The Case of the Chocolate Thief

Bhanu, the eldest of the two brothers and two sisters complained to the other three, “Someone seems to be stealing my chocolates. I keep them at a hiding place in my bed room. But the hiding place is no more the hiding place because someone has found it out. I save few chocolates from the ones mom gives us and I keep them there. But lately, those chocolates have disappeared in thin air.”

The others three, Shanu, Kaju and Biju said at the same time, teasing Bhanu, “If you don’t eat those chocolates, why don’t you share them with us? See, we never save any of our chocolates; we eat them all and still want more. Had you given those chocolates to us, this thief would not have got any. And don’t even suspect that we are stealing the chocolates. If we want, we will ask and never steal.”

Bhanu was already angry because his chocolates were stolen by someone and on top of it, his brother Kaju and his sisters Shanu and Biju were teasing him. He got annoyed still more but controlled his anger and said, “It’s not a matter of joke. Suppose, the same thing happens to you, won’t you feel like catching the thief and punish him? And remember, I will never suspect you of stealing since you are such nice kids.”

Shanu, Kaju and Biju realizing that their things also could be stolen, felt alarmed and asked Bhanu, “Then, what do you suggest we do? Catch the thief red handed? Won’t it be fun?”

Bhanu retorted, “That’s what I had been hinting you guys and you started making fun of me. Yes, that’s exactly we all should do, catch the thief.”

Biju, the youngest of the four always liked solving such mysteries. She quipped excitedly, “Catching a thief could be such a thrill!” You must include me in this job. Shanu and Kaju suggested to Bhanu, “Why not make a plan?” Biju repeated, “Yes, why not make a plan. I will tell you what to do.”

Bhanu said, “Yes, let us put all of our heads together. Yes, Biju, you too. The thief seems to be a very cunning operator. He does it at night when we go to sleep. So, we will have to keep awake throughout the night to keep a watch on him.”

Biju said, “I have an idea. Let all of us not keep awake. We will take turns. Every one of us will keep awake just for two hours turn by turn. Others can go to sleep. We will all be sleeping in Bhanu’s bedroom tonight. Whosoever sees the thief will wake us the rest three and then, we will pounce at the thief together and catch him.”

All of them gave thumbs up to this plan.

After their dinner, all the four of them went to Bhanu’s bedroom. At sharp 10 PM, everyone went to sleep except Biju. Biju volunteered to be on the night guard first- she was so thrilled at the prospect of catching the thief. She was really curious to know who that thief was.

For the first two hours while Biju was awake and looking out for the thief, no one came into the room. So Biju was a bit disappointed. But as per the plan, now she was to sleep and Kaju was to be the guard. During Kaju’s two hours patrol also, the thief did not turn up. So he also went to sleep after his duty was over and now, Shanu took over.

It was now 2 o’clock in the night. The atmosphere was very quiet at the dead of the night. It was dark. It was also a bit frightening. Shanu was very alert and watchful. But she was not afraid at all. All along, she was absorbed in her thoughts about the thief and how to catch him. She guessed that the thief might choose the middle of the night as the opportune moment for stealing since this was the time when everyone got a sound sleep and would not wake up easily even if there were disturbances around.

And lo! There was someone who was entering the room. This someone was very cautious and moving around without making any noise. Now, the thief was crawling towards the hiding place where Bhanu had kept the chocolates. Shanu was not able to see the thief clearly since the room was all dark. She was trying to guess as to who that thief was. Was he the boy who stayed next door and was having a fight with them these days or was he someone else?

Shanu allowed the thief to move towards the hiding place. She wanted to catch the thief in the act of stealing, red handed. The thief had now almost reached the hiding place and was about to lift the chocolates. Just at that moment Shanu switch on all the lights of the room and woke up Bhanu, Kaju and Biju. Bhanu and Kaju, simultaneously, jumped on the thief and grabbed him. Biju closed the door of the room so that the thief would not run away.

And then, to their surprise, they found the thief was neither the boy next door nor any other human being but it was the black cat that used to loiter around their house for the past few days. They could never imagine that a cat could steal their chocolates. They locked the cat in a cage.

Next morning they told the entire episode of the night and how they caught the cat stealing the chocolates to their mom and dad. Mom and dad were very proud of Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju for their intelligence and bravery in solving the mystery of the thief. They also saw the thief, the black cat in the cage. They asked, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju what were they going to do with the cat.

Bhanu said, “We have got a gentleman’s promise from the cat that he would never steal again. He is ashamed of his act of stealing and is begging us to release him. What should we do?”

Mom and dad said, “Give the cat a chance. Since he is repenting and has promised never to steal again, you can release him from the cage now.”

