kids short stories Archives - Page 4 of 6

Greedy Brownie

A family of bears lived in the Bandavan forest. Brownie, the youngest bear, had soft brown fur and was loved by everyone. He loved to play outdoors. He also had a huge appetite and was never satisfied with the food he ate and always wanted more.

His mother gently explained, “Brownie, you’ve become chubby. You need to remain fit.”

However, Brownie never listened to her as his mind was always on food. One day, a few bears were talking. One said, “There is a Banyan tree close by, where the honeybees have built a huge honeycomb. It will be filled with honey.”

Brownie, who was passing by, heard this. His mouth began to water. His mind was filled with images of the delicious honey. He decided to go and feast on some.

One night, the bears celebrated Blacky the bear’s wedding. There was a lavish party with a delicious spread. Brownie was the happiest, as he could indulge in lots of yummy food.

It was all in FUN

The bears returned after midnight. They only woke up the following afternoon.

“Where is Brownie?” His mother asked, rubbing her eyes.

“He was sleeping with us,” said his father. “Check the bathroom.”

She went to check the bathroom, but couldn’t find Brownie.

“He isn’t in the bathroom. I don’t know where he is,” said his worried mother. His father set out in search of him.

Just then, Cuckoo, a neighbour, entered saying, “Brownie sneaked out early this morning to eat honey. He is surrounded by the bees at the Banyan tree.”

“Really?” His mother cried out.

“Brownie is taking honey from the honeycomb, with the honeybees present inside. We need to save him,” said Cuckoo.

Brownie’s parents were terrified. They rushed to the Banyan tree. They found Brownie sitting on the tree and enjoying the honey while the bees were buzzing around him.

“Brownie, come down!” His mother screamed.

Brownie got scared, as he thought that his mother would scold him.

“We won’t spare him. He was stealing honey from our honeycomb,” said the Queen Bee. “Our young ones will be hungry because of him.”

“Please forgive him, Queen Bee,” pleaded his mother. “He is a baby. He is a little greedy and that is why he came here.”

“Yes, Queen Bee. He is innocent. Had he intended to steal honey, he wouldn’t have come here at this time of the day,” said the Cuckoo. “You know that thieves strike only when no one is present in the house.”

The Queen Bee thought, “The Cuckoo is right. The bears who steal honey strike only when the bees are away.”

Brownie agreed. He was glad that he was not going to be punished. He then whispered into his mother’s ears, “Mamma, my stomach is full and I’m feeling very sleepy. Please take me home or else I’ll doze off here itself.”

Everyone laughed at Brownie’s innocence.

It was all in FUN

In the forest of Kumudvan, all the animals lived in peace and harmony. All this was until Rambo, the elephant decided to wander in.

Rambo lazed around all day. When he was bored, he ate as much as he could and roamed around the forest looking for the next animal he can play a prank on.

One day, Cheechee, the sparrow had flown away in search of food for her chicks. Rambo picked up her nest with the chicks inside and left it by the riverside. The scared little chicks cried a lot and attracted all the birds in the area.

Rancho’s Challenge

It was only after they shouted at Rambo for doing such a mean thing that he put them back. “Don’t take it personally. It was all in fun,” he said and walked off into the forest.

Day by day, his antics grew worse. One time, he destroyed an entire ant colony and another, he flooded the rabbits’ burrow with water. When the animals asked him why he did such things, he would simply say, “Don’t take it personally. It was all in fun.”

With time, Rambo realized that the rest of the animals were scared of him because of his size. He started taking advantage of this. When Chimpy, the monkey was taking a bunch of bananas to his sister’s house, Rambo stopped him and took them from him.

“I’m the strongest in the forest. I can do whatever I want,” he said and walked away.

At the watering hold, he had terrorized all the animals. “I am the strongest in the forest. I will always be the first to drink water. You can come and drink only after I leave. Or else, you will have to face the consequences,” he said to them.

All the animals of the forest were getting tired of Rambo’s ways. They called for a meeting and by the end of it, knew exactly how to put Rambo in his place.

They arranged for a pot which Chimpy hung on top of a tall tree. The animals announced that they were conducting the competition and the winner would be the animal who manages to break the pot.

Lots of animals tried and failed. The pot was too high up for them to reach. Then, it was Rambo’s turn. He walked up to the tree, fully confident that he would reach the pot without any effort. He stretched out his trunk but couldn’t reach. He tried again and again from different angles and still couldn’t reach.

The other animals watching began exchanging whispers. Rambo knew it was about him and was determined to show them who’s boss. He stood right under the pot and reached up with his trunk, standing on his hind legs. As he caught it, a big smile spread across his face. But his smile didn’t last long and was quickly replaced by a shock and surprise.

As he grabbed the pot, it tipped over and stinky, slimy mud splashed all over his face. Seeing Rambo, all the animals began laughing

“What is the meaning of this?” bellowed Rambo.

“Don’t take it personally. It was all in fun,” said the animals together.

“You thought you were the strongest in the forest, didn’t you? But we tiny animals of the forest have had the last laugh. We are a peace-loving bunch and we don’t like trouble. That’s why we remained quiet all this while. If you want to stay here, then you will have to change your ways Rambo and live with us is peace and harmony,” said the animals.

Rambo felt embarrassed and ran away.

The next morning, he walked up to Chimpy, with a big bunch of bananas and apologized. He walked up to each and every animal he had troubled with a gift and apologized to them. He promised never to trouble anyone ever again.

The Magic Ring

“Hey, where are you off too in such a hurry?” Tillu asked.

Bholu, who looked lost, said, “It is 8’o clock. I am going home as I am already late.”

“You run around all day long. Is there any benefit from all your hard work?” Tillu asked.

“What do you mean?” Bholu asked.

“I have a magic ring. If you wear this ring, you can do whatever you want,” Tillu whispered into Bholu’s ear.

“That doesn’t happen,” said Bholu and burst out laughing.

“If you don’t believe me, come and see for yourself.”

Tillu then lifted his hand on which he had worn the ring and pointed it towards the moon and said, “Make the moon disappear.”

Bholu stared at the sky and immediately the moon started to disappear from one end. An astounded Bholu said, “Wow! How did you do this?”

He couldn’t believe his eyes that the moon completely vanished.

“Please bring back the moon. I believe you! The ring is indeed magical,” Bholu pleaded.

“All right, if you say so. I will bring back the moon right away,” Tillu said. Within seconds, with the help of the ring, the moon was back to where it was. Bholu was amazed.

Lattu Gets Fooled

“I am ready to sell it for Rs. 5,000,” Tillu said.

“I have Rs. 5, 000. Please sell the ring to me,” Bholu said.

Tillu gave him the ring and immediately snatched the money from him.

When Bholu reached home, his wife, Rani, asked, “Why are you so late today?”

“Get a big bag now!’ Bholu said excitedly. He then kept the bag on the bed, wore the ring and said, “Fill this bag up with lots of money.”

Rani was irritated with what he was doing, She said, “Tell me what the matter is.”

He repeated the entire procedure. But the bag was still empty. “Now, tell me what is happening,” Rani said. Bholu was almost teary-eyed. He told Rani the entire story. ”

“Why did you listen to Tillu? Don’t you know that it is lunar eclipse today and that the moon will disappear for some time?” Rani said.

Bholu understood that Tillu had made a fool of him. He was angry with himself. The next day, he talked to his friend Bunty, the monkey and told him the whole story. Bunty was disappointed with his friend for falling into Tillu’s trap. He decided to teach Tillu a lesson.

Couple of days later, Tillu was happily sitting at Jimi, the giraffe’s restaurant when he noticed Bholu walking towards it. Tillu hid his face with a newspaper. At that moment, Hanu, the elephant appeared in front of the restaurant and asked Bholu to get out of his way.

“Hanu, don’t bother me. I have a magic ring. Go away or I’ll make you disappear,” Bholu said sternly.

“Magic ring?” Hanu laughed out loud.

Bholu was so angry that he kicked Hanu. Hanu fell to the ground. All the animals, including Tillu stood still. They were in shock that a donkey could fight an elephant.

“This ring is indeed magical,” Tillu thought.

“How are you, Bholu?” Tillu asked.

“Tillu, thank you for giving me this ring,” Bholu said.

“That’s okay, Bholu. But I want the ring back,” Tillu said.

“Why? I paid for it. I’ll not return this magic ring,” Bholu said.

“I will give you Rs. 10,000 for it,” Tillu said.

Bholu was hard to be convinced but he eventually agreed and gave the ring to Tillu. Tillu was very happy. He then went to Rocky, the rhino’s sweet shop and started to eat a lot of sweets.

“You have eaten a lot. Now pay for the sweets.” Rocky said.

Tillu was confident that the magic ring would work and so argued with Rocky. Upon hearing the commotion, many animals came ahead to figure out what was wrong. At that moment, Tillu kicked Rocky but it was Tillu who got hurt. Rocky was annoyed and kicked Tillu. This time, Tillu fell to the ground with a thud.

Tillu didn’t understand what was going on. He thought his ring had stopped working. He then noticed Bholu, Hanu and Bunty laughing across the window.

Hanu stopped laughing and asked, “Is the magic ring not working, Tillu?”

Tillu understood everything and was so embarrassed that he ran off to another jungle.

Saving Rainwater

The sweltering heat had reached its peak and all the animals of Sonavan were going through a hard time. This year too, there was a shortage of water in the jungle. Ponds and lakes were drying up. Sona Lake was the only water body in the jungle that still had some water.

Sitting under the shade of a tree and wiping away his sweat, Bebu, the monkey said, “As if the heat wasn’t enough, now there is water shortage as well. I hope it starts raining soon!”

Pinto, the dog said, “I haven’t taken a shower in a week. It’s all because of this heat.”

“I can understand. There is hardly any water to drink and bathing seems like a faraway dream,” Golu, the elephant said.

The King of Sonavan, Yuv, the lion was worried about the situation as he was receiving complaints with each passing day.

A meeting was organised to resolve the entire situation. Yuv urged everyone, “There is a scarcity of water in the jungle. We are trying hard to get rid of this problem. If any of you have a solution, please let us know.”

Ronu, the rabbit said, “We’re responsible for this problem.”

“How?” Yuv asked.

“We have sacrificed nature for our own comfort and now we will have to pay the price. Most trees have been razed down for new buildings. The ones that are left should be conserved. As they have been cut down recklessly, there are no rains anymore,” Ronu said.

“Ronu is absolutely right. Also, a few years ago, there were many lakes and ponds in the forest and now there are none;’ Golu said.

“It’s true, Ronu. But is there a solution to this grave issue?” Yuv asked.

“We will have to understand the value of water. Maybe if we conserve rainwater, we will be able to solve our problem,” Ronu said.

“You’re right!” Yuv said.

“The monsoons will start soon. We will have to place tanks on the terraces of all houses to store rainwater. Later, we can boil the water and use it regularly. The water bodies that have dried up to be filled with water,” Ronu said.

