MOUNTAIN STORY

A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Curious, he yells: “Who are you?”
He receives the answer: “Who are you?”
And then he screams to the mountain: “I admire you!”
The voice answers: “I admire you!”
Angered at the response, he screams: “Coward!”
He receives the answer: “Coward!”
He looks to his father and asks: “What’s going on?”
The father smiles and says: “My son, pay attention.”
Again the man screams: “You are a champion!”
The voice answers: “You are a champion!”
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: “People call this ECHO,
but really this is LIFE.”
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world,
create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team,
improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it.”

“Your life is not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of you!”

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped
off the train in Boston and walk timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University
President’s outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at
Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambridge.
“We want to see the president,” the man said softly.
“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.
“We’ll wait,” the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged
and go away. They didn’t and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the
president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
“Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she said to him.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time
to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer
office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, “We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was
happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a
memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”
The president wasn’t touched.... He was shocked.
“Madam,” he said, gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and
died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.”
“Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to
give a building to Harvard.”

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then
exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over
seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”
For a moment the lady was silent.
The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it
costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?”
Her husband nodded.
The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr.
and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to
Palo Alto, California where they established the University that
bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that
Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how
they treat those who they think can do nothing.

THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the
shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been
flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down
among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf
was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the
Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he
succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.
Appearances are deceptive.

FATHERS EYES

A teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. The
father believed in encouragement. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was
always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.
This young man was the smallest of the class when he entered high school. His father continued to
encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to.
But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best
at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he
never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father
was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went
to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on.”
Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him
on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time,
provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed. The news that he had
survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.
His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This
persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to
play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before
the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he
became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning.
Is it all right if I miss practice today?”
The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son.
And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.” Saturday arrived, and the game was
not going well.
In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into
the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his
players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.
“Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man.
The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close
playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
“All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands
could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing
everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled
like a star. His team began to triumph.
The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all
the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His team-mates hoisted him onto their
shoulders. Such cheering you’ve never heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had
showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed
that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all
alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, I can’t
believe it. You were fantastic!”
Tell me what got into you? How did you do it? He
looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said,
“Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my
dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and
forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today
was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to
show him I could do it!”

GRANDPA’S TABLE

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old
man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at
the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas
rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped, the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about
Grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the
floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while
the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was
served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a
tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions
when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He
asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am
making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old
smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then
tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be
done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.
For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family.
And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care
any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the
tablecloth soiled.
Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds
ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere
for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent
realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future. Let’s be wise builders
and role models.
“Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference.
Take care of yourself, ... and those you love, ... today, ... and everyday!”

A HOLE IN THE FENCE

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him
that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it
was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence....
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the
father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his
temper. The day passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were
gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well,
my son, but look at the holes in the fence.”
The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry,
the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends and loved ones are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they
always want to open their hearts to us. Water your
relationships with kindness… and they will grow. So be
careful little lips what you say…! And you won't chase
friendships away.

TRUE WEALTH

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of
showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So what did you
learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they
have a creek that has no end.” “We have imported lanterns in our
garden and they have the stars at night.” “Our patio reaches to the
front yard and they have the whole horizon.” “We have a small
piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our
sight.” “We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”
“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.” “We have walls around
our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how
poor we are.”

WHAT IS A FAMILY?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated,
to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man.
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said,
“Daddy, may I please borrow $10?”

The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy
a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed.
Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even
angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was
something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.
The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are you asleep, son?” He asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and
I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.
“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.
I would like to have dinner with you.”
Share this story with someone you like.... But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone
you love. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.
We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who
really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of
days.
But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to
think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. An unwise investment indeed!
So what is the moral of the story???
Don’t work too hard...and you know what’s the full word of FAMILY?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER,(I)(L)OVE (Y)OU!

BEAUTIFUL GIFT!

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful
sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was
all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had
purchased the car. On the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study.
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told
him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped
gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened
the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Holy Qur’an. Angrily, he
raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give
me a Holy book?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.
He never contacted his father again for long long time. Many years
passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a
beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he
should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away,
and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care
things. When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began
to search his father’s important papers and saw the still new Holy Qur’an, just as he had left it years
ago. With tears, he opened the Holy Qur’an and began to turn the pages. As he Read those words, a
car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Holy Qur’an. It had a tag with the dealer’s
name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his
graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss GOD blessings because
they are not packaged as we expected?

PAID IN FULL

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he
handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an
apron, she read it, and this is what it said:
For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing
through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he had written on, and this is what
she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you while you were growing
inside me: No Charge.
For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and
prayed for you: No Charge.
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused
through the years: No Charge.
For all the nights filled with dread, and for the worries I
knew were ahead: No Charge.
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose:
No Charge.
When you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.
When the boy finished reading what his mother had
written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked
straight up at his mother and said, “Mom, I sure do love you.”
And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:
“PAID IN FULL.”

MENTALLY RETARDED!

A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or
mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the
race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the
asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They
slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back.....every one of them.
One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.”
Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood,
and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story.
Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more
than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it
means slowing down and changing our course.

THE DEVOTED MOTHER

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way
to the lake one day. The ducklings were very happy
following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.
All of a sudden the mother duck saw a fox in the distance.
She was frightened and shouted, “Children, hurry to the
lake. There’s a fox!”

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck
wondered what to do. She began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.
When the fox saw her he became happy. He said to himself, “It seems that
she’s hurt and can’t fly! I can easily catch and eat her!” Then he ran
towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed
her. Now he wouldn’t be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck
looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she
stopped and took a deep breath.
The fox thought she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings
and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.
The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because
they were in the middle of the lake.
Dear children, some birds drag one of their wings on the ground when an enemy is
going to attack. In this way they fool their enemies into thinking they are hurt. When
the enemy follows them this gives their children time to escape.

THE ANGEL

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day the child asked God, “They tell me
you are going to send me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and
helpless?” God replied, “Among the many angels I have chosen one for you. She will be waiting for
you and will take care of you.”
Said child, “But tell me here in Heaven I don’t do anything else but sing and smile. That’s what I
need to be happy!” God replied, “Your angel will sing for you every day. And you will feel your
angel’s love and be happy.”

