Story Prism

'Ran And The Cherry Tree' is a story that teaches us to think about others before we think about ourselves.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/ram-and-the-cherry-tree

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Transcript

Once upon a time there was a blackbird that lived in a cherry tree outside Ram’s window. Every day, the blackbird would chirp around and sing his song. Ram really like his songs.

When Ram ate his breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner; the blackbird also ate his breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.

Children, What healthy things did you eat today?

What was the blackbird’s breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack?

The blackbird always ate the cherries off the cherry tree outside Ram’s window for all his meals.

One day, Ram’s mother planned to make a cherry pie. So, Ram and mother picked all the cherries off the cherry tree. Mother washed the cherries and then she put them in the crust to bake.

When the pie was baked, she put it by the window and opened the window to help it cool off.

Ram was eating his breakfast. He saw the blackbird fly around the tree looking for his breakfast.

“What is this? There are no cherries on the tree today?” thought the blackbird.

The bird circled around the tree looking at every branch for even some cherries.

Then, the blackbird flew in through the window and sat by Ram

After that, the blackbird flew over to the window by the pie.

Ram smiled. The blackbird looked at Ram. He smiled.

The blackbird said, “I will have my pie without ice-cream!”

And with that, the blackbird took the pie under his wing and flew out of the window. He flew up to the cherry tree to hide.

 Ram saw him as he hid the cherry pie in a little hole in the tree.

“That blackbird stole the cherry pie!” Ram shouted.

Why did the blackbird steal the cherry pie?

Indeed, the blackbird stole the cherry pie as Ram  and his mother did not leave any cherries on the tree for the blackbird.

When Ram looked outside, he saw the blackbird eating the whole pie! He was eating the crust! He was eating the cherries! Soon, the pie was all gone.

The blackbird taught Ram a lesson:

That we should think of others before you think of yourself.

Mullah Nasruddin is a popular character in Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and South Asian folklore. He’s known as oa witty trickster who uses humour, and clever wisdom to reveal truths, often in unexpected or humorous ways. His tales, which are enjoyed by both children and adults, serve as lessons about humility and respect,

Today's Story is : Mullah Nasruddin Feeds His Coat

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/mullah-nasruddin-feeds-his-coat

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Transcript

Mullah Nasruddin had been working in the fields all day long. He was tired and sweaty and his clothes and shoes were covered with mud and stains. Because he had been fasting all day long, for Ramadan, he was also quite hungry.

Children Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which fasting is observed from dawn to sunset.

So, Mallah Nasruddin was also observing fast and hence was very hungry.

But finally, it was almost sundown and Nasruddin knew that he would soon be able to eat.

The wealthiest man in town had invited everyone to come break their fasts in his home that evening with a huge feast. Nasruddin knew that he would be late if he went home to change his clothes before heading into town. He decided it was better to arrive in dirty clothes than to be late.

“Oh, what a party it would be! What a feast!” Mallah Nasruddin thought as he walked to the wealthy man's home, Nasruddin imagined the delicious foods that he would soon be eating: dates, lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken and beef — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!

Children, what is your favourite dessert?

That’s nice!

When Nasruddin arrived, the wealthy man opened the door and looked Nasruddin up and down scornfully, from his worn, ragged clothes down to his muddy shoes. Without a word of welcome, he gestured for Nasruddin to come in and walked away abruptly.

Children, what was the wealthy man thinking or feeling?

 Let's hear what happens next.

Nasruddin joined the throngs of people, who were all dressed in their finest clothing. The tables were laden with all sorts of delicious foods: dates, lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, meat — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!

Despite his efforts to hurry, the seats were all taken and nobody tried to move over or make a space for Nasruddin.

 In fact, nobody offered him food. He had to reach over and around people to get any food for his plate. Nobody spoke to him. It was as if he wasn't even there.

The other guests ignored him so completely that Nasruddin could not enjoy the food on his plate, no matter how finely prepared and how tasty it was. In fact, after only a few bites, Nasruddin was so uncomfortable that he decided to leave.

He hurried home and changed into his finest clothing, including a beautiful coat.

Nasruddin returned to the feast and this time the host welcomed him with a huge smile. "Come in, come in," greeted the host. As Nasruddin entered, people waved and called to him from all corners of the room as they invited him to sit near them and offered him food.

Children,  what the host and the other guests were thinking now?

Yes! They were probably thinking what a fine young man he is.

