very short stories for kids Archives - Page 4 of 6

The Flying Rabbit

Terry the Rabbit was very upset. He felt that he was inferior. He looked at the flying sparrows and thought, “These Sparrows are so lucky. How I wish I could fly like them! They can fly to places. They don’t even have to walk to school like me. I become tired by the time I reach school. I wish I could get wings somehow so that even I can fly.”

One day Terry was playing near the bank of a river. He happened to look around and found two feathers of a pigeon. Terry looked at them and felt immensely happy. He picked them up and brought them home. He carefully stuck the feathers onto his back using glue. Then he walked to the garden. Daisy the Sparrow was sitting on the branch of a Mango tree. Terry called out to her and said, “Daisy, now even I can fly like you.”

“Really? How come?” asked Daisy.

Terry hurriedly climbed up the Mango tree.

He tried to fly by fluttering the feathers, and with a thud he fell on the ground. Daisy burst out laughing. She said, “Terry, one can’t fly just by attaching two feathers.”

Terry got up and said, “Let’s bet on this. What would you give me if I start flying within a month?”

“Oh forget it!” said Daisy, “You shall never win the bet.”

“I will surely be able to fly within a month. I can vouch for that,” replied Terry.

“Well, if you win the bet, then I shall become your servant for a month,” said Daisy with a confident grin.

Terry agreed to the condition and walked away. He reached home thinking of ways to start flying. He spent a sleepless night thinking about the same thing; however, he couldn’t come up with a solution.

The next day he went to school. His science teacher Sammy, the Deer was talking about the year 1930, in which a balloon was made to fly by filling it with helium gas. He also mentioned that it was after this that the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane.

Terry got inspired by this and started thinking on the same lines. He went to the market and bought a big, transparent balloon and got it filled with helium. The moment it was filled with helium it rose up in the air. Terry held one end of the string in his hand and started flying off with the balloon. The birds who were flying at that time noticed this, and Daisy saw it too. They flew closer to Terry and were thrilled to see him flying. Daisy shouted out to Terry, “You have won the bet. You can come down to the ground now.”

Terry was unable to come down as the balloon was going higher up in the air. He was thoroughly enjoying the flight. Moreover, he was afraid that the birds and animals would see the balloon if he came down. After a while, the gas from the balloon started depleting and Terry fell on the ground with a thud.

He was bruised badly during the fall. Everyone saw the balloon lying beside Terry. Daisy said, “You deserved this because you tried to win the bet through unfair means.”

Teacher Sammy said, “Terry, nature has made everyone unique. Just like some birds cannot walk or run like us; similarly we too cannot fly like them. Therefore it is foolish to imitate anyone. Now let us all take Terry to the doctor.”

Terry had learnt a lesson. He apologized to Daisy and acknowledged the lesson learnt.

Tiblu Tiger Goes Mountaineering

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE HARMFUL HERMIT

Pussy, the cat was feeling glum. She sat under the shade of a tree, looking forlorn. The reason for her sadness was that, over the years she had put on quite a bit of weight and was having trouble catching little mice and birds. Every time she would chase them, she would feel tired almost immediately and stop to catch her breath. By then, the mice and birds would be long gone.

Seeing her friend feeling sad, Lucy the cat walked up to her and asked her what the matter was.

“Oh, I was just thinking what it would be like to get your meals served to you without putting in any effort,” said Pussy. “It’s just that I’ve had so much trouble finding food lately that I haven’t had a single bite to eat in two days.”

“Oh Pussy, don’t be silly,” said Lucy. “Everybody knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You will always have to work hard to get the things you want. Stop wasting your time on these stupid thoughts and come with me. I’ll treat you to the yummy milk and cream I have at home.”

The two went to Lucy’s house and were enjoying some milk and cream when an old friend of Pussy’s walked up to them. It was Scruffy, the fox. He had changed quite a bit and had lost a lot of weight too.

“How are you, Pussy? You seem to be living well, your fat tummy proves it so,” said Scruffy.

“I’ve been alright, Scruffy. But tell me, where have you been all this while? You look different and in a good way,” sad Pussy.

“Well, I’ve given up my ways of cheating and living extravagantly and have moved to the himalayas. I spend the entire day meditating,” said Scruffy.

“The Himalayas? Isn’t is far away from civilization? What do you do for food there?” asked Pussy.

“To tell you the truth, food is the least of my concerns. The power of meditation is such that I can have the dish of my choice any time I want. In fact, anything I wish for can be had and all I need to do is meditate,” said Scruffy.

Pussy was in awe of how easy life was as a hermit. She thought of how difficult it was for her to catch mice every day, and how much she missed it. “Will you take me with you and teach me how to meditate? Life here has become too hard and I don’t like it one bit. Please take me as your student, I’ll go with you to the Himalayas and you can teach me your ways,” said Pussy.

“Oh Pussy, you don’t need to come to the Himalayas for this. I could teach you the incantation right now,” said Scruffy. “But…” began Scruffy and trailed off.

“What’s the matter, Scruffy? Please, go on,” said Pussy, earnestly.

“Well, the problem is that I can not teach the incantation to someone without accepting a teacher’s fee. You’re like my sister and I’m just thinking what I should do,” said Scruffy.

“Oh,” said Pussy and began to think. “All I have is this bowl of milk and cream,” she said. That was also all the food she had, and it wasn’t much.

“The teacher’s fee is a sign of respect and love, so the quantity does not matter. This will do just fine,” said Scruffy and whispered the incantation in Pussy’s ear.

“All you need to do is chant this incantation from sunset till sunrise the next day and the power will be unleashed. All you will need to do then is close your eyes and wish for your heart’s desire. When you open your eyes, it will be right in front of you,” said Scruffy and went on his way with the bowl of milk and cream.

The same evening, Pussy started chanting just when the sun set, chanted throughout the night, and only stopped when the sun’s rays touched the ground the next morning. She was ecstatic. She ran to Lucy’s house and said, “You treated me to milk and cream yesterday and today, I’ll be treating you to the same.”

Pussy closed her eyes tight and wished for two bowls of milk and cream. She opened her eyes expecting to see the bowls in front of her, but there were no such bowls anywhere.

Pussy tried again and once again, there were no bowls of milk and cream.

Pussy tried once more before giving up. “Scruffy said this would work,” said Pussy, feeling let down.

“What did he tell you?” asked Lucy.

“He asked me to chant an incantation and said that if I wished for something it would appear in front of me,” said Pussy.

Lucy laughed and said, “It seems like Scruffy’s been up to one of his tricks. How could you believe him?” she asked, laughing. “Nothing ever comes from nothing. For everything you need to do work, or in Scruffy’s case, dupe someone out of their hard work and trick them into giving it away.”

Pussy realised that Scruffy had cheated her out of her bowl of milk and cream and felt silly for believing him.

“Come on,” said Lucy. “Let’s go to the jungle and catch some mice.”

Pussy agreed and off they went. Pussy had learnt that the only secret to fulfilling your heart’s desires is hard work.

A Thief of Champakvan

Champakvan, a once peaceful forest, was in deep trouble. Lately, somebody had been stealing the animals’ belongings. Damru, the donkey’s motorcycle, Meeku, the mouse’s gold chain and Blacky, the bear’s four pots of honey had all mysteriously gone missing.

The king, Shersingh was very upset with this and called for a meeting. He also invited Damru, Meeku and Blacky.

“Tell me exactly what happened with your motorcycle,” said Shersingh to Damru.

“Well your majesty,” Damru began. “When I turned in for the night, I had just checked on my motorcycle, it was right outside my house. But, when I woke up the next morning, it had disappeared without a trace.”

Meeku went next and said, “Your majesty, I had spent the day with my friend, helping him with some work. When I returned that evening, I noticed that my cupboard was open and found that my gold chain was missing.”

“With great difficulty I managed to gather four pots of honey. I woke up one morning to find that they are all gone. My hard work has gone to waste,” said Blacky and burst out crying.

The king, Shersingh turned to the chief of police, Inspector Jumbo, the elephant. “Give us a few days, your majesty. We will investigate and get to the bottom of this,” said Inspector Jumbo.

“You have three days to find out who the thief is. If you fail, be prepared to step down from your position,” said the King and left the court. Jumbo, wiped the sweat from his brow. There was a lot at stake here and there was only one person he could turn to.

Inspector Jumbo called one of his best agents, Cheeku, the rabbit. Inspector Jumbo gave him all the information he needed and off Cheeku went towards Champakvan.

Cheeku began to investigate and headed towards the hills surrounding Champakvan. As he climbed up the narrow path, he noticed a few shards of a broken pot. Upon closer examination, Cheeku found trace amounts of honey. He was on the right track. As he climbed higher up the mountain, Cheeku noticed footprints. As it was growing dark, Cheeku decided to come back the next day and investigate.

