my friends will notice what a good job I’ve done,” thought Ellie .

Ellie-Learns-his-Strength

Ellie filled his trunk with water from the nearby pond and sprayed it on the plants. He did this a couple of times. But because his trunk could hold a lot of water, the plants become damaged from too much water and the ground become slushy, too.

Ellie’s friends who turned up at the playground become more angry with Ellie for not only spoiling the plants but also making the ground unsuitable for them to play in.

Three days had passed since that incident and nobody had spoken a word to Ellie. Ellie felt alone and was depressed as he still could not understand what he had done wrong.

“I watered the plants to save them from dying. Doesn’t that means I did a good job? Then, why are my friends not talking to me?” he wondered sadly.

That night, it began to rain heavily. By morning, it had rained so much that the lowlying areas of the forest were completely flooded. The animals began to panic.

It was important they crossed over to the other side of the river that had higher ground which would not get flooded easily. But it was dangerous to attempt to cross the river because of the strong current that was caused by the flood waters.

Barry asked the big animals to carry the smaller ones across the river on their back.

Ellie came forward and said, “I want to volunteer as well. I can carry my friends across the river.”

Everyone was surprised.

Barry said, “Good! We need all the help we can get. Now, follow me and we shall all cross the river together.”

Ellie-Learns-his-Strength

Ellie’s friends apprehensively climbed on to his back and held on to him tightly as he crossed the river.

“Thank you for bringing us across the river, Ellie,” said a grateful Monty, after they reached the other side.

“Thanks to you, we are all safe now,” said Ricky, the rabbit. Ellie brimmed with

Ellie brimmed with happiness.

“Elated!” replied Ellie.

“Good. Now, I need you to do TRISHAGNI one more thing,” said Barry. He picked up a rock and said, “ Everyone must be hungry. Can you please collect some berries using this rock?”

“But this rock is too big. The berries will be crushed,” said Ellie.

“Yes, you are right,” said Barry. “In that case, bring a jackfruit from that tree and carry it in this banana leaf.”

“Oh, barry! The banana leaf can’t take the weight of the jackfruit ! Each task has to be done a certain way,” said Ellie.

Barry smiled. “This is exactly what I was trying to make you understand. Just like that jackfruit and the rock, your strength may not be suitable for doing certain things. So, you have to careful when kicking a football and watering the plants with your trunk. But at the same time, your strength was useful in helping carry your friends across the river,” said Barry.

The realisation dawned on Ellie.“ Finally, I understand that if I don’t learn to use my strength correctly, I can damage things. From now on, I will be more careful,” he said. “Now, I have an idea on how to put my strength to good use.”

Ellie walked up to the guava tree and shook it with all his might. A bunch of fruits fell from the tree. His friends immediately picked up the fruits and ate them as they were hungry.

“You’ve done a good job, Ellie!” said Barry appreciatively.

THE LONG-LOST FRIEND

King Sher Singh was generally very cheerful. But there were days when he turned sad and irritable. This usually happened when he remembered his old friend Ramu Singh.

King Sher Singh would grow so miserable that he would even forget to eat his meals and lose interest in important matters.

“Ramu, my friend,” he would murmur in his sleep. “Where have you gone? Please come back and forgive me.” King Sher Singh would then wake up with a jolt and start crying softly

On days like that, King Sher Singh would even stop coming to his court. He would keep to himself and sometimes even neglect urgent official matters. His ministers and Queen Sherni would grow worried, for they knew that King Sher Singh couldn’t afford to neglect his kingly duties. But they couldn’t do much and they would patiently wait till he felt better.

But of late, Minister Chatur Jackal had noticed that King Sher Singh’s bouts of sadness were lasting for very long. And that, they were not only was affecting his duties as a king, but also his health.

Chatur Jackal couldn’t stop himself from going up to King Sher Singh. He was very concerned about him.

“Your Majesty,” Chatur Jackal said politely.

“I don’t mean to be inquisitive but may I ask what exactly makes you so upset sometimes? Why don’t you share your worries with me? You’ll feel much better if you do. And who knows, I might just be able to help you solve your problem.” King Sher Singh trusted Chatur Jackal and thought of him as a friend. And so, he decided to share his problem with him.

“Well, Chatur,” King Sher Singh said as a few tears rolled down his eyes. “I had a very dear friend in my childhood. His name was Ramu Singh. He was my best friend. We played games and studied together everyday. But one day, we had an argument. I lost my temper and said some very harsh things to my friend. Ramu Singh was hurt. He left the forest without telling anyone where he was going. I think of him sometimes and wonder where he went. How I wish that we were still friends.”

“Oh!” Chatur Jackal said to himself after hearing King Sher Singh’s story. “So, King Sher Singh is missing his old friend. Well, it is indeed sad. But he isn’t doing anything about it. There are many animals and birds in Champakvan who have been separated from their parents, siblings and children. I should introduce King Sher Singh to them and tell him what they do.”

Chatur Jackal then listed out the names of some of the animals who had been separated from their loved ones.

“Blacky Bear was lost when he was just a cub,” Chatur Jackal recalled as he noted the names down. “He has been looking for his parents ever since then. And Roopi Deer’s son had been kidnapped by Kalu Jackal a long time ago. She hasn’t given up hope and is still searching for him.”

Chatur Jackal then took King Sher Singh to meet Blacky Bear and Roopi Deer. After hearing their stories, King Sher Singh realised that he was not the only one who had lost someone he cared about. There were others too. But unlike him, they were working hard to find them.

King Sher Singh decided that he too would look for his long-lost friend. He then sent his soldiers to look for Ramu Singh.

“Go to all the rivers, mountains, fields, forests and lakes in the land!” he ordered. “Leave no stone unturned. You must find Ramu Singh.”

And so, the soldiers did as they were told. But they didn’t find Ramu Singh anywhere. King Sher Singh didn’t lose heart. Instead, he joined his soldiers in the search.

One day, King Sher Singh came across a rocky hill covered by trees. He noticed the marks of a lion’s paws on the ground.

“Hmm,” he wondered. “Could my long-lost friend be here?” King Sher Singh then ordered his soldiers to search the entire area thoroughly.

The soldiers soon spotted a lion sitting outside a small cave. He was dressing the wounds of some injured birds and animals. They went and told King Sher Singh about it.

King Sher Singh recalled how his friend Ramu Singh had always wanted to be a doctor. “Could that be Ramu Singh?” he said hopefully. He then ran to the cave.

King Sher Singh’s happiness knew no bounds when recognised the lion sitting there. Yes, he was his friend Ramu Singh.

“At last! There’s my long-lost friend,” he said to himself. “I can’t wait to talk to him!” King Sher Singh started to walk towards Ramu Singh. But then he hesitated and stopped mid-way. He remembered the last time they had met, and the harsh words that he had spoken. Chatur Jackal, who had accompanied King Sher Singh, understood his dilemma.

“Go on, Your Majesty!” he said and encouraged King Sher Singh to go further. “You have been waiting for this moment since very long!” King Sher Singh nodded and slowly walked towards Ramu Singh. Ramu Singh looked up and wondered who, dressed in royal attire, was coming to meet him.

When King Sher Singh came closer, Ramu Singh’s eyes twinkled. He recognised his friend immediately and jumped up and hugged King Sher Singh.

Long-lost-friend

Soon, the two friends had tears in their eyes. “I wish I hadn’t been so harsh, Ramu,” King Sher Singh said. “Please forgive me.”

“And I wish I hadn’t walked away in a huff and not kept in touch,” Ramu Singh said. “I’m sorry too.” The two friends then sat together and laughed and talked happily. Chatur Jackal and the soldiers were happy to see King Sher Singh look so cheerful once again.

