Friendship on Pitara Kids Network

A Friend in Need

Tue, 06 May 2003 06:54:12 +0000

It happened not very long ago. But when you’re a snail, days move at snail’s pace, too. So, if you were to ask our friend the snail when this happened, she’d tell you, it was y-e-ars ago…

Well, to get on with our story. In the shade of a cool, damp log, snoozed a shy snail. She wasn’t alone in her cosy home, oh no. She had company. There was a slug the snail called Cousin Glug because, you see, snails and slugs are part of the same family. Now, since they both lived on land, they didn’t know, of course, that they had other cousins in the ocean!

The Puppy that wanted to Play

Fri, 17 May 2002 07:10:16 +0000

Bruno, the little, brown puppy wanted to play! He needed a friend.

“Come play with me!” said Bruno to the white cow.

“No! No! No!” replied the white cow, shaking her head. “I have work to do. I
have to give milk for Tinnu and Minnu. Milk for their family, too. Go away. I
have WORK to do! MOOOOOOOOO!”

The Puppy that wanted to Play [Illustrations by Shiju George]

Bruno went to the brown cock.

Forgive and Forget?

Sun, 11 Nov 2001 17:39:56 +0000

Amar and Alok , two friends, set up a business venture together. Both invested a lot of money in the business and spent all their time trying to promote it.

For a few years everything seemed to be working out fine. Then Alok wanted to diversify. He persuaded Amar to invest their profits in another venture. Amar wasn’t so sure – what if the venture failed? – but agreed after much persuasion by his friend.

The Three Butterflies

Mon, 11 Jun 2001 02:20:40 +0000

Neeli, Peeli and Lali were three brothers. And they were butterflies. The most handsome butterflies in all the land, and best friends, too. Their mother, Rangberangi, had taught them all they knew. She told them many things, “But”, she said, “the most important thing of all to remember is that you must always depend on and support each other. Together, you will be stronger than the Sun, Wind and Rain combined even though you fly on delicate gossamer wings. Individually you are just ordinary butterflies, weak and fragile. So never let each other down.”

The Magic Painting

Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:16:36 +0000

Once upon a time there was a person who loved to paint. His name was Ankit. One day he made a painting. He loved it so much that he made it his masterpiece.

That night when he slept, an angel came and blessed his painting that it should come alive.

He was always lonely. He always wanted a companion to talk to and share his work and secrets. Next morning when he woke up he heard some sounds near his painting. When he looked at the painting he was shocked that it was talking! He thought that his wish had come true.

The Three Pals

Tue, 22 Oct 2002 18:07:30 +0000

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. Ugh-Yucky-Sticky.

The Popular Student

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 21:03:50 +0000

Just how popular was Mini? Very. Every year, her classmates voted her as the favourite student. She was easy to get along with and great company. The number of friends she had by far outnumbered those of anyone else in her group.

One day the 10-year-old was caught yakkety-yakking in the class and ordered to stay back as punishment. Staying back meant doing something ‘useful’, like helping in the garden or library after school.

Now the school in which Mini studied had a rule of sorts. Once a month, you could interchange your punishment schedule with someone else. If you had something else to do the day you were punished, you could ask a friend to stand in for you. Of course, you had to return the favour, but in that same month itself. Otherwise the favour cancelled itself out.

The Ungrateful Friend

Sat, 29 Apr 2000 15:40:28 +0000

This happened a long long time ago. In a small village in southern Orissa, there lived an old woodcutter.

One day, when he was going to the forest to cut wood, he met the tiger. The woodcutter stopped in his tracks on seeing the king of the jungle. But, strangely enough, the tiger did not roar on seeing the woodcutter. He remained silent. The woodcutter was baffled. How was he to know that the tiger was blind?

Tilak and Sudhir

Fri, 19 Oct 2001 10:50:29 +0000

“Guess what, Tilak!” his mother said, a week after they had moved into their new house. “I’ve discovered that one of my old friends lives nearby and her son is your classmate at school. Isn’t that nice?”
“What’s his name?” Tilak asked.

“I think he is Sudhir,” said his mother. “Isn’t he your friend?”

