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Kinjal’s New School

All schools across the country had been shut due to the lockdown.

But in July and August, schools were reopening in some cities for students in higher grades. Students started preparing for their new school year. 

While most of them were buying new school bags, books, tiffin boxes and water bottles for the new year, Kinjal was nervous about joining a new school this year. 

Kinjal’s father had been officially transferred from Kolhapur to Mumbai in March, before the lockdown. The entire family had moved to Mumbai with him. 

Kinjal was going to grade 6 and school would begin in August this year. 

Her father had enrolled her in one of the reputed schools in the city. When she had first visited the school, she had noticed that the new school was nothing like her previous school. It was huge and had so many classrooms. This thought was making her nervous.

One morning, Kinjal sat in her garden, thinking about her new school. She had many questions that bothered her. 

“How will I adjust to the new school? Will I be able to make new friends? How will my new friends be? How will the new teachers be?” She could not any find answers. 

Ma saw her looking worried and asked, “Kinjal, why do you look so worried? What is bothering you?”

“I am thinking about my new school, ma, and I am really scared. Will I be happy in my new school? I have too many questions and no answers,” replied Kinjal.

“I can help you get answers to your questions,” said ma. 

“How can you help me?” asked Kinjal.

“You’ll see tomorrow. Now, let’s go inside and have dinner,” said ma. 

Next morning Kinjal’s mother took her to their next-door neighbour’s house. They had a daughter named Neha whom she had met when they just moved in. Neha’s mother welcomed Kinjal and her mother. She served them tea and some snacks. 

“Kinjal has been worried about going to her new school so I thought she could meet Neha before school starts,” said Kinjal’s mother. 

Kinjal was confused when her mother said, “This is Neha and she too is in grade 6 with you. She has been going to this school since she was in class one. She knows the school well so you can speak to her and get some answers to the questions you had.” 

Kinjal was relieved to hear this and smiled.

Neha and Kinjal greeted each other and began talking. They became friends in
no time. 

On the first day of school, Kinjal and Neha boarded the school bus together. They chatted on the bus and Neha told Kinjal many more things about the school. 

Once they reached the school, Neha guided Kinjal to their class. She made her sit beside her and introduced her to all her friends before the teacher came. They all welcomed Kinjal. 

Neha even introduced Kinjal to their teacher who knew that Kinjal was new and made her feel welcomed. 

Kinjal had lunch with her new friends and even shared her tiffin with them. Before the recess got over, Neha took Kinjal around the school and showed her the school library, the playground and other classes. 

Kinjal was happy as she learned so much about the school in very little time. 

After the lunch break, Kinjal focused on her studies. She felt confident and responded to the questions in class. 

When school was over, Kinjal felt good about the day. She was grateful to Neha for being so helpful. 

When they sat on the bus, Kinjal said, “I was afraid of joining a new school and feared my first day, but with your help, I feel much better. You helped me sail through my first day in school. Thank you very much, Neha.” 

“You’re most welcome. I, too, had fun being around you and making a new friend this year,” replied Neha. 

Kinjal shared the experience of her first day with ma who was happy that Kinjal had already made friends and was comfortable in her new school. 

Kinjal and Neha started going to school together every day. Kinjal made many friends in her new school and was happy that she overcame her fear.

Will guessing work?

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

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

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

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

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

Soon, it was the day of the first exam. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baddy’s result surprised everyone including Jumbo Sir. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Summer Plan

Manav returned home tired after a long day at the playground.

His mother, Mrs. Gopal, was busy cleaning the house.

“Can I help you clean, mother?” asked Manav.

This request surprised his mother as Manav did not like to clean. He even refused to tidy up his own room! 

Mother was puzzled, but she gave in, “Alright,” she said.

“I will begin with the study,” said Manav, eager to get going. 

After a three-hour marathon, the house sparkled and gleamed.

Pleased with his effort, mother offered to make Manav his favourite drink―strawberry milkshake.

“No thank you!” said Manav, as he ran out of the house. “I am not hungry mother. Maybe tomorrow!”

Surprised, mother watched the little boy disappear into the distance.

When he returned later that afternoon, Manav looked tired and dirty. 

Curious, mother asked him, “Manav, where have you been playing at?”  

Manav smiled the widest grin. “Tomorrow,” he said, “I will tell you everything mother!”

The next morning, Manav was up by 6 o’clock. He packed a few sandwiches for himself, and made some for his mother. 

Then, before mother could even get a word out, he hurried out of the house.

By now, mother was alarmed! 

She picked up the phone and dialed her neighbour, Mrs. Iyer. Her daughter, Sumedha, was Manav’s best friend. They studied in the same class.

“Mrs. Iyer,” began mother, “Manav, has been behaving in a strange manner since yesterday. I was wondering if…” 

 “Mrs. Gopal!” Mrs. Iyer stopped her mid-sentence. “I was about to call you!”

“Yesterday, despite my refusal, Sumedha cleaned the study. Then, she came in late for all her meals!” complained Mrs. Iyer.

Concerned, mother said, “I better call the twins, Aarav and Ananya’s, mother and find out what is going on.”

Mother called Aarav and Ananya’s mother. 

The twins, who lived two houses away from Manav, were in his class. 

The strange story continued. Their mother said that the twins had forced the maid to clean the study yesterday.

Mother waited for Manav to return for lunch. It was 3 o’clock now and he had still not returned. 

Anxious, mother decided to look for him. Just as she was about to step out of the house, Manav came rushing in.

“Mother, can you make two bottles of strawberry milkshake right away and bring it to the community hall at 4.30 pm sharp?” asked Manav.

Annoyed, mother did as Manav asked and showed up at the community hall at the requested time.

There she saw little Uttara, standing at the entrance of the hall. Her brother Arudra was standing next to her. 

Eventually, the parents started to come to the hall. 

At 5 pm, Manav, along with Sumedha, Aarav and Ananya came out of the community hall. 

They silently tied a ribbon across the doorway.

 “We are proud to welcome you to the opening of our colony library,” said the children together. 

“It is free for all. We have a collection of children’s books, comics, old text books and note books. All the children from the colony are welcome to spend their summer afternoons here.”

Little Uttara cut the ribbon with the help of her brother Arudra. Surprised, the parents cheered and clapped. Mother smiled.

Everybody stepped into the room. 

Inside, the children had neatly arranged the books on old, unused racks and each section was labeled.

All the parents appreciated the children’s efforts. 

Some even pledged to donate more books to the community library. 

Soon, it became the kids’ favourite joint. 

They spent their afternoons reading and drawing. Every day a parent sent in snacks, while some even joined the reading sessions.

The summer vacation turned out well for the children. Their plan worked after all.

A Timid King

Leo lion did not want to become the king of the forest because he was very timid.

“Please dad, I don’t want to become the king,” he often told his father.

“But son, it is we, the lions, who have to become the kings. Now I have become old. You must slowly start taking up the responsibilities of this forest,” Papa Sheru explained to him with love.

Leo however was so timid, that he was not ready to become the king at all. “I
am tired of listening to my father,”
he thought. 

One day he told himself, “It is better that I go away from this place and hide somewhere. Then I wouldn’t face any trouble.”

As he said so, he hid behind the bushes. There was a mango tree near the bushes which had some monkeys sitting on them. They saw Leo hiding there.

“Look, our future king is hiding here.” A tall monkey pointed
to friends.

“Good. Let’s make fun of this timid creature,” said a monkey. 

He immediately plucked several mangoes and distributed among his friends.

“Let’s get started.” Saying so, he threw one mango towards Leo. On seeing this, all the others too started throwing mangoes on Leo.

“Oh dear.” Being upset with this sudden attack, Leo ran away from there.

“Timid… Timid…” shouted the monkeys as they clapped.

“How wild are the animals in this forest,” Leo thought to himself and felt sad. But he did not get angry. He feared that the herd of monkeys may attack him. So, he ran away quickly and came to the forest’s pond.

“Hey look, our future king is hiding here!” exclaimed the children of two elephants who were drinking water from the pond.

“If he is so timid, then who will save us from our enemies?” They started talking to each other.

“You are right. What is the difference whether he is here or not?” said the second elephant.

The young elephants made fun of him. They filled water in their trunks and splashed it on Leo who was still hiding.

“If you continue to hide, then we will give you a bath and also arrange meals for you,” Both of them laughed and said.

Leo got very angry when suddenly they showered water on him. However, he was afraid that if he expressed his anger, then the elephant would not spare him.

“Oops! I need to escape from here as well.” Leo immediately ran towards the mountain.

“Timid… timid…” The elephants teased him on as he ran.

Once at the mountains, Leo was at considerable peace. He laid under the dense cover of a tree.

“It’s fine here. No one will disturb me,” he thought. 

A few crows were sitting on the tree.

“Hey look, our future king is hiding here,” one crow said looking at Leo.

“Let’s teach a lesson to this coward,” said another crow, as he reached out for him.

Now the mischievous crows began to bother him. Some started crying near his ear while some others started poking him with their beaks.

“What’s the problem?” Leo got upset again. He was very angry with the crows for teasing him. When his patience broke, he roared aloud.

Hearing him roar, the crows flew away in fear.

Leo told himself, “I am a lion and I have to show courage like a lion. I can’t live in fear. I am ready to become the king of this forest.” He roared again and returned home. 

“Dad, I am ready to become the king.” When Sheru heard this, he embraced his son with pride.