Cheeku came back to the same spot the next day and was just about to follow the footprints when he hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Off in the distance was Bobby, the ape. He had something in his hand. As soon as Bobby saw Cheeku, he fled.

“That’s strange,” Cheeku said to himself. “Why did he run away? What was that in his hand? I must report this to the inspector.”

Cheeku went back to Inspector Jumbo’s office and told him everything that had happened.

Inspector Jumbo was pleased and praised Cheeku for doing a good job. The next day, they would go to King Shersingh’s court.

All eyes were on Inspector Jumbo who was beaming with pride. As soon as King Sher Singh sat down on his throne, he asked Inspector Jumbo what he had learnt.

“Your majesty, I sent Cheeku, the rabbit to investigate and he found Bobby, the ape near the mountains and enough evidence to prove that he is the culprit,” said Jumbo.

“Bring me Bobby, the ape,” roared King Sher Singh.

Bobby was immediately brought to the court. “Why did you steal?” asked King Sher Singh.

“Your majesty, I am innocent. I have been framed,” said Bobby.

“Your majesty, Bobby is lying,” said Jumbo.

“Your majesty, may I ask Bobby a few questions?” Cheeku interjected. The king agreed and the cross examination began.

“Bobby, were you not at the mountain path yesterday afternoon?” asked Cheeku. “What did you have in your hands and why did you suddenly disappear?”

“Yes I was. I had my bicycle with me and I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to do something, which is why I had to go back,” said Bobby.

“Were you going back to the place where you had stored Damru’s motorcycle, Meeku’s bangles and Blacky’s five honey pots?” asked Cheeku.

“Five? There were only four and I dropped one on the way,” said Bobby before realising what he had said.

Bobby knew there was no turning back now. He immediately fell at King Sher Singh’s feet and asked not to be punished. “Your majesty, I didn’t seal on purpose. I was made to steal,” he said and burst out crying.

“You have five minutes to tell me everything,” said the king.

“Your majesty, my son has been ill for many years now. I have spent all my money on his treatment and he is still not cured. I only stole enough for his treatment. Please don’t put me in jail. Without me, there will be no one to take care of him,” said Bobby.

King Sher Singh forgave Bobby. He released him and also asked his ministers to ensure that Bobby’s son received treatment from a good doctor.

And They Became Friends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sonia was asked to explain herself to everyone.

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

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

Character is what makes a Mouse

Mohan Mouse liked to walk home from school everyday. Often, along his way home, he would think about everything that had happened during the day in his class. He would recollect the things his friends did and said, and what his teachers taught and spoke of during the lessons.

The walk made Mohan Mouse feel good. Not only did it help him exercise but it also made him feel relaxed and at ease since the route home was surrounded by some shady green trees.

The only thing that Mohan Mouse didn’t like during his walk was his thoughts being interrupted. And today, Mohan Mouse was strolling along as usual. He was smiling as he recollected how his teacher had praised him for the assignment he had done so well when he was suddenly interrupted.

hita Mohan Mouse’s shoe hit a big rock that was lying on the sidewalk. Mohan tripped and swayed and almost fell down.

“Ow! This is ridiculous!” Mohan Mouse said furiously. “I could have fallen down and hurt myself. It was fortunate that I didn’t lose my balance. Who would be silly enough to leave a rock this big on the sidewalk?” Mohan Mouse was really very annoyed. “And what I am most upset about is that my pleasant thoughts have been interrupted because of this silly rock!” he grumbled.

Mohan Mouse lifted his foot and gave the rock a hard kick. He thought that the rock would roll and go further ahead, far away from him. But the rock didn’t move an inch.

He then gathered all his strength and gave the rock another kick. The rock flew through the air now. And to Mohan Mouse’s great horror, it hit the glass pane of a window of a nearby house.

“Yikes!” Mohan said and gasped. “I have broken someone’s window and caused them damage.”

Mohan Mouse’s knees began to shake. He was terrified. He flew like the wind, hoping no one had seen him. He knew that running away was a cowardly thing to do. But at the same time, he was scared and didn’t want anyone to come out of the house and scold him.

Mohan Mouse knew that he would be in big trouble if someone saw him. And so, he ran all the way and only stopped after he had entered his house. He then shut himself in his bedroom.

“Oh dear me!” Mohan Mouse muttered to himself. “Maybe I should tell someone about what I’ve done? Maybe I should tell Ma and Pa?” But he then decided against it. “They might punish me for being careless and for damaging someone’s property,” he thought. “I better keep quiet about it. It will be my little secret, that’s all!” Mohan Mouse began to feel relaxed. He was sure that he would get away scot free since he was sure that no one had seen him. “No one knows I was responsible for breaking the window,” he thought confidently. “I have no reason to fear.”

But then something happened that surprised Mohan no end. He found that he could think of nothing else but the incident. “I have done something wrong,” he thought and sighed every now and then. “I should own up and tell someone the truth.”

Soon, Mohan Mouse started feeling guilty. He found that he couldn’t sleep a wink at night. He sat up in bed, wondering what to do.

“I am very ashamed of myself,” Mohan Mouse whispered to himself. “I will go to the house tomorrow and apologise to the owner for breaking the window.”

The next morning, he told his parents about what had happened. “I have money saved in my piggy bank,” he said. “I am going to offer to pay for the damage I’ve caused.”

Mohan’s parents felt very proud of him. “Since you have been so honest and told us the truth, we will help you and pay for the damages. You can keep your money in the piggy bank and use it another day. We appreciate your truthfulness and this will be your reward, Mohan.”

Mohan Mouse felt happy that he had such supportive parents. He then scampered towards the house. He rang the door bell and waited, his heart thumping like a drum. A man opened the door. “Can I help you?” he asked Mohan Mouse, looking slightly surprised. “Er…I broke your window pane accidentally yesterday,” Mohan Mouse said politely, even though he was feeling very nervous. “I have come to apologise. I am really very sorry.”

Ah!” the man said. “So, it was you who broke my window?”

“Yes,” Mohan Mouse said softly. He then gave the man an envelope which contained the money his parents had given him. The man opened the envelope and looked puzzled. “I’d like to pay for the damages,” Mohan Mouse said bravely.

The man smiled at Mohan and patted his little head. “It was very brave of you to come back and offer money for the repairs,” he said. “I’m sorry once again,” Mohan Mouse replied sincerely.

“You coming back here and owning up shows that you have character,” the man said. “Your parents must be very proud of you.”

Mohan Mouse smiled. He felt much better. He realised that even though he had made a mistake, he had set it right, by doing the right thing.

“I am glad I have character,” he said to himself as he walked away. “After all, it is character that makes a mouse!”

Newlook Beauty Parlour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harry too hurried to arrange the money.

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

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

Blacky agreed immediately.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Donkey Golu In Space

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes,” replied Rex.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wicked Friendship!

________________________________

Story: Abrar Mohsin
Illustrations: Sonal & Sumit, Freepik

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

THE GHOST IN THE ROOM

One night, Marty, the mole was jolted out of his sleep by a strange sound.

Chrrr…chrrr…chrrr…

Marty switched on the lights and scanned the room for the source of the sound. He didn’t see anything unusual and the sound stopped, too. So, he switched off the lights and tried to go back to sleep, but then he heard the sound again.

This had been going on for two days now. Marty hadn’t been able to sleep a wink through the night because of the strange sound.

The next day at work, Billy, the goat greeted him, “Good morning, Marty! How are you?”

“How do you think I am? Can’t you see I am fine?” snapped Marty.

“It was a harmless question, Marty. There was no need to snap at me like that,” said Billy offended.

“I’m sorry, Billy. I haven’t been able to sleep at all for the last couple of days. That is why I am quite irritable,” said Marty. He told Billy about his problem.

“That must be a ghost,” concluded Billy.

“A ghost? Are you serious?” laughed Marty.

“Yes, I am serious. Since you are away at work, your house is empty for most of the day. So, some ghost must have made itself at home in your house. You may find this funny but do give it a thought,” said Billy gravely.

Marty started thinking about it. He could not concentrate on his work that day.

“What if Billy is right? What if it is a ghost? What if it harms me?” thought Marty.

Marty left work early that day to consult with Jacky, the jackal, who claimed to be a professional ghost hunter. Jacky’s business had been down for some time now, so he was elated to see Marty.

“I see that you are in distress. How can I help you?” asked Jacky.

“O holy one, I think there is a ghost in my house. It does not let me sleep at night,” said Marty.

“I see…,” said Jacky, closing his eyes as if he was meditating. He began chanting some strange spells.