Tilak shook his head. “Oh! Sudhir? That chap isn’t good at games or anything. He keeps reading some old books all the time.”

A Tale of Tails

Sun, 05 Mar 2000 17:55:47 +0000

Dear reader, I am sure you know that a snake and a mongoose are sworn enemies. They are always ready, willing and waiting to kill each other. But I do not think you know that this wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, not very long ago, they were the best of friends. Surprised? Let me tell you the full story….
On the foothills of the Himalayas, there was a forest. In one corner of the forest, beside a huge river called Neera, lived a snake and a mongoose. The snake was called Sarpu, while the mongoose was named Mongu.They had grown up in each other’s company, hunting, eating and playing together.

The Friends

Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:26:37 +0000

Two friends, Hemant and Vikas, planned to go hiking in the woods. They packed their knapsacks, lugged them over their shoulders and started out.

One evening, while walking through the dense forest, they heard a bear growl. They were very scared and started to run away, but “Twick, twick”, they could hear the twigs breaking with each step the bear took towards them.

Desperate, Hemant saw a low branch hanging from a tree. He quickly caught hold of the life-saving branch and climbed on top of the tree as soon as possible. He was so scared that he did not even look at his friend once.

Ruff and Kabir

Mon, 30 Sep 2002 13:05:50 +0000

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. Whenever Rahul hit a six, Ruff would be the “cricketer” to run and fetch the ball.

Greed Never Pays

Mon, 18 Dec 2000 14:16:20 +0000

Bhim the elephant and Hanoo the langur lived in the Brindavan Jungle. They were the best of friends. Their friendship had, however, started as a need-based one. You may well wonder what would an elephant and a langur need from each other!

Let me explain. Bhim who lived alone had grown quite old. He was extremely fond of fresh fruits. However, most of the time he was unable to get them. He was beaten by the more agile, younger and nimbler animals like Jeera the giraffe, Hiran the deer, Ghoda the horse and even Gadha the ass. He would get only leftovers which were hardly tasty.

The Horse's Revenge

Mon, 21 Jun 1999 14:06:03 +0000

Once upon a time a horse and a buffalo lived in a beautiful meadow up in the mountains. There was plenty of grass to eat and water to drink, and the two had become good friends.
But one year, there was no rain. The meadow stream dried up and the grass turned brown. Soon the horse and buffalo found themselves fighting over the scarce water and grass. One day, their daily fight became violent. The buffalo jabbed the horse with her sharp horns. The badly injured horse had no option but to flee.

Two Fish and a Frog

Sun, 05 May 1996 23:52:08 +0000

In a certain lake there lived two fish, Multiwit and Centiwit by name. In course of time they became friendly with a frog named Uniwit. The three of them would spend some time by the lakeside, experiencing the pleasures of good conversation; then they would return again into the water.

Once, while the three were engaged in a colloquium at sunset, some fishermen passed by the lake with nets in their hands and many fish they had caught on their heads. Seeing the lake, they said to each other: “O this lake seems to have many fish and not too much water. We will come here in the morning.” Then they went home.

The Red Flower

Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:43:46 +0000

RED FLOWER: Hello friends. I am Red Flower. I live here in these fields. All the trees, animals, birds, clouds, winds and the sun are my friends. But my best friend is Sun. It is morning now and time for him to come.

(Morning comes.)

SUN: Hello Red Flower. I bring a good morning to you. Did my sister Night give you any good dreams in your sleep?

RED FLOWER: Yes, more than you dear Sun. She gave me so many dreams from the countries you go to every day. Tell me what you really saw on the other side while I was sleeping?

The Thirsty Crow

Sun, 22 Oct 2000 00:09:05 +0000

Kancharam had been flying for 10 hours without a halt. He had come to the western state of Gujarat to attend his childhood friend Bholuram’s wedding. He had stayed just for the wedding.

As soon as it was over, he said good bye to his friend and left. Now he was flying back home. That was in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He was very, very tired. And thirsty, too.

