Monday, November 28, 2011

The First Spy Job of Spy Cat and Spy Dog


You will enjoy this story more if you first read the story titled "Spy Cat and Spy Dog" at: http://stories-children.blogspot.com/2011/10/spy-cat-and-spy-dog.html. It tells you how Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju's cat and dog were appointed as their spy cat and spy dog for their team.

In our previous story we came to know that the formidable four- Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju- were finding it hard to manage their increased work. Bhanu had generally started cribbing about it.

The other day he said with a bit of anger, "Our friend Percy wanted us to solve the mystery of the missing cake and we have not been able to solve it for past three days. Are we not taking too much time to solve this case? We must find some additional help."

Hearing this their cat and dog offered their services to the formidable four. Initially Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were little doubtful about the capabilities of their dog and cat. However after the dog and the cat passed the screening test, they were appointed as the spy dog and the spy cat.

Since Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were already busy up to neck with many mysterious cases to be solved, they decided to give a simpler case, as a starter, to their new team members i.e. the spy cat and the spy dog.

By now you know that Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju are kids; they are no grown-up people as yet. Bhanu the oldest of them all is just 10 years old. His younger sister Shanu is 8 years, his younger brother Kaju is 6 and the littlest sister Biju is 4. Though they are quite young, they have acquired a great degree of expertise in the spy work because of their intelligence and smartness. They can now solve fairly complicated cases of mystery. So they decided that while they would keep working at more difficult cases, initially they would ask their new recruits (the spy cat and the spy dog) to work on a simple case.

Bhanu said to Shanu, "Shanu, can you explain to our spy cat and spy dog the case of the missing cheese? Our mom has been complaining about it."

Shanu exclaimed, "Yes, I know about it. Our mom takes out the cheese cubes and cheese spreads from the fridge for the breakfast every morning and places them on the dining table. After all of us finish our breakfast, the cheese keeps lying on the table.  Just before she leaves home for her office, she keeps the cheese back in the fridge. At that time she finds a good amount of cheese mysteriously missing from the cheese plate."

Bhanu added, "Shanu, we need to solve this mystery soon. However, to me, it seems a simple case. That's why we can assign it to our spy dog and spy cat. It will require the basic aspects of the detective work from them. You can supervise and guide them."

Shanu got excited, "You mean to say that I am now the boss. Wow! I will take the two under my wings and do not worry; I will not boss over them. Rather I will behave like a good boss and help them in their first spy job."

Kaju and Biju gave a thumbs-up to Shanu. All the four of them exchanged a high five and got back to their jobs on which they were already working.

Shanu called the spy dog and the spy cat and explained their first detective work.
  
Shanu cautioned them, "Now you guys are responsible detectives. So, be alert all the time. Don't keep playing as you used to do earlier. You will have to constantly keep a watch on the thief who steals our cheese. The thief seems to be quite clever. You need to be more intelligent. Can you do this job?"

The spy cat and the spy dog literally shouted in unison, "We are on the job, miss. Boss, we will never let you down. We are sure that with our smart and hard work, we will solve this case soon."

Shanu wished them best of luck, "So, get on with the job."

Next day, at the breakfast time, the two of them sat near the dining table right from the start of the breakfast till Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju and their mom and dad finished their breakfast. Even after the completion of the breakfast, they continued sitting there. They were awaiting the arrival of the thief.

They looked at each other and exchanged their plan with each other, "As soon as the thief  comes here to steal the cheese, we will pounce on him and catch him. Then we will call Shanu and hand over the thief to her."

They waited at the dining table for some time after the breakfast but the thief never came. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju's mom cleared the table with the help of Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju and then their mom kept the cheese inside the fridge as usual. However, to her surprise the cheese did not get depleted today. She mentioned about it loudly, "Hey, today our cheese remained intact!"

Quickly the spy cat and the spy dog responded, "We were keeping a guard right through the breakfast and later. So the thief got scared and did not dare steal. We will continue doing it every day. What Shanu? Are we on the right track?"

Shanu said, "You can not be doing this kind of thing everyday. You will be wasting your time and you will never be able to catch the thief. The thief is smart. He did not come today since you were around. He will then find out other ways of stealing the cheese and other eatables. Guarding the dining table is not the answer. You need to catch the thief red-handed. Do you understand?"