Franky & First Rain

There were black clouds in the sky. The sight made Franky frog very happy.

“Looks like the monsoon is about to begin. How I long to go splish-splash in the rain. It will be fun!” thought Franky.

Monty monkey was sitting on a branch nearby. He had been watching Franky for some time now. “Franky, why are you looking at the sky so happily?” asked Monty Monkey. 

“I’m looking at the clouds, silly. It is going to rain after all!” replied Franky. 

The word ‘Rain’ made Monty shiver. 

“Oh! I suffer terribly during the rains. My home in the tree rattles and shakes during a storm. I get drenched and then catch pneumonia!” exclaimed Monty. 

“But with the rains comes relief from heat. Dry fields, ponds and lakes get filled with water,” said Franky.

“Urgh!” said Monty, in disgust, as he bounded off. “I don’t like the monsoon!”

Franky decided to take a stroll. Soon, he met Gally goat who was in a hurry. 

“Hey, Gally!” called Franky. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“Can’t you see it is going to rain?” replied Gally, irritated. “If I leave my food out in the open, it will get wet and spoil. I must get it home quickly.”

She grumbled, “And I left my clothes out to dry. If it rains, they will get wet too. All my hard work will go to waste!”

“The monsoons are not that bad, Gally,” said Franky. He explained, “Hasn’t the grass in your garden dried up? Soon, when it rains, it will turn green again and it will taste better!”

“Stop with all this nonsense about the rains, Franky. It isn’t as fun as you think!” said Gally, as she went into her house, irritated.

“Why is everyone so unhappy with the rains?” thought a puzzled Franky.

Soon, he came upon a colony of ants. They were working swiftly. There he saw his old friend, Annie ant.

“Hi Annie!” shouted Franky. “You seem terribly busy.”

Annie ant looked up. She was carrying food into her home. “Yes Franky. As you can see, it will rain soon. We need to stock food in a safe place.”

“I heard that ants work harder during the rainy season. Is that true?” questioned Franky. He felt a little bad for the ants as he imagined that they didn’t get to enjoy the wet weather.

“Yes, we do not like to waste our time. But the monsoons create new problems for us as we cannot go out in search of food. We are forced to stay home all the time,” explained Annie. 

“Oh!” uttered Franky. 

“There is a lot of work left to be done, Franky. I will talk to you later,” said Annie, as she disappeared into the anthill.

Franky was now bothered. “Are the rains really that troublesome? No one seems to want rain except me,” thought the little frog.

By the time he returned to his home near the pond, every inch of the sky had turned grey.

Soon, there was a gentle pitter-patter on his roof. The rains had finally arrived!

Franky hopped out of his house. He was happy to see the raindrops splatter all around. When suddenly, he said, “I like to get wet in the rain. But other animals fall sick and face problems. If my friends have problems with the rain, I will also stay inside my home.” He went back inside his home.

Franky sat by a window. He was happy watching the drops of rain trickle down. But, he did not go out.

“Franky!” He suddenly heard Monty call out to him.

“We have been looking all over for you. And you are hiding at home!” yelled Gally.

“Come out! Don’t hide inside! We all have come out to play in the first rain with you,” said Annie. 

She rapped at his door. “You love the rain and yet, you are sitting inside!”

Franky was surprised! He quickly hopped out of his home.

When Franky went outside, he saw all the animals of the jungle enjoying the first rain.

Franky started saying, “For you all, I was…”

“We all know it”, interrupted Gally. “Should I tell you one thing? Monsoon is not that bad, you know. We are enjoying getting drenched.”

Franky danced happily after hearing those words. He also started enjoying the first rain.

A Lesson Learnt

Cheeku rabbit, Meeku mouse and Jumpy monkey were having lunch in their classroom. 

“Wow Meeku! The kachoris you bought for lunch are tasty!” said Cheeku, munching on the piece.

“My mother cooked these. She packed enough for all of us,’’ said Meeku, delighted.

Just then Baddy fox passed that way. “What’s that aroma?” sniffed Baddy. He glanced in the direction of the trio. They quickly tried to hide their lunch boxes. But it was too late.

“Hey Meeku, don’t hide your lunch box. Kachoris are my favourite!” said the sly fox, quickly swooping into Meeku’s lunch box.

“Baddy! You cannot snatch someone’s lunch without asking first. It’s not good manners!” said Jumpy.

“Snatch?” mocked a shameless Baddy. “I would never use my strength against my dear friends.” 

He dipped his paw into Meeku’s lunch box again for another helping of kachoris.

The three friends felt helpless and angry.

Baddy was a greedy fox. Often, he helped himself to the lunch of others. Yet, no one had the courage to utter a word to him. 

Many of the students had complained about his behaviour to the school authorities. But he never tried to mend his ways. He was turning more troublesome by the day.

“Baddy’s behaviour is terrible. I find it rude!’’ said Cheeku. 

“Yes, we have had enough of his bad behaviour,” said Jumpy, agreeing with Cheeku.“But, what can we do?”

“Let’s teach him a lesson,” said Jumpy. 

He quickly gathered his friends around and whispered a plan.

The next day, they sat in class with their lunch boxes spread out in front. They waited for Baddy to walk into the trap. 

As soon as they spotted Baddy approaching, Cheeku began munching a paratha. “Jumpy, this paratha is very tasty!” said Cheeku, between mouthfuls. 

“Yes, this is the most delicious paratha I have tasted by far!” said Meeku as he licked his lips.

Hearing this, Baddy’s mouth started to water. He grabbed a paratha from Jumpy’s lunchbox. “Let me taste these delicious parathas too!” he said. 

He gobbled up the first paratha and then reached for the second. That’s when things went crazy. 

“Oh! It’s spicy! My tongue is on fire! Give me some water! Please!” begged Baddy. He had tears in his eyes. 

“Here, Baddy,’’ replied Meeku, handing him a water bottle.

Baddy gulped the water. Little did he know that it was laced with chilli powder.

Now Baddy was huffing and puffing. 

“What did you offer me?” said Baddy, panting heavily. “Someone please give me some water. My mouth is on fire!’’ 

“No, Baddy!” replied Cheeku, “You snatch our food without the least concern. Now, enjoy the fruits of your actions.’’ 

The rest of the class gathered around Cheeku and nodded in agreement.

“I am sorry! I promise to never take anyone’s lunch again!” cried Baddy.

Cheeku gave Baddy a box of sweets and a glass of chilled water. “You must stop snatching food from others, Baddy,” said Cheeku.

Baddy felt relieved after drinking the water and eating the sweets. He then apologised to his classmates. 

He vowed never to take what did not belong to him.

From that day on, the three friends never had to worry about Baddy stealing their lunch again.

Titu, A Brave Camel

There was once a huge camel named Titu. One day, he wandered into a thick, green forest.

Now, the animals in the forest had never seen such a tall animal and he thus appeared strange to them. 

Pintu monkey was the first to talk to him. He climbed up a tree so that he could see Titu better. “Who are you, and where are you from?” asked Pintu. 

“My name is Titu and I live in the desert. I was passing through,” said Titu.

“There’s no space in this jungle for more animals. Go away!” said a scared Dhinki deer, hiding behind a tree.

“I do not wish to make this my home. I will stay here for a short period,” said Titu. “So, let’s be friends!”

However, no one befriended Titu. Instead, they made fun of him. Bernie beaver laughed at his height, saying that Titu was as tall as a tent! 

Titu, however, did not respond to the taunts.

Soon, the animals realised that Titu, despite being huge, did no harm. They took advantage of his gentle nature and harassed him.

Cheeku rabbit ran swiftly between Titu’s long legs to trip him over. Poor Titu jumped in fright! He was scared of crushing the little rabbit beneath his legs. Cheeku, on the other hand, proud of his prank, clapped his hands in glee.

Pintu pulled the next prank. He jumped from a treetop onto Titu’ back. 

Thump!

He then rattled Titu’s hump and ran away quickly.

Golu bear was next. He dangled from Titu’s long neck and laughed heartily when Titu tried to shake him off.

By evening Titu was tired. His first day in the forest was bad. He decided to leave the forest early next morning.

That night, it rained heavily. 

The river which was flowing through the jungle soon began to flood. At day break, most of the animals’ houses were underwater.

As the water level continued to rise, the animals got worried.  

Perry parrot decided to fly out in search of safe ground. He returned with good news, “The ground on the other side of the riverbank is high. The floodwaters haven’t reached that part yet. We should move there.”

Scared, Dhinki deer cried, “But the water in the river is flowing fast. If we cross the river now, we could drown!”

“Alas! We will drown if we stay here,” said Pintu monkey, in despair.

The water level was rising quickly. Soon, it seemed that the rest of the animals’ houses would get submerged too. The animals were helpless. Confused and scared, some began to cry.

“I will help you,” said Titu, standing in water, which hardly reached his knees. 

“You will?” asked a surprised Golu.

The animals struggled to stand in waist-deep water as they clung to each other. 

“Yes,” said Titu, nodding his head.

“But, we played pranks on you!” said Pintu monkey, surprised. He could not believe that the same Titu that they had troubled, wanted to help them.

“True, you behaved in a manner that made you feel good,” said Titu. “I will do what I feel is right.” He smiled, “I have always considered you all friends. And a friend in need is a friend indeed!”

The animals hung their heads in shame.

Titu spoke, “Let’s not waste time, my friends. The water level is rising! Climb onto my back and I will take you to the other side, in turns.”

“Will it be safe?” asked a trembling Cheeku rabbit.