Jacky then opened his eyes and said, “You are right. There is a ghost in your house, and a stubborn one, too. It will not be easy to get rid of it.”

Marty became scared. “Oh, please! You must help me!” he pleaded.

“I will surely try, but it is going to be a difficult process. I will need a lot of expensive food items,” said Jacky, handing Marty a long list. “After you buy them, take me to your house. I will start the process of getting rid of the ghost tonight.”

“I will get them right away,” said Marty and immediately rushed to the market to buy all the items on the list. At the shop, Marty met his friend Rocco, the raccoon.

“So many food items! Are you having a party without telling me?” asked Rocco.

Marty told him about the ghost in his house and how he approached Jacky to get rid of it.

Rocco smiled and said, “Let me also come with you, just in case you need some help.

Marty agreed. He bought all the items on the list and went back along with Rocco to meet Jacky.

Jacky panicked when he saw Rocco. “Why did he bring along this raccoon? He is going to mess up my plan!” he thought.

Jacky told Marty, “There can’t be too many people when I am performing the ritual.”

“Don’t worry. I will be as quiet as a mouse and not interfere with your ritual,” said Rocco.

“Alright. Marty, I shall be staying at your place tonight, so please make the necessary arrangements,” said Jacky.

That night, Jacky arrived at Marty’s house and inspected it. He then took a bath and had a hearty meal.

“Now that I am here, rest assured that the ghost will no longer trouble you,” said Jacky yawning. “I will pretend to go to sleep now. When the ghost comes, I will trap it.”

Marty was convinced that his problem would soon be over. He gave up his own bed to Jacky and slept on the floor, next to Rocco.

Within a few minutes after the lights were switched off, the strange sound started.

Chrrr…chrrr…chrrr…

Jacky woke up with a start. He sat upright and looked around the room, holding on to the blanket nervously.

“It’s the ghost again,” said Marty.

They noticed the flower vase moving.

“Oh no! There really is a ghost!” exclaimed Jacky, trembling with fear.

“Cast your spells, O holy one. Get rid of this ghost,” said Rocco casually.

“Are you mad? What if the ghost catches me? I am getting out of here and so should the two of you!” said Jacky, running out of the house.

Come, let’s get out of here,” Marty said to Rocco.

No, wait. Let’s see what it is,” said Rocco, walking towards the flower vase

Marty switched on the lights and Rocco picked up the vase to inspect it.

“So, you are the ghost!” said Rocco looking inside the vase. He then helped a butterfly get out of it.

“How did you get inside the vase?” Marty asked the butterfly.

“A couple of days ago, I flew in through that window as I was attracted by the smell of these flowers. But then I ventured inside the vase and got stuck. When the lights were switched off, I tried to get out unnoticed. But I didn’t realise that the sound of my wings flapping would scare all of you,” said the butterfly embarrassed.

“You didn’t just scare me, you scared the great Jacky as well,” said Marty amused.

Rocco said, “I knew there was no ghost. Jacky just wanted to use your fear to make some money. He had a hearty dinner and would have slept happily, had it not been for our friend here.”

The three had a hearty laugh.

Bunny Cat’s Valentine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go to the Jungle, Sam

Dr. Fancy and Mac were headed to the jungle in the African savannah. Sam, the lion, was sitting quietly with them in their jeep.

Dr. Fancy caressed Sam’s head affectionately and said, “Sam, lions are supposed to live in jungles, not in human homes. You should also learn to enjoy living in the jungle.”

Sam hung his head low. Dr. Fancy again said in a loving tone, “I understand, Sam. You must be thinking how will you live alone without us, isn’t it? Sam, you have grown up now. You can certainly live on your own. You don’t need to be scared. All the lions of the jungle are just like you. The only difference would be that they would be ahead of you in certain things. But then, even you are a lion! So don’t be frightened.”

Dr. Fancy’s words could do nothing to soothe Sam’s fears. He turned his face in the other direction and sat quietly.

Some years ago, Dr. Fancy and Mac had brought Sam home. He was just a cub then. He had lost his mother and looked very vulnerable.

Dr. Fancy and Mac had raised him in their home, but when Sam grew up; they realized his need to live in a jungle. So they decided to take him to his real home in the African jungle.

Sam was now a pet lion. He had grown very close to Dr. Fancy in all these years. Naturally, he was upset at their decision.

Soon they reached the jungle. It was time to leave Sam there.

“Sam, don’t be scared. We will stay with you until you get comfortable here. So Sam, go on. See what the jungle is like. After all, this is going to be your home,” Dr. Fancy kissed him tenderly.

Sam walked on. He had tears in his eyes, but what could he do? He couldn’t disobey Dr. Fancy. Also, he was curious to see the jungle.

He had just gone a little further when he saw some wild buffaloes. Sam became stiff upon seeing them.

When the wild buffaloes saw him scared, they saw this as a chance to dominate him. When they moved towards him, Sam ran back and hid behind Dr. Fancy.

“Sam, they are just wild buffaloes. You got terrified of them!” Dr. Fancy realized now that he had deprived a lion of his actual wild nature. Dr. Fancy prepared himself and trained Sam to fight them.

Sam was ready now. He walked towards the jungle again. This time he met a pack of wolves. Sam stopped in his tracks, but then he remembered Dr. Fancy’s words, “You are a lion, Sam.” Sam walked ahead with confidence. All the wolves got intimidated and ran away.

Sam had gained some self-assurance by now. He kept wandering in the jungle through the day, but he hadn’t met any lions till then.

Later that day, Sam came running to Dr. Fancy around midnight. Dr. Fancy didn’t notice it until he switched on the torch that Sam was badly wounded.

“Oh, his condition proves that he has met other lions. They have attacked him savagely,” Mac said.

Dr. Fancy felt disappointed. Sam had not been able to fight and this fear had led him to come back to them.

It was a question of Sam’s life. He couldn’t do anything without Dr. Fancy.

Dr. Fancy began giving him intense training from the next day. Sam would enter the jungle every day, but would come back injured.

After a few days, Sam didn’t return at night. That entire night the jungle reverberated with the roars of lions. Dr. Fancy got very worried about Sam.

With the breaking of the dawn, Dr. Fancy and Mac set out to find Sam. What they saw lit their faces up.

It was Sam, who had injured four lions. Sam had woken up to his nature. Now he was ready to be a part of the jungle. Sam strengthened this belief and Dr. Fancy was happy now.

Sam had made a place for himself in the jungle now. All the lions were afraid of him. He was treated as the king of the jungle.

Seeing this Dr. Fancy and Mac were happy. They gathered their stuff and moved towards their vehicle. Right then, they saw Sam running towards them.

“Hey Sam! What are you doing here? Have you come to bid us goodbye?” Dr. Fancy and Mac became very emotional. “There is no danger to you now. I am happy that you will be able to become the king of the jungle.

I was worried about your safety, but now that fear is gone. You are very brave. Go, and be happy in the jungle.”

Dr. Fancy patted Sam’s cheek, but Sam had tears in his eyes. He climbed up the vehicle, as if saying, “You wanted me to be brave, and I did that. Now take me back. I can’t live without you.”

Dr. Fancy read Sam’s feelings from his eyes and hugged him tightly while sobbing himself.

“How will I live without you, Sam? What a fool was I that I thought that you were coming to us out of fear, but you were coming for us and even now you are pleading so much. But Sam, your future is in the jungle. Please understand.”

Dr. Fancy caressed Sam. Mac switched on the ignition, but Sam didn’t get down.

Dr. Fancy insisted on waiting for a few hours and then the vehicle sped towards the city. Sam was still sitting in the rear seat.

The Humble and The Proud

Akash Towers was a tall building. It had many floors. It housed many offices that could be reached by a staircase.

Staff and visitors used to climb the stairs to reach their offices. It was very tiring. It was time consuming. So the Management installed a lift.

The electric lift proved to be very useful. It transported everyone to various floors.

“This lift is great. I would start panting when I used the stairs and now with the lift, I reach the desired floor within seconds,” said a man to his partner while travelling together in the lift.

“I also use the lift all the time. I don’t even look towards the stairs that used to make me feel so tired,” replied the other man.

Many people praised the lift. The lift kept hearing people admiring it throughout the day. It felt very proud. The stairs were located near the lift. Despite the lift being available many people still used the stairs.

“Your days are over. Why don’t you stay at home and rest? People get tired because of you. At least now think of becoming better,” said the lift to the stairs.

“Greetings, Sister. I was thinking of speaking to you for some time now. I am happy that you began the conversation,” The stairs replied humbly.

However, the lift remained proud.

It said, “Don’t try to talk to me. Nobody cares for you in this building anymore. I don’t like your attitude.”

“Don’t say that! You and I have the same job, to take people up and down this building. Then why shouldn’t we do it happily?” The stairs questioned in a patient tone.

