bedtime stories for kids Archives - Page 9 of 12

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.

The Sugarcane Ghost

Jumbo elephant loved eating sugarcane. He had planted the sweetest sugarcane plants in his farm and enjoyed sharing sugarcane and its juice with all his neighbours and guests.

One day when Jumbo went to the farm, he was shocked to see sugarcane stalks fallen on the ground. He looked around carefully, but found no sign of anyone entering and walking around the farm.

Next morning, some more of the sugarcane stalks were on the ground. Every night someone entered the farm and broke some of the stalks.

Jumbo started putting a big lock on the door of his farm and the boundary wall around his farm was very high. It was not possible for anyone to jump over and come inside but each morning Jumbo saw that sugarcane stalks were broken.

This troubled Jumbo a lot. On many nights he kept awake and guarded the house, but he did not see anyone going towards his farm. In the morning he found the sugarcane stalks broken and on the ground.

One day, poor Jumbo mentioned this to his friend Jumpy monkey. Jumpy said, “This seems to be the work of a ghost.”

“Why will a ghost break the sugarcane?” Jumbo said, not believing Jumpy.

“If a ghost is not breaking the plants, then is the wind breaking them?” Jumpy replied.

“You have stayed awake the whole night and guarded the stalks. You saw no one come or go, and still the stalks were broken in the morning. This clearly means that it is the work of ghosts, because no one can see them if they do not wish to be seen,” Jumpy continued.

On hearing this, Jumbo got frightened. He started getting afraid to go in the direction of his farm even during the day.

One day Cheeku rabbit came to visit him. Jumbo always offered Cheeku sugarcane juice, but that day he did not do so.

Cheeku found this unusual and asked his friend, “What is the matter Jumbo? You look troubled today. I am also missing the sweet sugarcane juice that you always offer.”

“Don’t mention sugarcane,” Jumbo said, looking sad.

“Why?” asked Cheeku. “You were always so proud of the sugarcane you grew.”

“Ghosts have invaded my sugarcane farm.

Every night they come and break many of my sugarcane stalks. I have stopped going to the farm out of fear,” Jumbo explained to Cheeku.

“Jumbo, you are so intelligent. Why do you still you talk like this? There are no ghosts. They are only exist in our minds and stories,” Cheeku tried to explain.

“If there are no ghosts, then who is breaking my sugarcane?” asked Jumbo.

When Cheeku heard the details, his face became serious. He did not believe in ghosts. “But who is breaking them without being seen?” Cheeku thought to himself and decided to find out.

After thinking for a while Cheeku said, “I am going to spend the night in your farm today and try to find out who breaks the sugarcane.”

“Oh no, I cannot put your life in danger,” said Jumbo who was worried.

Cheeku pleaded to Jumbo and at night he hid behind a tree in the farm.

Around midnight, he heard a faint sound. He could not see anyone. Soon, one of the stalks fell. And after some time another one. Cheeku too started feeling afraid. He was sure there were no spirits and ghosts, but something was there. He tiptoed towards the sound. When he reached close to the spot, he heard the sound of someone chewing something.

Then, he noticed Meeku rat chewing at the base of a sugarcane stalk.

“So you are the sugarcane ghost!” said Cheeku angrily.

When Meeku heard Cheeku’s voice, he tried to run away but Cheeku sprang and caught him. He thundered, “Tell me quickly! Why have you been breaking Jumbo’s sugarcane?”

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you. First leave me,” said Meeku, panting.

“Very smart. If I leave you, you will run away,” said Cheeku. Then relaxing his hold slightly, Cheeku said, “Come, tell me now. Why are you doing this?”

“I was living here happily with my family. Then one day Jumbo trampled and broke my house with his huge and heavy feet. I have been breaking his sugarcane to take revenge for that,” said Meeku with a long sigh.

“When did I break your house?” asked Jumbo as he reached the scene on hearing the noise.

“You had come here to take sugarcane to give juice to your guests,” said Meeku. He was frightened and sure that Jumbo would trample on him and break his bones.

But instead of being angry, Jumbo said sorrowfully, “My friend, I must have trampled your house by mistake. I am very sorry and beg your pardon.”

“You called me ‘friend’!” said Meeku, surprised. He could not believe that such a huge elephant was asking for forgiveness and not punishing him.

“Yes, we all are friends. We should live together with love and not take revenge on one another,” said Jumbo. Then after thinking for a while he said, “I will make a hole in the soil with my long and strong teeth. You can make your house in the hole and live happily again.”

“Thank you Jumbo but we have already made a new house,” Meeku said.

“Oh it is nice to hear that!” said Jumbo.

“But what I have done was not right. I should be punished for it,” said Meeku. Seeing Jumbo’s nobility, he felt very sorry for his act.

“Yes, you should get the punishment,” Jumbo closed his eyes for a while and then said, “Your punishment is to taste all the plants in this garden and tell me which one is the sweetest.”

Then Jumbo added, “Cheeku has found the sugarcane ghost. I want to reward him with the juice of the sweetest plant.”

On hearing this, Meeku went in the farm joyfully. After some time his voice was heard, “Dear Jumbo, this plant is the sweetest.”

Jumbo quickly went and got that stalk. He squeezed the juice and offered it to both his friends. All felt very happy.

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.

Sweety Learns a Valuable Lesson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE POWER OF HARMONY

Alfred had two mobile phones. He had put a SIM card of a different network in each mobile phone. One day, while Alfred was browsing in a shop, he came across a mobile phone that had a unique feature.

“This mobile phone lets the owner insert two SIM cards in it simultaneously,” the shopkeeper told Alfred.

“It would be better if I buy this mobile phone,” Alfred thought. “It will simultaneously hold my two SIM cards and save me the trouble of carrying two mobile phones. My other phones have become quite old anyway.”

He bought the new mobile phone the next day itself. Alfred’s new mobile phone worked very well for a few days, but then something very strange happened.

The two SIM cards that Alfred had inserted in the new phone began fighting with each other.

“Alfred uses me more often to make calls,” one of the SIM cards boasted. “You are in here just for namesake. You are always lying in a corner.”

The other SIM card grew furious. It didn’t like being spoken to in such an insulting manner.

“Don’t act smart,” the other SIM card shouted. “All the incoming calls are made to me. I am far more useful to Alfred than you are!”

“You are cheap and everybody knows that cheap things are not durable,” the first SIM card said and sniggered.

“Why should one buy expensive things when the inexpensive ones can provide the same convenience for much less, huh?” the second SIM card said, not wanting to be left behind.

The battery inside the phone had been silently witnessing the SIM cards’ fight for a long time. It couldn’t hold itself back anymore.

“Calm down now,” it said. “You both are arguing pointlessly.”

“You ugly, black battery…who asked you to interfere with us? Did anyone ask for your advice?” both the SIM cards said, forgetting about their fight and starting a new one with the battery.

“What do you think I am? You both can’t utter a word without me,” the battery said, blowing its own trumpet. “Don’t you know that the mobile phone won’t work unless it has battery power? So, technically speaking, I am your boss!”

The intensity of the fight increased, and soon the entire handset began trembling because of the commotion inside it. Before the handset could say anything, there was a phone call and Alfred picked up the mobile phone and answered it.

But he couldn’t hear the caller at the other end clearly, because there were too many odd sounds coming from the handset. “There is something wrong with this mobile phone,” Alfred said and immediately took the mobile phone back to the shop. He asked the shopkeeper to repair it but the shopkeeper returned it to Alfred saying that it seemed perfectly all right.

The fight hadn’t stopped as yet. The charger too joined the battle, and argued with the SIM cards and the battery. “Stop thinking of yourselves as superior,” the charger said proudly. “If I don’t charge the battery, none of you will have any existence at all. You should be thankful to me for keeping you in working condition!”

The battery had no answer to the charger’s claim. “Hey! Have you all have forgotten me?” the handset said, trying to prove how important he was too. “You all are fixed inside me. I am your true boss! You all are, after all, my parts.”

The squabble was escalating. And in the bargain, all the parts had completely forgotten that they needed to get back to work. Alfred was very disturbed. He found that his mobile phone wasn’t working, and he was missing out on making and receiving important calls.

He took the mobile phone and the charger back to the shopkeeper again and banged them on his counter angrily.

“Refund my money. This mobile phone is completely useless. There is definitely something wrong with it,” he shouted. “There are strange sounds coming from it.”

The shopkeeper took the mobile phone and charger back from Alfred and told him that he would check them. He then requested Alfred to come back after a day.

Just as Alfred walked out of the shop, a man entered with his mobile phone and charger.

Now, this man had accidentally overcharged the battery of his phone. It had damaged the mobile phone and made it irreparable.

“Your mobile phone and charger are of no use to anyone anymore,” the shopkeeper said loudly, after examining the faulty mobile phone. “They are only worth throwing in the dustbin now.”

The shopkeeper’s words gave the parts of Alfred’s mobile phone a big jolt. The SIM cards got worried. The battery was terrified. The handset and the charger felt quite nervous. “What if this happens to us?” one of the SIM cards said. “What if the shopkeeper tells Alfred we must be thrown away?”

“We won’t let that happen,” the other SIM card said.

“We will never let this kind of situation come upon us!” “We will forget about our fight and work together as a team!” the battery said.

“I agree!” added the charger.

“So do I,” said the handset.

And so, the SIM cards, the battery, the charger and the handset decided that they would forget about their petty squabble and live and work together in harmony.

“Your mobile phone is working now,” the shopkeeper told Alfred when he returned to the shop the next day. “Please pay me two hundred rupees for servicing the parts.”

The SIM cards, the battery, the handset and the charger knew that there was nothing wrong with them, and that the shopkeeper hadn’t serviced them at all. They felt very ashamed that their owner Alfred, who took such good care of them, had to pay the shopkeeper, just because they had quarrelled.

They apologised to each other and made a pact never to fight again.

“We will live and work in harmony from now on,” they promised.