Nasruddin sat down quietly. Picking up a plump fig, he carefully placed it into his coat pocket, saying, "Eat, coat, eat”

Next he took a handful of nuts and put them into the pocket, saying, "Eat, coat, eat." Now he began to feed his coat, grabbing all sorts of foods.

He fed the coat lentils and chickpeas, olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken and beef — and best of all — the desserts — halvah, date rolls, figs and baklava!

Nasruddin became silent as all the other guests watched this strange behavior.

Soon everyone in the room was staring at Nasruddin, wondering what he was doing.

The host hurried over. "Nasruddin, whatever are you doing? Why are you feeding your coat in this manner?"

"Well," replied Nasruddin, "when I first came to this feast in my old farming clothes, I was not welcome. No one would speak with me. But when I changed into this coat, suddenly I was greeted warmly. So I realized it was not me that was welcome at this party, but my clothing. And so I am feeding my coat."

Children,  how do you think the host and the other guests might have been feeling when Nasruddin told them why he was feeding his coat?

Indeed, they would have been embarrassed.

Tenali Raman was a learned scholar and a poet in King Krishnadevaraya’s court. He was a minister in the court and was also one of the eight poets. He was famous for his wit and quick thinking.

On the Story Prism podcast, Tenali Raman tales are a collection of some of those stories.

Today's Story, 'Tenali and The Racing Horse',\ is where Tenali proves that the Urge to succeed is very important.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/tenali-and-the-racing-horse

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Transcript

One day, an Arabian horse trader came with a shipload of the finest Persian horses to Vijayanagara. The king,Krishnadevrai, was an avid horse lover. He bought many horses from the trader. All the courtiers too bought one horse each.

All the while, Tenali Raman was quiet and disinterested. Seeing this, one of the courtiers asked, “Raman, why are you so silent, and wouldn’t you also buy a horse?”

“Vijayanagara horses are superior to these Persian horses,” Raman remarked. 

The king and the rest of the courtiers were surprised to hear this. King Sri Krishnadevaraya said, “How can you be so sure, Raman? Can you prove it?”

“Certainly, your majesty,” Raman replied.

Children, Tenali’s horse was certainly not better than the Persian horses. Then, why does he take up the challenge?

The king announced that there would be a horse race. A Vijayanagara horse was to be trained by Raman, and the Persian horses were to be trained by the rest of the courtiers. The race would determine which horse breed is superior.

All the courtiers put in a lot of effort in training and feeding their horses. On the day of the race, the horses were lined up on the racetrack. Tenali brought his horse, which looked weak and ill-fed.

Everyone laughed and said that Raman would lose the race. When it was time for the race, Raman announced he would ride the horse.

Children, have you participated in a race? How did you prepare for it?

He then took a long pole, to the edge of which he tied some grass.

He mounted on the horse and held the pole in front of the horse so that it could see the grass, but not reach for it.

When the race started, all the horses ran swiftly. Raman dangled the grass in front of the horse. The hungry horse ran for the grass, but no matter how fast it ran, it could not get hold of the grass. The horse kept running as fast as it could and came first.

Everyone was astonished by what had happened. The king asked Raman, “How did you make this happen?”

Raman smiled and replied, “Your majesty, the hunger to succeed is the only thing that can help anyone to succeed.”

The king understood what Raman had said and rewarded him for his intelligence.

Moral of the story

Have a strong urge to succeed.

Panchatantra stories are one of the most widely translated books in history and are known for their wisdom on practical life. The stories are delightfully narrated, with animals and birds often being the central characters. Thus they provide valuable life lessons in a light-hearted manner.

The Monkey and the Wedge is a story about a playful monkey who interferes in other’s work…listen to the story to find out what happens..

Free activity sheet available at https://www.rituvaish.com/the-monkey-and-the-wedge

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Transcript

There was once a merchant who employed many carpenters and masons to build a temple in his garden.

Children, do you know of any machines that are used at a construction site?

Indeed, cranes, excavators, bulldozers, concrete mixers etc

Let’s listen ahead.

Regularly, they would start work in the morning; take a break for the mid-day meals, and return to resume work till the evening.

One day, a group of monkeys arrived at the site of the building and watched the workers leaving for their mid-day meals.

One of the carpenters was sawing a huge log of wood. Since it was only half-done; he placed a wedge in between to prevent the log from closing up. He then went off along with the other workers for his meal.

When all the workers were gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and started jumping around the site and playing with the instruments.

Children, what instruments does a carpenter use?