Man's Best Friend

Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:44:10 +0000

Who is man’s best friend? Of course there are no points for guessing that one – the dog. The dog is the most popular domestic animal in the world. For more than 12,000 years the dog has been a companion, a protector and above all, an honest friend.

But different civilisations and cultures have treated the dog in different ways. In some countries, dogs are used as guards or beasts of burden, whereas in others they are even eaten as food. However, in most societies, dogs are protected and admired. Ancient Egyptians considered them sacred.

Once they were Friends

Sat, 31 Mar 2001 14:28:01 +0000

There was a time when Madri, the cat, and Ketki, the mouse, were friends. They were such good friends that they lived in the same house. They played together, and went on hunts together too.

Between the two, Ketki was the one with foresight. “Can you feel the chill in the air?” she asked her friend. “Winter is coming. And we haven’t saved any food! Let’s do it now or we will have to go hungry when winter sets in”.

A Frog's Friendship

Sun, 30 Apr 2000 14:22:17 +0000

From ‘When the World was Young’, by Verrier Elwin. The book is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. Elwin was a pioneering anthropologist; he spent his entire life getting to know the ways of life of the tribal peoples.

There was a time when the Frog had thick legs and he lived on land. He was so very different from the frogs that we see today, with their thin spindly legs and their watery homes. So it is time to ask, “What changed the Frog’s looks and life forever?” The answer is, the Frog’s friendship with the Tiger.

Toy Gang

Fri, 08 May 1998 08:23:00 +0000

Nina got down from the school bus and looked around. Sarala was nowhere to be seen. She was surprised. This had never happened before. Sarala would always be standing at the bus stop waiting for Nina. The moment she saw Nina she would rush forward, give her a big hug, take the school bag in one hand and grasping Nina’s hand in the other, start walking.

“Nina how was your day? Did Rahul tease you today? How is your new English teacher, Moushami maam? How much homework do you have?” she would badger her with questions.

In, Pin, Tin

Fri, 12 Dec 1997 06:18:42 +0000

Three little mice
Named In, Pin, Tin
One fat, one short
The other one thin.

In, Pin, Tin [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik]

They woke up one night
As lazy as ever
The moon was already up
And they began to shiver.

They brushed their teeth
And said, ’lets eat’
There’s milk on the shelf
Eggs, cheese and meat!

Keep Hope Alive

Sun, 24 May 1998 14:28:16 +0000

First prize winner of Spin-A-Tale contest

It was destiny that bound us. Jamie, the black kid whose mum worked for us and me, Kevin the kid, whose mother employed Jamie’s mum. When I saw him first he was just this skinny kid walking around with his head drooping down to his feet. I asked him if he went to school but I got no answer.

Keep Hope Alive [Illustration by Shinod A.P.]

I assumed that he was just shy, so I went about my own work while he just sort of kept staring at anything. Later that night my parents started discussing Jamie over dinner and that’s when I came to know that Jamie was deaf… I was really shocked and not because he was deaf because I have seen lots of disabled people but the horrifying manner in which he had lost the power to hear.

Woes Beat Foes!

Mon, 21 Feb 2000 22:22:48 +0000

Vikram and his friends were in the land of giants!

“That must be a giant’s house! " said Vikram, shading his eyes and peering into the distance.

“Let’s say hello to him!” giggled Anshul.

“Don’t be silly!” retorted Ajit. “Want to be gobbled up?”

Vikram was already making his way towards the building.

“FEE! FO! FUM!” roared someone. “Who’s there? I smell the blood of man! Be he alive or he dead, I’ll have him with my bread!”

Box Full of Chocolates

Fri, 09 Oct 1998 01:38:23 +0000

Third prize winner of Spin-A-Tale contest

Once upon a time there lived two friends Ramesh and Ganesh. Both were very close to one another. They were inseparable. One day Ramesh spotted a juicy chocolate bar in a shop.

Box Full of Chocolates [Illustration by Anup Singh]

He wanted it desperately. The very thought of it made his mouth water. As he was dreaming about the chocolate, came his close friend Ganesh. Ramesh, that day had a new writing pencil. Ganesh saw that Pencil and liked it very much. He asked Ramesh the cost of it.