stories with morals Archives - Page 4 of 5

Conversation of the Books

It was afternoon. The books in the library were resting. The story book was the laziest of all and just lay down where it was. Its pages were fluttering in the fan’s breeze, but the lazy one was not at all worried to take care of the pages. The thin Mathematics Book standing just opposite to Cheeky, the story book was looking at its condition of the book.

“Cheeky set your pages properly!” She said.

“Let it be. I want to sleep for the moment,” Cheeky was just saying when Venkat quickly picked her up. “I will read this book. It has many interesting stories.” Venkat said happily. Cheeky was irritated.

“Oh! This Venkat troubles me every day during my rest time. Whenever I think of resting he picks me. I cannot rest during the day or sleep at night because of him. I do not know how to get rid of him?”

Cheeky was upset. She had wanted to rest the whole day and here she could not rest for a moment. What could she do? She went along with Venkat with a long face.

The next day Cheeky, saw Venkat coming towards her as she was about to rest.

“Oh! He has come again today. Let me run away.” Cheeky ran and hid behind some thick books.

“I am safe here.” Cheeky thought. However Venkat was removing the thick books in search of her.

“Where do I hide now?” Cheeky came out of there and went and sat on the topmost shelf of the cupboard.

“This is just right.”

Venkat was not leaving even the higher shelves. He took the help of a stool to climb up to the shelves that were out of his range.

“Now I will be caught.” Cheeky ran in confusion. “Be careful,” the other books cried out. But Cheeky pushed the other books in such a manner that all the books of that row fell. In bewilderment Cheeky jumped off the shelf.

“Wow! This is a good place. No one will ever know I am hiding here, because no books are kept here.” Cheeky exclaimed looking at the place underneath the almirah. She sneaked and hid herself. The Mathematics book was watching all this. At last it could not keep quiet any longer and said, “Why are you doing all this? Do you not understand the meaning of books? They are not meant for just themselves. Their life is meant to educate others. To show them the right path and you are a story book, full of morals. Whoever reads your pages will learn something or the other. He will find something new in life.”

“The joy one gets in being useful is more than in resting. Venkat likes you because you have a special importance in his life. You should try to go to Venkat. You should not do this, come out.” The Mathematics book tried to make her understand.

Cheeky was listening to her talk. After a long fruitless search Venkat went away empty handed, when he could not find her. Cheeky got a chance to rest. She lay down to sleep. She slept for a while in comfort.

However, soon she felt an emptiness. She was bored for no one was there beside her. She became restless after some time. She came out from under the almirah. She looked at the Mathematics book and said, “You told the truth my friend! But how should I climb up?”

“Now you will have to wait for someone to come. But do not worry, this is a library where someone or the other always comes in. In any case Raju, the cleaner will come even if no one turns up. Be patient and do not panic,” said the Mathematics Book.

Cheeky calmed down. She smiled and said, “From where have you learnt such good things, my friend?”

“I read all these from your pages, when you were too lazy to put your pages together.” On hearing these words of the Mathematics book, Cheeky felt ashamed. Now she just waited for someone to come, pick her up and place her back in the almirah so that Venkat could read and be happy.

A Taste of His Own Medicine

Chikki, the squirrel, Lonu, the lamb, and Dimpy, the duck were playing with a ball, when Chintu, the monkey arrived and said, “I want to play too!”

“No, you will create some trouble like you do every time you play with us,” said Chikki.

“You always cheat and end up fighting with us. We don’t want to play with you,” pitched in Dimpy.

“How dare you refuse to let me play!” fumed Chintu.

“Just sit quietly and watch us play until you learn to play fair,” said Lonu.

At that moment, one of them threw the ball up in the air. Chintu caught it in a flash and ran away shouting, “Ha ha! Now I’ll see how you continue to play without me.”

Chintu was notorious in the forest of Sonavan for causing trouble. Many animals would fall prey to his mischief. Once during the monsoon, there was a puddle of muddy water under a tree. Chintu sat on a branch of that tree and threw stones into it whenever any animal walked by, splashing muddy water all over them.

“I see that your clothes have gotten dirty,” Chintu commented cheekily after splashing muddy water on Dina, the deer. “But don’t worry; get them dry-cleaned at the laundry. I’ll pay for it!”

A little later, he threw a stone that splashed muddy water on Koni, the fox’s face. Chintu laughed and said, “That make-up looks good on you, Koni! You should do this every day, or just go to the parlour to get yourself cleaned up. I’ll pay for it!”

Koni walked away grumbling, “This Chintu is nothing but a menace.”

Another time, Chintu had pushed Kitty, the cat off her bicycle because she wouldn’t let him ride it first. Chintu laughed at Kitty, who was moaning in pain and said, “Don’t make a big deal out of this. Go to the doctor and I’ll pay for it.” Such was his behaviour.

One day, after the incident with Chikki, Lonu and Dimpi, Chintu was sitting on a tree and eating fruits when he spotted the three huddled behind a bush and whispering something among themselves.

Chikki whispered something which Dimpy was unable to hear. So she asked loudly, “What did you say? On the tree? What’s in the large bag?” “Shhh! Be quiet, Dimpy! Someone might hear us,” cautioned Lonu.

The three of them started speaking in whispers again. Chintu was curious to know what they were talking about secretively. He tip-toed close to the bush to listen in on their conversation.

“We must reach the spot before anyone else does, otherwise we will lose out on the opportunity,” said Lonu.

“There are three date palm trees behind the mound at the other end of the lake. A short distance from there, you’ll find a lone peepal tree. That’s where we’re going,” said Chikki.

“So, it’s settled then! We will meet tomorrow morning by the lake. But remember, no one should know about this. It should stay just between the three of us,” said Lonu. The trio agreed and left for their homes.

As soon as they left, Chintu thought to himself, “What could be in that large bag? Money? Food? Whatever it is, it must be something very special. And don’t they know that it’s impossible to hide something from someone as clever as me? When the three go there tomorrow, they will return empty handed because I am going to get my hands on it before them.”

Chintu left for the mound at once. He found the date trees and the peepal tree as described by Chikki. He climbed up the tree and began searching for the bag. It was getting dark, but he continued to search and finally found it. Chintu immediately opened the bag

Dimpy, Lonu and Chikki, who were hiding in a bush nearby, came out and said, “What’s the matter, Chintu?

Are you hurt? It looks like you have been stung by bees. Why don’t you go visit a doctor. We’ll pay for it.”

“You tricked me into coming to this place!” said Chintu, writhing in pain.

“But aren’t you’re the cleverest animal in the forest? Who can trick you?” said Chikki.

Chintu finally felt the pain of all those whom he had troubled and laughed at. “I am sorry,” he said, realising the folly of his ways. “I have been blinded by my own arrogance. Thank you for making me realise it.”

“We just wanted to show you how it feels to be on the receiving end of your pranks. We are happy it worked,” said Dimpy.

The three of them helped take Chintu to the doctor and too care of him for the next few days. Then on, they all remained friends and Chintu did not revert back to his old ways.

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Skippy, the squirrel lived on a tree in the forest of Aria. Next to the tree was an anthill in which his friend Tiny, the ant and her family lived.

One day, Vicky, the rabbit moved into the forest and made a home for himself near the tree where Skippy and Tiny lived. Soon, the three became good friends.

During spring that year, Vicky said, “The soil here is fertile. Why don’t we cultivate something?”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. But what shall we sow?” asked Tiny.

“Since we like rice, why don’t we cultivate paddy crops?” suggested Skippy.

“Rice is mostly cultivated in the south of India because the soil there is smooth and retains a lot of moisture, which is necessary for paddy crops. If we were to sow rice here, then the crops will need a lot of water and additional care,” said Vicky.

“How about tea? I love drinking tea!” said Tiny’s cousin Teeny.

“I like spicy food; let’s plant some spices,” said Tiny.

“A hilly terrain is best suited for tea, coffee and spices. They can be grown only by way of terrace farming and they require a chilly climate. It’s too hot here to grow these crops,” said Vicky.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

“How do you know so much about the different types of crops?” asked Skippy in awe.

“I love horticulture. It is the art and science of growing plants. I have read many books on this subject. Currently, I am reading one on the different types of soil,” said Vicky.

“That sounds very interesting. I thought they were all the same. How many different types of soil are there?” asked Tiny curiously.

“Broadly, there are six different types of soils in India classified according to their characteristic, composition and region: alluvial, laterite, red, black, desert and mountain soil. Our forest has alluvial soil which is extremely fertile. It is so because rivers like Ganga and Yamuna flow down from the mountains bringing with them rich minerals and rocks. Wheat, sugarcane and pulses are best grown in this soil,” said Vicky

“In that case, how about we plant wheat crops?” asked Skippy.

Everyone agreed and began planning. Next day, Vicky brought along his friend Annie, the mole.

“Hello friends, meet Annie. She will also help us with the farming,” said Vicky.

Skippy and Tiny were not happy about Annie joining them. They did not mention it to Vicky, but later that evening, the two met alone to discuss the situation.

“What work will the mole do in the farm?” Skippy asked Tiny. “You and your family will sow the seeds. Vicky and I will water the crops. We will also use our sharp teeth to harvest them later and you will carry them back to our houses. But what will Annie do?”

“Even I don’t understand why Vicky had to bring her along. The more people there are, the lesser will be our share of the crops. But what can we do? Cultivating crops was Vicky’s idea and we can’t tell him not to bring his friend,” said Tiny.

As the two wondered what to do, Tiny suddenly had an idea. She shared her plan with Skippy, who agreed to it delightedly. The following day, all four of them set to work, ploughing the land, planting the seeds and watering it. As weeks passed, the seeds began to sprout. In a matter of months, the tiny saplings had become full-grown wheat crops. They had to take extra care of the crops for fear that it would get stolen or damaged by pests.

During the day, Vicky would take care of it and at night, it was the responsibility of Skippy and Tiny to keep an eye on the crops.

One morning, Tiny and Skippy frantically came running to Vicky and said that some of the wheat crops had disappeared.

More From Champak: Tit for tat

Vicky was shocked. “But how is that possible?”

“I suspect Annie. Two days back, I heard her talking to her friends and plotting to steal some of the crops. We must remove Annie from our group immediately,” said Skippy.

“I think it’s you two who should be removed!” said Vicky.

“Why should we be removed?” asked Tiny and Skippy surprised.

“That is because it was your responsibility to keep an eye on the crops at night. If the crops were stolen during the night, it means that you have not done your work properly,” replied Vicky.

“Even otherwise, while we three were doing all the hard work, Annie was just roaming among the crops and playing in the soil,” said Skippy angrily.

“So, that is the real reason!” realised Vicky. “I began to sense your growing dislike for Annie because you think she does not help with the farming. What you both don’t know is that she is the reason this crop has grown so well,” said Vicky.

On hearing this, Skippy and Tiny were taken aback. “How is that possible?” they asked.

“Moles are good at digging. Because of the holes she dug around the land, water and air could mix well with the soil. This ensured that the soil’s nutrition and minerals were replenished, thereby making our crops grow well,” explained Vicky.

Skippy and Tiny realised their mistake and were ashamed about their behaviour. They apologised to Annie and returned the crops they had stolen at night to put the blame on Annie. That day on, the four of them worked together with cooperation and respected each other’s hard work.

Beaten at His Own Game

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

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

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

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

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

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More From Champak: Tit for tat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rocky started laughing.

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

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

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

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

Toto Finds His Way

Deep lived with his parents and grandfather in Delhi. Every evening he played with his beloved pet dog Toto in the park.

After a while, many people stopped playing sports and flew kites. Deep also stopped going to the park with Toto. Instead he started flying his kite on the roof with his friends. Deep loved to fly a golden kite. Many people recognized Deep’s kite because of its unique colour.

Days passed. Toto was bored. He felt neglected. One day, when Deep’s mother went shopping in the morning, she forgot to lock the main gate. Toto saw this as an opportunity to run to the park.

He slipped through the door and ran out. Toto used to accompany Deep to the park. Hence didn’t know the way to the park himself. Luckily he saw Deep’s friend Shyam going towards the park and followed him.

Mittu, the pet dog

After reaching the garden, Toto ran through the bushes. He was so excited that he ran happily throughout the park.

He was glad that he could return to the park.

Soon it grew dark. Dark clouds covered the sky. Everyone in the park rushed home.

Toto realised that he should get back home through the front gate. But Toto was lost. He looked left and he looked right, but he didn’t know which way to go. Everyone in the park had already left, so Toto couldn’t ask for help. He began to panic and felt a little afraid. He walked around aimlessly.

It started to rain and Toto was walking alone on the streets. Meanwhile, Deep had come down, as he had thought of playing with Toto. He searched for him everywhere in the house, but he could not Toto.

The whole family wondered where Toto was. As soon as the rain stopped Deep and the other family members went out on the streets, calling Toto’s name.

They went to the park, the market, the badminton grounds, but were unable to find Toto. Deep returned home disappointed and sad.

The family members returned too, failing to find Toto. They were heartbroken and tensed and began to think on ways to find Toto.

Suddenly Deep’s grandfather exclaimed, “I have an idea!” He told the others the plan. Everyone agreed and hoped it would work. Deep and his mother got a big golden kite and attached golden sparkling papers to the thread.