Yes! Measuring tape, hand saw, screwdriver etc.

There was one monkey, who got curious about the wedge placed between the log. He sat down on the log, and having placed himself in between the half-split log, caught hold of the wedge and started pulling at it.

All of a sudden, the wedge came out. As a result, the half-split log closed in and the monkey got caught in the gap of the log.

As was his destiny, he was severely wounded.

The wise indeed say:

One, who interferes in other's work, surely comes to grief.

Tenali Raman was a learned scholar and a poet in King Krishnadevaraya’s court. He was a minister in the court and was also one of the eight poets. He was famous for his wit and quick thinking.

On the Story Prism podcast, Tenali Raman tales are a collection of some of those stories.

On the Story Prism podcast, Tenali Raman tales are a collection of some of those stories,

So, gather around for the story The Biggest Fool in the Kingdom, a story where Tenali Raman calls The Kind a Fool…. Listen to the story to find out what happens.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/The-biggest-fool-in-the-kingdom

Send your artwork to [email protected].

Transcript

King Krishnadevaraya loved horses and had the best collection of horse breeds in the Kingdom.

 Children, I am sure you collect something or the other. Please share what it is.

That’s great.

Well, one day, a trader came to the King and told him that he had brought with him a horse of the best breed in Arabia.

He invited the King to inspect the horse. King Krishnadevaraya loved the horse; so the trader said that the King could buy this one and that he had two more like this one, back in Arabia that he would go back to get. The King loved the horse so much that he had to have the other two as well. He paid the trader 5000 gold coins in advance. The trader promised that he would return within two days with the other horses.

 Children, what is your guess, will the trader keep his promise?

Hope you keep promises when you make them…For remember : Promise breaker is a shoemaker.

 Two days turned into two weeks, and still, there was no sign of the trader and the two horses. One evening, to ease his mind, the King went on a stroll in his garden. There he spotted Tenali Raman writing down something on a piece of paper. Curious, the King asked, “Tenali what he was jotting down?”

“Nothing of importance your majesty,” replied Tenali hiding the paper.

 Children, what do you think Tenali was writing that he didn’t want the King to see?

Let’s listen ahead to find out.

Tenali Raman was hesitant to show the paper.

But after further questioning, he showed the King the paper. On the paper was a list of names, the King’s being at the top of the list.

The King questioned, “ What is this list for/”

Tenali meekly answered, “These were the names of the biggest fools in the Vijayanagar Kingdom!”

As expected, the King was furious that his name was at the top and asked Tenali Raman for an explanation.

Tenali referred to the horse story, saying the King was a fool to believe that the trader, a stranger, would return after receiving 5000 gold coins.

Countering his argument, the King then asked, what happens if/when the trader does come back? In true Tenali humour, he replied by saying, in that case, the trader would be a bigger fool, and his name would replace the King’s on the list!

Akbar and Birbal folktales are very famous in India. These are a set of moral stories inspired by the interactions of Mughal Emperor Akbar and his wisest courtier Birbal and have been enjoyed by children for many many years. These stories were mostly passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth, till the print medium started. You know children, Birbal was an extremely witty courtier and. you will really enjoy listening to the witty, interesting, and sometimes funny, occurrences in the lives of Akbar and Birbal. These stories also help us to think smart just like Birbal.

Today's story: The pot full of wit is where Akbar once asked Birbal to leave , but then he misses Birbal and tries to get Birbal back into the court…But would Akbar succeed

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/the-pot-full-of-wit

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Transcript

Akbar was once infuriated with Birbal and banished him from his kingdom. Birbal travelled to a faraway village and assumed a new identity and started working as a farmer. But after a couple of weeks, Akbar started to miss Birbal and hence asked his soldiers to find where he is and bring him back to the kingdom. The soldiers searched every part of the kingdom, “Birbal, Birbal where are you? King Akbar wants you back.” But, could not find Birbal.

Then Akbar then came up with an idea to find Birbal.

Akbar felt the only way to lure Birbal back to the city is to send a challenge his way

Children, can you guess what the idea was?

Let’s find out.

King Akbar sent word across the kingdom that the head of each village had to send him a pot full of wit. Anyone who can send the pot full of wit can instead fill up the pot with gold and diamonds from his treasure.

Children, wit means the ability to use words in a clever and imaginative way, So how can anyone fill a pot with WIT?.

The people in Birbal’s village found the announcement absurd and were wondering how to fill the pot with wit.

Then guess who came up with the idea?