“Your Majesty,” Chatur Jackal told King Sher Singh later that day. “Don’t you wish that you had looked for Ramu Singh right after he left, and apologised immediately?”

“I wish I had,” King Sher Singh said. “Had I done that, I wouldn’t have felt so miserable for so many years.”

After that, King Sher Singh never felt gloomy or irritable again. He didn’t neglect his duties either. He now understood that any misunderstanding in a friendship should be sorted immediately. He stayed in touch with Ramu Singh and was careful not to lose his temper or say anything that was harsh again. He didn’t want to lose his friend again.

The Hedge King

Once upon a time, long, long ago, even before humans inhabited the earth, Miss Cuckoo who loved the good life, decided to have a special tea party.

She invited all the birds she knew. She even sent fancy invitation cards to the great eagles, to the larks, the finches, the swallows and the crows. Miss Cuckoo also sent an invitation to the little brown bird that sings alone in the hedges and has no name.

The-hedge-king

As the feathered creatures arrived, Miss Cuckoo greeted them warmly and asked them to sit around a grand old tea table. She then graciously gave them cups of sweet tea and whatever they liked to eat best. The birds wondered why Miss Cuckoo had taken so much trouble to have such a grand tea party and gather them all together. And as the saying goes to this day, they thought that she was being “as silly as a cuckoo”.

When the birds had drunk enough tea and had eaten to their heart’s content, Miss Cuckoo hopped on to the centre of the table. “Friends, listen carefully,” she said. “We birds need someone to be our King. And so, I suggest that we crown one of us as the King of Birds today, so that there’s someone to lead us all and look after everything.” The birds began to chirp and chatter. “That’s a good idea!” they said.

Then, almost each bird present at the tea party, offered to be the King, as each was sure that he had royal blood in his veins.

Soon, the birds began to argue and quarrel amongst themselves. Just then, Mr. Rooster came by with his many wives, the hens. He heard the commotion and rushed in.

When Mr. Rooster heard what the problem was, he instantly had a solution to offer.

Well, Mr. Rooster was an expert at settling disputes since he was used to solving the many quarrels that broke out amongst his many wives.

“Why don’t we have a contest?” he suggested. “We will never decide anything by arguing. We can appoint the bird who is able to fly the highest as the King of Birds!”

All the birds liked Mr. Rooster’s idea. Except for Mr. Plover. He was a small bird who lived near the water. Mr. Plover got up in a huff and walked into the woods without saying a word. In the meanwhile, the other birds got ready to prove their mettle.

They stood in a row and spread their wings wide open. They then flew with all their strength, and as high as they could, high up into the air. Mr. Lark flew higher than the other birds at first. But soon, he was beaten by Mr. Eagle who soared so high, that in no time he looked like a speck in the sky.

“Aha! So, Mr. Eagle is the King of Birds!” Miss. Cuckoo chanted joyfully.

However, the birds soon noticed that there was another speck in the sky. And it was much higher than Mr. Eagle.

They realised that it was the little brown bird that sings alone in the hedges and has no name. He had hidden himself in Mr. Eagle’s magnificent feathers and had flown with him for a while.

The-hedge-king

He had then broken away and flown higher all by himself. “No! I am the King of Birds!” the little brown bird twittered as he flew down and joined the others. Most of the birds objected. “You’re a tiny bird! You’re not fit to be a king!” they argued. Mr. Rooster came up with an idea once again.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “The mistake is all mine. If you don’t want this wee bird to become the King of Birds, let me give you another idea. Why don’t we make the bird who is able to fall deepest into the earth our King?”

And so, all the birds began to look about for places to jump into. Mr. Duck even tried to see how long he could hold his breath for, since he planned to jump into a pond. In the meanwhile, Mr. Rooster called out to his many wives and instructed them to dig a deep hole in the ground.

He then hid himself in the hole and crowed, “Cock-a-doodle-doo! I am the King of Birds now!” However, the little brown bird that sings in the hedges and has no name, outdid Mr. Rooster. He crept into a mouse hole and chirruped, “No, I am! I am deeper in the earth than any of you are. I am your King!”

All the birds decided that they would not acknowledge the little brown bird or let him come out of the mouse hole and claim his title. They asked Mr. Owl to sit near the opening of the mouse hole and keep a watch. All the other birds then flew home since they were tired after Miss. Cuckoo’s tea party and the contests they had participated in.

Mr. Owl stayed on and kept awake all night. He watched the mouse hole carefully and did not allow the little brown bird to even peep out. But when morning dawned, Mr. Owl found that he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. They simply drooped and shut. In no time, Mr. Owl fell fast asleep.

The little brown bird quietly skipped out of the mouse hole with the help of a few mice.

“Ha ha!” he chirped and laughed as he came out. “I will give myself a name now! I will call myself ‘The Little Hedge King!”

The other birds were disappointed when they found that the little bird had outsmarted them. They accused Mr. Owl of being lazy and not doing his job well.

Well, this is why Mr. Owl still sleeps in the daytime and stays awake at nights. And this is also why he watches mice and mice holes so carefully.

As for the little brown bird who sings alone in the hedges, he really made himself a king. Some people call him the wren while some others, ‘The Little Hedge King’.

Beaten at His Own Game 

Sunny, the bear had opened a sprawling supermarket in Sunshine Woods. The supermarket had everything that the inhabitants of the forest required. 

The small shops that were already there in the forest did not sell all the items. So, the animals would order from the neighbouring forests, and that would cost them a lot of money. Now, since Sunny had opened a supermarket, the animals could buy whatever they needed from the supermarket directly.

Sunny was an honest entrepreneur. He personally oversaw all the operations of his business. Some animals grew envious of his success. Bongo, the bull was one of them.

Bongo had a small grocery store next to the supermarket. He would cheat his customers by tampering with the measurements and giving the customers less than what they had paid for. Soon, word about Bongo’s fraudulent activities spread throughout the forest, and the animals stopped going to his store. Now, hardly one or two customers visited his store in a day.

Bongo grew more envious of Sunny’s success as his supermarket was teeming with customers every day.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

“If I don’t do something fast, I’ll soon become bankrupt,” Bongo thought to himself. He then came up with a plan and went to meet Sunny that very evening.

“Hello, Bongo! What brings you here?” said Sunny.

“I’m in distress, Sunny! My grocery store is not doing well. So, I want to close it and open a hardware store instead,” said Bongo.

“I am happy that instead of giving up, you are trying something else. Tell me, how can I help you?” asked Sunny.

“I have a lot of unsold stock lying in my warehouse. If you buy them from me, I will have enough money to set up my new store. And don’t worry about the price; I will charge less for you,” said Bongo.

Beaten at His Own Game 

Sunny agreed. “All right, deliver the stock today, I have to go out urgently now, so my manager will collect them and then, tomorrow I shall issue you a cheque, said Sunny

That night, Bongo delivered the unsold stock to Sunny’s manager, Max, the dog. When Max was about to check the stock, Bongo interrupted him saying, “Look, Max, the stock is new. Here are the receipts for them. Anyway, it’s quite late in the night and too dark as well. You won’t be able to check the stock properly.”

“You’re right, Bongo. Just give me the receipts. I’ll check them tomorrow,” said Max. The two then left for home.

More From Champak: Tit for tat

The next morning, Bongo reached Sunny’s house before he left for the supermarket.

Good morning, Sunny. Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, but I’m going to buy the stock for my hardware store today. I’ve delivered stock worth Rs. 5 lakhs to Max last night. 

 Here is the delivery receipt and your manager’s signature below,” said Bongo.