Deep took the kite and ran to his roof. The whole family followed him.

Deep flew the kite higher and made it go further.

Toto in the meantime was crying as he couldn’t find his way back. He was hiding under a bench when he suddenly noticed something.

Looking carefully, Toto noticed a big golden kite flying in the sky. He was thrilled! Toto knew that only Deep flew golden kites.

Toto spotted the flying thread clearly because Deep had attached golden sparkling papers to the flying thread.

Toto followed the thread in the sky and after crossing a few streets, he reached to a familiar neighbourhood. Toto was happy and found his way home. He barked happily when he landed on the doorstep.

Everyone was happy when they heard Toto’s bark again.

Deep hugged him. Toto jumped around him. Deep never left his favourite pet alone again and took him to the park to play always.

Sweety Learns a Valuable Lesson

Sundays always saw Sweety in a great mood. Sundays were special as Sweety’s mother would be busy with work during the weekdays. So, on Sundays they would always go to the mall. Although Sweety was a good kid, she did not always listen to her parents.

“Sweety, the mall will be crowded today. Do not go anywhere without telling me. Walk along with me,” mother told Sweety.

“Yes mom. I want to play games and have a softy ice-cream, a savoury pastry and a tub of popcorn!” said Sweety, excited.

The mall was a huge three-storied building. It was crowded as many families had come there, since it was a Sunday.

Sweety and her mother first purchased some clothes for Sweety. Then Sweety’s mother said, “I have to buy this month’s groceries. This place is very crowded. Let’s go to the payment counter with these packages. You just be careful and stick with me.” Sweety nodded her head.

Sweety’s mother packed the rice and wheat that she had purchased and went to check its weight at the counter.

The toy rack behind them caught Sweety’s attention. She thought, “There are so many toys and games on that rack. I can quickly check the toys and come back.”

Sweety went to the rack without informing her mother. Meanwhile, the crowd in the store was increasing. Sweety was so busy examining the toys that she forgot to stick with her mother.

Sweety’s mother paid the bill but she panicked when she discovered that she could not see Sweety anywhere.

Sweety’s mother asked people if they had seen a small, curly-haired girl nearby. But there were just too many people and nobody had seen Sweety.

About half an hour later, Sweety came back to the counter where she had last seen her mother. She got scared and started crying when she did not see her mother.

“I can’t find my mother,” said Sweety, wiping her tears.

The lady said, “Don’t be scared… Let’s go to the first floor. The customer care people will make an announcement, and then your mom will come to pick you.”

Both of them quickly went to the first floor. The lady told the customer care people what had happened.

One of them made an announcement, “A child has been separated from her mother in this mall. Her name is Sweety, she has curly hair and she is wearing a red frock. If her mother is hearing this, please come soon to the customer care centre.”

Sweety’s mother heard the announcement and rushed over. Sweety was relieved to see her mother again. She hugged her mother tightly and narrated the entire incident. Her mother thanked everyone for helping sweety and they left the mall.

But mother was angry with Sweety. She said, “I told you to stick with me. Despite that, you wandered off. Did you think about what could have happened if somebody kidnapped you?”

Sweety understood her mistake. She said, “I am sorry mom, I made a mistake. I will listen to everything you say henceforth.” Her mother then let her play for some time and later they went to have a soft-serve cone and a savoury pastry.

Sweety had learnt a valuable lesson. She mended her ways and started listening to what her parents told her. •

Moderation is the key

Chimpu, what are you doing?” Champu Kaka, Chimpu Monkey’s father, shouted as Chimpu Monkey ran away with the box of rasgollas that was lying on the table. Chimpu Monkey chuckled. He knew that his sweet tooth had turned him into the naughtiest little animal in Champakvan.

“What?” Chimpu’s mother Champa Kaki said, looking very annoyed, when Champu Kaka told her about their son’s antics. “Chimpu ran away with a box of sweets again? How can we go to Lalluram’s house emptyhanded now? The rasgollas were for him. I told you to be careful of Chimpu. He’s become very greedy.”

Champu Kaka shook his head sadly. “Chimpu doesn’t realise that if he keeps eating so many sweets, he will fall ill someday,” he told his wife, sounding quite worried.

Champa Kaki was anxious too. She frequently explained the dangers of eating too many sweets to Chimpu and tried to persuade him to eat fewer sweets. But neither Champa Kaki nor Champu Kaka were able to control him. Chimpu would pick up anything that was sweet and gobble it up as soon as he could. He had also developed the bad habit of standing near kitchen windows and picking up sweets as soon as the house owners left their kitchens.

Everyone in Champakvan was tired of Chimpu’s bad habit. They tried to explain to him that sweets, when eaten in excess, could be harmful.

Even King Sher Singh, who was the King of Champakvan and liked to eat something sweet after his meals, had been deprived of his dessert on several occasions, thanks to Chimpu.

Whenever King Sher Singh would finish his meal, he would find Chimpu lurking in the palace, with his mischievous little eyes fixed on the plate of sweets.

Chimpu would try his best to steal the sweets without being noticed. But King Sher Singh would always catch him. Chimpu’s smiling face and naughty eyes would melt King Sher Singh’s heart, and he would simply smile at the little thief. Chimpu would use the opportunity to eat the sweets and walk away.

“Chimpu, too much of anything can be very harmful. Don’t eat so many sweets at one time,” King Sher Singh would often warn. But Chimpu would run off ignoring the King’s good counsel.

One day, it was time for the grand celebration that everyone in Champakvan, including Chimpu, looked forward to. It was King Sher Singh’s birthday.

The jungle was decorated beautifully and there was a huge feast being held in the palace in King Sher Singh’s honour.

This year’s feast, however, had a special attraction. Lambu Giraffe had taken special cooking classes, and had learnt how to bake a cake. But that’s not all. The cake was planned to be as tall as Lambu Giraffe himself!

The cake looked delicious when it was finally complete. It had many layers laden with rich cream. It had chocolate chips and chocolate sauce all over it too.

Chimpu sneaked into the palace. He could not stop himself from eating the cake.

“But it is King Sher Singh’s birthday cake,” he said to himself. “How can I eat it before he cuts it?”

Chimpu tried his level best to stay far away from the cake, but he just could not hold himself back. “I’ll taste just a little bit of the cake,” he said. “If I hang from the branch of a tree, I will be able to reach the top of the cake. No one will know if a small bit is missing from the top.”

Chimpu climbed up a tree and hung upside down, with his tail around one of the branches. He tried to reach the cake. However, Chimpu found that he had to stretch himself to be able to touch the cake. He kept on stretching and stretching. And then, something terrible happened.

Snap! The branch from which Chimpu was hanging broke. And Chimpu fell right into the cake, smashing it and spilling it all over.

Lambu Giraffe was furious when he saw what had happened. And so were all the animals who had gathered to see the cake. The news spread like wild fire. Everyone was sure that King Sher Singh would punish Chimpu severely.

When King Sher Singh heard the news, he got very angry. He immediately asked all the animals to assemble near the destroyed cake. He then roared loudly and everyone in Champakvan started to tremble.

Chimpu was very scared. He was sure that he would not be able to escape the King’s fury this time. And although everyone loved Chimpu, they felt that he needed to be taught a lesson.

“Chimpu, what you have done today is unforgivable,” King Sher Singh thundered. “You have become very greedy. You have ignored my advice and the fact that you were stealing my birthday cake. You have crossed all limits today.”

Chimpu started shivering. He had never seen King Sher Singh so angry before.

“As your punishment,” King Sher Singh roared. “You will eat what’s left of this cake. Right now, in front of all of us.”

Chimpu was surprised.

“Is that all?” he said happily, feeling certain that King Sher Singh had forgiven him yet again.

All the animals present were shocked. “King Sher Singh is being lenient with Chimpu instead of teaching him a lesson,” they told each other.

But Chimpu was thrilled. He started gobbling the cake immediately. All the animals watched as he ate mouthful after mouthful. In no time, he finished eating whatever was left of the topmost layer of the cake.

Chimpu felt quite full now and was about to walk away when King Sher Singh roared, “I didn’t tell you to stop, Chimpu. Please finish the whole cake.”

Chimpu was really worried now. He was already full and the cake was barely eaten. It had many more layers.

“How will I eat the rest?” he wondered. He looked at King Sher Singh and smiled but King Sher Singh looked at him sternly. Chimpu realised that King Sher Singh was serious about what he had said. He continued eating the cake till his stomach began to ache and he felt very sick.

Doctor Deer was called to examine Chimpu. He asked Chimpu to take some rest and stay at home for a few days.

All the animals felt very sorry for Chimpu. They knew how he hated being sick. They all visited him, one after the other, and gave him boxfuls of rosgullas, ladoos, burfis, gulab jamuns and other sweets. This, of course, was as per King Sher Singh’s suggestion.

Chimpu felt sick when he saw the sweets all around him. “I feel like throwing up,” he would say the moment he looked at the sweets. He swore that he would never eat sweets again.

When Chimpu felt better, he went to meet King Sher Singh. He apologised for destroying his cake and thanked him for teaching him a worthy lesson. He also told him about his decision to give up sweets.

“No, my dear,” King Sher Singh said. “The lesson was not that you should not eat sweets at all, but rather that you should eat them in moderation.

Moderation is the key to everything. If you eat within limits, you will never feel sick and everything would be fine.” Chimpu understood what King Sher Singh

Chimpu understood what King Sher Singh wanted to say. He promised to practice moderation in eating and never ate too many sweets again.

Friends Of A Feather

There was a huge tree in a jungle. Many birds lived on that tree. One day, following a storm, it started raining heavily. The branches of the tree started swaying violently from side-to-side.

All the birds decided to stay within their nests. The warmth of the nests was quite comforting.

Browny, a Baya Weaver bird, had made a very comfortable nest. While she was sitting inside, she heard a cry for help.

When Browny peeped out of her nest, she saw Chillo Eagle’s little baby lying on the ground. He was screaming for help. Looking at his pitiable condition Browny felt sad.

She decided to help the baby. Blacky Crow was watching her from his nest.

Blacky tried to stop Browny. He said, “Don’t go out in such bad weather. Something bad can happen to you.”

Browny disagreed. She said, “Blacky, I don’t think we should be selfish. If we don’t help this baby, the poor thing will die of cold.”

Blacky continued, “I am telling you, forget the baby Eagle. Stay warm in your nest.”

However, Browny couldn’t do so.

She brought the baby Eagle to her nest.

The baby said, “Thank you Aunty. Some of my friends may also be shivering in cold. I am worried about them. I don’t know how they would be. We were playing together when the storm came. Thus, we got separated.”

“Don’t worry. I will try to find them,” assured Browny.

She flew out of the nest to search for the other babies.

Blacky made fun of Browny. He said, “It seems as if your brain has stopped working. Are you making your nest a lodge by bringing all of them here?”

Browny soon found the baby Parrot, the baby Woodpecker and the baby Bat near some bushes. They were shivering. The baby Kingfisher was also crying. Browny brought everyone to her nest.

The nest was quite warm and welcoming. The friends were reunited in Browny’s nest. They were happy.

Browny had some walnuts. The Woodpecker broke the shells with his beak. All of them ate walnuts together. The real fun had now begun!

The Parrot could sing. He sang songs and entertained everybody. The Bat hung down a branch. His actions made everybody laugh and clap.

Everyone was having fun in Browny’s nest. However, Blacky was feeling bored in his nest. He had nobody to talk to. He was feeling lonely and sad.

Blacky thought, “I wish I had helped somebody like Browny.”

Blacky now came out of his nest. He flew to Browny’s nest and said, “Friends, I can neither sing well nor play well, but I can dance. If you wish, I can entertain you.”

They welcomed him to the nest. Blacky began dancing. His funny dance moves made everybody laugh a lot. He was very entertaining.

Blacky enjoyed himself in their company. He was happy. From then onwards, he decided that he would always help others.

The Finder Of Lost Things

Wily Wolf was a lazy fellow. He didn’t like to work hard and took up small jobs now and then for a living. His meager income was not enough for his family to live on.

Wily Wolf often wondered what he could do to augment his income without having to work too hard.

One day, he saw Jumbo Elephant anxiously searching for something. Wily Wolf noticed that Jumbo Elephant looked very worried and wondered if something valuable was missing.

“What are you searching for, Jumbo?” he asked curiously.

“I’ve lost my ration card,” said Jumbo Elephant worriedly.

The Road to Change

“Really? You must have thrown it in the dustbin,” Wily Wolf joked and laughed.

But to his surprise, Jumbo Elephant really peeped in the dustbin. And to his great astonishment, the ration card was really there!

“You were absolutely right, Wily!” Jumbo Elephant said, looking quite amazed. “How did you know the ration card was there? Do you have some special powers?”

“Well, I do have magical powers,” Wily Wolf bluffed. “Er…I can see things that lie even in far off places.”

Jumbo Elephant was quite gullible. He believed Wily Wolf’s tale and told his friends and neighbours about it.

Soon, news of Wily Wolf’s magical powers spread all over Champakvan and many animals went to seek his help.

