76840973-Champak.pdf

FOUNDER

VISHWA NATH

1917-2002DECEMBER (SECOND) 2011 NO. 821

Greater Happiness ... 6

Flashing Fireflies ... 9

Brave Baby ... 12

Arrogant Cloud ... 16

Blow Horn .... 19

Manu and Tinu’s Bravery ... 23

Chintu Astuteness ... 33

Mummy Thief ... 46

A Match for Dimpy... 53

Big Tree Small Tree ... 56

storytime

funtime

yourpages

comics

Who Am I ? ... 28

Champak Checkers ... 29

It’s Funtime ... 36

Cheeku ... 26

A Trick that Failed ... 42

From Young Readers ... 38

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Chulbuli Squirrel considered herself very lucky. She had a bigbanyan tree for a house. She lived there by herself in greatcomfort.

There were lush green pastures and fields near the banyan tree. The cropswould sway in the fields when the wind blew. And grains scattered and fell on

the grass every single day.

This made things very easy for Chulbuli Squirrel. All she had to do was to climbdown the tree whenever she was hungry and help herself to the grains.

There was a small pond near Chulbuli’s tree too. It never went dry. In fact, thepond was full of cool and clear water throughout the year. Chulbuli Squirrel

had to simply skip to the pond and drink its water whenever she was thirsty.

The weather too was always pleasant. The skies above the tree were covered withsoft, white clouds. And a cool and gentle breeze always blew around the tree.

Chulbuli Squirrel would run up and down the tree and enjoy herself thoroughly.She didn’t have a care in the world. “I am so happy!” Chulbuli Squirrel would oftensay to herself. “Nothing can make me happier!”

A short distance from Chulbuli’s tree was a field with a barn. Babloo Rabbit andthe barn owner’s dog who was called Tommy Watchdog lived there. They were

Chulbuli’s friends and often played with her.

Tommy Watchdog worked very hard during the day. He was also very alertduring the night. If he ever saw anyone coming near the field or

barn, he would start barking loudly andalert the barn owner.

By Gyandev Mukesh

One day, Chulbuli Squirrel met TommyWatchdog near the field. He hadn’tslept too well the previous night andlooked very tired.

“I feel very sorry for you, Tommy,” ChulbuliSquirrel said. “You guard the field all day andnight. You have to bark all the time. Your jawsmust be aching with all the barking you do. Itshard work, isn’t it?”

Tommy Watchdog kept quiet. He listened as the little squirrelwent on. “Look at me! I am so happy!” Chulbuli Squirrel went oncheerfully. “There’s no happiness greater than mine. There’s nothingthat can make one happier than living in a comfortable house andhaving an easy life.”

Tommy Watchdog who had been listening patiently all this whilefinally said, “You are wrong, Chulbuli. A day will come when youwill know there are other things that can make you happier. You willrealise that there are other things that can warm your heart besidesliving in a comfortable house and having an easy life.”

Chulbuli Squirrel didn’t understand what the dog meant. “Er…Tommy, myfriend,” she said. “Let’s discuss this some other day. It’s lunch time now. I mustgo to the field. There are golden grains of corn waiting for me.”

The grains of corn lying on the field were soft and sweet. Chulbuli Squirrel atethem all and then rested on the grass below her tree.

She looked up at the sky and saw that there were soft, clouds above her. Thebreeze too was cool and refreshing. Chulbuli Squirrel felt very happy.

“Ah! What beautiful weather! My life is perfect!” shethought. “There is nothing else that can make mehappier!” She closed her eyes and fell asleep onthe grass.

SONAL SUMIT

Babloo Rabbit felt relieved as soon as thethorn came out of his paw. He stoppedgroaning and smiled. Chulbuli’s mouth wasstill stinging. And her back was badly injuredtoo. But the moment she saw Babloo Rabbitsmiling, she forgot all about her pain andwatched her friend.

Tommy Watchdog, who had heard thecommotion, came along.

He saw his two friends and immediatelyunderstood what had happened.

“Chulbuli, you are hurt,” Tommy Watchdogtold the little squirrel with concern. “Let meapply some medicine on your wounds.”

“Forget about my wounds, Tommy!”Chulbuli Squirrel smiled and said. “Theyreally aren’t bothering me. I’m feeling veryhappy now. I helped remove a thorn fromBabloo Rabbit’s paw. It was causing himgreat discomfort.”

Tommy Watchdog smiled. “I’m sure you’refeeling very happy now, Chulbuli,” he said.

“But is this happiness greater than the oneyou get from living on your comfortabletree?”

Chulbuli Squirrel thought for a moment andthen said, “No, Tommy! This happiness is fargreater. I am happier to have helped a friendin need than I am while living mycomfortable life. I now understand what youtried to tell me. The greatest happinesscomes from helping a troubled friend.”

Tommy Watchdog smiled. Chulbuli Squirrelhad finally understood what he meant.

Indeed, the greatest happiness comes fromhelping a troubled friend. ●

Suddenly, the sound of screaming piercedChulbuli Squirrel’s ears. She opened her eyesat once and looked around. She quicklyhopped towards the direction where thesound was coming from.

Chulbuli Squirrel hopped further andstopped. “Oh no!” she cried as she spottedher friend Babloo Rabbit.

He was wincing and groaning in pain.Chulbuli saw that a big thorn had prickedBabloo Rabbit’s paw. It was bleeding andBabloo Rabbit looked very distressed. Therewas nobody around to help pull the thornout of his paw.

Chulbuli Squirrel quickly hopped towardsBabloo Rabbit and tried to pull the thornout with her teeth. But the thorn was thrustdeeply and did not come out easily.

Chulbuli tried harder. But the thorn stilldidn’t come out. In fact, it prickedChulbuli’s mouth. “Ouch!” ChulbuliSquirrel cried in pain. The thorn had stungand scratched her mouth badly but shedecided to ignore it. She was moreconcerned about helping Babloo Rabbit. She couldn’t bear to see her friend in suchgreat agony.

Chulbuli Squirrel tried to console BablooRabbit. “Don’t worry, my friend!” she said ina reassuring tone. “I know that I am smallbut I will try my best to help you.”

Chulbuli Squirrel then held the thorn tightlywith her teeth. She loosened it at first bypulling it from all sides. She then pulled ashard as she could. To Babloo Rabbit’s greatrelief, the thorn now came out in one go.But Chulbuli Squirrel lost her balance in thebargain. She fell against a rock and injuredher little back.

8

There was no electricity in Satpudavan.Darkness gripped the whole forest assoon as the sun went down. There

was nothing but pitch blackness aftersunset. The animals that lived in the forestfaced a lot of trouble during the nightswithout any light.

One day, Makalu Fox went up to King SherSingh of Satpudavan. “Maharaj,” he said. “Isaw a huge colony of fireflies near a swampoutside the forest last night. They made sucha bright sight. I think these fireflies have a lotof electricity. If they come to our forest andgive us their electricity, we won’t have anytrouble seeing at nights.”

King Sher Singh sent his messengers to call

By Aparna Manoj Majumdar

the fireflies to his palace. The fireflies werehumble and came as soon as they receivedthe message.

“Please give us whatever electricity youhave,” King Sher Singh said to the fireflies.“We will pay you whatever you ask for. Wewant to utilize your electricity to light upour forest at nights.”

“I am sorry, Maharaj. But this cannot bedone. We have inherited the light. It is partof our bodies. We cannot just give it away,”Jagmag Firefly said. He was the leader of thecolony of fireflies.

“How dare you decline our King’s request?”Makalu Fox said in a threatening voice.“Give us your electricity or you will bepunished!”

“Please don’t get angry,” Jagmag Fireflypleaded. “You must understand. Even if we give you the electricity we have withinus, it won’t be of any use to you. It won’t

PRITPAL SINGH

work without us. We will perish if we give itto you.”

Minister Gajju Elephant heard thecommotion and came to see what washappening.

He greeted the King and then said, “Maharaj,the fireflies are right. It is true. The light the

fireflies have is made by a biological action.They can’t give it away.”

“Is that so? King Sher Singh said. “I don’tunderstand. Please tell me more.”

“Maharaj, the fireflies belong to theorthopoda community,” Gajju Elephantexplained. “I read about them in anencyclopedia. They have a special elementcoming out of their bodies which can beseen at night. It is because of this elementthat they appear to flash light at night.”

“That is why I have called them here. I wantthem to illuminate our forest with theirlight,” King Sher Singh said. “They must

share their element with us.”