The spy dog and spy cat nodded in agreement. Then Shanu went to the school with her brothers and sister.

During the day time the spy dog and spy cat has a brief conference. The cat wondered, "Who could be this thief? Is he the boy next door who is in habit of plucking the flowers from our garden? Perhaps when he comes for stealing the flowers he sneaks into the house and runs away with the cheese."

The dog protested, "No, it can't be he. He is terribly scared of me because as soon as he is near our fence I start barking at him. Therefore,  nowadays, he is not to be seen near our house any more. I will rule him out. What about that naughty rat? The rat who dodges you all the time. You have been trying to catch him for past so many days but you failed every time you ran after him."

The cat's eyes widened in astonishment, "Hey doggy, you seem to be more intelligent than me, I must admit it at least once. You are right. I am sure that the thief is definitely that rat. Tomorrow I must catch him red-handed. But you must help me. You know that by myself I have not been able to catch him."

The dog said, "Don't worry dear catty. Now we are a team. And why do you think I would not help you. I will. Let us get ready for tomorrow morning now."

The next day, the spy dog and the spy cat did not sit near the dining table during and after the breakfast time. Rather they hid themselves behind the curtains in the dining room. Thus they could keep a keen watch over the prospective thief and best part of this scheme was that the thief would not be able to see them. So the thief would come in without any hesitation and try to steal the cheese. That's the exact time when the spy cat and the spy dog decided to pounce on him.

And that's how it took place. After everyone finished the breakfast, the thief crept in carefully. The guess of the cat and the dog  proved to be correct. The thief was none other than the same rat who was hoodwinking the cat all these days.

The rat looked here and there. He did not notice anyone in the dining room. So he became bold and his whiskers went erect in excitement. He reached near the cheese plate. As he was about to grab the cheese, the spy cat and the spy dog got into action. The cat took one long jump and one high jump and reached near the rat. Simultaneously the dog came from the other side and blocked the rat's escape by putting his paws on the table. Thus the rat was surrounded on one side by the cat and on the other side by the dog. He had no other alternative but to surrender.

The dog and the cat had kept a rat trap ready with them. So, they caught hold of the rat and shoved him inside the rat trap. The rat felt very sheepish that finally he was caught by his enemy number one (the cat) and that too as a thief.

The spy dog and the spy cat called out Shanu who was about to go to the school along with her btothers and sister. They placed the thief in front of her. It was their moment of glory. They said, "Shanu, this rat is the culprit. We caught him red-handed."

Shanu in turn called out for Bhanu, Kaju and Biju who came in running. They were mighty happy to see that their new recruits had solved the first case successfully.

All of them congratulated the spy dog and the spy cat, "Congratulations! You did a good job of your first assignment. Keep it up."

The spy cat and the spy dog thanked them and asked, "But what do we do of this naughty and nasty rat?"

Bhanu said, "We will decide in the evening. Let mom and dad return home from their offices. Then in consultation with them we will decide the rat's punishment. Till then our new detectives will take care of the rat."

After Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju left for their school, the spy dog and the spy cat danced a lot celebrating their first success as spy. The rat (locked inside the trap) was the onlooker.

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

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.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Spy Cat and Spy Dog


By now you know that Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju are kids; they are no grown-up people as yet. Bhanu the oldest of them all is just 10 years old. His younger sister Shanu is 8 years, his younger brother Kaju is 6 and the littlest sister Biju is 4.

Though they are still very young, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju form a very strong team. Together they have solved many mysteries in the past. Their name and fame have spread far and wide. People recognize their intelligence, strength and talents and now call them "formidable four".

Since they have become kind of important detectives, people in the neighborhood have started referring more and more mysterious cases to them. And they are finding it hard to manage the increased work. Bhanu has generally started cribbing about it.

The other day he said with a bit of anger, "Our friend Percy wanted us to solve the mystery of the missing cake and we have not been able to solve it for past three days. Are we not taking too much time to solve this case? We must find some additional help."

In the corner of the room where Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were sitting together and brooding over the delays in solving the mysteries, their cat and dog were lazing around. While they seemed to be lazing around they were keenly listening to what the four brothers and sisters were saying.

The cat and the dog always gave company to Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju. Wherever they went, the dog and the cat followed them. The two pets were in the habit of listening to whatever the "formidable four" discussed. They also keenly observed whatever Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju did. In this process they were learning the tricks of the trade. Gradually they were learning the lessons which ultimately could qualify them as a spy dog and a spy cat.

But Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were not even aware of this fact that their cat and dog were already getting trained to ultimately become the spy cat and the spy dog. The additional help they needed was just around the corner and they failed to notice it. Pity!!

So when the dog and the cat who pretended to sleep heard Bhanu saying that they needed additional help, the dog opened his eyes and winked at the cat. Cat was keeping her eyes half open and the dog knew that she could see him winking at her.

She spoke, "Hey, why are you winking at me? What's the matter? Is something wrong with your eye?"

The dog replied, "Nothing is wrong with me or my eye. I winked so as to attract your attention. Now that you got my attention I want to tell you to go out of the house and meet me on the lawn. I will follow you soon."

The cat got up and slowly crawled away from the room and went towards the lawn outside the house. Soon, the dog also got up without making any noise and went out of the room. He joined the cat on the lawn. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju, the famous "formidable four" did not notice them sneaking out of the room.

While Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were discussing various cases they were presently handling, the cat and the dog were conducting a conference between the two of them on the lawn.

Cat enquired the dog, "Why did you drag me outside? I was dozing off so nicely and also listening to the interesting things our "formidable four" were talking and you disturbed me unnecessarily."

Dog replied, "I did not disturb you. In fact I am going to do some favor to you by revealing some important matter that you did not pay heed to while your were in the room."

Cat retorted, "Don't accuse me like that. I always pay heed to everything that is important. Haven't you seen me catching the mouse even when there is no noise made by the mouse? I can listen to even the most silent whisper made by a mouse."

Dog interjected, "Then did you hear what the "formidable four" were saying about their overload of work and they needed extra help from someone?'

Cat sheepishly admitted, "No, I didn't."

Dog rebuked the cat, "Then why are you bragging about your hearing skills?"

Cat pleaded, "Forget about what I said. You have aroused my curiosity and now, don't let me die. Have you have heard people saying that a cat can die of curiosity. So save me by satisfying my curiosity. Tell me what you heard inside the room today?"

Dog was happy to notice the importance given to him by the cat. He spoke with a lot of dignity, "Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju's work has increased quite a lot these days. They are solving lot more mysterious cases than before. So they need someone to help them in their work. Before they decide to take some outsider in their team why not offer our services to them?"

Cat jumped in the air in excitement and shouted with joy, "I must hug you and give you a kiss for that idea. I can now see that you have picked up some of my brain. You have become intelligent."

Dog objected, "Not your brain baby. It's my brain. Now don't waste any time. Let us barge inside and offer our services to the "formidable four". We will start working like a spy or a detective too."

Then the dog and the cat ran inside the house and stopped only after they reached the room where Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were still discussing some important matter.

The cat  and the dog spoke simultaneously, "Please don't take anyone from outside in your team. We heard you saying that you need some extra help. Both of us will help you out."

Bhanu got angry on them for creating the disturbance. He said, "Don't disturb, get out of here. We are right in the middle of solving an important case. Already we are short of hands and work is increasing day by day. And you guys are disturbing us."

The cat requested, "Please listen to us for a minute. In fact we are here to solve your problem of shortage of help. Both of us will work as your assistants- your assistant spy or your assistant detective."

Shanu questioned, "What do you know of a spy's work? Don't act like a fool."

This time the dog replied politely, "We have picked up a lot of knowledge and skill of a spy's work by being in your company constantly. As they say we have picked up the rope, we have learnt the tricks of the trade. We can work as perfect spys under your guidance."

Kaju and Biju suggested to Bhanu and Shanu, "It's not a bad idea. We needed extra help and now we have our own family members ready to help us out. Why not consider their proposal? If you think it necessary, we can test them for their knowledge before recruiting them."

Bhanu said, "OK. That's fair. I will test their knowledge before taking them in our team."

Then turning towards the dog and the cat he asked them, "So, tell us the most important quality a good spy should possess? If you answer this question to our satisfaction, you are in."

The cat first answered, "I can always smell the rat. Smelling the rat is the first most important quality of a spy. Now don't mistake me. I am not talking about my usual habit of smelling the rats and catching them. I am talking about the quality a spy should possess- one of sensing that something is wrong some where. That's what you guys call as smelling the rat, right?"