Wily Wolf enjoyed the attention he got. He began to call himself “The Finder of Lost Things”. He realised that this was a great opportunity for him to make easy money.

“Wily, can you tell me where my missing chain is?” Meeku Rabbit requested Wily Wolf. “I haven’t been able to find it.”

“My nutcracker is lost, Wily,” Softy Squirrel said. “Be a dear and tell me where it is. I’ll pay you your fees.”

“Wily! Oh, Wily! Someone has stolen my cash box,” Whitey Cow cried. “All the money I earned by selling my precious milk is in it. Can you help me please?” she begged for she was anxious to recover her stolen cash box.

“Pay me first,” Wily Wolf told the worried animals. Once he had pocketed the money, he told them to go looking for their missing things in places like high mountain tops, muddy pools and dense woods that could not be reached very easily. Unable to locate their small objects in such places, the animals would soon get fed up and abandon their search. And before they could return, Wily Wolf would disappear conveniently.

“Ah! How easy it is to cheat these simple animals!” he would laugh and say. “They are so gullible!”

One day, Wily Wolf received a message from King Sher Singh. King Sher Singh had heard about Wily’s powers and wanted his help.

“Oh no! I’m doomed now!” Wily Wolf said, panicking. “King Sher Singh isn’t someone who will be conned easily. I won’t be able to escape this time.”

Wily Wolf trembled as he entered King Sher Singh’s palace.

“I need your help,” King Sher Singh told Wily Wolf. “Since the past few days, small things like pens and silver spoons and forks have suddenly started disappearing from my palace. And today, the thief has grown bolder. He has stolen my wristwatch and a bunch of keys that I had left on the garden table.”

Wily Wolf nodded respectfully as King Sher Singh went on. He didn’t want him to guess how nervous he was.

King Sher Singh then said, “O Finder of Lost Things, the missing bunch of keys contains the keys to my safe. I am worried that the thief might open my safe and steal some of my priceless treasures. Can you use your powers and tell me where the keys are?”

Wily Wolf didn’t know what to do or say.

“I need some time,” he finally said, hoping to buy some time. “I must go home and chant some hymns before the answer to this great mystery comes to me.”

“All right,” King Sher Singh said. “Take your time. If you do solve the mystery of the missing keys, I’ll confer the title of ‘The Royal Finder of Lost Things’ on you, and also reward you with a gold medal.”

Wily Wolf nodded even though he was terrified. He then returned to his house and worried all along the way. “Oh no,” he said to himself. “How am I going to solve the mystery? I have fooled the simple animals successfully but King Sher Singh won’t fall for my tricks!”

Wily Wolf stayed at home for the rest of the day, wondering what he would do, when he suddenly heard his son Smiley Wolf enter the house. “Waaah!” Smiley Wolf wailed. “My doll is gone! I was playing with it under the tamarind tree when a strange-looking bird swooped down and picked it up with its beak. It then took it to its nest on the tree!”

Smiley Wolf pounded his fists on a table. “Father!” he wept. “I want my doll back from that bird! Waaah!” Wily Wolf’s wife entered the room. “That bird must be the magpie who has built its nest on the tamarind tree. Don’t you know that I never keep small things outside the house? The magpie always carries them away,” she said.

“Is that so?” Wilf Wolf said and jumped up. He rubbed his hands gleefully and said, “I have solved the mystery then! I’ve found King Sher Singh’s thief!” Both Smiley Wolf and Wily Wolf’s wife looked surprised.

“Well, yes!” Wily Wolf said, running out of the house. “Show me where its nest is! I’m sure I’ll find King Sher Singh’s bunch of keys there!” Wily Wolf then told his son and wife that magpies were attracted to shiny objects. “They are known for carrying away small and shiny things from nearby houses. They like to keep them in their nests,” he explained. “I’m sure that the magpie on the tamarind tree has taken King Sher Singh’s bunch of keys too.”

Wily Wolf then quickly climbed up the tree. He peeped into the magpie’s nest and saw that it was full of shiny objects like toys, glass pieces, jewellery, pens, spoons, forks and pins. And yes, there was a bunch of keys there too.

Wily Wolf got down and ran to King Sher Singh’s palace. “King Sher Singh! I have your answer!” he said trying not to sound very excited. “Your keys are in a nest on a tamarind tree not far away from here.”

“Is that so?” King Sher Singh asked. He then ordered his servants to find the tamarind tree and bring the nest to him.

The servants did as told and King Sher Singh was shocked when he peeped into the nest. “The bunch of keys is indeed here!” he said, looking very astonished. “Wily Wolf, you really are incredible! And I’m rewarding you, as I promised, with the title of ‘The Royal Finder of Lost Things’. I’m also giving you a gold medal and several thousand rupees!”

Wily Wolf managed to smile even though he was still feeling very nervous. “Thank you,” he said, bowing to King Sher Singh and accepted his rewards.

“I’ve had a stroke of good luck today,” he muttered as he walked home that day. “But I better give up fooling the animals and do some honest work instead. I’d rather work hard than get myself into a situation like this again!”

Unique Christmas Tree

Christmas was around the corner. The forest was buzzing with activity. Like the other festivals, Raja Singh, the tiger celebrated this festival with a great deal of funfair. This time he announced a unique competition-the best-decorated tree would win a prize.

Everyone got busy with the preparations. The shops that sold decorations were crowded. The animals bought beautiful expensive things so that they could win the prize.

Minnie, the squirrel had also taken part in this competition. However, unlike the others, instead of buying decorative things, she was collecting old items from everyone’s house.

Sometimes she would pick an old bulb, at times an old bottle from the garbage. Sometimes she would collect pieces of broken bangles or gathered leftover cloth pieces from the tailor’s shop. Everyone made fun of her.

Christmas day arrived and everyone brought their beautifully decorated trees to the venue. Raja Singh dressed as Santa Claus and distributed gifts to everyone. They ate different kinds of cakes and puddings. All sang and danced together.

Soon it was time to announce the winner of the competition. Raja Singh looked at all the Christmas trees very carefully and gave the prize to Minnie.

Everyone was disappointed by this decision. The King explained, “Look carefully at Minnie’s tree. She has made the tree herself from waste materials.

She has made a fish, boat and puppet from old plastic bottles according to their size and covered them with paper and leftover cloth pieces. She has made small toys out of pieces of bangles, thermocol and mud, coloured them and put them on the tree.

Today our greatest problem is excessive garbage. It piles up in many places. Germs, mosquitoes and flies, they are everywhere because of this. Soon the world will be covered with garbage.

We should segregate paper and plastic and reuse them. Make manure out of fruit and vegetable peels by burying them in the ground. Then this problem can be tackled.

All of you have decorated your trees beautifully, but Minnie’s tree is different. She recycled things and made something beautiful. Hence, she deserves the prize.”

King Potato

A tiny potato emerged out from the soil. It beamed with happiness.

It thought, “Wow, what a world! I have heard a lot about the world. Fortunately, I can now see it. I am going to have fun.”

While it was looking around, it spotted a green coloured round thing, clinging on to a climber. It asked, “Hey, who are you?”

“I am a young tomato.”

“You came out before me?” the potato questioned.

The tomato replied, “I have always been out since I was born.”

The little potato felt bad. However, it soon forgot everything. It was a jolly thing. It got back to its original fun-filled mood.

It thought, “I will see the entire world.”

While it was still thinking, it saw a long, green thing hanging from a straight standing plant.

“Who are you?” it asked.

“I am chilli.”

“You also came out before me!”

The chilli replied, “I have always been out, soaking in the sunlight, breathing in fresh air.”

The potato’s face fell. There were other plants in the garden, on which tiny fruits were swaying in happiness.

The potato asked the little pea, “Have you always been out as well?”

The pea was naughty. It sensed the potato’s restlessness.

It said, “Is this a question to ask? Not only I, but everyone out here hasn’t been buried under the ground. We breathe in fresh air. All of us sleep under the moonlit sky. We wake up with the golden rays of the sun. It’s fun swaying in the breeze.”

“Hmm, this means that I am the only one who has to stay underground. How unlucky we potatoes are! Look at the others. They are all so shiny and beautiful. They live in fresh air. I look so filthy and ugly! Nobody will even notice me.”

The potato felt sad. After talking to the other vegetables, it kept quiet.

A few days later, it was kept in a basket.

It was taken to the vegetable market. All the other vegetables also went along.

“Look, the king of vegetables has been kept near me!” the brinjal exclaimed excitedly.

The potato asked, “Where? Who is it? Please tell me.”

The potato was curious. The brinjal became silent for a while.

He asked the brinjal, “Why are you looking at me like that? Am I that ugly?”

With some hesitation, the brinjal replied, “You are the king, the king of vegetables.”

“Why are you making fun of me? I am an ugly vegetable, who lives underground. How can I be the king?” the potato questioned.

The brinjal replied, “You really are the king. You have all the qualities needed to be a king. Most vegetable preparations are made with you. When there is no other vegetable you alone are sufficient. People can have a satisfying meal by just eating you.”

The pumpkin was lying close by. It said, “You are healthy. How can you not be king? You have Carbohydrates, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Carotene and Niacin.

You are enriched with so many nutrients. You are available in every season, every day. We may be here today but gone tomorrow. You are available throughout the year.”

The little potato was pleasantly surprised. It was finding it difficult to believe that it was the king of vegetables!

It thought, “Inner qualities and usefulness are more important than outer appearances. I might be ugly on the surface but my other qualities make me stand apart from others, so much so that I am their king!”

The little potato now understood its self-worth. It regretted its earlier thinking. It felt satisfied, not because it was the king, but because it knew the reason why it was the king.

We Won’t Fight

That little garden had something special about it. Various kinds of flowers were always smiling on the branches of plants.

Their fragrance always pervaded the garden. People would be astounded on coming over there. Everyone would lavishly praise the beauty of the flowers.

Queen Honeybee, Beauty Butterfly and Gungun Bumblebee were friends with each other. All three would work together in the garden.

Queen Honeybee would collect nectar from the flowers and make honey.

When Beauty Butterfly would flap her beautiful wings and talk to the flowers, they would start swaying joyfully. Gungun Bumblebee was different than everybody.

When he would sing, the garden’s flowers would forget everything.

One day they all had an argument on who was the best among them. The argument turned into a fight and each started claiming to be the best.

“You both don’t do any work, just roam around. I am better than both of you because I work hard and make delicious honey,” Queen Honeybee said, praising herself.

“So what if you make honey? You only eat it. Have you ever given us honey to eat? Selfish bee,” Beauty Butterfly said angrily to Queen.

“In my opinion, I am better than both of you. Neither do I sting like Queen nor do I become discoloured like Beauty even when she is gently touched,” Gungun opined, “I am the best.”

“Leave it, leave it. Your heart is as dark as your colour. You just act as if you are singing. In reality, you are jealous of our beauty and spread negativity about us,” Queen and Beauty both scolded Gungun.

The fight increased and reached a point where they were ready to beat each other. When the breeze saw this, it felt very sad. Seeing the situation, it turned into a gust of wind and flew all of them in different directions.

The wisdom of breeze stopped the fight that day but their attitude didn’t change.

Next day they were fighting again. The king of flowers Rose was hearing them intently.

“Friend, you decide who is the best amongst us. We will go by your decision,” they went to Rose and said.

Rose was very intelligent. He had sensed that they were in anger, so explaining anything to them would be a waste.

“You all come tomorrow. You will get an answer to your question,” Rose asked them to wait for a day.

They returned back on hearing Rose. As time passed, their anger reduced. They were eagerly waiting for the next morning.

When they reached the garden the next day, the sight of the place made them astonished.

Not even one flower had blossomed. The garden was looking appalling without the flowers blooming.

The flowers didn’t blossom even when it was evening. Without the flowers, how could Queen collect nectar for making honey? She became very sad.

Where would Beauty linger if not on flowers? She too began crying.

Gungun forgot singing and went and sat on a branch dejectedly. They all realized their mistake. They requested the flowers to blossom.

“Now you must have got your answer,” Rose told them.

“Friend, forgive us. You answered our question without saying anything. How incomplete we are without the flowers, we know this truth now,” All three of them said.

“Everyone has importance in this world. So thinking about being big or small or best is foolishness. You all are the best,” As soon as Rose said this, all the flowers of the garden bloomed together.

The garden was looking picturesque again. Queen, Beauty and Gungun’s happiness knew no bounds.

They promised Rose that they won’t fight ever again. Together they would increase the splendour of the garden.

Rose smiled at their assurance. It congratulated them for showing sensibility and wisdom.

The Fear of Water

All the 7 tiny yellow-coloured chicks were looking very cute with Tina Duck. “Today I will teach you to swim in a pond,” One day Tina told them.

All of them reached the pond side. Tina taught everyone how to waddle in the water and told them to descend in the pond behind her.

Tina went down in water. 5 chicks too went with her, but Nikku and Tikku did not go with them.

Tina called them many times, but they started crying, “The water will be cold, we will drown.”

Tina said, “The membrane which we have in our feet serves as a paddle, nothing will happen to you.” But both of them didn’t listen to her.

The 5 chicks that had been in water were very fresh whereas Nikku and Tikku were feeling sluggish.