The lift said, “Everyone admires me in this building. They only want to use me. I am the queen. You are the servant. Ha..ha..ha…”

The lift began misbehaving now.

The stairs replied, “Don’t be so proud, Sister. You can’t do anything without electricity. I can serve people without anyone’s help.”

The lift got irritated at this true fact.

She added, “Whatever you say, you can’t compete with me. It’s better you agree that I am the queen and you the servant.”

“Don’t argue unnecessarily. How can someone be queen if she herself is dependent on electricity?” The stairs had just completed its sentence, when the power was cut off.

Without electricity, the lift could not function. A board with the words ‘Out of Order’ was placed outside it. People turned towards the stairs.

Seeing people using the stairs, the lift became jealous.

She thought, “I will teach the stairs a lesson.I will go to any extent for that.” Just then the electric supply resumed. The lift began working when it got power. It started calling people to use it rather than the stairs.

“There is no need to tire yourself. I am ready to take everybody up. Come and use me. ” The lift was acting stubborn as she wanted no one to use the stairs.

“Don’t act silly, Sister. It is dangerous to take more people than your capacity. This will only cause danger to their life,” The stairs tried to stop the lift, but it didn’t listen. Taking twenty people instead of four in a hurry caused the lift to start panting.

Overloading led to the breakage of the cable. The lift fell down with a loud sound
in the basement. All its pride was lost in a fraction of a second. Many people were also hurt. They were now finding fault with the lift. Even the lift had suffered major damage.

“This lift is useless. We will have to stop using it.” The engineer announced after
inspection. Now, the lift couldn’t control her tears.

She thought, “If only I had listened to the stairs, I wouldn’t have been in such a
state now.”

The lift was regretting her mistake. She thought, “After I am repaired, the first thing I will do is seek the forgiveness of my sister, the Stairs and live happily with it.”

The stairs felt sorry for the lift. However, it also had the satisfaction that the lift had changed for the better.

The Horned Hyena

“O Kalulu,” Moro-goro the Squirrel had said, “I overheard Fisi the Hyena, mumbling to himself, ‘I know the wild goat has given birth to a kid in a small cave below the Black Rock. I’ll make a meal of both the mother and the kid just after sunset ha…ha… ha… But the goat may hit back with her horns. I’ll give her a surprise. She shouldn’t know that I’m coming.’ Kalulu, can’t you do anything to save the goat and the kid?”

“Let me think about it,” murmured Kalulu. After a little thought he spoke to Moro-goro for a long time. The squirrel twitched its whiskers, raised the tail and said, “I’ll do exactly as you’ve told me.

What a wonderful mind you have, Kalulu, only you can find a way through such situations,” the squirrel said.

Moro-goro slithered off and went up a tree trunk as it saw the hyena coming.
“Fisi!” the squirrel called out, “You are very stupid. Don’t you know that your
body gives off a foul odour. It can be smelt even from a distance. The goat might give you a tough fight although you’ll win in the end. Why not play safe and use some trick?”

“So, you know my plan,” growled the hyena.

“Give me some idea about how to hide my presence. I’m dying to have the goat and the kid in my jaws.”

“That’s easy,” replied the squirrel, jerking her head.

“Cover yourself in black mud to hide the foul odour. Try to fix a pair of goat’s horns on your head and bleat like a goat when you approach the cave. The goat
would not know what you are; she’d be confused, thinking that you are a
strange kind of goat.”

“What an idea,” exclaimed Fisi joyfully. “You deserve a reward. I’ll try to eat you
last as your reward.”

Maddy Wolf was in a bad temper. He was not really mad but his temper gave him
the look of madness. He swore at everything, cursed everyone and snarled
his teeth at his imaginary enemies. He was often overheard mumbling, “I’ll dig my teeth into your neck and tear you from limb to limb. Between my jaws no
one remains alive for long. You don’t know me.”

He even howled at the trees and bushes. “You’re in a dangerous mood but you’ll
have the gentlest and sweetest temper once you have your mate.”

Maddy stopped in his path and howled,

“Who’s that?”

He looked at the thick bush from which someone had spoken to him.

“I think I know the voice,” spoke Maddy.

“Isn’t it Kalulu? What is this talk about the mate? What do you mean?You know how long I’ve been waiting for a mate but she never comes. I’m cursed to remain a lone wolf.”

“You deserve pity and sympathy,” came the voice, “Listen carefully. Tonight you
should stay in the cave beneath the Black Rock. If you’re lucky you may see a black horned-hyena bleating like a goat. Grab the horned hyena and force him to show you your mate. Don’t let him go before he does it. Don’t be fooled if he plays
any trick on you.”

“A black horned hyena, bleating like a goat!” repeated Maddy, “What wild talk
is this? Are you sure you aren’t fooling me?”

“You’ll see for yourself this evening,” replied Kalulu, leaving Maddy in deep
thoughts.

As the evening sun set behind the hills and twilight covered the jungle, Fisi
walked towards the Black Rock.

The very idea of digging his teeth into the juicy goat meat was making his heart
dance with joy.

“No one can guess what I am,” he said, happy with the idea. “I’ll give wild goat a
terrible surprise. Thereafter I’ll gobble up both the mother and the kid.”

Meanwhile, Maddy was getting restless. He could see the black hyena with two
horns oddly placed upon his head trying to bleat in a horrible way: “Maaa, maaa… he-ha, he-ha, maaa, maaa… he-ha… heha…”

“This strange hyena ‘howl-bleats’. I’m really in luck,” muttered Maddy.

The next moment he pounced upon the strange creature, growling, “Give me my mate this moment.”

His pointed teeth began to rip the hyena’s skin. “Give me my mate,” cried Maddy.

“What mate?” wailed the hyena. “How can I give you something I don’t have? You can’t be the wild goat. I know you now. You are Maddy. Don’t you know me? I’m Fisi, your humble servant. Your dreadful teeth are tearing me part.”

“Don’t try to fool me,” snarled Maddy. “Who ever heard of a black hyena with two horns and ‘howl-bleating’? You have all the signs which assure me that you can give me my mate.”

Wild Goat was watching the whole scene from a safe distance. She had the kid with her. Kalulu was standing beside her.

“Kalulu, my dearest friend!” bleated the goat, “I can’t thank you enough for saving our lives. If you weren’t there for us, we would be dead by now.”

Fisi lay still under the jaws of Maddy who was tearing and ripping him apart.

Sir Humphry Davy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The King’s Wisdom

The kingdom of Rajpur was ruled by King Aditya Prathap Singh. He was a wise and just ruler who took care of his people. The citizens of Rajpur respected King Aditya and looked up to him.

A wealthy merchant named Gopal and his wife Meena were known to be a kind and generous couple in the kingdom.

One day, Gopal and Meena had to travel out of town urgently. Gopal was worried about the safety of a diamond that had been in his family for generations.

“We cannot leave the diamond behind at home. What if someone breaks in and steals it?” said Meena.

“But who do we leave it with? The person has to be trustworthy,” said Gopal.

“Our neighbour Sumesh is a good person and he is your friend as well. He is one man we can trust the diamond with,” said Meena.

“You are right. In all the years that I have known him, he has only been nice and helpful to us,” agreed Gopal.

Gopal placed the diamond in a small red pouch and carried it along to Sumesh’s house.

“Sumesh, will you please do me a favour?” asked Gopal. “Anything for you, my friend. Just name it,” said Sumesh.

“My wife and I are going out of town to visit my aunt who is unwell. We may be gone for a couple of weeks. Could you please keep this diamond with you for safekeeping? As you know, this is my ancestral property and you are the only one I can trust it with,” said Gopal.

“Don’t worry, Gopal. I will keep your diamond safe. I will guard it with my life,” assured Sumesh. “Thank you, Sumesh!” said Gopal.

A couple of weeks later, Gopal and his wife Meena returned to Rajpur. Gopal went to Sumesh’s house to collect his diamond.

“Come in, Gopal. How is your aunt’health?” enquired Sumesh.

“She is feeling much better now. Thank you,” replied Gopal.

“Good! So, tell me, what brings you here?” asked Sumesh.

“I have come to take my diamond back. Thank you for taking care of it in my absence,” said Gopal.

“What diamond? What are you talking about?” said a surprised Sumesh.

“The diamond that I had entrusted to you the day before I left town,” said Gopal.

“You are mistaken, my friend. You did not give me any diamond. You asked me to take care of your house, which I did,” said Sumesh.

It struck Gopal that Sumesh was cheating him by lying about the diamond. Before Sumesh could stop him, Gopal ran towards “King Aditya will decide who is telling the truth and who is lying. Come with me to the court,” said Gopal.