The result of this pact was that the mobile phone worked very well. Alfred was very satisfied. “This mobile phone is better than the ones I owned before,” he told his friends “I am really happy with it!”

When the SIM card, the battery, the charger and the handset heard Alfred, they looked at each other and smiled. They were glad that they had decided to work and live together in harmony.

TIGER BILLA

Tiger was an alley cat. He had no home and no one cared or worried about him. He did not even share whatever little he had with the other cats who lived on the streets. Well, this was because all the animals who lived on the streets struggled to stay alive. Their days were spent foraging for food. Tiger too roamed on the streets all day long. He wandered in the back alleys of the city, searching for food. He was always hungry with a terrible ache in his belly. As a result of this, he was never really happy. No one ever seemed to care whether he was tired or thirsty or hungry or sleepy or unwell. Poor Tiger!

“Oh, how I wish I had someone to take care of me,” Tiger would often say. “I am so lonely. I am so sad. No one cares about me or even gives me a second look.”

Each day was as difficult for Tiger. He would wake up feeling famished and go looking for food. Well, food was scarce and Tiger would have to walk long distances and even sift through dustbins. Well, there were too many stray cats and not much food to go around. Tiger felt lucky if he found even a morsel to eat. As time went by, Tiger felt more and more miserable.

He stopped purring like happy cats usually did. And he lost interest in smiling and playing. Whenever he came across children, he ran away. He even stopped trusting everyone he encountered. Well, life was not easy as a stray.

One day, it rained very heavily. Tiger found that he was soaking wet. He shivered and felt terrible when he realised he had to sleep on the wet ground.

Tiger wept and wished he had a better life.

“Life is so lonely without any friends,” he sobbed. “And this rain is making me feel worse. We cats hate water and today, I’m all drenched.”

Suddenly, Tiger heard a voice. “What is a cat who hates water doing outdoors on a wet day like this?” the voice said softly and gently. “The poor thing!”

Tiger wondered if he was dreaming.

“Oh! What a lovely dream I’m having! Someone is actually worrying about me even though it’s a dream!” he thought.

Tiger then felt a pair of dry hands pick him up and cradle him in the crook of an arm. He realised that he wasn’t dreaming and that what was happening was quite real!

Tiger looked up and saw that he was in the arms of a little girl. She had picked him up as she knew that cats hated getting wet. And then to Tiger’s great surprise, the little girl took him into her house.

Tiger’s joy knew no bounds.

“At last I’ve found a friend!” he thought to himself. “There’s finally someone who cares about me!”

Tiger placed him on her lap, as she sat and rocked on a big brown rocking chair.

Tiger was no longer cold or scared, for he had found someone who loved and cared for him. The friendship between the alley cat and the little girl blossomed, and the two soon became inseparable.

Now all Tiger does is purr and purr. He even smiles a contented smile at everyone who looks at him.

“A little bit of caring was all that it took to make my life happy,” Tiger tells everyone he meets. “My heart felt full of happiness and joy the moment I found that someone actually cares about me.”

Well, Tiger is right. A little bit of caring is all that it takes to make someone’s life happy and joyful. So, when you come across anyone who looks lonely, sad or blue, do something kind and help them feel loved and cared for.

Root and Branches

There was a huge Banyan tree on the corner of the road that led to the village. It had stood there for years. The passers-by halted under the tree when they became tired. The tree happily gave them shelter, it gave the tree a sense of joy.

One day, the branches of the tree felt proud of themselves and said to its root, “We are so great. We, along with the leaves, give shade to the tired travelers and they thank us in return, Nobody even acknowledges or knows you.” The root replied, “You are forgetting something. I am your strength. You all would not survive without my support. I am the real life of this tree.”

“We agree that you provide us support,” said a branch, “but if we do not take in air and Sunlight with the help of the leaves, then we wouldn’t survive. What role do you play in this?”

The root replied, “Water is necessary for survival and I absorb water from the soil. The water reaches the leaves and the branches through capillary action. This water keeps you and the leaves alive.”

“Whatever it is, we are more important than you are,” said the branches.

The root raised an objection and said, “No, I am more important.”

Amidst this argument, suddenly the ground started trembling. The leaves and the branches started shivering. Clearly it was an earthquake. This was the time for the root to show its might. It fearlessly held on to the ground with a strong grip. The branches and the leaves got scared but the root said to them, “There is no need to worry. I am doing my work very well.”

The tremors vanished after sometime. Everything became peaceful again. The tree wasn’t harmed at all. With all the arrogance, the root said, “Be thankful to me. I saved you all from destruction.”

Before the branches could reply, a violent storm struck the place and winds started blowing fiercely. If the branches fell apart, then the tree would become useless. So it was the time for the branches to fulfill their duty.

The branches strengthened themselves and remained unaffected by the winds. The storm came under control in a few minutes and the tree was still standing intact. Now it was the time for the branches to praise themselves. They turned towards the root and said, “Had we fallen apart, the tree would have lost its value. So do you agree that we are more important?”

A squirrel that was sitting on the tree was listening to all the arguments between the branches and the root. The squirrel finally said, “The storm and the earthquake have made you realize that you both hold equal importance. Then what is the point of arguing now? Just fulfill your duties and work collectively to save the tree.”

The root and the branches understood each other’s importance and that they were wasting their precious time in arguing over a petty matter.

They smiled and said, “True, Miss Squirrel. You are absolutely right. Each one holds importance and can help others in need.”

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.

Rockstar Guitar

Rockstar Guitar was ready to rock the show. His friends – Stylo Sitar, Bingo Violin and Perky Trumpet were practicing along with him. The concert hall was packed to capacity and the rival group was unusually eager to start the show.

Rockstar Guitar thought, “They seem to be overconfident. I wonder why? We are equal competitors after all. Not less in any manner.” The stage was set. The compere for the show, Chintu Rabbit announced, “And now, for the grand show of the evening, the musical concert- a grand contest between two musical troupes Rockstar Guitar and his band and The Tableturners. Let’s give them all a big hand.”

The applause for the start of the show was heartening. The curtains drew apart and there was Rockstar Guitar and his band assembled on stage. Rockstar Guitar introduced himself and his group members. He started his music and singing. He strummed and sang along, “Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom,” and the audience enjoyed every bit of it.

Bingo Violin accompanied his singing and music with its beautiful notes. The song went on and on… ‘Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom, Let’s all just dance to rock and roll, Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom Let’s all just dance with twists and turns,

Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom. Yay, yay, yay, ra, za, zoom, Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom…’

In the middle of the song, Stylo Sitar tried its music but found itself stuck and no notes came forth from it. It looked at Rockstar Guitar with pleading eyes and Rockstar Guitar understood the situation at once. Rockstar Guitar thought, “Stylo Sitar is in trouble. I should save this situation.”

To save his band member, Rockstar Guitar began playing the musical notes of Stylo Sitar himself. Stylo Sitar was swaying happily and stylishly with a smile on his face and everyone thought that the music was coming from Stylo Sitar, whilst actually Rockstar Guitar was playing Stylo Sitar’s music. Perky Trumpet rendered itself wholly into the beat of the song. No one could make out the faux pas and the band rocked the evening.

The rival group, The Tableturners, was dismayed. “We were here to turn the tables on the other group. How did the tables turn back on us?” they thought disappointedly. Striko Cymbal, which had been given the task of tampering with Stylo Sitar in Rockstar Guitar’s band, was beaten in anger by their group head, Dumroo Drum. “Couldn’t you do this one job properly?” bellowed Dumroo Drum.

“I really did cut Stylo Sitar’s strings,” Striko Cymbal pleaded, but to no avail. The other members of The Tableturners, Gabla Tabla and Trummy Trumpet started quarrelling among themselves backstage, for not having “fixed” the other group.

They all came to blows with every instrument blaming each other. The harmony in the group was lost. When they heard the thunderous applause from the audience for Rockstar Guitar’s band, they became jealous. There were butterflies in their stomach. Now it was their turn to perform.

Rockstar Guitar and his band humbly bowed before the audience and went backstage to their room. Stylo Sitar thanked its group head, Rockstar Guitar for having saved the day with his mind blowing music and presence of mind.

The Tableturners came on stage and started their music and singing. But it was evident that something was missing. The initial excitement to perform well was lost with their plot going haywire. The team spirit was lackluster and nowhere did it have the feel and depth associated with great music.

Moreover, the infighting amongst themselves had tired them out even before the performance. Striko Cymbal couldn’t make any music properly and Trummy Trumpet had an upset tummy. Instead of a sizzling performance, their performance fizzled out. The audience did clap but halfheartedly.

By this time, it was obvious who would win.

The Tableturners realized that they had spent more time in trying to tamper the other group’s performance. This had resulted in their plan backfiring and the tables being turned on them instead. They could have instead utilized the time to build up their practice. They decided that henceforth they would not waste their time in useless pursuits and would build a good band with sincere practice and dedication. Rockstar Guitar and his band stole the show and won the contest. The audience was ecstatically singing “Ra, ra, rume, za, za, zoom.” A good team led by a good leader always wins.

The Tableturner had learnt a lesson. They resolved to play fair and worked hard at becoming good musicians. Last heard, The Tableturners had even changed their group name to The Headturners.

Moderation is the key

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chimpu was surprised.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friends Of A Feather

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However, Browny couldn’t do so.

She brought the baby Eagle to her nest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Champi the Cheat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Finder Of Lost Things

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

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

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

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

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

The Road to Change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bony Monkey’s Stupendous Act

There had been no rain in Champakvan for many days. The forest that was
once lush and green was now turning dry and barren. All the animals were anxious as the resources of food and water were dwindling with every passing day.

Bony Monkey was oblivious to everything that was happening around him. He was engrossed with his inventions in a cave. Just a few days ago, he had made some pillows by tying dry leaves on a curved branch. Bony’s pillows were selling like hot cakes. The older animals of the jungle felt comfortable after keeping them under their heads while sleeping at night. They had agreed to pay Bony Monkey in kind and promised to give him something to eat in return for the
pillows that gave them a good night’s sleep.