They both were surprised thinking that why their siblings were not feeling cold even when the weather was chilly.

Even after many days, Tina hadn’t succeeded in making Nikku and Tikku swim in water. That day too Tina was swimming with her 5 chicks while Nikku and Tikku were watching them standing at the bank.

Suddenly 3 big goats with their horns bent, came running towards them and said, “We will eat you all.” Even their voice was very frightening.

Both the chicks got terrified and ran calling ‘Mom…mom…’ to save themselves. They were surrounded by the goats from 3 directions. So they jumped in the water out of pressure.

They started waddling as their mom had taught them. They were feeling amazed that they were neither feeling cold nor were they drowning.

In fact, they enjoyed their stint in water. They swam for a long time. After coming out they were feeling very refreshed.

“Mom, why didn’t we get wet?” They asked Tina.

“There is a gland under the tail of ducks which secretes oil. It has a particular odour too which can tell anybody about our whereabouts.

That oil spreads on our wings and that is why we don’t get wet or feel cold. You are very young. Your body doesn’t secrete that oil, so I had put mine on your body. The oil is light floats on water and doesn’t let us drown.”

“Really? That is why we could swim so easily. We enjoyed so much. Mom, it was good that the goats came and frightened by them, we got down in the water. Now we will swim daily.”

“All of them are my friends. I had told them to scare you so that you would come into the water,” Mom said smilingly.

All the three goats laughed and came out from behind the nearby bushes. Tina thanked them and said, “My chicks aren’t scared of water anymore because of you all.”

“What is there to thank? Everyone should help each other, but where were you from so many days? We were searching for you from so many days.”

“I was in the bushes, incubating the eggs. So I didn’t come out,” Tina told them.

“But we couldn’t smell your scent?”

“Yes, nature has made this arrangement to protect us. While we are incubating, our glands stop secreting oil and hence the scent stops. Our enemies don’t come to know where we are and we are able to nurture our eggs without any worry.”

“Wow…that is great. Bring your chicks to our home someday. It’s been long since we all have eaten together.”

Saying so, the goats went away.

The chicks too walked towards their home behind their mom.

Please Let Me Play with You

It was Sunday and the four rats Rinku, Minku, Chinku and Pinku had just finished their homework. It was raining outside so they decided to play some indoor games.

“It has been rather long since we played Ludo,” said Rinku.

Hearing what Rinku was saying about the game Chinku also got excited. He said, “Let’s play Ludo. It will be quite interesting, and I like to cut others’ token too.”

Hearing this Tinku said, “But when your token gets cut, you start crying.”

Chinku replied, “That was a long time back when I was younger. Today if my token gets cut, I will not cry.”

All of the friends started playing. They got some of their tokens cut and the other tokens reached home. They didn’t notice that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining outside.

The game was interesting, until suddenly Bunty, the rat came in and said, “My dear friends, please allow me to play with you.”

If Bunty had to play, one of the other four rats would have to leave as only four people are allowed to play Ludo on one board.

No Place to Play

They thought about ways in which they could stop Bunty from joining this game.

Rinku who had a sharp memory said, “Bunty, we would have allowed you to play, but there’s a thing we don’t like about you.”

“What is that?” said Bunty, quite surprised.

“You don’t have a bath every day, and stink. We can’t make you sit near us,” said Rinku.

Hearing this Bunty said, “Ah! Luckily today I took a shower and I have worn neat clothes too. If you don’t believe what I’m saying, you can smell me. I am not stinking.”

All of them realised that Bunty was saying the truth.

“Now what can we tell him?” thought Tinku, scratching his head Tinku said, “It’s okay that you have taken a bath but your tail is still very dirty. It is too long. When you move around, it touches the ground.”

Bunty saw that his tail was really very long and dirty too.

“No problem, I will wash it and come back,” said Bunty.

Bunty went near the tap and washed his tail nicely. He came back and said, “Now you see how clean my tail is. Can I play with you?”

Rinku, Chinku, Tinku and Pinku saw Bunty’s tail was neat and clean.

“How can we tackle him?” thought Tinku.

Right then Pinku said, “Your tail is neat but it’s still wet. Go and dry it.”

“But how shall I dry my tail? I don’t have a towel or handkerchief to dry it,” said Bunty, sounding sad.

“Go and stand under the sun. When it dries, you can come in and play with us,” said Pinku.

Poor Bunty went and stood under the sun, waiting for his tail to dry.

When his tail dried, Bunty came in and said, “See, my tail is dry. Now, do you have any problem if I join you in your game?”

All four rats saw that Bunty’s tail was clean and dry. But they still didn’t want him to join their game and they were thinking of new reasons to send him away.

Rinku said, “It would be lovely if you could play with us, but you don’t know how to count. How will you move your token?”

Hearing Rinku’s words Bunty became very sad. He did not know how to read and write. His parents tried to send him to school but he did not go. He was only interested in playing games and roaming around. He started to cry.

Seeing this, all four of them felt bad. Pinku said, “Don’t cry Bunty, we were just joking. Play with us, but you have to be somebody’s partner. You throw the dice and your partner will move the token. This way you will also enjoy the game. And from now on if you want to play this game you have to learn to count.”

Hearing Pinku’s words Bunty said, “From now on I will also go to school and study so that I can enjoy all these things. I have lost on many things because I did not know how to read and write. I was always dependant on other people to send messages, or to use a mobile, or play games or even while dialling a phone number.”

Hearing this, all four friends said, “We will help you in your studies and also teach you.”

Everybody started playing Ludo together and enjoyed it too.

Little Rony’s Adventure

Six-year-old Rony was in a very good mood while returning from school one day. On his mind was the new storybook he would read before bedtime that night.

But as Rony walked into his bedroom, he found that his mother had moved all of his toys, clothes and books from his room to the big bedroom at the top of the stairwell.

Rony ran into the big bedroom and found his mother cleaning the cupboards.

“Why have you moved my things here, Mom? I don’t like this room!” cried Rony.

“Didn’t you say the other day that you loved the view from this room’s window? You can see the streets and the cars that pass by. You can see our entire garden and the valley from this window!” said Mom, excited.

Rony looked around the room. The window did have a beautiful view. Rony walked over to the window. His pet cat, Mister Paw, was sleeping under the huge spruce tree in the garden. His golden-brown fur shone in the afternoon sun.

Soon, the sun would set, and everything outside would be dark. Rony shivered at that thought.

“I know, but I don’t like this room at night!” cried Rony, his eyes full of fear. He didn’t want to be in this room alone. This room was farthest from his parents’ bedroom.

Mom patted Rony’s head and said, “You are a big boy now. There is no need to be scared, we are right across the hall. You can call me and I will be by your side. You have a big reading area here and look at the cupboard and trunk where you can keep all your toys. Isn’t this a much better place than your small bedroom?”

“No! I don’t want this room! Trisha says there’s a little old man with a long, white beard that reaches his shoes, he lives on the tree outside this window,” said Rony, pointing at the spruce tree. “She also said that he comes into this room every night! He searches the house for chocolates. If he doesn’t find any, he takes away little children and keeps them in his treehouse forever!”

“Rony, don’t listen to everything Trisha says. She reads horror stories all the time and gets scared. There are no old men in trees,” said Mom.

Rony stubbornly said, “I heard him last night! He was searching for chocolates outside my room! I will not sleep in this bedroom, Mom!”

“Rony, no more excuses. This is your room from today onwards and you will have to start sleeping here. I will not listen to your silly stories. You are going to be a big brother soon. You must start acting like one,” Mom firmly said.

Mom finished cleaning the cupboard and went out. Poor Rony could do nothing but sit on his little armchair and cry!

That night, as Rony finished eating his dinner of carrot soup and soft, warm bread, he suddenly realised he would be sleeping in his new, big bedroom. There was only a crib in his old bedroom, for the baby his parents were expecting.

Even the storybook at his bedtime failed to make Rony happy. He slowly made his way towards his bedroom with Mister Paw.

Standing in the doorway, Rony carefully looked around the room. His bed was in the middle of the room. To the right, there was a tall, wooden bookshelf that covered most of the wall. Mom had put all his books neatly.

There were a table and chair, along with a couch where Rony could lay all day and read his favourite books. Opposite his bed, there was a wardrobe which had his clothes. To the left of the bed, there was a big trunk with his toys. And right above the trunk was the window. Rony felt his legs wobble.

Rony decided to be brave, as his mother had told him to be. He thought to himself, “I am a big boy. Mom is right. I must not get scared. If the little old man comes tonight, I will be ready.”

Rony opened his school bag, took out a bar of milk chocolate and kept it in a corner of his room. He took his wooden sword and shield out of his toy trunk and got into bed. He hid them well under his blanket.

Rony’s room was nice and warm, and he felt much safer under the blankets. Surely, the little old man with a long beard would be cold outside. Rony jumped from his bed and went to the window. It was a windy night, with no clouds in the sky. The moon and stars shone against the deep blue sky.

Rony looked down. The leaves of the spruce tree in the garden was moving in the wind. Or was it the little old man climbing it? Rony ran back to his bed.

Rony tucked his sword and shield properly beside him and tried to fall asleep. He could feel the quietness around him. His parents had gone to bed already. The window was locked, he was safe for now. If the old man did manage to come in for the bar of chocolate, Rony thought he would spring out of his bed and beat him up.

Thinking about the old man, Rony fell asleep. Suddenly, he was woken up by a noise in the room. Someone was knocking at the window!

The knocks grew louder and louder. Rony stayed under his blankets, not daring to look outside. All of a sudden, he thought he heard a noise in the room.

“It must be the little old man! He has managed to sneak inside!” thought Rony.

Rony grabbed his sword tightly and jumped out of the blankets.

“Where is the little old man?” thought Rony. He switched on the bedside lamp and looked around. There was no one in the room!

Rony suddenly heard a noise from the corner of the room. He tiptoed across the room quietly. When he reached the corner, he found a big squirrel seated comfortably there, biting on the bar of chocolate Rony had kept for catching the little old man!

“It has been a squirrel all this time?” Rony sighed in relief. “Mom was right! There was no little old man! I have nothing to be afraid of.”

The next morning, when Mom asked Rony if he was comfortable in his new room, Rony said, “I love my room, Mom! I am a big boy now!”

The Birthday Adventure

Dina, the deer decided to organise her birthday party on a ferry. She hired a ferry and invited all her friends.

It was a bright and sunny day when they set sail. Everyone on board was having a good time. When Dina was about to cut the cake, the ferry rocked, throwing everybody off balance.

The wind had suddenly picked up speed and was creating strong currents and big waves.

Spot, the deer, who was the captain of the ferry, was trying to control the ferry. From his cabin, he sounded the emergency alarm. “There is going to be a lot of turbulence! Please be alert and safe! I request everybody to wear their life jackets,” he announced.

Ricky, the rabbit ran to Captain Spot and asked, “What is wrong, Captain?”

“The ferry is out of control. The currents are too strong and I’m unable to steer the ferry. If this continues we may have to abandon the ferry,” said Captain Spot.

“Don’t worry, Captain. Please control the ferry as best as you can. I will try to come up with a plan,” said Ricky.

Ricky ran back to the deck. Everyone was scared. Ricky calmed them down. He then looked out to the sea with a pair of binoculars. There was no sign of land nearby but he spotted a school of dolphins. He quickly signalled to them by waving a red flag. Ricky hoped that his friend Dolly, the dolphin would be among them.

A few months ago, Dolly had washed up on the shore because of high tide. She was stuck on the beach, unable to get back into the water. Ricky and his friend Elna, the elephant had happened to see Dolly while walking on the beach.

They pushed her back into the sea. Since that incident, Dolly had become good friends with Ricky and Elna.

The dolphins saw Ricky waving for help and rushed towards the ferry.

“Hey, Ricky! Are you in trouble? What happened?” asked Dolly.

Ricky told her about the problem.

“Don’t worry, Ricky. My friends and I will help keep the ferry stable and we’ll steer

it towards the closest island for now,” she said.

“Thank you, Dolly!” said a relieved Ricky. He rushed to inform Captain Spot about

the plan.

With the help of Dolly and her friends, Captain Spot was able to steer the ferry towards an island. Everyone got off the ferry.

Captain Spot checked the ferry and said, “Oh no! The engine requires some repair and the compass is broken! How will we return home?”

Dina began to cry. “This is my fault! If I hadn’t insisted on celebrating my birthday on a ferry, we wouldn’t be stranded on this island.”

“It’s nobody’s fault, Dina. We’ll come up with a plan,” said Ricky reassuringly. He then turned to Captain Spot and said, “Captain, please try to fix the ferry’s engine. I’ll speak to Dolly and see if she can help us.”

“This is not a problem. Whenever the ferry is ready, just let us know. We’ll guide

the ferry back to your home. We know the way. We don’t need a compass,” said Dolly.

Captain Spot was able to repair the ferry’s engine. All the passengers boarded the ferry again. Dolly and her friends swam ahead, showing the way. Finally, the ferry reached home safely. Everybody thanked the dolphins.

“If it weren’t for you, we would have been stranded. Thank you, Dolly!” said Ricky.