Yes, Birbal!

He stepped in to help and came up with a way to give the king what he wanted. He put a small watermelon into the pot without separating it from its vine. That means the watermelon was still growing. He watered it every day and grew it big enough so that all the space in the pot was taken up.

Birbal then separated the watermelon from the vine and sent the pot to the king. The instruction that was sent with the pot read, “You can find the wit in the pot if you carefully remove the watermelon without cutting it.” Akbar realised that only Birbal could have sent the pot. He travelled to the village himself and brought Birbal back to the capital.

Moral: Even the toughest questions can be answered cleverly if you think hard.

For the next few days, you can listen to a couple of stories every single day.

And That’s because on our podcast we will have some special storytellers!! We have middle and high school students who through the summer have been learning about how to craft their own stories and then produce them on a podcast.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/podcast-summer-camp Let’s give a warm welcome to Manit

Transcript

There was a boy named Kevin who was playing with his ball on the front lawn of his house. Kevin was a curious boy, so he used to be curious about anything which was scary and intriguing.

One day while playing cricket with his friend, he hit the ball so hard that it landed on the front porch of an abandoned house.There was a poster on the door that said, “Don't enter or else you will die.” But neither Kevin nor his friend saw this message and entered the house. As soon as they entered, there was a loud bang on the door, and it closed.

Kevin was scared. His jaw fell, his legs trembled. His well-built body tried to open the rusty door but could not. Suddenly, a girl named Ritu also entered the haunted house. She also did not notice the message on the door.

When she entered, there was a loud bang on the door, and it closed. The girl got scared and asked Kevin,” You also got stuck in this old, abandoned house?” Kevin replied,” Yep, I am also stuck here.” Ritu said” We need to find a way out of here.”

Suddenly, a ghostly voice said in a deep voice, “If you can pass all my 3 levels, I'll let you go but if you don’t, you'll die”. They were now scared, and anxious but they did not have a choice. Their courage motivated them, and they agreed. After that, the ghost said, “In your first level you should try to break the doll or else you will die.”

They entered a bedroom and saw a girl who had the doll. She was a terrifying ghost, and she could do anything. Kevin and Ritu had a plan. Ritu would distract her, and Kevin could take the cute doll and break it and that is exactly what happened. After that they entered a room. The ghostly voice said” Excellent job on your first level now for level 2 you will go to the library. If you make a sound you die.” The voice also said, “The books also make sound.” They entered the library and saw an old woman who was a ghost with an axe. They were terrified and thought if they made a sound they would die. Ritu saw the shiny golden key on the cover of a book. She whispered to Kevin” We should take that.” They tip- toed towards the shelves, took the key, and opened the exit door.” This is the last level” the ghost said.” It is your fate escape or die.” He also said. A woman gave two paper rolls to both Kevin and Ritu. Kevin saw that they both wrote ‘D’ which means they said ‘die.’ Kevin used a trick and changed a roll to ‘escape,’ and they both escaped the haunted house.

For the next few days, you can listen to a couple of stories every single day.

And That’s because on our podcast we will have some special storytellers!! We have middle and high school students who through the summer have been learning about how to craft their own stories and then produce them on a podcast.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/podcast-summer-camp Let’s give a warm welcome Aarush

Transcript

The mystery Treasure

Adventures are what Charlie loved, what a courageous man. On a wonderful sunny morning a well built, very adventurous person named Charlie started a short trek. On the way he heard the melodious music of the beautiful birds singing in happiness.he could see the eagles flying around and could feel the sun drowning his energy. As he reached the peak of the mountain he felt a sigh of relief and suddenly saw a map at the peak of the mountain. He examined the map and was able to identify that the map led to treasure hidden in the amazon forest. The almond eyes of Charlie could not believe it and did want to find the treasure and so the adventure began. Charlie went back home, packed his survival gear and flew to the amazon forest.

 Charlie started the journey early in the mourning and as the sun rose the sight of the forest was heavenly. The color combination of the wildlife and the forest was amazing.You could hear the leaves of the humongous trees rustling, the waterfalls cascading and the loud roar of the tigers waking up the jungle.since it is the amazon forest the feeling of dampness was there throughout.As charlie got deeper into the jungle the sun settled and charlie decided to call the day of. The sky was sparkling with the stars and that is a sight you would never see in the cities. After a good night sleep Charlie was all fresh in the mourning. The day was very cloudy and later in the morning a hail storm took place. Charlie had to find a good shelter. To find it he de-rooted from the course and was able to find a mother tree to give him shelter. The rain took away the last of Charlie’s survival gear and also gave him a big wound. Charlie gave his wound a little time to heal and focused on the survival resources. After a long period of time Charlie decided to go on where he left the journey. He then realizes that he is lost in the forest. Charlie gathers water, and food and heads towards the area he thinks the treasure is. After a couple of long days he starts to find familiar landmarks and is able to follow the map to find the treasure.