“Yes, let him decide. Come on, let’s go,” said Sumesh confidently.

At the court, Gopal and Sumesh narrated their sides of the story. King Aditya listened to them attentively. After much thought, he said, “I will give you my decision after three days. Till then, this diamond shall remain in my custody.”

That night, King Aditya took the diamond out of the pouch and began to wonder who was telling the truth. As he was fiddling with it, he noticed that the diamond had a nice fragrance.

“What a nice smell! Smells like sandal and rose,” King Aditya thought to himself. He smelled the bag in which the diamond was kept, and it had the same fragrance. Just then, he had an idea.

Next morning, King Aditya disguised himself and went over to Sumesh’s house.

“Sir, I am a special officer sent by the King to investigate the diamond case Could you please tell me your side of the story?” requested King Aditya.

“Of course, Sir. I bought the diamond from the jeweller three days ago by paying 5000 gold coins from my savings. But that greedy Gopal wants to steal my diamond. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the jeweller,” said Sumesh.

With Sumesh’s permission, King Aditya searched the house but he did not find anything that could explain the fragrance on the diamond. He then left for Gopal’s house.

“Sir, I am a special officer assigned to this case. Can you tell me about the diamond that you claim is yours?” King Aditya asked Gopal.

“I don’t know where the diamond is from because it has been in my family for generations. Before my father passed away, he gave me the diamond in a box and asked me to keep it safe. But I have failed to do so,” said Gopal sadly.

“Can I see the box that your father had given you?” asked King Aditya.

Gopal handed him the box.

King Aditya could immediately make out that the box was made of sandalwood and had the same smell as that of the diamond. He opened the box and found a few dried rose petals in it. Everything made sense now.

“May I keep this box?” asked King Aditya

“Yes, sir. You may,” said Gopal.

After assuring Gopal that justice would be done, King Aditya left for the palace.

On the day of judgement, Gopal and Sumesh were present in the court, besides the jeweller and some members of the public. Everyone was sure that Sumesh was innocent as he had the jeweller to testify his claim, while Gopal had no witnesses.

“I have come to the conclusion that the diamond belongs to Gopal. Sumesh is the liar!” announced King Aditya.

Everyone, except Gopal, was shocked.

“But sir, how did you come to that conclusion?” asked one of the ministers.

“The diamond and the red pouch had the a fragrance of sandal and rose. When I had gone to both their homes, Gopal told me about the box in which he had kept the diamond. The box is made of sandalwood and there were rose petals inside it. This made it clear to me that Gopal was the real owner of the diamond, as I had not mentioned to him about the scent earlier,” explained Aditya.

Sumesh became scared and confessed to his misdeed.

“Forgive me, Sir! I became greedy on seeing the diamond and came up with a plot to keep it with me. I bribed the jeweller with 300 gold coins to validate my story about buying the diamond from him. Please forgive me,” Sumesh pleaded.

“As punishment for your greed and breaking a person’s trust, I sentence you to one year in prison and levy a fine of 2000 gold coins. The jeweller too will pay a fine of 1000 gold coins,” ordered Aditya.

Everyone hailed the King’s decision. Gopal got back his precious diamond and went back home a happy man.

Mobile Fever

Roshni was a cute little rabbit who lived in Sundervan. She had been very excited of late. Well, Roshni was looking forward to her Uncle Roli’s visit, and was awaiting his arrival eagerly. Uncle Roli was her favourite uncle and worked in England.

Uncle Roli would bring many interesting and unusual gifts whenever he came to visit Roshni.

Roshni would show these gifts to her friends and classmates and feel very proud since no one had seen such things before. When Uncle Roli finally arrived, he gave Roshni a unique mobile phone as a present. It was pink in colour and there were pictures of pretty dolls engraved all over it. The mobile phone had a good collection of audio as well as video songs. The quality of the photographs and videos the phone took was very good too.

Roshni was fascinated by her new mobile phone. She spent hours listening to music and played games on it, instead of playing with the other children in the park. She even used it to click photographs and shoot videos.

And even though it was strictly forbidden, Roshni started carrying the mobile phone to school. She would use it in the lunch break to click photographs of her friends.

Everyone in Roshni’s class admired her new mobile phone and Roshni felt proud to own it. “May we borrow your mobile phone to click a photograph, Roshni?” some of her classmates would ask.

“May we listen to a song on it, or use it to make a video?” some others would request.

Roshni realised how fascinating her mobile phone seemed to everyone and she decided to take advantage of it.

“Alright,” she began to say. “But only in return for a favour.”

She would then ask her friends to buy her a chocolate bar or pastry for her, and often even get them to do her homework in return. Soon, Roshni began to behave like a pampered princess who enjoyed everyone’s attention and also the favours they showered on her.

Sadly, what she didn’t realise was that she was losing out on many important things. Since Roshni was no longer doing her homework on her own, she was losing touch with her lessons. And since she wasn’t going out to play, she was turning unhealthy. And since she was only letting the others use her mobile phone in return for a favour, she was gaining the reputation of being a snob. As a result, Roshni fared very badly in her exams. And when the results were out, she was terrified.

“I can’t let Mom and Dad see my low marks,” she said, worried about what her parents would say if they came across her report card.

One day, Roshni’s class went for a picnic to the banks of the Manmohini River. As usual, she started clicking photographs with her mobile phone.

Roshni’s friend Sneha Deer had brought a big bar of chocolate and a pair of pretty earrings. She had planned to give them to Roshni in return for clicking her photographs.

Roshni quietly pocketed the goodies and asked Sneha Deer to pose near a rock. She then went closer to the riverside to click a picture.

“Smile!” Roshni suggested as Sneha Deer posed. “Say ‘cheese!”

Suddenly, Roshni lost her balance and fell into the river.

“Help! Help!” she screamed.

The river currents were very strong and Roshni was afraid that she would drown.

Fortunately, Roshni’s classmates Appu Elephant and Lambu Giraffe were close by. They heard Roshni’s screams and jumped into the river.

Both Appu Elephant and Lambu Giraffe were good swimmers. In no time, they pulled Roshni out of the river.

Tweety Parrot saw Roshni’s mobile phone bobbing in the water. He flew to it quickly and picked it up just before it could sink. He then took it to Roshni.

Roshni’s class mates then arranged for some hot tea for Roshni to drink. Roshni felt grateful and thanked all her friends for helping her.

In the meanwhile, back at Roshni’s house, Mrs. Rabbit decided to clean Roshni’s room. She was dusting Roshni’s bag when she found the report card.

Mrs. Rabbit was extremely upset when she realised that Roshni had hidden the report card from her. And more so, when she saw Roshni’s low marks.

“Look at this!” she told Mr. Rabbit, sounding quite annoyed. “Roshni has fared badly in her exams. She has also kept her report card away from us.”

Just then the doorbell rang. It was the postman who had come with an envelope from the mobile company. Mrs. Rabbit opened it immediately and was shocked when she saw what was inside.’

It was a bill for a whopping amount of twelve hundred rupees for a month’s use of the mobile phone.

“I am going to have a word with Roshni as soon as she gets home!” Mrs. Rabbit decided immediately.

But when Roshni returned home, Mrs. Rabbit found that she was running a fever. Roshni explained how she had fallen into the river and was forced to wear wet clothes all day. Mrs. Rabbit immediately gave Roshni a spoonful of some very bitter tasting medicine and a tablet that Roshni found very hard to swallow. She then tucked Roshni in bed and put her to sleep.

Roshni slept very restlessly that night. “I do not want a mobile phone! I do not want a mobile phone!” she kept mumbling in her sleep. Mrs. Rabbit realised that Roshni had already learnt her lesson.

When Roshni was better after a few days, Mrs. Rabbit showed her the phone bill and the report card she had found.

She also brought it to Roshni’s notice of how unfair she had been to her friends by asking them to do her favours.

Roshni hung her head and apologised. She then handed her mobile phone over to her mother. The mobile phone had stopped working since it had been drenched with water.

Mr. Rabbit decided that he wouldn’t bother to repair the phone and simply threw it away.

Roshni missed her mobile phone for a few days. But after that, she began enjoying studying and playing outdoor games.

She worked extra hard for she realised that she had to score higher marks to make up for the marks she had lost in the first exam. She also apologised to her friends for having asked them for favours.

Roshni did very well in the next exam. And when Uncle Roli phoned to congratulate her, he asked her what she would like as a gift when he next came to visit.

“Oh Uncle Roli!” Roshni said. “Anything but a mobile phone!”

A True Friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You can’t trust these humans.

They are selfish,” warned Piku.

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

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

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

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

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

The mango tree was hurt. Piku’s words did not help comfort it.