“Your solution is brilliant. We never thought of storing rainwater,” Golu smilingly said.

Next day onwards, everyone got together to work towards saving water. Due to everyone’s effort, within days there were new water bodies and tanks available in the forest. Now, everyone was waiting for the rains to arrive.

After a few days, the sky was filled with dark clouds and it started to rain. The water bodies were filled with water again and the tanks were full of water.

The animals of Sonavan understood the importance of saving water and pledged to be more careful about it. They all danced happily in the rain.

Saving Tini

Tinku, the monkey lived with his wife and daughter atop a mango tree in Samratvan. Tinku was a spendthrift. He would uselessly spend his money here and there, and when his money got over, he would borrow from his friends.

His wife, Jenny, would often be worried about him. She said, “Spending without thinking is not good. We need to save something for the future.”

But Tinku wouldn’t pay any attention to that.

One day, he got back home with lots of vegetables. Jenny asked, “What is the point of buying so many vegetables when there are just three people at home?”

“I don’t like going to the market every day, so I got everything at one go,” Tinku said.

“But the market is not far away. You’re spending a lot instead of saving, which will help you during tough times,” Jenny argued.

“All right, all right. Stop giving me advice. I know what I’m doing,” Tinku said to Jenny.

Jenny, however, was smart. She would try to save a bit of money every day.

One day, on a sunny afternoon, Tinku was walking back home along with Mitku, the rabbit. Tinku decided to eat an ice cream on his way but ended up buying 10 ice creams at one go.

“Isn’t it great to be able to enjoy an ice cream in this heat?” Tinku said looking at Mitku.

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Mitku asked, “That’s fine, but why did you have to buy so many of them?”

“I am not a miser like you. Money is for enjoying life,” Tinku said.

And by the time, Tinku reached home, the ice creams had melted. Jenny was angry. She said, “We will be on the road one day for this habit of yours.”

So what if the ice creams melted? I will get more,” Tinku said carelessly.

One day, Tini, Tinku’s daughter, was playing on the tree. She suddenly slipped and fell off.

Tini was taken to Nino, the bear’s nursing home where Tinku was informed that she has to go through an operation immediately. “You will have to deposit Rs.2,000,” Nino said. Tinku was shocked.

“Yes, that is the admission charge. You will have to pay more after the operation is done, but she needs to be operated soon,” Nino said.

“Doctor, I don’t have the money right now. But please start the procedure. I will arrange for it,” Tinku pleaded.

“All right,” Nino said. Mitku told Tinku to borrow money from his friends. “I had already borrowed money. I don’t think I’ll get any more from anyone,” a worried Tinku said.

At that moment, Jenny said, “Don’t worry, I had saved up some money that might help.” Tinku was surprised.

Jenny came home and counted the amount of money she had. She had almost saved up Rs.3,000. Later, they deposited the money in the hospital. Tini’s operation was a success and she was fine in two days.

This incident changed Tinku. He said to Jenny, “I now understand that it is really important to save up. I will not spend uselessly anymore. I promise.”

City’s Lungs

Raunak went to his Grandpa’s house in Lucknow for his – summer holidays. Grandpa lived there with Raunak’s uncle. Every morning, Grandpa would go out for walks and Raunak would laze around on his bed. His exams had just got over and he was in a holiday mood; he would wake up late in the morning and watch movies all day long. His aunty too would pamper him a lot.

Raunak loved eating and most of all, he loved fast food due to which he was gaining a lot of weight. “A little bit of exercise would do him good”, thought Grandpa. He was worried about Raunak’s health. He asked Raunak to wake up early in the morning and go running. But he wouldn’t listen. Thus, Grandpa thought that he must teach Raunak a lesson.

One day, Grandpa asked Raunak, “Have you seen the city’s lungs?” Raunak said, “The city’s lungs? No, I haven’t even heard of it.”

“Do you want to see it?” Grandpa asked.

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“Yes, why not! Where will I get to see it?” Raunak asked inquisitively.

“Here in Lucknow itself,” Grandpa said.

Raunak asked, “So when will you take me out to watch it?”

“Tomorrow morning but you will have to wake up early. Will you?” Grandpa asked Raunak.

“Yes, Grandpa. Why not?” Raunak said.

The next day, Raunak woke up on time because he was scared that Grandpa might go out for his morning walk without him.

Raunak said, “I am ready, Grandpa.”

“Oh, very good,” exclaimed Grandpa.

Both of them took a walk to the Buddha park. “Here we are. We’ve arrived at the city’s lungs,” Grandpa said.

“Where? But this is a park, Grandpa. I have come here a lot of times before,” Raunak said.

“Parks built inside the city are called city’s lungs,” Grandpa said.

“Why so?” asked Raunak.

At that, Grandpa asked Raunak, “What do our lungs do?”

“Our lungs throw away the toxic carbon dioxide from our body,” Raunak said.

“Very good, and what else?” Grandpa asked.

“They pull in the fresh air, through which our body receives oxygen. Without oxygen, we will not be able to survive, Grandpa,” Raunak spoke with a lot of excitement.

“Very nice, Raunak. You know everything. But just like your lungs, these parks do the same thing. The parks in the city absorb all the carbon dioxide. Do you know what the process is called?” Grandpa asked Raunak. “Yes, it is called photosynthesis. Plants make their own food. For this, they need chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and sun. While they make their food, they release oxygen, Raunak said.

“So, doesn’t that make parks the city’s lungs?” Grandpa smiled and asked.

“Yes, Grandpa. You are right. I never thought about it that way. These parks give us oxygen just like our lungs do,” Raunak said.

“So, what do you think of our morning walk?” Grandpa smiled and asked.

“It was a lot of fun, Grandpa. Now, I shall always come along with you for morning walks,” an excited Raunak said.

Taking Indian Music Global

Ravi Shankar was born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury on 7 April 1920 in Varanasi to a Bengali Brahmin family. He was the youngest of seven brothers. His father, Shyam Shankar, was a barrister who worked in London. Shankar met his father for the first time when he was 8 years old!

Every day as a child he would wake up to the sounds of songs on the ghats of the Ganges. This instilled in him a deep love for music. He was a quick learner and soon, began to play a number of instruments.

As a boy of 10, he joined his brother Uday’s dance troupe in Paris. There he was exposed to a whole new world of music and he started to understand and appreciate Western classical music, jazz and cinema. He met great musicians and dancers, including Anna Pavlova, the famous Russian ballerina, the prima donna of The Swan Lake!

In Paris, he shortened his name, Ravindra, to Ravi, which means, “sun”.

His world changed when his brother Uday persuaded Allaudin Khan, the great sarod player, to tour Europe as a soloist along with them. Shankar was fascinated by the great maestro and began taking lessons from him. Seeing his interest and talent, Baba, as Allaudin Khan was affectionately known, offered to teach Shankar.

Shankar went to live with Baba’s family in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. Under his guidance, Shankar’s talent bloomed. He learnt to play not only the sitar but also the surbahar. He learned ragas and the musical styles like dhrupad, dhamar and khyal. He was taught the techniques of the instruments like rudra veena, rubab, and sursingar.

A Dance for Granny

And finally, six years later he had his first public performance on the sitar in December 1939—a jugalbandi (duet) with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

After that, Shankar was unstoppable. He went on to win many national and international awards and also composed several new ragas, including Tilak Shyam, Nat Bhairav and Bairagi, which are still very popular. He also incorporated ragas from the South Indian Carnatic music.

Later, he moved to Mumbai and joined the Indian People’s Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets. He recomposed the music for the popular song “Sare Jahan Se Achcha at the age of 25! He began to record music for HMV India and worked as a music director for All India Radio (AIR).

As luck would have it, one day, the director of AIR introduced the Western violinist Yehudi Menuhin to him. Menuhin invited Shankar to perform in New York City (United States of America).

Seeing the great interest in Indian music, Shankar toured the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States of America, educating the western audiences on classical Indian music. No wonder he was invited to perform during the 10th anniversary of the United Nations and the UNESCO* music festival in Paris—a great honour!

Even George Harrison, of the Beatles band, the heart-throb of millions, the world over, became attracted to Shankar’s music and became his disciple.

More From Champak: Straw Flute

Harrison’s wife once said, “His meeting with Ravi was not just between two individuals, but of two cultures.”

In 1968 the Beatles won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Ban. It included “Within You Without You” by Harrison, a song influenced by Indian classical music.

Shankar opened a Western branch of his Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, California and also taught music in many universities in the United States of America. Shankar also performed at the Woodstock Music Festival, but the hippie culture did not appeal to him.

“Get high on music,” Pandit Ravi Shankar always urged the audiences. Even at the age of 90, one would often see him strumming the chords of the sitar in riyaaz.

Mice in a cage

Fanny, the cat, had just come back from the city, and she had completely changed. She wore a fancy hat, had on a pair of dark sunglasses and wore a bright pink suit.

All the other cats at Kittyville surrounded her. “Where have you been?” “You look so stylish!” “Were you at the city, mausi?” they asked.

“Call me aunty,” said Fanny. “I was in the city. I had a fashion show there. I just got back.”

“Aunty, what did you get us from the city?” asked Gullu.

“A mouse cage trap,” said Fanny.

“A mouse cage trap?” the other cats murmured amongst themselves.

“With this, chasing mice is a thing of the past. All you need to do is put some food on the hook inside. When a mouse enters and pulls on the piece of food, the door slams shut and the mouse is trapped,” explained Fanny.

“That’s amazing!” exclaimed Minnie, the cat.

“I’ve brought enough for everybody and it can be yours for the tiny sum of Rs. 1000, only,” said Fanny pulling more traps from her car.

Soon, all the cats began using the mouse traps to catch mice. Wherever they would see a burrow, they would leave a piece of bread in the mousetrap and place it nearby. The mice being simpleminded would get caught.

Seeing the number of mice in the area dwindling sharply, Manny, the mouse decided to bring all the mice together for a meeting.

“Brothers and sisters, you must be aware of the trap Fanny, the cat has distributed among all the other cats. We need to get the word across to all the mice that they need to avoid the trap at all costs,” said Manny.

“But how?” asked Jimbo, the mouse rubbing his fat tummy. “We are mice. If we see food, we jump at it immediately.”

“We have begun maintaining a stockpile of food in the burrows,” said Pinky, the mouse. From now on, the only thing we must worry about is not getting trapped.

Soon, all the mice began thinking twice before approaching any food placed inside a cage. The cats were very unhappy about this.

With the cats no longer needing to chase after mice, they had all grown fat. They would grow short of breath very quickly. They realized that their lives were much better before Fanny brought them the traps.

“I have a solution to this,” said Fanny. “The problem is that you have all grown fat. But I have a special tea that I brought back from the city. If you drink it for a month, you’ll be as slim as me and it only costs Rs. 1000, only!”

