You Won't Know It's Yummy Unless You Taste It

Reema turned six this year. And from the day she celebrated her sixth birthday, she started feeling that she had become a big girl.

You could see her big girl attitude in many of her actions lately. She organized her school bag all by herself. She made her bed everyday immediately after she woke up in the morning. She brushed her teeth on time every morning and every evening without any reminders from her mom and dad. She finished her homework without being nagged anymore. She made sure that she found enough time daily to play some games. In short she had started doing many activities on her own initiative and that too quite independently.

Her mom and dad were very appreciative of the good change in her. They would say, "Reema, we are so proud of you, you have become so organized!" Reema liked the praise showered on her by her parents.

Her parents were now looking forward to her taking liking to some food items that were really good for her health but for some reason she had developed a dislike for them. These food items included eggs and certain egg preparations though she wouldn't mind eating the cakes that had egg in them. Rather she loved cakes.

Her mom thought of re-introducing eggs in her meals. One day she prepared caramelized egg pudding. She placed the pudding on an attractive serving dish and brought it on the dining table. She had prepared some other nice dishes too. That day her mom had invited some guests for dinner. The guests included their family friends- two couples and their two daughters Ana and Neena. Ana and Neena were of Reema's age.

When all of them settled around the dining table for their dinner, Reema's mom requested, "Kindly go ahead with the dinner."

Reema was not a fussy eater in the normal course but lately she had become a bit choosy. And certainly she had reservations about the egg and egg preparations. So she ate the soup and the main course but when it was egg pudding's turn she declared, "Today I do not wish to take the dessert because my tummy is already quite full and it can't additionally take the pudding even if I want to." She didn't whine or sounded ill-mannered in refusing to eat the egg pudding. She was quite polite and nice outwardly but inside she was quite upset and angry.

She thought, "Why mom has to make egg pudding and make me eat it? Perhaps my mom thought that in front of the guests and my friend Ana and Neena I would not make a scene and eat the pudding quietly. But she is wrong. I am still refusing to eat it and my friends still don't know that I do not eat eggs. Am I not smart?"

Everyone else on the table ate the egg pudding with gusto. The guests praised it profusely saying, "The egg pudding is brilliantly delicious." The girls Ana and Neena chirped, "Hey Reema, it is super yummy. Please eat it. Please. If you don't eat it you are going to miss it badly. We are going in for the second helping and will eat your share too."

After hearing what Ana and Neena and their parents had to say about the egg pudding, Reema started repenting for refusing to eat the pudding. She was feeling sad about the yummy pudding. But she had a big ego because now she was a big girl.  Once having refused how could she volunteer to ask for it? It was a prestige issue for her.

Her mom was looking at Reema's face and her body language. She knew what was happening in her daughter's mind. After all a mother always knows what goes on in her child's mind without child speaking about it. She knew that Reema wanted to eat the egg pudding but her ego was coming in her way. And therefore she was sulking.

Her mom had told Reema many times that sulking never solved any problem. But Reema didn't know how to get out of her sulking mood. She was looking at mom to help her out.

Mom realizing that her daughter was seeking her help to come out of her sulking mood said, "Reema, see your friend Ana and Neena want you to give them your company in eating the pudding which they think is very yummy. You won't know it's yummy unless you taste it. And if you find that it's yummy you may like to eat at least a small portion of it just to give them the company."

"You are right mommy. I won't know it's yummy unless I taste it. Can you please serve a bit of it on my plate just to taste it," Reema said.

Then Reema tasted the small portion of the egg pudding and she exclaimed, "Wow, it's really super super yummy. I think my stomach will make some room for it even if it is full."

Then she served two scoops full of pudding on her plate and gave company to Ana and Neena.

Reema's mom and dad felt glad to see happiness on their daughter's face.

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.

Tooth Fairy Recycles The Tooth

Reema turned six.

On her birthday she told her mom and dad, "I'm a big girl now, a first-grader in my school. And one more thing. Tonight onward I want to sleep in my own bedroom the whole night. Not like what I do now, sneaking into your bedroom when I wake up in the night."

"Oh dear! That's a brave thing to do," mom and dad exclaimed simultaneously.

"But suppose one of the nights I feel like sneaking into your room to snuggle with you guys, can I?"