And, said the child, “How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t
know the language that men talk?” “That’s easy”, God said, “Your angel will tell you the most
beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will
teach you how to speak.” The child looked up at God saying, “And what am I going to do when I
want to talk to you?” God smiled at the child saying, “Your angel will teach you how to pray.”
The child said, “I’ve heard on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?” God replied, “Your
angel will defend you, even if it means risking life!” The child looked sad, saying, “But I will always
be sad because I will not see you anymore.” God replied, “Your angel will always talk to you about
me and will teach you the way to come back to
me, even though I will always be next to you.”
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven,
but voices from earth could already be heard.
The child in a hurry, asked softly, “Oh God, if
I am about to leave now please tell me my angel’s
name!” God replied, Your angel’s name is of no
importance… you will simply call her
MOTHER!

THE BOY AND THE APPLE TREE

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it
everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the
tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no
longer played around the tree every day.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.
“Come and play with me”, the tree asked the boy.
“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more”
the boy replied.
“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples
and sell them. So, you will have money.”
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and
left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.
The tree was sad.
One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and
the tree was excited.
“Come and play with me” the tree said.
“I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter.
Can you help me?”
“Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the
man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the
man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
“Come and play with me!” the tree said.
“I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.
“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you
anymore. No more apples for you”, the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the
man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now” the man said.
“I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.
“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.
“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest.”
The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.
This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with
our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something
or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they
could just to make you happy.
You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them
for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late. Wallahi, May Allah forgives us
of our shortcomings and may He guide us.

PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world.
Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in
someone’s hand.”
Two: “You will experience a painful
sharpening from time to time, but
you’ll need it to become a better
pencil.”

Three: “You will be able to correct
any mistakes you might make.”
Four: “The most important part of
you will always be what's inside.”
And Five: “On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the
condition, you must continue to write.”
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you
will become the best person you can be.
One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s
hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.”
Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various
problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.”
Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
Four: “The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.”
And Five: “On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the
situation, you must continue to do your duties.”
Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only
you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that
your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

THE MILKMAID

A milkmaid was on her way to the market to sell some milk from her cow. As she carried the large
jug of milk on top of her head, she began to dream of all the things she could do after selling the
milk.
“With that money, I’ll buy a hundred chicks to rear in my backyard. When they are fully grown.
I can sell them at a good price at the market.”
As she walked on, she continued dreaming, “Then I’ll buy
two young goats and rear them on the grass close by. When
they are fully grown, I can sell them at an even better price!”
Still dreaming, she said to herself, “Soon, I’ll be able to buy
another cow, and I will have more milk to sell. Then I shall
have even more money...”

With these happy thoughts, she began to skip and jump.
Suddenly she tripped and fell. The jug broke and all the
milk spilt onto the ground.
No more dreaming now, she sat down and cried.
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

THE THIRSTY CROW

One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over the fields looking for
water. For a long time, she could not find any. She felt very weak,
almost giving up hope.
Suddenly, she saw a water jug below her. She flew straight down
to see if there was any water inside. Yes, she could see some water
inside the jug!
The crow tried to push her head into the jug. Sadly, she found
that the neck of the jug was too narrow. Then she tried to push
the jug down for the water to flow out. She found that the jug
was too heavy.

The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around her, she
saw some pebbles. She suddenly had a good idea. She started
picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug.
As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept
rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. Her plan had
worked!
If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem.

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

It was a sunny day and fox was walking across the fields. Soon he came to a vineyard.
As he came nearer, he could see some bunches of juicy grapes.
The fox looked carefully around him. He had to make sure that he was safe from the hunters.
He decided to steal some before anyone came along.
He jumped upwards but he could not reach the grapes. He jumped
again as high as he could. He still could not reach them. The grapes
were just too high for him!
He was not ready to give up. He backed off, took some running steps
and leapt into the air towards the grapes. Again he failed to reach
them.

It was getting dark, and he was getting angry. His legs hurt with all
that running and jumping. At last he stopped trying.
As he walked away, he said to himself, “I don’t really want those
grapes. I’m sure they are too sour to eat.”
Sometimes when we cannot get what we want,
we pretend that it is not worth having.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB

A lamb was grazing with a flock of sheep one day. She soon found
some sweet grass at the edge of the field. Farther and farther she went,
away from the others.
She was enjoying herself so much that she did not notice a wolf
coming nearer to her. However, when it pounced on her, she was quick
to start pleading, “Please, please don’t eat me yet. My stomach is full of
grass. If you wait a while, I will taste much better.”
The wolf thought that was a good idea, so he sat down and waited.
After a while, the lamb said, “If you allow me to dance, the grass in my
stomach will be digested faster.” Again the wolf agreed.
While the lamb was dancing, she had a new idea. She said,
“Please take the bell from around my neck. If you ring it as hard as you
can, I will be able to dance even faster.”
The wolf took the bell and rang it as hard as he could. The shepherd heard the bell ringing and
quickly sent his dogs to find the missing lamb. The barking dogs frightened the wolf away and
saved the lamb’s life.
The gentle and weak can sometimes be cleverer than fierce and strong.

THE FOX AND THE STORK

A selfish fox once invited a stork to dinner at his home in a hollow tree. That evening, the stork flew
to the fox’s home and knocked on the door with her long beak. The fox opened the door and said,
“Please come in and share my food.”
The stork was invited to sit down at the table. She was very hungry and the food smelled delicious!
The fox served soup in shallow bowls and he licked up all his soup very quickly. However, the stork
could not have any of it as the bowl was too shallow for her long beak. The poor stork just smiled
politely and stayed hungry.

The selfish fox asked, “Stork, why haven’t you taken your soup? Don’t you like it?”
The stork replied, “It was very kind of you to invite me for dinner.
Tomorrow evening, please join me for dinner at my home.”
The next day, when the fox arrived at the stork’s home, he
saw that they were also having soup for dinner. This time
the soup was served in tall jugs. The stork drank the soup
easily but the fox could not reach inside the tall jug. This
time it was his turn to go hungry.
A selfish act can backfire on you.

THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN

One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of
them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey.
When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship.
Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown.
Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up.
They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the
dolphin’s back. The dolphin asked the monkey, “Do you know this place?”
The monkey replied, “Yes, I do. In fact, the king of the island is my best
friend. Do you know that I am actually a prince?”
Knowing that no one lived on the island, the dolphin said, “Well, well, so
you are a prince! Now you can be a king!”
The monkey asked, “How can I be a king?”
As the dolphin started swimming away, he answered, “That is easy. As you are the only creature on
this island, you will naturally be the king!”
Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water.
After walking around for some time, she came to a spring.
To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass.
While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.
She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not
seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly
plucked off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the
struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and
climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.
Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net
towards the dove, hoping to trap it.
Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on
the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The
dove was quick to fly away to safety.
One good turn deserves another.