“Maharaj, the fireflies can’t give you theirelement even if they wanted to,” GajjuElephant explained patiently. “The fireflies’light is known as ‘bioluminescence’. It means‘organism light’ which is emitted because ofa special kind of chemical product found inthe fireflies’ bodies.”

“I will tell you more about this, Maharaj,”the leader of the fireflies said respectfully.

“That’s a good idea, Jagmag,” Gajju Elephantsaid. “It will be best if you explain.”

“The chemical element in our bodies iscalled ‘Luciferin’. It is present in our cells.We can use it as many times as we want. Itdoesn’t get over.”

“So, the Luciferin stays constant and doesn’tget over?” Sher Singh asked, looking verysurprised.

“That’s correct, Maharaj! The Luciferinsupply in our cells remains constant even

10

after we make light.” Jagmag Fireflyexplained.

“Okay, but how does the light go on andoff?” King Sher Singh said.

“Maharaj, this entire process is governed byour nervous system. Luciferin is present inthe inner surface of our respiratory tracts.”Jagmag Firefly continued. “When we breathein and out, our nerves let the air go out withgaps. And so, it seems like our light isflashing or going on and off.”

“I think I understand now,” King Sher Singhsaid.

“Maharaj, please understand our problem. If we give this chemical substance of ours toyou, it will be of no use. We will perishinstead,” Jagmag Firefly folded his hands and said.

“I won’t let you perish, Jagmag,” King SherSingh said kindly. “But can you and yourfriends do me a favour?”

“Of course, Maharaj!” Jagmag said. “Pleasetell us what we can do for you?”

“Spread out in our forest instead of stayingtogether in one place during the nights. Thewhole forest will be lit up that way.” KingSher Singh requested.

“Yes Maharaj, we will do that,” all thefireflies said together.

From that day onwards, the fireflies scatteredthemselves throughout the forest at nights.The whole forest was illuminated with littlesparks of light.

All the other animals thanked the firefliesand rejoiced. ●

Baby Rabbit was sitting under a tree. He couldn’t concentrate on anything. It was time forhim to return home from school. But Baby Rabbit didn’t feel like going back home. Hisschool bag and lunch box were in front of him. He stared at them blankly and

remembered the incident that had occurred just a few days ago…

Baby Rabbit had been strolling in Nandanvan. His favourite grass had grown there after the rains.Baby Rabbit was nibbling on the grass when a ripe mango had suddenly fallen from a tree. BabyRabbit had been startled. But when he had realized that it was just a mango, his mouth had

watered. He had picked the mango up and washed itcarefully. Baby Rabbit had just started to suck on the

mango when a vixen had leaped on him.

Baby Rabbit had thrown the mango asideand hidden inside bush. Well, who

doesn’t love their life? He had thenwatched with baited breath frominside the bush. The vixen had satdown to eat the mango.

Baby Rabbit’s eyes had filled withtears. He had wanted to screamand tell the vixen that the mangobelonged to him. But he had notbeen able to utter a word. Thevixen had gone away after eatingthe mango. She had sucked the

kernel fully too andnot left a morsel or

a drop of juice.

By R.K.Vashishth

12

Baby Rabbit had come home and wept. Hehad narrated the incident to his mother.Baby Rabbit’s Mother had listened patiently.“Son,” she had then said lovingly. “There isno need to cry so much for a mango. I willgo to the market and buy a crateful ofmangoes for you. You can eat them to yourheart’s content.” Baby Rabbit had not beenconsoled.

“Mother, I’m not upset because I didn’t getto eat the mango,” he said softly. “I’m upsetbecause the vixen took something that wasrightfully mine. What if I took awaysomething that the vixen was eating? Wouldthat be right?”

“You are not wicked,” Baby Rabbit’s Motherhad said. “You are a brave child, Baby Rabbit.Why would you do something so mean?”

Baby Rabbit sighed. “That’s not the truth,Mother,” he said sadly. “The truth is that I’mweak. I’m even scared to go to school. Thereis no justice in this jungle. Please don’t callme brave. Everyone fears brave creatures. Butno one fears me. If I was brave, no onewould have dared to bother me andeveryone would have feared me.”

Baby Rabbit’s Mother shook her head sadly.She had no answer for her son. The verysame day, Baby Rabbit saw his best friendSnehi Deer running for his life. A tiger waschasing him. Baby Rabbit had hiddenbehind a tree and watched. Snehi Deer hadmanaged to save himself but had fallen sickafter that. The fear of the tiger had given hima high fever.

Like Baby Rabbit, Snehi Deer too thoughthe was a weak animal and had to struggle tosave himself.

Both these incidents had disturbed Baby

Rabbit no end. He had not been able tostudy or play games after that. The fear ofbeing attacked by a vixen or a tiger at anytime had shaken him up badly. He oftenthought of going to King Sher Singh with hisfears but was too afraid to do so.

Baby Rabbit began to believe that he was veryweak. “I am a coward!” he would cry and say.“I am weak. I am afraid of everyone.” BabyRabbit picked up his school bag and lunchbox and stood up. He slowly walked towardshis house. He was still very upset.

There was a pond on the way to BabyRabbit’s house. He decided to stroll along itjust to divert his mind. It was a peaceful andbrightly lit spot. Moreover, no wild animalsever came to the pond. So, there was nodanger there.

Baby Rabbit saw some frogs in the pond.They were sitting on the lily pads andcroaking happily. A cool wind started toblow. It made Baby Rabbit feel like running.He hung his school bag on a tree branch andstarted to run.

As soon as Baby Rabbit began running, heheard splashing sounds coming from thewater. He turned around and saw that all thefrogs in the pond had noticed him. Theylooked very scared of him and were leapingand jumping into the safety of the water.

Baby Rabbit was astonished. He stopped towatch. “What?” he said. “There’s no one elsehere but me! Are those frogs afraid of me?”Baby Rabbit smiled. He couldn’t believe thatthere were creatures who were afraid of himtoo. He took his things and ran back home.He rang the bell continuously till his motheranswered the door. “Mother!” he saidhappily as soon he saw his mother. “I havesomething to tell you!”

13December (Second) 2011

“What is it, Baby Rabbit?” Baby Rabbit’s Mother asked. “You’ve rung the bell so many times.Good children ring the bell only once.” Baby Rabbit hugged his mother and said, “Guess what,Mother? I am brave! I am very brave!”

“Yes, Baby Rabbit! I know that. But what has suddenly made you realise that?” Baby Rabbit’sMother asked, looking surprised. “All the frogs in the pond dived into the water when they sawme!” Baby Rabbit said and laughed. “I was all by myself but there were at least a dozen frogs.They looked terrified of me!”

“Son, you now know that there are creatures who think they are weaker than you,” BabyRabbit’s Mother said softly. “Will you stop calling yourself weak now?”

“I will never call myself weak again!” Baby Rabbit saidwith a smile.

“Very good,” Baby Rabbit’s Mother said. “You area brave and strong child. But don’t scare the

frogs just like the vixen scared you. Beingstrong and brave doesn’t mean that you

should scare others. It means protectingthose who are weaker than you. Go backto the pond now and make friends withthe frogs. They will stop fearing you andcome to play with you.”

“I will do that, Mother!” Baby Rabbitsaid, running out of the house.

Baby Rabbit then went to the pond andmade friends with the frogs who stopped

being afraid of him. ●

SONAL SUMIT

14

By Indrajit Kaushik

Cloudy Cloud was a young cloud. Heliked floating in the sky and causingtrouble wherever he went. One day,

when Cloudy took a whole lot of water fromThe Old Sea, The Old Sea felt that it wasimportant to give the young cloud animportant lesson.

“When you come across people craving forwater,” The Old Sea said, “or farmersstanding in the fields who are waiting foryou to shower raindrops, don’t disappointthem. Open your heart and quench theirthirst. For that is the real purpose of being acloud. And please, don’t cause trouble orharm anyone.”

“Well, I shall see,” Cloudy Cloud saidand quickly drifted away. He didn’t likeThe Old Sea telling him what to do.

“Ha! Everybody wants to give you alesson and impose their thinking

on you,” Cloudy Cloud grumbled. “I willshower raindrops wherever I want. I will dowhat I please. Let The Old Sea say whateverhe wants. I don’t care!”

The people of a village saw Cloudy floatingin the sky. Their eyes shone with joy. “Lookthere! There’s a rain cloud in the sky! It willshower raindrops on our lake! We will havelots of water to drink! Our thirst will bequenched!” the villagers said happily.

But Cloudy Cloud ignored the villagers anddrifted away. “Why should I bother if youare hungry or thirsty, huh?” he said and leftthe poor villagers pining for water.