“Yes. Thanks to you, my birthday party can continue. I would like to invite you and your friends to join us,” said Dina.

Dolly and her friends happily agreed. Everyone had a good time at the party.

Jijo’s New Bike

Jijo, the jackal loved motorbikes. He constantly asked his father to get him one.

“You are so little! You should just use the bicycle for now,” was his father’s reply.

Jijo thought he was old enough to use a bike. But all he had was an old and worn-out bicycle.

One day, Jijo decided to ask his father for a bike again. He went up to him and said, “I want a bike. I know how to drive one. Why won’t you buy one for me?”

His father said, “Bike is a lot of responsibility. Will you be able to take care of it? You should assure me that you will drive safely and follow all the rules.”

“Yes, yes, I will!” assured Jijo.

His father had a list of conditions for Jijo: “Every month, I’ll give you money for just four litres of fuel. You should use the

bike only to run important errands. You should always inform us before using the bike and most importantly, you must learn all the traffic rules.”

Jijo was a bit taken aback to hear so many conditions. He reluctantly agreed.

The following month, Jijo’s father got him a new bike. Jijo was overjoyed. He made up different excuses so that he would be allowed to ride it. And as he was allowed only four litres of fuel in a month, he could not ride very far. His friends too wanted to drive his bike. But Jijo felt restricted by all the conditions his father had set for him.

One day, Jijo’s friend, Fredo, the fox came to visit him.

Fredo said, “Jijo, there’s a fair being held on the outskirt of the forest. Why don’t we go there on your bike?”

“There’s hardly any fuel left in the bike. And I don’t have money to buy more fuel,” said Jijo.

“One litre is more than enough for us to go to the fair and return as well,” said Fredo.

“But Dad will not give me permission to go that far,” said Jijo.

“Ask your mother. She might have some errand for you to run and using that as an excuse, we can go to the fair and have some fun,” said Fredo.

Jijo informed his mother that he and Fredo were going to the market to buy some fruits. After she agreed, the two set off for the fair.

Jijo and Fredo enjoyed themselves at the fair. They had lots of fun eating ice creams and fried snacks. They went on different rides and spent the entire day there.

After it started getting dark, they set off for home. They had travelled only a small distance when the bike stopped suddenly. Jijo checked the fuel tank. It was empty.

“How will we go home now?” worried Jijo.

Fredo had an idea.

“Don’t worry! Sit on the bike and I’ll push it from behind.

After a while, I’ll sit on the bike and you push. This way, we will eventually reach home,” said Fredo.

So, the two took turns to push the bike and reached home late in the night. By then, both of them had become tired.

On reaching home, Jijo thought to himself, “My old bicycle is so much better! It looks worn out but it has never stopped working. It was good for my health as well.”

After that day, Jijo got back to using his bicycle and used the bike only when he needed to.

Riya’s Train Journey

Eight-year-old Riya was going to stay with her aunt, Anita for the summer holidays. While Riya stayed at Kurla, a residential area in Mumbai, her aunt lived in Thane, a district neighbouring Mumbai.

Aunt Anita had come to take Riya to her house. Riya was excited and had packed her bags well in advance. As they walked, Riya asked, Will we be taking the bus to your house, Aunt Anita?”

“No. The bus usually takes too long.

We’ll take the suburban train,” replied Aunt Anita.

“What’s a suburban train?” asked Riya.

“Unlike trains that connect one city to another, the suburban trains connect all the important locations within a city. They also connect the towns on the outskirts from where many people travel to the city on a daily basis,” explained Aunt Anita.

“This is going to be my first time travelling in a suburban train!” said Riya excitedly.

“In that case, let me explain everything about the suburban train system as we go,” said Aunt Anita. “But first, we need to buy the ticket.”

As soon as they reached the Kurla suburban railway station, Aunt Anita and Riya stood in a queue at the ticket counter.

“This is where we have to buy the tickets. However, there are also vending machines from which you can buy tickets faster. Passengers who travel regularly can buy a season ticket, which is valid for a long period like one or three months,” said Aunt Anita.

After purchasing the tickets, Aunt Anita said, “We can now board any train that will take us to Thane. There are fast trains with fewer stops or slow trains that stop at every station and take longer. Once we decide which train to take, we’ll need to check the board and find out which platform we need to go to.”

Riya and Aunt Anita climbed the stairs leading to the platform.

“Aunt Anita, when was the first suburban train service started?” asked Riya.

“The first local train service was started by the British in the year 1653 from the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus in South Mumbai to Thane,” said Aunt Anita.

After reaching the platform, the two found an empty bench and sat down. There was still some time for the train to arrive.

Aunt Anita pointed to an electronic display board and said, “Look up there. That board shows which train is coming next and where it is headed to.”

Riya looked at the board. The train to Thane was due to arrive at the platform.

Aunt Anita started telling Riya about the different train routes in Mumbai. “Mumbai has four train routes: Western line connects the western suburbs or residential areas; Harbour line connects the suburbs of Navi Mumbai to the central areas of Mumbai; Central line connects the areas within the centre of the city; the Trans Harbour line connects the suburbs between Thane and Panvel.”

Riya then looked around the train station. She noticed a cobbler shining a customer’s shoes, a vendor selling peanuts and several stalls selling food and magazines.

Soon their train arrived at the platform. Riya and Aunt Anita stepped onto the train and found a seat by the window.

“Being a weekday afternoon, the train is quite empty today. Good for us,” said Aunt Anita.

“Why were some people running to board a different compartment?” asked Riya.

“That is because there are different compartments in the train: the First Class compartments have tickets that are more expensive than the other compartments; Second Class compartments have relatively cheaper tickets; Ladies compartments are specifically reserved for women; and there’s one for the physically challenged, cancer patients and senior citizens for them to travel safely,” explained Aunt Anita.

“I also saw a couple of boys climbing onto the train’s rooftop. Why were they doing that?” asked Riya.

“It is against the law to travel on the roof of the train. But some do it to avoid getting caught for travelling without a ticket and some do it for fun. This is dangerous. You might also see some people hanging out of the train and waving their hands. That is very unsafe,” said Aunt Anita.

“Our train is so dirty!” said Riya, looking around the compartment.

“Yes, it is. But we are responsiblefor this dirt. Over 70 lakh people commute by local trains every day. It is we who litter the trains. Some passengers even chew paan and spit inside the compartment. We should be more responsible and stop dirtying our trains,” said Aunt Anita.

After an hour, the train reached Thane station. Riya and Aunt Anita got off the train.

“My first local train journey was so much fun. I got to learn so many things. Thank you, Aunt Anita!” said Riya, happily.

Aunt Anita smiled and said, “I am glad you enjoyed your train journey. Mumbai’s train services are constantly changing. So, in a few years’ time, the trains and the stations could be very different from what you see today. The government is introducing free Wi-Fi in the stations and installing escalators too. There are also plans to have air-conditioned compartments. This will greatly improve the experience of travelling in a train.”

Riya agreed. She could not wait to tell her friends about her experience of travelling in a local train.

A Happy Reunion

One day, a fawn was roaming around the forest with his mother and the rest of the herd. A colourful butterfly caught his attention and he began chasing it. After sometime, when he turned around, his family was nowhere in sight. They had moved on. He became scared and ran around in search of his mother. As he ran, he slipped and fell, hurting one of his legs. It was late in the evening. He did not know what to do.

The fawn noticed a light coming from far away. He started limping towards it. The light was from a house. When he reached the gate, a dog started barking. This scared the fawn, but since he could not run and was too tired, he simply sat down.

Eight-year-old Ankur came out of the house on hearing his dog bark. He saw a small animal sitting in front of the gate. But in the dark, he could not make out what it was.

“Dad, look! There is an animal in front of our house,” Ankur called out to his father.

Armed with a stick and torchlight, Ankur’s father approached the animal cautiously.

“Oh! This is a fawn! And I think he has hurt his leg,” said Dad.

Ankur walked up to the fawn and saw him staring back at them.

“He needs help. Ankur, hold the torch while I carry him inside,” said Dad.

Ankur’s father was a forest officer and therefore, he knew how to give first aid to injured animals. He picked up the fawn and brought him into the house. With Ankur’s help, his father cleaned the fawn’s wounds and covered them with bandages.

“He must have got separated from his herd. What do we do, Dad?” asked Ankur.

“We cannot do much now as it’s already dark. The fawn can stay in our house tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’ll look for his herd and return him to his family,” said Dad.

“But Dad, can’t we keep him with us?” asked Ankur.

“Son, you know how worried your mother and I get when you don’t return from the playground on time. Similarly, just imagine how worried this fawn’s mother would be. Just like you, he needs his family, too,” said Dad.

“You are right, Dad,” said Ankur. “Can I come along with you tomorrow?”

“Of course!” replied Dad, smiling. Next morning, Ankur and his father woke up early. Dad put the fawn inside a large box.

“Dad, why did you put the fawn inside a box?” asked Ankur.

“The fawn cannot walk properly as his wounds haven’t healed yet. So, we’ll need to carry him. It is easier to carry him with this box; this way, he will also be safe from being attacked by other animals in the forest,” explained Dad.

Ankur and his father then set off into the forest with the fawn. They searched the forest floor for tracks that may have been left by the herd of deer. After walking a short distance, they found the tracks.

“Look, Ankur! These hoofprints belong to the herd of deer. It must be around here somewhere. Walk quietly and keep an eye out for the herd,” said Dad.

Ankur and his father followed the hoofprints. Soon, they found the herd grazing in a small clearing. They stopped a short distance from the herd and took the fawn out of the box. They nudged him in the herd’s direction. As soon as the fawn saw his family, he cried loudly and limped towards them. His mother ran towards him and licked him all over. Ankur and his father were elated to see the fawn reunited with his mother.

Cheeku Breaks the Spell

Cheeku rabbit went to the palace to meet King Shersingh.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness? Why did you want to see me urgently?” asked Cheeku

“I’m sorry to have disturbed you so early in the morning, but have you read today’s newspaper?” asked King Shersingh.

“I haven’t read the paper yet, Your Highness. I was still sleeping when you called and I came immediately,” replied Cheeku.

“There is a report in Champakvan Times about a theft that took place last night. The thief has stolen lots of valuables from Blacky bear’s jewellery shop,” said King Shersingh, pointing at the newspaper.

“Two more robberies have also took place recently. The police needs to be more vigilant,” said Cheeku.

“Yes, you are right. However, I want to draw your attention to something else mentioned in the report. Here, read the newspaper report,” said King Shersingh, handing the newspaper to Cheeku.

According to the report, the thief entered Blacky’s shop at around midnight and stole all the jewellery. It also mentioned that the thief’s face was captured by the CCTV cameras installed in the shop and he was identified as Baddy fox.

Cheeku was astonished. “How is this possible? Isn’t Baddy in jail?” he asked.

“This is what I wanted to discuss with you, Cheeku. Yes, Baddy is in jail. The guards have also confirmed that he was in jail last night,” said King Shersingh.

“Could it be possible that Baddy escaped from jail for a few hours and somehow managed to get back by morning?” asked Cheeku.

“No, Cheeku. That is not possible as the jail is well guarded and there are cameras installed everywhere. There is no way he could have got out unseen,” informed King Shersingh.

“Maybe a guard may have helped him to get out of jail,” said Cheeku.

“That’s not possible either. I have full faith in all the guards working at the jail,” said King Shersingh.

King Shersingh hesitated for a moment and then said, “There is one more thing. Baddy knows black magic. Do you think he could have used it?”

“Black magic? Have you also started believing in such things?” asked Cheeku.

“A few days ago, Champak Times reporter Sonu deer had interviewed Baddy. At that time, Baddy claimed that he knew black magic and that he could use it to travel to any place and do anything. Now, more questions will be raised after these robberies,” said King Shersingh.

“This is indeed a complicated matter,” said Cheeku.

“Cheeku, you are the only one who can solve this. Please do something,” King Shersingh said.

“I’ll start working on this right away,” assured Cheeku.

Cheeku called up Meeku and requested him to help. The two then went to Blacky’s jewellery shop. After asking the police for permission, Cheeku and Meeku went inside and saw that everything was in a mess.

Cheeku then repeatedly played and checked the camera recordings. When Meeku saw a smile on Cheeku’s face, he said. “I think you have found a clue. Do tell me as well,” said Meeku.

Cheeku paused the recording and pointed to the screen. “Look carefully,” he said. “Three animals walk in to steal the jewellery. Two of them have covered their faces with a mask. However, only Baddy’s face is not covered. He also keeps looking at the camera. It appears as if he wanted his face to be captured by the camera.”

“You are right. But how is it possible for Baddy to be in two places at the same time?” asked Meeku.

On that “I am confused as well. Let’ go talk to Baddy,” said Cheeku.

Cheeku and Meeku went to the jail.

“What is the matter, Cheeku?” asked Baddy casually.

“I want to ask you a few questions,” replied Cheeku. “Where were you last night?”

“I was right here, practising black magic,” replied Baddy.

“So, it wasn’t you that broke into the jewellery shop last night?” asked Cheeku.

“Ha ha! That was me! Using black magic, I can travel to any place. These bars can’t restrain me!” replied Baddy.