It was Bony Monkey too, who had invented a vehicle a few years ago, by using a wooden board and wheels. This vehicle had become very popular in the jungle. The animals had preferred to use it as it saved a lot of their time. But then a few mishaps had occurred and some of the animals had found themselves falling off the vehicle. And so, there were many apprehensions about using Bony’s vehicle now. Kalu Bear still used the vehicle. But he still had trouble balancing himself on it and often fell down. He would then have many negative things to say about
Bony Monkey.

And today, Hariyala Deer was feeling on top of the world, thanks to another one of Bony Monkey’s unique inventions. Well just today, Bony had fixed a pair of wings on Hariyala Deer’s back because the deer wished to visit his friend Sundar Crow’s nest that was on top of a tree. However, this deal had proved to be quite expensive for Hariyala Deer as he had promised to give Bony an entire month’s
supply of fresh fruits in return.

Hariyala Deer and his friend Sundar Crow had worked very hard for this day. They had collected feathers for many months. Sundar Crow would fly and search for feathers that the birds had dropped. He would pick them up carefully and give them to Hariyala Deer to take to Bony Monkey.

Bony Monkey would reject the feathers if he didn’t think them good enough for the wings, but Hariyala Deer and Sundar Crow wouldn’t lose their patience. They would look for more feathers and take them back to Bony Monkey.

And finally today, their patience and hard work had paid off.

Hariyala Deer was looking forward to his flight. Once he flew to the nest, he would be able to see Sundar’s three chicks and also have the opportunity to meet his wife, Sundari.

For the first few days, Hariyala Deer had taken fresh fruits to Bony Monkey as
promised. But today, he noticed that as the trees and plants were drying up, he couldn’t find anything to take to Bony Monkey.
Sundar Crow helped him look for the fruits, and even though they tried very hard, they found nothing.

When they were coming back after a long and futile search, they saw Bony Monkey walking towards them. Hariyala Deer was surprised to see Bony Monkey walking in the forest.

“What are you doing outside your cave today, Bony Monkey?” Hariyala Deer asked. “You hardly come out!”

“I was looking for you,” Bony Monkey said in a loud voice. “Where is my remuneration?

You haven’t brought me a single fruit today.” Hariyala Deer didn’t know what to say. “Umm…well…actually…” he started to say, feeling quite embarrassed.

“Are you trying to make excuses?” Bony Monkey said furiously. “Where are my
fruits?”

“Bony,” Sundar Crow said politely, hoping Bony Monkey would calm down. “Please climb to a tree trop and look around. You will see how bad the situation in our forest is. There are hardly any fruits growing on the trees of Champakvan right now. We haven’t had any rainfall of late. You probably haven’t realised that since you hardly come out of your cave.”

“Is that so?” Bony Monkey asked, looking astonished. He then went back to his cave and brought out another one of his inventions. It was a long rope that had a
basket tied to one of its end. Bony Monkey put the rope around a tree and then sat in the basket. He asked Hariyala Deer to pull the rope.

As Hariyala Deer pulled the rope, Bony went higher and higher and finally reached the tree top without having to climb a single branch.

He then looked around and said, “Well, you are right! There are hardly any
fruits growing on the trees of our forest!”

Bony Monkey then looked up towards the sky and said, “I will make a very big basket. A gigantic one. All the animals of Champakvan will fit in it. We will use it to fly in the sky. We all will then go and live on the moon. The moon shines like a pearl. There must be water and lush green forests on it for sure. We will have plenty to eat there.”

News of Bony Monkey’s idea spread through the forest like wild fire. All the animals and birds gathered outside Bony Monkey’s cave with their families. They all wanted to go to the moon. Bony Monkey gave them tokens with numbers and told them that he would take at least two months to build his basket. He then went into his cave and began preparations.

“I have assured everyone that I’ll take them to the moon,” he told himself as he gazed at the moon that night and scratched his head. “But how will I fulfill my promise?”

Soon, all the animals and birds of Champakvan helped Bony Monkey make a gigantic basket. They covered its upper portion with wood and leaves. Jumbo Elephant even painted the basket with his trunk. Bony Monkey called Jumbo Elephant aside and advised him to lose weight, so that his weight wouldn’t cause any trouble during their flight. Jumbo Elephant’s family too began taking brisk walks daily to lose weight.

Soon, the gigantic basket was ready. “The basket is ready but how do I make it fly?” Bony wondered. He then snapped his fingers and smiled.

“I have an idea!” he said enthusiastically. “How about fixing wings on this basket?” He called all the animals and birds and said, “Collect as many feathers as you can! And the birds can help us fly the basket too. To our destination—the moon!” He then went into his cave, scratching his head.

Bony Monkey had planned to take the basket to the moon with the help of wings.
But the truth was that he was not very sure about his idea. While he was thinking of what he would really do, he saw the tea kettle boiling on the stove. Bony Monkey noticed that the kettle had become very hot and that there was steam coming out of it. He saw that the lid of the kettle was moving upwards because of the steam.

Bony Monkey clapped his hands and jumped excitedly. “Yesssssssss!” he shouted.
“Fire, steam and heat will do the trick!”

The next day itself, he had the basket cut in the middle and made arrangements for steam to be made there. The basket was then covered from the top completely, so that the wind wouldn’t change its temperature. It was also opened from below, so that the heat didn’t reach the animals.

Finally, the day everyone was waiting for arrived. All the animals and birds of the forest climbed into the gigantic basket. Sundar Crow, his wife Sundari and their three chicks also sat inside the basket.

The basket rose high in the air when it received heat and steam from below. Even the birds did their bit to help raise it in the air.

The joy of all the animals and birds in the basket knew no bounds. They were finally flying high in the air! And they were finally on their way to the moon!

They waved goodbye to all the other animals who were left behind, and hoped that they would reach the moon by the nightfall.

Suddenly, a storm started blowing. The strong winds put the fire beneath the basket out. Bony Monkey tried his level best to navigate the basket through the storm, but nothing could be done. The moon still wasn’t anywhere in sight. But the animals still hoped that they would reach it soon.

And then to their great horror, the storm pulled the basket along with it.

To everyone’s disappointment, the basket hit the peak of a tall mountain and tumbled down. All the animals and birds panicked and were now only concerned about the lives of their families and friends.

The next morning, they found Bony Monkey lying unconscious. All the animals
and birds gathered around him and helped him regain his consciousness. When Bony Monkey finally came around, he began crying, “Oh! What a foolish thing I’ve done! I’ve brought you all far away from Champakvan! We didn’t even go close to the moon.” Sundar Crow smiled and consoled Bony Monkey.

“Bony,” he said. “What you did wasn’t foolish but stupendous. Look
around! There is a river flowing nearby! The forest is lush and green here! And there is plenty of food too!”

Hariyala Deer patted Bony Monkey’s shoulder and said, “And guess what? The
best part is that we are still in Champakvan! We are on the other side of the mountain— the other part of the forest we were always afraid of going to!”

“Is that so?” Bony Monkey asked, looking around. “Yes!” said Sundar Crow. “But we are no longer afraid of this part as we now know that there is nothing to be scared of here! Who knows how things would have been on moon?”

“That’s correct!” Hariyala Deer said. “Whatever has happened, has happened for
the best.” All the animals clapped their hangs and cheered for Bony Monkey.

“Well done, Bony Monkey!” they shouted happily. “Thank you for bringing us here!”

Bony Monkey sat under a tree. He couldn’t believe what had happened. When he
gathered his wits, he called out to Hariyala Deer and said, “Well, I have brought you all here in my gigantic basket, haven’t I? Where is my remuneration?”

All the animals and birds laughed. “Bony Monkey,” they said. “This part of the forest will be lush for a long, long time! Don’t worry! We will bring you fruits for as long as we live!”

Bony Monkey smiled. He was glad that he had brought all his friends—even though by accident— to a part of the forest they would happily live and prosper in.

King of the Muck

Cheeku was a naughty rabbit. He lived in Champakvan. He played the whole day. He spent the day eating juicy, red carrots. He had become round and chubby. Whenever Baddy the fox saw him, he felt tempted to eat Cheeku.

However, Cheeku knew that Baddy wanted to eat him. Therefore, he stayed away from him. Cheeku spent most of his time hiding in the bushes or playing.

One day, Cheeku was sitting near a mucky pond. He was happily enjoying carrots when he saw Baddy coming towards him. He did not have enough time to escape. So he thought of an alternate plan.

He entered the mucky pond. He covered himself with muck. He applied dirt to his entire body and face. His entire body, except his eyes, was muddy. He looked like a brown lump with red eyes. Instead of running away, he sat in a corner of the mucky pond.

Just then Baddy arrived. He felt that Cheeku was around. He searched for Cheeku in the bushes. However he couldn’t find him. He did not have the slightest idea that Cheeku was hiding in the pond.

Cheeku thought that Baddy would go away as he had not found him in the bushes. However, Baddy came towards the pond. He was thirsty. He wanted to quench his thirst. Cheeku got scared knowing that if Baddy found him, he would definitely kill him.

Cheeku was a smart fellow. He never gave up easily. He started thinking about what he should do next.

He shouted at Baddy, “You strange animal! Who are you? How dare you come near my pond to drink water? Don’t you know who I am?”

Baddy gazed around. He realised that the sound was coming from a small creature that was half sunk inside the pond. Its eyes were a dangerous red in color. He was stunned to see such a weird creature talking to him.

No one had ever spoken to him in such a manner.

Baddy replied in a nervous tone, “Sir, I have come to drink water from this pond. I was totally unaware that you own this pond. I have never seen you before. May I please drink water from your pond?”

“No,” said Cheeku. He added, “You can drink water from my pond on one condition.”

Baddy was very thirsty. He couldn’t wait to go elsewhere to drink water. He said, “What is the condition, Sir?”