Cloudy Cloud then floated ahead arrogantly.

After some time, he stopped over a field.The farmers in the field looked up andclapped their hands. They were overjoyed.Their field was parched and they had beeneagerly awaiting the rains.

“Now we will get the elixir of life! Our fieldwill receive rainfall! Our crops will grow! Wewill have grains to eat! This cloud will surelyshower rainfall!” the farmers sang anddanced.

“Surely shower rainfall, huh?” Cloudymuttered. “Why should I shower rainfall onyour field? Am I your servant? Do you thinkI’ve brought the water especially for yourfield from so far, huh? Well, I really don’tcare about you or your crops!”

Cloudy then made a rude face and movedon. The farmers below blamed The Wind.

“Oh! The rain cloud was blown away! Wind,why did you do that? Our crops won’t grownow! We won’t have food to eat!” they wept.

The Wind who had been watching quietlyfelt very bad. He scolded Cloudy, “Cloudy, Iam being blamed for your mistakes. Whyaren’t you showering rain? You are

disappointing everyone.”

“Mind your own business!” Cloudy Cloudtold The Wind rudely. “Don’t you daremeddle with me or poke your nose in myaffairs.”

“Don’t be so arrogant, young fellow” TheWind told Cloudy Cloud. “People will begrateful if you shower rain in places where itis needed.” Saying so, The Wind went away,hoping Cloudy would understand.

But Cloudy Cloud didn’t care. He had madeup his mind to do what he wanted.He wanted to play pranks andhave fun.

He found an old potter who wasmaking mud pots and drizzled allover him.

SONAL SUMIT

“Oh no!” the potter cried. “All my effortshave been wasted. The rain has softened allmy pots even before they could dry and takeshape. I am ruined!”

Cloudy Cloud grinned. He enjoyed seeingthe old potter cry. The Wind noticed thisand felt very upset. But he knew that nomatter how he tried, explaining anything toCloudy was quite useless.

Cloudy Cloud decided that he would causemore mischief. He showered big drops ofrain right above a lawn where a marriagereception was being held. The tents fell apartwith the rainfall and the guests at thereception found that they were drenched.The food too was soaked with water andbecame inedible. There was chaos aseveryone was running for shelter.

Cloudy Cloud laughed. He enjoyed havingfun at the expense of others. He then driftedahead, looking for more places to causetrouble. The Wind who had decided tofollow Cloudy couldn’t bear to see thedamage he was causing. He was veryannoyed now.

The Wind then went to his old friend, TallMountain. “Tall Mountain, we must dosomething or this wicked, young cloud willgo on troubling everyone.”

“You are right,” Tall Mountain said. “I havebeen watching Cloudy too. He really iswicked. Don’t worry. I have an idea. We willstop Cloudy from doing any further harm.”

Tall Mountain then explained his idea. Ashort while later, The Wind found CloudyCloud. He was showering raindrops abovea clothesline full of dry clothes. “CloudyCloud, I won’t stop you from doing whatyou want! But I have a special request!”

The Wind said politely. “I hope you will listen.”

Cloudy stopped and turned around. He wascurious and wondered what The Windwould say. “What is it?” he asked arrogantly.

“Please don’t go close to Tall Mountain! Hehas a high fever and a bad cold! The doctorshave warned him not to get wet,” The Windtold Cloudy. “Is that so?” Cloudy Cloudasked mischievously.

“Yes,” The Wind replied, knowing exactlywhat Cloudy would do. Then, just as TallMountain had predicted, Cloudyenthusiastically drifted towards TallMountain’s peak. “I will shower raindrops onTall Mountain’s peak and make him wet,”Cloudy Cloud said and laughed.

Now Cloudy Cloud didn’t know how highand strong Tall Mountain was. He rushedtowards Tall Mountain’s peak with all hismight and collided into it with a loud bang.

To Cloudy Cloud’s dismay, all the water hehad within him splashed out in the form ofheavy rain. And soon after that, he beganbreaking into pieces, like cotton balls.

“Help! I am vanishing! Please help me,”Cloudy Cloud cried as he slowly faded away.“I don’t want to disappear!”

The last words that Cloudy Cloud heardbefore he faded away completely were, “Thisis what happens to those who cause troubleand try to harm others.”

Cloudy Cloud realized that The Wind andTall Mountain were talking about him. “Iwish I had been a good cloud and listened toThe Old Sea and The Wind!” Cloudy Cloudsaid. He then disappeared completely. ●

18

Riya and Manya had goneto their grandparents withtheir parents. Their car was

left alone in the garage.

‘All of them have gone for avacation but have left me alone here. Nowfor 20 days I will be stuck in this darkness.Riya was telling Manya that they are goingfor 20 days to the grandparents,’ the carthought and felt sad.

The car looked around in the garage to see ifthere was somebody to talk so that it couldpass time. It spotted a rat who was busyeating something.

“Brother Rat, how are you?” When the car called, the rat got terrified and hid insidea box.

“Why are you getting frightened? This is me,the car. You are getting so scared hearingmy voice as if I am a cat,” the carlaughed, “Anyway leave all thesethings. For 20 days its just the 2 ofus in the house. Everyonehas gone out.

By Vivek Chakravorty

“What? I was about to get killedand you are saying that it is nice.”

“No Brother, the man must beRiya and Manya’s father. I am feeling

happy thinking that I won’t have to staylocked in the garage for 20 days,” the car saidjoyfully.

“But none of them was Riya and Manya’sfather.”

“Then they must be the neighbours whomthey must have asked to keep a check on thehouse.”

“Might be possible,” the rat said. The garageopened at that time and 2 people enteredinside.

“Appu, there is a car in the garage. Instead oftaking 10 small things from the house, itsbetter that we take the car itself,” One mansaid to the other.

“Pappu, in that case get inside the car. Let ustake the car.”

“Stupid, if we start the car then the

Will you playsomething with

me?”

“Later, right now I am going to thekitchen. I wont get a better opportunity toeat to my heart’s content in the kitchen. Iwill rule the kichen for the next 20 days,” therat said overjoyed and ran out of the garage.

‘I shouldn’t have told him about everybodybeing out. Now he will not come to thegarage,’ the car thought.

It was 12 at night. The car too was trying tosleep. Just then the rat came back running tothe garage.

“Phew, life saved,” he was panting.

“What happened?” the car was startled.

“You had told me that there is nobody in thehouse and all will come after 20 days, so Iwas sleeping in the kitchen. But now 2people came inside the kitchen. I was aboutto be crushed under their feet.”

“That’s very nice.”

PRITPAL SINGH

20

neighbours will come to know that there issomebody in the house. This can put us in aloop. We will have to push the car and takeit away,” Appu hit Pappu’s head with hishand and said.

“They are thieves,” the car panicked.

“Raise an alarm to chase them away,” the ratsaid and started shouting loudly saying‘Thief, thief ’.

“Stop it. Your voice is so soft that nobodywill be able to hear you and even if they do,no human would understand you. Itsanyway good that they are not able tounderstand you, otherwise these thieveswould have beaten you dead.”

“So what shall we do now?”

“Till they don’t start the car, I cant doanything, but you can do something.”

“What?”

“You blow the horn which will cause a loudsound and the neighbours will wake up.Then these thieves will have to run away,”when the car said this, the rat went insideand stood on the horn but it didn’t blow. Bythat time Appu and Pappu had pushed thecar outside the garage.

“Brother Rat, do something.”

“What should I do? I am standing on thehorn but it is not blowing,” the rat said.

Appu and Pappu were taking the car towardsthe gate. When the rat couldn’t think ofanything, he bit Appu’s hand and againstood on the horn. Appu saw the rat insidethe car and wated to punch him.

The rat moved from the horn and Appu’shand touched the horn which startedblowing loudly.

“What are you doing, you stupid? If you willblow the horn at this hour, the neighbourswill wake up,” Pappu shouted furiously.

“A rat bit me and I was hitting him.”

“Appu, leave the rat and quickly get outfrom here,” Pappu said, pushing the car. Assoon as they reached the gate, they foundthe police waiting for them.

“How did the police come here?” Appu wasshocked.

“We are here because of your stupidbehaviour. We were taking rounds over herewhen we heard the sound of the horn. Wecame here wondering who was the horn atthis hour and found you two,” the policemansaid, putting handcuffs in their hands.

“That means we got caught just because of arat,” Appu-Pappu said, holding their heads.

By that time, the neighbours also came over.They put the car back in the garage and putnew locks to the garage and the house.

“Thank you, Brother Rat. You saved mefrom those thieves.”