The "formidable four" nodded in unison accepting the cat's answer as correct. Then they turned to the dog, "What about you?"

The dog too answered quite smartly, "If the cat can smell rat, I can smell the fish. Now don't mistake me.  You may think that since I like eating fish I have the quality of smelling the fish. I am not referring to it. What I am saying is the same thing as the cat said. I too possess the same quality of spotting the wrong things at the least suspected places."

The "formidable four" again nodded in unison accepting the dog's answer as correct.

They looked at each other, exchanged glances and cheered up, "We were searching for our assistant spys everywhere and our assistant spys are right here."

They invited the dog and the cat to join their team, "We welcome you in our team as a spy dog and as a spy cat. Now start working immediately."

The dog and the cat became mighty happy to get their new title of "spy dog" and "spy cat". They got ready to help the "formidable four".

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.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju on Way to India: (Part 2)

(You will enjoy this story more if you first read the part 1 of this story- the previous story- the link of which is http://stories-children.blogspot.com/2011/04/bhanu-shanu-kaju-and-biju-on-way-to.html)

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju felt mighty excited when their parents broke the news of their impending visit to India.

They wanted to know from their mom and dad everything about the journey. So one evening during the dinner time they made lots of enquiries related to their travel to India. Mom and  dad gave them very interesting information.

Now that Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju had almost all the information about the journey they needed, they started making preparation.

Each of them already had very colorful stroller bags which they had used for their earlier trips. They dusted the bags and made sure that the bags were clean.

Bhanu, the eldest brother (age 10), had a blue colored stroller bag with stickers of a famous scientist and a famous tennis player on it because he loves to read science and to play tennis. Shanu likes red color and so when they bought their bags, she chose red color for her bag. Kaju's bag has yellow color. He likes all the bright colors and as per him, yellow is the brightest of them all. And Biju, the youngest one obviously likes the famous pink color, the color every four year young child likes. So she loves her pink colored stroller bag too. Hers is a slightly smaller bag so that she can pull that bag on her own.

They took out their most favorite clothes from their wardrobes and ironed them and folded them properly before arranging them in a very tidy manner inside their stroller bags. Since they would be staying in India in the month of June, it was not necessary for carrying their woolens. During June, in some parts of India it is the start of rainy season and in some parts it is still summer.

They also packed few story books to read. They did not want to increase the weight of their bags by taking too many books and they had already planned to buy couple of comics at the airports.

They decided to wear their caps while going to the Seattle Tacoma airport. Colors of their caps were also the same as that of their stroller bags. Bhanu- blue, Shanu- red, Kaju- yellow and Biju- pink. In a small box they filled some gummy bears of these four colors which they would eat during their journey.

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju has started the count down. They were highly excited and each passing day started looking like a week to them. Yet, finally the day of the start of the journey to India arrived. Since the flight to Newark airport from Seattle Tacoma airport was to take off at 7 AM, everyone got up early in the morning that day. All the four of them and their mommy and daddy dressed smartly and they were ready when dad's friend came with his car to pick them up and drop them at the airport.

Bhanu asked his daddy, "Are we not going  in our car?"

Daddy explained, "Since we are going out for a longer period, parking our car for so many days in the parking area of the airport will not be a good idea. That's why I requested my friend to drop us at the airport."

Since it was the morning time, it took them just about half an hour to reach the airport. During the heavy traffic time it could take more than even an hour.

After reaching the airport, they thanked dad's friend for dropping them. They waved him bye and entered the airport with their luggage. They went straight to the airlines counter for checking in. Since they were early at the airport they found very few people ahead of them in the line for the check-in. The lady from the airlines at the check-in counter gave them their boarding passes on which were written their respective seat numbers. The boarding passes also showed the gate number of the airport from which they would board the aircraft.

Now all of them proceeded towards the security check post. They were requested to pass through a screening machine. Their hand bags (the stroller bags) were also checked by the x-ray machines.

After the security check, they went to the gate from where their flight would take off. They had to wait near the gate before the boarding was announced. Since they had enough time with them now, they used the rest room and also drank water from the drinking water fountains installed at the airport. They requested their mom to accompany them to the book stall where they could buy couple of comics.