“My legs are long. So, I can cross the river easily. Hold on to my hump, and do not let go. For if you do, you will fall into the river and drown,” warned Titu. 

It was decided. The small animals crossed the river first, followed by the big animals.

In a span of two hours, Titu took all animals to safety. “Titu, you are good! Please forgive our rude actions,” said Golu bear with folded hands. All the animals joined him in pleading for forgiveness.

Titu replied, “You are a nice lot, just a little naughty. If you stop with your pranks, you will be a whole lot nicer.” With that he let out a loud laugh, and all the animals joined him. 

“We will all stay here till the water level comes down. Then we will arrange a feast for Titu!” said Golu. Everyone clapped.

While waiting for the flood to clear, the animals kept themselves busy. Some started collecting food, while others like Pintu monkey, entertained everyone with his funny tricks. Koyal cuckoo sang a song, while Shyamu Peacock danced. There was an air of fun and frolic around.

Two days later, the floods cleared and the animals returned to their homes. 

Titu had made friends with all the animals who took great care of him.

Yet, Titu started missing his home. 

One day, he gathered all his friends and said, “Dear friends, I would now like to return to the desert. It’s been a long time since I left my home. My parents must be worried.”

“Please stay,” pleaded Dhinki deer. However, the animals knew that Titu’s reason to leave was justified. They were silent. Bernie beaver, who had grown close to Titu said, “If you can’t stay, I will accompany you back to your home.”

“So will I,” added Pintu monkey.

“I would love to take you all to my home in the desert, but you will not survive the desert heat,” said Titu. He explained, “This jungle is full of lush, green trees and flowing rivers. The desert is the exact opposite. It is extremely hot, with no signs of trees or water, for miles!”

This surprised the animals. Golu asked, “If there is no water, how do you quench your thirst?”

“We camels have a sac inside our neck. We fill that sac whenever we find water. We then quench our thirst with droplets of water from that sac. Hence, we can stay for nearly a week without water. But that is not possible in your case friends,” said Titu. 

The animals realised that they could not accompany Titu to the desert, nor ask him to stay back. Everyone was sad.

Golu finally said, “Go if you must, but promise that you will visit us all at least once, every year.”

“I will, for sure,” said Titu, happily. He too was a little sad to leave his friends.

The whole jungle had a grand feast for Titu. The animals danced, sang and rejoiced. 

The next morning, Titu started for his home in the desert.

All the animals thereafter awaited his return.

Do it yourself!

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

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

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

Misha lived in the forest with her cubs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“So we too must destroy the humans.

Down with humans!” shouted Foxy fox.

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

The whole forest started chanting in hatred of humans.

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

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

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

The news about their failure spread through the forest.

King Sheru called for another meeting.

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone listened to her attentively.

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

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

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

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

“Do tell us!” said the animals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

All their hard work seemed to have failed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Treasure in the well

“Yash! Yash! I just learned something interesting!” said Karan, panting.

“Karan! Catch your breath first? Now, tell me, what it is?” said Yash, resting his bat on his shoulder.

“About three kilometres from here flows Ratna River. On its shore, there is an old house with a well.”

“What’s special about that?” asked Yash.

“Oh, Yash! Don’t you know? The British have hidden a truckload of treasure inside that well.”

“How do you know there’s treasure inside the well?”

“My grandpa told me that during the revolt of 1857, the British government had hidden its treasure in that well so that the revolutionaries would not lay their hands on it. The British were killed during the revolt, but the treasure is still inside the well. No one has found it till now.”

Yash thought for a while, and then said, “Karan! The treasure in the well can be ours! We’ll do what no one has done!”

Yash and Karan talked and walked towards their closest friend, Mohan who had an analytical way of thinking.

Mohan loved reading detective stories and had learnt about being a detective through them.

He listened to his friends attentively, and then said seriously, “Hmm! A treasure in the well! We will find it, no matter how hard it is.”

The three of them started drawing up a plan and decided to go on Sunday to find the treasure. They also agreed to collect things that they would need to draw out the treasure.

They collected large bags to put the treasure once they got it, and sticks with pointed ends like spears to fight off any danger they may face. They took a large rope for getting inside the well, and a pickaxe for digging.

On Sunday morning, the three friends set off on their treasure hunt fully prepared.

Their first obstacle was the way to cross the Ratna river. Though the river did not seem to have a lot of water, they didn’t know its depth. They took off their clothes and shoes and put them in a plastic bag.

They used their sticks to measure the depth of the river and started walking across it slowly. They walked through the parts where the water was shallow and avoided the deeper pockets.

They had almost reached the shore when Yash screamed. “Ouch! Ouch!” and jumped and rushed towards the land. Mohan and Karan got scared and followed Yash quickly.

When they reached the land, they found Yash stamping on the ground. They saw that two leeches were attached to Yash’s legs and they had become swollen sucking his blood. Yash tried shaking them off, but could not. He was screaming now.

Hearing the screams, a farmer working in a field near the river came running. He saw Yash stamping and understood what had happened.

He immediately pulled out a small bottle that had white powder from his pocket and sprinkled some on the leeches and they came off Yash’s legs at once.

“There are a lot of leeches in this river,” explained the farmer. “We bring our cattle to bathe here and they stick to their legs too. The only way to get rid of leeches is to sprinkle salt on them. That’s why I carry a bottle of salt with me!”

Yash thanked the farmer, and the three friends began walking towards the old house. They had just crossed a field when they heard a buzzing noise. A swarm of bees were coming towards them!

Yash and Karan turned around to run but Mohan yelled, “Put the treasure bags over you!”

The three friends immediately put the empty bags over them. Through the bags, they could hear the bees buzzing and were scared they would get stung. But luckily, the bees flew away and the three friends removed their bags, looked at each other and laughed in relief.

“We didn’t expect our hunt to be full of dangers!” exclaimed Yash.

“Yes, shall we go on?” asked Karan.

“Yes, of course! We’ll find that hidden treasure!” answered Mohan, and the three of them marched ahead.

They soon reached the old house that looked like a ghost house. Trees and bushes had grown through its walls. The windows were broken and covered with cobwebs and looked dark and scary.

But even more scary was the snake in front of the house! Soon, a second snake joined it and the children recognised them as poisonous snakes.

Karan was about to hit the snakes using his pointed stick, but Mohan caught his hand and said, “Don’t hurt them!” he whispered. “Stand still and they’ll go away.”

Sure enough, soon the snakes slithered away.

“You see Karan, snakes are shy. They don’t attack till they feel threatened.

If you had hurt them, they would have attacked us,” explained Mohan.

The three friends then tiptoed through the grounds and finally saw the well. But just before they could go near the well, they heard a rustling noise! Was that some wild animal that would attack them?

They took a step back and looked inside and saw two rabbits running away!

With a sigh of relief, the three went closer to the well and looked inside. It was deep. Plants and weeds had grown along its walls. They could not see the bottom. One of them would have to climb down to get the treasure!

“Mohan, you are the thinnest. You should climb down!” said Karan. Yash is heavy and we will not be able to pull him out.”

Yash laughed but was secretly happy that his weight had saved him from climbing down. He did not want to get stuck inside the well! Mohan tied one end of the rope to a tree trunk and tied the other end to his waist.

“Yash and Karan, release the rope slowly.

Once I reach the bottom, I’ll find the treasure and put it in the bags. Then I’ll shout so that you can pull me up.”

Mohan balanced himself along the side of the well and slowly started climbing down easily. When he reached the bottom, he looked all around for the treasure that was not there.

Instead of the gold coins, he was expecting, he saw a scared white baby rabbit that tried to hide when Mohan reached to pat it.

Mohan realised that the baby rabbit must have fallen into the well. The two rabbits that scurried when they had reached the well must have been her parents.

Thankfully, there was no water in the well, otherwise, the baby would have drowned.

Mohan carefully picked up the rabbit and put her in his bag. He used his pickaxe to make some holes in the bag for her to breathe. He took the bag on his back and tied the pickaxe to the rope. Then he called Yash and Karan to pull him. Yash and Karan were thrilled because they thought that Mohan had found the treasure. They started pulling the rope with all their might. Mohan, too, started carefully climbing upwards.

When he reached the top, Yash caught Mohan’s hand and pulled him out.

They were all exhausted and lay flat on the grass for some time.

Then Yash could not hold himself and picked up the bag Mohan had dropped on the ground and opened it. He wanted to see what was the treasure they had found!

But the treasure inside the bag was scared of Yash and started jumping. Yash dropped the bag in fear and Mohan took the rabbit out of the bag and told them that this was the only treasure he found inside the well.

Karan said, “Mohan, you are kind. I wish everyone was as kind as you are. So many animals can be saved by our small acts of kindness.”

Just then, they saw the rabbits coming back looking for their young one. Mohan released the baby rabbit in the direction of her parents. The rabbits were overjoyed upon being reunited. The three friends were also overjoyed—the treasure they found was a unique one.

The Spotted Puppy

Abhay was fond of puppies. He demanded and pleaded with his parents to get a pet dog, but every time they gave him some reason and turned him down.

“It’s not easy to have a pet, Abhay! It’s a lot of responsibilities. Humans can speak and ask for what they want, but pets can’t.

Just imagine if we do not understand the needs of the animal, how miserable it will be for him here,” dad explained.

“That’s not all! If we go out on vacation, there will be no one to take care of it. We won’t be able to take it with us, nor leave it alone,” said mom.