Sunny trusted Bongo and handed over a cheque for Rs.5 lakhs to him. Bongo immediately went to the bank and encashed the cheque.

Later that day, when Max started checking the quality of the stock that Bongo had delivered, he was shocked. Not only were they old, but many of the products had also become stale. He quickly called up Sunny and informed him.

Beaten at His Own Game 

Sunny was angry. “Bongo has tricked us! He deliberately delivered the stock late at night so we wouldn’t be able to check their quality right away,” he fumed. Sunny then came up with his own plan to teach Bongo a lesson.

The next day, Bongo went to the market to look for hardware products to buy at a cheap rate.

“Hello, Bongo! I heard you are looking for hardware supplies for your new store. Why don’t you buy them from me?” said Rocky, the bear who was a supplier of hardware products. “I’ll give them to you at the cheapest rate you’ll find in this market!”

Bongo was tempted. They were just what he was looking for. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get these products at a better price.

“Why are you thinking? Don’t you trust me? You can check the products yourself,” said Rocky, showing his some samples.

“Of course, I trust you, Rocky. Please deliver the products to me today itself,” said Bongo.

“Okay, but I can deliver them only at night as there’ll be too much traffic right now,” said Rocky.

Bongo agreed and handed over all the money he had got from Sunny. That night, Rocky delivered the products to Bongo as promised.

The next day, Bongo opened the boxes to set up his new store. To his shock, he realised that all the products were rusted and some were badly damaged.

“Rocky has fooled me! No one will buy these products,” he thought angrily and went straight to confront Rocky.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Rocky. I trusted you and made full payment of Rs.5 lakhs, but you’ve sent me poor quality products! I am going to lodge a complaint with the police,” said Bongo.

Rocky started laughing.

“That’s exactly what you did as well! Have you forgotten already?” said Sunny suddenly stepping forward.

Beaten at His Own Game 

Bongo was left speechless. He now understood that Rocky and Sunny were in it together. Beaten at his own game, Bongo apologised to both of them.

“Bongo, you should not cheat others to make a profit. If you promise not to do so, you can set up a counter in my supermarket,” offered Sunny.

“Thank you, Sunny. I promise not to cheat anyone again,” said the grateful Bongo.

Little Gopu

Gopu, the pig was very naughty. He had a few naughty friends with whom he often went roaming. Sometimes his friends left him in a remote place and ran away. He often lost his way and had a tough time finding his way back home. Gopu still liked to play with them.

“Gopu, let’s go to the river. It is too humid. We’ll go into the water and play. You enjoy swimming, don’t you?” asked Ganu, the pig.

“Yes. I love to play in the river. Let’s go.” Gopu readily agreed.

“I am going to roll in the muck,” declared Bansi.

“Yuck! Dirty creature!” exclaimed Piyu.

Mantru interrupted, “We shouldn’t play in the muck. It spreads diseases. It’s important to be careful about hygiene. You can play in fresh water for sure.”

Bansi agreed. They decided to stay away from dirty puddles. They started walking towards the river.

They swam in the river for hours. However they were unaware of the approaching danger.

Four wicked foxes had seen them going towards the river.

Nakul, the fox said, “These tiny piglets are too tempting to resist. Let’s follow them and relish their tasty meat.”

Pandu, Sam and Baddy nodded their head and decided to attack the piglets.

They quietly proceeded towards the river and hid behind the bushes. They were patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

The piglets stepped out of the river and the foxes chased them. All the piglets, except Gopu, managed to escape from the foxes. Gopu was the youngest and couldn’t run fast. As a result, the foxes surrounded tiny Gopu.

Little-Gopu

Nakul said, “Pandu and Sam, you hold him by his ears. Baddy, you hold his tail tightly.”

Deenu, the donkey was grazing near the river. Some weird noises drew his attention. He looked around and saw that Gopu was in danger.

Deenu immediately went near Gopu and started braying, “Leave the kid alone or all of you shall pay for it.”

“Deenu, stay away,” replied Nakul.

Deenu ran towards Nakul and kicked him hard. Nakul was injured but managed to flee.

The other three foxes also ran for their life.

“Thank you, Uncle. Had you not been present, I would have lost my life.” said Gopu.

Deenu said, “How did you come here?”

Gopu narrated how his friends forced him to come near the river.

Deenu said, “You should always obey your parents. Also, it’s not nice to be friends with such animals who leave you in danger. Learn from this incident and never repeat such a mistake. Come, I shall drop you home.”

“Uncle, please don’t tell my parents about the incident. They’ll be disappointed and worried,” pleaded Gopu.

Deenu said, “I will not tell your parents only on one condition. You shall promise to always obey your parents and avoid bad company.”

“I promise, Uncle,” said Gopu.

Little-Gopu

Deenu dropped Gopu near his house. Gopu decided to obey his parents. He gave up talking with his selfish friends and made a few new friends. Gopu had learnt a lesson. He took great care never to put his life in danger again.

The Boastful Parrot

Piku was a handsome parrot. But he took too much pride in his beauty. Whenever he met the other animals in the forest, he would only talk about himself.

One day when he was looking at his feathers and admiring himself, he heard a beautiful voice coming from near the lake. Piku wondered to whom the voice belonged. Unable to contain his curiosity, he flew towards the lake to find out.

There, he saw a beautiful swan with feathers as white as milk and a beak that glistened in the sun. She was singing and dancing in the lake. She noticed Piku looking at her.

“Hello, there!” said the swan sweetly. “My name is Sofi and I’ve just arrived in your forest.”

“Hi, Sofi. I am Piku. Welcome to our forest,” said Piku warmly.

Just when he was about to talk about his beauty, Sofi said, “Look at my feathers, Piku. Don’t you think they are shiny and soft? And my neck—it’s slender and curvy. You may not have seen any creature as beautiful as I am!”

Piku was irritated. “How much she talks about herself!” he thought to himself.

He listened to her talk more about herself, and then finally said, “Sofi, I must go now. I’m pleased to have met you. Hope we meet again. Bye!”

On his way back home, Piku met Mittu, the squirrel. “There’s a new guest in our forest. But do stay away from her,” said Piku.

“Who is this new guest? And why are you asking me to stay away from her?” asked Mittu curiously.

“Her name is Sofi. She’s a swan. All she talks about are her feathers, neck, eyes and how beautiful she is! I don’t like her at all,” said Piku.

“Ha ha! I am used to that, Piku. You do the same with me,” said Mittu.

“Whether you accept it or not, that’s what you do. Ask anyone,” said Mittu, walking away.

Piku then met Bhola, the bear. “Stay away from Sofi, the swan!” Piku warned him.

The-Boastful-Parrot

“But why? What has she done?” asked Bhola.

“She’ll bore you to sleep by constantly talking about how beautiful she is,” said Piku.

“Just like you! Now, do you realise how we feel when you keep boasting about yourself?” asked Bhola.

Suddenly, he heard Sofi’s voice again. It seemed like she was coming this way. Piku quickly left, not wanting another conversation with her.

Later, Piku sat down on a tree and pondered over what Mittu and Bholu told him. “Do I really talk about myself that much?” he wondered aloud. “They must be mistaken. It is Sofi who keeps talking about herself. I’ve never seen anyone so vain!”

Kalu, the elephant, who happened to walk by, heard Piku talking to himself. “Are you boasting about your good looks again?” Kalu asked Piku.

The-Boastful-Parrot

“No, I was talking about Sofi, the swan. She irritates others by talking only about herself,” replied Piku.

“But that is what you do as well, and we get irritated with you. But we don’t tell you about it because you are a good friend and we didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” said Kalu.