“You were calling him your true friend but today, when you are in trouble, he vanished because you are of no use to him anymore!” said Piku.

The tree cried silently. It realised that its end was near. Coormamoonaan

The three men were preparing to cut down the mango tree. Before they could swing the axe, Ramji appeared with the forest department staff. The forest rangers stopped the men from cutting the tree and arrested them.

“That’s good, Ramji. In fact, all trees are our friends. We must not cut them down for our selfish motive,” said the ranger.

Ramji hugged the mango tree and said, “I will always be your friend.” The tree was elated.

After the humans left, the tree said to Piku, “Did you see that? You were wrong. Ramji is indeed a true friend.”

“Yes, I agree. I am happy to have been proven wrong,” said Piku smiling,

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.

Chikki’s Lucky Treat

Chikki, the sparrow could not find any worms or grains. She was hungry. She thought to herself, “Where have all the worms gone today? They may be sleeping. What will I have for breakfast?”

She had an idea. Mantu, the crow was sitting on the branch of a neem tree. Chikki flew to her and said, “Good morning Mantu. Have you started looking for food today?” Mantu yawned loudly, “Chikki I am fasting today. My mom told me that it is good to fast at least once a week. You see, it cleanses our system. So, I am just going to sit and meditate.”

Chikki was very upset. She was hoping that he could share Mantu’s food.

So, Chikki went to Helen, the hen. Helen had just come out of her house for a morning walk.

Chikki flew to her and said, “Hi, Helen. Have you started searching for food?What about some grains and nice worms?”

Help Yourself

Helen said, ” Dear Chikki, my chicks are going for a picnic today. They wanted all yummy treats. Yesterday I gathered a lot of grains and worms and packed their snack boxes. So today I am going to my mom’s house to spend my day.”

Chikki said sadly, “Ok, Helen. Carry on then.” Chikki sat on the top of a banyan tree and said, “Today, I am so unlucky that nobody is ready to help me. Let me ask Dolly, the duck.”

Dolly was on the way to the river. Chikki thought to herself, “I am sure Dolly is going to catch some worms and fish. She is very helpful. She will share her meal with me.”

She went near Dolly and said, “Hello Dolly, I wish you get the best fishes and worms today.”

Dolly smiled and said, “Chikki, Cookie, the crane lost a bet with me yesterday. So, she is going to treat me today. I am going to her place for lunch.”

Chikki’s last hope was also gone. She was on the way back to her nest, when the grocerer’s wife threw a sack of wheat outside saying, “These grains have been spoilt by the worms. We should not use them. Nobody will buy them. I will throw all of them out.”

Chikki saw lot of worms and wheat grains being thrown in the street. She happily dug into them. Now she felt really lucky!

A Nation’s Identity

One the eve of Republic Day, Aamir went to the market with his father to buy paper flags to put up in his house. Whenever he bought anything for himself, he would also buy one for his younger brother Wasim.

As soon as he reached home, Aamir stuck the flag by the gate, and gave the other to his brother. “Stick your flag too, Wasim. That way, both our flags will be fluttering in the air and it will look nice,” said Aamir.

“No, I will not stick my flag here. I will stick it on the hood of our car. That way whenever Baba drives the car, the flag will flutter,” said Wasim.

“No, Wasim. You can’t do that,” said Aamir.

“You bought it for me and I will do whatever I want with it,” said Wasim and ran towards the car.

Aamir ran behind him but Wasim tripped and fell down. He immediately started crying. When Aamir tried to help him, Wasim pushed his hand away.

“Go away! I will not talk to you. You pushed me down on purpose,” said Wasim wailing

Hearing Wasim crying, their mother rushed towards him and asked, “What happened? Why are you crying?” “Aamir pushed me down, Ma!” said Wasim.

“No, I did not! He is lying. He wanted to stick the flag on the car but I told him not to. He didn’t listen to me and ran towards the car and fell down,” said Aamir.

“Wasim, why don’t you listen to your brother?” asked Ma.

“Why should I listen to him? He bought this flag for me and I can do whatever I want with it,” said Wasim.

“Son, it is our national flag and is a symbol of our country. Its respect should never be compromised and that is why there are certain rules to using the flag. Your brother knows about it and he tried to tell you about it,” said Ma.

“What is wrong in sticking the flag to the hood of the car?” asked Wasim.

“There is something called the Flag Code of India which states the rules and practices with regards to the display of the national flag. And one of the rules states that only important heads of the government like President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Governors and the Chief Justice of India can fly the flag on their vehicles,” said Ma.

“Why is that so?” asked Wasim curiously.

“Laying down the rules on the usage of the national flag helps preserve its respect and dignity,” said Ma.

“Why is it important to preserve the dignity of the flag?” asked Wasim.

“Son, each country has its own identity represented by the national flag. Our country’s identity is our national flag. Respecting the flag means respecting our country and the people who fought for its identity. Our country gained freedom from the British after a lot of struggle. The cost of freedom was the lives of several freedom fighters and the sacrifices they made. Because of them, we finally gained independence from the British on August 15, 1947,” explained Ma.

“Then what is Republic Day celebrated for?” asked Wasim.

“January 26 is the date when the Constitution was formally adopted by the Indian parliament,” answered Aamir.

“What is constitution?” asked Wasim.

“Let me simplify this for you. We had got our freedom from the British but we were still following their rules and laws. Our own set of laws needed to be written. So, a committee headed by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar drafted our country’s own rules and legislations that we began to follow from January 26, 1950. That is when our country became a republic wherein the power is with the people and their elected representatives,” explained Ma. “That is why that day is celebrated with great pomp and show in New Delhi in front of the President of India.”

“Our school has also planned special programmes tomorrow!” said Wasim excitedly.

“So, now do you understand why you should not play with the national flag?” asked Ma.

“Yes, Ma. Thanks for explaining everything to me clearly. If I had known all this information earlier I wouldn’t have played with the flag,” said Wasim.

“That is what your brother tried to tell you. Next time, just listen to what he has to say before you go running away,” said Ma smiling.

“I will, Ma,” said Wasim. He then turned to Aamir and asked, “Will you help me stick this flag on our gate?”

Of course, I will, little brother. And let’s plan our own Republic Day celebration at home,” said Aamir.

“Yes, let’s! This will be our own way of showing respect to our country,” said Wasim beaming.

THE TRUE WINNER

Grandma was waiting at the bus stop for her grandsons Rohit and Mohit.

“The school bus is late today,” she murmured to herself.

After sometime, the school bus arrived.

The twins, Rohit and Mohit jumped out of the bus and ran up to her.

“Grandma, today I scored full marks in a surprise test on Moral Education!” said Rohit excitedly.

“Very good, Rohit! Keep it up. And what about you, Mohit?” asked Grandma.

“I wasn’t well prepared. So, I scored only 17 on 20,” said Mohit.

“That is still a good score. We shall celebrate both of your achievements with pav bhaji tonight. And I’ll ask your father to buy some ice cream on his way back from work,” said Grandma.

Rohit and Mohit jumped with excitement.

Later that evening, Rohit and Mohit were watching television when the doorbell rang. Rohit answered the door and saw his classmate Varun standing outside.

“Hi, Rohit. As you know, I was absent from school for the past few days. Can you help me with the classwork? I also need to borrow your notes,” said Varun.

“Why don’t you take help from your best friend Mahesh?” asked Rohit.

“He has gone out of town with his family and will be back only next week,” replied Varun.

“I am sorry, Varun. I don’t have the time to help you now. And my notes are incomplete,” said Rohit.

Varun was disappointed. He turned away to walk when he heard Mohit call out to him.

“Hey, Varun! I can help you,” said Mohit, walking up to the door. “Bring your books over. We can study here.”

“Thanks, Mohit. I’ll be back in 10 minutes,” replied Varun and quickly left to get his books.

Mohit closed the door and turned around to see Rohit staring at him angrily.

“Why did you offer to help Varun? You know him well. He always troubles us in class,” fumed Rohit.

“Calm down, Rohit. Right now, he came to us asking for help and not to trouble us. There is no harm in helping him out,” said Mohit.

Rohit became upset. He went to his room and did not talk to Varun when he returned later. Meanwhile, Mohit and Varun sat down to study.

After dinner, the twins, their parents and Grandma were all gathered in the living room and eating ice cream.

“Grandma told me that Rohit scored full marks in a surprise test. Good job, Champ!” congratulated their father.

“We should congratulate Mohit as well and give him an extra scoop of ice cream as a reward,” said Grandma.

Mohit was surprised. “Me? Why?”

“Moral Science is a subject that teaches you morals and values of life and can guide you to do the right thing in a situation. Rohit might have got full marks in the test, but Mohit put those values to use today,” said Grandma.