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

A tortoise one day met a hare who made fun of her.
“My, my, you move so slowly, you will never get far!”
The tortoises, upset by the hare’s manner, said,
“Let’s have a race and see who is faster.”
The hare laughed and said, “You must be joking! But all right, we’ll
see who reaches the other side of the hill first.” Off he ran, leaving
the tortoise far behind.
After a while, the hare stopped to wait for the tortoise to come long.
He waited and waited till he felt sleepy. “I might as well take a nap,”
he thought. “Even if she catches up with me, I can easily win the
race.” So he lay down under a shady tree and closed his eyes.
When the tortoise passed the sleeping hare, she walked on slowly
but steadily. By the time the hare woke up, the tortoise was near
the finishing line. He ran as fast as he could, but he could not catch
up with the tortoise.
Slow and steady can win the race.

THE FARMER AND THE STORK

Finding that cranes were destroying his newly sown corn, a farmer
one evening set a net in his field to catch the destructive birds.
When he went to examine the net next morning he found
a number of cranes and also a stork.
“Release me, I beseech you,” cried the stork, “for I have eaten none of
your corn, nor have I done you any harm. I am a poor innocent stork,
as you may see - a most dutiful bird, I honor my father and mother.
I...”
But the farmer cut him short. “All this may be true enough, I dare say,
but I have caught you with those were destroying my crops, and you
must suffer with the company in which you are found.”
People are judged by the company they keep.

THE BOY WHO CRIED 'WOLF'

Once there was a shepherd boy who had to look after a flock of
sheep. One day, he felt bored and decided to play a trick on the
villagers. He shouted, “Help! Wolf! Wolf!”
The villagers heard his cries and rushed out of the village to help
the shepherd boy. When they reached him, they asked,
“Where is the wolf?”
The shepherd boy laughed loudly, “Ha, Ha, Ha! I fooled all of you.
I was only playing a trick on you.”
A few days later, the shepherd boy played this trick again.
Again he cried, “Help! Help! Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the villagers rushed up the hill to help him and
again they found that boy had tricked them. They were very angry with him for being so naughty.
Then, some time later, a wolf went into the field. The wolf attacked one sheep, and then another
and another. The shepherd boy ran towards the village shouting, “Help! Help! Wolf! Help!
Somebody!”
The villagers heard his cries but they laughed because they thought it was another trick. The boy
ran to the nearest villager and said, “A wolf is attacking the sheep. I lied before, but this time it is
true!”
Finally, the villagers went to look. It was true. They could see the wolf running away and many
dead sheep lying on the grass.
We may not believe someone who often tells lies, even when he tells the truth.

LEARN FROM MISTAKES

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for
the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained,
“All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.”
Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have
learned a lot. We now know that there are two thousand elements which we
cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

THE TRAVELERS AND THE PLANE TREE

Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it
became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large
plane tree nearby, they threw themselves on the
ground to rest in its shade.
Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other:
“What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or
nuts that we can eat and we cannot even use its
wood for anything.”
“Don’t be so ungrateful,” rustled the tree in reply.
“I am being extremely useful to you at this very
moment, shielding you from the hot sun.
And you call me a good-for-nothing!”
All of God’s creations have a good purpose.
Islam teaches us that we should never belittle Allah’s blessings.

DON'T CHANGE THE WORLD

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to
some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were
very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he
went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the
entire country with leather.
Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a
huge amount of money.
Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do
you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you
just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?”
The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make
a “shoe” for himself.
There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy
place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.

Hanuman And I

Preparations had begun for our school annual
day. Two plays were to be staged. The senior
section was to enact 'Merchant of Venice' and
the junior section, 'The Story of Rama'. I was
hoping with all my heart that the drama teacher
would include me in die cast. I had never acted
in a play but was sure that once on stage I would
give a brilliant performance.
Radhika, the prettiest girl in our class, would
certainly get Sita's role. Since I was shorter than
Radhika and had a shrill voice I could not hope to
be Rama. But I wouldn't mind being Rama's
brother Laxmana, I decided. I went around for
a few days, imagining myself on stage with a bow
and arrow slung on my shoulders, giving a brilliant
performance as Laxmana. How surprised
my parents would be! I could almost hear my
father saying, "Imagine we had such a talented
daughter and we didn't even realise it."
I was terribly disappointed when the drama
teacher smiled and said, "I have a role for you.
You'll be one of the monkeys in the Vanar Sena.""
"Monkey brigade that helped Lord Rama.
"Can't I at least get the role of Hanuman," 1
asked timidly.
"No, your voice is too squeaky," was the teacher's
reply.
Our rehearsals began the next day. All I had
to do along with seven other girls was to jump up
and down and shout, "Jai Rama', "Jai Hanuman'
in a chorus.
Finally the great day arrived. We were all very
excited. I had to wear a red shirt, red pants, red
vest and a monkey mask.
We were dressing up when the chaukidar* *
handed a note to the teacher. She read it aloud.
"Dear Madam, I am very sorry to inform you that
Alka has contracted measles and has been running
a high temperature since morning. Sorry, she
will not be able to act in the play."
Alka was to play Hanuman. The teacher looked
round in dismay and her eyes fell on me. "Look
here," she said doubtfully, "You wanted to be
Hanuman? You think you can manage?" My dream
was suddenly coming true! I was quite overwhelmed.
"Of course 1 can," I said confidently.
"Even if I forget, I can always think up something
else."
"Oh no," she said, "You shall certainly not do
any such thing. I shall be prompting from the
"Victory to Lord Rama, Victory to Lord Hanuman.
""Watchman.
wings. All you have to do is repeat what I say and,
for god's sake, don't mumble. Speak as loudly as
you can."
As the curtains went up for the third scene I
was pushed on stage to the accompaniment of
drums. I almost fell on my face. For sometime I
could not see a thing. The drums were echoing in
my ears and my hands and feet were cold and
numb. I opened my mouth to say my lines but
my throat was dry and I couldn't remember them.
Thankfully I heard my teacher reading out my
lines again and again. I began repeating whatever
she said without realising what I was saying.
I kneeled in front of Rama telling him with folded
hands that I was his faithful servant. I would
gladly die for him. "Oh, my Lord", I repeated
loudly what my teacher was saying, "you have