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju agreed with their mom and dad’s suggestion and opened the door of the cage. The cat displayed his curtsy to all of them and thanked profusely for making him free. Then he said good bye and ran away.

Novels and Stories

Novel "Good People" http://good-people-novel.blogspot.com/
Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/
Stories Children Will Love http://stories-children.blogspot.com/

The novel "Good People", "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" and "Stories Children Will Love" are available in the form of eBook and printed book from Amazon online. Hurry up, get your copies.

A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed

One fine day, early in the morning, Blacky bear was whistling and humming while he was strolling in the forest around his home. He was fond of singing too. He was crooning his favorite tune, “Tra ra rala, tra ra rala, tra ra rala…..” He was always in his excellent mood on breezy sunny days and surely, the day was sunny and breezy. The birds were in good mood too and they were chirping. They were continuously chattering and were keeping themselves very busy doing this or that. Various types of flowers with different colors were in bloom and their fragrance was spread in the air.

Affected by the wonderful environment all around, Blacky was in an utterly playful mood. He started chasing the butterflies of yellow, red, orange, violet and many other colors. Some of them were the polka dot types and others were plain. They were all very friendly with Blacky bear since they all stayed in the same jungle where Blacky bear resided. One of the butterflies, who was more playful than the others by name of Bina challenged him, “Blacky, you just can’t catch me. Run. Run after me and catch me. Can you?”

Blacky bear is all sports when challenged like this. He said, “Why, I will catch you. Don’t you know that I run faster than you, Bina?” And he started chasing the butterfly Bina.

Bina butterfly went on flying, fluttering her yellow and black polka dot wings. As Blacky bear reached near her to catch her, she would go high up in the air and Blacky would miss her once more. This game went on for a long time. Bina and Blacky were running in all kinds of directions and could not keep track of where they were going.

While playing this game, they did not realize that they had already entered into a nearby village. This village was not the familiar village for them. They had never been there earlier. They did not know anyone there. They did not have any friend in the village.

So, they decided to return to their forest. But as they were about to run away from the village, the villagers saw Blacky. Though Blacky is still a child, being a bear, he looks huge and anyone can spot him even from a distance. The villagers saw him but not the butterfly Bina since Bina butterfly is pretty tiny and not easily visible. Not only that, the villagers are never afraid of butterflies but they are always afraid of big animals like bears and leopards and tigers.

So, when the villagers spotted Blacky bear in their village, all of them got panicky. They started shouting and shooing him away. Blacky is a very clever bear. He started running away from the villagers but he did not know the exact way to return to his house. He had lost track of the direction.

Suddenly he saw a river nearby and he got a brilliant idea. He said to Bina, the butterfly, “The villagers are chasing me. They may try to throw stones at me to scare me. I wish to save myself from them. Therefore, if I go into the river and stand in the middle of the river, none of them will dare to swim into the river and come near me. So I will go and stand in the river. In the mean time, I request you to fly fast and go to Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh’s house. Tell him about what has happened. Ask him to reach this river in this village. He will figure out some tricks to save me and get me out of here.”

Accordingly, Blacky swam into the river and went right in the middle of it and stood still there. Villagers stayed on the banks of the river but none of them was brave enough to swim and go near Blacky.

Butterfly Bina flew very fast and reached Dholu Ram’s house in no time. She told the whole story to Dholu Ram and requested him to save Backy.

Dholu Ram said to Bina butterfly, “You show me the path and I will run behind you.” So, Bina flew in the direction of the river and Dholu Ram ran behind her real fast.

Within a few minutes, Dholu Ram reached near the river. He saw the whole lot of villagers there and also Blacky bear right in the middle of the river. He waved at Blacky bear and Blacky waved back. He gave a sigh of relief seeing Dholu there. He was fully confident that Dholu would find out some way of rescuing him.

Dholu Ram found out the chief of the village among the villagers and spoke with him. He said, “All of you need not be scared of the bear. He is Blacky bear and I know him very well. He is a great friend of mine. Did you see me waving at him and him waving back a few minutes ago?”

To this, the chief of village nodded in affirmation. Then, Dholu Ram said to the chief, “You ask the villagers to move away from the bank of the river. Nobody should throw stones at Blacky bear and no one should shout or panic. As you will clear the bank of the river, I will ask Blacky to come out of water. No one needs to be scared of him at all.”

The village chief ordered all the villagers to clear the bank of the river and they quietly obeyed him. Dholu Ram whistled at Blacky to indicate that it was safe for him to come out of the water and reach the bank of the river. Blacky swam and reached the bank.

Dholu Ram introduced Blacky bear and also Bina, the butterfly to the chief of the village and all the other villagers. All of them exchanged pleasantries. The villagers apologized to Blacky for their misbehavior with him. All of them became friends with each other. The villagers invited Dholu, Blacky and Bina to visit their village often.