The cats may have fallen into her trap before, but they weren’t going to this time. They all ran after her and chased her away back to the city.

No Place to Play

The first park was used by Jimmy who had set up a gym there. Every morning, he and many other people would exercise at the park. Jimmy earned a lot of money from his clients.

When the children told him that they wanted to play inside the park, he replied, “What is the use of playing? If you want to stay fit, join my gym.”

“But uncle, this is a public park. It is meant to be used by everyone. You should set up your gym somewhere else,” said the children.

Jimmy got angry at their comments and turned them away.

The second park was used by Raju and his friends. They would sit there the whole day and play cards. They did not allow the children to come into the park. When the children tried to reason with him, Raju would shout at them and shoo them away.

The third park was used by a political party for their meetings. They locked the gate when they did not use it so that no one could go inside. The children tried talking to the party secretary, Manish but he paid them no heed.

“Manish uncle, please let us use the park. We want to play,” the children requested.

The Problem in Champakvan

“We have an important meeting coming up. I have no time for your silly pleas. Go away!” replied Manish.

Rahul, Nayan, Riya and Nina decided to do something about the problem. They held a secret meeting.

“We will have to stop them from using the parks,” said Riya.

“But what can we do? No one listens to us,” said Nayan.

“How about we publish a newspaper?” suggested Rahul.

“That’s a good idea! We can report the news and let others in the colony know about this,” said Nina.

“Exactly! We will have to write, print and distribute it ourselves,” said Rahul.

“But where do we get the money for all this?” asked Riya.

“We will collect money from all the children in the colony. We will do some chores at home and earn extra pocket money as well,” explained Rahul.

Everyone liked the idea. They formed a team and divided their work. Nayan and Nina went around collecting money and Rahul and Riya prepared the content for the newspaper. Nina and Riya then got the newspapers printed.

Early in the morning on a Sunday, the children went around delivering the newspaper at everyone’s doorstep.

When the people opened their doors to collect the daily paper, they were surprised to find an extra newspaper. The newspaper had essays, sketches, and poems by the children of the colony—everyone loved it! There was even an article about how the parks were taken over by Manish, Jimmy and Raju and how others were not allowed to use the parks.

Slowly, the residents of Akash colony understood that they too had the right to use these parks, and especially the children who had no other open space to play in. The children had made them understand that public spaces such as these parks belonged to everyone.

The children’s newspaper became popular and the residents soon began looking forward to each week’s issue.

The residents stopped using Jimmy’s gym due to which he had to shut it down. The Mayor of the town came to know about the issue and immediately took action against Jimmy, Raju and Manish, who were banned from using the parks. The parks were now free to be used by everyone. People began enjoying going to the park again.

The Mayor appreciated the efforts of Rahul, Nayan, Riya and Nina for solving the problem in a novel way.

A Holiday without Computers!

It all began one evening when Kala said to her mother. “Why can’t we take a break and go for a holiday somewhere? All my friends are off- ‘getting away from it all’ they call it.”

“Why not?” said her mother with equal enthusiasm, adding, “On one condition—no computers! Once in a while, you have to get off that gadget for health reasons. I shall take my mobile only for an emergency.”

“Sure,” replied an excited Kala.

Her mother had only to get in touch with her elder sister Sunitha and her husband Prabhu who lived in Pune. “Come over and we will plan something,” they said. So Kala and her mother took a flight to Pune. The holiday had begun!

There were discussions. “Let’s go by road to Mahabaleshwar. It is just a short drive from here,” said Uncle Prabhu. “It’s a nice hill station with pleasant weather. We have our own cottage there and that makes it all very easy!”

Sunitha added, “We have already alerted our caretaker to get the place ready.”

So they set off in their car and reached the place in no time. Kala was in awe at the spectacular scenery that spread before them. Nestled in the Western Ghats, it was a serene place with lush vegetation, thick woods, hills, forests, valleys and wonderful views of the river winding its way through the green landscape.

The cottage itself was in the middle of the woods, just like in a fairy tale. Their caretaker had the place sparkling clean for them; he had laid out new sheets, pillows and even stocked-up the kitchen.

“This is simply marvellous!” exclaimed Kala.

Breakfast was hot and delicious, piping vegetable upma a—South Indian special and filter coffee. Her aunt said, “Tomorrow, we’ll have masala dosas. A new menu every day! ”

Uncle Prabhu took Kala to explore the woods around their cottage. Kala was very happy strolling along the little pathways among the woods wearing a woollen jersey and cap—all given by Aunt Sunitha!

A Green Holiday

Soon it was time to get back and lovely smells greeted them as they stepped in.

Gopi had made parathas and a pulav with a delectable vegetable preparation and curds to go with them. Strawberries and ice cream were served for dessert! Aunt Sunitha had brought an array of chutneys and pickles.

She said, “This place is famous for strawberries! It’s been years since we took a holiday like this.”

After lunch, Aunt Sunitha brought out two board games for them to play. One was ‘Snakes and Ladders’ and the other was called ‘Ludo’.

“Aunt Sunitha, you are great, planning so many surprises for us!” Kala exclaimed gratefully.

Her aunt said, “I looked in an old cupboard and took only two out for your sake, Kala. Your mother and I used to play these games as youngsters. I find many people going back to these games because computer games are sometimes violent!”

Later the elders went off for a snooze. But thoughtful Uncle Prabhu gave Kala a nice book to read. “I have some more books. You can take your pick.” He offered kindly.

It was the first time she was reading a book on plants and trees. In the evening they took a ride on ponies to reach some particular points for gorgeous views. It was 6:00 p.m. when they got back. Aunt Sunitha said “Music time!” and switched on her shruti box* and sang a few songs for her audience.

“How well you sing!” exclaimed Kala in admiration. She had an ear for classical music. She liked some ragas, too.

“It’s good to have a hobby!” remarked her aunt. “Kala, I think you are the nicest teenager I have met. You are so full of compliments.”

Kala was quick to say, “But that’s because you are so full of goodness yourself and you keep us engaged with all nice things!

The brief holiday packed with a lot of fun things was almost over. How nicely time had flown by! Her loving aunt and uncle had opened her eyes to new things and new experiences!

There was another big surprise on the day they caught their flight, as her Uncle had packed two cartons of fresh strawberries and mulberries for them to take home.

*A shruti box is a small wooden instrument that works on a system
of bellows. It resembles a harmonium and provides an even-toned hum.
It is used in during practice sessions of Indian classical music.

Billy, the wise goat

When Manmanjari had given birth to kids last time, the jackal had taken them away. Since then, Manmanjari had been despondent.

She gave birth again, this time to two cute kids, but her past experience made her extremely worried.

She was apprehensive about the jackal killing her kids. Which mother could bear that?

“Think of something soon so that the jackal can’t take away our kids,” she expressed her fear to the billy-goat. “I won’t even go for grazing. I’ll just stay with the kids and protect them.”

“We can’t live in fear all the time. I have thought of a plan,” the billy-goat assured Manmanjari. “I’ll climb the hill and watch. As soon as I see the jackal coming, I’ll call out to you ‘Manmanjari, why are the kids crying?’ Then you pinch the kids so that they cry even harder.

The Escape Plan

“Then you say ‘What should I do? The kids are demanding a fresh, jackal liver to eat. There is a stale liver available in the house, but from where should I get a fresh one at this hour?’ Then I’ll say ‘Be quiet. Don’t make a noise. A jackal is coming here. I’ll get his liver for the kids to eat.”

After explaining the entire plan to Manmanjari, the billy-goat went on top of the hill. When he saw the jackal, he shouted loudly, “Manmanjari, Manmanjari, what’s the matter? Why are our kids crying?”

Manmanjari pinched the kids and said as already planned. The billy-goat shouted again, “Ask them to stop crying. I’ll go and get the liver of a jackal for them to eat.”

Upon hearing his words, the jackal got so terrified that he didn’t even wait for a second. He ran as fast as he could with all his might.

While the jackal was running, he met a gibbon on the way. “Brother Jackal, what happened?” The gibbon asked. “Why are you running like this?” The jackal narrated the entire incident to him.

The gibbon burst out laughing, “Brother Jackal, you must be out of your mind! Is it possible for a goat to kill a jackal?”

“Dear friend, I heard quite distinctly that the billy-goat told his wife that he was going to get a jackal’s liver for their kids to eat,” the jackal replied petulantly.

“If that is so, then I would like to see that billy-goat,” the gibbon declared. “You tie our tails together, and I’ll sit on your back and come with you.”

They knotted their tails to each other, and the Jackal set about carrying the gibbon on his back.

When the billy-goat saw them coming from the hilltop, he pondered at the new development and came up with a solution to the problem. He called out loud to Manmanjari, “Manmanjari, please pacify the kids somehow. My friend, the gibbon, is bringing the jackal here itself by tying their tails together. Do not worry at all. I’ll get the jackals liver in just a short while.”

The jackal got alarmed upon hearing the billy, goat’s words. The billy-goat again called out, “Hey Gibbon! You are so useless! You had told me that you would get many jackals, but what is this? You have just got one!”

Now the jackal couldn’t wait any more. He began running at full tilt.

The gibbon couldn’t keep his balance and fell off the jackal’s back. Furthermore, as their tails were tied, the gibbon got dragged behind the jackal.

In an attempt to run away quickly, the jackal jumped downhill, but this move proved fatal for both of them. The gibbon and the jackal lost their steadiness and died after falling in the trench below.

Now Manmanjari felt relaxed as she felt her kids were safe and secure.

Bathing in the Tea

Several biscuits kept in a plate were dozing. Suddenly Motu got up from his sleep and counted the number of biscuits just to find that one of them was missing. He then asked Miss Tea in the cup, “Where is Chhotu?”

“I do not know any Chhotu, Motu,” replied Tea.

To this, Motu said, “I am Motu but you tell me where is Chhotu? Is it that you have eaten him up?”

“I do not eat biscuits,” said Tea.

Motu did not believe her and went ahead to find Chhotu inside the teacup. The moment he came in contact with the tea, he started drowning.

“Fool!” said Tea with a grin.

Hearing the murmur, Teetu got up and found that Motu and Chhotu were not to be seen in the plate. So he asked Tea, “Where are my two friends?”

Tea replied, “One sank in me and I do not know about the other.”

Teetu said, “You are telling a lie, Miss Tea. Both the fools must have drowned in you. I will find them out.”

Teetu called out to Chhotu and Motu, “Friends, do not worry. I am here to save you.”

Saying this, he inserted his hand inside the tea and he too sank into it.

Gol Guttam Lakkad bottom

Petu was the last biscuit left in the plate. After a couple of minutes, he too woke up and found himself alone. So he asked Tea, “Where are all my friends?”

“They are all taking a bath here,” said Tea.

Petu laughed at her reply and said, “Biscuits never take a bath. They all might be drinking tea and having a good time. Let me join them too.”

He said this and bent down to drink tea. No sooner did he come in contact with Tea, he too sank into it.