By this time an announcement was made on a loud speaker that all the passenger who wished to travel to Newark airport should start getting into the airplane which was now kept ready for take off. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju with their mom and dad walked into the airplane and went towards their seats. They had decided that Biju, the youngest one would sit in the window seat to begin with. And then during the journey, each of the four would sit in the window seat turn by turn.

They kept their bags in the overhead baggage lockers fitted above their seats. Daddy helped them to keep the bags in these lockers.

All of them fastened their seat belts. Bhanu said to the other three, "Do not take off your seat belts even after the airplane takes off. It is always safe to keep the seat belt fastened while flying." Shanu, Kaju and Biju nodded in full agreement.

In a few minutes, they felt that their airplane had started moving and was proceeding towards the runway where it would run at a great speed and then take off. Now the aircraft was already at the start of the runway and the pilot of the plane started moving the plane at a very fast speed and after they were more than half way through the length of the runway, their airplane started climbing in the air. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju, though initially a bit scared during the take off were now already enjoying their journey in the air.

Kaju was already feeling hungry. He knew from their earlier discussions that the sector Seattle-Newark is a domestic sector and the airlines do not serve the meals in the airplane in domestic sectors. However he knew that mom had packed good amount of various types of eats for this part of the journey. So he requested mommy to give all of them something to eat. And they did eat lots of things.

Then all of them got busy. Bhanu and Shanu were reading a book of short stories. Biju sitting next to the window was watching the outside view and Kaju was reading a comic book. Their daddy and mummy went to sleep since they woke up quite early in the morning.

After some five hours of journey, they reached Newark airport. They got down from their airplane with their hand baggage. Now they were at Newark airport and by using the escalators or even walking, they were supposed to reach the gate from where their next plane will take off to Mumbai in India.

They decided to use a moving escalator to reach near the gate to get into the aircraft. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju enjoyed the ride on the escalator. It was not necessary for them to walk once they stepped on to the escalator. The escalator carried them all the way to their gate.

It was 3 in the afternoon and the next flight's departure time was around 8 PM. So they had to wait for 5 hours for their second flight.

During this waiting period, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju went around the various food stalls on the airport along with their mommy and bought pizzas, hamburgers and hot dogs and water. Then all them including mom and dad shared the food they bought. Afterwards they all slept for a while and spent some time in looking at lots of airplanes that were landing and taking off. It was real fun. They also spent time reading books and telling each other stories. They also sang songs in which their dad and mom joined them.

Now it was 8 PM- time to board the airplane. They walked into the plane along with their stroller bags and occupied the seats allotted to them. They were excited about this part of the journey since the air hostesses would serve them lots of eats and various types of sodas and other drinks etc.

After they settled down in their seats, an air hostess approached them, wished them good evening and gave each one of them their pillows, blankets and ear phones. Now Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju noticed that each of them had a television fixed right in front of their seats and they cried out loudly in joy. The music system was also in place on the hand supports of the seats. The whole thing was happening just the way their mommy and daddy had told them during the dinner time the other day.

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju enquired their daddy about how to use the television set and the music system that were provided for each and every passenger. They learnt it very fast; after all they are intelligent kids.

Soon the pilot of the airplane welcomed all the passengers and announced that everyone should fasten their seat belts as the airplane was about to take off. This time Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were not scared of the take off any more; rather they enjoyed it.

Now they were high up in the air and the buildings outside started looking smaller and smaller. After some time an air hostess came to their seats and politely requested for their choice of drinks. Bhanu requested her to give him cola, Shanu wanted a lemon drink, Kaju settled on orange and Biju gave order for mango drink. Daddy and mom requested for orange juice. They were also served peanuts and paper napkins.

They had to pass lots of time now in the airplane since the journey time to India was close to 15 hours. They decided to see the movies that were meant for children's viewing.  During this period of 15 hours they were served cookies, peanuts and chocolates etc. They relished eating  them. Then came the meal time. Air hostess  served them a very tasty dinner and they enjoyed it immensely.

They also used the tiny rest rooms that were available in the airplane. First they were curious to know how an airplane's toilet looks like and secondly being such a long journey they had to use the toilets for what they are meant for- you know what!!

For a few hours all of them dozed off and they felt fresh after taking a good rest. They read comics and books and played some games that could be played while sitting in their seats. From time to time they would peep outside the plane from the window but all they could see were the clouds and nothing else because from the great height at which the airplane was flying it was almost impossible to see any thing  of the earth.