Then Dholu, Blacky and Bina started for their homes. On the way, Blacky thanked Dholu Ram as well Bina for helping him out of the tricky situation he had got into. Dholu Ram and Bina said almost at the same time, “Blacky, You need not have to be formal with us and thank us. After all, what for are the friends?”

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh Catches the Thief

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh, the roly poly-boy and his loving dog Rex went to a nearby lake on a Sunday morning. Dholu Ram's parents also accompanied them. Since the lake was nearby, all of them went walking.

On way to the lake, Dholu and Rex kept playing the ball. Dholu would throw the ball in the forward direction at a far away distance and Rex would go running and fetch it. This was fun as well as exercise for both of them. Dholu was practising throwing the ball and this would help him in playing the baseball game in his school. Rex was already getting fat because of the good food he was eating every day and he needed to burn the extra fat he had put on. Therefore, running was good for him too.

Thus, playing the ball, in no time, they reached the lake. They sat down on the green grass, a little far away from the bank of the lake. Dholu's mom took out egg sandwiches, cheese pizza and orange juice from the basket. It was a kind of little picnic for all of them. Since Dholu and Rex had exercised a lot by now, they felt the pangs of hunger. They gobbled up the orange juice, cheese pizza and egg sandwiches in no time. Then, they left the dad and mom behind in order to play a bit in the shallow side of the water. Though, Dholu and Rex, both of them knew swimming very well, they were always very cautious.

Since it was a Sunday morning, there was quite a crowd at the lake. Many families had gone to the lake picnicking. There was a small girl, who after finishing her eats, had gone nearer to the water and was watching the ducks and the fish of variety of colors. Ducks were saying "quack" "quack" and swimming in the waters of the lake like highly trained swimmers as if they were experts in all kinds of styles of swimming. The fish were very colorful and they too were swimming very gracefully. The little girl was intently enjoying looking at them. She was totally absorbed.

She was wearing a glittering diamond necklace of her mom. She had requested her mom to give the necklace to her, which she would wear for a while and then return. The diamond necklace was very expensive. A man wearing a black suit, seemingly a gentleman came near her and admired her and her necklace. Then, he touched the necklace so that he could observe it well. And before she knew anything, he snatched the necklace and pulled it out of her neck and started running away.

Dholu Ram, apart from all of his other good qualities, also acts as a bit of a spy at times. Knowing that the girl who was looking at the ducks and fish was all alone and was very young, he was keeping an eye on her. Though he was playing with Rex, half of his attention was drawn towards the girl. He was almost ready to protect the girl in case she went near the water and slipped into it or if something else untoward happened to her. Then, he also followed the suited man going near her and inspecting her necklace. Dholu was smelling some rat. He grew suspicious of him. He thought that this man, though looking like a gentleman, was actually a thief.

So, Dholu Ram was all ready to meet any unpleasant situation that could be created by the man in the black suit. No sooner, he saw the man snatching away the necklace, he took out the whistle that he always kept in his pocket and blew it repeatedly. The shrill noise of the whistle was immediately heard by the coast guards and the security guards. They are always there on duty at the lake side to ensure the protection of the people from any mishaps and accidents. Simultaneously, Rex started barking a lots. He also knew that there was something wrong there.

Listening to the repeated whistles and continuous barking of the dog, the guards rushed towards Dholu. Dholu told them about what happened and what he saw. He pointed towards the man in the dark suit, who was running towards a boat in the lake. He had jumped into the boat and speeded it away. He was escaping from the scene with the stolen necklace.

The guards ran at fast speeds towards their four boats parked in the lake and jumped into them. They cornered the thief from all the four directions and after a long chase in the river waters, nabbed the thief. They handcuffed him and brought to the bank of the river. They took the diamond chain from him and handed it to the parents of the little girl. They told the parents, "You should not give such an expensive jewelery to your little daughter and leave her alone." The parents agreed and thanked the coast guards and the security guards of the lake.

The guards gave the thief in the custody of the police. Everyone at the lake including the guards and the police admired Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and his dog Rex for being so attentive and smart and to help retrieve the necklace and catch the thief. A small function was arranged quickly then and there to felicitate Dholu and Rex and they were presented with trophies. Everyone clapped lots. The parents of Dholu were once again proud of their son Dholu and their dog Rex.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and Blacky Bear Like Honey Lots

This story took place in the dense jungle of Koraput. Koraput is a town of Orissa state of India. The forest there is beautiful with lots of varieties of trees. Among them, there are fruit bearing trees too. They are cashew nut trees and jack fruit trees.