“That was my duty, Sister Car. Now you takerest and I will also leave.”

“Where are you going at this hour?”

“In the kitchen! When else will I get theopportunity to live and eat in the kitchen,”the rat laughed and said. The car too startedlaughing. ●


COMPLETE THE PICTURE IN THE GRID

22

It was a Sunday morning. Manu and Tinu were playing cricketon the playground near their house. Suddenly, the ballbounced hard and went into the adjoining house.

“Oops!” Manu said. “Tinu, our ball has gone into SethMalmalram’s house. Come on! Let’s go and get it back!”

Both the boys then ran towards Seth Malmalram’s house to lookfor their ball.

“Look! There’s our ball,” Tinu said and pointed towards the ballthat had fallen near a window.

By Surbhi Sinha

The two boys then went closer to thewindow to retrieve their ball.

It was then that they heard the strange noisescoming from inside the house.

Manu and Tinu were curious. They knewthat Seth Malmalram was a quiet person and rarely made any sounds. They peepedthrough the window and looked inside.

The two boys were horrified by what they saw.

Seth Malmalram was gagged and tied to achair. There were two men in the housebesides him. They both looked very shady.

“Oh no! Seth Malmalram has been gaggedand tied to a chair!” Manu said, looking very shocked.

“Those two men must be thieves!” Tinu saidas he watched the two men.

“I can see them opening the drawers andcupboards. They are stealing jewels andmoney from the house.”

“We should do something and save SethMalmalram from being looted. He is ourneighbour after all,” Manu said, looking veryconcerned “Tinu, why don’t you run to thepolice station? Tell Inspector Shyam whatwe’ve just seen. I will stay here and teachthese fellows a lesson!”

Tinu did as he was told and ran towards thepolice station.

Manu stood still for a moment, wonderingwhat to do. He spotted a motorcycle thatwas parked outside the house.

“Aha! This motorcycle must belong to thethieves!” Manu thought. He found a sharpstick and punctured both the tires of themotorcycle. “This will slow down theirescape.”

Manu then looked around and found somestones. He picked them up and put them inhis pockets. He then went back to the houseand sneaked in after opening a bathroomwindow.

Manu found a small bucket of water lying inthe bathroom.

“This will come handy,” he said, picking thebucket up.

Manu then tiptoed and went into one of thebedrooms. There was a big almirah keptthere.

“Hmm,” Manu thought. “The thieveshaven’t come into this room as yet. But I’msure they’ll be here soon.”

Manu climbed on a chair and kept thebucket on the almirah’s top. He thenclimbed to the almirah’s top and sat there,quite sure that the thieves would come soon.

PRITPAL SINGH

24

Manu had guessed correctly. After sometime, the thieves entered the room.

“We will get a huge booty today, Chunty!”the thief whose name was Bunty said. “Onlythis almirah is now left for us to loot!”

“Yes! Let us open it and take whatever wecan, Bunty,” Chunty said and grinned.

The two thieves put their hands forward toopen the almirah but to their surprisesomething fell on them. It was the bucket ofwater that Manu taken from the bathroom.

“Ow!” the thieves screamed. They werestartled and stepped back at once.

“Who’s there? Who has thrown water onus?” Bunty shouted.

Manu spoke in a throaty voice and said, “I said that. I am the almirah. You both have dared to open me without asking for my permission. I will punish you fordoing that.”

The two thieves were astonished. They hadnever heard an almirah talk before.

“Bunty, did…did this almirah just saysomething?” Chunty nervously asked.

Bunty was nervous too. But he didn’t wantto show his friend or the almirah who hebelieved could talk, that he was scared. Hetried to sound as bold as he could and said,“We are not afraid. You cannot stop us fromopening you.”

Bunty put his hand forward to open thealmirah again.

Manu, who was crouching on the top of thealmirah and clearly out of the thieves’ view,

pelted the thieves with the stones he hadpicked up.

The two thieves were terrified now. Theywere shaking like leaves and wondering howan almirah had stoned them. They rantowards the door.

“Let’s get out of here!” they both shouted.“The almirah must be haunted!”

The two thieves opened the door and rantowards to their motorbike.

But to their dismay, they found it punctured.

“The tires are punctured!” Chunty cried.“What bad luck!”

“Forget about the motorbike! Let’s runinstead!” Bunty shouted.

The two thieves turned to run. But they hada rude shock when they saw Tinu standingthere. Tinu had arrived at the nick of timewith Inspector Shyam.

Bunty and Chunty panicked when they sawInspector Shyam. He was already pullinghandcuffs out of his pocket.

“Going somewhere?” Inspector Shyam askedand arrested the thieves at once.

Manu and Tinu then ran to untie SethMalmalram who thanked them and praisedthem for their bravery and intelligence.

Inspector Shyam then invited the two boysto the police station where he rewarded themwith a medal and a certificate each.

Manu and Tinu were very happy that day.Whoever thought so much adventure couldcome from a lost cricket ball! ●


WHAT?

KNOCKKNOCK

WHO COULDIT BE NOW?

OH! HELLOCHEEKU!

KAALU! SOMETHINGSTRANGE IS HAPPENING

IN CHAMPAKVAN!

TELL ME NOW.WHAT’S WRONG?

WHEN WERE THEATTACKS REPORTED?

COMPLAINTS HAVEBEEN POURING INSINCE YESTERDAY.

WE MUST SOLVE THEMYSTERY AS SOON AS

WE CAN!

WE MUST TALKTO THE VICTIMS

FIRST.

WHATHAPPENED

EXACTLY, BIKU?

SIGH! JUMPY MONKEYCAN BE VERYMISCHIEVOUS!

WERE YOU ATTACKEDBY THE FLYING WATERBALLOONS TOO, BINU?

OH NO!NOT

FROGGYFROG!

YES! THEY WET AND SPOILTMY UNIFORM. IT HAPPENED

RIGHT NEXT TO THAT WICKEDFROGGY FROG’S HOUSE. HE’S

VERY NAUGHTY!

CHEEKU AND KAALU THEN METBINU MONGOOSE.

I WAS HOLDING A CAKEWHEN THE FLYING WATER

BALLOONS HIT ME. IWONDER IF JUMPY

MONKEY IS THE CULPRIT. IHAD REFUSED HIM A SLICE

OF THE CAKE EARLIER.

THE ANIMALS NEAR THE RIVERARE BEING HIT BY SOME

FLYING WATER BALLOONS! WEMUST FIND THE CULPRIT!

LITTLE BINU MONGOOSEWAS HIT ON HER WAY TOSCHOOL. BIKU SQUIRREL’S

CAKE WAS SMASHED!MOTU BOAR WASN’T

SPARED EITHER!

EARLY ONE MORNING,SOMEONE KNOCKED ONKAALU BEAR’S DOOR.

WHO COULDTHE CULPRIT

BE?

CHEEKU, LET’S FIND THETHIRD VICTIM AND HEARHIS STORY BEFORE WE

COME TO A CONCLUSION.

TELL US ABOUT YOURENCOUNTER WITH THE

WATER BALLOONS, MOTU.

I WAS WALKING BY THERIVER WHEN I WAS HIT. I

REALLY DON’T LIKE WATEROR WATER BALLOONS!

CHEEKU! LET’S GO TOTHE RIVERSIDE!

GOOD IDEA! WE MAY FINDTHE CULPRIT THERE!

SOUNDS LIKESOMEONE HASFALLEN DOWN.

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING ATME LIKE THAT? IS

SOMETHING WRONG?

HAVE YOU BEENTHROWING WATER

BALLOONS ATEVERYONE,MEEKU?

IT IS THROWING THE BALLS ALLOVER THE FOREST. I REPLACED THEBALLS WITH WATER BALLOONS SO

THAT NO ONE GETS HURT.

HA HA! SO, THEMACHINE IS THE

CULPRIT!

OUR FRIENDS AREINNOCENT! THE

MYSTERY OF THEWATER BALLOONS HAS

BEEN SOLVED!

MEEKUAPOLOGISEDTO EVERYONEWHO WAS HIT.

THEY ALLLAUGHED

WHEN THEYHEARD ABOUTHIS MACHINE.

OH NO! IT ISN’T ME! IT’S THIS STUPIDMACHINE THAT I’VE INVENTED! IT ISSUPPOSED TO THROW BALLS WHILE IPRACTISE CRICKET. BUT IT IS FAULTY.

LET’S GO IN! THEY WENTIN… MEEKU?

CHEEKU AND KAALU FOUND A HOUSENEAR THE RIVER.