His body is tired but is refreshed with the treasure and he is amazingly happy with feelings beyond words.

For the next few days, you can listen to a couple of stories every single day.

And That’s because on our podcast we will have some special storytellers!! We have middle and high school students who through the summer have been learning about how to craft their own stories and then produce them on a podcast.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/podcast-summer-camp Let’s give a warm welcome Ayaan.

Transcript

History takes a turn

By: Ayaan Shaik

gathering all my equipment, I went fishing not checking the weather. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very stormy day., Fishing is certainly  my favorite thing to do in the  free time. Thunder was blazing onto the ocean’s ferocious waves. I, Lincoln, 24 years old, am an Olympic swimmer, I was confident that I could pull through the storm. What I had not realized was a huge mighty tsunami coming to life in a distance….

My brain was full of thoughts, and I had shivers running down my spine(we can’t change idioms) . The boat suddenly stopped moving. I turned around to check on the engine. Luckily, the moment I attached it to the power back up it started working. I immediately turned around to check on the waves, they were humongous and frightening. My eyes were wide open and veins were appearing on my forehead. The next moment, it had swallowed both my boat and me

Probably a few hours later as I opened my eyes, I saw what looked like diamond and emerald ores sparkling in a mythical cave. It was a jaw dropping sight. I said to myself, “This is unbelievable! What a majestic view! This must be worth millions of dollars.” Slowly and carefully I moved deeper into the cave, awestruckby the twinkling ores.

Abruptly, there were no more sparkles , but what  came before my eyes was a huge ancient city. My mouth had let out a big smile. It seemed like a realm ,before I thought of anything else, a hammer struck my head with a loud THUD! I woke up in a jail cell. It was very different from what we have on earth. It was made of stone with moss coverings. I said to myself, “Someone from this city might have seen me as a threat.. Or maybe they don’t allow visitors…?” As I looked out of the bars, the city was majestic but it was almost in ruins, there were very large dwellings though they were not as advanced a civilization as us.. I turned back and saw people with tridents walking across, they must have ben the guards… They had emerald green eyes and scales running all over their body. They were as tall as me which is quite tall standing at 6”4. But were quite plump which made them wobble and difficult to move . y. Don’t get me wrong but though they were plump they sure were strong. One of the guards saw me and yelled out, “GENERAL! THE CREATURE HAS WOKEN UP!”

The next moment, there were 6 guards at my cell. They dragged me out and grabbed me tight. I didn’t say a word or do anything fearing that they might do something. They pushed me upstairs to something that looked like a court room,,. Whatever may be the room, it was reeking of foul-smell . Apart from that it was beautifully build.  

I  could hear the waves of the ocean flowing above which made me realize that we were under the water.

A big man wearing a crown was sitting on a golden throne at the far end . He was the immortal warrior who became king 3 centuries ago. (how did you come to know of it?? Probably somewhere you read or youoverheard)The kind had hundreds of people bowing down to him. He said with an angry tone, “Oh Creature! You have committed a crime by entering here without permission. I can not afford you to go tell everyone about us. I said, “My mouth will be shut tight about this! I won’t tell a single soul is you let me go now.” The king replied, “ But I will let you fight and if win over my people , I’ll free you.

I had no choice so  accepted the challenge….

Now I was  blindfolded, but realized that there was only one guard with me. I could have easily knocked him down but I did not want to infuriate them and waited for the right time.  Hence,I followed their command and went to the arena. Once at the arena they guard removed my blindfold. Glancing around I was ghast as it was very large. It looked like it was a 400 year old colosseum. It was very well built. It looked like  a mixture of Roman and Turkish architecture People were going in and out.But once settled, I guessed there might be 70thousand of them.. I was taken inside to the main area to fight. The king was watching me from his cabin. I did not want to hurt my opponent but I had no other option. He looked very strong but he couldn’t walk properly. In contrast to them, I was more agile and could easily defend myself thanks to boxing fights that I used to do when I was 17. As a soft melody was being played by the musicians, the fight had started.