And the forest is a favorite place of honey bees. There are plenty of plants with hundreds of flowers of various types and colors all around. The honey bees extract the juices from these flowers and collect them in the honeycomb they construct. They construct the honeycomb at great heights on the trees to ensure protection from human being and animals. Human beings and animals cannot reach those heights easily. Honeycomb is the storage place for the honey. This honey is produced by the bees from the juices of flowers they collect.

In the midst of the jungle there exists a scenic township of a big factory where they produce the parts required to assemble an aircraft. The township is dotted with many houses systematically constructed and in them live the people who work in the aircraft factory.

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh’s uncle and aunt live in one of these houses in the township. During this summer vacation, Dholu Ram visited them to spend his holidays with his uncle and aunt.

Near to this township, in the dense jungle of Koraput also lives a family of mom bear, daddy bear and their son Blacky bear. They go to the township in the nights and tap the doors of the houses. Since by now they have become quite friendly with the children and their parents in the township, people are not afraid of them. As they tap at the doors of their houses, they know that the bear family has come to request the food. People open the doors and very happily give them lots of food.

In this way, within a few days Dholu Ram also became their friend, particularly of the little Blacky bear. Dholu thought that Blacky was very cute and interestingly, Blacky thought that Dholu too was very cute. All of you know that our Dholu is definitely cute not just because he is a roly-poly kid but also because he is very clever, courageous, well behaved, disciplined and tidy.

One day when Dholu Ram offered food to them, Blacky and his parents said, “Dholu, you and your uncle and aunt are very good people and have been giving us the food almost daily. Now, we wish to invite three of you to our home in the jungle tomorrow for lunch with us. You need not be afraid of animals there. Since you are our guests, other animals will be quite friendly towards you”. Dholu Ram and his uncle and aunt accepted the invite. The bear family gave the address of their home in the jungle.

Next day, Dholu Ram along with his uncle and aunt reached Blacky’s home. It was surrounded by lots of trees. Blacky and his bear parents had decorated their house nicely and made it clean and tidy. As soon as they arrived, they were welcomed with greetings.

Blacky’s parents announced that the menu for lunch was: jack fruits and honey. Dholu got highly excited since he liked honey a lots. He mentioned that to Blacky’s parents. They said, “Our Blacky also loves honey just like you. It’s great that both of you like honey”.

But Dholu did not see anything in the house, neither honey nor jack fruits. Blacky’s parents understood that Dholu looked a bit puzzled. They said, “We will get for you fresh jack fruits and honey right from the nearby trees". They asked Blacky to go out and get them. Dholu also accompanied him.

They reached a jack fruit tree. Blacky had become expert in climbing the trees and in no time he was up the tree. He plucked six jack fruits and climbed down holding them in his hands. They then went to another tree on which the honey bees had prepared their honeycomb and it was full of honey. "If you disturb the honey bees and try to steal honey, they sting very severely. Their sting is very painful", Blacky told this to Dholu.

“Then, how are you going to get the honey?” Dholu asked.

Blacky said, “Don’t you worry, I have made friends with them. I show them new flowers every day from where they can get the flower juices to make their honey. Ordinarily no one can get honey from them easily but to me they are very sweet and give as much honey as I request them”.

They Blacky whistled his code whistle. The queen of honey bees came out. Blacky introduced Dholu as his friend to the honey bee queen and she smiled. “OK, you want honey, don’t you? You have guests today and I will give you more honey today”. And she gave them lots of honey. Blacky thanked the queen bee.

Now, Blacky and Dholu Ram returned with honey and jack fruits. They all sat down on the dinner table. The dining table was very well arranged with plates and bowls and fork and knife for each one of them, placed over the table mats. The honey and jack fruits were kept in the middle of the table in proper serving vessels.

Everyone served the honey in their own bowl and jack fruit in their plate. After everyone finished serving, they all started their lunch together.

They ate stomach full and felt very happy. After lunch, Blacky and Dholu played for some time. During that time, Dholu’s uncle and aunt chatted with Blacky’s mom and dad.

It was time now for Dholu and his uncle and aunt to return to their home in the township. They all said “bye” to each other before their departure.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

How Did Evil Fox’s Tail Get Cut?

Once Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju went to their favorite forest. In the forest lived their animal friends in a small hut. All kinds of animals lived there together. They always looked forward to the arrival of Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju. On some weekends, after finishing their home work, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju would go to the jungle to meet their friends.

When they went to the forest hut of their animal friends this weekend, they carried with them their fishing rods. They knew that their friends liked to eat the fish lots. So, they decided to catch fish for their friends and to have a grand party. There was a river nearby and it contained lots of fish.

So, they reached the forest and knocked at the door of the hut. One of the animals living there opened the door and was very happy to see Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju. He announced to the other animals their arrival. All of them came out running and greeted Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju with big smiles on their faces. All of them hugged each other and also, shook hands with each other. They all got excited and started chitchatting with each other. That made quite a big noise.