Cheeku said, “I don’t know who you are, but let me introduce myself. I am the King of Muck.”

Baddy became nervous when he heard the word ‘King’. He had seen the Lion who is the king of the jungle. However, he had never heard of the King of Muck. He was surprised to meet another king. He thought that a Lion staying in muck is known as the King of Muck’.

Baddy was deep in thought.

Suddenly Cheeku shouted, “Listen to me carefully. I ate a big fat rabbit a while ago. However, I am not satisfied with it. I did not like its taste.”

Baddy was now very frightened. He was sure that this king had eaten Cheeku since he was around a while ago. He was surprised that he did not like the taste of a rabbit.

He said, “Sir. Rabbits are very tasty. How come you did not like its taste?”

Cheeku replied, “My brother, who stays in the jungle, had come to meet me yesterday. He brought a few pieces of fox’s meat for me. That meat was so delicious. After eating that meat, I don’t like any other type of flesh.”

Hearing this, a chill ran down Baddy’s spine. He started shivering in fear. He thought that if the King of Muck realised that he was a Fox, then he would get killed. He started thinking of ways to escape from there.

“I want to eat a fox,” said Cheeku. “There might be foxes in this forest. You have to get me and my friends a few foxes. I want to treat my friends. They will arrive in a couple of minutes. You can drink water from my pond only after you get me some foxes.”

By now, Baddy was sweating and trembling. He thought that if the king’s friends came to the pond they might recognise him. Then, they would tear him apart and feast on him. He realised that it was thus best to run away from the pond at the earliest.

Baddy said, “Sir, there are a lot of foxes in this jungle. I shall quickly go and fetch a few for you and your friends. I will be right back with some delicious food for you.”

He began to walk away.

Cheeku said, “I am not in a hurry at all. Tell me your name before you leave.” Baddy replied, “I do not have that much time, Sir. First, let me get some foxes for you. Then, I will sit and chat with you.” Baddy ran away never to return. Cheeku laughed at Baddy’s foolishness. He walked to the nearest river. He washed his body and removed all the muck and dirt.

Cheeku now breathed a sigh of relief. He felt proud of his intellect as it helped him get to rid of Baddy.

Happy Garden

Sunny was an adorable little flower. He grew in a tiny pot in a garden at Gulbaug. Being the youngest flower, he was loved by all the other flowers and plants. They pampered him like a baby. They took utmost care of him.

The Jamun tree would bend down to caress and cuddle Sunny gently. The Gulmohar tree would shower him gently with its flowers.

At bedtime the old Banyan tree narrated stories to put him to sleep.

Sunny was a cheerful flower. He was always smiling. He spread his fragrance throughout the garden. He used to enjoy the monsoons. He would dance and sing along with the plants. Sometimes he spoke to the sparrows that sat on the nearby trees. He giggled and laughed at their jokes. The sparrows told him stories of the world outside the garden. Everyone adored him in their own way.

The bees were also fond of Sunny. They sat on his delicate petals and sang sweet songs. Champu the Bear owned the garden. He also loved Sunny.

He pampered him whenever he came to water the plants. Sunny was happy. He enjoyed the attention paid to him to the fullest.

One morning, Sunny opened his eyes to the warm sun rays. He looked around.

He found a small bud on a nearby plant. It seemed to be asleep. A thought struck his mind. He became upset. He was sad when he realised that he would no longer be the youngest anymore. He felt that everyone would start loving the new flower. They would now pay less attention to him. The affection that he previously got would now be divided once the new bud bloomed into a flower.

After a while, the news of the new bud spread throughout the garden. The entire garden was seen to be in a celebratory mood. Preparations for its arrival began in full swing. When a new bud was about to bloom in the garden there usually was a grand celebration. Everyone was happy to welcome the new guest.

The Banyan tree specially invited a cuckoo who sang a song for the newcomer. The leaves clapped aloud.

The bees sang in chorus. The squirrels performed an entertaining dance. Everyone showered their love on the bud. They waited for it to bloom into a beautiful flower.

Sunny was not happy with the attention that the new bud was getting. However, he still managed to be a part of the celebrations. Although he was cared for by others, he felt jealous of the new bud. Jolly flower was his best friend. He understood what was going on in Sunny’s mind. Jolly immediately went to the Banyan tree and told him everything.

The Banyan tree thought for a while. He sent a signal to all the plants and trees. They got the message. They gathered around Sunny. They began patting, cuddling and kissing him.

The Banyan tree affectionately said, “Son, all of us love you. Our love for you shall not reduce on the arrival of the new flower.”

The Guava tree said, “The new bud is very tiny and delicate. Therefore it needs lots of care. This doesn’t mean that we will not care for you.”

Jolly stepped forward and said, “Before you were born, I was the youngest flower in this Garden. Your arrival did not make me sad. I was happy thinking that I would have a companion to play with.” The green grass added, “Young ones need care and affection. It feels good to love and to be loved. You will surely adore the new flower when it blooms.”

All these words brought a wide smile on Sunny’s face. He understood that his thinking had been wrong. He was convinced that he would always be important to everyone.

He embraced the Banyan tree. He said, “You are so nice. You love me so much. I was unnecessarily feeling sad and insecure.”

He then turned to the other plants and said, “I love all of you. Now, even I am eager to see the new bud bloom.”|

Sunny looked at the bud and smiled. The bud seemed to be smiling back at him. A smile spread on everyone’s face. The Gulmohar tree showered its flowers on Sunny. Once again, the garden was filled with joy and happiness.

TELEPATHIC BABA

Rani Deer and Soni Deer were the best of friends. They were neighbours too, since their homes were right next to each other.

Soni Deer was a tailor. She made a living by stitching the clothes for the animals who lived in the forest. Rani Deer was a schoolteacher. She was happy to teach the young animals who studied in the forest school.

Soni Deer was very superstitious. She believed in rituals and would spend all her free time performing rituals. Well, she had been having some tough times lately. The heavy rains that lashed the forest every monsoon, had damaged the roof of her house and made it leak. The house was drenched, and Soni Deer had to stay in Rani Deer’s house, and also pay the repairmen a huge amount of money to repair her roof.

When Soni Deer finally went home, she found that her sewing machine had stopped working. She had to pay a lot of money to repair it, and was out of work for many days.

Soon after that, she had a fall while running to the market, and hurt one of her legs.

One day, Soni Deer saw an old man with a long beard standing outside the house.

“This house has a spirit hovering above it,” the old man shouted. “It is a very evil one! It is causing trouble for the house owner!”

Soni Deer was flabbergasted.

“I’ve had so much trouble of late,” Soni Deer thought. “This old man must be right! He must be a seer and can probably see an evil spirit hovering above my house!”

Soni Deer called out to the old man and asked, “How do you know this, Baba? Are you a seer?”

The old man closed his eyes, and looked like he was lost in thought. He opened them a few minutes later. Soni Deer gasped. The old man’s eyes were flaming red.

“I can see the evil spirit that’s troubling you right now,” the old man shouted. “He has broken your roof and has also made you fall down. I think he has meddled with your sewing machine too. He is very evil and wants to cause more trouble for you!”

Soni Deer’s jaw dropped. Her eyes grew wide. She believed every word of what the old man was saying. “He definitely must be a great seer!” she thought.

“Baba,” Soni Deer then said. “Please tell me how I can protect myself from this evil spirit who wants to harm me!”

“Well, I can help you if you like,” the old man said. “I can come back after two days and perform a ritual. It will take a few hours to complete. But be assured that it will drive the evil spirit faraway from your house.”

Soni Deer trusted the old man. “He will drive the evil spirit away and solve all my problems,” she thought.

“Baba, let’s perform this ritual,” she told the old man eagerly.

“Please tell me what you will require.”

The old man gave Soni Deer a list of things that she needed to buy. He then told her that he would come back to perform the ritual after two days.

As soon as the old man left, Soni Deer ran to Rani Deer’s house. She told her about the old man and the ritual that he would perform to drive the evil spirit away.

But to her great disappointment, Rani Deer grew very upset and scolded Soni Deer harshly. “Soni, since when have you become so foolish?” Rani Deer shouted. “How can you believe this old man, huh? He must be a conman who’s trying to cheat you! There are no such things as evil spirits! You’ve just been having some bad days! We all have them at sometime or the other!”

Soni Deer was not convinced. “If the old man was a conman, how did he know about my troubles?” she asked.

Rani Deer shook her head and replied, “Everyone in the forest knows about your leaking roof, your sewing machine, and your fall. It’s a small forest and news spreads easily. The old man must have heard about you from someone you both know. Please listen to me and stay away from him.”

But Soni Deer didn’t listen to her friend. “Well, there’s no harm in performing a small ritual, is there?” she said and stormed out of Rani Deer’s house.

Rani Deer realised that it was useless to say anything more to her friend. She decided that she would secretly keep an eye on the old man when he went to Soni Deer’s house next.

After two days, the old man knocked on Soni’ Deer’s door. Soni Deer was very happy to see him. She invited him in to perform the ritual.

“Eat this,” the old man told Soni and gave her some food to eat. “It is part of the ritual!”

Soni Deer respectfully ate what she was given. She was convinced that the old man was her well-wisher, and that he would drive the evil spirit away from her house. She sat down as the old man began the ritual, and hoped that all her troubles would soon be over.

Suddenly, Soni Deer felt as though the world around her was spinning. “Unhh!” she cried. “Why am I feeling so giddy?”

“Don’t worry,” the old man said. “The evil spirit is leaving your house. That’s why you’re feeling uneasy.”

“Oh!” Soni Deer said, believing the old man.Little did Soni Deer know, that the old man, was young Nakul Jackal in disguise. He was a notorious conman who wanted to steal the money and gold that Soni Deer had in her house. Or that she was feeling giddy, because Nakul Jackal had mixed a sedative in the food that he had given her to eat.

Soni Deer found herself feeling drowsy, and in no time, she fell fast asleep. Nakul Jackal laughed when he saw Soni Deer sleeping. He quickly gathered all the money and gold he found in the house.