Tea could not help laughing and said, “That was a big gang of fools!”

Just then Chhotu came running and stopped near the plate. He seemed tired and was gasping for breath.

Tea asked him, “What happened to you Chhotu? Why are you so scared?”

“That rat I tell you…..” said Chhotu trying to calm down and regain his balance, “He had pulled me away to his hole while I was asleep. With great difficulty have I freed myself and come back.”

Chhotu looked at the plate and found no one in it. He, therefore, asked Tea, “Where are all the others? The last I saw them, they were all dozing in here. Where have they suddenly disappeared?”

Tea replied, “Chhotu, they have all drowned in me. You must help them come out of it.”

“No, no, Miss Tea….” Said Chhotu, “If I come near you, I am sure to sink in too, so I shall not commit the same mistake that my friends committed.” Saying this, he sat into the plate and went off to sleep.

Tea smiled the widest and thought, “What an intelligent little biscuit!”

The Apples

By the time the fall season came, there were only three apples left, waiting for someone to pluck them. When the wind blew, the tree sang, “We are apples three, anyone who uses one, shall a treasure see!”

One morning, as Gaurav was passing, he saw the tree with the apples and wanted to taste one. Just then, the wind sang through the leaves, and a plump, an apple fell to the ground!

Gaurav picked up the sweet fruit, took a great bite and threw the core away. The wind in the apple tree sang, sorrowfully, after him: “Here in the orchard are apples two, but gone is the treasure that fell for you.”

The next day, Heena too came down the lane that passed by the orchard wall. She saw the two beautiful apples that hung on the branch.

She heard the wind sing in the branches, “We are apples two, a treasure they hold for you.”

With a plonk, an apple fell down. Heena picked it up and held it carefully. She thought it was a pity to eat it and decided to keep the apple instead and left.

No Pain, No Gain

The wind sang after her, “Only one apple where once there were two. Gone is the treasure I gave to you.” When she reached home, she hid the apple in her drawer and, after many days, it spoiled.

On the third day, Rudra too went down the lane and spotted the last apple. The wind in the tree also sang to him, “On the apple tree, a wonderful treasure, hanging, just see!” Suddenly, the wind blew harder and down fell the last apple.

Rudra took his jack-knife out and cut it in half. Inside, he could see the small black seeds.

He carefully took out all the seeds and climbed over the orchard wall, holding them in his hand.

More From Champak: THE GOODNESS OF CACTUS

The earth in the orchard was still soft, for the frost had not yet come. Rudra made holes in the earth and in each hole, he dropped an apple seed. Then he covered up the seeds and climbed back over the wall to eat his apple.

As he walked down the lane, the orchard wind followed him, singing to him from every tree and bush, “A planted seed is a treasure won. The work of the apple is now well done.”

No Pain, No Gain

It was a sunny afternoon of the summer season. The Sun was out spreading its scorching heat all over the place. At the end of a quiet road was Asha Apartment. One of the flats there had a lot of plants on its balcony.

One of these plants was a Hibiscus plant was called Tinku. He was feeling tired and sleepy when it spotted another little Hibiscus plant at the end of the road below the apartment.

It called out to that plant and said, “When were you born? There was no plant here before.”

To this, the little plant said, “I am here since the last two months. You are situated at a height and thus, couldn’t see me at all.”

“Oh! I pity you so much,” said Tinku. “It is so hot, and in this climate, you are standing on the road tolerating the terrible heat of the sun. And there is not enough water in the soil too. How are you going to survive this summer?”

The plant replied, “These are my days of struggle. I am working really hard to spread my roots as much as possible in search of moisture. How are you doing my friend?”

“I am really happy here”, said Tinku “Since I am in a pot situated in the balcony, I do not have to face the dangerous heat of the sun. Also, my master and his family take care of me. They water me from time to time and also feed my soil with fertilisers for my better growth.”

Days passed by, and the two plants became friends. They used to keep chatting with each other regularly. Tinku named his new friend Rinku.

Tinku said, “Rinku, you are becoming weak day by day. Are you not getting enough moisture from the ground soil?”

Jamun’s Prudence

Rinku replied in a sad tone, “No Tinku, the ground soil is drying very quickly and now I have to work all the more to spread my roots deeper in order to find some more moisture.”

The summer season eventually ended and the monsoon season arrived.

Rinku danced happily in the rain whereas Tinku couldn’t enjoy the monsoon showers as he was tethered to a pot in the balcony.

After some days, on one fine morning, the chatter of some women and kids on the road woke Tinku up. He looked down and was astonished to see that Rinku had grown really huge.

He was full of red colored beautiful flowers, and the women were plucking his flowers to make garlands and also to offer them in the temple.

He said to Rinku, “You have grown so big with so many flowers on you. And I am still the same. How did this all happen?”

Rinku replied, “I have worked very hard to set my roots deep in the soil to get water, even during the dry summer months.

During the monsoon season, my roots get water even more easily and help me to grow. I will keep going deeper into the ground, and in some years, I will grow into a big tree.

On the other hand, you have not faced any difficulty until now. You have become the slave of that pot. You never had to take pains to survive in the extreme weather conditions, and thus you are still the same, although you are ten years old now.

And you will forever remain the same. If you do not take pains, you do not even gain anything.’ Tinku understood what Rinku had to say and started feeling sad about his own condition.

He wanted to grow like Rinku. All he could do now is hope day he would be able to break free from the pot and grow into a tree.

The Kind Parrot

“You keep sitting idly all the time. No wonder you have become such a prankster. Why don’t you do something constructive with your life?” One day Tenten’s friends advised him to seek work and Tenten agreed.

He loitered around the jungle the entire day. It was almost dusk now. As Tenten began to return home, he felt thirsty. Whitey Rabbit was writing something by dipping his pen in the inkpot.

As Tenten descended to drink water, his wings bumped the inkpot and ink got on his body. Blue spots developed on his green body.

He began crying and rolling on the ground. The ink which had fallen on the ground made his body completely blue. When Tenten reached back, nobody could recognize him.

“Hey look, a blue-colored parrot! Maybe he has come from a different planet.” The parrots sitting on a tree noticed Tenten’s unusual colour.

“They can’t recognise me. I should take advantage of their ignorance,” Tenten thought “You are right. I have come from Mars and my name is Neelu,” he said.

“Our friend Tenten is not to be found from yesterday. Do you have any idea where could have he gone?” the parrots asked.

“I had seen him go towards Mars. Maybe he has stayed there itself,” Tenten replied, laughing inwardly. “He might not come back again.”

“But why?”

“One doesn’t have to work there. You get everything without sweating. It’s a fun place to be,” Tenten boasted.

“We too want to go there. Will you help us in that?” The parrots became desperate.

“Yes, why not, but only 4-5 parrots can go there, not everybody. Only those, whom I will like, will get a chance to go to Mars,” Tenten said.

After that day, all the parrots began competing to serve Tenten. In a bid to go to Mars, they agreed on anything he would say. In a way, he had become like their king. They would be always ready to fulfill any wish of his.

The Naughty Duckling

“Brother, when will you take us to Mars?” After serving Tenten for many days, the patience of the parrots was now wearing out.

“Wait for some more time. I’ll definitely do that as soon as the time comes,” Tenten dodged their demand. That made them quiet.

It had not rained in Sundarvan for quite some time now. All the inhabitants were extremely restless because of the scorching heat.

“You have come from Mars. At least tell us when will it rain in Sundarvan?” All the animals and birds came to Tenten for help.

“Rain? It will definitely rain day after tomorrow,” Tenten replied looking towards the sky. Everybody became very happy.

Fortunately, the sky became overcast on the third day. It started to rain after a short while. The animals, who had been waiting for the rain for a long time, danced in happiness.

Everybody thanked Neelu; they thought he had brought the rains. They made him sit in the center and danced around him, gleefully.

Tenten too couldn’t stop himself. He spread out his wings and began enjoying the cool raindrops on his body.

He had forgotten all about the ink. As soon as he got wet, the ink washed off by the rainwater. After a while, the entire blue colour had gotten cleaned and he was back to his normal self.

“Hey Tenten, when did you come back?” When the parrots found their lost friend amidst them, they were delighted.

“It seems they haven’t recognized me,” Tenten thought and said, “I have just returned from Mars. It doesn’t rain over there. When I saw that it was raining in Sundarvan, I couldn’t stop myself and left all the luxuries to be here.”

“You did a sensible thing, Tenten,” they all chorused happily. “We too don’t want to stay at a place where it doesn’t rain.

More From Champak: Dub Dub Turtle

We are content to be here.”

“Where is Neelu Parrot?” Tenten asked the parrots. They realized that he was not amidst them and began searching for him. But how could they have found him when he was not there?

“I think he had come to give us rains and has gone back now. Whatever, but he was a kind parrot. We’ll miss him,” the parrots said simultaneously.

Tenten smiled at their innocence. His eyes welled with tears at their love. I’ll never ever bother them again and will live amongst them, working hard to sustain my life.” He made this resolution to himself and decided on following it.

Raju And the Firefly

It was time for bed and Raju wasn’t feeling sleepy at all. Grandma was tucking him to bed, when he asked, “Could you please tell me a story, Grandma?”

“Alright, what kind of story do you want to hear?” asked Grandma.

“Any kind. But it has to be a good one.”

“Alright. Once upon a time, on a warm summer night, a little firefly flew into a spider’s web. The sticky web made it impossible for the firefly to get out. But, a little boy named Raju was watching this happen. Feeling bad for the little firefly, he freed it from the web.

The firefly was happy to be free and flew up to Raju’s shoulder. ‘If you’re ever in trouble, feel free to call me. I’ll come to your rescue, said the firefly.

Raju laughed and said, You’re a tiny little firefly. How on earth will you be able to save me?

”Leave that to me. Never judge the capabilities of someone based on their size. All you have to do is shout out my name and I’ll be over in a jiffy,” said the firefly.

Just to keep the firefly happy, Raju agreed. With a smile on its face, the firefly flew back to the trees to join its many friends.

Many days passed since this incident. Raju decided to take a walk in the forest. He loved being among the trees and birds and wandered deep inside. Soon, it began to grow dark. Raju decided it was time to go home and turned back. But, because it was dark, Raju couldn’t find his way back. Everywhere he turned, the forest looks just the same- dark and scary.

He wandered for hours and still didn’t manage to find the way out. Tired, Raju sat down at the foot of a tree. It was pitch black and Raju could barely see his hand in front of his face. Now there was no way he could find the path back home. Worried, he sat there, wondering what to do. Just then, he remembered what the little firefly had told him.

Raju called out to the firefly, ‘Firefly, where are you? I need your help.’

Immediately, a spark of light came floating up to him. It was the firefly.

What’s the matter, my friend?’ asked the firefly.

I’ve lost my way. Can you help me get back home?’ asked Raju.