Abhay would get sad. He knew his parents were right, but he really wanted a pup.

One day, Abhay left for school when he heard a low cry. He looked around. In a shallow drain near Uncle Sharma’s house were some tiny puppies! Abhay carefully looked at them. They were of different colours—black, grey, white, spotted—all huddled together.

Abhay stared at them for a while and then started counting them. Before he could count, the puppies huddled together, making him forget his count.

Abhay giggled. He separated them and started counting again.

While he was counting, their mother came back and looked at Abhay, bared her teeth and growled.

Abhay stepped back. He knew the mother was being protective about her babies.

His school van also arrived so he left for school. But throughout the day, Abhay’s mind was occupied by the puppies.

After returning home, he quickly changed, had his lunch, and sat down to finish his homework. Mom was pleased to see him studying and went for her usual rest.

“Mom will take a nap for an hour now.

I’ll go and play with the puppies till she wakes up,” thought Abhay as he smiled and went out.

Bobo, the mother of the puppies, was not around. She had probably gone out to eat.

Abhay picked up the puppies and started petting them. He loved the spotted puppy and picked it up and walked home with it.

Mom was still asleep when he entered.

Abhay took an old shoebox, placed some towels inside and put the puppy in it. He put some milk in a bowl and tried feeding it to the puppy, but it could not drink properly.

Abhay could not take the puppy inside the house, for if mom came to know she would ask him to take it back. And Abhay did not want that.

He started thinking of ways to convince dad and mom so they would let him keep the puppy.

An hour passed. Abhay was still playing with the puppy. He heard his mother wake up. He covered the shoebox and quickly started riding his bicycle. Mom did not suspect anything.

When dad came home from work and called Abhay, he went inside the house, keeping the shoebox covered with the puppy still in it.

Meanwhile, Bobo came back and started looking for her lost puppy who heard his mother and came out of the shoebox.

Bobo realised that her puppy was inside Abhay’s house but couldn’t get in as the door was shut.

Bobo stood outside the main door, barking. The pup ran to the door but could not go out. Bobo tried to get inside but she could not either.

Mother and child, each on one side of the door, were helpless.

Bobo’s barking made a lot of noise. Mom went out and saw the puppy and the shoebox.

She realised what had happened. She opened the door and the pup ran out to its mother. Bobo picked up the puppy gently by its neck and went back to her other pups.

Abhay saw the whole thing. He was upset when he saw the pup leave. Mom called him inside the house but did not say anything about this.

“Abhay, I’m going to grandma’s place for a few days. She’s not keeping well. You will be here with your sad,” she said, while packing her bag.

Abhay started thinking. He had never been away from mom. From the time he woke up in the morning till he went to bed at night—mom was there for his meals, homework and games. The thought of spending even one day without her around gave him shivers.

Then he saw the pups and Bobo pass by the house.

“How selfish of me! I can’t live a day without mom, and I was planning to separate the pup from its mother forever,” thought Abhay, feeling bad about what he had done.

“Abhay! Let mom go! We’ll bring the spotted pup home tomorrow. You can play with him and you won’t even notice that mom’s gone,” said dad.

“No, dad! Even that pup wouldn’t want to stay away from his mom. I saw how much he was crying today. I don’t want the pup to be separated from his mom just like how I don’t want mom to go,” said Abhay and hugged his mom.

“I’m not going anywhere! I was just trying to show you that just like you can’t stay away from me, baby animals also need to stay with their mothers,” smiled mom.

The spotted pup stood outside the door and wagged its tail.

The Ghost of Penupuram

Nikhil and Neelu could meet their cousins Alekhya and Anirudh only once a year at their family home during the winter vacations. They would really look forward to meeting them!

Nikhil’s family would come down from Mumbai and Alekhya’s would arrive
from Hyderabad. They would meet every winter in Penupuram, a village deep in the interiors of Andhra Pradesh.

The holidays were a glorious period of about twenty days for the kids. There were no studies, no homework, no special classes, no assignments. They would just eat, sleep, and play in their grandfather’s mango orchard. In the evenings, they would listen to the stories narrated by Tatagaru (Grandpa) while munching on snacks made by Bamma (Grandma).

One evening Tatagaru said, “Children, today I am going to tell you the story of the ghost of Penupuram.”

“That’s awesome Tatagaru,” the children said together.

“This happened in the 1970s,” said Tatagaru.

“Oh Tatagaru, we were not even born then,” said Anirudh.

“Even your parents were not born, children,” said Tatagaru, laughing.

“My dad was born in 1978,” said Nikhil proudly.

”And my father was born in 1979,” said Alekhya, not wanting to be left behind.

“Okay. Keep quiet now and let Tatagaru start his story,” Neelu said impatiently.

“Well children, I was about fifteen years then. In those days we did not have buses or taxis to go to the nearest town. We either had to go on a bullock cart or a bicycle.

One night my father fell ill. My mother was very worried. My brother and sister had gone to a nearby village to attend a wedding. I was unwell, so I could not go.

Mother started crying. It was ten o’clock at night. All our neighbours had gone to sleep. The nearest town, Tenali, was about an hour away, on a bicycle.

With a severe cold, I decided to cycle to Tenali, to get our family doctor.

My mother went to my friend Bheem’s house to request him to give me company because I was not well.

Bheem was a very close friend of mine, who lived two houses away. He would boast about fighting robbers single-handedly, killing venomous snakes, controlling bulls and many other feats which many people would not even think about doing. I had a feeling that he was a big braggart but I could never prove that he had not done what he said.

My mother believed all his stories, so maybe that’s why she wanted him to accompany me on the dark country road.

Bheem came over to my house. He had been awake but did not seem very eager to give me company on the pitch-dark road. When he saw my father struggling to breathe, without saying anything, he agreed to ride the cycle and I sat behind him.

We started out on our journey. There were no street lights. Bheem started showing off again.

“Nothing scares me. I can fight any wild animal,” said Bheem. But as we rode along, his confidence seemed to fade. We were talking and joking to prove to each other that we were not afraid, but in reality, we were very trembling with fear.

Halfway through, we reached a dried up well. Bheem told me that people had strange experiences like hearing the sound of payal and dancing steps. He declared loudly that he was not afraid of ghosts but suddenly became quiet.

I also started feeling a little uneasy because suddenly we heard a tinkling sound. It was not the sound of payal which would also be scary in such a place. It was the loud sound of ghungroos! The sound was now coming closer to us.
Bheem stopped the cycle.

“Wha… what happened?” I asked nervously.

“I don’t know. The cycle is not moving… and I can’t see anything,” said Bheem. He was shaking like a leaf. I could feel his body rattling. We left the bicycle and ran. The tinkling sound followed us.”

Neelu moved closer to Tatagaru. She grabbed Tatagaru’s hand was getting scared. Anirudh started teasing her.

“It is only a story, silly,” said Anirudh.

“But it happened to Tatagaru and his friend,” said Neelu, clinging on to Tatagaru’s arm.

Grandfather did not smile but continued.Children fiction

“We ran at lightning speed. We were running blindly on the dark road. Suddenly Bheem screamed, “Aaaaaaaaargh … Someone pushed me aaaaaaaaagh!” I was so scared I did not know what to do. We kept running in the general direction of the town. And then, something hit me on my back. I scream­ the loudest I had done in my life, and fell forward. The sound of bells was still coming from behind us. After that we don’t remember what happened to us.

When we opened our eyes, we were in Dr. Rao’s house. A lady was massaging our foreheads and backs. Somebody offered us hot milk. We drank without any hesitation.

THE GULAB JAMUN GHOST

After a few minutes, the doctor said “Yes, young men. Now tell me the entire story.”

We narrated the entire story. We were still feeling very nervous. The doctor asked Bheem, “So young man, whose ghost was it?”

“I do not know sir, but people say it is the ghost of a young woman who died recently,” said Bheem.

“Look here,” the doctor said. “I have been living here for the past 45 years and I have not seen any ghosts. As far as I know, no young woman has died. I am a doctor so I should know.”

“Then those bells?” I asked, still nervous.

Dr. Rao took us to the verandah. “There is your ghost,” he said pointing to a playful bull-calf tied to a tree. He was covered with bells and beads and was grazing on some dry grass which Dr. Rao’s servants had put for him.children fiction

Dr. Rao continued ”At about eleven o’clock, I heard some sounds. I came out and saw the two of you lying on my doorstep talking that a ghost was chasing you and wanted to kill you. So, we got you inside and you know the rest of the story,” he said smiling.

Dr. Rao said, “Boys, there are no such things as ghosts and ghouls. People just imagine them. All such experiences can be explained. This poor calf was probably separated from its herd. Tomorrow we will know who his owner is.

Actually, this is not the first time that cattle is lost in that area. When these animals see human beings, they run behind them.”

More From Champak: The Sugarcane Ghost

Dr. Rao drove us back in his jeep. On the way, we found our bicycle. One of its tyres got punctured. We now understood why it had stopped last night! Dr. Rao helped us put it in the jeep.

My father soon became better. The doctor said it was just an allergy. Mother thanked him with tears in her eyes. The doctor was an old family friend. He asked us not to worry. But a great change came over Bheem. From that day onwards, he never talked about his brave adventures.”

Tataguru took a deep breath as he finished the story.

“Oh Tatagaru, what a great story!” clapped the children.

The Fight

Tinku and Pinku Rabbits were headed for the river to bathe in it, when Pinku saw something round floating on the waves.