“Oh yes, I saw Mohit helping Varun with his schoolwork when we came back home from the office,” said their mother.

“Rohit, when Varun came to you asking for help, and the right thing to have done was to help him, irrespective of whether he is your friend or not. We should not let people down when they need our help,” said Grandma.

“I am sorry, Grandma. I didn’t realise my mistake. Now on, I shall help everyone,” said Rohit. He then turned to his brother and said, “Congrats, Mohit. You are the real winner!”

“Thank you!” said Mohit.

“I think now Rohit too deserves an extra scoop of ice cream!” said their father.

The twins enjoyed their well-pav bhaji and ice cream.

Chotu Finds a Home

Dr. Singh was a famous surgeon who lived in Civil Lines in Jodhpur with his wife and two sons. In their garden there lived a cat with her four kittens. The kittens were furry with green eyes and the boys loved having them around.

The kitchen had a door that opened to the garden. The cat and kittens would live in that part and would come near the kitchen step for food that Mrs. Singh would keep outside for them.

The kittens were very playful. They loved playing hide and seek, chasing each other was also their favorite sport. Once tired, they would lick and caress each other. Dr. Singh’s family loved watching their cats play.

Slowly, the kittens began to grow up. The mother cat would leave the home early in the morning after eating milk and bread and would only return at night.

All the four kittens would move around the garden but now, they too wanted to go out, learn to climb the trees and jump from one branch to the another and become independent.

Finally, the day came when the mother cat took the kittens out. The kittens were excited to be outside and see lush green parks, giant trees, plenty of people, lot of birds and squirrels.

They ran to catch the birds and butterflies and chased the squirrels. Chotu, the youngest of the four brothers, was scared to run and chase them. He was tinier and smaller than the rest and hence the name.

Seeing the cat with her kittens, the birds on the trees started making calls to alert the other birds about danger. The mother taught the kittens to walk without making a noise, climb a tree, and catch birds.

All the kittens watched, listened and understood but Chotu’s attention was somewhere else. He was thinking it was cruel to kill others.

Somehow, Chotu got through the day’s training but during supper at night, he told his brothers, “Other animals too have a right to live. Is it fair to kill them?”

As soon as they heard the question, the three brothers burst out into laughter.

“If a horse becomes friends with the grass, what will it eat?” they asked, making fun of him.

Young Coco said, “You mean to say, cats should become vegetarian?”

Brownie told Chotu, “If cats turned vegetarian, rats would rule.”

Chotu became quiet and scared. He had not expected such replies from his brothers.

Chotu was extremely nervous every time his mother took the four of them for hunting. He was not able to pounce, catch and kill any animal.

The mother cat was extremely worried that on one hand, Chotu was skinny and on the other, he did not want to hunt. How would he survive?

Chotu tried to climb the tree but became scared and fell when the birds began to make noise. Chotu was always lagging behind whenever their mother took them out.

Slowly the kittens started going out on their own. The other three brothers would look for prey in the grassy meadows and shrubs. They would walk into nearby homes but at night, all of them would come back to Dr. Singh’s house.

Chotu would join them at night but, no one knew where he was during the day.

One day, when Chotu did not return at night, all the others became worried. They mewed to call out.

Dr. Singh’s family, who understood that Chotu was missing, searched for him in every possible place. The mother cat feared that Chotu had been attacked by other animals.

After some time, everyone gave up the search. The mother cat’s search too, yielded no results. Dr. Singh’s children got tired and fell asleep.

The mother cat felt that she could not protect her weakest son. She felt that she should have paid more attention to him.

When they woke up next morning, the mother cat could hear Chotu’s voice. She ran in that direction.

Chotu was sitting in one of the houses in the colony. There was a bowl of milk, bread and chapatti in front of him. A small boy was patting him gently. And, Chotu was drinking milk from the bowl.

As soon as Chotu saw his mother, he came running to her. His mother started licking Chotu. Chotu too hugged his mother back. Happy to see her son safe, the mother cat forgot to scold him for not coming home.

Their mother reached home with Chotu. Dr. Singh’s family found out where Chotu spent the night. They felt happy that Chotu had found a cat lover and someone who loves him.

Chotu’s mother was also happy that her son was in safe hands and that Chotu was happy at his new home.

They all understood that Chotu wanted to spend his life without having the need to hunt.

THE SUN WILL BE DESTROYED

Hey, Chunchun, what happened? Is everything alright?” Meeku Rabbit asked in concern as Chunchun Mouse had come to meet him in the morning itself.

Chunchun replied, “Oh! Just came over to see you. Everybody is generally at home in the morning. That’s why I came so early.”

Meeku laughed, “You are right, but tell me what the matter is?”

Chunchun scratched his head, “I have been thinking for many days that the Sun has already completed one-third of its life. What will happen when it isn’t there anymore? Just think! The entire world will be submerged into darkness.”

Hearing Chunchun’s words, Meeku burst out laughing and his laughter continued for a long time. Then he told Chunchun, “Friend Chunchun, you made me laugh. I am laughing so heartily after many days.”

Chunchun said sheepishly, “Brother Meeku, what is there to laugh at? What wrong did I say? The Sun will really get destroyed one day, I swear!”

Meeku nodded his head, “You are right. I agree that the Sun has already completed one-third of its life and one day, it will complete the remaining two-thirds of life too and then it will be destroyed.”

“Then why did you laugh on my words?” Chunchun got a little annoyed.

Meeku suppressed his laughter and said, “Chunchun, I will tell you. The Sun has been giving light to this Earth since 5 billion years and it is still going to be there for another 10 billion years. Now you should know that one year has 365 days and 100 years make one century.”

Chunchun interrupted, “Yes, yes, ones, tens, hundreds, one thousand, ten thousands, one lakh, ten lakhs…”

Chunchun couldn’t say any further. Meeku laughed again, “Why are you quiet? You forgot? After ten lakhs, its one crore, ten crores, one billion and then ten billions. Did you get it?”

Chunchun held his head. He said thoughtfully, “This is too much. I was unnecessarily worried.”

Meeku explained, “Correct, you got it right. Do you know that the Sun is the closest star to the Earth? Whatever energy we are using on this Earth is derived from the Sun. The interesting part is that the Sun is mainly fire, but it is a gaseous sphere. That means it is neither solid, nor liquid.”

Chunchun again scratched his head, “Oh! I wasn’t aware about it. I didn’t know that the chapati sized Sun was so interesting, really!”

Meeku said, “Chunchun, the Sun is not chapati sized, but gigantic! The radius of the Sun is an unimaginable 14,00,000 kilometers. Its huge size can be imagined by this fact that it takes 25 days to complete one circle around its own orbit.”

“Oh My God, this is really interesting, Brother Meeku.”

Meeku said, “However it is true that the Sun will be destroyed one day. The hydrogen present in the Sun is getting depleted with time and helium is getting formed in its place.”,

Chunchun asked, “Does that mean that the Earth will be in darkness?”

Meeku said, “I will tell you what will happen. After the entire hydrogen will be finished, the Sun will start expanding. It will become cold and turn into a huge red star. It will grow 250 times its size and swallow Mercury, Venus and our Earth. Then it will start shrinking. Then the Sun will become a white star. With time, though, it will lose its sheen and turn into a black sphere.”

Chunchun’s eyes widened with horror. “Oh no! What will happen? How will we live then?”

Meeku began laughing, “Don’t worry about it now. I am sure humans would have found another Earth to live on by then. That’s what I believe.”

Chunchun began clapping and they both had a hearty laugh together.

Golu Learns to Think for Himself

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey, Dhenchu! What are you doing?” asked Golu, surprised. “Are you taking a bath?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Really?” asked Golu, in excitement.

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

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

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

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

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

His legs shook but somehow he managed to walk ahead.

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

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

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

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

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

A Walk in the Garden

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

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

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

Mother started laughing. Ganju also smiled.

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

“Ha!Ha!” Tommy started laughing.

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

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

He barked, “Bow, Bow.”

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

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

Tommy smiled and said, “I like chasing butterflies.”

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

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

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

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

Tommy barked, “Bow… Bow… Bow…”

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

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

He felt ashamed.

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

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

“If you have time you can play with us,” said the squirrel.

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

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

MUMMY THIEF

The Bagh Bahadur Museum was a big and famous museum in Champakvan. It was very well known all over the world too. Tourists from far and wide flocked to see the antiques and valuable artifacts that were on display.

Amongst the most famous displays of The Bagh Bahadur Museum, were the mummies of the last twenty kings of Champakvan. They were King Sher Singh’s ancestors and had been embalmed and kept here for many years.

These mummies made quite an unusual sight and the tourists who saw them were both fascinated and frightened.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf were two wolves who lived in Champakvan. The two of them were thieves who specialised in stealing antiques and valuable artifacts.