“I’ll leave before she wakes up,” he said, running towards the door. But the moment Nakul Jackal opened the door, he found Inspector Matru Bear standing in front of him.

Inspector Matru Bear handcuffed Nakul Jackal immediately. Rani Deer then rushed into the house with Dr. Appu Elephant, and ran towards her friend.

When Soni Deer woke up, Rani Deer told her what had happened. Soni Deer cried and held her friend’s hand.

“You saved me, my dear friend,” Soni said gratefully. “Had you not alerted the police, Nakul Jackal would have surely stolen all my gold and hard-earned money. But tell me, how did you suspect that he was a conman?”

Rani Deer replied, “Well, I stood outside your house to watch what was happening. When I heard you say that you were feeling giddy, I realised that something was very wrong. And so, I ran to alert the police and call the doctor. Inspector Matru Bear guessed that the old man was Nakul Jackal in disguise, since he is notorious for playing such tricks.”

“I have learnt my lesson,” Soni Deer said. “I won’t believe in evil sprits from now on. Or old men who claim that they are seers and can perform rituals. I’ll accept the bad days of life gracefully, for I know that they will be followed by good days!”

Rani Deer smiled. She was glad that her friend wouldn’t fall for a conman’s tricks ever again.

Astute Son-in-law

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes,” Fu Ya said and bowed obediently.

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

Chin Lee listened calmly.

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

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

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

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

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

The minister nodded and took the lantern from Chin Lee.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do Good and have Good

One afternoon, Bunty Monkey was returning home from school. He was crossing a tree over the river when he heard the sound of crying.

“I wonder who’s crying here?” Bunty said as he looked around. “Hello? Is there anyone out here?”

A little tortoise crawled out from behind a tree. Bunty saw that he was crying.

“Why are you crying, little one?” Bunty asked, looking very concerned

“I am hungry. My stomach is growling,” the tortoise wept. “My mum and dad are not at home right now and there is nothing for me to eat.”

Bunty Monkey felt very sorry for the little tortoise.

“Don’t cry,” he said gently. “I have two ripe guavas in my schoolbag. You can eat them both.” Bunty then took two guavas out of his schoolbag and gave them to the tortoise.

The tortoise ate both the guavas very quickly.

He then looked up at Bunty and said, “My stomach is still growling. I am still very hungry.”

“Don’t worry,” Bunty told the tortoise. “There are some guava trees here. I will get you some more guavas to eat.”

Bunty then jumped around and plucked more guavas for the tortoise to eat.

He gave them to the tortoise who started gobbling them up.

Bunty was amazed.

“This little tortoise is finishing all the guavas I have given him,” Bunty thought to himself. “He really is greedy. I am much bigger than him but can hardly eat more than one or two. If he asks me for more guavas now, I will refuse.”

The tortoise finished the guavas. He then quietly crawled back behind the tree.

Bunty was surprised.

“What? He didn’t even thank me! What a rude little tortoise he is!” Bunty muttered as he picked up his schoolbag and walked home.

The next day, Bunty was returning from school when he met the tortoise again.

“I am hungry,” the tortoise said as soon as he saw Bunty.

“Aha!” Bunty said. “So you are hungry and alone again!”

Bunty put his schoolbag down and plucked many guavas for the tortoise.

The Finder Of Lost Things

He then watched as the little tortoise gulped them down and crawled back behind the tree.

The same thing happened the next day. And the day after that. And for many more days.

The tortoise would see Bunty returning from school everyday and tell him that he was hungry.

Bunty would pluck the guavas and give them to the tortoise who would eat them very quickly.

Bunty didn’t mind for a few days. But plucking guavas for the tortoise everyday after school tired him no end. He found it difficult to refuse the hungry little tortoise too.

One day, Bunty decided that he wouldn’t pluck guavas for the tortoise anymore.

“Why don’t you tell your parents that you get hungry when they are away? They should leave some food for you before going out. I can’t pluck guavas for you everyday, you know,” Bunty told the little tortoise.

The little tortoise looked up at Bunty and said, “My mum and dad leave a lot of food for me to eat at home. But Kittu finishes it all and then wants more food.”

“If Kittu eats all of your food, why don’t you complain about him to your parents?” Bunty asked surprised.

“Well, I am Kittu!” the little tortoise said innocently. He then quickly ate all the guavas Bunty had plucked for him and crawled away before Bunty could say anything.

“Wow! He has quite an appetite!” Bunty muttered and returned home.

A few days later, Bunty was very tired. He had a long and tiring day in school. He was on his way home when he saw Kittu waiting for him on the other side of the river.

“If he asks me to pluck guavas for him today, I will firmly refuse,” Bunty thought as he started to cross the river.

“Hey! You’re late today! Did it even cross your mind that your friend must be hungry and waiting for you?” Kittu said as soon as he saw Bunty.

“Which friend of mine is hungry and waiting for me?” Bunty asked surprised.

“Who else but Kittu?” Kittu said innocently.

Bunty couldn’t help smiling. He immediately put his schoolbag down and plucked some guavas for Kittu to eat.

More From Champak: Jamun’s Prudence

Bunty didn’t see Kittu for many days after that. He assumed that Kittu’s family had shifted to another part of the river.

It was a rainy day a few weeks later. Bunty was returning home from school when it started pouring heavily. There was thunder and lightning too.

Bunty jumped onto a tree and began crossing the river. The tree’s branches were wet and slippery because of the rain and Bunty found it difficult to balance himself. He slipped and fell in the river.

“Are you all right?” a small voice asked as Bunty lay on the river bank.

“Yes, I am,” Bunty said, wondering who had saved his life. He sat up and looked around to see who his rescuer was.

“Kittu? You saved me?” said Bunty surprised to see the little tortoise. “Where have you been?”

“Yes, I saved you!” Kittu laughed. “I was on a holiday. I returned just today. In fact, I was hiding behind the tree and waiting for you so that I could surprise you. I saw you fall into the water and jumped in to help you.”

“Thank you, friend!” Bunty said gratefully.

“Please don’t thank me! Friends are supposed to help each other,” Kittu said cheerfully. “Your clothes are wet. Why don’t you come to my house? I will give you my clothes to wear.”

“OK, friend!” Bunty said.

“We will meet tomorrow then. I hope you will pluck more guavas for me!” Kittu said.

“Of course!” Bunty said and waved. He then walked home happily. He was glad that he had met Kittu.

Plucking a few guavas now and then for a hungry little tortoise had made him a friend who had saved his life.

The Two Rats

Lajo Cat was famished. Her stomach was growling and she hoped that she would come across a plump rat soon. She tiptoed into a house and crept inside the kitchen.

Lajo Cat wished that she would find a few rats scampering there. If there were no rats, she hoped that she would at least find some milk or curd.

But to Lajo Cat’s dismay, there weren’t any rats in the kitchen. And the milk and curd were inside the refrigerator. “Sheesh,” Lajo Cat muttered.

“Why do people use refrigerators?

Refrigerators have doors that are hard to open. They deprive us cats of milk and curd.”

Lajo Cat felt disappointed and turned to go when a sound startled her. She turned to see if somebody from the house had spotted her and was coming after her with a stick. But Lajo Cat saw something that made her grin from ear to ear.

Two plump rats named Janu Rat and Manu Rat were drinking oil from an oil can. They were dipping their long tails, one at a time, in the oil can. They were then licking the oil off their tails.

Lajo Cat’s joy knew no bounds. “These rats are brilliant,” she said and giggled. “They are drinking oil from the can, without even touching it. I’m really lucky to have found them. I will catch hold of one of them for my dinner.”

Janu Rat and Manu Rat heard Lajo Cat giggling and looked up. They began trembling as soon as they saw her. They were sure that she wouldn’t let them escape.

But Janu Rat didn’t want to give up so easily. He gathered all the courage he had and said, “Aunty Cat! Come and look inside this box! It contains some buttery chapattis. I think you’ll like them. They are quite delicious!”

“I am not your aunt,” Lajo Cat hissed. “So, stop calling me that! I have made up my mind to feast on one of you today. Nothing can change that. Not even buttery chapattis!” |

“Er… Feast on one of us?” Manu Rat asked. He was shaking like a leaf in the wind. “Yes, I will definitely eat one of you,” Lajo Cat said and laughed. “And remember, there can only be one relation between us. That of a hunter and prey!”

“A hunter, huh?” Janu Rat said, thinking quickly. “Aunty Cat, have you heard of King Venkatraman Singh of Reeva? He was a great hunter too. My grandmother has told me many stories about him. He was very strong. It seems that every time he threw a spear, it would tear open the trunk of a tree.”

I’ve heard that too,” Lajjo Cat said, showing off. “I know what a good hunter King Venkatraman Singh was. I know many stories about him too.” Lajo Cat then tried to recollect what else she knew about King Venkatraman Singh. Janu Rat and Manu Rat noticed that she was distracted and tried to slip away. But Lajo Cat was quite sharp.

“Hey!” she hissed angrily. “Stay where you are! I am going to eat one of you now.”

Janu Rat decided that he would keep Lajo Cat talking. He then said, “Aunty Cat, did you know that the real hunting was done by King Venkatraman Singh’s favourite white lion? His name was Mohan. By the way, have you ever seen a white lion? I have heard that white lions are found in Reeva. Have you ever been there? I have always wanted to go to Reeva and see if it’s true.”

“No, I haven’t seen a white lion or been to Reeva,” Lajo Cat said. “But I am quite sure that white lions exist. We cats are related to lions, you know. We are cousins. And if white lions exist I’ll definitely meet them whenever I go to Reeva.”

Lajo Cat continued talking. She didn’t notice Janu Rat and Manu Rat tiptoeing out of the kitchen and running far away from her.

The Clever Turtle

There were a few families of turtles that lived in a river that flowed through a jungle. These families would come out of the river every morning and swim to the riverbanks. The older turtles would lie there and bask in the sun. But the younger turtles were far more energetic and would look forward to playing games.