“What’s that?” He asked Tinku.

Tinku looked closely and said, “Can’t you make out? It is a balloon.”

“How did it come here?” Pinku asked again.

“Maybe some child came here to bathe and left it behind,” Tinku said. “Wait here, I will be back in an instant.”

“Where are you going?”

“To bring the balloon from the water.”

“Wait,” Pinku stood in front of Tinku and blocked his way. “I saw it first. How can you take it?”

“You did not even know what it was! Therefore, I will take the balloon,” Tinku was adamant.

Pinku pushed him violently. “How can you take it? I found it therefore I will take it.”

Tinku punched Pinku’s face, who fell flat on the ground. “I said I will take it.”

While both of them were busy quarreling, Bunty Monkey came. He was very crafty. He said, “Why are you crying? Tell me what happened? I will resolve this fight.”

Feeling relieved, they narrated the entire incident to Bunty.

“Oh, so both of you are fighting over the balloon,” Bunty’s eyes glinted. “Wait, I will provide you with the best solution for this fight.”

He leapt forward to take out the balloon.

“Where are you going?” Pinku and Tinku stood firmly in his way.

“To take out the balloon,” Bunty replied

“With whose permission?”

“I do not need anyone’s permission,” Bunty smiled. “Now that both of you are unable to decide who should take the balloon, I think I should take it. In this way, your fight will be resolved.”

The rabbits caught hold of the monkey’s tail, “We will not let you take our balloon.” |

The-Fight3

Bunty was enraged, “Release me, my tail will break.”

“We will not, you will take our balloon.”

“I said let go of me.” said Bunty Monkey

“No way…” echoed the rabbits.

Meanwhile Kalu Crow flew there. He was very cunning and often acted as a spoilsport. He interrupted them, “What happened? Why are you fighting with each other like this?”

The rabbits told him everything.

Kalu said, “Oh, now I understand. You are fighting over the balloon.”

“Yes,” Tinku and Pinku said together. “But this monkey wants to grab our balloon with his slyness.”

“Do not worry,” Kalu said with a mischievous smile on his face. “I have a solution for this problem.”

“What is it?”

Kalu said, “The reason for this entire fight is the balloon. If I burst it with my beak, then the fight will stop automatically, right?”

Kalu flew to the balloon and pecked on the balloon with his beak, but surprisingly the balloon did not burst.

The-Fight2

‘It seems it is a very tough balloon, I should hit it with more force,’ thought Kalu and acted accordingly.

“Oh my God… this blacky almost broke my head,” Kalu was startled on hearing the shriek.

Then he saw Mangal wrestler emerge from the river, holding his bald head. “Just today I shaved my head because of the scorching heat, but this blacky did not let me take a proper bath.”

“Stupid animals, what you assumed to be a balloon turned out to be Mangal wrestler’s bald head. Run for your life,” Kalu alerted them.

“Wait, I will teach you a lesson,” Mangal picked up a stick and ran after them.

All four of them somehow saved their lives and went back empty handed to their respective homes.

BANANAS GALORE

One morning, Honey Elephant woke up craving for some soft and sweet bananas. Though he liked all kinds of fruits, bananas topped his list. He walked out of his house, wondering where he would find a big bunch of bananas to satiate his enormous appetite. Honey walked towards a park. He saw a group of monkeys sitting inside. They were eating some ripe yellow bananas. Honey immediately stopped and looked at the bananas and licked his lips.

One of the monkeys, whose name was Jumpy Monkey, looked up at Honey Elephant and grinned. “Would you like a banana, Mr. Elephant?” he said impishly. Honey Elephant nodded his big head.

“Yes, I really would!” he said. “Then eat this!” Jumpy Monkey said cheekily. He then threw a rotten banana towards Honey Elephant. It fell near Honey Elephant’s big legs and smashed on the ground. Honey Elephant felt quite hurt. He walked away quietly.

Suddenly, Honey Elephant heard someone singing, “Buy bananas! Sweet bananas! Golden bananas!” It was Peelu Deer. He was pushing a cart full of yellow bananas to sell in the market. The sight of the plump and fresh bananas made Honey’s mouth water.

“I don’t have any money to pay you,” he told Peelu Deer politely. “But will you still give me a few bananas for free?”

Peelu Deer got very upset. “Hey! I am trying to make a living here and you want my bananas for free!” he scolded Honey Elephant. “Go away from here, you beggar!”

Honey Elephant walked away without saying a word. After being admonished by many more animals in the jungle, he felt very disheartened. “If I had the money, I could have bought an entire cart of bananas for myself!” he said to himself wishfully. Suddenly, Honey Elephant heard someone laughing. He turned around and saw that it was Goru Rabbit.

“Money doesn’t grow on the trees, Honey!” Goru Rabbit said. “You have to work for it to come to you.” Chunmun Sparrow, who was flying in the sky, saw Honey Elephant and flew down. She was one of Honey Elephant’s closest friends. “Hi Honey!” Chunmun Sparrow chirped. “I have some good news for you! I bet it will make you very happy!”

“Is that so?” Honey Elephant said. “What is it? Tell me quickly, Chunmun!”

“Well,” Chunmun Sparrow said. “A truck has turned over on the highway that’s behind the jungle. It was carrying a load of bananas to the nearby town. There are thousands of bananas lying on the road now. Just the sight of them made me think of you. I know how much you love bananas. And so, I flew all the way here, just to give you the news.”

“Wow!” Honey Elephant said excitedly. “That really is good news! I’ll go there right away and have a feast.” Honey then ran towards the highway. He found the spot that Chunmun Sparrow had told him about. A big truck was lying overturned there. Honey Elephant blinked. There were thousands of ripe bananas scattered there! When the truck driver and cleaner saw Honey Elephant, they panicked. “A wild elephant! Run!” they shouted as they ran to hide. “He might be dangerous!” Now, Honey wasn’t one bit dangerous. But he didn’t bother to tell them that. He had his eyes fixed on the bananas. He had never seen so many of them together. And there was no one to stop him from eating them now.

“I can eat the bananas to my heart’s content now,” Honey Elephant said as he walked towards the overturned truck. But when Honey Elephant reached the truck, he found that he didn’t want to eat the bananas anymore!

“The truck driver and helper must have been startled by the accident,” he muttered. “They will feel worse if I eat their bananas now.” Honey Elephant then straightened the truck and put the bananas back into it.

BANANAS-GALORE2

The truck driver and cleaner were surprised to see what Honey Elephant was doing. “Huh?” they said, scratching their heads. “This elephant is putting the bananas back into the truck instead of eating them!” When Honey Elephant finished putting all the bananas back into the truck, he blew the dust off the truck with his trunk. He then turned to go back to the jungle.

“Wait!” the truck driver and cleaner told Honey Elephant. Honey Elephant stopped, wondering what they would say. “Mr. Elephant,” the truck driver and cleaner said. “Thank you very much for your help. If it was not for you, the bananas would have rotted on the road. We would have lost our jobs too. Please accept some bananas as a token of our gratitude.” The truck driver and cleaner then gave Honey Elephant several bunches of plump bananas.

“I don’t know why,” Honey Elephant said as he thanked them, “but I have never been happier than I am today. And I think it’s only because I chose to help you.” The truck driver and cleaner smiled. “Mr. Elephant,” they said. “We travel on this highway very often. And from now on, we’ll stop by every time we are here and leave some bananas for you to eat. You really are a helpful friend.” They then drove away, feeling quite happy. .

Honey Elephant walked back to the jungle with the bananas. He was feeling quite happy too. He had more bananas than he could eat now. And so, he invited all the animals and birds of the jungle to share them with him. He even invited Jumpy Monkey who couldn’t believe that Honey Elephant was being so generous when he had been so nasty to him.

“Thank you for inviting us over,” Goru Rabbit, Chunmun Sparrow and all the others told Honey Elephant later that day. “We had a feast today. And it was just because you chose to be honest and helpful.”

“Achieving something by being honest and helpful is much better than getting it for free,” Honey Elephant told them all. “I have learnt this very important lesson today!” All the animals and birds nodded and smiled. They were happy to see this positive change in their friend.

Jay’s April Fool’s Surprise

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

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

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

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

Jay's-April-Fool's-Surprise2

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

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

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

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

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

Jay's-April-Fool's-Surprise3

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

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

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

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

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

 

The Minister of Laughs

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

“What happened to the king?”

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

“What will become of our kingdom?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damru’s face fell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nitin’s Painting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. A village scene

2. Wildlife

3. Water conservation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE PROMISE OF FRIENDSHIP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why do you say that?” asked Monty.

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

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

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

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

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

Monty nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inspector Freddy arrested the three crooks.

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

Bholu’s Invention

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

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

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

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

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

Bholu's-Invention

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friendship is Necessary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friendship-is-Necessary

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

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

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

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

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

Friendship-is-Necessary

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

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

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

Friendship-is-Necessary

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

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

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

Friendship-is-Necessary

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

Minny Moth’s Search For Colours

One day, a butterfly came and perched on a lily in the garden where Minny, the Moth lived. The butterfly’s wings were purple, yellow and red, and as she fluttered them, they glowed in the sunlight.

The butterfly was so pretty that all the flowers in the garden nodded their heads eagerly and urged the butterfly to come and sit on their petals. After a while, the butterfly flew to a bright pink zinnia.

Minny was sitting on the stem of the zinnia plant, but she was so quiet that the butterfly didn’t notice her at first. But when Minny flapped her wings, the butterfly spotted her.