An evil fox stayed alone next to the hut. He too owned small little hut for himself. But this fox was not friendly with other animals. He was selfish and cunning. And he was evil too. Also, he was very lazy. He would not work at all and used to steal all the food from the other animals’ hut. The animals always used to wonder as to how the stock of their food went down? Was there someone who stole away their food- the food they used to collect by putting in lots of work and efforts?

Listening to the big noise in the neighboring hut, the fox got curious and came out and peeped into the hut of his neighbors. He also heard them saying, “So, Bhanu, you and your brother and sisters are going to catch fish today for us and give us a grand fish party. Wow! Thanks lots.”

Listening to this, the cunning evil fox thought in his own mind, “That will be great. They will have lots of fish today for dinner and I will sneak into their house and grab a great number of fish for myself. Then, I will come home and have a fish party without doing any work.” So, he kept making plans.

As decided, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju went to the nearby river with their animal friends. The animals went on chattering with excitement all the way to the river. When they reached near the river, they shut up all of a sudden since they knew that if they went on making noise, the fish will go away from them. They would not be able to catch any fish.

Now, Bhanu had his own fishing rod, Shanu had his own. Also Kaju and Biju had their own small fishing rods. In just one hour’s time, Bhanu caught 40 fish, Shanu caught 30 fish, Kaju caught 20 fish and Biju caught 10 fish. So, in all, they caught 100 fish. That was sufficient for all of them. The animals helped them by collecting all the 100 fish in a big basket with a lid on it so that the fish would not jump outside.

Then, all of them went home. They cooked the fish in a barbecue. All of them ate till their stomachs were full. Still lot many fish remained in the basket. The animals were very scared of their neighbor, the cunning fox. They told Bhanu and his brother and sisters, “This fox will definitely come today to steal our fish. But he is so cunning, we will never know as to when and how he stole them.” Biju always was the first to look forward to such detective work. She said, “All of us will keep a watch all the night turn by turn. While all of us sleep, one of us will be awake and catch the fox red-handed.” Everyone agreed.

So, everyone took turns to guard the hut. When it was mid night and it was Biju’s turn, she heard some sound of someone’s footsteps and then a dark figure appeared. She pinched the hand of Shanu who was sleeping next to her. Shanu woke up with a jolt and he understood what was happening. He went on pinching others and all of them woke up and caught the fox just at the point of time when he was picking up the fish from the basket. He was thus caught red-handed.

The fox had no alternative but to accept his crime of stealing. He asked them to pardon him this time and he promised never to repeat the act. But he begged for some fish. He said, “I am very hungry. I don’t do any work and steal others’ food. Just give me some fish. Now onwards I will do the work and earn my food by putting my efforts. Please teach me how to catch fish.”

Bhanu knew that the fox was very cunning and he was telling lies. He will not leave his habit of stealing unless he is taught a lesson. So he said, “You will not get a single fish right now. You will have to catch them yourself. You should go to the river and dip your tail in the river water. The fish will be attracted to your tail and as they stick to your tail, pull them all out and grab them.”

Fox was miserable now. He did not get any fish by begging and he was very hungry. So he went to the river. He dipped his tail in the river water and waited for the fish to stick to his tail. By this way, he caught some 5 fish. But he was very greedy. He wanted more and more. So he kept his tail dipped in the water.

As the night grew, it started getting very cold. Because of the cold, the river water froze into ice. Fox’s tail was still in the water. He was greedy. He wanted more fish. But now, as the water froze into ice, fox’s tail got jammed into the ice. Ice became very hard around his tail. He started feeling cold and sneezed lots. Now he wanted to leave that place and go home. So, he pulled his tail out. But since the tail was tightly fixed into the ice, it would not come out. So he applied lots and lots of force. Because of the enormous force, his tail got cut inside the ice. He felt a lot of pain and felt humiliated about his tail being cut. He thought that he would be booed by all other animals when they would see him without a tail.

In any case he had learnt his lesson. He decided that in future he would work and earn his food. He would not remain lazy and would become active. He would not be greedy any more. He also decided to shift to another jungle where no one would know his past evil habits and thus he will get a chance to improve himself.

With the fox now gone, the animal friends of Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju had no fear of someone stealing their hard earned food any more.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju Teach the Big Bad Wicked Wolf a Lesson

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju are brothers and sisters and they also are very good friends of each other. Yet, they are more like a strong baseball or soccer team. They support and help each other a lot all the time.

Bhanu being the oldest of all is physically stronger. So, he is kind of protector of his two younger sisters Shanu and Biju and his brother Kaju. Bhanu is 10 years old; sister Shanu is 8 years, brother Kaju is 6 and the youngest sister Biju is 4.