Piku finally realised his mistake. “I am sorry. I didn’t realise how vain I was being until today. I am going to change that about myself, and hopefully make Sofi understand this as well,” he said. “And next time, do tell me if I do something wrong. Don’t keep it from me just because I am your friend.”

“Don’t worry, Piku. I am sure we won’t have anything to complain about hereafter,” said Kalu with a smile.

 

 

A Problem of Change

One day, Isha’s mother gave her a 100-rupee note and asked her to buy a kilo of onion and half a kilo of potato from the market. After a while, Isha came back home and handed over the bag of vegetables to her mother and said, “The potatoes cost Rs.10 and the onions were Rs.20 a kilo. So, I paid the shopkeeper Rs.30″

“That’s good, Isha. Can I please have the balance money?” asked her mother.

Isha handed over the change to her mother.

On counting it, her mother realised that it was short by Rs.10.

“Did you spend money on anything else?” asked her mother.

“No, Mummy. This is the change given to me by the vegetable vendor,” said Isha.

“In that case, I think the vegetable vendor has either made a mistake or cheated you. He has given you Rs. 10 less. Did you count the change after he gave it to you?”

“I did,” said Isha.

“Then I think you have not calculated correctly,” said her mother.

On hearing this, Isha became sad.

“Don’t feel bad, Isha. You can improve your arithmetic skills with daily practice. Learning to calculate correctly will help you not just to score marks in your exams, but will be useful in your daily life too,” said her mother.

“I do try to practise, Mummy, but I find it difficult sometimes. Is there an easier way to learn to calculate?” asked Isha.

A-Problem-of-Change1

“Yes, there is. Let me teach you how to calculate using your fingers. Now, try to answer this by counting with your fingers: I have 10 mangoes and you have given me another 20 mangoes. How many mangoes do I have in all?”

Isha counted her fingers one by one. “One, two, three… 10. How do I count further?” she asked.

“Continue counting your fingers again from 11,” said her mother.

“Oh! Okay. So, 11, 12, 13…30!” she said finally. “30 mangoes!”

“Good, Isha. Now, let’s try subtraction. If I have 10 mangoes and I give away 3 to our neighbours, how many mangoes will remain with me?” asked her mother.

Isha held up 10 fingers and folded 3. “Seven!” she replied triumphantly.

“Very good! Now, I’ll teach you how to subtract larger numbers like 100 minus 30,” said her mother and began doing the sum on paper. Isha observed her attentively and then answered, “70!”

“That’s right. See, how easy learning to calculate can be. With daily practice, you will be able to add and subtract faster. Now, let’s go to the market and ask the vegetable vendor for the balance,” said Isha’s mother.

A-Problem-of-Change3

“And perhaps he is weak in calculating too. I will teach him a few calculations,” said Isha.

“Ha ha! You are already a master mathematician!” laughed her mother.

Jumbo finds new friends

Jumbo Giraffe was a cute little giraffe. He had recently shifted to Amarvan with his parents.

But Jumbo Giraffe wasn’t very happy in Amarvan, and he often wondered if he would ever be happy.

Well, the reason was that Jumbo Giraffe hadn’t made any new friends as yet, and he felt lonely since he stayed at home all day long.

One day, when Jumbo Giraffe’s parents went out of the house, he decided that he would go out and explore the forest. And so, he went for a long walk. A cool breeze was blowing, and Jumbo Giraffe looked around at the lush green trees that were growing all over. “I don’t know why Mum and Dad still think of me as a baby,” he said with a sigh. “They don’t let me go out by myself. I am so big and tall that even Khemu Uncle looks tiny in comparison,” Jumbo Giraffe muttered when he saw Khemu Rabbit who was his neighbour, gnawing on a big red carrot.

Soon, he spotted some baby tortoises. They were flying a kite together. Jumbo Giraffe really wanted to make new friends and have fun playing games with them, just like he did with his friends in the forest where he lived before. And so, he walked towards the baby tortoises.

“Hello! I’m Jumbo!” he said with a friendly smile. “I’m new to Amarvan. Can I play with you all?” The baby tortoises looked at Jumbo Giraffe and shook their heads.

“Oh no!” one of the tortoises said. “You are so big and tall! We cannot play with you!”

They then turned their backs towards Jumbo Giraffe and continued flying their kite.

Jumbo Giraffe shrugged and sighed. “Well, Mum and Dad think of me as small. And these tortoises think of me as big!” he thought to himself and quietly walked away.

He walked further into the forest, wishing that he had at least a friend or two to talk to, when something suddenly hit his leg.

“Hey!” he then heard some voices call.

“Please throw our football back to us.”

Jumbo Giraffe looked up and saw a herd of elephants calling out to him. They were playing in the forest playground, and the football obviously belonged to them.

He picked up the football and walked towards the elephants.

Jumbo-finds-new-friends

“Hi! Will you let me play with you? I’m new to the forest!” he said hopefully.

“No,” the elephants said firmly. “You cannot play with us. You are very small and you might get hurt if you play with us. If that happens, your parents will be very upset with us. So, we cannot allow you to join our games!” The elephants took their football from Jumbo Giraffe and went back to their game.

Jumbo Giraffe sighed. He felt very disappointed but didn’t say a word. He sat on a nearby rock and watched the elephants quietly.

“I really cannot figure out whether I am big or small,” he said to himself. “Some of the animals insist that I am too big to play with them. And there are others who refuse to let me join them saying I am too small! Sigh!”

Tears welled in Jumbo Giraffe’s eyes. He had never felt so sad or lonely ever before. He heard the sound of chattering and looked up only to see a baby monkey hanging from the branch of a nearby tree. The monkey seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly.

Jumbo-finds-new-friends

“This monkey is far better off than I am,” Jumbo Giraffe thought to himself. “He can amuse himself with his own antics. I can’t even hang like him. Hey! Maybe I can ask him to play with me. He might just agree.”

But before Jumbo Giraffe could say a word, the baby monkey jumped on to another tree and disappeared deep into the forest.

“Oh!” Jumbo Giraffe said, feeling quite left out once again. He decided to return home since he could not find anyone to play with. He started to walk away when he saw the elephants’ football fall into a swamp.

“Oh no!” the elephants said, sounding very disappointed. Jumbo Giraffe watched as the elephants tried their level best to take the football out of the swamp with the help of their trunks.

He realised that they couldn’t go very close to the swamp since they had heavy bodies and were likely to get stuck in the swamp. Unfortunately, the elephants’ trunks were not long enough to pull the ball out of the swamp either.

Jumbo Giraffe felt very sorry for the elephants. They had been having so much fun just a few minutes ago. They looked very disappointed now. “May I try taking the football out of the swamp?” he asked politely. The elephants looked at him hesitatingly.

Jumbo-finds-new-friends

One of them then said, “We would be highly obliged if you could do that. But please, do take care of yourself and don’t go very close to the swamp. We do not want you to get into any trouble.”

Jumbo Giraffe nodded and went closer to the swamp. He tried pulling the football out with his legs, but wasn’t successful. “I am unable to reach the football on my own,” he told the elephants. “Can somebody hold me from behind please? I will be more relaxed when I try to reach it then.”

One of the elephants then held Jumbo Giraffe tightly from behind as per his suggestion. Jumbo found that he could reach the football easily now. In no time, he retrieved it from the swamp and smartly kicked it towards the elephants.

“Hurray!” the elephants cheered as they picked up and hugged their football. All the elephants then thanked Jumbo for his help and invited him to play with them.

Jumbo Giraffe accepted the elephants’ invitation graciously.

He played with them till it was time him for him to go home. He then left the playground, promising that he would come back the next day, and started walking towards his house.