We fought for 30 minutes and were exhausted. I came up with a plan… I strategically brought the fight near the gate and let him punch me hard. I acted that I was knocked out… As the judge was announcing his victory, the gates had opened!

At that very moment I got up as if I had been revived and ran past the guards. They could not keep up with me because I was much faster than them. I made my way back to the mythical cave and jumped into the water. I swam very fast! I swam as far as I could. After a while I fainted at a beach due to the unavailability of oxygen.

Fortunately, I was found by a group of Swedish fishermen. After a while I woke up in their boat. They asked me in their Swedish accent, “Where are you from?” I replied, “ I am from Norway” They took my to the nearest port which was the Bergen port in Norway.. It was just a 20-minute walk from home. Upon my arrival, my friends and family were overjoyed as I had not been home for 2 days. My friend Scott and I went to the local coffee shot to have a chat. It was a pleasant night. They crickets were talking to each other and wolves were howling. As we entered into the shop, hearing the chorus singing, we took a seat and ordered an expresso and latte. I was telling Scott, “You would not believe me! I was swallowed by a tsunami and landed into a mythical cave! I found a huge underwater city.” Saying that, I started on with the whole story. Since I was always honest, he believed me. Sott said, “Wow! That’s crazy, you are so lucky you had such an amazing adventure!” After a while we both headed home. As I was tucking myself in bed, hearing the owls hooting, played a soft song and started thinking about all the adventure… Not so long after, I had fell asleep.

---The end---

For the next few days, you can listen to a couple of stories every single day.

And That’s because on our podcast we will have some special storytellers!! We have middle and high school students who through the summer have been learning about how to craft their own stories and then produce them on a podcast.

Free activity sheet available at www.rituvaish.com/podcast-summer-camp Let’s give a warm welcome Muskan.

Transcript

Perfect World

There was a boy named Rohan. He lived in a huge, beautiful mansion in the outskirts of Delhi. He was a very arrogant and unkind boy along with being a coward.

He behaved very rudely with all the servants and shouted at them if so much even on the littlest of things. . The servants would also get shouted at if when Rohan woke up, they were doing something else and couldn`t make his bed just then.. Rohan was also very unkind. If another friend or one of the servants got hurt, he would just ignore them and walk on. Whol;e day he asked the chefs to make a variety of his favourite dishes and subsequently, he became plump.

One day, he was in his usual field outside his house playing by himself. He hated this field, as it was littered all over with garbage and a putrid smell seemed to come from it every moment of the day. But then there was no other field around.

Suddenly, Rohan glimpsed something that gave him a huge shock. A huge portal appeared in the middle of the field! Through the portal, Rohan could see a huge field with beautiful daises and glowing sunflowers on the edges. The edge was also lined with small pretty huts. A little further, Rohan could also glimpse majestic mansions and brick villas. He was a little frightened at first. But soon his curiosity overshadowed his fear. He ran at the portal as fast as his obese body allowed him to.

He appeared through the portal, huffing and puffing and crossed the beautiful place and ashe caught his breath, he gazed around and was baffled. This was the field he had been playing in! He began to think that the portal had been his own imagination. But then, why was the field so clean?

“I definitely went through the portal” he thought.

Suddenly, he froze. There was a boy, looking just like Rohan, playing football with a bunch of kids. Just then, the other boy too saw Rohan, and walked over to him. Rohan learnt that the other boy`s name was Sohan.

As the boys were talking, their eyes fell on three men, running, their faces covered, sacks on their shoulders.

“Thieves!” shouted Sohan. “Rohan, you keep the men from escaping, while I call the police.” For a moment Rohan was temped to decline, as fear injected his mind. However, a little voice inside him said, “Rohan, think about the innocent people who have been robbed!”

Feeling new hope, Rohan nodded. Sohan ran to the telephone booth on the next street and Rohan blocked the thieves.

“Move aside, silly boy!” hissed one of the men, who was evidently the leader of the pack.

When Rohan did not move, one of the thieves hurtled forward. Rohan`s old karate training became fresh in his mind as he extended his foot and aimed a mighty kick to the man, making him recoil in pain. The leader steps forward, but falls back at an accurately aimed kick on his stomach. Rohan kicks the last thief`s nose.

Just then, the police arrived, and rounded up all the men. Rhan bid farewell to Sohan and went through the portal into his own world.

Rohan worked every day to have kindness and helped every person he could. Soon, he was a very humble, kind and brave boy. He had lots of friends and was doing well in school.