Once, on their holiday, they went to a nearby park. They informed their parents that they were going to the park. The parents said, “OK, take care and return before evening.” Their mom packed for them some cheese sandwiches, boiled eggs, fruits and water for lunch.

They reached the park on their tiny bikes. Park was full of trees, bushes, flowers, small lakes, jogging tracks, lawns and small hills. There were birds of different colors in the park everywhere. They also saw lots of butterflies and they were colorful too.

And then, all of a sudden, Biju shouted, “Hey, look that rabbit there.” Bhanu, Shanu and Kaju could not see the rabbit. They said, “Biju, you are always imagining things. We cannot see any rabbit.” Biju said, “It’s there. It is behind the bush. It’s color is white. And I am not imagining.”

She held her index finger and pointed towards the direction of the bush. Bhanu, Shanu and Kaju saw in that direction and yes, there was a white rabbit. They could all see him. Bhanu suggested, “Why not make friends with the rabbit. We can also tell him to call his other rabbit friends. We will then play together. It will be lots of fun. But let us not scare him. I will speak with him.”

He spoke very politely with rabbit, “Hey Mr Rabbit, we have come to the park and want to make friendship with you. Will you like to become our friend? We have some nice fruits, eggs and sandwiches with us. Our mom gave us. We will share with you.”

Rabbit looked at them and said, “I will be happy to become your friend but on one condition. A wicked big bad wolf that also stays in this park bullies my rabbit friends and me a lot every now and then. If you and your friends can teach him a lesson, we will be very happy and will like to be your friends for ever. And you need not address me Mr Rabbit, simply call me Bunny.”

Bhanu said, “Bunny, thanks a lot for agreeing to become our friend. We will do something for the big bad wicked wolf so that he does not give you trouble any more. Done, OK?. Let us shake hands now.”

Then Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju shook hands with Bunny. Bunny took them near his burrow, his home. He whistled and nine more rabbits came out of the burrow. He told that they were his brothers, sisters, mom, dad and friends. He introduced them to Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju. All of them said “hi” and shook hands with each other.

All the eight rabbits played lots of games with Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju while Bunny's mom and dad were watching them play. Then came the lunch time. Since rabbits like and eat carrots, they gave lots of carrots to Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju who in turn shared their sandwiches and fruits with the rabbits. In all, they had lots of fun.

Now Bunny, the rabbit, reminded Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju to teach the big bad wicked wolf a lesson as per the promise. Bunny told that the wolf would come to their burrow any time now. He would come and hide behind the bush. If any rabbit came out of the burrow, he would jump on him and kill and eat him.

Bhanu asked Bunny and the other rabbits to go inside the burrow. He told them that he would take care of the wolf with the help of Shanu, Kaju and Biju. After a while, the wolf came in search of the rabbits as Bunny had told. He hid himself behind a bush and waited for any rabbit to come out of the burrow. While he was hiding behind the bush, Kaju and Biju played a trick on him. They threw some small stones at the wolf and the stones hit him hard. He got hurt and he got very angry. He looked around to find out as to who had thrown the stones at him. Then, he saw Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju. He ran behind them to catch them.

As you know, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju had their bikes. So, they rode their bikes and rushed towards a cave that was built in a small hill in the park. They went inside the cave and wolf chased them. Cave was dark inside. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju went behind a rock that was there inside the cave, got down from their bikes and sat silently behind the rock without making any movement. Wolf came searching for them. But since it was dark inside and they were hiding behind the rock, he could not see them.

He went ahead inside the cave thinking that Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju might have gone ahead. So, as he moved ahead in the cave, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju rode their bikes and came out of the cave from the entrance to the cave. Wolf saw them going out and he took an about turn and started chasing them again. But before he could reach the entrance to the cave and come out of the cave, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju closed the entrance of the cave by pushing a big rock in front of the entrance to the cave. Together they were very strong and were capable of pushing a big rock.

Now, the wolf got locked inside the dark cave and he was very hungry. He started banging at the rock that had shut the cave. But he just could not come out. After some time he started sobbing and weeping. He started requesting Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju to open the door of the cave. Then, Bhanu and Shanu said, “Big bad wolf, you are a wicked wolf and you bully the rabbits and also eat them. Therefore, we are punishing you now by locking you inside the cave. We will free you from the cave only if you promise not to give any trouble to the rabbits and become their friend.”

The wolf sobbed and promised not to give any trouble to the rabbits, not to bully them, not to eat them and become their friends. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju made him to repeat his promise and then opened the door of the cave. As soon as wolf came out, he said, “I am very sorry for my bad behavior with the rabbits. I learnt my lesson today. I will become a good wolf now by making you and the rabbits my friends.”