“I am sure there is some explanation behind all this. I will find out soon,” said Cheeku.

“What if Baddy puts some spell on you?” asked Meeku nervously.

“Black magic is a hoax. He is trying to fool us. Come, let’s meet Jumpy monkey, the jail warden,” said Cheeku.

Jumpy was eager to meet Cheeku. He asked, “Were you able to find out how Baddy was able to get out of jail? Does he really know black magic?”

“I haven’t fully understood what is happening but I know that there is some trickery going on. Please give me the list of people who came to visit him recently,” said Cheeku.

“Only Laptu jackal comes to meet him. Both of them speak for a long time, but the guards don’t understand what they talk. They talk to each other in a different language,” said Jumpy.

Cheeku was intrigued. Meeku noted the date and time of Laptu’s visits. They then went to meet Titu butterfly. Cheeku requested her to keep an eye on Laptu. Next morning, King Shersingh called Cheeku and Meeku to the palace.

At the palace, King Shersingh said, “There was a robbery again last night. Items worth lakhs of rupees have been stolen from Damru donkey’s shop. The cameras in the shop show Baddy and two other masked animals stealing everything.”

Cheeku and Meeku were astonished. They immediately went to Titu. She told them everything she had observed about Laptu.

Cheeku and Meeku returned to their house and devised a plan. Then, he called some of the animals to help.

“We have to spread a rumour about a diamond that is kept in the Champakvan museum. Let it reach Laptu’s ears that since there are so many robberies happening, King Shersingh has ordered it to be shifted to another museum in the neighbouring forest. As this is being done in a hurry, there won’t be much security and there will only be a few cameras in the room,” Cheeku told the animals.

As planned, the rumour reached Laptu. So, he rushed to the jail to meet Baddy.

When Titu informed Cheeku about it, he said, “We will get to know everything tonight.”

That evening, Cheeku and Meeku went to the museum and hid behind some bushes from where they could see the entrance clearly.

By midnight, a vehicle came to halt outside the museum. Three animals alighted from the vehicle and entered the museum.

Cheeku quickly phoned the police. The police arrived and arrested all the three animals inside the museum. King Shersingh too arrived at the scene.

“How come Baddy is here when he should be in jail?” asked King Shersingh.

“That is because this is not Baddy, but his look-alike,” said Cheeku smiling.

Everyone was shocked!

“The look-alike is the one who committed all the robberies. While committing the crimes, Baddy would pretend to use black magic. Thus, everyone started believing that Baddy was using black magic to move in and out of jail.”

The look-alike said, “Yes, he is right. My name is Bobo. I recently came to Champakvan in search of a job. When Laptu saw me and he befriended me and then told me about this plan. I agreed to do this as I was in need of money.”

Bobo added, “Laptu would meet Baddy and make plans. They communicated in some secret language so that no one would be able to understand them.”

Meeku turned to Cheeku and asked, “How did you figure out Bobo is a look-alike?”

“Bobo’s face was clearly seen in the camera recordings of all the shops. Although Bobo looks like Baddy, if you observe carefully, you will find some differences. Also, the recording shows Baddy with long nails, but that afternoon when I visited him, he had short nails. That is why I thought that the robber was not Baddy but his look-alike.” Everyone praised Cheeku for his intelligence.

The Special Pooja

All the animals of the forest of Doodlevan were worried about the late arrival of monsoon. The pond had dried up, so they had to go far in search of water. Every day, all the animals and birds would gather around the biggest banyan tree, looking up at the sky for any sign of rain.

One day, Loki, the eagle informed the animals that he saw Jacky, the jackal walking towards Doodlevan with two monkeys who looked like babas.

“Why are they coming here?” asked Popo, the parrot.

“To make it rain in our forest,” said Loki.

“Who told you?” asked Eddie, the elephant.

“Jacky told me. They are all well-known babas. After they perform a special pooja here, it will begin to rain and all our worries will be over,” replied Loki.

“I don’t believe it,” said Charlie, the rabbit.

“Why do you say so?” asked Miko, the mouse.

“This seems suspicious. This could be a trick. These monkeys will rob everyone and escape from the forest,” said Charlie.

“How do you know?” asked Loki. “I believe these babas can do anything. They have divine powers.”

“So, let them make it rain wherever they are. We didn’t ask for it,” said Charlie.

“Come on, Charlie. It is just a pooja. Everyone believes it will rain after the pooja,” said Loki.

“Everyone?” asked Charlie.

“Yes, even King Leo, the lion believes it. That’s why he has asked me to inform everyone about it. The pooja will start tomorrow itself.”

“What?!” exclaimed Charlie and Miko.

“There is nothing to be surprised about,” said Loki, flying away to tell others.

By evening, the news had spread throughout the jungle. Jacky and the two babas, Chimpu baba and Chiko baba, began preparing for the pooja.

“Chimpu baba is always in meditation and does not like to be disturbed. It was only on Jacky’s request that he agreed to come to Doodlevan to

perform the pooja,” said Chiko baba.

“It is very kind of him. If the monsoonis delayed anymore, we’ll all be forced to move out of this forest,” said Loki.

“It has not rained here because the values

of honesty and justice are not followed. This has displeased the gods. That is why the clouds have changed their path,” said Chiko baba.

“You are right,” said Loki.

“Now, we will need different items for the pooja. A feast must be organised after it pooja,” said Chiko baba.

“What is Chimpu baba’s fee?” asked Loki.

“That depends on your devotion. The more gifts you give Chimpu baba, the more you will benefit. Though Chimpu baba wishes well for everyone, the one who gifts him the most will receive special blessings,” explained Chiko baba.

Charlie listened to the conversation from a distance. He called Miko and asked him to keep an eye on Chimpu baba.

“But why do you not trust the babas?” asked Miko.

“My friend in Riddlevan told me that a couple of months ago, two notorious monkeys cheated many animals in their forest by selling fake gold bars. Once the animals complained to the police, the monkeys vanished. The police are still looking for them. So, I have a suspicion that these two babas could be those monkeys in disguise,” explained Charlie.

Charlie went to talk to Boko, the bear about his suspicion. Since Boko worked for King Leo, he would be able to alert him.

“Are you sure?” asked Boko.

“Yes. Look here,” said Charlie, showing Boko a photo on his phone. “My friend just sent me the photos of the two monkeys wanted by the police at Riddlevan. Don’t they look like Chimpu baba and Chiko baba? We need to arrest them.”

“But what about the pooja? What if it does rain after it?” asked Boko.

“Boko, delayed monsoon has got nothing to do with angry gods wanting to be pleased. It is to do with us mindlessly cutting trees and using up groundwater. We must harvest rainwater, plant more trees and use water sensibly,” said Charlie.

“You’re right. We need to stop these monkeys before they cheat us. I think Jacky too is involved. I’m going to inform Inspector Giro, the giraffe right away,” said Boko.

As soon as Jacky, Chimpu baba and Chiko baba saw the police, they tried to escape but Inspector Giro managed to catch them.

The other animals were surprised. Boko then explained everything to them. Everyone thanked Charlie for his alertness.

“Now I hope everyone has understood that we cannot make it rain by performing some pooja but only by planting trees and harvesting rainwater,” said Charlie.

A Lesson under the Lake

One day, during the summer vacations, sisters Ashna and Prachi, went to Lumbini Park in Hyderabad to see the statue of Gautama Buddha, built on a small island in the middle of the Hussain Sagar Lake next to the park.

To see the statue up close, visitors had to take a ferry from the park to the island. Being vacation time, there was a long queue for the ferry ride.

Ashna was bored. “When will we get on the boat, Didi?” she asked her sister.

“It looks like it is going to take a while. That is why I asked you to bring a storybook to read,” replied Prachi, looking at the long queue.

Prachi liked to read books. She carried one wherever she went. It came in handy while waiting—be it at the doctor’s clinic, the salon, or even at the supermarket check-out counter.

Ashna too liked to read books, but she preferred making up stories in her head over reading.

As the sisters waited in the queue for their turn to board the ferry, Ashna heard someone calling out to her. She turned around and saw a girl in the lake.

“Hello, Ashna!” greeted the girl.

“Hello,” Ashna replied hesitantly.

“I am Mandira,” said the girl. “Are you waiting for the ferry ride?”

Ashna nodded her head.

“It’s going to take you a while to board the ferry. In the meantime, why don’t you come visit my house? I live in this lake,” said Mandira.

“Really?” asked Ashna surprised. “How can I visit you?”

“Just hold my hand,” said Mandira.

Ashna held Mandira’s hand and slipped into the water. That’s when she saw that Mandira did not have legs. She had a tail fin like a fish! Ashna realised that Mandira was a mermaid.

Ashna and Mandira held hands and swam all around the lake. Mandira led Ashna deep underwater. There were many fish, frogs, tiny crabs and some small water snakes as well.

“Mandira, is that a lizard?” asked Ashna, pointing to a lizard-like animal.

“No, Ashna. That is a salamander. It looks like a lizard but is actually an amphibian,” said Mandira.

“What is an amphibian?” asked Ashna.

“Amphibians are creatures that live on land as well as in water, like frogs. Although salamanders look like lizards, they are comfortable both inside and outside of the water,” explained Mandira.

Ashna was amazed. The salamander waved at her before walking away. Another sight caught Ashna’s eyes.

“Look, Mandira! There is a snail stuck in the mud near the edge of the lake,” said Ashna.

“No, Ashna. That’s not a snail; it’s a slug. A snail has a shell on its back but slugs don’t,” said Mandira.

“You know so many things, Mandira!” said Ashna in awe.

“That’s nothing, Ashna. The lake is my home. So, I know all my neighbours,” said Mandira.

“But why do they look unhappy?” asked Ashna.

“This is because of the pollution caused by human beings who dump garbage and other waste in the lake. This makes the lake dirty and dangerous for us to live in,” said Mandira.

Ashna saw a beautiful palace ahead, but the walls were very dirty. “Is this where you live?” she asked Mandira.

“Yes,” replied Mandira.

“Why is it so dirty?” asked Ashna.

“Not just mine; everyone’s house is dirty. We clean our houses every day, but by evening, they become dirty again. Polluted water from factories, homes and hospitals flows into the lake. Many creatures have died because of this. They cannot breathe in this dirty water,” said Mandira sadly. “See those children standing at the edge of the lake? They are throwing empty plastic covers into the water. These covers choke small fish and turtles.”

“Oh!” Ashna was very sad to hear all this. “Please tell me how we can help you, Mandira.”

“You can start by asking you family and friends to protect the lake by not throwing garbage into lakes and rivers; recycle and reuse plastic; dispose them responsibly.

Besides keeping our water bodies clean, it is also important to plant trees to ensure adequate rainfall,” said Mandira.

“I will surely tell my family and friends to do their bit for our planet,” promised Ashna.

“Thank you, Ashna,” said Mandira, who was back to her cheerful self again. “Come, I’ll take you back to your sister. Hold my hand.”

Suddenly, Ashna heard her sister calling out to her. “Wake up, Ashna! It is our turn to board the ferry.”

Ashna woke up and looked around dazed.

“Oh, Didi! Was this all a just a dream?” asked Ashna.

“What was?” asked Prachi puzzled. Ashna narrated her dream to Prachi.

Prachi smiled and said, “Though it was only a dream, there was a harsh truth in your dream. Our planet is full of garbage that is harming the environment.”

“Yes, we must speak to our parents, teachers and classmates, and tell them to keep our rivers, lakes and ponds clean. We should plant more trees as well,” said Ashna. The sisters agreed to take steps to make the planet greener.

Greedy Cockroaches

A group of cockroaches lived in a garbage bin outside a five-star hotel. They were leading a happy life, feasting on a variety of tasty food discarded from the hotel’s kitchen. They were growing fatter by the day.

Cockroaches love to eat. In fact, there may be no other creature as gluttonous as the cockroach. It can eat almost anything—from decaying plants and dead wood to sweets, meat, vegetables and rice. Because of this unique quality, cockroaches have been able to outlive dinosaurs and may even outlive humans.

Mojo, one of the cockroaches that lived outside the hotel, was the fattest. He dreamed of entering the hotel and living a life of luxury—eating fresh food and partying like the humans.

One day, Mojo was looking into the hotel from the window as usual when Rojo came up to him and said, “Mojo, stop dreaming about entering the hotel. This is a five-star hotel. Cockroaches are not allowed inside!”

“I know that. But no one can stop me from entering it. You just wait and watch,” said Mojo stubbornly.

“Mojo, this is for your own good. You have no idea how scared humans are of cockroaches. They worry about us spreading diseases. So, they use insect sprays to kill us,” said Rojo.

“Don’t worry, Rojo. Nothing will happen to me. I am too smart for the humans,” said Mojo confidently.

Right then, an employee of the hotel came out and emptied the garbage bin. On seeing this, Mojo and the other cockroaches hungrily jumped on the pile of discarded food to eat it.

After that day, Mojo began looking for ways to enter the hotel. One day, Mojo noticed an opening in the ground. He entered it and realised he was inside a water pipe that led directly into the hotel. He eagerly walked along the pipe. After walking a short distance, Mojo succeeded in reaching the hotel’s restroom.