LOOK! THERE AREBUCKETS OF WATERBALLOONS HERE!

WHO STAYS HERE?

IT’S AN EMPTYHOUSE. MY FRIENDSAND I USE IT TO PLAYGAMES SOMETIMES!

SUDDENLY, THEY HEARDA LOUD SOUND.

THUD!

EWW! MOTUBOAR ISALWAYS

PLAYING INTHE MUD! IHOPE THE

WATERBALLOONSGAVE HIM AGOOD WASHYESTERDAY.

THEY THEN WENT TOLOOK FOR MOTU BOAR.

UGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING INTHE MUD, MOTU?

I AM TAKING AMUD BATH. JOINME! IT’S FUN!

Who Am I ?

I start with T, I end with TI’m full of tea, who am I?

I’m as big as the elephantBut I weigh nothingI’m seen when there is lightFind me right.

I am taken from a mineShut up in a wooden caseI am never released from thereYet I am used by almost everybody.

A cloud was my mother, the wind ismy fatherMy kid is the cool stream, andrainbow is my bed.Who am I?

How Much Do You Know?

1. Grand Central Terminal, Park Avenue, NewYork is the world's

(a) largest railway station

(b) highest railway station

(c) longest railway station

(d) None of the above

2. Garampani sanctuary is located at

(a) Junagarh, Gujarat (b) Diphu, Assam

(C) Kohima, Nagaland (d) Gangtok, Sikkim

3. Galileo was an Italian astronomer who

(a) developed the telescope

(b) discovered four satellites of Jupiter

(c) discovered that the movement of

pendulum produces a regular timemeasurement

(d) All of the above

4. Each year World Red Cross and RedCrescent Day is celebrated on

(a) May 8 (b) May 18

(c) June 8 (d) June 18

5. Film and TV institute of India is located at

(a) Pune (b)Rajkot

(c) Pimpri (d) Perambur

AnswersWho Am I? :(1) Teapot, (2) An elephants shadow,

(3) Pencil lead, (4) Rain. How Much Do You Know? :

(1) a. (2) b. (3) d. (4) a. (5) a.

28

CHAM

PAK C

HEC

KERS

● Finish the game with maximum credit points.

● Start the game when you roll 4 on your dice.

● Each player will have a coloured peg.

● You will get a credit of 50 points at the start of the game.

Note that if you -

Land on a red angry face, you will lose 5 pointsLand on a smiley, you will gain 10 points.

Land on a crying face, you will go back 2 boxes.Land on a success emoticon, you can move 2 boxes forward.Land on a surprise emoticon, you can jump to the finish line.

● The player who reaches the finish line first with maximum credit pointsshall be the winner.

● Coloured peg for each player

● Dice

Rules and Purpose of the Game

You will need


PR

ITPA

L S

ING

H

Guinness Book of worldRecords announced that Fizz

Girl, a Munchin Cat from Californiais theshortest cat in the world. Munchin Catbreeds are generally born with short legs.Fizz Girl is only 6 inches tall.

The deep sea angler is a grotesque-lookingfish that lives in the extreme depths of theocean. Angler fish uses his fins to balancehimself on the sea bed while waiting for hisprey. But it looks like as if the fish has 4legs and is walking on the sea floor.

All Lady bugs secrete a fluid that is stickyand foul smelling. People often claim theyhave been bitten or stung by Lady bugs.Lady Bugs do not have stingers. In realitysome people are sensitive to the yellowsticky foul smelling fluid that they secreteand when it comes in contact with the skin,it causes allergic rashes.

know ?

did you

Chintu Monkey and his friends studied in aschool in the jungle. The school was locatedfar away from where the animals lived. Theyoung animals would have to walk a longdistance to reach the school everyday.

Chintu Monkey didn’t like walking eventhough he was very adventurous by nature.

There were big trees on both sides of thepath that led to the school.

One day, Chintu noticed them and had anidea.

“Hey!” he thought. “I can go to school byswinging from one tree to another tree. If Ido that, I won’t have to walk to school likethe others do."

So, Chintu Monkey began swinging on thetrees. It saved him a lot of time and alsosaved him the trouble of walking.

All the other animals watched Chintu

Monkey with awe.

One day, Tiny Tortoise saw Chintu swingingon the trees and said, “Look at Chintu! He isbold and fearless. He reaches school in just afew minutes by swinging on the trees. Isn’the lucky? We have a long distance to walk! Ittakes all our time!”

All the animals applauded Chintu’sdecision of swinging to school. They wouldwhistle and clap and cheer for him whenthey saw him swinging from tree to tree.

But Chintu Monkey had grown very proudof himself and his clever thinking. He wouldoften make fun of his friends and bullythem.

It rained very heavily one morning. Therewas a strong wind blowing too. Like everyday, Chintu Monkey and his friends lefttheir homes to go to school.

“My, the wind is really strong today!” ChotuRat said. “It will surely blow me away. It’seven blowing the leaves and twigs away from

the trees!”

Chotu Rat thenturned to ChintuMonkey andsaid, “Chintu,why don’t youwalk with ustoday? The windis strong and it’sraining heavily.

By Shanta Nagrajan

33

It will be safer if you walk.”

Chintu Monkey ignored Chotu Rat’ssuggestion. “I am an expert swinger!” heboasted and continued swinging on thetrees.

“Ah! This wind is so pleasant,” Chintuthought. “The branches are swaying with it!I’m enjoying the raindrops too! Chotu Ratwas silly to suggest that I should walk withthem to school today!”

But when Chintu Monkey tried to hold thebranch of the next tree, he was in for a rudeshock. The branch had bent with the force ofthe wind and grown weak. It snapped assoon as Chintu caught it and broke into two.

Unfortunately, this branch was right abovethe river and Chintu Monkey found himselffalling into the water below.

Fortunately, Chintu was a good swimmer.He managed to save himself from drowning

and swam to the river bank.

But he was soaking wet. His books andschool bag were drenched too.

“What shall I do now?” Chintu thoughtworriedly. “I am as wet as a sponge! If myfriends see me in this condition, they willsurely laugh at me. We are having a schooltest today so I really can’t turn around andgo home!”

Chintu Monkey panicked and lookedaround, wondering what to do.

PROITI ROY

34

He spotted Tiny Tortoise walking slowly andhad an idea.

“Tiny, come here!” Chintu ordered. “I wantyour help!”

Tiny Tortoise ignored Chintu and continuedwalking. It took him a very long time toreach school and he couldn’t waste even aprecious moment by stopping.

Besides, Chintu had made fun of him andbullied him so many times.

“Come here, Tiny!” Chintu Monkeycommanded. “If you don’t, I will tell the teacher that you haven’t studied for the test.”

Tiny Tortoise was startled. He knew thatChintu Monkey was capable of doing suchthings.

“Please, don’t do that!” Tiny Tortoise saidand stopped. “I will do as you say.”

“Good,” Chintu Monkey said. “Now listencarefully, Tiny. I am going to tell all ourfriends that you were drowning in the river.I will also tell them that I got wet because Ijumped in to save you. You have to nodwhen I tell them that. I do not wantanyone to know that I had fallen into theriver because of a broken tree branch. Isthat understood?”Chintu said sternly.

“But…but we tortoises live in water,” TinyTortoise said.

“We feel very safe in the water. In fact, wecan swim very well. Everyone knows that!”

“Don’t worry, Tiny!” Chintu said with alaugh. “Our friends are quite stupid. Theywill believe my story!”

Soon, Chintu Monkey’s friends came along.They were shocked to see how drenchedChintu was.

“Chintu, what happened to you? How didyou fall in the river? Did you fall from thetree?” Chotu Rat asked, looking veryshocked.

“Oh! I can’t fall off a tree!” Chintu lied. “Iam an expert swinger! I saw Tiny Tortoisefalling in the river. He was drowning. Ijumped into the water to save him. That’show I got wet.”

Tiny Tortoise nodded as he had promised.

All the young animals began to clap.

“Oh Chintu! You are a hero!” they said.“You saved Tiny Tortoise’s life! Come on!We will tell the teacher about your bravedeed. You should be rewarded in front of theentire school.”

Chintu’s friends then ran to school and toldTeacher Dumbo Donkey all that they hadheard.

“Well done, Chintu!” Teacher DumboDonkey said lazily.

“As a reward for saving your friend’s life, I am giving you a holiday today. I will even exempt you from the test. Go homeand play.”

Chintu Monkey ran out of the school gateshappily.

“Ha Ha! I fooled everyone! They think I’m ahero! And guess what? I don’t even have toappear for the test!” he said and laughed.