Sometimes, they would jump into the river water and race with each other. Some other times, they would play games like hide and seek and hopscotch along the riverside. This was the turtles’ little world and they were always happy here.

One morning, when the young turtles were playing, as usual, a vixen came to the riverside. She spotted the young turtles laughing and playing. The vixen’s mouth began to water. She was very hungry and the sight of the young turtles seemed very tempting.

Turtle meat was the vixen’s favourite delicacy too. She licked her lips and slyly made her way towards the young turtles. The vixen was just about to reach the young turtles when she sneezed loudly.

“ACHOO!” The vixen wiped her mouth and kicked herself.

The turtles, who had heard the vixen sneeze, became alert. They looked around cautiously to see where the sound came from. They spotted the vixen standing quite close to them.

“Run!” the turtles cried and ran towards the water to save their lives. Tiny Turtle was the littlest turtle. He was lying in a faraway corner, basking in the warmth of the sun. He heard his friends’ cries and wondered what had happened.

The vixen spotted Tiny Turtle and pounced on him before he could reach the river. But Tiny was a clever little turtle. He pulled himself into his shell before the vixen could catch hold of him and hid there. The vixen was hungrier than ever now. She tried her best to break the shell open. She tried every possible shell-breaking trick she knew but just couldn’t break Tiny Turtle’s shell open, or even manage to crack it.

Tiny Turtle’s little body was trembling with fear inside the shell. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the vixen would find a way to break the shell open. And so, he came up with a plan that he hoped would help him escape.

“Miss Vixen,” Tiny Turtle said politely from inside the shell. “I’m sorry but my shell is very hard to break. You will have to soak it in water if you want to soften it. Why don’t you put me in the river for some time? I’ll call out to you as soon as my shell becomes soft. You can pick me up and break my shell and eat me then.” waited.

The vixen was starving now. Her plump little stomach was growling loudly. She had been hunting all morning and was feeling quite weak and tired. She couldn’t think clearly on an empty stomach either.

“Very well then,” the vixen told Tiny Turtle. “I will put you in the water. But promise me that you will call out to me as soon as your shell turns soft enough for me to break.”

And so, the vixen put Tiny Turtle into the river water.

“How long will it take for your shell to soften?” the vixen then asked Tiny Turtle. Tiny Turtle was a clever little fellow. “It will take half an hour,” he said. “Why don’t you sit down for a while? You must be tired and hungry.”

The vixen sat under the shade of a tree and waited patiently. After a few minutes, Tiny Turtle peeped out of the shell and saw that she was a good distance away. The vixen’s eyes were closing and she was about to fall asleep. Tiny Turtle pulled his little head and arms out of the shell and waved to the vixen.

“Thanks for putting me in the water,” he said. “I’m going to swim home now. Please find yourself something else to eat! Goodbye!” Tiny Turtle then dived into the water and disappeared. The vixen jumped up.

“Oh no! What have I done?” she cried. “How could I forget that turtles live in water? And that water can’t soften their shells! How silly of me!”

But it was too late for the vixen to do anything. Tiny Turtle was deep in the river, swimming towards his house near the riverbed. The vixen kicked herself hard and decided that she wouldn’t be so foolish the next time she met a clever little turtle.

Kirtivan Becomes Hi-tech

“Chamku, will you get down or not? How long will you hang like this?” Lion Singh roared at Chamku Bat. He was hanging down the roof out of fear. What else could he do? It was a big thing that at least his life got saved. He was cleaning the palace along with Janglu the Jackal a little while back when Singh the Lion pounced on them in anger, accusing them of not working properly. Janglu got caught, but Chamku managed to escape.

Janglu pleaded for his life. Even Queen Liona requested Lion Singh to leave Janglu, but he did not relent. Janglu had to die. The King made him his prey. Had Chamku gotten caught, even he would have faced the same consequence. In order to save his life, Chamku kept hanging on the roof. He was aware that Lion Singh couldn’t reach there. And for him, it was not a problem at all. After all, he was a bat!

This was happening very frequently. If Lion Singh would get annoyed with any of his servants, he would kill and eat them. On the days when he would not find any prey, these incidences would further increase. Due to this the animals of the jungle stopped working in the palace.

Queen Liona was very upset with the happenings in the palace. She even tried to make sense with the King, but he would not listen. So the poor Queen had to live without a single helper and had to do all the chores herself, despite being a Queen.

Prince Leo came home during his vacations. He was studying in a city college. He saw his mother doing household chores all through the day. He asked in surprise, “Mother, you are the Queen of Kirtivan and you don’t even have a single servant…?”

Queen Liona told him everything and said, “Now tell me, Son, who would want to work with us?”

The prince felt very bad at his mother’s situation. He contemplated on the problem and assured his mother, “Don’t worry, Mother. When I come back on Jungle Day’, I will bring 3 servants with me.”

“No, Son, no…don’t do that. Your father will eat them up. I don’t want any animal to lose his life unnecessarily.” Liona refused her son’s offer.

Leo laughed loudly upon hearing his mother’s words. He said, “Don’t worry, Mother. The servants whom I will bring will work a lot. They will do whatever you will ask them to do. And father would never be able to prey on them!”

“Son, what are you saying? Can any animal be stronger than the lion that he will be saved from being prey to your father?” Liona was surprised. She began wondering which animals Leo was bringing as servants. However, Leo kept mum about it. He told his mother again, “I promise that this time I will definitely bring servants with me.”

Prince Leo was studying computer engineering in the city. He built three robots after getting back and gave them the appearance of animals. They looked and behaved like real animals. And they could do any work!

When the prince took them home on Jungle Day’, nobody could make out that they were not animals. Queen Liona got worried, “Son, how will these poor animals stand in front of Maharaj? He will make them too his prey.”

The prince said, “Mother, don’t worry. Forget killing. Maharaj won’t be able to go even near to them.” Then Leo explained that these were robots. They neither felt hunger nor thirst They were not scared of anyone and nobody can eat them.

The prince put a computer in the Queen’s room. Bluetooth devices and cameras were installed in the robots. The Queen could see everything because of that. They even had GPS System. The prince had put in the maps of their palace and the jungle and the programs of the chores to be done inside the robots. He had even explained to his mother how to get work done and keep a control on them. Meanwhile Maharaj Lion Singh was very happy upon seeing the servants.

Prince Leo returned back to the city after Jungle Day’. By that time, the Queen had learnt to control the robots very well. Maharaj wasn’t told about the reality of the robots.

One day, Lion Singh was in a furious mood. He pounced on a robot, but what was this? He received a jolt and was thrown away and hit the wall. Lion Singh couldn’t understand what happened. He thought that he was imagining things and so he pounced again, but this time the jolt was even more powerful.

It was an electric shock. The robots had a system which caused high electric current when somebody attacked them. Lion Singh’s entire body shook violently. He felt so weak that he had to rest for many days to recuperate. It was then that Queen Liona told him everything about servant robots. Ironically, Maharaj became better after being cared for by those servant robots.

Lion Singh was very impressed with those robots. The electric shocks too had a favourable effect on him. He calmed down and began behaving nicely with everyone. He made a plan with the help of the prince to tighten up the security of Kirtivan. Robots were deployed everywhere in the jungle, even at the border. All activities were monitored with the help of the GPS System of the robots. They even had guns installed in their mouths which could be used if required by Cheetah Singh, who remote-controlled them.

This is how Kirtivan’s security system became excellent under the able guidance of Lion Singh and Cheetah Singh. Kirtivan became the ‘hi-tech’ jungle of the twenty first century. Nobody could harm animals in any way in Kirtivan due to this ‘hi-tech’ security.

Kukku’s Car

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everybody went back, disappointed.

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

Meanwhile, Sharmaji’s family returned from their trip.

Sharmaji thought, “What is this noise?”

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

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

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

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

Kukku had learnt his lesson.

Dub Dub Turtle

Browny Turtle lived in the sea. One morning, she carefully dug a hole in the sand and laid four eggs in it. She then covered the hole gently with some sand and twigs.

“I am tired now,” Browny Turtle then said to herself. “I should go for a swim and refresh myself.”

Browny Turtle then dived into the sea and went for a long swim.

After a few days, Browny Turtle’s eggs hatched, and four tiny baby turtles emerged from the egg shells. Browny Turtle was overjoyed to see her children.

“My babies!” she said happily. “I am so glad to see you! Welcome to the world!”

Soon, the peaceful and picturesque sight of the sea prompted the baby turtle to swim in it.

“Mama,” the baby turtle told Browny Turtle one day. “May we swim with you? The sea looks so inviting! The waves look like fun! We can’t wait to dive in and swim!”

“Yes, my dears,” Browny Turtle smiled and said. “Come with me!”

The baby turtle then crawled and followed Browny Turtle into the sea.

Dubdub Turtle was Browny Turtle’s littlest baby. No one realised that he had been left behind. Dubdub Turtle slowly crawled towards the sea, hoping to catch up with his mother, and brothers and sisters.

It was then when he noticed a tiny crab that was walking sideways. The crab’s body seemed to be shining and looked quite transparent too.

Dubdub Turtle was astonished to see the crab. He hadn’t seen one before.

“How wonderful everything is! Life was boring inside the egg! There is so much for me to see in the world now!” he thought happily.

Then instead of going towards the sea, Dubdub Turtle crawled towards a cluster of shells and admired them. They were a bright pink in colour and Dubdub Turtle was quite fascinated to see them.

Little did Dubdub Turtle know that while he was marvelling at the sights around him, someone was watching him from the sky, with greedy eyes. It was none other than Mighty Eagle who was looking for lunch.

Mighty Eagle was a big and dangerous bird. He had a sharp beak and huge talons that he used to tear his prey apart with. All the turtles including Browny Turtle feared Mighty Eagle. They dived into the sea, every time they saw him hovering in the sky.