forgotten to pin your tail." "Don't be silly," hissed
Rama, "I am not supposed to have a tail. You've
forgotten yours."' I touched the spot where the
tail should have been. "I am sorry, my Lord," I
said trying to make up for my mistake. "I meant
my tail, I have forgotten to pin on my tail."
The teacher now whispered, "Jump, jump," I
shouted, "Jump."
"You jump," Rama shouted at me. Then realising
my second mistake I began to jump like mad
and the curtains came down to the sound of
laughter.
There and then the teacher cut short my role as
much as possible, but I had to be on stage in the
last act.
I was feeling less nervous now and said my
lines well. I showed Rama's ring to Sita to convince
her that 1 was Rama's messenger. Sita said
some beautiful lines about Rama's greatness and
how much she missed him. She hid her face in her
hands and began to weep. Suddenly I realised
that the teacher was prompting while Sita kept
sobbing. Since Sita was not saying anything I decided
that it was my turn to speak.
"My beauty is my bane," I said grandly. "It is
because of my beauty that the wicked Ravana
wants to marry me."
"What?" said Sita looking startled.
"Not you, you idiot," I repeated what the tea-
cher said. Seeing the startled expression of the
whole cast I bit my tongue, realising my mistake
too late.
Just then everyone on stage began shouting,
"Maharaja* is coming, Ravana the Great is here!"
I was struck dumb by the huge figure in six-inch
heels, which 1 didn't know about until that time,
bearing down on me with a shining sword in hand.
He said in a thunderous voice that made me tremble.
"Who is this puny creature who dares to
intrude into my kingdom?" I was supposed to answer
in a proud voice that I was the son of Pawandev,
the wind God, the worshipper of Rama, the
immortal Hanuman. But Ravana was towering
over me. He raised his sword and I screamed in
terror, "Don't kill me, I am not Hanuman." I pulled
off my mask as I spoke. By now the audience
was rolling with laughter. The sound of laughter
became louder when an infuriated teacher came
on stage and unceremoniously dragged me away.
"King

Varunkaka's Lemonade Pals

Not that I didn't like my Uncle Varun. I was
just a bit cross with him.
Vanmkaka* that's what I call him, is my
father's youngest cousin. He trained as a veterinary
surgeon and went abroad for higher studies.
On his return from America, Varunkaka accepted
a post at the Veterinary Hospital in Jabalpore,
where my parents, both Army doctors, were posted.
Vamnkaka intended staying with us, until he
got a house of his own.
I remember the day he arrived. I wasn't expecting
a Leviclad, long-haired 'Uncle.' But that didn't
trouble me as much as his attitude.
"I hope you're going to be a doctor, Vani," he
said when he finally noticed me. "Because if you
are, you ought to be a Vet, and with my help, I'm
sure you'll turn out to be a good Vet".
Look, I am fond of animals. But the nearest I
can get to doing anything for them professionally
is to join the SPCA.
"Varunkaka," I said firmly, "I'm going to study
literature."
"Paternal Uncle
First lie just gaped, then turning to my mother
he said, "Bhabhi* is your daughter crazy? She's
going to ruin the family tradition." You see, for
generations our family profession has been the
practice of medicine. Our ancestors must have
been vaidyas** and witch-doctors.
I'm good at keeping quiet, so I didn't tell him
he was a creep, but I instantly declared a cold
war. While he stayed with us, I had to suffer him.
He had his positive points, though.
He was an absolute wizard with my Alsatian,
Sultan. And he had said briefly, "Your roghanjosh***
is delicious," the second time I made it
during his stay. Of course, it was. I am a good cook!
Soon afterwards, Uncle got his accommodation.
When we visited him the first time, we were quite
shocked. The house was miles away from the city.
An unkempt garden and untidy rooms swarming
with dogs, mostly pye. Cats lay in sunny patches
all over the garden. The last straw however, was
the snake I found coiled on a cane chair in the
verandah.
"Before you squeal, Miss Prim and Proper, let
me tell you he's my pet," Varun kaka said sarcastically.
To get even with him, I went and patted
the snake gently. That obviously did the trick, for
"Brother's wife.
00 Physicians.
0 0 0A meat preparation.
he became communicative. "Several monkeys too
come here. Actually they stay on the ber* trees,
right at the back of the garden. But they come
here occasionally to visit me."
"Will you take me there and show me, Varunkaka?"
I said, forgetting my hostility.
"Sure, Vani I'll even show you the one I managed
to fix up."
"Is it some kind of toy or what?" I taunted him.
"Look, kid," he said condescendingly, "I'll tell
you all about it."
And sure enough he started.
"Early one morning, when I was having a cup
of tea, Bahadur brought a guy, who, he said was
a 'madari'** Bahadur had caught him in the
back garden trying to catch baby monkeys.
"Till then I didn't even know I had monkeys
in my garden. So I asked the madari to show me
where they were. He took me to this tree which
was practically loaded with monkeys. Then he
started pleading with me.
"Saheblet me catch just one male monkey.
Otherwise my show can't go on. I have a large
family to support, Saheb. Please, Saheb."
"I told him to catch one elsewhere. But he kept
on pleading. He said he had caught the female
"Wild Berry.
"Showman.
"""Sir.
from this tree, and no one had objected at that
time. So, I relented. "All right. Catch one. But if
you hurt any, I shall wring your neck." When I
came home for lunch that afternoon, I found Bahadur
trying to coax a baby monkey to drink
water. There was a blood-stained bandage on the
poor thing's hind leg. The 'madan was nowhere
to be seen.
"Bahadur told me briefly how the little one fell
from the tree when the 'madan threw a net round
it to trap it. By now I had discovered that the
baby had not merely hurt itself, it had fractured
its leg. It was half-dead with fright, so it was
easy to put the plaster cast on. Otherwise, monkeys
can be very difficult patients."
I was pretty engrossed in the tale. So I was
rather annoyed when Varun kaka abruptly went
inside. He returned wearing a pair of gum-boots
and carrying another pair.
"They're a bit big for you, but you'd better put
them on," he said. "The grass there is taller than
you and there are mosquitoes and snakes in the
undergrowth "
"But where are we going?" I asked, puzzled.
"To meet my pet Bobo and the rest of his
family," he said briefly.
"But the story?" I protested. "How did you
fix' the monkey? How did he climb the tree with
a broken leg?"
"Look here. Will you let me tell the story or are
you going to keep asking questions? I'll tell you
the rest while we walk to the back of the compound."
So, off we went and Varun kaka continued,
"Where was I? Oh, yes! The plaster on Bobo's
leg. You know he was such a sweet little thing,
but he was very weak. I had, of course, decided to
cure him, but not at the hospital.
"Bobo was stubborn and refused to eat or drink.
I managed to force some milk down his throat,
but that was not enough. He really needed much
more nourishment to recover.
"To tempt him to eat, I used to put him on the
dining table while I had my food. But it didn't
work. I could see he was recovering, because he
was more active, but the progress was extremely
slow. Then, one day, the funniest thing happened.
"I came back rather late for lunch. Bahadur
had kept my food on the table and gone off somewhere.
I brought Bobo and left him on the table.
As I was thirsty, I opened the fridge and took out
a bottle of lemonade. I pressed the marble in and
put the bottle to my lips. With every sip I took,
the blue marble would bob up and down. Bobo
was staring at me. Whenever I picked up the
bottle, his eyes would dart to the marble in the
bottle. I held the bottle out to him. But he didn't
take it. Instead, he turned his face away.
I started eating. But he kept turning round to
see if I had picked up the bottle. So, to amuse
him, I took out another bottle of lemonade and
drank it without offering him any."
I was finding it quite difficult to follow Varunkaka
through the grass in those big gum-boots.
But he couldn't care less.
"Actually," he continued, "Bobo by now had
learned to hobble about, on his plaster cast. So,
even if I left him on the table, he would manage
to get down to the floor. After I finished eating,
I hid behind the curtain to watch his movements.
He dragged himself to the edge of the table,
reached out and opened the fridge. Glancing
round quickly, he picked up a lemonade bottle.
Then he forced the marble in with a finger. How
delighted he was to see the marble bobbing up
and down. He took a sip and you should have seen
his face! The fizz in the lemonade must have been
too strong for him, for he grimaced. But he would
not give up. He went on drinking the lemonade,
just because he wanted to see the marble bob up
and down! I let him enjoy himself.
"After that I stopped coaxing him to eat. I led
him to the fridge and left the door open. To begin
with, he took only the lemonade. But gradually
he learnt to pick up an apple or some other fruit
and nibble it. If I asked him for some, he'd hand
me the seeds!