He then began swinging on the trees again. ●


One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother dothe dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her

mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contraston her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitivelyasked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrongand make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then

said, "Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"- Chitra

Sandy: What do you get if Batman and Robin get smashed bya steam roller? Candy: No idea!Sandy: Simple! Flatman and ribbon.

- Anshu

Friend 1 : A boy opened the fridge and started blushing. Whydid the boy blush?

Friend 2 : I don’t know. Do you know why?Friend 1 : Yeah! He saw the salad dressing!

- Praveen

Annie : A doctor and a boy were fishing. The boy wasthe doctor's son, but the doctor was not the boy's

father. Who was the doctor?Sunny : I’m sure the doctor was his mother.

- Pooja

Anu : Did you hear the story about the pieceof butter?

Tanu : Never mind. I don't want tospread it around.

- Bharat

The Village MouseOnce upon a time a town mouse wentto his friend who lived in the nearbyvillage. The village mouse was happyto see his friend. So he prepared afine feast for him. The town mouselooked at the fruit and the ear ofcorn with hatred. He did not like thevillage food.

"Is this how you live?" he asked, "Lifein the village is very boring and itseems you do not get much here."

He persuaded the village mouse toaccompany him to the town and seeall the good things there.

So, the village mouse packed all hisclothes and off they went to the citytogether. The village mouse was reallysurprised to see the things there. Butas soon as they settled down toenjoy a fine meal of cheese and fruit,a big cat leapt in through thewindow. Seeing the cat, both the miceran into a hole to save themselves,so the cat ate up all the cheese andfruit.

When the cat had gone away, themice came out of their hole. Thevillage mouse was frightened.

"I am going," cried the village mouse, "Ilike my simple life in safety than thisgrand feast in such a danger." So sayingthe village mouse ran back to his home.

- Ankit, Chennai.

Diksha, B. M. Model School

Drishti, Chandigarh

There are some mistakes in picture 2. Find out how many mistakes are there. Sendyour answers through SMS. First type the keyword DPBVB. Then leave one spaceand then type the total number of mistakes. For example, DPBVB 7, as shown inthe photo of mobile. Then send the SMS on 57007. You may send as many SMS as you

like. Any 5 correct respondents will be asked to send their complete address. They will begiven a gift of Rs. 100 each. You can also send your answers by Post Card. Your answers

should reach us by 30 December, 2011.

DPDVB

7

1

2

IN THE CHAMPAKA FOREST, THERE LIVED AMONKEY NAME BILLU. HE WAS VERY GOOD ATSWIMMING AND ROWING. BUT, HE WAS A CHEAT.

FRIENDS, COME ON… BESEATED IN THIS BOAT. ISHALL TAKE YOU TO THE

RITHER SIDE OF THE RIVERHOW ABOUTGOING TOTHE OTHER

SIDE?

GOOD. NEELU THE CROWOFTEN SAYS THAT A LOTOF FRUITS ARE THERE.

DO YOU KNOWSWIMMING AND

ROWING? NO.

THUS-

I AM TRAVELLING INA BOAT FOR THE

FIRST TIME.

WHEN THE BOAT WASNEARING THE OTHER BANK-

SAME IS THECASE WITH

ME.

BY VENU VARIATH

IN THAT CASE, IWILL SHOW YOU

A TRICK.

ALAS! WHAT SHALLWE DO NOW?TRICK.

TRICK.

SWIM LIKE THIS

AND COME

WITH ME.

CHEAT! HE HAS

DECEIVED US.

HA! HA! THAT WILL

BE YOUR END.WE DON’T KNOW

SWIMMING.

LOOK! THIS ISTHE TRICK!

WHAT TRICK?

EH!

SOON BILLU SEES LARGE

CROCODILES COMING TOWARD HIMHI! HI! ENOUGH MEAL

FOR THE DAY!

HM! YOU

STOP THERE!

WE ARE LUCKY THAT

THOSE CROCODILES

APPEARED.

THE MONKEYS

CAME SAFELY

BACK TO THE

BANK OF THE

RIVER.

YOU ARE

RIGHT.

THEN BILLU ROWED THE

BOAT TO THE SHORE.

ESCAPED! WHAT A

RELIEF!

AFTER A WHILE-

BILLU CLIMBS BACK

INTO HIS BOAT

IMMEDIATELY, BEELU SWAM BACK

TO THE BOAT.HA! HA!

AAAH…!

The Bagh Bahadur Museum was a bigand famous museum in Champakvan.It was very well known all over the

world too. Tourists from far and wideflocked to see the antiques and valuableartifacts that were on display.

Amongst the most famous displays of TheBagh Bahadur Museum, were the mummiesof the last twenty kings of Champakvan.They were King Sher Singh’s ancestors andhad been embalmed and kept here for manyyears. These mummies made quite anunusual sight and the tourists who saw themwere both fascinated and frightened.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf were twowolves who lived in Champakvan. The twoof them were thieves who specialised in

By Jamshed Aazmi

stealing antiques and valuable artifacts. Theywere very dangerous and cunning too. Thewolves made their living by selling the stolenobjects to collectors in foreign countries.

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf had set theircunning little eyes on The Bagh BahadurMuseum for a very long time. They wantedto steal the mummies and were working onplans to sneak them out of the museum.

One night, Baddy Wolf sat down to make amap of The Bagh Bahadur Museum. He wasdrawing lines when Laddy Wolf came up tohim and asked, “Baddy Wolf, what are youdrawing so late at night? Are you working ona plan to steal something big and priceless?”

“You are right, my friend,” Baddy Wolfnibbled on a pencil and said. “I am making amap of The Bagh Bahadur Museum. The

map will help us plan how we willsteal the mummies. Once we

manage that, our dream ofgrowing rich will come

true!”

“That isfantastic!” Laddy

Wolf said,rubbing his hands

with glee. “You havefinally started work

on our ‘OperationMuseum.’ But how willwe steal the mummies?

There are tourists visiting

the museum all day and night.”

“Don’t worry about that, Laddy. We willmake sure the tourists run away from themuseum and clear our paths,” Baddy Wolfsaid and laughed.

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

“Listen then,” Baddy Wolf said confidently.“I am making a map of the museum. I havealso chalked out the entire plan of stealingthe mummies. We will first dig a tunnel toenter the museum. This tunnel will directlytake us to the museum’s toilet area. Once weare inside, I will wrap you in white bandagesthat will make you look just like a mummy.You will have to act like a ghost and scare thetourists away.”

Laddy Wolf jumped excitedly. “How wickedyou are, Baddy Wolf!” he said, lookingthrilled. “The tourists will be scared and fleethe museum. We will steal the mummiesthen and make our way out through thetunnel.”

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

Baddy Wolf stayed up that night and aftermany hours of hard work, he completed themap.

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

Baddy Wolf began digging the tunnel with ashovel. Laddy Wolf took the mud and threwit into the pond so that nobody wouldsuspect that a tunnel was being dug.

The distance between the pond and TheBagh Bahadur Museum was long. It took thetwo wolves a whole month to finish diggingthe tunnel.

The tunnel was dug exactly according toBaddy Wolf ’s plan. It opened directly belowthe museum’s toilet.

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

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf were veryconfident now. They were ready to put theirplan in action.

The next night, Baddy Wolf wrapped LaddyWolf in white bandages and sent him insidethe museum.

Laddy Wolf looked just like the mummieson display. He started walking all over themuseum, making eerie sounds. The birdsand animals who were visiting saw him andpanicked.

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

Everyone ran out, looking petrified.

Soon, the news of the walking mummyspread like wild fire. Everyone inChampakvan was terrified. The touristsstayed away from the museum too.

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

Now all they had to do was steal themummies.

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


When they reached their house, Baddy Wolf said, “Laddy, we should hidethis mummy at a very safe place. No one should find it. After we do that,we will steal one mummy from the museum every day. We will contact theforeign agent after we have a few mummies and sell them for a lot ofmoney.” So, the two wolves started stealing the mummies every night. Ittook them just eleven days, to steal eleven mummies.

Everyone in Champakvan was shocked when they heard the news of themummies disappearing from the museum. And everyone had a differentstory to tell. Some said that the mummies had come alive and were runningaway from the museum. Others believed that it was the work of a sly thief.King Sher Singh was pacing to and fro inside his palace. He was very worriedabout the matter. After all, the stolen mummies were those of his ancestors.

He sent for Cheeku Rabbit. Cheeku Rabbit came as soonas he could. He too had heard of the disappearingmummies. “Maharaj, I’m shocked,” Cheeku Rabbitsaid. “I’ve heard that the mummies are disappearingfrom The Bagh Bahadur Museum. Is that true?”