Mighty Eagle flew closer to Dubdub Turtle.

Now, Dubdub Turtle was very young, but he spotted Mighty Eagle and sensed that he was dangerous. He saw Mighty Eagle swooping towards him from the corner of his eye.

“Something doesn’t feel right about that bird,” Dubdub Turtle told himself. “For some reason, I feel afraid of him. He probably eats little turtles like me! I must be very careful!”

Dubdub Turtle then gathered all the courage he had and spoke to Mighty Eagle.

“Hello there!” Dubdub Turtle said cheerfully. “I was waiting for you.”

Mighty Eagle was surprised. “Waiting for me, huh?” he asked. “How come?” |

“I’ve heard that you cannot walk on your talons,” Dubdub Turtle explained.

Mighty Eagle grew annoyed.

“Who told you that?” he shouted. “Of course, I can walk on my talons.”

“No, you cannot,” Dubdub Turtle. “I have heard that you look like a clown, every time you try to walk on the sand!”

Mighty Eagle stomped his talons angrily and kicked some sand in the air.

“I definitely don’t look like a clown,” he argued.

“Well, I’ll decide for myself,” Dubdub Turtle said, looking towards the sea. “Why don’t you show me how you walk?”

“I’ll show you how well I walk!” Mighty Eagle said. He then began walking on his talons right in front of Dubdub Turtle.

“Not bad! Not bad at all!” Dubdub Turtle said. “But is it true that you can’t somersault like us turtles. Anyway, can you do this?”. Dubdub Turtle then asked and demonstrated a somersault.

“Yes, I can do that,” Mighty Eagle said huffily. He then tried doing somersaults but kept losing his balance.

“Hold on! I’m out of practice!” he told Dubdub Turtle and panted. “I’ll show you a perfect one in just a few minutes.”

“Don’t worry!” Dubdub Turtle said and slowly inched towards the sea. “Take your time! I’m waiting! I’m in no hurry!”

Dubdub Turtle then called out to Mighty Eagle and said, “Forget somersaulting on the sand now. How about somersaulting in the sky? Can you do that? Or can you only fly in the sky?”

“Somersault in the air?” Mighty Eagle said and laughed. “What a silly little turtle you are! Don’t you know that’s child’s play for me?”

“Can you show me how you do it? Please!” Dubdub Turtle said, sounding very excited.

“All right then!” Mighty Eagle said, putting his chest out. “Watch me go!”

Mighty Eagle then flew up the sky. He first flew left, then right, then higher up, and then started somersaulting in the air. He flapped his wings noisily to show off too.

After sometime, Mighty Eagle felt very hungry.

“I better eat that little turtle now,” Mighty Eagle said. “All this somersaulting has made me very hungry.”

Mighty Eagle swooped down to the sand. But to his great disappointment, Dubdub Turtle was no where in sight.

“Where are you, little turtle?” Mighty Eagle asked, looking around. “Are you hiding in the sand? Come out at once!”

Dubdub Turtle was hiding behind a rock in the sea. He peeped and saw Mighty Eagle looking for him. Dubdub Turtle giggled and shouted, “It was a great show Mr. Eagle! You really can somersault in the sky! But I don’t think you can dive or swim in the sea like me.”

Dubdub Turtle then dived into the water and swam to join his family.

Mighty Eagle felt very foolish.

“I have been outwitted by a baby turtle!” he grumbled.

He flew back to the sky and hoped that he would find something else to eat for his lunch.

UNITY IS STRENGTH

Chinni was a hardworking ant. She used to work all day to look after her family.

One day, Chinni was carrying a grain of rice on her back. On her way home, she met Ricky the Mole. Ricky was a lazy mole. He never went to work. He believed in snatching food from smaller animals to satisfy his hunger.

Ricky saw Chinni and said, “Chinni, why have you lifted such a heavy grain? Do you want to get crushed under it?”

Ricky’s words annoyed Chinni. She said, “It would be better if you keep quiet. You may have no work, but I do. So please let me continue with my work.”

Ricky mockingly replied, “I am not stopping you from hard work. It is because of you that idle people like me get to eat two meals a day. If you don’t work hard, how will we get food?”

Then, he snatched the grain from Chinni. Before Chinni could say anything, Ricky ate it. He said, “Go, little Ant, go. Fetch another grain for your young ones, or else they shall starve. You are indeed a dedicated and hardworking ant.”

Chinni was very angry with Ricky. She was helpless. Ricky was stronger than her. She knew that she could not fight him alone. She searched high and low. She found another grain to feed her young ones.

Although Chinni couldn’t fight Ricky, she decided to teach him a lesson. The next evening, Chinni’s neighbour, Mini came home weeping. Chinni asked her what had happened.

Mini said, “I was carrying a lump of jaggery on my back. On my way home, Ricky snatched the jaggery and ate it. Now it’s too late to go back and search for more food. My children will have to sleep without their dinner.”

Chinni felt sorry for Mini. She said, “Don’t worry. You and your kids can dine at my house tonight. After all, I am your neighbour. It is my duty to help you. Together, we will teach Ricky a lesson.”

Chinni extended a warm welcome to Mini and her kids. She served them a delicious dinner and took care that everyone ate well.

Day by day, Ricky continued to give the ants a hard time. He had now started coming near the anthill for food. He stood there and kept a watch over the ants. He snatched all the food that they brought home. He devoured jaggery, rice, sugar lumps, etc from the anthill.

However, the ants couldn’t do anything. Chinni took all of them to Queen Madhulika. The Queen heard their problems. She understood that the ants wanted to get rid of Ricky.

She said, “However mighty our enemy may be, we can defeat him only if we fight together. All of you will have to help the royal army to face the mole and defeat him. Are you ready to help?”

Chinni said, “Your Highness, we understand that we will have to unite together and face our enemy. We will die of hunger if we do not destroy him. Our unity will become our biggest strength. We are prepared to fight until death!”

The Queen was inspired and impressed by Chinni’s brave attitude. She said, “You are indeed brave, Chinni. I promise all of you that if any ant dies during the battle, the royal kingdom will take care of her kids. I will personally see to it that they get proper food, shelter and education.”

The ants started preparing themselves for the battle.

The very next day, the ants got ready to attack. As soon as they saw Ricky coming near their anthill, they marched towards him with swords and spears. Ricky was astonished to see thousands of ants approaching him with tiny swords and spears.

The moment the ants tried to attack Ricky; he hit them with his claws. He flung a part of the royal army in the air. Meanwhile, some of the soldier ants tightly gripped his claw. They started biting him fiercely.

Some ants attacked his tail; others attacked his face whereas a few of them targeted his body. Ricky’s body was badly injured with bruises and cuts.

Ricky tried to free himself. He failed. He realised that it was difficult to fight the huge number of ants. As the number of ants kept increasing, he decided to run away. He felt helpless and weak in front of the huge army of ants.

Ricky ran away from the anthill. A few ants held on to his body. They kept biting him continuously. They did not spare even an inch of his body. Ricky could not bear the pain anymore. He jumped into a puddle of water and he then rolled over the sand to get rid of the ants.

However, the ants were determined not to leave his body.

Ricky felt a lot of pain due to the bites. He sat on a stone and started picking each ant out of his body. His body was swollen due to the ant-bites.

Ricky somehow managed to survive. He was grateful to be alive. He felt the collective power of the ants. He realised that their unity had become their strength.

He never came to the anthill again. He decided that he would never trouble any ant in future.

Unique Picnic

Mony and Tony had come with their friends Antu and Jojo for a picnic near a lake.

Antu and Jojo found an old motorboat and took it out to the lake, while Mony and Tony stayed at the lakeside to cook.

Chickey and Mickey were two young crocodiles who lived in the lake. They were fascinated to see the old motorboat speeding in the lake after so long. They decided to race with the motorboat much to Antu and Jojo’s delight.

Antu was quite a mischievous fellow. He began to increase and decrease the speed of the motorboat, just to tease Chickey and Mickey.

“You will tire yourselves,” Jojo teased. “You will not be able to compete with our speeding motorboat.”

“I know,” Chickey said. “But listen to me now. You don’t know much about this lake. It has many hidden reefs. We’ve had a lot of fun racing but I suggest you slow down now. If you continue speeding, there are chances that you might run into a reef and have a mishap.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Antu said with a laugh. “But we both are experts when it comes to riding motorboats. Don’t worry! Nothing will happen to us!”

Chickey and Mickey realised that the foxes were overconfident and wouldn’t pay any attention to their warning. They stopped following the motorboat.

“Very well then,” they then told Antu and Jojo. “We are going to swim home now. But please take care of yourselves. The weather seems to be deteriorating too. We hope that you’ll reach the lakeside safely.”

Mony and Tony had decided to cook some almond pudding at the lakeside.

They were singing songs and chopping almonds and whipping cream when Julu Elephant saw them.

The warm and sweet aroma of the pudding and the fun Mony and Tony seemed to be having, compelled Julu Elephant to march towards them.

“Hello!” Julu Elephant said in a friendly voice. “I couldn’t stop myself from coming here! You seem to be having so much fun! And I see that you’re making something that looks delicious too. May I join your picnic? I’d like to be your friend.”

To Julu Elephant’s surprise, Mony grew very angry.

“No!” Mony shouted rudely. “We have come here with our friends. I am sorry but you’re not welcome to join us or be our friend. Please go away.”

“Well ok,” Julu Elephant said, looking disappointed. “But at least let me taste some of your pudding. It smells scrumptious!”

“You will not get a morsel of our pudding, you greedy fellow,” Tony said angrily. “Go away from here! Don’t spoil our fun.”

“Okay,” Julu Elephant said, sadly. “I’m leaving. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Just then the sound of screaming pierced the quiet of the lakeside.

“That sounds like Antu and Jojo,” Mony said, looking quite alarmed.

“They seem to be calling for help from the motorboat!” Tony said as the screaming continued.

Chickey and Mickey suddenly leaped out from the lake and ran towards Mony and Tony. They both looked very worried.