As soon as he was inside the hotel, Mojo screamed and danced happily on the toilet seat in the restroom. He felt like he had won a lottery.

That day on, Mojo would hide in a dark corner and sleep all day. At night, he would come out of his hiding spot and enjoy the parties, dance and eat all the fresh, delicious food.

After two months inside the hotel, Mojo missed his friends. So, he decided to pay them a visit. Mojo wore a suit and went outside through the water pipe to meet them.

All the cockroaches were surprised to see him.

“Hey, Mojo! You look great! Where have you been all these days? Have you been roaming around the city?” asked Rojo.

“What will I do roaming around the city in this heat? I have been living comfortably inside the hotel. I missed all of you and so, I came to see you,” replied Mojo.

“What? Have you been living inside the five-star hotel? Didn’t the humans chase you out?” asked another cockroach surprised.

“Humans are not that sharp. I’m having so much fun hiding right under their noses. They have no idea of all the mischief I have been up to. I am clever, aren’t I?” said Mojo proudly.

“Yes, you indeed are. But tell us, what have you been eating and doing inside?” asked another cockroach. They were all curious.

“You have no idea of the variety of food I get inside. I eat fresh fruits, cakes, pastries, ice creams and vegetables. I also enjoy listening to good music and dancing during their parties,” said Mojo.

“Wow! You must take us with you when you go in again. We are all fed up of staying in this smelly garbage bin. We also want to live a comfortable life like you,” said all the cockroaches.

Mojo thought about it and said, “Okay. I will take you inside the hotel but under one condition—you have to accept me as your leader.”

“That’s no big deal. From this moment onwards, you are our leader. Now, lead us into the hotel,” they said.

Rojo was not happy about the plan. He was worried for his friends’ safety. He tried to make them understand.

“Friends, please listen to me. Don’t go inside the hotel. If the humans see you, they will kill you,” reasoned Rojo.

“Rojo, you are just jealous of Mojo because he lives a life of luxury and that we made him our leader. You can stay here if you want, but we are going,” said the other cockroaches.

“Do as you wish. As your friend, it is my duty to caution you,” said Rojo.

Mojo waited till it became dark and then said, “Friends, now is the right time to enter. Nobody will see us. Just follow me.”

He led the other cockroaches through the water pipe and into the hotel. Once they were inside, the cockroaches were elated!

“Wow! Imagine the kind of food we will get to eat hereafter!” they said.

Mojo was proud that as their leader, he was the one to have led them into the hotel. He too celebrated with them.

Soon, the big group of cockroaches became hungry. They found lots of food laid out on a table. They swarmed it and started feasting on it.

The humans got scared on seeing so many cockroaches. They started screaming for help.

The manager of the hotel rushed to the spot. “This has never happened before. We’ll quickly kill all the cockroaches and clear the place. Please do not worry,” he assured the guests.

Since the cockroaches were busy eating the delicious food, they were unaware of the danger that lay in store for them. The employees sprayed an insect-repellent on the cockroaches.

Immediately, the spray started to take effect. The cockroaches began to feel giddy and started swaying.

“What is happening? Are we dying?” they panicked. “We shouldn’t have come here at all. We only came because Mojo lured us into the hotel. See what our greediness has cost us. We should have listened to Rojo.”

“Why are you blaming me?” snapped Mojo. “You asked me to take you inside the hotel. Because of you all, even I have been exposed.”

The cockroaches were struggling to breathe.

“My head is spinning.”

“I can’t see clearly!”

“I need fresh air!”

After all the cockroaches became unconscious, the employees swept them into a bag and threw them out into the garbage bin.

Rojo was shocked to see his friends lying unconscious in the garbage bin. He rushed to check on them. He tried to revive them up by shaking their heads and legs. One by one, the cockroaches woke up.

As soon as he saw Rojo, Mojo started crying. “Oh, Rojo! I should have listened to you. Instead, I took others with me into the hotel and put their life in danger. Please forgive me. I will not do anything foolish again,” he said.

“I hope you have learnt that we all have our own place. The dustbin is ours, while the hotel belongs to the humans,” said Rojo.

That day on, the cockroaches did not complain about their life. They were happy to look at the hotel from the outside.

Friendsville

Monty mouse was the leader of Miceville where many mice lived. One pleasant morning, Monty was having tea when a messenger from Elephant Town arrived with a message from Eddy elephant, the chief of Elephant Town.

The message read:

Dear Monty,

I hope you are doing well. As you may be aware, humans are cutting down trees in Elephant Town. This has forced us to move out our forest in search of a new place to live. But when we move to other forests, the animals there complain that we occupy too much space.

I heard that there is an unoccupied patch of land near Miceville. I checked the place and it looks large enough for the elephants. Since that land belongs to you, I request your permission for the elephants to live there.

We won’t come into your town unnecessarily and intrude. We will set up our own shops; that way, we will not need to visit your town. I would also like to request you to help us whenever hunters try to capture us.

You could cut the nets with your sharp teeth and rescue us. If you allow us to live in your forest, we will help you whenever cats threaten you.
I hope you will agree to my plan. Look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Eddy

Monty found the proposal agreeable. So, he immediately replied to the message inviting the elephants to live in the forest. The elephants were happy to receive a positive response.

After one week, the elephants moved into the forest. The elephants and the mice lived together peacefully and happily. The elephants saved the mice from cats and the mice saved the elephants from hunters.
After a few years, the mice changed the name of their forest to Friendsville.

The Proud Red Car

The stylish new red car was proud and boastful.

“I am much more beautiful than you,” it showed off to the other cars.

“Yes, you are,” agreed the old white car. “You are beautiful and technologically advanced than the rest of us.”

“And I forgot to tell you something,” said the red car. “My rear view mirror also doubles up as an electronic monitoring system. When I am reversing, it shows me if there is a vehicle or an object behind me. It makes a sound to alert me if it is too close to me.”

Does this help avoid accidents?” asked the white car.

“Yes,” replied the red car proudly.

Just then, Tommy, the dog walked by. Every day, he would climb up the hood of the white car and sleep for a while. Today, too he climbed up the white car. But then, he saw the red car and thought, “Here’s a new car today. Maybe I should sleep on it.”

The red car got scared on seeing Tommy preparing to jump on it. “If that dog jumps on me, he’ll cause dents and scratches. I must avoid him,” thought the red car.

As Tommy jumped, the red car quickly moved forward, taking him by surprise. Tommy fell on the ground. He was hurt. He got up, barked at the car and then walked away.

After a while, “I am going for a drive now,” said the red car.

“I’ll come with you, too,” said the

white car.

Just then, the red car had an idea. “Why don’t we have a race?” it suggested excitedly.

“You are sure to win,” said the white car. “I am old and heavier than you. I cannot move as fast as you.”

“That’s no excuse. Are you scared to race with me?” asked the red car.

“Not at all! Let’s race,” said the white car.

The cars took their positions next to each other. On the count of three, they set off fast down the highway. Initially, both the red and white cars were neck to neck, driving at the same speed. But the red car slowly increased its speed and raced ahead.

“See how fast I am!” said the red car, taking its eyes off the road to look back at the white car.

“Look out for that truck!” shouted the white car alarmed.

The red car saw a big goods truck heading straight for it. Since it was travelling too fast to apply the brakes on time and the road was narrow, the red car had no option but to veer off the road to avoid crashing into the truck. As it did, the red car skidded and toppled.

The white car rushed towards the red car which lay on the side of the road with its wheels up in the air. It was shaken up by the accident.

The white car, being heavier, pushed the red car and made it upright.

“Are you okay?” asked the white car.

“Yes, I am. Thank you!

If you hadn’t warned me, I would have been crushed into that truck,” said the red car gratefully.

“Speeding may be fun, but it is dangerous. Don’t worry. Except for a few scratches and dents, you still look beautiful and bright. Speed is your strength; learn to use it wisely,” said the white car.

“You are right. My pride blinded me from seeing how each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses,” said the red car. “I promise to drive more carefully hereafter.”

From then on, the red car was humble about its strength and appreciated everyone else’s too.

A Friend in Need

“Children, I have an announcement to make. A new student is joining our class today,” said Neha Ma’am.

A strikingly fair boy walked into the classroom.

“This is Varun,” introduced Neha Ma’am.

Varun smiled shyly. Some students smiled back while others turned their faces away.

“He looks like a ghost! I don’t want to be friends with such a weird-looking person,” said Rahul.

“Me neither,” said Shriya.

Rahul and Shriya avoided Varun. They would have lunch together and play together, but they did not invite Varun to join them. They began to avoid Sandeep as well as he was friends with Varun.

“Because of me, Rahul and Shriya have stopped talking to you,” said Varun sadly.

“So what? You are such a good friend to us. We don’t understand why they don’t speak to you,” replied Sandeep.

Soon, most of the students became friends with Varun. He was friendly, helpful and good at studies too. But Rahul and his friends constantly gave him trouble.

One morning, in class, Shriya saw Varun talking to a classmate. She went to Rahul and said to him, “Now is your chance. Varun is busy talking to Sheetal.”

When Varun got up to go for the assembly, Rahul quietly stuck a label on his back. As Varun walked towards the auditorium, the other students laughed at him. Varun was puzzled.

Sandeep pulled the label off Varun’s back and said, “Rahul stuck this on your back.”

The label read “Snow White”. Varun became sad.

Later that day, Varun and his classmates were in the Chemistry lab. Their teacher, Shilpa Ma’am was demonstrating the reactions caused by combining different liquids.

“Observe what happens when I mix these two liquids,” said Shilpa Ma’am, adding liquid from one test tube to another. “See how its colour changes and its gives off a pungent smell. Now, all of you try this for yourselves using the liquids set on the table before each of you. I will be back in five minutes,” she said and went out of the lab.

Rahul opened the cupboard and took out a beaker with some liquid in it. He poured the liquid into the test tube he had in his hand.

“Rahul, don’t!” Varun tried to stop him. But it was too late.

The smoke from the liquid scared Rahul. He screamed and fainted. The other students gathered around Rahul helplessly. Varun held him up and loosened his shirt.

“Open all the windows. Rahul needs to breathe fresh air,” Varun told his friends.

Shilpa Ma’am rushed into the lab. On seeing Rahul lying unconscious, she sprinkled some water on his face. Rahul slowly woke up.

“Are you alright?” asked Shilpa Ma’am. Rahul nodded his head weakly.

“Why did you use the liquid that was inside the cupboard? The reaction it caused was too strong. That is what made you faint,” said Shilpa Ma’am.

Rahul apologised to his teacher.

“You must thank Varun. His timely actions helped you recover faster,” said Shilpa Ma’am.

Rahul went up to Varun and said, “Please forgive me. You helped me despite the way I have been treating you. You are a good friend. ” Varun smiled and hugged him.

Detective Damru

One evening, Damru donkey was watching a movie on television starring the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. He became so inspired by the movie that he decided to become a detective too.

Damru went to the market and bought a long overcoat and a hat, similar to the one worn by Sherlock Holmes. He also bought a beautiful cane and a magnifying glass.

He looked in the mirror and said to himself, “I look like a perfect detective now!”

Damru walked around the market, but no one seemed to notice him. He was puzzled.

Damru walked past a shop selling spice powders. The smell made him want to sneeze. Right at that moment, a thief was running away with some stolen jewellery.

As Damru sneezed hard, his cane accidentally hit the thief who fell down, crying in pain. The crowd caught the thief and started beating him. Though initially taken by surprise, Damru quickly got into the act.

“Friends, please do not take the law into your own hands. Hand the thief over to the police. Let me call the police and tell them that I’ve caught the thief as planned,” said Damru coolly.

The crowd stared at Damru surprised.

“You knew about the theft, Damru?” asked Monty jackal.

“Don’t call me, Damru; call me Detective Damru 008. I knew a theft was going to take place in that shop, so I was standing here to catch the thief,” said Damru, adjusting his hat.

“Wow! Great job, Detective Damru!” said Dina deer admiringly. “But how did you know that a theft was going to take place?” me such information,” said Damru.

Everyone was very impressed with Damru. Many approached him with requests to help solve their problems. Damru asked them all to meet him in his office.

Damru’s office was a shed with a big board outside that read, “World-famous Detective Damru 008”. It also had a stunning photo of Damru in his overcoat and hat, with a magnifying glass in hand.

To manage the flood of clients, Damru hired Jumpy monkey and Meeku mouse as his assistants. Both of them were intelligent and hence were able to solve the animals’ problems easily. Damru merely pretended to supervise them.

Gradually, Damru became famous. He had spread word around Champakvan that his informants would know in advance about any thefts that were going to take place and inform him accordingly. So, promptly all the thefts stopped. The animals were relieved but all the thieves began to worry.

Late one night, Laptu jackal, Baddy fox and a few other thieves were discussing the situation.

“How long do we sit quietly without planning a theft?” asked Laptu.

“If we plan a theft, then Detective Damru’s informants will come to know about it,” said Baddy. He then had an idea. “Let’s not plan our next theft. Let’s just go rob Champakvan bank right away. That way Damru will not be prepared,” he said.