‘Is that all?’ asked the firefly. Wait right here. I’ll be back in a flash

Raju waited and in a few minutes, the firefly returned. With it were thousands of fireflies casting a warm glow on the forest. Their collective glow was so bright that the entire forest was lit up.

‘Come with us,’ said the firefly and together the fireflies lit the path back to Raju’s home. Raju followed the trail of brilliant flashing fireflies and reached home in a short while.”

Grandma had finished her story. “You see my child, it’s always good to help other people. If you help them, then one day, they will be there for you when you need their help.”

Raju smiled and went to sleep. That night, he dreamt sweet dreams of fireflies glowing outside his window.

May and its Days

The predawn call of the cuckoo is very melodious in May. The name seems taken from the Latin word Maius or Maia, the mother of God Fleriner. Further, the Britons of Yore used to call it ‘Trimalic’, for cows gave milk three times in these longer days.

Historically, nearly all days of May are important for one event or the other. Brevity, however, allows us to recall the very important ones only.

The first of May is observed as “May Day”, i.e. Workers’ Day and International Labor Day. It is also known for the first Great Exhibition of Inventions and Industrial Marvels, held at Hyde Park in London during 1851.

Swami Vivekanand established Ramakrishana Mission at Calcutta (now Kolkata) on this day during 1897. On May 2nd, 1945, the Soviets captured Berlin while the Nazis had surrendered.

On May 3rd, 1939, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose formed the “Forward Bloc” in Congress at Calcutta. May 3 is Press Freedom Day too.

On May 4th, 1494, Christopher Columbus landed on today’s Jamaica and thus discovered the new world, or America.

May 5 is celebrated as Children’s Day in Japan and South Korea.

On May 5th, 1921, Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile at St. Helena. On May 6th, 1937, Hindenburg, the largest rigid airship, exploded while landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, killing 36 of 97 people onboard.

May 8th is celebrated as “World Red Cross Day” to pay tribute to the volunteers who work for the betterment of the society. Last but not least, the second Sunday of May is observed as Mother’s Day.

On May 10th, 1857, the Great Indian Mutiny started at Meerut when the Indian soldiers in the British East India Company’s army revolted against their English masters.

May 11 is observed as National Technology Day to commemorate the technological breakthroughs in India.

The birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) on May 12th is celebrated as “International Nurses Day”. Florence Nightingale is considered as the founder of modern nursing.

On May 14th, 1796, Edward Jenner (17491823) invented vaccination and in 1973, U.S. launched their first manned space station Skylab-1.On May 17th, 1540, Sher Shah Suri defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun at Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh.

The day is also World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), which helps to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), such as the Internet, can bring to societies and economies.

On May18th, 1974, India exploded its first nuclear device at Pokhran (Rajasthan).

On May 19th, 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England and mother of Queen Elizabeth-I, was beheaded for Adultery.

On May 20th, 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon on a misadventure against England.

On May 21st 1991, Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, was assassinated at Sriperumbudur in Chennai. The day is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day.

On May 23rd, 1984, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest. In the month of May Africa Day is celebrated to commemorate the founding of Africa Union (AU).

On May 24th, 1844, Samuel Morse wired the first telegraphic message from Baltimore to Washington. German battleship Bismark sank the British ship HMS Hood in the North Atlantic on this day in 1941.

Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Vijay against Pakistani intruders at Kargil on May 26th, 1999.

On May 28th, 1934, the Dionne quintuplets, five daughters, were born prematurely to Oliva and Elzire Dionne at Ontario in Canada.

On May 29th, 1953, New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s Sherpa Tenzing Norgay surmounted the so far invincible Mount Everest.

On May 31st, 1911, the tragic luxury ship Titanic was launched at Belfast. It is “No Tobacco Day” as well.

Thus, we know that the month of May is loaded with a number of interesting events.

Prince Nitin Learns a Lesson

This is a tale of the country called Kashabpuri. It was a beautiful country ruled by King Mohanchandra.

Mohanchandra lived in a grand palace with his Queen and a son named Nitin. Prince Nitin was a pampered child. His parents loved him a lot.

Whenever King Mohanchandra went to another country, he bought lots of gifts and toys for the Prince. Prince Nitin was a charming boy and was loved by everyone. And he had become very naughty and stubborn.

The kids of the Kashabpuri kingdom wanted to be friends with Nitin. He often used to ride throughout the kingdom on his horse and all the kids used to wave to him and try to talk to him or play with him.

But Nitin was extremely proud of himself and never spoke to those kids. Instead, he troubled the kids and made fun of them.

He used to wear a Halloween mask and scare young kids. He enjoyed it a lot when those kids used to get scared and cry. Prince Nitin, because of his behaviour, had no friends and was alone.

King Mohanchandra and his Queen tried hard to make Nitin understand, but all was in vain. As time passed, Prince Nitin grew up to be even naughtier and more stubborn.

Rose Becomes Humble

The New Year was approaching and the king had arranged for a grand celebration. King Mohanchandra sent invitations to many people. Prince Nitin invited all the kids to the party.

Prince Nitin was extremely enthusiastic about the party and made fine arrangements for his little guests. He arranged for gifts, toys, puppet shows and magic shows. He also had the garden decorated with swings for the kids to play and also arranged for some delicious food and sweets.

Prince Nitin was ready to enjoy the party to the fullest with all the kids.

It was evening and the entire palace was shining brightly with colourful lights. The decorations were splendid and beautiful.

Guests started coming in, and the King and his wife extended a warm welcome to all of them.

On the other side, Nitin was eagerly waiting for all his little guests to arrive. Time passed and none of the kids came. The King soon got busy in looking after his guests but noticed that Prince Nitin was upset about something.

He called for Nitin and asked him, “Why haven’t your guests arrived? Did you not invite them to the party?”

To this Nitin replied, “I had invited all the kids to the party, and I do not know the reason why they haven’t come.”

The king said, “You have done all great preparations for the celebration, but have you made friends?”

Nitin looked confused at his father’s question. The king explained, “You have misbehaved with those kids several times and never made them your friends.”

Nitin said, “But I had only joked with them.”

The king said, “Yes my child, not everyone likes to be laughed at. How would you feel if someone made fun of you and laughed at you?”

Prince Nitin understood his mistake and learned a lesson. He was ashamed of his behaviour with the kids and felt sad about all that had happened. The King said to Nitin, “It is never too late to make friends. You can still apologize to those kids and become good friends with them.”

This advice brought a smile on Nitin’s face and he understood that one should not misbehave with others.

Making fun of others or insulting others leaves us friendless and all alone. And loving and respecting others fetches us true friends who shall be with us in good and bad times. Prince Nitin realised his mistake and immediately went to apologise and invite all the kids for the party.

Megha’s Gift for Mom

Megha and Neeti were the best of friends. They attended the same school and lived in the same colony. They went to school and played together.

While Megha’s mother was a working woman, Neeti’s mother was a housewife. Megha’s mom would wake up early in the morning and prepare breakfast and lunch before leaving for work.

When Megha would come home in the afternoon, she would take a short nap and run out to play.

As soon as her mother would return from work, Megha would say, “Mummy, I want you to make something tasty to eat. Neeti’s mother packs two different things for lunch every day.”

While her mother prepared dinner, Megha would either do her homework or sit in front of the TV.

One evening, when Megha went to play with Neeti, she said, “Wait for a while Megha, my mom is a little unwell and needs help around the house. Let me finish and we can go out to play.”

Megha sat down on the sofa and waited. As she waited, Megha noticed that Neeti helped her mom with a lot of things. She made tea, brought in and folded the clothes that were hung out to dry, gathered up all the cups and tumblers that had been placed around the house and helped her mom cook dinner by washing the vegetables and keeping them ready. She even shucked the peas and kept them in a bowl.

Then, her mother said, “Neeti, why don’t you go play now? I can handle it from here.”

A Unique Mother’s Day Gift

“Are you sure, mom? What about your headache?” Neeti asked.

“That’s gone away,” Neeti’s mom said with a smile.

Seeing all this, Megha was surprised. She thought to herself, “I’ve never helped mom with anything. All I’ve been doing is watching TV. To top it off, my mother is a working woman. I never imagined how tired she must feel at the end of the day?”

“Do you help your mom out like this every day?” Megha was curious to know.

“Most of the time,” said Neeti.

This made Megha make up her mind to start helping her mom around the house. She spent the next few evenings with Neeti learning how to prepare all the dishes she knew.

Mother’s day was approaching and Megha used all her savings and bought a bag for her mother. When mother’s day arrived, she could hardly control her excitement. It was a Sunday and her mother had stepped out to do some shopping. Megha blended some bananas, milk and honey and placed it in the fridge. She then made sandwiches with tomatoes, cucumbers, green chillies and chutney. She prepared bhel puri with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, chillies and mixed them with chutney.

When her mother arrived, she was left confused. As soon as she came through the door, Megha took the bags from her and placed them on the table and served her a glass of water. Then, she brought her all the food and beverages she had prepared for her along with the purse. She wished her mom a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ and gave her a hug.

Megha’s mother had tears in her eyes. She had never seen this side of Megha before. Megha vowed to help her every day. Mother and daughter laughed and ate all that Megha had prepared, together.

Mother To the Rescue

Where have you been Sonu? How many times do I have to call out to you?” Charu, the dormouse, asked her son Sonu.

“I was just outside watching people passing by. I can take care of myself,” he said confidently.

“How many times have I told you not to go outside without telling me? It’s a dangerous place, and that cat seems to have settled down there. Please be careful,” saying so, Charu embraced Sonu.

One day when Sonu had entered their neighbour’s kitchen looking for food, one of the people living there opened the fridge to pull out a bottle of water. The light from the fridge caught Sonu’s attention and what was inside kept him glued. Sonu had never seen so much food in one place. When the human walked away, Sonu ran back home.

He narrated the entire story to his mother. “If you were there you would have jumped in and made off with all the food you can carry,” he added.

Jambu’s Special Mother

Charu was not as excited; instead, she said seriously, “Listen and listen carefully.” “Don’t even think about going near that fridge. It is dangerous, and you will regret it if you do.”

Her reaction shocked Sonu, “But Ma, we spend the entire day looking for food, and if we are lucky, we find enough to eat. All the food we need is in that fridge. Why shouldn’t we steal food from the fridge?” said Sonu.

“Don’t argue with me. What do you plan on doing if the door closes behind you? You will be trapped. There’s no guarantee you will make it out safely. Don’t be greedy and forget about that fridge,” she said and put an end to their discussion.

Sonu was not prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer. The next time he went in search of food, he observed the fridge from a dark corner.

In some time, the lady of the house opened the fridge and placed some food inside.

“No matter what the consequences, I am definitely getting inside that fridge. So what if it’s cold inside? I’ll jump out the moment the door opens,” he said to himself, fully prepared for the next time the fridge door opened.

He went home but didn’t share his plans with his mom. The next day, he found the perfect spot under the fridge and lay in wait. As soon as the door opened, Sonu quickly slipped inside and hid behind a bottle.