"He recovered in no time and became quite a
nuisance around the house. Nothing in the fridge
was safe from him. At times he kept opening and
closing the door to see the light come on. He
tweaked the dogs' ears and they went charging
at him. But the little fellow would shin up a door
and grin at them from there. He even tried his
hand at shaving with my razor.
"That was more than enough for me. I started
locking up the house and leaving him in the
garden. One evening I didn't find him there. I
knew then h ., had gone back to his clan. I let him
be. Now he comes back occasionally for a
lemonade!"
Warunkaka finished his story. Was he bluffing?
I didn't know.
We soon came to a cluster of ber trees and they
were swarming with monkeys. Monkeys of all
shapes and sizes. Monkeys eating 'ber', monkeys
chattering and monkeys fighting.
"Which one is Bobo?" I asked Varun kaka. Before
he could answer, a little fellow with a black
shoelace round his neck swung on to the lowest
branch.
"Is t h a t . . . . ? " I turned to Varun kaka and
gaped. His face looked a sight!
Varun kaka is crazy. He was miming for Bobo's
benefit the opening of a lemonade bottle! "Glug,
glug, glug. . .". He pretended to drink the im-
aginary stuff. Bobo watched him closely. He
leapt down from the tree, went to Varun kaka and
swung on to his shoulder. And there he sat until
we got home. Once inside, he made a beeline for
the fridge and helped himself to a lemonade.
So did Varun kaka and I. As I gulped down the
sweet fizzy beverage, I thought Varun kaka wasn't
a bad sort really. He was quite a pal in fact.

The Unforgettable Journey

I jumped into the first coach of the train. My
friends, Raman and Shyam, followed me into the
compartment. I heaved a sigh of relief, when
I saw they were safe. But the relief was shortlived.
For, I was shocked to see Mr. Khanna, a
Travelling Ticket Examiner, enter the coach from
the other end.
"Where the hell is he coming from?" whispered
Raman.
"Only he can answer that," replied Shyam,
looking at the fast receding platform.
"No use peeping out, Shyam! The train has
picked up speed. Let's not try to jump," I said.
"He must have seen us boarding this coach,"
said Shyam.
"I'm sure, he did. But he was nowhere on the
platform. Where has he appeared from?" asked
Raman.
"We saved our fare this morning, Raman. But
now we may have to shell out that too, as
penalty," I said.
"What bad luck!" commented Raman.
In the meantime, the T.T.E. had started ex-
amining the passengers tickets.
"Look! He is coming towards us. Let's make
sad faces, and try to win his sympathy,' I suggested.
It did not take long for Mr. Khanna to check
the other passengers tickets and come to us.
"Show me your tickets, boys," he said.
"Sorry Sir! They fell out of my pocket, while
I was boarding the train," I said.
"Yes, Sir, he had my ticket too. See, my pockets
are torn." Shyam showed him his torn pockets.
"I too gave him my ticket. I don't have pockets,"
Raman put in.
"Are you sure, boys, you bought the tickets
and lost them?"
"Certainly, Sir, we never tell lies," I answered
for all of us.
"Except to the T.T.E., particularly when he
checks your tickets," added Mr. Khanna.
"No, Sir, we are telling the truth. We are all
telling the truth. We have really lost our tickets,"
I said.
"Whenever I've checked, you haven't shown
your tickets. Why?" asked Mr. Khanna in disgust.
"Because, Sir, we are only children. We lose
tickets easily," I tried to smile bravely.
"Oh! is that so? I will teach you a lesson. It will
help you to keep your tickets safe," Mr. Khanna
shouted angrily. "Now all three of you go to that