“Yes, Cheeku,” King Sher Singh said with a sigh.“Eleven mummies have disappeared so far. I haveasked the police to patrol the museum gates. Thesecurity has been tightened too. But sadly, themummies are still being stolen. There are rumours ofa walking mummy in the museum. The police andsecurity guards have heard it and are scared too.Cheeku, you are very smart. I’d like you to work as adetective and catch the thief. ”

“Don’t worry, Maharaj,” Cheeku Rabbit said politely.“I will do my best.” Cheeku Rabbit then left for The

Bagh Bahadur Museum. He began investigating and looked for clues all over.Soon, Cheeku reached the toilet. He checked the walls, the ceiling and finallythe floor. “Aha,” Cheeku muttered. “I think someone has tampered with thetoilet floor. I should tap it with a stick and see.”

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

PRITPAL SINGH

“Aha!’ Cheeku shouted happily. “There issomething below this floor!” Cheeku bentdown and found the sliding door that led tothe tunnel.

“This is clearly the work of clever thieves,not ghosts. They have stolen the mummiesby entering the museum through thistunnel,” Cheeku said to himself. “I willsearch the entire area thoroughly. The tunnelmust surely have another openingsomewhere in the forest.”

Cheeku Rabbit then left the museum andbegan exploring the entire area. Soon, hefound the pond behind the museum. He sawthat the water in the pond was unusuallymuddy. A pile of freshly dug mud was lyingnearby too.

“Hmm,” Cheeku Rabbit thought. “Thetunnel must have another opening here. Thethieves must be using it to enter and leavethe museum.” Cheeku Rabbit looked aroundand found the tunnel’s opening in no time.

“Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf are only twothieves in Champakvan who are interested instealing antiques and museum artifacts.Besides, they are the only thieves who canthink so sharply and come up with such acunning plan.”

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

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

“Maharaj, please don’t do that,” CheekuRabbit suggested. “It would be better if wecatch them red-handed so that we knowwhere they have hidden the stolenmummies.”

“Alright, Cheeku,” King Sher Singh said.

“We will do as you say. I am giving you theauthority to catch the thieves.” CheekuRabbit then went to the police station andmet Inspector Gendamal. He was the policeofficer in charge of the case. They startedworking on a plan to catch the thieves.

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

Just as the clock struck midnight, BaddyWolf and Laddy Wolf came along. Theytiptoed towards the tunnel.

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

Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf had no ideathat Cheeku Rabbit and Inspector Gendamalwere watching them. They walked into thetunnel and made their way to the museumconfidently.

As soon as Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolfreturned carrying a mummy with them,Cheeku Rabbit alerted Inspector Gendamaland his constables. The two wolves walkeddeep into the forest. Cheeku Rabbit andInspector Gendamal followed them quietly.Baddy Wolf and Laddy Wolf soon reachedan abandoned house. They were hiding themummies in it.

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


“You are right. We shouldn’t be very greedy,”Baddy Wolf said. “I have spoken to theforeign agent. He is coming to Champakvantomorrow night to buy the mummies. We’llgive him the ones we have. We’ll go on a longholiday after we get our money and returnonly after the matter has been forgotten.”

Suddenly, the house door creaked opened.The two wolves were startled. No one cameto the abandoned house. “Cancel yourholiday bookings, if you have any,”Inspector Gendamal shouted. “Your game isover. You cannot go anywhere.”

Cheeku Rabbit followed inside. “You havedared to steal Champakvan’s pricelesstreasures. King Sher Singh is furious. He isgoing to punish you for stealing hisancestors’ mummies,” Cheeku Rabbit toldthe two thieves sternly.

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

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

The following night, Inspector Gendamalarrested the foreign agent who had come tobuy the stolen mummies. He too wasthrown behind bars and punished.

King Sher Singh was delighted that hisancestors’ mummies were back in themuseum. He hosted a party in honour ofCheeku Rabbit for solving the mystery andfelicitated him with a medal. Cheeku Rabbitwas very proud of himself. ●

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Address: CHAMPAK,

Delhi Press Building, E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-55

SHARP

EYE

The illustration given below is part of a bigger illustration published in this issue. Look carefully

through all the pages and tell us on which page is this larger illustration published.

On Children’s Day this year, Champak Creative Child Contest was organized by Delhi Press atSudithi Global Academy at Itawa, UP. Here, about 160 children participated to show their skills.The panel of judges included Neelima Jain, Jyothi Dulhani, Seema Srivastava and ArchanaSahni who carefully checked all the submissions. In the junior category, Ishu Yadav, NidhiLachkar, Tanishka Bansal, Priya Yadav and Akash Yadav were announced as winners and in thesenior category, Prasha Tiwari, Prachi Raj, Mohini Kumari and Anchal Varma were selected forthe state finals.

Winners received a certificate, lunch box and pencil box from Champak. Principal DirectorKamal Kumar distributed the prizes and greeted the winners. Kamal Kumar said that drawing issuch an art that would help children learn many different things in life. She appreciated theefforts of Champak and said that children will remember this experience forever.

Delhi Press conducted Champak Creative Child Contest at Saint Vivekanand Academy on 19thNovember 2011. The judges included Selen Ashish, Snehlata Lal and Shanti Das. From thejunior cadre, Saurab Paul, Sanskriti Gupta and Arjun Gupta were selected for state finals andfrom the senior group, Rashmi Motwani, Pooja Gupta and Muskan Gupta were selected fortheir best paintings. The winners received prizes from Principal Director Sujata Dwivedisponsored by Champak along with certificates. Sujata Dwivedi appreciated Champak for itscontent which helps children read and understand a lot of things.

Winners of Sudithi Global Academy, Itawa

Selected children at Saint Vivekananda Academy, Lucknow

Creative GirlsChampak Creative ChildContest, Lucknow, U.P.

Show Skill Win PrizesChampak Creative Child Contest, Itawa, U.P.

Elle Elephant was a florist. He owned asmall flower shop in Champakvan.Elle was a good natured fellow and

took good care of his customers. He hadeven hung a beautiful wooden board outsidehis shop. On the board was painted in boldletters, “ELLE FLORIST. Buy our flowers.They are beautiful and fragrant. They arefresh and will make you feel refreshedthrough the day.”

Elle Elephant was very courteous to all hiscustomers. “He is always smiling, just like hisflowers!” Elle Elephant’s customers wouldoften say.

But Elle Elephant had a rule that hefollowed very strictly. He only sold hisflowers to the animals and birds who paidhim right away. He didn’t give credit toanyone. None of the customers evenbothered to ask for credit for they knew whata hard worker the young elephant was andthat he deserved to be paid right away.

Besides this, Elle Elephant’s flower shop hadanother specialty. Its fresh lotus flowers.Come rain or shine, Elle Elephant wouldwake up early every morning. He wouldwade in the pond and bring fresh lotusflowers from there.

Elle Elephant would sell some of the lotusflowers from his shop. He would personallydeliver the others to the homes and shops of

By Dr.Gajendra Namdev


the animals who didn’t have the time tocome to his shop. He didn’t charge themanything extra.

Everyone was impressed by the trouble ElleElephant took. This resulted in goodbusiness for the shop. Dimpy Monkey wasvery fond of lotus flowers. He was a tailorand owned a small tailoring shop inChampakvan. Dimpy Monkey liked puttingthe lotus flowers in a vase that he had on hiswork bench. He relished their fragrance.

Like Elle Elephant, Dimpy Monkey was anexpert at his work too. Everyone liked theclothes he stitched. They looked nice andfitted well. And so, Dimpy Monkey’s shopwas always crowded.

But Dimpy Monkey’s nature was quitedifferent from Elle Elephant’s.

Dimpy Monkey was a grumpy fellow. Helost his temper very quickly too. Even thepettiest matter annoyed Dimpy Monkey noend. He wore glasses and every time he gotangry and shouted, his glasses appeared likethey were dancing on his nose.

Nobody liked Dimpy Monkey because of hisfoul temper. But there was no other tailorbetter than him in Champakvan. And so, allthe animals in the forest had no choice butto ask Dimpy Monkey to stitch their clothes.

Elle Elephant would take fresh lotus flowersto Dimpy Monkey’s shop everyday. Hewould politely ask him for the money afterleaving the flowers near the vase on the work bench.

Once Dimpy Monkey had paid ElleElephant the money, he would leave quietly.

One morning, Elle Elephant went to thetailoring shop as usual to deliver a bunch oflotus flowers. He found Dimpy Monkey inthe middle of an argument with a customer.