When the door was closed, Sonu realised that the fridge was a lot colder than he had imagined.

But when he saw that the bowl of pudding in the fridge, he didn’t mind the cold that much. He gorged on all the pudding he could when he heard the humans talking.

“Let’s go, we’ll be late for the movie,” said the dad.

“When will we come back?” asked the little girl.

“The movie is three hours long, so we should be back in four hours,” said the dad.

When he found out that nobody was going to open the fridge for the next four hours, Sonu began to panic.

Suddenly the fridge got a lot colder than it was before. He pushed hard and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Help me, help me!” he cried out, but his calls for help fell on deaf ears. Tears welled up in his eyes. “I should have listened to mummy’s warning,” he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Charu was getting worried. She hadn’t seen Sonu since that morning, and he was nowhere to be found. When she checked all his usual hangouts, she realised that he has probably tried entering the fridge and ran towards it.

She quickly ran to the house and nibbled off the fridge’s power cord. When the cord was cut, the power went out, and the blast of cold air stopped.

By the time the family came back, the fridge was no longer freezing cold, and Sonu had gained some of his strength back. When the door was opened, Sonu leapt out of the fridge. He gave the little girl quite a scare but escaped unharmed.

Back at their burrow, Sonu apologised to his mother. “Please forgive me; I promise I will always listen to you.” Seeing her son safe and sound, Sonu’s mother gave him a tight hug.

Jambu’s Special Mother

Jeeva, look what that boy of yours has done!” complained all her neighbors early one morning.

“What did he do this time?” asked Jeeva, the elephant.

“What did he do?” asked Mantru, the monkey. “Jambu snuck in to our banana plantation. It looks like a disaster zone now.”

“The other day, he snuck in to my sugarcane field. He ended up uprooting more cane than he could eat,” said Ketu, the rhino with his tail wagging furiously.

Jeeva said with a sad voice, “Ever since poachers killed his mother, I have raised him as my own. I try to make him understand, but he just doesn’t listen to me.”

“Look over there! That’s him walking this way, munching on some bananas,” said Sochi, the parrot.

“All the animals are angry because you snuck in to their fields and ate everything. Why do you keep doing this Jambu?” asked Jeeva.

“I can’t control myself. I am hungry all the time.” said poor Jambu feeling hurt, and ran towards the river.

“Please forgive him this time,” said Jeeva. “I will pay you for the loss.”

“I don’t think that would help,” said Ketu.

While Jeeva went to the lumber yard to start her shift, Jambu was standing at the water’s edge. Sochi found Jambu and said, “You were such a good boy Jambu, why do you give your mother so much grief?”

“Mother? Jeeva’s not my mother. I don’t have a mother.”

The Best Mother’s Day Gift

“She may not be your real mother Jambu, but she loves you just as much. You should consider yourself lucky to have someone like her to take care of you.”

They sat in silence for a while when suddenly a net fell on top of Jambu and a few men came in from the trees banging loudly on a drum. Sochi flew away but Jambu was too scared to move. The men tied him up and put him in a cage on the back of a truck.

Sochi quickly went in search of help. He saw Mantru, the monkey, sitting on a tree. “Jambu is in danger! The poachers have caught

“Jambu is in danger! The poachers have caught him!” he said in between breaths.

“Good riddance,” muttered Mantru.

“Don’t be like that,” said Sochi to Mantru. “He really needs your help.”

After some thought, Mantru said, “Alright! We have to tell Jeeva. You tell her, I’ll stop the poachers.”

Mantru called two saras cranes that picked up Mantru and flew away towards the poachers and Sochi went to Jeeva to give her the news.

When Jeeva found out what happened, she burst into tears. “My poor baby has been kidnapped. We must save him!”

Meanwhile, Mantru and the saras cranes were flying over the truck. Carefully, the cranes dropped Mantru on the roof of the truck. Mantru then swung in through the window and grabbed the driver’s shirt.

“Aieeeee! Let me go you monkey!” screamed the driver.

Mantru opened the door and pushed the driver out who landed on a soft bush.

When the truck stopped, the other poachers jumped out ready for a fight but came face-to nose with Ketu, the rhinoceros.

Don’t move another inch,” said Ketu. All the other animals had surrounded the truck. A few animals rounded up the driver and brought him back to the truck. The forest guards soon arrived, they handcuffed the poachers and took them away.

Mantru drove the truck to the timber mill. Jeeva was nervously waiting at the gates. All the elephants were behind her eager to find out if Jambu was safe.

Mantru drove into the timber mill and said, “Special delivery for you Jeeva.”

The cage was opened up and Jambu ran towards her and hugged her. “I love you mommy. I’ll never sneak into a field and give you so much trouble again,” he said.

All the animals in the forest cheered and life was once again back to normal.

The Best Mother’s Day Gift

Laksh, Chirag and Peehu loved each other, but they were always up to some mischief. The moment their mother returned from work, other children would gather around her complaining about the three of them. Their mother would explain to them why troubling others was not a good thing, they would never heed her words.

One evening, when Laksh’s friend Hari was showing him his new cycle, Laksh said, “Unless you let me take your cycle out for a ride I can’t know what it’s like.” As soon as Hari was out of Laksh’s sight, Laksh deflated the rear tyre. Seeing the tyre this way, Laksh began to cry.

“Your cycle is less than a day old, Hari, and it’s broken already,” said Laksh and began laughing. Chirag and Peehu laughed with him.

One day, Chirag punctured his friend Mohit’s football and their mom was forced to buy Mohit a new one.

The Naughty Duckling

The kid’s naughtiness was beginning to worry their mother. When she would ask them to help out with the housework, they would make some excuse or another and escape.

During the summer vacations, Mom had to leave early and come late because she had a project to complete. She hardly found time to relax. Because she had a lot of work to do, Chirag began helping her out with a little bit of the housework.

He would hang the clothes out to dry, water the plants, collect milk from the milkman and would even pick up a loaf of bread on his way home. But Laksh and Peehu, on the other hand, would spend the entire day watching TV and playing.

One day, their mom suddenly fell ill. Chirag phoned the doctor. After examining her, the doctor prescribed some medicines for her and recommended that she take some rest. Chirag promised that he would take good care of his mom and not let her any work.

“I don’t think you will be able to do all the work alone,” said the Doctor. “Take Laksh and Peehu’s help.”

Laksh and Peehu agreed to help and began with their daily chores. Peehu slowly began enjoying doing housework.

Under mom’s guidance, she even began preparing food. Laksh loved buying vegetables from the market and would serve fresh fruits to his mom every day.

Laksh, Peehu, and Chirag turned over a new leaf. After finishing the housework, they only played for an hour. They had completely stopped playing pranks on the other kids and nobody came over to complain about their antics. Their mother was very happy to see such a change in her kids.

With the medicines the doctor prescribed and the care and affection the kids gave her, their mom recovered. Even after becoming better, the kids continued to help her with the housework.

Mother’s day was around the corner and the kids wanted to do something special for her. Peehu was good at drawing and suggested that they make her a card. But Laksh and Chirag wanted to give her something else with the card. With the money in their piggy bank, they bought her a beautiful necklace.

On Mother’s day, the three of them placed a card, the handbag and the bouquet near her bed and went back to sleep. When mom saw the Mother’s day card, she became very happy. She went into their room and hugged them tightly.

“I received the perfect Mother’s day gift, the day you stopped being naughty, took care of me and started helping me with the housework,” said their mom.

“We love you mummy!” said the kids and hugged her tight.

The Naughty Duckling

Chuchu was a mischievous little duckling and he would always be thinking of ways to fool other people. His mother Milly would try to get him to stop but it was of no use. Nothing stopped him from playing pranks on others.

One day, there was a festival in the area. The other ducks and ducklings were celebrating it by bursting crackers, playing with colored powders, singing and dancing on the streets.

Milly had given all the ducklings a bath, and now it was her turn. “Sit here quietly and wait for me. Don’t step outside. Everybody is playing with coloured powders and you don’t want to get any of that stuff on you,” she said.

While all his brothers and sisters sat patiently inside, Chuchu couldn’t control himself. He ran outside alone to take part in the festivities.

Chuchu walked amongst the others who were celebrating with coloured powder and firecrackers.

He saw a big drum of coloured water. Wondering what colour it was, he climbed to the top of the barrel and peered inside. Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell into the drum.

He jumped out right away, but it was too late—his feathers were dyed red. He began to shiver in the cold. He felt better when he moved into the sunlight.

When he took a look at his wings, he was shocked. “If my wings are red, that means, my entire body is red too,” he said. Excited, he walked back to his neighborhood.

When Chuchu reached his neighbourhood, all the other ducklings stopped playing and stared at him. They had never seen such a colourful duckling before.

“Who is this? I’ve never seen him before. Where did he come from?” asked the others. Chuchu was thrilled when he heard this because it gave him an idea for a prank to pull on everyone

“I am a robot duckling. The humans made me,” said Chuchu in a flat, robotic voice.

BEAR– HUG SUPPER

‘I wonder what’s happening at home?’ thought Chuchu. ‘I should find out what’s happening there? Maybe I’ll go later. I don’t want mummy to recognize me and spoil my fun.’

Chuchu wandered around the neighborhood fooling all the other ducklings. After a while, he got bored of the game and headed home.

When he reached, he saw all his brother and sisters and his mother were all upset. ‘They have no idea it’s me. This is going to be so much fun,’ he thought to himself.

Chuchu approached them and asked his brother Chamcham, “What’s the matter? Why are you so worried?”

“Our brother Chuchu is missing. We haven’t seen him all morning. Who are you?” asked Chamcham.

Chuchu fooled Chamcham into thinking he’s a robot, then went up to Milly, their mother.

“What’s the matter, ma’am? Who are you looking for?” asked Chuchu.

“My son, Chuchu has been missing all day. The poor thing hasn’t eaten anything since morning. I hope he’s safe,” she said worriedly.

All the mischievous thoughts in Chuchu suddenly disappeared and his eyes began to well up with tears. Here he was having fun and making a fool of everybody while his mother was worried sick.

Chuchu was just about to tell her that it was him covered in red colour, when Milly said, “Why don’t you go inside and eat something. I’ll go look for Chuchu.”

Reluctantly he said, “Mummy, it’s me, Chuchu. I’m right here. I fell in a drum of red coloured water.”

More From Champak: Sara’s New Mom

“Oh my, it is you! Are you ok? Are you hurt? Are you feeling cold? Where did you fall? How did it happen?” asked Milly, picking Chuchu up and holding him close to her.

Chuchu was confused. He expected her to scold him at the least. “Mummy takes such good care of me; can I not ensure that I keep her happy? I will never give her so much grief ever again, thought Chuchu.

Chuchu gave Milly a big hug and promised not to do a single naughty thing again. He learned that no prank will make him feel as good as being hugged by his mother does.