On the way, he saw the baby tortoises he had met earlier. They were looking at a tree and seemed very worried. “Why are you looking so worried?” Jumbo Giraffe asked the baby tortoises. “And why are you looking at that tree?”

“Our kite is stuck there,” one of the tortoises said and pointed towards a high branch of the tree. “Is that so?” Jumbo said. “Wait, I’ll get it down for you.” Jumbo was quite tall since he was a giraffe. And so, all he had to do was stand on his toes and stretch to be able to reach up to the branch of the tree. In no time, he took the kite out of the tree and gave it to the baby tortoises.

“Thanks a lot!” the baby tortoises said, feeling thrilled now that they had their kite back. “And sorry about the way we behaved earlier. We will be your friends now on. Come, fly the kite with us.”

Jumbo smiled. He was glad that the baby tortoises wanted him to be their friend and join their games. “Thank you,” he said politely. “But I will join you tomorrow. It is time for me to go home now.”

“OK,” the baby tortoises said. “But please promise us that you will come back tomorrow!”

“I promise!” Jumbo said and waved. He then walked back home, feeling quite happy. He was sure that he would be happy in Amarvan too, just like he had been in the forest where he lived before, now that he had so many friends.

 

Champi the Cheat

Ktty was one of the cutest kittens living in Gopalvan. She was very playful. All the birds and animals of Gopalvan were very fond of her. She eventually grew up and became a beautiful cat. Kitty remained a loving and caring cat. She was very helpful.

Once, Kitty visited a fun-n-fair. She bought a cow. She took good care of the cow. She bathed her every day. She also took her out to graze. She made butter out of the cow’s milk. She sold the butter in the market. Kitty earned a lot of money by selling butter. She used this money to build a beautiful house for herself.

Whenever Kitty went to the market with a pot-full of butter, the kids of Gopalvan used to run behind her asking for some butter. Kitty used to give some butter to each one of them. She would then proceed to the market. She never refused to give them butter. Thus, the kids were fond of Kitty.

One evening, Champi the Mouse came to Kitty’s house.

“What is the matter Champi? Why are you upset?” Kitty asked.

“My son Sonu is not keeping well. He wants butter. I cannot afford to buy it as it is very expensive,” said Champi, with tears in her eyes.

Kitty smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Champi. I will give you some butter for Sonu every day.”

Kitty gave her one tablespoon of butter. Champi thanked Kitty. She returned home.

Every morning, Champi went to Kitty’s house. She returned home with a spoonful of delicious butter. Manglu the Fox saw this. He became jealous. He asked Champi, “Can I tell you something?”

Champi wondered what Manglu wanted to tell her. She asked, “Manglu, what is it?”

Manglu said, “I have a fantastic idea. We can steal Kitty’s cow. Then we can use its milk to make butter. We can sell the butter and earn money. This way we’ll become very rich.”

At first, Champi was a little annoyed. However, she soon became greedy. She agreed to be a part of Manglu’s plan to steal Kitty’s cow.

Champi knew each and every entry point at Kitty’s house. That night, Manglu and Champi went quietly to Kitty’s house. They stole her cow. They hid the cow in Manglu’s house.

champy-the-cheat

The next morning when Kitty couldn’t find her cow, she realised that someone had stolen it. Kitty was upset. She asked Kalu the Crow, Bholu the Monkey, Bantu the Dog and a few other animals whether they had seen her cow. However, no one knew its whereabouts.

On the other hand, Manglu and Champi secretly started making money by selling butter prepared from the cow’s milk. They earned a lot of money. Soon they became rich.

One evening, Bantu was returning home from the market. He happened to pass by Manglu’s house. He heard a cow mooing. He thought that the sound came from Manglu’s house. He wondered whether Manglu had stolen Kitty’s cow.

It was quite dark. Bantu peeped through the window into Manglu’s house. He saw that Champi and Manglu were happily relishing butter while the cow was sitting nearby. Bantu knew that it was Kitty’s cow. Therefore, he decided to teach them a lesson.

Bantu told Kitty, Bholu and Kalu about the incident. That night, four of them headed towards Manglu’s house with sticks in their hands. They knocked on the door. As soon as Manglu opened the door, they started trashing him. Hearing his screams, Champi, who was asleep, woke up. She also got a good beating from Bantu.

Manglu’s legs were badly injured. He could barely walk. Bantu hung Champi upside down on a tree because she had cheated Kitty.

champy-the-cheat

Manglu’s legs were badly injured. He could barely walk. Bantu hung Champi upside down on a tree because she had cheated Kitty.

Kitty was happy to get her cow back. She thanked Bantu, Kalu and Bholu for helping her punish the thieves. Kitty returned home with her cow. That night she slept peacefully..

 

Astute Son-in-law

Many years ago, there lived a wealthy minister in China. He had a young  daughter whose name was Fu Ya. Fu Ya was a beautiful and intelligent girl. She loved and respected her father very much. The minister loved his daughter too and always wanted the best for her.

When Fu Ya grew up, the minister started looking for an eligible groom for her to marry. The minister wanted his son-in-law to be an affluent man, so that his daughter could lead the comfortable life she was used to, even after marriage. He shortlisted many wealthy young men and asked Fu Ya to select one of them.

But to his great disappointment, Fu Ya refused to marry any of the young men her father had selected. The reason was that Fu Ya was in love with another young man. His name was Chin Lee. Chin Lee was a bright and intelligent fellow. He was hard-working, friendly and pleasant natured too. But he belonged to family that wasn’t very wealthy.

When Fu Ya told her father about Chin Lee, the minister grew unhappy.

“Fu Ya, my dear child,” he said. “You will not be happy if you marry a man who isn’t wealthy like us. He has a small house and he won’t be able to give you a comfortable life.”

Fu Ya tried to explain her point of view to her father.

“Father,” she said respectfully. “Intelligence and hard work can help anyone grow rich. I love Chin Lee. And I know that he isn’t rich today. But I’m sure he will soon be with his intelligence and hard work.”

The minister wasn’t convinced. He thought differently but at the same time, didn’t want to see his only daughter unhappy with a man she didn’t love.

The minister thought for a long time and then said, “Alright, Fu Ya. Let me see if Chin Lee is as bright and intelligent as you say. If he brings me the two gifts that I ask for, I will willingly give my consent to your marriage and accept him as my son-in-law.”

“What is it that you want Chin Lee to bring you?” Fu Ya asked in a soft voice.

The minister replied, “Go and tell Chin Lee that I want him to bring me two things as gifts. They are fire and air. But also tell him that I don’t want them as they are. I want them both to be brought to me wrapped inside paper.”

Fu Ya was shocked. “Fire and air inside paper? That sounds impossible!” she said. “Father, how can anyone wrap fire in paper? The paper will surely burn! And how can anyone bring air in paper too?”

“Well, Fu Ya,” the minister said. “If Chin Lee is as bright and intelligent as you say, he will surely know what to do. If he doesn’t bring me these gifts, you will have to bid him farewell and marry a man of my choice.”

“Yes,” Fu Ya said and bowed obediently.

That evening, Fu Ya went to convey her father’s odd request to Chin Lee.

Chin Lee listened calmly.

He thought for a long while and then said, “Don’t worry, Fu Ya. Go back to your father and ask him to give me a day’s time. I will bring him the gifts as soon as I can.”

The minister readily gave Chin Lee a day though he doubted his capabilities.

Chin Lee loved Fu Ya deeply. He didn’t want to lose her. And so, he kept awake all night thinking about the minister’s strange request.

The next evening, the minister saw a young man walk in to his house. He was carrying a lantern made of coloured paper. There was a small candle lit inside the lantern.