comer and sit there."
I was accustomed to this drama. Not once or
twice, but a number of times Mr. Khanna had
caught us. He would always ask us to sit in a corner.
Then he would threaten to penalise us for
ticketless travelling. And as Rajapur station approached,
he would say, "Look, boys, it is not
good to travel like this. Why don't you buy tickets?
Now the next time, I find you without tickets,
I will have all of you sent to jail. I am leaving
you this time. But, next time, I won't. He
then let us go. I was confident that this time, too,
Mr. Khanna would permit us to get out at the
outer signal of Rajapur. But, he didn't. He kept
quiet, while the train crossed the Rajapur outer
signal. I felt restless and tried to get up.
"Sit down!'' shouted Mr. Khanna. "Don't move
from there. Give me your father's name and address."
"Please, Sir," I pleaded, "pardon us this time.
This is the last time. We will never again travel
without tickets. I will see that we buy tickets and
keep them safe."
"Please excuse us, Sir," Shyam said in a choked
voice.
The train had by then reached Rajapur and we
were afraid it would start moving shortly. "Please
allow us to go, Sir," I pleaded.
But Mr. Khanna was adamant. He took down
our addresses and then turning to the other passengers,
he said, "Please keep an eye on these
boys till I return."' He got out of the compartment.
We saw him talking to the Station Master,
who looked in our direction and nodded to whatever
Mr. Khanna was telling him.
A cold fear gripped us. Our pleading, assurances,
nothing seemed to make Mr. Khanna relent.
The other passengers, who were earlier supporting
him, started pleading for our release. But
Mr. Khanna didn't budge.
In the meantime, the train reached Ram Nagar.
He ordered us to get down. We got down from
the train and followed Mr. Khanna out of the station.
I was, by now, very apprehensive. Raman
and Shyam were anxious, too.
After walking for a mile or so, we reached a
house. Mr. Khamia took us inside.
There, in the dim light of a lantern, I could see
someone sitting on a cot. He seemed to be a
grown-up man, but there was something abnormal
about him.
"Raj," said Mr. Khanna, addressing him, "Get
up, will you?"
Raj tried to stand up, but was finding it difficult.
It was then I noticed that Raj had no legs.
"All right, all right," said Mr. Khanna. "Relax,
take it easy." Turning to us, he said, "Well, have
you seen him?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Now, tell me, do you also want to lose your
legs like him?" Mr. Khanna asked with a penetrating
look.
"No. . . . " we all cried in one voice. The very
thought of not having legs made me feel sick. My
heart sank. Shyam whispered, "Does this demon
want to cut our legs?" I was badly shaken but
tried to think of some way of escaping from the
house.
"Look, boys," Mr. Khanna broke in on my
thoughts, "for quite some time, I wanted to bring
all of you here to meet Raj, to see for yourselves
the hazards of ticketless travelling."
My heart started beating faster. Could what
Shyam had whispered be true? Right then, I
heard footsteps behind us. I was afraid to turn
round to see who was approaching. I wondered
if Mr. Khanna was a maniac, and had kept men
to cut off people's legs for travelling without
tickets.
The person who was coming from behind
seemed to have come close to us. I looked at
Shyam and Raman. They, too, wTere sweating
with fear.
"Enough." said! a woman's voice behind me.
"They are already very shaken. Let me talk to
them."
She introduced herself as Mrs. Khanna. She
had a soft voice. "You saw Raj, boys. When he
was young, he was just like you. He would travel
without a ticket and was very happy about it. But
once, when he was boarding a train. . . . "
Raj, suddenly, stopped her. He raised his head
and looked straight at us. In a choked voice, he
said, "It was great fun to travel without tickets.
The money I thus saved was spent on movies
and sweets. But then one day, there was a surprise
check and I tried to jump off the moving
train. I fell between the bogie and the signal post.
My legs were caught between the wheels." He
couldn't speak further, but pointed towards his
legs.
I was jolted back to reality by Mrs. Khanna's
soothing voice. "Now sit down, boys. Here's coffee
for all of you."
Mr. Khanna added, "Yes, and you will stay
with us tonight. I have already sent messages to
your parents through the Station Master at Rajapur.
They will not worry about you. Tomorrow
morning, you can go back. I will buy tickets for
your return journey. I wanted you to see for yourselves
the consequence of ticketless travelling."
That evening we realised our mistake. We
developed a great respect and affection for Mr.
Khanna. He had shown us the right path, with
rare understanding.

The Pink Card

Ponni sat on the footpath in front of Berywood
Girls Primary School. She sold knick-knacks for
little girls. Besides pencils, rubbers, sharpners,
rulers, shoelaces and ribbons, she had colourful
sweets and pretty trinkets too. All these were
spread out in front of her on a piece of gunny.
The school bell rang. Ponni watched the girls
hasten into the school. One of them stopped in
front of her.
"A pencil, quick, she said.
"Here," Ponni picked up one and gave it to her.
She grabbed it and turned to cross the road.
"Hev, Ponni called out, "You haven't paid me
for it. Give me twenty five paise."
"Oh! I'm sorry," the girl said coming back.
"The bell has rung. I was in such a hurry I forgot.
She fished out a 25 paise coin from her bag,
and handed it to Ponni. "Here, take it. And, don't
call me 'hev'. My name's Sheela.'
"I'm Ponni," said the vendor, flashing a
friendly smile.
Sheela crossed the road and ran into the
school.
That night, as Ponni lay on the ground beside
her mother in their small hut, she said, "Amma,°
I want to go to school, like Sheela."
"Hush, child. I don't have money to send you
to school.'
The next day, as Ponni sat in her usual place
under the shade of a peepul** tree, an old man
came towards her. He carried a small cane basket
in one hand and a bird-cage in the other.
Tucked under his arm was a folded mat. He
spread the dusty old mat under the tree and sat
down on it, putting the basket and the cage
beside him.
"Scree. . .ch, screech", cried the pretty green
parrot in the cage. The bell rang. School was
over. The children trooped out of the gate.
"What're you looking at?" Sheela called out to
Ponni as she came running out.
"At that old man, I wonder who he is?" said
Ponni.
Sheela looked at him curiously, "I think he's a
fortune-teller. The parrot in the cage tells you
what you'll be when you grow up. How exciting!
I must get some money from home tomorrow to
hear my fortune. Bye!" Sheela hurried home.
That night, as her mother was making kanji,***
"Mother
00Holy Fig Tree
0 0'Rice porridge.
Ponni sat beside her and asked softly, "Amma,
can I have some money?"
"Whatever for?" snapped her mother.
"I want to have my fortune told. Sheela says
the parrot knows everything."
"You know I have no money to spare, Ponni.
We are just able to manage one meal a day. When
you grow up and start working like me as a
coolie* we can have two meals a day."
"Oh no, Amma" cried Ponni, "I want to go to
school."
"Forget about school, my child. Get going and
sweep the floor."
The next day Ponni sat under the peepul tree,
as usual. Sheela came running to her, and said,
"Ponni, you know what the fortune-teller told
me? I'll study well and am going to be rich. I
gave him 50 paise."
"What did the parrot do?" asked Ponni.
"The old man took a bundle of coloured cards
from the basket and spread them on his mat.
The parrot picked a pink card for me. The man
read the card."
"Really " before Ponni could say anything
more, Sheela had pranced off.
That night was hot and stuffy. Ponni lay awake
and restless, beside her mother.
"Amma" she began.
"Unskilled labourer.
"Hm....?"
"Sheela got a pink card. It said she would
study well and be a rich woman. I want the pink
card too. Please give me 50 paise."
"Shut up, Ponni. Don't pester me for money,
again and again."
"Amma, when will I go to school, like Sheela?"
"Ponni, go to sleep. I told you, you can't go to
school."
The next day, the children were in school and
all was quiet. Ponni turned to see what the parrot
was doing. The old man was wiping the dust
off his spectacles. He had the cage beside him.
Ponni got up, walked up to him, and asked softly,
"Will you tell me my fortune?"
The man put on his specs and looked up. His
face was wrinkled and his voice gruff.
"Give me 50 paise."
Ponni shook her head, "I don't have any
money."
"What?" asked the man raising his voice. "You
think I run a free service? I have to earn a living
and feed the parrot too. Go away and don't come
here without money."
Ponni went back to her place feeling sad.
It was a hot afternoon. Ponni was thirsty. She
sat watching the parrot. It kept fluttering its
wings as it hopped about in the cage. Ponni
quietly tiptoed to the cage, and peered in. There