“Hello!” said the butterfly with a smile. “I’m Betty, the Butterfly! What’s your name?”

The moth said, “My name is Minny.”

Betty the butterfly asked Minny curiously, “Why are your body and wings such a dull brown? Have you lost your colours?”

Betty raised her wings proudly, and showed off her colourful wings. “

“I’ve never had any colours,” Minny said softly. “I’ve been this way ever since I came out of my cocoon.”

“I’m glad I don’t look as dull as you do,” Betty said, with pride. “I am so pretty that every flower in this garden wants me to sit on it! It must be awful to be as plain and unattractive as you are!”

Now, until this time, Minny had not thought about her appearance at all, and had been quite content with her life in the garden. But Betty’s scornful words kept ringing in her mind over and over again.

So she went to a little puddle in the corner of the garden, and looked into it to see herself clearly.

When Minny saw her reflection in the water, she was shocked.

“What Betty said is true,” she thought. “I look very dull and plain because I have no colours on my body or wings. I must do something to make myself prettier!”

Minny began to think hard, and after sometime, she got a good idea. She would ask some of the colourful flowers in the garden if they would share some of their lovely colours with her!

Minny immediately flew to an exquisite red rose, and asked the rose, “Can you share some of the bright red that you have on your petals with me?”

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The rose nodded her pretty head. “I am willing to give you one of my fragrant red petals,” she replied graciously. “But what will you do with it?”

“I will drape it over my wings,” said Minny proudly, “so that it looks like a fine velvet cloak! I’m tired of being a plain, mousy brown. I want to be bright and colourful like Betty butterfly. She will be so envious when she sees my red cloak!”

The rose shook her head. “Your cloak will not last for very long,” she said. “My petals wilt, and their colour fades very quickly, you know.”

Minny bent her little head in disappointment when she heard this, and sat under the rose bush.

The red rose was moved by Minny’s sorrow.

“Why don’t you ask the sunbird to give your one of his yellow feathers when he flies into our garden?” she suggested. “Feathers don’t fade like petals, and will make a fine cloak too”

“What a good idea,” Minny said brightening up at once. “I’m going to fly around the garden, and see if I can find the sunbird.”

So Minny began to fly around the garden. She soon spotted Betty sitting on a tree stump, looking very beautiful, with her delicate wings spread out.

Betty was busy sunning herself, and was not paying any attention to what was going on around her.

But Minny noticed that a fat garden frog was hiding in the grass near the tree stump and looking greedily at Betty as he smacked his lips! “Look out, Betty!” Minny cried out loudly.

Betty leapt up with a start, and flew into the air just as the frog leapt towards her.

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But the frog was just a bit too late! Betty had been saved by Minny’s warning.

“Thank you for warning me about the frog,” Betty said to Minny in a trembling voice. “I’m so lucky that you were nearby to warn me.”

“I was there because I was searching for some colours to drape on my body,”
Minny said thoughtfully. “But now, I’ve decided that I’m not going to continue the search any more.

The frog spotted you so easily in the garden because of your bright colours, but he’s never spotted me because I merge so well into the background. I’m glad I’m
alive, and I think I’m better off and happier just the way I am!”

Animals, bird, and insects often use their colouring to merge into their background, so that enemies will not notice them. This is called camouflage.

 

The Wise King

There was once a king in ancient China. He was a very cruel king and would punish his subjects for the slightest of mistakes. The punishments were extraordinarily cruel and he would take great pleasure in delivering them. Many of his ministers tried advising him against such punishments, but he never listened.

One day, one of his ministers suggested that he should expand the size of his kingdom. This seemed like a good idea to the king and called for an army to be put together. Soon, the army was ready and all the soldiers were well built, strong men. The king marched his army straight into his neighbouring kingdom.

The sheer size of the army was enough for the neighbouring king to surrender.

In exchange for peace, the king also offered him his soldiers and a lot of wealth. It was the same story is many other kingdoms and the king grew even more powerful. One of the king who had surrendered suggested that the king conquer India.

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India was a land of wealth and the king was very tempted to gain control. So, he marched his soldiers all the way across China. They stopped at what is now modern day Singapore. From the coast, the king’s troops set sail across the waters, in search of India.

News of the impending attack reached the ears of the Indian king. He had heard about the size of the Chinese army and knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Hence, he gathered all the scholars and economists in his kingdom and asked them to think of a plan.

The scholars and economists thought about and discussed their plans for several days until they had the perfect plan.

When the plan was narrated to the king, he was pleased and gave orders to carry out the plan. This, in a few days, a huge ship reached the coast of Singapore. As soon as it arrived, it was captured by the Chinese king’s troops.

When it was discovered that the vessel was from India, they crew were presented to the king.

The Chinese king demanded that the sailors tell him the route to India if they valued their lives. The sailors agreed to tell him the route and asked to be executed. They said that they’d never be able to see their homeland ever again and burst into tears.

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When the king enquired further, the sailors revealed that when they had sail, they were all young men. They had been at sea for so long that they had grown old. Another sailor pulled out a few needles and said that when they had set sail, these needles were iron rods. The trip to Singapore was so treacherous that the salt water had corroded them and that all that was left were these needles.

A third pulled out a dried up piece of fruit and said that when they had set sail, he had planted a seed. He went on to explain that over the years, the seeds had grown up and borne fruit too, All they had left was a Nihil fruit from the second tree.

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The king was shocked to learn that the journey to India was full of so much trouble and would take so long. He realised that by the time his troops landed on Indian shore, they’d no longer be fit for a fight.

The Chinese king immediately canceled his plans and ordered his troops to march back to China and also gave the sailors lots of money and restocked their ship so that they would be comfortable in their old age. Thus, a few intelligent people defeated an entire of army with just their brains.

A  lot can be achieved by not giving in to fear, and thinking with a cool mind and a little imagination.

The Proud Little Cherry Blossom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The-Proud-Little-Cherry-Blossom

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

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

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

The-Proud-Little-Cherry-Blossom

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

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

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

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

Lattu Gets Fooled

Bhola, the donkey worked at Kaalu, the elephant’s sweet shop.

One day, Bhola came into work looking upset.

“What is the matter, Bhola? Why do you look worried?” asked Kaalu.

“I am worried about my son Lattu,” replied Bhola.

“What happened to him? Is he unwell?” asked Kaalu concerned.

“He is fine. I am worried because he does not show any interest in studying. I am tired of trying to make him understand that going to school is important. But he does not listen to me,” said Bhola.

“We have to think of some other way to make him understand. Bring him to meet me tomorrow. And don’t worry, everything will turn out alright,” said Kaalu.

Next day, Bhola brought Lattu to the sweet shop to meet Kaalu.

“Hello, Lattu. Your father tells me that you are not interested in going to school. Why is that so?” asked Kaalu.

“I don’t like studying, Uncle Kaalu. I want to start working right away and earn some money like my father,” said Lattu.

“Alright, you can start working in my shop. What sweets and snacks can you make?” asked Kaalu.

“I don’t know how to make any sweet or snack,” replied Lattu.

“In that case, why don’t you sell some papads? You can carry some with you and sell them to the animals you meet along the way,” said Kaalu.

“Yes! I can do that,” said Lattu.

Kaalu gave him 20 papads in a basket and said, “Sell each papad for Rs.10. After you’ve sold them all, come back to the store to collect your payment for the work done. Just remember: Don’t give the papad to anyone without taking Rs.10 first.”

“Okay, Uncle Kaalu,” replied Lattu and went out to sell the papads.

Lattu met his school friend Munnu, the fox on the way.

“Hey, Lattu. What do you have in the basket?” asked Munnu.

“These are papads from Uncle Kaalu’s shop.

One papad is Rs.10. Do you want to eat one?” asked Lattu.

“Uncle Kaalu’s papads are famous. I do want to eat one. But I have only Rs.5. Will you give me half?” asked Munnu. “No. If someone does not buy the other half, it will go waste. Uncle Kaalu has asked me to sell all the papads,” said Lattu.

“You’re right, Lattu,” said Munnu. He had an idea. “Do you have Rs.5?” he asked.

“Yes, I do. My father gave it to me before we left home this morning,” said Lattu.

“Why don’t we pool our money to buy one papad and eat a half each?” suggested Munnu.

“This does not seem like a bad idea,” thought Lattu and agreed.

Lattu collected Rs.5 from Munnu and put it in his pocket along with his money. Then, the two shared a papad.

Lattu-Gets-Fooled

“That was yummy! I feel like eating some more,” said Munnu.

“So do I!” said Lattu.

“Then let’s share another,” said Munnu.

“But we don’t have any money,” said Lattu.

“Yes, you do. Didn’t we just pool in our money to buy one?” asked Munnu.

“Yes, but that’s the money I made from selling the papad we just ate,” said Lattu.

“Half of that money is mine. So, take our money again and buy another papad,” said Munnu.

“That seems logical.Uncle Kaalu did ask me to take money before selling a papad. So I am taking our money with which we bought one papad and buying another one,” said Lattu, considering the idea. “You are right, Munnu. Let’s buy another papad with the money I made from selling the first.”

Lattu-Gets-Fooled

Lattu “took” the money from his right pocket and shifted it to his left, after which the two shared another papad. The two applied the same logic and ate up all the 20 papads. Finally, Munnu bid Lattu goodbye and continued on his way to school, while Lattu returned to the shop.