And finally the time of reaching Mumbai was coming closer. They found that the plane was now going down. Dad and mom requested them to pack up their things that they had taken out of their bags. They went to the rest rooms once more. Now they were looking outside the window constantly. Soon the view from the earth started becoming clearer and larger. The mountains, the sea, the building and the bridges started coming in their sight. They felt excited with the realization they had almost reached Mumbai, they had reached India finally.

The airplane landed at Mumbai international airport. It then reached the gate from where they would have to get off the plane. After the plane came to a stand still,  all of them unfastened their seat belts. They opened the overhead baggage lockers and with the help of their daddy took out their stroller bags.

Now with their bags in their hands, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju entered Mumbai airport along with their daddy and mummy and from there they would proceed to their host's home in Mumbai in a car. Their air journey to India came to an end.

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.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju on Way to India: (Part 1)

By now you know that Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju are kids; they are no grown-up people as yet. Bhanu the oldest of them all is just 10 years old. His younger sister Shanu is 8 years, his younger brother Kaju is 6 and the littlest sister Biju is 4.

Yet, despite their being so young, they have travelled considerably. They have also lived in many cities of several countries. How could they do it at such young age? In fact it is because of their parents' jobs. Their mom and dad have to travel a lot and live in different cities of different countries. On most of such occasions, Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju accompany their parents.

However, in their previous travels except for Bhanu, all the other three were so young that they do not remember much of those. They have some vague impressions of their earlier air, road and rail road travels. Also, they have very vague impressions of the cities they stayed.

Presently they live in Seattle since their mom and dad are posted in Seattle. They love Seattle because they think that it is one of the most beautiful cities among the ones they have visited so far and whose memories they can recall. As per them Seattle is not only the most beautiful city of America but it is perhaps one of the most beautiful cities of the world.

When some of the older people around complain about the perennial rains of Seattle, Biju thinks in her own mind, "How can they complain about Seattle just because it rains here most of the days? They should see Seattle from the top of Space Needle. And then you can appreciate its lakes, the greenery all around, the ups and downs of the roads. Wow, this city is just beautiful."

Bhanu, Shanu and Kaju agree with their sister. Bhanu adds, "I love my school here. It is one of the best schools I have seen." His younger brother and sisters do not understand his sentiments because they have not attended as many schools as Bhanu did; after all he was 10 years of age and acted like a big man.

Any way this story is not about how Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju live in Seattle and how they love this city but it is about their dreams about the journey they are going to undertake soon. Their parents have some work in India and then after their work in India is over they wish to take a short vacation in India. And Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju are now at an age where they can enjoy and remember their experiences of travel to another country and the stay there.

So, the day Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju learnt about this trip to India from their dad, they have already started dreaming about it and talking about it.

First thing they did was to locate India on the world map. They also consulted the globe their parents bought for them to get acquainted with the geography of the earth. Shanu was quite surprised and yelled out, "Hey, India is on the other side of US on this globe. How can we ever reach there? It must be taking months to get there?"

Bhanu said, "Shanu, it does take many days to reach India from USA if you travel by a ship. However, if we fly, we will reach India in around 24 hours. Yes, even 24 hours seem to be a lot of time when it is possible to reach Vancouver in just 2 to 3 hours; that too by a car ."

Kaju and Biju exclaimed in unison,"You two seem to know a lot about all of this. But we do not know anything. we will ask mom and dad to tell us more about journey to India at the dinner time today."

The dinner time came. Everyone sat around the dining table. Kaju asked, "Dad, we are very curious to know more about our journey to India. Can you tell us?"

Their daddy smiled and said, "Hey, you guys have already started talking about our trip to India! We haven't even booked the air tickets."

Biju clapped, "Daddy, does that mean that we are going to travel in an airplane?"

Mom interjected, "Not one air plane but two airplanes. First we will fly within America from our Seattle Tacoma airport to Newark airport of New Jersey. That is our first airplane. Then we will get down from that airplane and board another airplane at Newark airport. That will be our second airplane."

Kaju asked, "Wow! And how much time our flight will take to Newark?"

Shanu knew its answer and before mom or dad could answer she spoke out, "Around 5 hours. But I have no idea about the time it takes to reach India"

Dad said, "Shanu, the journey time between Newark airport to Mumbai airport in India is approximately 15 hours. And there will be some waiting time at Newark airport before we get into the next plane."