“Hi! Do you have a long rope?” Mickey asked in a worried voice.

“Er… no, I don’t,” Mony replied. “But what do you need one for? Is everything ok?”

“Well, the motorboat has hit a reef,” Chickey said, looking quite shaken. “The engine has stopped working.”

“Oh no!” Tony cried with fear. “What will happen to our friends now?

They don’t know how to swim! They will surely drown if the motorboat sinks!”

“Well, we are trying to help them,” Mickey said. “But we will need a long rope to pull the motorboat out of the lake.”

“Don’t worry,” Julu Elephant piped in. “I have a long rope. It’s quite thick and strong too. I’ll get it right now.”

“Thank goodness!” Mickey said, sounding relieved. “You’re a big help!”

And so, Julu Elephant hurried home and returned with the rope in no time.

Julu Elephant then joined Chickey and Mickey in the rescue operation. He held one end of the rope with his trunk and gave the other end to Chickey and Mickey.

“Tie the motorboat to the rope tightly. Call out to me when you finish. I will pull it towards the lakeside with my trunk,” Julu Elephant said politely.

Chickey and Mickey dived into the water and swam towards the motorboat as fast as they could. Antu and Jojo were relieved to see them. The motorboat was beginning to sink and they were quivering with fear.

Chickey and Mickey called out to Julu Elephant once they had tied the motorboat to the rope. Julu Elephant then used all his might and pulled the motorboat towards the lakeside.

As soon as Antu and Jojo reached the lakeside, they jumped out of the motorboat and ran towards their friends.

“Chickey and Mickey had warned us about the reefs but we didn’t pay any attention to their warning,” they both admitted, feeling ashamed of their carelessness. “We are sorry, Chickey and Mickey,” they said, apologising to the two young crocodiles.

Mony and Tony turned towards Julu Elephant. They looked quite ashamed of what they had done too.

“Well, we made a mistake too. We were rude to Julu Elephant when he asked to be our friend. Please forgive us, Julu Elephant.”

Julu Elephant smiled. And so did Chickey and Mickey.

“Don’t worry!” they said cheerfully. “We were happy to help!”

After that, everyone sat down together and had a bowlful of the almond pudding that was quite delicious. They then played games and sang songs and enjoyed their unique picnic.

Google Express

This is the story of a donkey called Seedha who lived in Pitara jungle. He was shy and simple but had a special quality – he could run very fast.

One day a meeting was called in Pitara.

Simha, the king declared, “Next full moon day will be really special for our jungle.”

“Why? Is it your ‘Happy Birthday?” asked Kolo, the Cuckoo, perched on a branch right above the King.

“No, silly. For the first time ever a train will run in our jungle.”

“A train!” everyone exclaimed.

“I always wanted to sit in a train,” Rogo, the Rhino shouted.

“Have a look at your huge behind. You won’t be able to squeeze inside the train, let alone sit or stand in it,” Lofty the Giraffe laughed.

“Same goes for you too,” jeered Rogo. “We’ll have to fold you into two to make you fit.”

“Hey you, quit arguing,” Simha shouted. “This train will be spacious enough for everyone.” All the animals cheered.

“Now let us think of a name for the train,” the King said. There were a number of suggestions but none of them was found suitable.

I have an idea,” a quiet voice said. It was Seedha. “Why don’t we call it Google Express?”

“Google Express!” The animals looked at each other. “What does Google mean?” asked Golu the elephant.

“I don’t know but it sounds nice,” Seedha said. “I like it,” Simha said.

“We all do,” the others shouted.

Seedha had never felt so proud in his life before. The Google Express started the next day. The driver was a horse called Ajab from the neighboring town. Ajab and Seedha became good friends. Ajab would daily take the animals for a ride. Sometimes he would allow Seedha to sit beside him.

Soon Google express became very popular and animals from the other jungles also started flocking to Pitara for a ride.

One day Babbar, the king of the neighboring jungle, came with his family to enjoy a ride on Google Express.

Simha was very happy and the two royal families got on to Google Express for an exciting tour of the jungle.

Seedha, meanwhile, was grazing when he suddenly saw Heera, the deer, running madly. “What happened Heera?” asked Seedha keeping pace with him.

“Ajab has slipped and fallen from the train.”

“Is he hurt?”

“No, luckily he fell into a bush. Dr. Bhaloo is taking care of him.”

Doctor Bhaloo was a bear and the resident doctor of Pitara.

“And what about Google Express?” asked Seedha.

“It is moving on its own on the tracks. There is no one driving it?” Heera replied.

“Who will control it? Who will bring it to a halt?” shouted Seedha and raced away.

He knew the route Google express would be taking and opting for a shortcut, ran with all his might.

After a few minutes, he could see the train chugging along. He increased his pace and drew level with the train.

All the passengers were leaning out. The children were screaming in fear and the adults were trying to calm them down.

Seedha ran faster and faster and finally jumped straight into the driver’s cabin. Within seconds the train came to a halt.

“Bravo, bravo!” he could hear the shouts of the two kings and their family members.

Seedha bowed his head. “Seedha when did you learn to drive?” asked Simha.

“I often sat with Ajab and observed him. That is how I learnt.”

“Good for us,” Babbar smiled.

“Your majesty, if you permit can we continue the ride?” Seedha asked.

“Are you crazy? You managed to stop a train but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to drive it,” Simha replied.

“Simha, I think we should give him a chance,” Babbar said.

And so Google Express started with Seedha as the driver and guide.

As the train chugged along Seedha pointed out all the sights. He even stopped at a few places on the way.

The children played around while the adults enjoyed the scenery.

That night there was a party in honour of King Babbar.

“Google will now have two drivers – Ajab and Seedha. I also announce a special award for Seedha,” announced Simha.

“And I give him a new title, from now he will be called Mister Google,” declared Babbar.

As Seedha, sorry Mister Google went to receive his award the jungle echoed with the thumping of tails, the beating of hooves and flapping of wings.

Smart Mice

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Do what?” asked Monu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What about the cake?” asked Monu.

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

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

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

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

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

“Where has the cake gone?” asked Monu.

“I have no idea,” replied Sonu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“This happened yesterday too,” whispered Monu.

Sonu signaled him to be quiet and watch on

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

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

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

“What are they?” asked Sonu.

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

Sonu smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

And the Fire Began to Burn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“So much heat that we started perspiring!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiff in Space

Raju was a fifth standard student and lived in a village. He stayed there with his grandfather. He studied most of the time and spent leisure time with his grandfather.

Raju’s grandfather would narrate informative stories to him every night. Raju had gotten habituated to falling asleep after listening to the stories and used to dream about them.

It was a pleasant night of the summer season. Raju and his grandfather were sleeping on the terrace of their house. The sky looked vast with the brightly shining moon amidst millions of twinkling stars.

Raju was staring at the stars. He asked, “Grandpa, why don’t these stars and the moon fall on us?”

“Because they revolve around the Sun,” said his grandfather, “Earth also revolves around the Sun.”

Raju asked, “Who stays in space?” Grandpa replied, “There are eight planets and the dwarf planet Pluto, their satellites and stars in space. The planets and their satellites revolve around the Sun.”

Raju found this fascinating and kept thinking about space. He fell asleep in some time and found himself touring space.

Raju saw that there was a fight going on between the planets and satellites. They were fighting over who holds the most importance.

The Sun and planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, all were busy praising themselves.

“I am the brightest planet,” said Venus, “I am unique because I revolve from west to east, while you all revolve in the opposite direction. I am considered to be God.”

The Earth gave a smirk and said, “I am the only planet which supports life and has water and an atmosphere.”

“I am red in colour and am known as the God of War,” said Mercury.

“I have the maximum number of satellites,” said Jupiter.

“And I am counted amongst the biggest of planets,” interrupted Saturn.

Uranus said, “I am huge and green in colour. The Greeks consider me as their God and worship me.”

“I am blue in colour and very big and I am known as the “Sea-God,” said Neptune.

The Moon was getting irritated with the praises from all the other planets. With an angry tone, the moon said, “I am the most beautiful. I am the only satellite of the Earth. There is an estimate that there may be life on my surface. I can also bring about eclipses.”

The Moon was extremely proud of himself and was rude to others, so nobody commented. Pluto was quiet as he had nothing to say. He was a dwarf planet and did not want to intervene in the fights.

The arguments went on and finally, Pluto said, “You all are fools. The Sun is the most powerful.”

“How come?” asked the other planets.

“You all revolve around the Sun,” said Pluto, “It has the maximum temperature and planets get their energy from it. It is the brightest planet that gives light to all the other stars and planets.” “There are hot gases found on the Sun and the Sun’s presence determines the day and night cycles,” added Pluto.

All the other planets were enlightened about the power of the Sun.

They apologized to the Sun.

“It is because of the Sun that we are alive and that the plants get light and nutrition,” interrupted Raju but nobody seemed to be paying heed to what he said.

“Raju, wake up. Its 7 am,” said Grandpa.

Raju woke up and realized that it was a dream. But he enjoyed the thought that he was in space for some time and got to meet all the stars and planets.

It was indeed a very pleasant morning for Raju.

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THE TRUE WINNER

The Sugarcane Ghost

Chotu Finds a Home

Sweety Learns a Valuable Lesson

THE POWER OF HARMONY

TIGER BILLA

Root and Branches

THE SUN WILL BE DESTROYED

Rockstar Guitar

Moderation is the key

Friends Of A Feather

Champi the Cheat

The Finder Of Lost Things

Bony Monkey’s Stupendous Act

King of the Muck

Happy Garden

TELEPATHIC BABA

Astute Son-in-law

Do Good and have Good

The Two Rats

The Clever Turtle

Kirtivan Becomes Hi-tech

Kukku’s Car

Dub Dub Turtle

UNITY IS STRENGTH

Unique Picnic

Google Express

Smart Mice

And the Fire Began to Burn

Tiff in Space

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