They were very dangerous and cunning too. The wolves made their living by selling the stolen objects to collectors in foreign countries.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf had set their cunning little eyes on The Bagh Bahadur Museum for a very long time. They wanted to steal the mummies and were working on plans to sneak them out of the museum.

One night, Baddy Wolf sat down to make a map of The Bagh Bahadur Museum. He was drawing lines when Laddy Wolf came up to him and asked, “Baddy Wolf, what are you drawing so late at night? Are you working on a plan to steal something big and priceless?”

“You are right, my friend,” Baddy Wolf nibbled on a pencil and said. “I am making a map of The Bagh Bahadur Museum. The map will help us plan how we will steal the mummies. Once we manage that, our dream of growing rich will come true!”

“That is fantastic!” Laddy Wolf said, rubbing his hands with glee. “You have finally started work on our ‘Operation Museum.’ But how will we steal the mummies? There are tourists visiting the museum all day and night.”

“Don’t worry about that, Laddy. We will make sure the tourists run away from the museum and clear our paths,” Baddy Wolf said and laughed.

“Tell me how! I am your partner after all,” Laddy Wolf said excitedly. He was eager to hear the plan.

“Listen then,” Baddy Wolf said confidently. “I am making a map of the museum. I have also chalked out the entire plan of stealing the mummies. We will first dig a tunnel to enter the museum.

This tunnel will directly take us to the museum’s toilet area. Once we are inside, I will wrap you in white bandages that will make you look just like a mummy. You will have to act like a ghost and scare the tourists away.”

Laddy Wolf jumped excitedly. “How wicked you are, Baddy Wolf!” he said, looking thrilled. “The tourists will be scared and flee the museum. We will steal the mummies then and make our way out through the tunnel.”

“That’s right,” Baddy Wolf said and yawned. “Now go and make some tea for me. I want to finish drawing this map tonight.”

Baddy Wolf stayed up that night and after many hours of hard work, he completed the map.

The next day, Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf took the map with them and walked to the pond behind The Bagh Bahadur Museum.

Baddy Wolf began digging the tunnel with a shovel. Laddy Wolf took the mud and threw it into the pond so that nobody would suspect that a tunnel was being dug.

The distance between the pond and The Bagh Bahadur Museum was long. It took the two wolves a whole month to finish digging the tunnel.

The tunnel was dug exactly according to Baddy Wolf’s plan. It opened directly below the museum’s toilet.

After that, the two wolves spent some time making a door in the floor of the toilet that they could slide it open and enter.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf were very confident now. They were ready to put their plan in action.

The next night, Baddy Wolf wrapped Laddy Wolf in white bandages and sent him inside the museum.

Laddy Wolf looked just like the mummies on display. He started walking all over the museum, making eerie sounds. The birds and animals who were visiting saw him and panicked.

“Eek!” they shouted. “There’s a walking mummy in the museum! A ghost!”

Everyone ran out, looking petrified.

Soon, the news of the walking mummy spread like wild fire. Everyone in Champakvan was terrified. The tourists stayed away from the museum too.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf laughed. Everything was going as per their plan.

Now all they had to do was steal the mummies.

One night, they crept inside the museum and stole one of the mummies out.

When they reached their house, Baddy Wolf said, “Laddy, we should hide this mummy at a very safe place. No one should find it. After we do that, we will steal one mummy from the museum every day.

We will contact the foreign agent after we have a few mummies and sell them for a lot of money.” So, the two wolves started stealing the mummies every night. It took them just eleven days, to steal eleven mummies.

Everyone in Champakvan was shocked when they heard the news of the mummies disappearing from the museum. And everyone had a different story to tell. Some said that the mummies had come alive and were running away from the museum.

Others believed that it was the work of a sly thief. King Sher Singh was pacing to and fro inside his palace. He was very worried about the matter. After all, the stolen mummies were those of his ancestors.

He sent for Cheeku Rabbit. He too had heard of the disappearing mummies. “Maharaj, I’m shocked,” Cheeku Rabbit said. “I’ve heard that the mummies are disappearing from The Bagh Bahadur Museum. Is that true?”

“Yes, Cheeku,” King Sher Singh said with a sigh. “Eleven mummies have disappeared so far. I have asked the police to patrol the museum gates. The security has been tightened too.

But sadly, the mummies are still being stolen. There are rumours of a walking mummy in the museum. The police and security guards have heard it and are scared too. Cheeku, you are very smart. I’d like you to work as a detective and catch the thief.”

“Don’t worry, Maharaj,” Cheeku Rabbit said politely. “I will do my best.” Cheeku Rabbit then left for The Bagh Bahadur Museum. He began investigating and looked for clues all over. Soon, Cheeku reached the toilet. He checked the walls, the ceiling and finally the floor. “Aha,” Cheeku muttered. “I think someone has tampered with the toilet floor. I should tap it with a stick and see.”

Cheeku found a stick and carefully tapped it all over the toilet floor. At one particular spot, the tapping sound sounded odd and hollow.

“Aha! Cheeku shouted happily. “There is something below this floor!” Cheeku bent down and found the sliding door that led to the tunnel.

“This is clearly the work of clever thieves, not ghosts. They have stolen the mummies by entering the museum through this tunnel,” Cheeku said to himself. “I will search the entire area thoroughly. The tunnel must surely have another opening somewhere in the forest.”

Cheeku Rabbit then left the museum and began exploring the entire area. Soon, he found the pond behind the museum. He saw that the water in the pond was unusually muddy. A pile of freshly dug mud was lying nearby too.

“Hmm,” Cheeku Rabbit thought. “The tunnel must have another opening here. The thieves must be using it to enter and leave the museum.” Cheeku Rabbit looked around and found the tunnel’s opening in no time.

“Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf are only two thieves in Champakvan who are interested in stealing antiques and museum artifacts. Besides, they are the only thieves who can think so sharply and come up with such a cunning plan.”

Cheeku Rabbit then went to King Sher Singh and told him what he had found. King Sher Singh was furious.

“I will get Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf arrested at once!” he roared.

“Maharaj, please don’t do that,” Cheeku Rabbit suggested. “It would be better if we catch them red-handed so that we know where they have hidden the stolen mummies.”

“Alright, Cheeku,” King Sher Singh said.

“We will do as you say. I am giving you the authority to catch the thieves.” Cheeku Rabbit then went to the police station and met Inspector Gendamal. He was the police officer in charge of the case. They started working on a plan to catch the thieves.

That very night, Cheeku Rabbit and Inspector Gendamal took a few constables and hid behind the bushes near the pond. They waited there patiently.

Just as the clock struck midnight, Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf came along. They tiptoed towards the tunnel.

“Aha!” Cheeku Rabbit whispered. “So, I was right! It is them!”

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf had no idea that Cheeku Rabbit and Inspector Gendamal were watching them. They walked into the tunnel and made their way to the museum confidently.

As soon as Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf returned carrying a mummy with them, Cheeku Rabbit alerted Inspector Gendamal and his constables. The two wolves walked deep into the forest.

Cheeku Rabbit and Inspector Gendamal followed them quietly. Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf soon reached an abandoned house. They were hiding the mummies in it.

“Hooray! ‘Operation Museum’is a success! We have stolen another mummy from the museum again today!” Laddy Wolf joyfully said once they had entered the house. “We have twelve mummies now. We should sell them to the foreign agent as soon as we can. If the police get suspicious, then our dream of becoming rich will never be fulfilled.”

“You are right. We shouldn’t be very greedy,” Baddy Wolf said. “I have spoken to the foreign agent. He is coming to Champakvan tomorrow night to buy the mummies.We’ll give him the ones we have. We’ll go on a long holiday after we get our money and return only after the matter has been forgotten.”

Suddenly, the house door creaked opened. The two wolves were startled. No one came to the abandoned house. “Cancel your holiday bookings, if you have any,” Inspector Gendamal shouted. “Your game is over. You cannot go anywhere.”

Cheeku Rabbit followed inside. “You have dared to steal Champakvan’s priceless treasures. King Sher Singh is furious. He is going to punish you for stealing his ancestors’ mummies,” Cheeku Rabbit told the two thieves sternly.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf tried to escape. But Inspector Gendamal was too quick for them. He pounced on them and had them arrested.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf confessed to their crimes. The police retrieved the stolen mummies and took them back to the museum.

The following night, Inspector Gendamal arrested the foreign agent who had come to buy the stolen mummies. He too was thrown behind bars and punished.

King Sher Singh was delighted that his ancestors’ mummies were back in the museum. He hosted a party in honour of Cheeku Rabbit for solving the mystery and felicitated him with a medal. Cheeku Rabbit was very proud of himself.

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.

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.

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