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju enquired at the same time, "How will we pass our time at Newark airport? Hope we will get some pizzas and hamburgers to eat there and may be some comics to read. Isn't it dad? And perhaps we can use the rest rooms at Newark airport to freshen up."

Mom was very happy to hear that question and came forward to answer it, "I am myself looking forward to eat those wonderful things at the airport. I love eating at various airports while undertaking a journey. We can get yummy things at airport food parlors. And do you know that every international airlines also serves the food and drinks in the airplane while the plane is flying high up in the air?"

Biju was very excited listening to that and almost shouted, "That's so cool. Can I have a soda in the airplane for a change? Mom and dad, can you allow me the soda just once?"

Mom and dad replied almost together, "OK, all of you can have just about one soda in the plane. I am glad that you are asking our permission for this."

Shanu asked, "I heard from one of my friends who recently flew to Paris that they show good movies in the airplane and you can see them on a television that is placed just in front of your seat? Is that true?"

Bhanu who remembered about it from his earlier journey spoke out, "I remember to have seen Tom and Jerry cartoons last time we travelled. It was fun. But it was shown on a big screen and not on the television placed right in front of my seat."

Dad clarified, "In some aircraft where they do not have provision of giving each passenger his own television, they show the movies on big screens which all the passengers can watch even from a distance."

Biju prayed loud enough, "Hope we travel in a plane where they give us each a television."

Dad further clarified, "And on the hand support of your seat in the airplane, you will find the video and music system. It gives you a choice of listening to variety of music channels in addition to watching movies on variety of video channels. The air hostess will give each one of us a head set that we can wear and plug into the audio-video system so that we can hear the music and movie dialogues without disturbing others."

Mom added, "She will also give each one of us a pillow to rest our head on it or to give support to our back. She will give us a blanket too. The airplane has the air-conditioning arrangement and if you feel cold inside you can wrap the blanket around you."

Kaju quipped in all his excitement, "But I am not going to sleep at all. I want to sit near the window and watch outside. Mom, can all of us get the window seats?"

Mom replied, "All of us can request for window seats at the time of booking our tickets and may get them also but then we will not be able to sit together in the plane."

Kaju and Biju spoke at the same time, "We do not want to sit away from our family. What we will do is exchange the window seat turn by turn."

Mom and others agreed, "Yes, that's fair enough."

Shanu had one question lingering in her mind for quite some time. She asked sheepishly, "Please do not laugh at me. But I want to know if I need to go potty, what happens? Or I will not eat much in the plane."

Bhanu knew about it and mentioned, "Don't worry. Eat to your desire and then use the toilets in the plane. They are tiny ones but they are quite good."

Bhanu asked daddy, "Daddy, are we going to land in Mumbai or else where in India?"

Daddy said, "We will deplane at Mumbai airport in India. Mumbai is by far the biggest city in India like New York City in America. It is called the business capital of India and more than 13 million people live there where as around 9 million people live in New York City. Seattle's population is just about 600,000."

Mom looked at the watch and said, "My my, it is pretty late; time to sleep and we have finished our dinner too. Isn't it daddy?"

Daddy nodded in agreement.

Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju also nodded and they were very happy to know so many things about their journey to India. All of them wished each other good night and headed to their bed rooms to sleep.

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.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Going to School is All Fun!!

"Hey mommy, what's for the breakfast today?", Biju, the youngest of the four brothers and sisters took her seat at the dining table and enquired. She was the first to arrive in the dining room this morning.

Her mom replied, "Guess, what it is?"

Biju had learnt by heart the breakfast menu decided by her mother in consultation with her daddy and all the four children. They selected those items for the breakfast that are healthy as well as yummy.

Her mom had meticulously worked out a great menu for all the week days. Oatmeal on Monday, hard boiled eggs on Tuesday, museli on Wednesday, half boiled eggs on Thursday and cornflakes on Friday. A glass of milk was compulsory every day. However, the kids had a choice between hot chocolate and plain milk. Additionally they had to have toasts with butter or cheese or peanut butter or fruit jam. The breakfast menu on the weekend was always a surprise and a great treat.