Trixie Gets Tricked

Ever since the circus people had captured some animals from Nandanvan, the animals and birds were scared to step out of their homes. But after the circus had moved to another town, life was slowly getting back to normal in the forest. They were alert but they stopped hiding in their homes.

One day, Kiku, the kingfisher was sitting on a tree. He saw his friend Lolo, the lamb walking by. Just as Kiku was about to call out to him, he spotted Trixie, the vixen hiding behind the bushes just up ahead. She appeared to be waiting for Lolo to walk by and pounce on him.

Kiku had to warn Lolo, but without drawing Trixie’s attention. So he quickly took out his mobile phone and called Lolo.

“Hello, Kiku! How are you?” enquired Lolo over the phone.

“Lolo, you are in trouble! Trixie is hiding behind the bushes just ahead of you. But don’t react or else she might be alerted,” warned Kiku.

Lolo was a smart lamb. He immediately came up with an idea to escape from Trixie. Continuing to talk into the phone, he said, “Oh no! The circus people have been spotted in the forest again? That is not good.”

At first, Kiku was confused as to what Lolo was talking about but then he understood, so he continued listening.

“This time the circus people want foxes?” said Lolo aloud. “We will have to alert all the foxes so that they can go into hiding for a while.”

Trixie, who was overhearing the conversation, got scared. She immediately ran off and went into hiding, afraid that the circus people would catch her.

Kiku, who could see Trixie running away from his spot on the tree, burst out laughing. He said, “Lolo, you are very clever! I can see Trixie running away!”

Lolo heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, my friend. If you hadn’t warned me, Trixie would have certainly caught hold of me!”

“I only warned you but you were smart enough to talk your way out of it. Instead of panicking, you were calm and thought of a solution immediately,” appreciated Kiku.

Both the friends then continued to chat in peace.

Monu’s Airlift

One afternoon, as Sonu and Monu were playing, their mother, Mini called out, “Sonu! Don’t push your brother!”

“I am not pushing him, mom. We are just playing,” said Sonu.

Sonu tickled Monu in the tummy.

“Ha! Ha! Please stop! I am tired of laughing!” said Monu.

“No way!” said Sonu and continued to tickle his brother.

Humans Can Fly Too!

Suddenly, Monu lost his balance and fell off the nest. Fortunately, he fell on a pile of dry leaves, so he was unhurt. Slowly, he got up and looked around him.

“Mom! Help me! Mom!” he cried.

Molu, the mole was woken up from his sleep by Monu’s cries. He came out of his burrow to see who it was.

“You poor thing! Are you hurt? How did you fall?” asked Molu, rushing to help Monu.

“I was playing with my brother when I slipped and fell down. I am not hurt as I landed on this heap of dry leaves,” mumbled Monu between sobs. “But I am scared. I want my mom!”

Mini flew down next to Monu and hugged him. “Don’t be scared, Monu! I am here now,” she said. “And this is Molu, our neighbour and friend.”

“Mom, it’s Sonu fault that I fell down,” complained Monu.

“You know Sonu didn’t mean any harm,” said Mini consoling him.

“But now, how do we get you back to the nest?” wondered Mini.

“Why don’t you hold him with your feet and fly to your nest?” suggested Molu.

“I’ll try,” said Mini. She held Monu with her feet and tried to fly, but she couldn’t.

“I think he is too heavy for you to carry,” observed Molu.

Tina, the bird was flying by and saw Mini and Molu talking. When she decided to drop by to say ‘hello’, Mini explained the situation to Tina.

“Why don’t we try lifting him together?” suggested Tina.

Tina and Mini held Monu with one leg each and tried to fly, but their wings kept hitting each other.

“It’s no use. It’s not working,” said Mini.

Just then Molu had an idea. He brought a wooden stick. “Both of you hold on to one end of the stick each,” said Molu. ,

Mini and Tina did as told.

“Monu, now hold on tight to the stick with your beak,” said Molu.

Once Monu grabbed the stick, Molu instructed the two birds to fly. With enough space between them, Mini and Tina could fly without their wings hitting each other and they could carry Monu along too.

Once Monu reached the nest, Sonu rushed to hug him.

“I am glad you are back unhurt,” said Sonu.

“I am glad to be back too!” said Monu. “Thank you, O Mom. And thank you, Aunt Tina and Uncle Molu for helping me,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” said Molu and went back to his burrow to continue to sleep.

Humans Can Fly Too!

“Look, mom! There’s a huge bird flying across the sky!” said Sunny.

“Yes, mom! It’s very big and it is making a loud noise,” added Marty.

“It is so shiny, unlike any bird I have seen!” exclaimed Coco.

Mini laughed and explained, “That is not a bird. It’s an aeroplane. Humans use it to reach far off places in very little time.”

“Wow! Humans can fly?” asked Marty surprised.

“But I have never seen any human flying,” said Coco.

“They cannot fly but they can build things that can. So all they have to do is sit inside an aeroplane that will take them from one place to another,” said Mini.

“Mom, how did they build an aeroplane?” asked Sunny.

“Humans came up with the idea of flying when they saw us flying. They thought it would be a faster way to cover long distances, said Mini.

“When did they build the first aeroplane?” asked Coco.

“The aeroplane was not built at one go. The one that you saw today is the result of many scientists working over several decades on different designs. In fact, people have been attempting to fly or build flying devices since ancient times,” explained Mini.

“So, there were other designs?” said Marty.

“Yes, Marty. Do you remember when we flew past the park last week I showed you a lot of people flying kites?” asked Mini.

“Yes, Mom,” said Coco. “Sunny and Marty thought they were sky-fishes,” she said laughing.

“Kites are one of the earliest man-made flying objects. People in China designed them hundreds of years ago. Some kites were so big that they could carry a man along with them,” said Mini.

The little ones listened in awe. “Later, the humans discovered that they could fill balloons with hydrogen gas to make them fly.”

“But Mom, balloons are too small,” said Sunny.

“But the balloons I am referring to are so big that they can carry humans with it,” said Mini. “In 1783, the Wright brothers Orville and Wilbur— used hydrogen-filled balloons to attempt flying.

Once, a goat was made to fly such a balloon!” said Mini.

The three giggled at the idea.

“Yes, it’s true,” said Mini. “Haven’t you heard Lonu uncle saying that it was his great grandfather who was sent up in that balloon?”

But mom, how did the humans change the design from a balloon to like the one we saw?” asked Marty.

“We helped the humans on this. They understood that our tails and wings help us to fly and maintain balance in the air. So they designed a machine with similar features and soon, they were successful,” replied Mini.

“Mom, our wings don’t just help us to fly, we can even move in any direction we want. Can the aeroplanes do that too?” asked Sunny.

“Yes, the Wright brothers dreamt of building a powered machine that could fly and also be controlled by the pilot to change directions. After observing the way we fly, they built the first successful aeroplane. After decades, this model evolved into the one we saw today,” explained Mini. “They must have been

“They must have been delighted with their success,” said Coco.

“Yes, dear. Every human is happy at their success. Every invention these humans make is to make their lives easier,” said Mini.

“Mom, how many people can travel in a single aeroplane?” asked Marty.

“There are aeroplanes of different sizes built today—from the smallest ones that can carry just two people, to bigger ones like what you just saw that can carry over a 100 or even 500. And these aircrafts can travel pretty fast,” said Mini.

“Even we birds tear across the skies with our wings,” said Coco flapping her tiny wings.

“Yes, we sure do,” said Mini with a smile.

The Parched Jungle

As the temperature rose with the summer heat, water was becoming scarce at Mangalvan. So scarce that even the King, Babbar, the lion was having trouble finding some. He wandered from one watering hole to another and was disappointed to see that they all had dried up. He stumbled through the forest, weak and tired.

Monty, the monkey saw Babbar wandering through the jungle and decided to have some fun.

“Good morning, Your Highness. I hear you’re looking for water. You know what? I just saw some myself,” said Monty, hanging upside down from a tree.

“You’ve only seen it? I just drank a whole litre of it,” boasted Bobby, the crow who perched next to him.

“What’s all this talk about water? Go find another tree to catch up on your gossip and let me sleep,” said Olly, the owl who was sleeping on another branch.

“The King is dying of thirst here and you’re more worried about your beauty sleep? Shame on you, Olly,” said Monty, still in the mood for some fun.

“Is that what’s happening? Forgive me, Your Majesty. I can’t see in the daytime. It is too bright for my eyes that are best suited for darkness. It’s sad to see that our jungle has become so parched. With all the trees gone, there isn’t as much rain as there once used to be and the little rain we get is sadly not conserved. If somebody had taken up the task to keep our trees safe and built bunds to retain water on our land longer, we wouldn’t have been in such a sad state,” said Olly.

Babbar turned red in embarrassment. As king of the jungle, it was his job to take care of it, but he had neglected his duties, as had his ministers.

“Never mind though, there are more pressing issues at hand,” said Olly. “The King of the jungle is thirsty, and I cannot rest until my King’s thirst is quenched!” Olly turned his head, “Monty, my kurta is hanging over there. If you check the pockets, there should be a piece of paper with Dumpy, the donkey’s phone number. Give him a call and he’ll bring the King some water.”

Dumpy, the donkey lived just outside the jungle and had a beautiful garden of his own. He also had a little pond that was always full of water.

“Yes, please give him a call. Here, use my phone,” said Babbar, handing Monty his mobile phone.

Mili to the Rescue

Monty made the call and Dumpy immediately got to work. He filled up a big can with water and loaded it on the back of his motorcycle and zoomed to their location. With a big smile on his face, he handed over the water to Babbar.

“Do you have a glass or a mug for me to drink from?” asked Babbar.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I guess I forgot to bring one. You’ll have to make do with your hands,” said Dumpy.

“Fair enough. Just give me some water, I’m dying of thirst,” said the King. Dumpy picked the can up and gently tilted it. Babbar cupped his hands together and drank the water. In only a short while, the water was all gone and Babbar breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for giving me water when I needed it most. Having spent the entire day thirsty, I understand the trouble the rest of the animals must be going through. I promise that I will ensure that nobody goes thirsty in my jungle again.

For starters, I’ll speak to my friend, Veer Singh, the lion from the neighbouring jungle to release some water. Our lakes will be full and we will no longer be forced to seek water in the villages and get hurt by humans,” said Babbar.

He apologised to the animals there and promised to plant more trees, conserve rainwater, build more bunds and dig more lakes. He also promised to get rid of all the lazy ministers.

“That sounds great, My Lord. Hop on. I’ll drop you off at the palace,” said Dumpy.

Dumpy took the King to his palace and soon, all the arrangements were made. Water was available for all the animals of Mangalvan and plans for a future full of water were made.

The Clever Chimpanzees

Gabu, the chimpanzee lived in Africa with his parents. He was still a baby and his family members would teach him good things so that he could grow up to be an honest chimpanzee and a valuable member of jungle society.