All the thieves agreed to the plan. That night, Damru was unwell. He was on his way to the pharmacy to buy medicines. Just as he was walking past Champakvan bank, he became too tired to walk. So, he stopped and called his friend Blacky bear for help.

Blacky was a police officer. He was on his usual night patrol when Damru called.

“Hello, Blacky! Can you come to the bank now? I need help with something… What?…The constables are with you? Yes, bring them as well,” said Damru.

The thieves who were breaking into the bank overheard Damru. Assuming that he was alerting the police, the thieves ran away. As they were running, they came face-to-face with Blacky and his constables who immediately arrested all of them.

By morning, the news about how Damru helped catch the thieves in spite of being unwell spread all around Champakvan. to everybody. He was the talk of the forest.

There was another gang of thieves that lived on the outskirt of Champakvan. The leader of the gang, Hiru hyena, hatched a plan to steal from King Shersingh lion’s royal treasury.

“I’m scared! What if Detective Damru learns about our plan?” asked Roko racoon.

“Damru’s network of informants is small. He won’t know about our plan. Moreover, he won’t dare to confront a dangerous gang of thieves like us,” said Hiru.

That night, Hiru and his gang broke into the palace and robbed the treasury.

Next morning, when King Shersingh came to know about the robbery, he was furious. He summoned Damru right away.

“You get information about all thefts beforehand. Why didn’t you stop the thieves from stealing from my treasury?” roared King Shersingh.

Damru was nervous. He could not reveal to King Shersingh that he had been bluffing about getting information from informants. So, he made up another lie.

“Your Highness, it is true that my informants alert me about all thefts beforehand. But in this case, it looks like the gang of thieves do not belong to Champakvan. They must have come from the neighbouring forest of Sundervan, where I do not yet have a network of informants,” said Damru seriously.

“You have two days to find and arrest the thieves. I will send four soldiers to help you,” said King Shersingh.

“As you say, Your Highness,” said Damru and went back home.

Damru knew that if he did not catch the thieves, he would have to face King Shersingh’s anger. On the other hand, he did not have the courage to catch the thieves.

“Now I realise that being a detective is not easy,” thought Damru. “Perhaps I should run away from Champakvan!”

Damru looked out of his house and saw King Shersingh’s soldiers standing outside.

“I won’t be able to run away either. What do I do now?” he wondered sadly.

Damru’s anxiety increased with each passing moment. Meanwhile, Hiru got to know about King Shersingh’s order to Damru.

“Can Damru catch us in two days? Is he really that smart? I must go and see for myself as to what Damru is up to,” thought Hiru.

At around midnight, Hiru sneaked up to Damru’s house. He climbed up a tree from where he could look into Damru’s house.

Hiru could see Damru looking out the window. He seemed to be saying something.

“You have landed yourself in deep trouble! The soldiers will surely catch you and behead you! You better confess right now before things get out of hand,” said Damru.

Hiru was alarmed.

“Oh no! Damru has seen me! That’s why he is threatening me. I better surrender. I don’t want to be beheaded!” thought Hiru.

Hiru ran to Damru to ask for forgiveness.

“Please don’t make the soldiers behead me. I’ll return all the valuables that I stole from the treasury,” pleaded Hiru.

Damru was surprised. “I was talking to myself about confessing to King Shersingh that I’m not really a detective. But the thief thought I was talking to him!” he thought to himself.

But Damru pretended that he had indeed spoken to Hiru. “Okay. Since you have surrendered, I will talk to King Shersingh and ask him to give you a lenient punishment,” assured Damru.

Hiru was grateful to be spared from getting beheaded. He revealed the spot where the other thieves were hiding as well. Damru informed the soldiers who then arrested Hiru and his entire gang.

King Shersingh congratulated Damru.

“You have proven that you are an excellent detective. I wish to honour you by making you the official detective of my kingdom,” said King Shersingh.

Damru was shocked. “Oh no! Looks like I really have to plan my escape from Champakvan this time!” he thought.

The Missing Pen

“See what my father gifted me!” said Sonal, excitedly waving a red pen.

Her classmates gathered around to see it.

“Wow! What a beautiful pen!” exclaimed Ruhi.

The others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Let me show you a trick,” said Sonal. As soon as she unscrewed the pen’s cap, a light shone from the pen—like torchlight—and a song started to play. Everybody stared at the pen in disbelief.
Later that day, after the lunch break, Sonal looked for the pen in her bag, but it was missing. Bewildered, she checked every compartment in her bag, but her pen wasn’t in any of them.

“Where could it be?” Sonal wondered to herself. Just then, the class teacher, Rashmi Ma’am entered the class.

“What happened, Sonal? You look worried. Have you lost something?” asked Rashmi Ma’am.

“Yes, Ma’am. I have lost the pen that my father gifted me,” said Sonal.

“You may have kept it somewhere and forgotten about it. Why don’t you check your bag thoroughly again?” suggested Rashmi Ma’am. Sonal searched her bag again but she still couldn’t find the pen.

“It isn’t there, Ma’am. I kept it inside my pencil box before stepping out during the lunch break. But when I came back it wasn’t there,” said Sonal.

It may have fallen down. We’ll help you look,” said Raman. All the kids in the class began looking for the pen.

When it still wasn’t found, Sonal began crying. “What if someone stole it?” she said.

“Don’t cry, Sonal. If somebody has taken it, then we’ll surely find out,” said Rashmi Ma’am. She then turned to the class and said, “I want all of you to form a queue. I’m going to check you all one by one.” The students started queuing up. Suddenly, they heard someone say, “What is going on here?”

It was Principal D’Souza. He was walking by when he heard the commotion inside the classroom and decided to check. After Rashmi Ma’am told him about Sonal’s pen, Principal D’Souza said, “But making everyone stand in a queue and checking each one of them is not right. It’s like giving punishment to all of them instead of the wrong-doer.” Addressing the children, Principal D’Souza said, “It’s wrong to take others’ things. See how bad Sonal feels about losing her pen. If any of you have taken her pen, admit your mistake and return it to her; I assure you that you will not be punished.”

Ruhi stepped forward hesitantly. She took the red pen out of her pocket and held
it out.

“I’m sorry. I stole the pen when Sonal had stepped out during the break. I liked the pen so much that I wanted it for myself,” said Ruhi and burst out crying.

“I am proud of you, Ruhi. It takes a lot of courage to admit one’s mistake, that too in front of everyone,” said Principal D’Souza. “I hope you will not repeat
the mistake.”

Sonal felt bad for Ruhi. She went up to her and said, “Ruhi, if you like this pen so much, then please keep it. My father got my brother a similar one. We’ll share.”

“Well done, Sonal!” said Principal D’Souza and Rashmi Ma’am. All the children clapped appreciatively.

Woes of the New Coach

The station master blew his whistle. The train was about to start. People rushed to board the new coach attached to the end of the train. Seeing the crowd, the new coach got scared.

The new coach had comfortable seats, clean curtains, high-speed fans, and LED bulbs. The windows, flooring, and ceiling were newly designed. It had internet connectivity as well!

The engineer looked at the new coach and said, “Your strength will be put to test today.”

The train chugged along and it stopped at many stations on its way. More passengers preferred to board the new coach and soon, it was full.

When more people tried to enter the new coach, it screamed at them.

“Hey stop! There’s not enough room for everyone! Why don’t you go and sit in the older coaches?” it said.

But none of them listened to it.

“Wow! You look beautiful,” said an old coach next to the new coach in one of the stations.

“I know I am! But you are so dirty!” said the new coach, making a face.

“I didn’t choose to be dirty. It’s the passengers who made me dirty. If they stop throwing trash and instead treat me like they do their homes, I too would have looked bright and clean,” said the old coach.

“You are just making up excuses,” said the new coach arrogantly.

Just then it saw a passenger blow his nose and wipe his dirty hand on the window. The new coach became angry.

“Hey, you! Stop making me dirty!” it shouted.

But the passenger didn’t listen. It then understood what the old coach had said was true.

“You are right! It is people who make us dirty,” it agreed.

The old coach was very happy that the new coach understood its problem.

“I am being taken for a wash today. But even after that, I will not become as beautiful and clean as you,” said the old coach.

When it was time to leave again, many passengers crowded the new coach.

“Enough! Please stop,” screamed the new coach. But the passengers didn’t listen.

The new coach was so angry that it refused to move. The passengers and the engineer wondered what was wrong.

“Please don’t do this,” warned the old coach.

“Why shouldn’t I?” asked new coach stubbornly. “It is not my responsibility to carry so many people. I will only take 50 people otherwise, I refuse to move. I will not take anyone beyond my capacity,” said the new coach.

The old coach tried to make the new one understand but it refused to listen. The engineer checked the new coach and found nothing wrong with it. He was puzzled.

He then finally said, “This coach cannot be used anymore. We’ll have to take it to the shed where the other useless coaches are kept.”

At the shed, the new coach was happy. But its happiness was short-lived. It was gathering dust and its metal frame was beginning to rust as it lay on the tracks unused.

The new coach waved to the other trains that passed by pleading them to stop.

“Please take me along,” it would cry.

The old coaches would respond saying, “Sorry but we cannot take you along with us. You are new, but you are not able or ready to take the load that we carry.”

That is when the new coach remembered what the old coach had said: “People only care about things that work and are of some use to them. No one cares about things that are lying around unused.”

“The old coach was right. Now, I’m doomed to spend the rest of my life in this shed without being used or cared for,” the new coach thought to itself.

A few days later, the new coach saw a flurry of activity. It was fastened with ropes and lifted from the shed by a crane. When the new coach learnt that it was being taken to the workshop to be fixed and used again, it became elated.

This time, the new coach resolved to work without a protest.

The Happy Bus of Champakvan

The animals of Champakvan had become grumpy and tired. They had turned selfish and stopped helping each other.

Damru donkey was unhappy about this change that had come over all the animals. He decided to do something about it.

Damru decided to start a bus service to help tired animals reach different places within the forest. This would save their time and energy.

The fares were kept low to ensure that everyone could avail the bus service. Cheeku rabbit was appointed as the driver of the bus and Damru was the conductor.

Early morning, each day, the big brown bus would start from one end of Champakvan with the grumpy Cheeku at the driver’s seat and the cheerful Damru standing by the entrance.

At every stop, Damru would open the door and welcome the animals inside. Once inside the bus, he would help them find seats.

This happy attitude of Damru continued throughout the journey. Inside the bus, the grumpy animals jostled for space. They would cling on to the handles dangling from above.

Some animals like Baddy fox would place their bags on the seats, not making space for other animals to sit.

“Arrey, Baddy,” Damru would say, gently but sternly. “Please keep your bag up in the luggage cabin and allow Squiggy some space to sit.”

Baddy would grudgingly obey his order.

If Cheeku resorted to rash driving, Damru would warn him about the consequences. “Speed thrills, but kills,” he would say. “Moreover, think about your family. What will they do if something happens to you?”

The grumpy animals of Champakvan did not like Damru’s sunny attitude.

“He is new to this bus business. That is why he is pretending to be nice to everyone,” said Baddy.

“Yes, yes, he is pretending,” said Laptu jackal. “No one is good to anyone unless they have a hidden motive.”

“You’re right. Damru will show his true colours in a few days,” Baddy said with a grin.

When Damru’s attitude did not change with time, it only made all the animals grumpier.

One bright morning, Jumpy monkey got into the bus. As usual, Damru walked up to him to issue the ticket. Jumpy looked in his pockets, bag and pencil box for the money. When he couldn’t find it, he realised that he must have forgotten to carry money that day. He was sure that Damru would kick him out of the bus.

“Damru, I forgot to bring the money…” Jumpy said apologetically. “Actually, it’s my mother’s mistake. She forgot to put the money in my pencil box.”

The other animals were eagerly watching the incident play out. They believed that they would finally get to see Damru’s true nature.

But then, Damru did something unthinkable. “Never mind, Jumpy. Next time, don’t forget your money,” he said and moved on to the next passenger.

Jumpy was taken by surprise, and so was everyone else in the bus. Jumpy felt a wave of relief and gratitude wash over him.

When Kangy kangaroo, with a baby in her pouch, hopped into the bus after a few stops, Jumpy immediately stood up and offered his place to her.

Jumpy had done something selfless after a very long time. Kangy, too, felt happy because for the first time she felt like someone cared for her.

While getting down at her stop, Kangy thanked Jumpy wholeheartedly. She had been polite for a change. The other passengers, who witnessed this, liked what they saw. After a long time, all of them felt genuinely happy.

“I didn’t realise that being polite and well-behaved is so easy,” said Blacky bear, squeezing into his seat to make space for Squiggy. Both Blacky and Squiggy exchanged happy glances.

Gradually, the goodwill and friendship that the animals shared inside Damru’s bus, spread outside as well. One day, Roby, the old rhino, was struggling to get into the bus while Damru was busy issuing tickets. Meeku mouse quickly got up from his seat and held Roby’s hand, helping him board the bus. He even gave up his seat for Roby.

Damru was watching all of this from the corner of his eye. Observing the animals interact politely with each other brought a bright twinkle in his eyes and a wide smile on his lips. His heart hummed a happy tune.

Damru’s bus service helped the grumpy animals of Champakvan look at the happy side of things again!

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