Biju then could guess on dot, "Mommy, it has to be hard boiled eggs today, isn't it? If it is Tuesday, it has to be hard boiled eggs. Or is there a surprise in stock for us just like what you do on weekends?"

By this time, Bhanu the oldest brother accompanied by his younger sister Shanu and the younger brother Kaju joined Biju, their youngest sister and their mom. Bhanu had overheard the conversation between Biju and mom. He interjected in the conversation, "Can mommy ever go wrong? Menu has to be the pre-decided menu- no deviations. Right mommy?"

Their dad rushed to the table and said humorously, "I am always the last these past few days. All because of Biju. She occupies our bathroom saying that all other bathrooms are already engaged. And on top of that, takes more time in the shower singing all those songs she is learning in the school these days?"

Biju got a bit annoyed, "Daddy, that's not being fair. Don't you tell me to sing those songs again and again so that I remember them for ever? That's why I sing them even when in shower."

Mommy came to Biju's rescue, "Hey Biju, daddy is just teasing you."

Biju was happy listening that, smiled and quipped, "It's OK then."

Shanu loved boiled eggs and could not resist saying, "Today, I am going to enjoy my breakfast. Wow! The boiled eggs!! Wow! The boiled eggs!!"

Kaju joined in, "But I like half boiled eggs better- I am all eyes waiting for Thursday."

Mom set up the table for the breakfast and daddy and all the four children helped her in laying out the plates and cutlery on the table. Then all the six of them sat around the table in their respective seats and ate their breakfast.

All of them used to arrive at the dining table on time and used to give full twenty minutes for the breakfast so that none had to rush. Kids and their parents knew that eating the meals in a relaxed manner is always more beneficial for digestion and to become healthy.

After finishing the breakfast all the six of them together cleared the table. When they helped each other the workload of clearing the table did not fall on one single person and the job was done quickly.

The kids hugged mommy after the breakfast. She had to leave for her office now. Mom and dad hugged each other. They all waved at mommy as she drove off to her office. Daddy used to go to his office after he took the kids to their school.

It was not necessary for daddy to escort his children to their school. Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were capable of going to the school on their own. But he used to enjoy strolling along with them to the school which was nearby at a walking distance. This was the most enjoyable time for the dad and the kids to be completely together and share many ideas and things amongst them.

So dad latched the door of the house and the five of them started towards the school. As they stepped on to their garden in front of their home, Kaju exclaimed, "Look at that yellow butterfly on that new red flower."

Dad said, "It is spring season now and this is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. Does anyone of you know why?"

Biju was quick enough to answer, "Daddy, only the other day my teacher told me that spring is the blooming and flowering season. That's why spring is such a special season."

Shanu added, "Also the plants get their new leaves and they look so delicate."

As they walked for some five to six minutes, they crossed the lake on their left side. Everyday they used to stop there for couple of minutes to watch the ducks playing in the clear water of the lake. They saw some new baby ducks today. They were amused to see the new ducks.

Bhanu and Shanu had brought with them some bread crumbs. They gave some to Kaju, Biju and the dad. They threw the bread crumbs in the water. All the ducks including the new baby ducks rushed to eat them. It was fun watching them.

Suddenly they saw that two white rabbits were peeping out of a bush near the lake. The rabbits had  carrots with them and they were nibbling at the carrots. It was a great sight.

Daddy carried his camera with him to capture such interesting events. Kaju and Biju spoke at the same time, "Daddy, please click at the rabbits. Look how they are enjoying their breakfast- just the way we do."

Then daddy took the photograph of the rabbits with Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju in the foreground.

They walked for another five to six minutes and they were already in the school. During that period, they talked about the colorful birds that were chirping around. Then they talked about the basket ball match that Bhanu and Shanu were going to participate in the school that day. Daddy, Kaju and Biju gave Bhanu and Shanu lots of encouragement to play a good game.

Now it was time to bid bye to each other and go to the respective class rooms and for daddy to go home. Biju said, "It's so much fun coming to the school with you and with Bhanu, Shanu and Kaju."

Everyone agreed, "Yes, it's fun all the way. It definitely is!"

The four of them went to their class rooms and daddy turned back to go home. He used to go jogging while returning home to exercise himself. He reached home, took out the car from the garage and drove off to his office humming a tune he liked. He was humming because he had a wonderful time every morning with his children and he loved it.

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.