“Uncle Kaalu, I sold all the papads!” Lattu announced proudly.

“That’s great. Can you give me the money?” asked Kaalu.

“Sure,” said Lattu, handing over Rs.10.

“Where is the rest of the money?” asked Kaalu.

“This is all the money I made, Uncle Kaalu. Like you said, I did not take out a papad without taking Rs.10 first,” said Lattu.

“If you had 20 papads and you sold them each for Rs.10, then how much money should you have made?” asked Kaalu.

Lattu could not answer as he did not know how to calculate.

“You should have Rs.200,” Kaalu answered for him. “Tell me what exactly happened.”

After Lattu narrated what he and Munnu had done, Kaalu laughed. He said, “So, you thought you could use the same Rs.10 to buy papads from yourself? And since you did not know that selling 20 papads would get you Rs.200, Munnu tricked you easily.”

Lattu was ashamed.

Lattu-Gets-Fooled

“This is a lesson for you to realise why going to school is important. At school, you would have learnt to calculate and Munnu couldn’t have tricked you,” said Kaalu.

“Yes, you are right, Uncle Kaalu. I will start going to school from tomorrow,” said Lattu.

Bhola was surprised to see the change that had come over his son. “Thank yousir! Because of your idea, my son has finally realised the importance of going to school.”

“You should thank Munnu, as well. He, too, was in on the plan,” said Kaalu smiling.

Donkey Golu In Space

Golu donkey felt his weight was decreasing rapidly. “Oh! What is this? Where am I? And why do I feel so light?” he wondered.

Golu tried to open the door of the aeroplane. But the door did not budge.

Golu tried harder to open the door. He gathered his full strength and tried to push the door, but it still did not move an inch.

“Why is this door not opening?” Golu shouted in panic.

“This door will not open,” a voice boomed from the loud speaker.

Golu tried to see who was speaking, but there was no one around. He asked again, “Oh brother, who are you? And where am I?” He tightly held on to the door handle because now he was completely weightless and was floating in air.

Donkey Golu in space

“Why am I not able to stand straight?” Golu shouted again, very frightened.

“Brother Golu, don’t be afraid,” said the voice.

Golu’s eyes went to one of the monitors in front of him. He was surprised to see the image of his friend, Rex rabbit there.

“Thank goodness it is you Rex.” Golu felt relieved on seeing his friend. He asked, “Where am I?”

“You are in a space-ship. By mistake you boarded this space-ship, instead of the aeroplane you had to take. But don’t be afraid and do just as I tell you. If you want to ask anything, just go ahead,” Rex informed him.

Hearing that he was on a spaceship, Golu was more frightened. He asked, “Am I really in a spaceship?”

“Yes,” replied Rex.

Golu then asked, “Why do I feel that I have no weight and why am I floating in the air?”

“Your weight has become zero because there is no gravitational force in space,” Rex explained.

More From Champak: Donkey Golu In Space

Golu did not understand what Rex had just said. “How could anyone’s weight become zero?” Golu wondered.

On Earth he was a donkey weighing 40 kilograms. And here he had become a zero kilogram donkey. His brain could not figure this out.

“Brother Rex, I cannot understand how can my weight become zero kilogram?” asked Golu.

“Golu, let me try and explain. Have you seen that our Earth pulls everything to itself. When a pebble is thrown in the sky, it comes back to the Earth, because the Earth pulls it back. This power of the Earth to pull everything to itself is called force of gravitation,” Rex explained patiently.

“Yes, I have observed that,” Golu said nodding his head.

“Our weight is a multiple of the gravitational force. In other words, if the mass of your body is 40 kilogram and if we suppose the gravitational force to be 1, then the product of 1 into 40 is 40. So, we say that your weight is 40 kilogram,” explained Rex.

“But where you are now, the gravitational force is zero. And so, when you multiply 40 into zero, what will be the product?” asked Rex.

“It will be zero. That means because of the mathematical zero my weight has also become zero and I am floating in space,” said Golu trying to understand Rex

“Well said. Since there is no gravitational force here your weight has become zero,” Rex explained.

Then Golu noticed something shining near him and said, “Oh, this water bubble is also floating.” He extended his hand towards the floating bubble, but it slipped from his hand and started growing big like a balloon.

Seeing this, Golu asked, “If I want to wash my face, what should I do?”

“Take a piece of cloth and wrap it around the water bubble. The bubble will get into the cloth, with which you can then wash your face,” Rex explained.

But you do not need to wash your face here. There is no dust or dirt here that sticks to your body and makes it dirty,” said Rex.

“Oh Yes! I had not thought about it. But why am I not able to open the door of this spaceship?” asked Golu.

Donkey Golu in space

On hearing this Rex started laughing. “You have asked a very good question. Take a look at the monitor that is showing what is outside. What do you see there?” asked Rex.

“Nothing. It is completely dark out there,” answered Golu.

“Then what will you do if you go outside? And since the space ship is flying the door will not open just now,” said Rex.

Suddenly something pricked Golu’s foot. He cried in pain, “Oh! What was that?” He got up with a jerk and sat up on his bed. “Where am I? I was in space,” Golu moaned.

His mother asked, “Were you dreaming again Golu? It seems you were travelling to space in your dream.”

“Oh yes Mom! I had a wonderful dream that I was in space,” Golu said excitedly.

“Will I ever be able to go to the space, Mom?” asked Golu after thinking for a bit.

Donkey Golu in space

“Yes, son. If you study well, then you can become an astronaut and you can go to space,” his mom answered.

Golu got up and started getting ready to go to school. After all he had to go to space one day.

Mischievous Trixie

Dixie duck and her seven chicks lived in the forest of Everwood. Whenever Dixie stepped out, her chicks would follow.

Every day, they would go to the store and then head to the pond for a swim, before returning home. On the way back, they would stop over at Pinto, the donkey’s house for a quick hello.

Among the chicks, Trixie was the most mischievous one. She would eat her siblings’ share of food, peck them when they were asleep and play tricks on them. She would venture out on her own and stray from her mother when they went out together.

Dixie shared her worry with Pinto. “I am worried about Trixie. She roams around on her own without telling me. What if something happens to her? No matter how many times I tell her, she never listens to me,” said Dixie.

“Don’t worry, Dixie. She just likes exploring her surroundings. Moreover, everyone knows her in this forest, so even if she does get lost, she will be able to find her way back,” consoled Pinto.

One day, Dixie had to make a quick run to the store leaving her chicks at home. Within a short while, Trixie started feeling bored and decided to go out on her own. Her siblings tried to stop her, but she did not listen to them.

After walking around for some time, Trixie decided to head back home. But she realised that she had ventured farther than usual. She couldn’t figure her way back, and began to panic.

Trixie saw a parrot sitting on a tree and asked, “Do you know the way to the pond?”

Mischievous-Trixie

“No, I don’t. But you look hungry. Do you want a piece of my guava? It is sweet,” offered the parrot.

“No, thank you. I am not hungry. I just want to go home,” said Trixie and walked on.

“After some time, Trixie met a squirrel. “Have you seen my mother?” she asked.

“No. But do you want to rest in my house for a while?” asked the squirrel.

“No, thank you. I don’t want to take rest.

I want to go to my mother,” replied Trixie.

Trixie continued to walk until she reached the river. There she saw a frog eating some insects.

“Have you seen my mother?” Trixie asked the frog.

“No, I haven’t. You look tired. Drink some fresh river water and eat some insects. You will feel better,” said the frog.

“No, thank you. I only want my mother,” said Trixie, walking away.

Jojo, the jackal had been following Trixie since the time he found her talking to the parrot and learnt that she was alone and lost. He had been waiting for the right moment to pounce on Trixie and make a meal out of her.

When Trixie walked away from the river, Jojo came up to her and said, “Hey, little one. I saw your mother just now. She is there, behind that bush, looking for you.”

Mischievous-Trixie

Trixie became elated and ran towards the bush. As soon as she turned her back, Jojo pounced on her and pinned her to the ground. Trixie started crying.

Suddenly, someone hit Jojo on the head. It was Pinto! Jojo became scared and ran away.

“Uncle Pinto! I am so glad to see you! Thank you for saving me from that jackal,” said a relived Trixie. “But how did you find me?”

“I have been following you since the time you left home. Your mother knew you would be up to some mischief, so she asked me to keep an eye on you,” said Pinto.

“Then why didn’t you help me earlier when I was lost?” asked Trixie.

“I didn’t help you because I wanted you to learn a lesson. But when I saw that jackal, I knew I had to step in to save you. Now do you realise why your mother worries about you and asks you not to go out on your own without informing her?” asked Pinto.

Mischievous-Trixie

“Yes, Uncle Pinto. I have learnt my lesson. I will listen to my mother and not venture out on my own,” said Trixie.

“Good. Let me take you home now. You’ve had enough adventure for one day,” said Pinto.

When they reached home, Dixie was happy to see Trixie back home safe. Trixie narrated what had happened and apologised to her mother.

Mischievous-Trixie

“Thank you for saving my little one, Pinto. I am sure from now on Trixie’s mischief will be restricted to the house,” said Dixie smiling

Trixie laughed in agreement.

Little Zena

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This situation remained so for a few months.

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

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

Little-zena

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

As she saw them, Zena was terrified.