“I’m Chin Lee,” Chin Lee said and bowed respectfully. “I have brought what you asked for. Here’s fire inside paper, just as you asked for.”

The minister nodded and took the lantern from Chin Lee.

“What about the other gift I asked for?” he then asked.

astute-in-law

Chin Lee promptly took a fan made out of paper from his pocket. He spread it open and began fanning the minister with it.

“Here’s air in paper!” he smiled and said. “Your other gift!”

The minister laughed and put his arm around Chin Lee. He was very happy. He realised that Chin Lee was the best suitor his daughter could ever have.

He immediately called Fu Ya out of her room and gave her hand in Chin Lee’s.

“You have my consent for your marriage.” the minister then said.

Fu Ya and Chin Lee were married the following week. Chin Lee worked hard and soon became a very wealthy man.

He bought a big house right next to the minister’s house and gave Fu Ya all the comforts that she was used to.

The minister was very happy. His daughter was leading the best possible life she could ever have. “What an intelligent son-in-law I have!” the minister said every time he saw Fu Ya and Chin Lee sitting in their garden.

 

Kukku’s Car

Kukku Crow lived on a Neem tree. He had the habit of showing off. Sharmaji’s family lived in a bungalow near the tree. Sharmaji had bought a new red-coloured car. He began parking his car under the tree.

Kukku loved the car. Every day Sharmaji would drive in it to his shop. By the time he returned, Kukku would have fallen asleep. So the crow used to get up early every morning to play on the car.

One morning, when Kukku woke up, he saw Sharmaji and his entire family boarding a taxi. They had a lot of luggage. Kukku realised that they must be going for a long vacation. He knew that the car would be parked all the time under the tree. He spent the entire day on the car.

A pigeon, who lived on a tree nearby, asked, “What is the matter, Kukku? Why are you sitting on this car?”

Kukku told him that he had bought the car. Hence, he would stay on it.

“Really? Where did you get so much money from?” the pigeon questioned.

“I had saved money. Who are you to ask?” Kukku said.

The pigeon wondered, “We can’t even save a few grains. How could he have saved so much money?”

Chinchin Sparrow asked, “Won’t you go for a ride in it?”

Kukku replied, “What fun can we high-fliers have on the road? I have bought it to spend some time on it.”

Within three days, all the birds living nearby got the news. They came together and asked, “Kukku, won’t you let us sit in your car?”

“First go and look at your face in the car mirror. Are you worthy of sitting in it? Don’t you even dare to look at it,” said Kukku.

Everybody went back, disappointed.

The next Sunday, Kukku informed his relatives and friends that he was giving a party on his new car. In the evening, nearly 20 crows were perched on top of the car. They were feasting on the food brought by Kukku. Their cawing could be heard everywhere.

Meanwhile, Sharmaji’s family returned from their trip.

Kukku's-Car

Sharmaji thought, “What is this noise?”

When he saw the crows on top of his car, he was furious. He waved his stick towards the crows. He chased them away shouting, “How dare you dirty my car!”

Kukku fled. His guests also flew away after making fun of him. Sharmaji soon built a garage in his bungalow’s backyard. He began parking his car in it.

Kukku didn’t have the guts to meet anyone or show off.

All his neighbours were saying, “This is what happens when one tries to show off.”

Kukku had learnt his lesson.

 

The Pitcher’s Stomach Ache

A small clay pitcher was lying in the corner of a field. The farmers who worked on the field, stored water in it on hot summer days, so that the water would remain cool for them to drink.

The pitcher had now been empty for a few days since the farmers were on a holiday. The water it contained had evaporated with the heat.

One day, Chunmun Sparrow was flying above the field when she heard the sound of wailing. She looked down and saw the pitcher weeping. Chunmun Sparrow flew down to the pitcher and asked, “What happened to you, pitcher? Why are you crying?”

“Oh!” the pitcher groaned. “My poor stomach! It has been aching since a few days! I can’t bear the pain anymore!”

Teetu Parrot heard the pitcher talking and flew down to the field.

“Well, Chunmun Sparrow,” Teetu Parrot said. “Whenever I am hungry, my stomach starts to ache. I think the pitcher must be hungry too.”

“I don’t think that pitchers feel hunger, Teetu,” Chunmun Sparrow explained.

Kagu Crow, who had been watching the scene from a nearby tree, flew to the spot too. 

“I think the pitcher must have a swelling on its intestine,” he suggested. “Usually, the stomach aches when there is a swelling on the intestine. I had a similar problem some years ago too!”

Chunmun Sparrow sighed and replied, “Kagu Uncle, I don’t think pitchers have intestines. So, there’s no chance of any swelling.”

Soon, Munmun Starling, Pintu Pigeon, Rinky Butterfly and Rangeela Peacock heard of the pitcher’s problem and flew to the field to offer their opinions.

But Chunmun Sparrow wasn’t convinced with anything they said.

Suddenly, the pitcher began screaming at the top of its voice.

“Aargh! My poor stomach!” it shrieked. “The pain is becoming unbearable! I think I’m going to die.”

The pitcher’s cries made Sweety Ant creep out of her house. She climbed to the top of a vine that was growing near the pitcher and shouted to get the others’ attention.

“Please do something! Call a doctor or else the pitcher’s stomach will burst open!” she begged.

“Sweety Ant is right. We should consult Dr. Chuheram,” Chunmun Sparrow suggested. “He’s a good doctor and will cure the pitcher’s stomachache, no matter what the ailment is!”

Chunmun Sparrow and the others then went in search of Dr. Chuheram.

They found him in his clinic and brought him to the field as soon as they could. But to everyone’s great surprise, the pitcher had disappeared from the field.

“Where could the pitcher have gone?” Chunmun Sparrow said, scratching her head. “It was right here when we left a few minutes ago!”

“This is a mystery,” Kagu Crow said.

“Hey! What is this pumpkin doing here?” Teetu Parrot said, pointing to a big, fat pumpkin that was snoring loudly in the pitcher’s place. “It wasn’t here when we left!”

Chunmun Sparrow poked the pumpkin with her beak. “Pumpkin!” she twittered. “Wake up, you sleepyhead!”

The pumpkin opened its eyes and yawned.

“Why did you wake me up?” the pumpkin asked sleepily.

“Have you seen a pitcher on the field? It was on the very spot you were sleeping in,” Kagu Crow inquired. “Have you any idea where it could have gone?”

The pumpkin then gestured to some broken clay pieces that were scattered all around.

“This is very strange!” Sweety Ant said. “I noticed that there was a pumpkin vine here earlier. But there was no sign of the pumpkin then. Pumpkin, where did you suddenly come from?”

“Well, I was sleeping here all along,” the pumpkin said, yawning again.

“Huh? Sleeping here?” everyone asked together. “Why didn’t we see you earlier? Where exactly were you?”

The pumpkin smiled and said, “You would have surely seen me had you looked inside the pitcher’s stomach!”

“What?” everyone asked, sounding very surprised.

“Yes,” the pumpkin said. “When I was just a tiny seed, the pitcher swallowed me and kept me inside its stomach. And now, when I’ve grown bigger, it cracked and fell apart. That’s how I’ve came out.”

“Does that mean that you killed the pitcher?”

Dr. Chuheram asked and looked at the pumpkin rather sharply.

“No, I didn’t!” the pumpkin said sternly.

The-Pitcher's-Stomach-Ache

“I had warned the pitcher several times even when I was a baby seed. I had told it not to swallow me. But the pitcher didn’t listen. All it wanted to do was fill its empty stomach. It laughed and didn’t believe me when I cautioned that tiny pumpkin seeds grow into rather big pumpkins.”