They, then, went to the burrow of the rabbits. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju called the rabbits out. The wolf was quite ashamed and begged rabbits to pardon him. He promised that he would never bother them again and would like to become their friend. He was really very sorry.

Rabbits had a conference among themselves. They agreed to excuse the wolf for all the wrong things he did in the past and extended their hand of friendship with the wolf. They also thanked Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju a lots. Before they bade the farewell, they invited Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju to come to park often and play with them.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh Pulls Out The Giant Carrot

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh is a roly-poly boy of eight years of age. He is not only chubby but quite strong too. Also, he is very intelligent. He is good in studies and in sports. Therefore, everyone likes him in his school, at home and in the neighborhood.

Being intelligent, he uses his brain very well and comes out with great ideas when there is any problem. While others keep thinking, he comes out with brilliant solutions to the problems quickly.

This summer when the schools closed for the vacation, his friend Golu invited him to his house. Golu said, "Dholu, you are a great friend of mine. Come to my house for a day and also sleep at my home in the night. Next day, you can return to your house. We will spend time together and play. We will have some fun."

Golu told his mom and dad that he was inviting Dholu Ram home for a day. Dholu told this to his mom and dad. They gave him the permission. Dholu packed his bag with a change of clothes and took his tooth brush and tooth paste. He also carried a ball in his bag. He did not forget to keep with him a chocolate that he wanted to give Golu as his gift.

Dholu's mom and dad dropped Dholu at Golu's house. They did not need to tell Dholu to behave properly at Golu's place because Dholu always behaved nicely without being told. So, they waved Dholu 'bye' and went away. Golu and his mom and dad were very happy to receive Dholu.

Golu and Dholu played the ball on the lawns. They also chased the squirrels and the colorful birds. After they finished their game, they washed their hands with soap and went to the dining room. Golu's mummy had made very nice dinner for them and they ate it all. They saw some cartoons on the television and then went to sleep in Golu's bedroom.

They both woke up fresh early in the morning. After brushing the teeth, finishing their morning program and taking shower, they went in their kitchen garden. Golu showed the plants of tomatoes and beans. In the kitchen garden they were growing the potatoes and carrots also. The potatoes and carrots were below the earth and outside they could see their green leaves. And then they saw that Golu's mom and dad were busy pulling out a carrot from beneath earth. They wanted to make carrot pudding for Dholu for the breakfast.

First, Golu's dad alone was pulling the carrot out with lots of force. But the carrot did not come out. So, he requested Golu's mom to hold him from behind and pull him and he pulled the carrot. But the carrot was big, a giant size carrot and quite deep inside the earth. It did not come out. Their dog Rex was watching all this with keen interest. He is a very helpful dog with lots of golden fur. He ran to them and held the mom and now Rex was pulling mom, mom was pulling dad and dad was pulling the carrot. Yet, carrot did not come out. Golu thought that if he also joined his mom and dad in pulling, the carrot would come out. So he went behind Rex, the dog and pulled him. Now, Golu was pulling Rex, Rex was pulling mom, mom was pulling dad and dad was pulling the carrot. Sigh!! The carrot still could not be pulled out. They were all sweating and got tired. But they had to take the carrot out for making carrot pudding for Dholu.

As you know Dholu is a very strong boy. He told, "May I join you in pulling out the carrot? But, I will be in the front and will use all my strength. All of you get behind me and pull me. I am sure that we will be able to pull out the carrot this way."

Golu's mom and dad were hesitating to ask Dholu to do the work as he was their guest. But Golu knew about Dholu's strength and he persuaded his mom and dad to allow Dholu in pulling the carrot out.

So, now, Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh was right in the front pulling the carrot. In turn dad was pulling him and mom was pulling dad and Rex was pulling mom and Golu was pulling Rex. And together all of them applied great force. And lo!! The carrot came out of the earth. Every one cheered merrily. They understood that the job that could not be done by a single person could be done when many people did it as a team together and it required a strong leader like Dholu.

Dholu and Golu washed the carrot thoroughly with water and gave it to Golu's mom. She prepared carrot pudding and all of them had a hearty breakfast.

After the breakfast, Golu, his mom and dad and Rex dropped Dholu Ram at his house in their car. They bade each other good bye.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh Stops The Train

There was a "knock knock", "knock knock" at the door of the bed room of Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh. Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh was sleeping like a log. He did not wake up.

Again, "knock knock", "knock knock". This time it was quite loud.

The loud noise at the door woke up Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and he jumped down from his bed. As he jumped down on the floor, the floor vibrated for a few seconds. You may be knowing that Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh is a real roly-poly of a boy. The kid is just about eight years of age but he is real chubby. So, whenever he jumps from even a small height, the earth below him starts shaking. He is not just plump but he is pretty strong too.