Elle Elephant waited patiently till thecustomer left and then kept the flowers onDimpy Monkey’s work bench. “BrotherDimpy,” Elle Elephant said politely.

“Here are your lotus flowers. Please give memy money now. I can’t wait any longer. Ihave to reach my shop soon. My customerswill be waiting for me.” Dimpy Monkey was

PROITI ROY

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in a terrible mood. “Put the flowers in thevase!” he scowled and said. “I will give youthe money tomorrow.”

“You know I don’t give anyone credit,” ElleElephant said courteously. “It will take youless than a minute to reach into your pocketand give me my money.”

To Elle Elephant’s surprise, Dimpy Monkeygrew furious. “Fatso,” he shouted. “I havealready told you that I will pay you yourmoney tomorrow. Now stop bothering meand get out of my shop!”

Elle Elephant lost his temper too now. Hedidn’t like being insulted or spoken to sorudely. “Well Dimpy,” Elle Elephant said,sounding very annoyed. “I want my moneyright now. If you don’t pay me right now, I’lltake my flowers back.”

This made matters worse. Dimpy Monkeyflew into a rage.

Without even stopping to think, he pickedup a pair of scissors and poked ElleElephant’s trunk. “You want money, ElleElephant?” Dimpy Monkey shouted. Theglasses on his nose danced. “Well, this isyour money!”

“Ow!” Elle Elephant howled in pain. Hethen ran out of the shop.

Dimpy Monkey laughed as he saw ElleElephant holding his trunk and running on the street. “I’ve scared Elle Elephantaway!” he thought and began cutting a pieceof cloth.

Elle Elephant walked back to his shop,feeling very annoyed. “I’ll teach that horribleDimpy Monkey a lesson!” he thought. “He’llnever dare poke anyone again!”

Later that day, Dimpy Monkey was ironingthe clothes he had just finished stitchingwhen Elle Elephant suddenly entered his shop.

Dimpy Mokey was surprised to see him.

But before he could say anything, ElleElephant threw some muddy water that hehad in his trunk all over Dimpy Monkey’sshop. The new clothes that Dimpy Monkeyhad stitched got dirty and there were smallpuddles of mud everywhere.

Dimpy Monkey was astonished. “Oh no!” he cried.

“Elle Elephant has ruined my customers’new clothes! I have taken so much trouble tostitch them. What will I tell my customersnow when they come asking for their newclothes?”

Nothing like that had happened to DimpyMonkey before. No one had dared to standup to him or teach him a lesson.

“I shouldn’t have poked Elle Elephant’strunk,” he said regretfully.

When Dimpy Monkey’s customers came totake their clothes, Dimpy had no choice butto tell them what had happened.

“Dimpy Monkey,” each and every one ofDimpy Monkey’s customers said. “Youalways lose your temper at others. You arealways rude to others. Today, you havefound your match.”

Dimpy Monkey felt very embarrassed. Hedecided he would never lose his temper orhurt anyone again. He even apologized toElle Elephant for poking his trunk and wasnever rude to him again. ●


Along time ago, there lived a tall and mighty tree in a big jungle. The tree wasnamed Big Tree. Big Tree always stood erect and tall and looked down uponthe smaller trees. Yes, Big Tree was quite arrogant.

When the wind blew hard, Big Tree would stand upright and tall. His trunk andbranches would stay firm and wouldn’t sway by even an inch. The wind could onlymake Big Tree’s driest leaves fall down. Big Tree would feel proud and boast, “I amthe tallest and mightiest tree in this jungle. The other trees should make me their

king. My branches are thick and strong and my roots are spread wide and deep.Yes, I should be made a king.”

Small Tree was a smaller tree who grew right next to Big Tree. Small Tree wasvery thin and weak in comparison. When the wind blew hard, Small Tree’s

trunk would sway to and fro.

Big Tree would watch this happen. One day, he looked and Small Tree and said,“Small Tree, you really are weak. You must grow up soon. Ifeel very sorry for you when the wind makes yourtrunk sway.” Small Tree listened patiently andsaid, “Don’t worry, Big Tree. A time will comewhen I too will grow big and mighty like you.”

Big Tree laughed. “Little one, I pity you,” BigTree said proudly. “Look at how great I am! I

help people by giving them shade on sunnydays! And there are birds, animals and

insects that have built their homes on me!I am very, very important.”

By Usha Brajacharya Verma

“Well, you are right, BigTree,” Small Tree agreed.“You are always doing somethingworthwhile. But I am sure that somedayI will be able to help others, just likeyou do.”

“I will be very happy for you then,” Big Tree said. “You must stand erectthen. You must spread your roots deep and far and raise your head high inthe air, just like I do.” Small Tree smiled and thought, “I am in no hurry to grow up.I am happy with the way I am right now!” Small Tree enjoyed the rain and the warmair. He had no idea that they were slowly helping him grow. Big Tree grew bigger withtime too. But sadly, he became more and more arrogant.

Every day, Big Tree would tease Small Tree and ask him to grow faster. Small Tree onthe other hand, would simply smile. One day, when the two trees were talking, Big Treesuddenly said, “Small Tree, you really are of no use to anyone.”

“Why are you saying that, Big Tree?” Small Tree asked, feeling quite hurt.

“No one comes to you for shade. And no creature lives or plays on you. Look at me!There are squirrels running all over me! I am sorry to say but you are quite worthless. ”Big Tree said haughtily. Small Tree felt bad but didn’t utter a word.

“One day, I will be of use to someone too,” Small Tree thought everyday as he drankthe water from the earth. “One day, people will flock to me for my shelter and shade!Creatures will live and play on me too!” he thought as he made his food with his leavesin the sunshine. Then on, Small Tree ignored the harsh things Big Tree said andconcentrated on growing.

All, the other trees in the jungle were growing quickly. “I’m lagging far behind,”

SONAL SUMIT

as they fear that my branches will fall down.All my leaves have fallen off and no onecomes to me for shade. The squirrels tooprefer to skip on you as they find your barksmoother than mine.”

Big Tree then began sobbing uncontrollably.

“Big Tree,” Small Tree consoled his oldfriend. “Being old doesn’t mean that you areuseless. You are still of great worth to me.You guided me when I was growing up. Theknowledge you gave me is priceless. And it’samazing that you are still standing with me,while all the other trees have fallen down.”

“Is that true?” Big Tree asked. “I must say,that you have been very kind to me. Theseasons have changed many times and manyyears have passed. You have remained a truefriend all along. While I lost my otherfriends, you stood by me and made the lifeof an old tree happy.”

“What I did was my duty towards you, BigTree!” Small Tree said softly. “You appreciatemy friendship and that is my biggestreward!” By now Big Tree had realised thatthe smaller trees were unnecessarily ridiculedby the bigger trees for not growing asquickly. He felt sorry for all that he had saidto Small Tree.

And then, a day came when like the otherbig trees, Big Tree too fell down on theground.

Small Tree felt bad for his old friend. Hewould miss him. But he also knew that a daywould surely come when he would becomebigger and taller. The birds, animals andinsects would make homes on him then.And people would come seeking his shade.Small Tree knew he would become useful foreveryone, just like his old friend. ●

Small Tree realised. “For some reason, I’mtaking very long to grow!”

A day came when the other trees in thejungle outgrew Small Tree. They looked fartaller and stronger and covered Small Treecompletely. But Small Tree didn’t mind. “I’llgrow slowly and steadily,” he thought andkept himself happy. The seasons changedand the trees around Small Tree kept ongrowing. Small Tree couldn’t even see howtall the others were, but he was still happyfor them.

One night, a thunder storm hit the jungle.The wind howled and blew fiercely. Manystrong trees found themselves falling down.Some others were uprooted. Many big treesfound that their branches were being brokenby the wind. There was panic anddisappointment everywhere.

Small Tree on the other hand, found that hewas still firmly rooted to the ground. Histrunk was swaying wildly in the wind but hisbranches were still too small for the powerfulwind to break.

The next day, the sun rose early in themorning. Its very first rays touched SmallTree since there were very few tall treesaround now. The sun’s warmth made SmallTree wake up and smile. He felt very happyto be alive. Small Tree realised that hisfortune was going to change for the better.

As time passed by, many tall trees keptfalling down. But Small Tree grew slowly and steadily in the sunlight. Big Tree wasnow old and weak. He was no longer erect or arrogant.

One day, Big Tree sadly told Small Tree, “Iam old now. I have become useless. Birdsdon’t make nests on my branches anymore

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