were a few pieces of fruit and red chillies and a
small water bowl. It was dry.
'Poor little parrot,' thought Ponni. 'It is thirsty.'
The old man was fast asleep on the mat. He
was snoring.
"Wait, little bird," she whispered. "There is a
tap across the road. I'll run across and get you
some water." As she stood up to go, she heard a
'click,' and turned round. The parrot's flapping
wings had hit the small bolt holding the cage
door. The bolt slipped and the door flew open.
The parrot was free to fly out. "Wake up old
man," Ponni shouted a warning. The man
continued to snore.
"Your parrot is about to escape, wake up,"
Ponni called out again. But the man was fast
asleep.
The parrot flew off. It went straight to the tap
and perched on it. Bending down, it began to
drink the dripping drops of water. Ponni was
happy the parrot had got what it wanted.
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, because she saw a big
black cat. It was crouching a few feet away from
the tap and was ready to pounce on the parrot.
She went up to the old man and screamed, "Get
? ? up.
He stirred.
"Don't disturb me, you naughty girl. I told you
I want 50 paise, before I can do anything for you."
69
He turned round and went to sleep again.
Ponni looked about. There was nobody around
whom she could call to help her catch the parrot.
Only a car was parked in front of the school gate.
Ponni decided to go to the parrot's rescue herself.
Hitching up her skirt, she sprinted across
the road. With one quick movement she caught
the bird. Chest heaving, she held the parrot close
to her heart, her eyes closed in relief. Then she
turned round and ran back to the shade of the
peepul tree.
"Old man, here is your parrot. Take him," she
shouted in his ears. He opened his eyes, blinking.
"I told you not to disturb me. Why are you
screaming?" he growled. He stretched his arms
and yawned. Then he put on his specs and glared
at Ponni.
"You naughty girl, what are you doing with my
parrot? You want to steal the bird?" he asked her
rudely.
Tears welled up in Ponni's eyes.
"Leave my bird alone and go back to your
place," he shouted and snatched the parrot from
her.
Ponni burst into tears. She ran back to her
place, wiping her tears with the skirt.
"Now, now, little girl, don't cry."
Ponni looked up and saw a stranger standing
before her.
70
"The old man is so rude to me," she sobbed.
"She stole my parrot," said the old man, getting
up to put the parrot back in it's cage.
"I did not steal his parrot," Ponni wept aloud.
"I only tried to save it."
"Save it, bah!" growled the old man. "This
girl has no money. Her mother won't give her
any. She is only a coolie. This girl is trying to
steal my parrot and sell it."
"Quiet," commanded the stranger.
The old man sat still.
"I saw this girl saving your parrot. I came to
the school to take my daughter home."
Just then, the school bell rang and the children
came pouring out.
"Daddy," shouted Sheela, dashing across the
road.
"Daddy, this is Ponni 1 was talking to you
about yesterday."
"Really! She is such a nice girl. But for her,
a cat would have gobbled up this fellow's parrot."
"Tell me all about it," cried Sheela, catching
hold of Ponni's hands.
"Ponni, come let's go home." They turned
round to see Ponni's mother coming towards them.
Wiping beads of perspiration off her face with
her sari, she looked at Ponni and at Sheela. Her
gaze rested on Sheela's father.
"Ponni is a good girl," he told her. "My daugh-
71
ter likes her very much." He paused and continued,
"I would like her to go to a school."
"But I can't afford it, Sir," said Ponni's mother,
looking miserable.
"I know, I know. But that shouldn't worry you.
I'll meet all the expenses. She can go to school
with Sheela."
"Oh, Sir," was all the woman could say. She
was so overwhelmed that tears of joy ran down
her dusty face.
The old man edged close to Ponni. "Do you
want the parrot to pick a card for. you?" he asked
hoarsely, removing his spectacles and wiping
them.
Ponni rushed towards the cage. Even before
the old man could spread the cards fully on the
mat, the parrot picked a card with its beak for
Ponni. It was the pink card!
Ponni jumped with joy. "Thank you, old man,
thank you, parrot dear," she burst out and turned
to go home with her mother.
"Bye, bye, Sheela," she said.
"Bye, see you in school," Sheela replied.

All Because Of My Hair

"You good for nothing fellow!" one slap.
"You naughty boy!" another slap. "You rascal!"
a shower of slaps. I could see stars dancing at
midday! The portraits of Kabir, Ghalib and Einstein
hanging on the wall started swinging. I lost
count of the slaps raining down on my clean
shaven head and face. I wondered if I really deserved
them. I was in class VIII and a boarder
in a Delhi school. I was a good singer and there
were hardly any school functions at which I did
not recite a poem or sing a song.
For days and weeks now, we had been preparing
for an important function. A very prominent
figure was to preside, and so excitement ran high.
The classrooms were cleaned and decorated, and
charts and photographs fixed. Everybody was
busy.
A poem was to be recited in honour of the distinguished
guest. And who else but I could be
asked to recite it?
I didn't tell you that my hair was rather long
in those days. Sometimes my parents would be
angry with me on that account. But when I was
sent to the hostel, I thought I would have the
freedom of growing my hair as long as I wanted.
The situation, I realised very soon, was worse at
the hostel. The warden, a venerable old fellow, was
stricter than my parents. He was an artist by profession
and quite unnaturally insisted on everything
being neat and clean and in perfect order.
So, very soon, my hair became the bone of contention
between us.
Every Sunday, an old barber whom we called
'Khalifaficame to the hostel. So the whole
morning I spent playing hide-and-seek with the
warden. However, every fourth or fifth week I'd
be caught and handed over to Khalifafi. He himself
shuddered at the mere mention of my name
because I was really troublesome. His hands
quivered when he touched my head.
The Sunday before the function the warden
warned me repeatedly that I would be severely
punished if I didn't have a hair-cut.
That was just too bad, because I wanted to
appear on stage with my crowning glory untrimmed.
But I couldn't escape the warden's clutches and
was duly sent to Khalifaji. The dreaded moment
had come. I had to decide there and then whether
to submit to his threats or revolt.
The devil must have egged me on. I was de-
° Powerful person (used sarcastically)
termined to take revenge and settle all accounts,
old and new. I presented my head to Khalifaji
humbly. I even asked him to shave off my head
completely! But, of course he wouldn't take me
seriously. At last, when I insisted, he applied
water on my head. Then before picking up the
razor he asked me for the last time. "Are you sure
you want your head to be clean-shaven?" It took
great effort on my part to convince him. Then,
with trembling hands, he put the razor to my hair.
It took ten minutes to shave my head thrice.
There wasn't the trace of a hair on my shining
scalp, I made Khalifaji trim my eyebrows too.
Then I carefully applied oil to give it a better
shine.
I went back to my room, put on a pair of shorts
and wrapped a towel round my shoulders. Then
I came out of the hostel looking victorious. My
companions burst out laughing and clapped as
they followed me. I headed the procession, looking
like a Buddhist monk.
The warden was busy decorating a classroom.
The boisterous procession of boys, yelling, laughing
and clapping, passed by. The warden ran out
of the classroom and stood stunned as he watched.
He could not believe his eyes. He examined
me from head to foot.
That's when the blows started raining down on
me. I had rather anticipated them and now that