"Who is banging my door?" he roared.

Someone chattered from outside with lots of excitement, "Dholu, open the door. Quick. There is a big problem. Real big problem. Open the door."

Dholu lazily walked to the door and opened it. He saw that four of his friends were standing and were almost in tears.

He asked, "Why are you getting so jittery? And why are you crying?"

They said, "Dholu, we want to go to the circus. Circus show will start soon, we are already late. We don't want to miss it. There are jokers in the circus and we must not miss their fun. Please help us to reach the circus fast and in time. We will have to go there by the train and the train will leave the station in next fifteen minutes. Please help us. We know that you always get great ideas."

Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh is a wonderful friend. He is always willing to help his friends. He said, "Don't worry. We will do something and reach the train station in time. But tell me, why are you so late?"

One of the four friends said, "We slept very late yesterday. We were watching Tom and Jerry cartoons on the television. Mom and dad told us to sleep but we did not obey them. Because we slept late, we could not wake up in time though mom and dad kept on waking us up."

Dholu said, "This is what happens to the kids like you who keep seeing the TV late nights and on top of that, also do not obey the parents. So, promise me that you will not do such things in future."

The four of them agreed in chorus and once again requested Dholu to help them out to reach the circus in time.

Dholu told them to follow him and all of them charged outside the house with him. The road from his house to the bus stop was steep inclined and very smooth. He told them to copy his actions. He lied down on the road and started rolling down the road. Others followed him. Then the five of them rolled and rolled and rolled. And in few minutes they reached the bus stop.

A bus was just leaving the bus stop to go to the train station. It had already started. Dholu's four friends got highly disappointed because the next bus to the train station would go after one hour.

Dholu told them to be patient. He ran behind the moving bus. He ran and ran and ran still faster. He is a very fast runner. He caught hold of the handles of the door of the bus and shouted, "Stop the bus". Already because of his roly-poly body weight, the bus had slowed down. Now, the driver stopped the bus completely.

Dholu asked his friends to hurry up and thus, all of them got into the bus. Had they not boarded this bus they had no chance of reaching the train station in time. Even now they were not very sure if they would be able to catch the train in time.

Dholu told his friends not to lose hopes. He said, "We should always try to achieve what we want to achieve. So we must try."

The bus started once again. Dholu went up to the driver and requested him to drive the bus faster so that his friends can reach the train station in time and see the circus. The driver was a nice person. He has his own daughter and he knew that how she would be disappointed if she wanted to go to circus and could not reach the circus in time. So he drove the bus faster but very carefully so that he should not meet any accident.

Finally, they reached the train station. They got down from the bus but before leaving the bus thanked the driver lots. From distance they could see that the train had not left and it was still there at the platform. Dholu told his friends to run since the train just blew the whistle giving indication that it was leaving the platform.

You know that Dholu is a real fast runner. He knew that his friends could not run as fast as he could. So, he ran ahead of them. The train started moving. It was picking up speed. And behind the train, Dholu was running too. He put in all of his strength and ran after the train as fast as he could. It was a matter of touch and go. The train was speeding up and so was Dholu.

And what a fantastic act of Dholu! He ultimately reached the last bogie of the train and caught the hooks hanging behind the bogie and then he started applying great pressure. He was dragging the train and pulling it in the opposite direction of train's movement. He gathered all of his strength and all of his will power and started stopping the train. Boy, finally he was successful and the train stopped.

The conductor of the train got down from the train. He was furious that his train was stopped. He wanted to find out why the train stopped. He looked around. He could not see anyone. Then he went to the last bogie and behind it. He was wonder struck to see that a small roly-poly of a boy was hanging on the hooks of the bogie. But he could not believe that the boy could ever stop the moving train.

He asked, "Hey, you get down from there. you will get hurt if the train starts moving."

Dholu said, "I will keep hanging on to the train. If I don't do it, the train will not remain stationary and will start moving once again. I want it stopped for a few minutes so that four of my friends can board the train and go to the circus in time. See, they have already come up to the train."

The conductor was a kind person. He allowed Dholu's friends to board the train and promised that he would drop them at the circus. Dholu and his friends thanked the conductor. But the conductor just could not believe that it was Dholu who stopped the train.

Dholu's friends requested Dholu to accompany them to the circus. But Dholu said, "I have not taken my mom and dad's permission and without telling them I will not go to the circus." His friends accepted what Dholu told them.

The train once again started moving and Dholu's friends and Dholu waved each other. Dholu told them to enjoy the circus and tell him after they return all about the circus and its jokers.

You may like to read "Funny (and Not So Funny) Short Stories" at http://funny-shortstories.blogspot.com/