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

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

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

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

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

Little-zena

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

Sir Humphry Davy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sir-Humphry-Davy

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

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

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

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

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

Sir-Humphry-Davy

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

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

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

 

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

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

A True Friend

Ramji, the merchant, lived in the village of Karampur. Every day, he would travel to the nearby town on work. The path to the town led him through the forest, so he made sure to return to the village before dusk.

One day, while returning, Ramji stopped to take rest beneath a big mango tree in the forest. The cool shade of the tree and the gentle breeze slowly lulled him to sleep. After a short while, he woke up refreshed.

“I feel so fresh after that nap. I must do this every day,” he thought.

That day on, taking a short nap under the mango tree became a part of Ramji’s daily routine. He felt at home under the tree.

The mango tree, too, began to look forward to Ramji’s stopovers. It became happy whenever Ramji slept under its shade. On days when Ramji would be late, the tree would begin to worry. It would only relax after seeing him walk down the path towards it. This routine continued for several months. Soon, it was summer and the tree began to bear mango fruits. One day, as usual, when Ramji turned up to take rest under the tree, he noticed the ripe mangoes.

“I wish I could taste these mangoes! But I am too tired to climb the tree,” said Ramji to himself, eyeing the juicy fruits.

Almost as if the tree understood him, suddenly one big mango fell down. Ramji was surprised.

“Thank you, dear tree!” said Ramji, picking up the mango and taking a bite. “Wow! This is the tastiest mango I’ve ever eaten!” he exclaimed.

Once he finished eating, a few more mangoes fell from the tree. Ramji collected them in a bag and took them home to his family. He thanked the tree before leaving.

The mango tree was happy to see the delight on Ramji’s face.

Piku, the parrot, who lived on the mango tree, had been observing the friendship between the tree and Ramji.

“My dear friend, you were happy to let him sleep in your shade. But what was the need to give him so many mangoes?” asked Piku.

“He wanted to taste the mangoes, so I gave him some. Did you see how happy he was after eating the mangoes?” said the tree.

“You can’t trust these humans.

They are selfish,” warned Piku.

“You might be right but all humans are not the same. My friend Ramji is not selfish. He is a true friend,” said the mango tree with great conviction.

The following morning, the mango tree was happy to see Ramji arrive earlier than usual. He climbed the tree, plucked all the ripened mangoes, put them in a bag and went away without uttering a word.

A-True-Friend

Piku laughed. “I told you humans are selfish. Ramji can never be your true friend,” he said.

The mango tree was disappointed with Ramji’s behaviour. It thought he would be different from the other humans. But Ramji continued to pluck the mangoes every day till there were none left. Though the tree was sad, it did not confess to Piku about it.

One day, when Ramji was on his way back from the town, he saw three men with axes standing near the mango tree. Ramji realised that the men were planning to cut down the tree. The mango tree hoped that Ramji would help; instead, he quietly walked away from there.

The mango tree was hurt. Piku’s words did not help comfort it.

“You were calling him your true friend but today, when you are in trouble, he vanished because you are of no use to him anymore!” said Piku.

The tree cried silently. It realised that its end was near. Coormamoonaan

The three men were preparing to cut down the mango tree. Before they could swing the axe, Ramji appeared with the forest department staff. The forest rangers stopped the men from cutting the tree and arrested them.

“That’s good, Ramji. In fact, all trees are our friends. We must not cut them down for our selfish motive,” said the ranger.

A-True-Friend

Ramji hugged the mango tree and said, “I will always be your friend.” The tree was elated.

After the humans left, the tree said to Piku, “Did you see that? You were wrong. Ramji is indeed a true friend.”

“Yes, I agree. I am happy to have been proven wrong,” said Piku smiling,

Toto Finds His Way

Deep lived with his parents and grandfather in Delhi. Every evening he played with his beloved pet dog Toto in the park.

After a while, many people stopped playing sports and flew kites. Deep also stopped going to the park with Toto. Instead he started flying his kite on the roof with his friends. Deep loved to fly a golden kite. Many people recognized Deep’s kite because of its unique colour.

Days passed. Toto was bored. He felt neglected. One day, when Deep’s mother went shopping in the morning, she forgot to lock the main gate. Toto saw this as an opportunity to run to the park.

Toto-Finds-His-Way

He slipped through the door and ran out. Toto used to accompany Deep to the park. Hence didn’t know the way to the park himself. Luckily he saw Deep’s friend Shyam going towards the park and followed him.

Mittu, the pet dog

After reaching the garden, Toto ran through the bushes. He was so excited that he ran happily throughout the park.

He was glad that he could return to the park.

Soon it grew dark. Dark clouds covered the sky. Everyone in the park rushed home.

Toto realised that he should get back home through the front gate. But Toto was lost. He looked left and he looked right, but he didn’t know which way to go. Everyone in the park had already left, so Toto couldn’t ask for help. He began to panic and felt a little afraid. He walked around aimlessly.

Toto-Finds-His-Way

It started to rain and Toto was walking alone on the streets. Meanwhile, Deep had come down, as he had thought of playing with Toto. He searched for him everywhere in the house, but he could not Toto.

The whole family wondered where Toto was. As soon as the rain stopped Deep and the other family members went out on the streets, calling Toto’s name.

More From Champak: Damru And The Pet Snake

They went to the park, the market, the badminton grounds, but were unable to find Toto. Deep returned home disappointed and sad.

The family members returned too, failing to find Toto. They were heartbroken and tensed and began to think on ways to find Toto.

Suddenly Deep’s grandfather exclaimed, “I have an idea!” He told the others the plan. Everyone agreed and hoped it would work. Deep and his mother got a big golden kite and attached golden sparkling papers to the thread.

Deep took the kite and ran to his roof. The whole family followed him.

Deep flew the kite higher and made it go further.

Toto-Finds-His-Way

Toto in the meantime was crying as he couldn’t find his way back. He was hiding under a bench when he suddenly noticed something.

Looking carefully, Toto noticed a big golden kite flying in the sky. He was thrilled! Toto knew that only Deep flew golden kites.

Toto spotted the flying thread clearly because Deep had attached golden sparkling papers to the flying thread.

Toto followed the thread in the sky and after crossing a few streets, he reached to a familiar neighbourhood. Toto was happy and found his way home. He barked happily when he landed on the doorstep.

Toto-Finds-His-Way

Everyone was happy when they heard Toto’s bark again.

Deep hugged him. Toto jumped around him. Deep never left his favourite pet alone again and took him to the park to play always.

The Missing Money

One morning, Baddy fox and Laptu jackal approached Cheeku rabbit for help. Cheeku was known to be fair and impartial. So, they were confident that Cheeku would help solve their problem.

“Yesterday, Laptu made some extra money at our store because of the festive sale. He couldn’t deposit it in the bank as it was quite late in the evening by the time he closed the shop. So, he came to my house and gave me the money for safe-keeping. But this morning, the money was missing,” said Baddy worried.

“Don’t worry, Baddy. We will find your money. Now, think calmly and tell me what you did with the money once Laptu gave it to you,” said Cheeku.

“Laptu had put the money in a yellow cover, which he handed over to me. After counting it, I hid it inside the rice bin to keep it safe,” said Baddy.

“Was anybody else there when you counted the money or placed it inside the bin? Do you suspect anybody?” asked Cheeku.

“Yes, I suspect Jumpy monkey. He was the only one who saw Laptu handing over the money to me. He even walked by my house a couple of times when I was counting the money,” said Baddy.

“In that case, let’s go to Jumpy’s house and find out. Come with me,” said Cheeku.

The three of them reached Jumpy’s house and there, they saw Jumpy and Meeku mouse counting some money.

Jumpy was surprised to see the three of them. “Hello! What brings you all here so early in the day?”

Cheeku explained about Baddy’s missing money. “Baddy says that you are the only one, beside him and Laptu, who knows about the money. So he suspects that you could have taken it,” said Cheeku.

“That is absurd! I did not steal the money!” said a shocked Jumpy.

“In that case, where did you get this money from?” asked Laptu, pointing to the bundle of cash in Jumpy’s hands.

“Meeku and I earned this money by selling the bananas from our farm,” said Jumpy.

“Liar! There’s no way you could have made so much money by selling bananas!” accused Baddy angrily.

“Calm down, Baddy. I will find out who the liar is,” said Cheeku. “Now tell me, how many notes were there and of what denomination? Since you counted the notes before you put in inside, you may know.”

Baddy became uncomfortable with the question. “Errr… There were 50 50-rupee notes,” said Baddy.

Cheeku took the bundle of cash from Jumpy and said, “Looks like Jumpy has all 100-rupee notes. So I guess, this is not your money.”

“I remember well. We had 100-rupee notes, not 50-rupee notes,” said Laptu.

“Aha! Who is the liar now? There are a couple of 50-rupee notes as well,” said Jumpy.

“You have been caught, Baddy! Now out with the truth! Why were you trying to frame Jumpy? Did you really lose your money?” asked Cheeku.

“Tell the truth, or else we will complain to King Shersingh about you,” said Jumpy.

Baddy and Laptu became scared and immediately confessed.

“Please don’t tell Shersingh! I am sorry I lied. We didn’t lose our money. Yesterday, while on the way to the shop, Laptu overheard Meeku and Jumpy talking about the money they made. So, we came up with a plan to get the money from them by wrongly framing them,” said Baddy.

The-Missing-Money

“Jumpy and Meeku made this money through hard work and not by cheating people. You should apologise to them,” said Cheeku.

Baddy and Laptu were ashamed of their behaviour. They apologised to Jumpy and Meeku for trying to cheat them.