137 items in this section. Displaying page 2 of 14
Monu Makes his Mark
Monu the mongoose crawled out of the ditch in the back garden. His mother was already out with his three little brothers. They had long bodies with short legs. They had bushy tails and tiny ears. And they had bright eyes, which shone like beads. They did things fast. They were already good hunters like their mother. But Monu was not smart like his brothers. He didn’t like chasing mice and garden rats like they did....
Babolito
Mohanty ma’am was teaching the class five students of Arya Wonderland about similes. “As beautiful as?” she asked, looking at the students. “The rose, the Taj Mahal, Aishwarya Rai….” There were several shouts. “And now, as ugly as?” Mohanty ma’am questioned. There was a pause then a girl said in a loud and clear voice: “As ugly as Sarita.” There were a few giggles, a couple of sniggers and then laughter. Sarita felt herself burning with shame and pain as all eyes turned towards her, bored into her, making her feel exposed....
The Butterfly in a Bottle
Poltu was wide awake in his bed. He had had a marvellous dream in which he had won the football match in the inter-school competition. He was getting ready to receive the trophy when the alarm rang. So loudly that it jarred him awake. But Poltu wasn’t too unhappy at the intrusion. He ran straight to his study table. There, in an empty jam bottle, was the treasure. A colourful little butterfly. How difficult it had been to catch it....
Where is Manbhavan?
“Where’s Manbhavan?” Nitya cried. Her pudgy face showed great surprise. “Where is Manbhavan?” repeated Bhavna, peering into Nitya’s cupboard. The cardboard box in which he lived was wide open – and – absolutely empty! Bhavna gingerly picked up the blouses and skirts that lay arranged in neat piles on the shelf and poked around them with a hesitant finger. “Hmm – he’s not here, that’s for sure,” she said. “My cupboard was shut!” Nitya cried indignantly....
What's in a Name?
There were two things in the world that Ghagra Geeta Bali hated. The first was the way Rani, the domestic help, combed her hair. Rani said she combed hard to make sure that there was no lice or dandruff in her hair. But she did it with such force that Ghagra Geeta Bali feared it would remove bits of her scalp, as well. The second was, you guessed it, her name. She hated her name so much that she prayed to god every night: Dear god, let me die and be born again....
The Three Pals
Oops, Oh and OK were pals. One day, Oops got visitors – uncle Silly and cousin Funny. Uncle Silly said, “What about some ice creams?” Oops said “Oops!” Oh said “oh!” and uncle Silly thought they didn’t want ice cream. He said. “We won’t go”. Cousin Funny said “I’ll screammmmm!!!” so they all went for ice creams. His name should be Punny not Funny, no? Oops, Oh and OK dropped ice cream all over their shorts and T-shirts....
Chakram
Chakram was a happy-go-lucky donkey who lived in the Rumpum Jungle. In the brains department he was sadly lacking, even as donkeys go. But on the scale of contentment he rated very high. He was a happy, carefree sort of fellow who wanted nothing but tender grass to chew on and the shade of a leafy tree under which to laze. And since Rumpum had plenty of both, Chakram was as close to nirvana or salvation as any donkey can get....
Double it up!
Raju and Savitri lived in Tanjore in the state of Tamil Nadu. Raju worked in the rice fields of a local landlord or zamindar for six months a year. In turn, he received four sacks of rice as salary. He would then sell three of them in the local market and keep one sack for himself for food. At the local market he would exchange the rice for vegetables, flour, and groceries. Savitri would do the cooking and washing and look after the home....
Ruff and Kabir
Ruff was everyone’s favourite. Three feet tall and four feet long, sparkling eyes, moist nose, a lovely shade of brown and so cuddly. He was the loveliest German Shepherd anyone had seen. Ruff went to the park every evening with Tanya and her Grandpa. And all the children would be waiting for him there. “Ruff’s come!” they would all shout and rush to hug and pat him. Ruff loved the attention he got. Very willingly he would take toddler Kanishka on his back for a joy ride....
The Great Escape
On the outskirts of a bustling city near the sea coast was a zoo named Kananvan. It was famous all over the world for its magnificent white tigers, exotic birds and several other rare species. However, there was one special quality that made the zoo different and about which no human knew. The animals of Kananvan practiced a democracy that is quite rare even in the so-called civilised world. A democracy in a zoo? I’ll explain....