Chimpanzees are social animals and very intelligent too. Not only do they work together to solve problems, they’ve been known to make and use tools and also regularly pass on skills to other members of their group. After humans, chimpanzees are widely regarded to be the most intelligent creatures on this planet.

One day, Gabu and his group were looking for food. After travelling for some time, they found a tree with dried-up fruits on it. The chimpanzees immediately climbed up the tree and picked all the fruits and gathered them.

Stripping away the peel and dried pulp, the chimpanzees picked up stones and smashed them against the seeds.

Gabu watched this in shock and turned to his mother, “Mom, make them stop. They’re hurting the seeds,” he said.

Don’t worry Gabu, the seeds are all dried up. Also, inside them are nuts that are meant to be eaten. They are nutritious and tasty too,” said Gabu’s mother, handing him a nut.

Gabu ate the nut and was very happy.

“I want to smash open a seed too,” he said excitedly.

Gabu’s mom gave him a few seeds. Gabu found a couple of stones and with his best friend, Sabu, looked for a nice place to try cracking open the seeds by themselves.

Dub Dub Turtle

They found an outcrop and settled down, but every time Gabu tried smashing the seed, it would spring out from underneath as soon as it was struck.

“This isn’t as easy as the adults make it! seem,” said Gabu.

“You’re right. How about I hold the seed in place with my hands and you smash it with the stone?” suggested Sabu.

Holding the seed between his fingers, Sabu readied it and Gabu picked up the stone. He brought it down hard on the seed and smashed it open. But, the seed wasn’t the only thing he smashed.

“Ow! My finger!” cried Sabu.

Being just babies, neither Sabu nor Gabu had thought about what would happen to Sabu’s fingers.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been careful,” said Gabu, dropping the stone.

“These seeds are dangerous. I don’t want to eat them again,” said Sabu. Even Gabu didn’t want to eat them anymore.

Once the pain in Sabu’s fingers went away, the two friends cuddled up next to their mothers and fell asleep.

Many days passed since that day and as the two chimpanzees grew bigger, their friendship grew deeper. Gradually, the time they spent with their mothers reduced and the time they spent with each other increased.

One day, their group was settling in a comfortable tree for a nap. While the rest of the chimpanzees were sleeping, Gabu and Sabu decided to stay up and chat. One thing led to another and soon, they went out for a walk. They were so engrossed in their conversation with each other that they didn’t notice that they had wandered far away from their tree. Another thing they didn’t notice was the danger lurking in the bushes.

Hidden from plain sight by the tall grass, a hungry hyena watched Gabu and Sabu walk towards him. “Looks like I won’t have to look for dinner tonight. It seems to have come to me,” he said to himself, licking his lips.

The two chimps realised that they were in danger when the hyena jumped out from behind the grass and blocked their way.

“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to wander off alone in this part of the grassland?” asked the hyena.

“Sir, we haven’t done anything to you. Please let us go,” said Sabu, his voice quivering.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily,” said the hyena and stepped closer.

“Sabu, it looks like the only way we can get out alive is by running,” said Gabu.

“Where do we run? I don’t see any trees nearby and if we continued to run, he’d catch up in no time,” said Sabu.

Looking around, Gabu said, “Look over there. There’s a cave on the top of those rocks. It looks too small for the hyena. If we get inside, we’d be safe.”

Together, Gabu and Sabu made a run for it. The hyena tore after them, but the little chimpanzees were too nimble for him. Weaving in and out of rocky outcrops, the chimpanzees successfully made it inside the cave and hid there.

The hyena reached the cave’s entrance and said, “So, you’re going to hide in there, are you? Well, I’ve got all day. Maybe, I’ll just wait here. After all, you are my new neighbours.”

As the hyena found a comfortable spot outside the cave, Gabu and Sabu were busy working out a plan.

“Seems like the only way we can escape is by smashing some seeds,” said Gabu.

“Where do you intend to find some seeds?” asked Sabu. “Also, don’t you remember why we stopped eating nuts from those seeds? Cracking them open was painful.”

“You don’t have to worry about the pain or finding them. The only one who needs to worry about anything is the hyena,” said Gabu, with a smile.

They whispered the plan to each other and got to work.

“I must say, you must be the worst hyena in your pack. If you go back and they found out that a couple of baby chimpanzees managed to give you the slip, you’d be the laughing stock of the jungle. If you really want to catch us, why don’t you come and get us?” said Sabu.

The hyena was deeply insulted. “Wait till I get my hands on you,” he grumbled and stuck his paw inside the cave. At that moment, Gabu smashed it! with a rock. The hyena yelped and pulled his paw back.

“These little monkeys aren’t worth all this trouble,” he said and scrambled away.

After checking whether the coast is clear, Gabu and Sabu ran as quickly as they could to their group. They realised how important it was to try and explore things for themselves and learn about things from their elders. You may never know when they might come in handy.

Mili to the Rescue

Summer was making life at Ashokvan hard. The sun’s harsh rays beat down on the ground, taking away all the water. The earth was parched, the plants had dried and all the animals were thirsty. Since Ashokvan didn’t have any rivers flowing through it and all the lakes and ponds had dried up, the animals had to travel far, deep into the neighbouring forest to quench their thirst.

The severe water shortage meant that all the animals were growing weak. Bhola, the monkey had worn himself out while looking for food all day, when suddenly he started feeling light-headed. Then, without any warning, he fell unconscious.

A crowd gathered around him, as concerned animals gathered to see if they could help.

“He’d wake up the moment we sprinkle water on his face. But we don’t have any water to spare. What have our lives come to?” asked Kani, the crow.

Just then, Mili, the squirrel came running and asked all the animals to make some room and give Bhola some fresh air. She then ran back home, came back with a bottle of water and splashed some on Bhola’s face. He regained consciousness and she gave him a drink of water.

The animals who saw this happen were astonished. “Where did you get all that water?” they asked her. “You look so fresh, like you’ve taken a bath!” remarked others.

“As a matter of fact, I had just stepped out of a bath when I saw that Bhola had fainted,” said Mili.

“Where did you get the water?” they asked. “Where did you get the water?” they asked.

“I had saved it, of course,” said Mili. “When it rained last week, I knew that this was the right time to save water. So, I rearranged the leaves on a few branches in such a way that I could fill them up with water and save it for later.”

The animals were amazed and praised Mili for her ingenuity. Soon, word of Mili’s store of water spread across the forest. Everybody wanted to save rainwater just like her. Even the water minister, Kalu, the bear was impressed and said, “If a little squirrel can save enough water to last her the summer, imagine what we can do together?”

He asked the animals to suggest different ways to conserve rainwater. One by one, the animals gave him their ideas and the good ones were implemented immediately. Slope corrugated roofing was installed on all terraces. The roofs would slope towards pipes that would channel the water into tanks.

Slopes, planes and storm drains were all directed towards natural water bodies and tanks, thus enabling more water to be stored for use, instead of running off or evaporating.

By the time they were finished, each and every animal had done something or the other to save rainwater. When it rained, all their hard work came to fruition, and there was enough water stored to last the rest of the summer.

Kalu announced that the rainwater harvesting project was a grand success. He said, “We have enough water to last us a long time. By boiling it before drinking, we can use it well into the future.”

The animals of Ashokvan were very happy and thanked Mili for saving them from the summer.

Isha’s First Day

When little Isha learnt that on the first of next month she would start school, she was happy as a butterfly. She jumped around the house, thinking about all the fun she was going to have there.

As the days went by, her parents started buying her all the things she would need for school. With just a day to go, Isha had everything she needed for her first day. She had a pretty little bag filled with colourful books and a new set of uniform and shoes too.

Her little brother, Chotu, looked at all her things in awe. He couldn’t help but open her bag and see what’s inside.

“Be careful,” said Isha. “They’re new.”

“Sorry, I was just looking,” said Chotu.

“Alright, go ahead but don’t turn the pages. They might tear,” said Isha.

“Is this your lunch box?” asked Chotu picking up her casserole.

“Yes, that’s a casserole. It will keep my lunch nice and warm,” said Isha.

“Your shoes are so nice,” said Chotu.

“Uh huh,” said Isha. “I have two pairs. One to go with the regular uniform, one for the sports uniform and on Saturdays, I can wear whatever I want. I’ll wear a new frock every week.”

Hearing all this, Chotu also wanted to go to school. But he’d have to wait another year before that happened.

In the evening, Isha’s friends Pinky and Shweta came over to play. They were all going to board the school bus together the next morning.

“Will you come see me off in the morning, Chotu?” Isha asked him.

Chotu nodded and resumed playing fetch with Shweta’s dog, Bruno.

“Shweta, does Bruno see you off every morning?” asked Isha.

“Yes, he does,” said Shweta. “He runs ahead and waits with me till the bus arrives.”

That night, Isha had packed all her books and readied her uniform for the next day. She could hardly wait. The next morning, Isha’s parents rode with her on the bus and took her to class. They introduced her to her class teacher at Rimjhim School. Isha took an immediate liking to her new school and her teacher. She sat right next to her teacher and made lots of friends. *

Her teacher was very sweet to her and said, “You have such a nice name.”

Isha smiled and said, “Thank you, ma’am.”

“You seem to have made a lot of friends today. Are you having fun?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, ma’am, I am,” said Isha.

Courageous Brother

“Very good,” said the teacher. “Do you have any friends outside school?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, I do. Shweta and Pinky are my best friends. They are older than me, but we play together every evening,” said Isha.

“That’s nice,” said the teacher. “How many people are there at home?”

“There’s me, Chotu and my parents,” said Isha.

“Is Chotu your brother?” asked the teacher.

“Yes, he is. He’s younger than me, but he’s my best friend too,” said Isha.

“That’s great,” said the teacher. “Why don’t you stay here and I’ll be back in a minute,” she said and stepped outside.

As Isha sat in her place near the teacher’s desk, she saw that a strange man was peeping inside through the window. Isha felt nervous. After looking around, the man climbed in through the window and walked towards the teacher’s bag. Isha immediately ran to the teacher’s chair and grabbed the bag.

“Who are you? Go away!” she said to the strange man, but he didn’t listen and tried to snatch the bag away from her.

Isha held on tight and refused to let go. She called out to her parents, who were outside paying Isha’s fees. The thief yanked hard on the bag and knocked Isha down. She burst into tears and cried out loud.

Hearing her cries, her parents came running. Startled, the thief jumped out of the window and escaped.

As her parents came, they asked her what happened. Hearing all the commotion, the teacher too came running and at once understood that Isha had foiled a robbery. She took her bag from Isha and gave her a hug.

“Isha, you’ve not even finished your first day at school and you’ve already shown tremendous courage,” said the teacher. “I had my money, phone and credit cards in that bag. Thank you for not letting that man steal it,” said the teacher.

Isha stopped crying and realised what she had done. She smiled for knew she was going to like school.

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Isha’s First Day

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