Chunmun Sparrow, Teetu Parrot, Kagu Crow and the others looked at the broken pieces of the pitcher and felt very sorry for it. They shook their heads sadly and returned home with heavy hearts.

The pumpkin simply closed its eyes and started to snore once again.

Smart Mice

Sonu was staring at the piece of cake fallen on the floor for quite some time. Two tiny mice quietly came to gobbleup the cake. Before they could do that, Sonu clapped once and scared them away. He was really amused by this and started laughing.

“What happened, brother? Why are you laughing?” asked Sonu’s younger brother, Monu.

“Just before, two mice had come to eat this piece of cake that is lying on the floor. I clapped loudly and they both got petrified and thus fled,” replied Sonu.

“Wow!” exclaimed Monu. “It would be so much fun to scare away the mice. Where are they?”

Sonu replied, “They are hiding somewhere. You come and sit next to me on this cot. They will come again after a while.”

Sonu suddenly recalled something and said, “Wait, let me do something else, it would be more fun.”

“Do what?” asked Monu.

“You just wait and watch,” said Sonu. He then tied the piece of cake to a string and suspended it a few inches above the floor.

Monu asked, “Why did you do that, brother?”

“Don’t ask anything now. Just wait and see what happens,” said Sonu and both of them sat patiently waiting for the mice.

After a few minutes, one of the mice came, stood on its hind legs, and tried to reach the piece of cake in vain. Upon trying further, the mouse lost its balance and tumbled down.

Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there. Sonu and Monu burst out laughing and the mouse ran away from there.

A few minutes later, another mouse came and tried to grab the cake. Some other mice too came there but none of them succeeded in reaching the piece. They tried desperately but had to return empty handed.

smart-mice

Sonu and Monu enjoyed the desperation of the mice and kept laughing at them.

Sonu yawned and said, “Monu, let us go to sleep now.”

“What about the cake?” asked Monu.

Sonu grinned and said, “Let it be hung and let the mice keep trying.”

“It was fun seeing the mice desperate and irritated,” said Monu.

“See how I troubled the mice who generally trouble people. Am I not great and intelligent?” asked Sonu with pride.

“Yes I totally agree that you are indeed intelligent and great,” replied Monu and went to sleep.

The next morning when they woke up, they were astonished to see that the piece of cake was missing from the string

“Where has the cake gone?” asked Monu.

“I have no idea,” replied Sonu.

Monu said, “Mom or Dad must have thrown away the cake.”

“That is not possible. Had they thrown the cake, they would have thrown away the string too. Since the string is untouched, they have not done it,” said Sonu.

“Then how did the cake vanish?” asked Monu.

“I think the mice have devoured the piece of cake,” replied Sonu.

Monu asked, “But they could barely reach the cake, then how can they eat it up?”

Sonu said, “If we want to find out, we will have to hang another piece of cake in a similar manner and keep a watch.” Sonu got another piece and suspended it in the same manner.

Sonu and Monu quietly sat on the cot observing the mice. One of the mice came there and tried to reach the cake but failed.

“This happened yesterday too,” whispered Monu.

Sonu signaled him to be quiet and watch on

smart-mice

Just then, another mouse came there and stood on its hind legs. The mouse that was already present there climbed on the other mouse’s back and quickly cut the string. The mice then took the piece of cake and fled.

Sonu was shocked to see this. He said, “I never thought mice could be so clever.”

“That is true,” said Monu, “The mice have also proven two things.”

“What are they?” asked Sonu.

“They proved Unity is Strength’. If we work together, then we can even accomplish difficult tasks with ease. The second thing that they proved is that one should never underestimate anyone. Others can be more clever than you are,” said Monu.

Sonu smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

 

And the Fire Began to Burn

Long time back, the mice of Mushakvan didn’t know about fire. Once it was very cold, and the mice didn’t dare get out of their holes. They impatiently waited for the winter to end.

One day, it was less cold than usual. The leader of the Mushakvan, Chunchun, called for a meeting.

“Dear friends, as we all know, the weather is very chilly these days. We will have to think of some way to protect ourselves from this extreme cold. Can anyone suggest what we can do to survive this cold?”

“Chunchunji, we should run around the entire day. This will keep our body warm and thus we will feel less cold,” Chaplu Mouse stood up and said.

“Chaplu, this is not the solution to the problem. How long can one run? And even if we do follow it, only the young mice can do it. The small and the old mice won’t be able to do it,” Chunchun said.

“Chunchunji is right. We will have to think of some other way,” Cheenu Mouse said, shivering with cold.

“Let’s sit near the paddy grains inside our holes. You all must have noticed that some grains like paddy emanate heat,” Chantu Mouse suggested.

“Chantu, even this suggestion is not suitable as the heat given out by such grains is not enough to give us much protection in this intense cold,” Chunchun said.

After that, all the mice gave their suggestions but none seemed useful.

“No suggestion is such which can relieve us from this cold,” Chunchun was very disappointed.

“If only we could bring down the heat from the sky, then we would have found some respite from this biting cold.” These words by an old mouse surprised everyone.

“The heat from the sky? How’s that?” Chunky Mouse asked.

“Chunky, some years back a hot lightening had fallen from the sky on our jungle, which had illuminated the entire place and had caused a lot of heat,” another old mouse said.

“So much heat that we started perspiring!”

“Dadaji, it could be summer season which led you to perspire, but you thought that it was because of the heat from the sky!” Chimpu Mouse tried to make fun of the older mice while playing with some stones.

“You should be ashamed, Chimpu. Here we are discussing something very important and you are playing with stones and making fun of us. Throw away these stones,” Chunchun said angrily and snatching the stones from Chimpu’s hands, threw them away.

As soon as the stones touched the ground, sparks flew out of them but nobody noticed this except Chimpu.

fire-was-created

The other mice got busy talking again. Chimpu went close to the stones and looked at them intently. He didn’t find , anything special in the stones. So out of curiosity, he picked them again and threw them on the ground. This time there were no sparks.

Chimpu didn’t lose heart and kept repeating his act again and again. When he saw sparks coming out two-three times he began rubbing two stones against each other.

This caused a spark to emerge which touched Chimpu’s hand. He let out a shriek.

Chimpu, you are not giving us any good suggestion, but you are successfully distracting us by creating noise. This is not good,” an elderly mouse said.

“I have found heat,” Chimpu said while caressing the burn caused by the spark on his hand.

“What do you mean?” When all the mice asked him, Chimpu rubbed the stones and showed them the spark.

“But how will this help? We won’t get any protection with this little heat,” Chaplu said.

“I have seen that the lightening from the sky burns dry trees and plants. We should also collect small dry plants, wood and grass and try the same thing,” one mouse suggested.

fire-was-created

They made a pile and after some efforts, that heap caught fire with the sparks. When heat emanated from the burning mound, the mice felt extremely happy. After all, they had found a way to beat the cold and also to generate the heat from the sky (fire).

Golu Learns to Think for Himself

Gabbru, Dhenchu and Golu were three donkeys who worked for one master.

Gabbru was the wise one. He feared no one. Dhenchu was the clever one. He worked smart, not hard. Golu, on the other hand, was the simplest of them. He would listen to anybody.

One day, all three of them were walking toward the market carrying their master’s goods. There was a river on their way, which they had to cross.

Clever Dhenchu could smell the goods and figure out what he was carrying. If the master put heavy bags on his back, he would pretend to feel dizzy. So his master would not put the heavy bags on his back.

Today, he had a sack of salt on his back.

While crossing the river, Dhenchu suddenly dipped himself in it.