I think of it—deserved them too.
I was of course not permitted to appear on
stage the next day. But worse still I had to remain
with my monk-like appearance for many months.
After that nobody ever asked me to have a haircut
again, and today I am the sole master of my
head and hair!

In A Guava Orchard

Safdar, Ajay and I dashed out of the classroom
as the bell rang. It was the lunch break, and we
had a whole hour to play. Safdar was the tallest,
also the strongest amongst us. He was our leader.
Ajay and I followed him meekly, like lambs!
We frisked about cheerfully over a path that
led to a guava orchard. There was a mud wall
round it. Safdar who was in high spirits leaped
over it and bragged, "Look at the guavas! Come
on, kids. Let's have a feast."
Ajay also leaped over the wall, saying, "What
fun. How lovely!"
I smacked my Hps at the sight of the luscious
green guavas in the orchard. I was however,
afraid that we might be caught by the watchman.
But Safdar's presence emboldened me.
I too jumped over the wall. There were trees
and trees—all bursting with ripe and unripe
guavas. We roamed freely. Safdar was greedily
eating ripe guavas, while Ajay and I leaped like
monkeys and devoured the unripe ones. I preferred
raw guavas and I could never have enough.
I stuffed my pockets. I wanted to carry them as
a souvenir of our daring expedition to the orchard.
Wouldn't my classmates gape at them, eyes
bulging!
Suddenly, I heard Safdar's cry, "Ajay! Lokesh!
Run, run! The watchman is coming." Perched on
top of a branch, I saw the tall, sinister-looking
figure of the watchman approaching. He was
waving a staff in his hand. Safdar and Ajay were
already on the ground, and had started running.
The watchman waved his staff and ran after them,
shouting, "Thieves! Thieves! See they don't
escape." I lost no time; I jumped down from the
tree and took to my heels. Safdar and Ajay were
far ahead and I ran faster. As I leapt over ditches
and boulders in the orchard, the guavas began
to fall out of my pockets.
The watchman chased us furiously. After what
seemed ages, the mud wall came into view. Safdar,
who was the first to reach it took a flying
leap over it. Ajay, close behind, managed to roll
over.
Safdar kept shouting, "Run, Lokesh, run! The
fellow is closing in!"
I put in every ounce of energy I had and ran
like mad. The watchman came charging like a
bull, bellowing curses. A host of street urchins
had by then appeared from nowhere and joined
the chase.
"Now jump," cried Safdar.

I took a mighty leap and landed on top of the
wall. The last guava in my pocket rolled out.
I felt miserably cheated. I didn't want to lose
it at any cost. I jumped back into the orchard and
stooped to pick it up. It was rather dark, but I
managed to find the lost guava. Triumphantly I
held it in my hand and leapt over the wall. Beyond
it lay the school compound and my friends.
I slipped and fell.
The looming figure of the watchman drew
closer.
Safdar and Ajay were screaming and urging me
not to waste time. As I scrambled up, the watchman's
steely fingers gripped me. I struggled to
shake him off, but the burly man picked me up,
flung me over his shoulder and walked briskly
back into the orchard.
Soon afterwards, he deposited me before a man
seated on a cot.
"Malik",* he addressed him, wiping perspiration
off his forehead, "this fellow is the leader of
a gang of school children. He regularly brings a
number of them to steal our guavas. They destroy
more than they eat.''
The 'malik' looked calm but formidable. I felt
he would thrash me. I was scared, also ashamed
that I had been caught red-handed.
He stared hard at me. I stood rooted to the
"Master.
ground, expecting a tight slap.
He got up from the cot and stood before me.
He looked tall as a palm tree!
"What's your name?" he asked me. "Where do
you live?"
"I'm Lokesh. I study in the school over there.
I'm the Principal's son.
"You like guavas?"
I nodded. <
"Did you come alone?"
I pointed to Safdar and Ajay, who were still
peeping over the mud wall.
The 'malik' asked the watchman to get a basket
of guavas.
"He's not a thief," he told him. "He is a decent
kid." He waved to my friends and signalled them
to come in.
Safdar and Ajay wouldn't budge an inch. They
stayed where they were.
"Come on Lokesh, ask them to come in," he
urged me.
I was rather dazed and undecided. The man
smiled.
"Call them in, child. Don't be frightened."
I was not afraid any more.
"Come over, Safdar. Come over, Ajay," I shouted.
They soon joined me, looking sheepish and
guilty.
We could hardly believe our eyes when the
watchman came back with a ^basket of guavas.
"Go ahead and eat as many as you want," said
the malik.
We just stood looking at him. We had expected
him to treat us like thieves.
"You're like my children," his gentle voice was
soothing. This is your garden. You don't have to
enter it like thieves. You go to the watchman. He'll
help you."
Gratefully, we accepted the guavas he offered.
Thanking him profusely we took leave of him.
There was a smile on his face as he bade us
good-bye. "Remember children, do not do anything
that makes you feel guilty. You must always
be proud of what you do."
We left the orchard. I was limping a bit but
my pockets were bulging with guavas.
His words are still fresh in my mind.