“Hey, Dhenchu! What are you doing?” asked Golu, surprised. “Are you taking a bath?”Golu-Learns-to-Think-for-Himself

“No, no, Golu! I’m reducing my weight by taking a dip in the river,” said Dhenchu.

“Can the load become lighter by dipping in the river?” asked Golu.

Golu did not realise that by dipping in the river, the salt on Dhenchu’s back would dissolve and the weight of the bag would reduce.

“Oh yes,” said Dhenchu. “If you want, you too can take a dip and see for yourself,” said Dhenchu and laughed. He was amused by Golu’s foolishness. He had seen the empty jars packed on Golu’s back.

Gabbru cried out, “Golu! Don’t listen to him! He always makes losses for our master. And now he’s just taking you for a fool.”

“What? But how is this making a fool out of him?” said Dhenchu, angrily to Gabry. “Come on, tell me!”

“You took a dip in the river, to lessen the load on your back. Our master is clearly going to face losses,” Gabru replied.

“I don’t care. The weight on my back got reduced. I now have to carry less weight!” saying so Dhenchu turned towards Golu and said, “If you want to reduce the weight on your back, you too should take a dip.”

“Really?” asked Golu, in excitement.

“Yes, it worked for me! Ask Gabbru if you don’t trust me. When the salt dissolved away in the water, did the weight of the sack get reduced or increased?” asked Dhenchu.

But before he could finish, Golu said, “I too will take a dip in the water. Gabbru, you too should take a dip if you want to lose some weight.”

Gabbru had cotton sacks on his back, which were lightweight anyway. He did not take a dip in the river. He knew that if he did, the cotton would become wet and heavier.

He screamed at Golu, “Hey, wait! Listen to me…” But Golu had already taken a dip.

There were empty jars on Golu’s back which were now filled with water. As soon as he came out of the water, Golu realised that he was now carrying three times the weight as earlier. He began feeling dizzy.

His legs shook but somehow he managed to walk ahead.Golu-Learns-to-Think-for-Himself

“What’s this? I took a dip, but my weight increased!” Golu said to himself.

“That’s exactly why I was shouting. But you did not stop to listen! And now you must bear the consequences,” said Gabbru, as he walked with him.

Golu somehow reached the marketplace. His waist and legs were aching severely.

Since then, Golu stopped simply copying others without giving it a good thought.

Golu realised that unless you use your brains, merely copying others is useless. It could actually be harmful.

A Walk in the Garden

One early morning, Tommy, the dog and his mother left their house for the garden. Tommy was very happy, as his mother was going to take him for a walk in the garden.

“Mother, I don’t want to eat mangoes. I want to drink mango juice,” said Tommy. On the way, they met Ganju, the hippo. He asked, “Where are you off to so early in the morning?”

Tommy replied happily, “We have to go the garden to collect mangoes. Mother is going to make mango juice for me.”

Mother started laughing. Ganju also smiled.

Stan, the snail was also walking along the path. Tommy teased him. Stan was frightened. He walked along leisurely but he increased his pace as Tommy was irritating him.

“Ha!Ha!” Tommy started laughing.

Mother was upset by Tommy’s behaviour. “You shouldn’t annoy him. Didn’t you see how frightened he was? It is wrong to upset anyone,” his mother explained to him. Tommy wagged his tail in reply.

They reached the garden. As they entered they saw Sentry, the butterfly. She was flying along with her friends. Tommy’s eyes gleamed.

He barked, “Bow, Bow.”

He ran behind the butterflies. The butterflies were playing hide-and-seek. However, seeing Tommy chasing them, they flew away.

“Tommy, don’t interfere in our game. Don’t irritate us. Let us play,” said Sentry.

Tommy smiled and said, “I like chasing butterflies.”A walk in the garden

“Tommy, leave the butterflies alone and come to me!” His mother’s voice could be heard from a distance.

Seeing him leave, the butterflies resumed their game. However, they kept a lookout for him.

His mother said, “Let the butterflies be! It’s not nice to irritate anyone. Then only will anyone respect you.”

There were many mango trees in the garden. Strong winds blew the previous night. Thus there were many mangoes lying on the ground. Mother picked some up and put them in her basket. Initially, Tommy helped her but he soon got distracted. He moved away and saw Rani, the cuckoo sitting on a branch of a mango tree singing, “Kuku… Kuku…”

Tommy barked, “Bow… Bow… Bow…”

The cuckoo got scared, flew away to sit on another branch of a faraway tree.

Mother scolded him. She said, “I told you not to irritate anyone?”

He felt ashamed.

Suddenly a ball fell right in front of him. He heard Gilly, the squirrel say, “Please give us our ball. We are playing cricket.”

At first, Tommy thought of irritating her but then he decided not to and threw the ball towards her.

“If you have time you can play with us,” said the squirrel.A walk in the garden

Tommy was very happy. He began to play with them. Seeing them play Rani also flew in, sat on a branch near them and began to sing.

The butterflies also flew around them. Seeing this Tommy became happy. He promised mother that he would never annoy anyone again.

Courageous Brother

Didi, Didi, look at what I have.” eight year old Rohit entered Sarita Didi’s room. He showed her a trophy that he held in his hands.

“Wow, this looks beautiful. Why have you got this shining trophy, Rohit?” Sarita asked her brother.

“Didi, at the scout camp, I was chosen as the best roller skater. They gave me a cheque for Rs. 500 and a trophy.”

“Congratulations, Rohit. I am proud of you,” said Sarita.

She had tears of happiness in her eyes.

Since childhood, Sarita had been affected by polio. She couldn’t walk. She had to use a wheelchair to move around.

Despite her condition, Sarita didn’t lose heart. She was good at painting. In fact, she had just completed a painting for a competition.

After he saw her painting Rohit said, “I am sure that your painting is going to win the first prize.”

Sarita replied, “It will get a prize only if you will submit it at the Town Hall by 5 O’clock today.”

“Didi, don’t worry. I will go and submit it immediately,” said Rohit.

He covered the painting with a newspaper and left.

He had walked a little farther distance, when he heard a voice shouting, “Thief… thief.”

Rohit saw a masked man holding a black bag in his hand. The man ran ahead of him.

An old man, who was limping behind him said, “Somebody catch him, this thief is stealing my bag.”

Rohit stopped to help the old man.

“Baba, has he taken off with your bag?” Rohit asked.

The old man replied, “Son, that bag has 5 lakhs rupees in it. I was going to deposit the money in the bank. I don’t know how he snatched the bag from my hands.”

The old man started crying.

Rohit was thinking. He wanted to help the old man. Just then, he noticed a boy of his age in the nearby park. He was practicing with his roller skates. Rohit ran towards him and requested him to lend him his skates for a while.

The boy agreed to do so. Rohit immediately put on the skates on his feet and borrowed the old man’s walking stick. He then skated in the direction that the thief’ had taken.courageous-brother

Skating at a high speed, Rohit followed the thief. Onlookers were surprised to see a small child chase a thief. They moved aside to give him way.

Even in his dreams, the thief could not have imagined that someone would catch him. As soon as Rohit reached close, he pushed the old man’s stick on the thief’s leg.

“Wham!”

The thief fell flat on the road. The bag slipped out from his hands and fell at a distance.courageous-brother

Rohit quickly picked up the bag. He alerted a few passersby. A few people came running towards the thief. They tied him up with a rope so that he couldn’t flee.

Meanwhile, somebody had called the police. The police arrived shortly.

The police inspector said, “He is the most infamous criminal in the city. We have wanted to nab him for a while.”

He added, “Well done, son. You will be rewarded for your courage and presence of mind.”

Rohit was happy. After submitting the painting at the Town Hall, he returned home to his sister. He narrated the incident. Sarita hugged her courageous brother.