"Sure darling, absolutely sure. Just walk in soon after you wake up in the night," mom and dad assured her.

After a week's time when she came home from the school, she ran into her mom's arms and started sobbing.

"Hey Reema, what's wrong? What happened? Why are you so upset?"

Reema found difficulty in replying. Somehow she stuttered, "Mom, something is seriously wrong with two of my teeth. I'm scared."

"Did you tell about it to your dad?" Dad had picked her up from the school in his car.

"No I didn't. I wanted to tell you first."

Mom said, "It's OK. Now open your mouth."

Reema opened her mouth. Her mom inspected her daughter's teeth.

"Which ones?" she asked.

"The front two teeth, the lower ones. they have become kind of loose. I am frightened with the thought that they would fall off."

"Reema. Don't be worried. The teeth that you have now are your temporary teeth. They are called baby teeth or some call them milk teeth. All of the them will fall one by one."

"Will I remain teeth-less then?"

"No, in place of the baby tooth you lose, you will get a new tooth and that will be your permanent tooth. So all your temporary teeth will get replaced by the new ones gradually. So don't feel worried and scared."

"OK mom."

"And one more interesting thing will happen. When you lose your  baby tooth, you can place it under your bed pillow. In the night the tooth fairy will visit you while you are asleep and replace your tooth with a small payment. Then you can use that money. You may like to save it in your piggy bank and later use it to purchase something of your choice."

Reema was surprised and thrilled to hear about the tooth fairy. Wide-eyed she asked, "Mom, will tooth fairy visit me too when my tooth falls off and I keep it under my pillow."

"Sure dear. Now go and play and also tell your daddy about it."

"I am going to tell daddy about the tooth fairy just now and then go and play."

Then Reema ran away to her daddy who was having his evening tea in the dining room.

Then a day came when in school Reema lost two of her teeth at the same time. She reported it to her class teacher. The class teacher sent her to the school's administration office. The lady there kept a stock of small plastic cases. The children who lost their baby tooth could get one of these tiny plastic cases from the office lady and keep their fallen tooth in the case.

Reema ran to the office. She showed her two fallen teeth to the office lady and requested, "Mam, see my teeth. I want to keep them in the plastic case. Can you give me one?"

The lady gave the case to Reema and said, "Reema, keep your teeth carefully in this. Then in the night place the case under your pillow. A tooth fairy will replace the teeth with some money."

"My mom also told me the same thing. Thanks."

Her daddy picked her up from the school that day in his car. Reema flashed her two teeth to her daddy in great excitement.

Daddy showed lots of surprise. "Hey, you did it, you brave girl," he said and hugged her. "Now keep it safe for the tooth fairy."

"Yes, I am going to keep it very safe."

On reaching home she showed her teeth to her mom. Her mom too hugged her and said, "Brave girl. Hope it didn't pain?"

"Not at all mom. It was so easy. I was feeling scared unnecessarily. And my class teacher and the office mam were so nice to me. The children in my class were very happy to see the gap in my mouth because some of them also had lost their teeth recently. The gaps feel and look so funny!"

When the night came, Reema placed the plastic case below her bed pillow. When she woke up in the night she checked up under the pillow. She mumbled to herself, "The tooth fairy has yet to come because the case is still there under the pillow and I do not see any money."

After checking the teeth under the pillow, Reema did not go to her mom and dad's bedroom as she used to do some nights. She didn't want to miss the money that tooth fairy would put under her pillow in exchange of her teeth."

In the morning she was astonished to see the money under her pillow and the plastic case was gone. She ran to her mom and dad and shouted, "Mom and Dad, look here. The tooth fairy gave me the money and took away my teeth."

Reema deposited that money in her piggy bank. Then Reema got ready to go to the school with her daddy along with her little baby brother Rohit who was just seven months old. Every morning her dad would drop Reema in her school and Rohit in his day care center.

As they were traveling together and as usual Reema was playing with her baby brother Rohit in the car, she suddenly noticed something shining in Rohit's mouth.

She said, "Daddy, I see something shining in Rohit's mouth. Is he eating something that he should not. Please check it immediately."

Her dad knew that Rohit was teething. So he was sure that the object that Reema saw in Rohit's mouth were his new teeth. Last few days Rohit was chewing everything that he could lay his hands on. Therefore his mom and dad had opened his mouth to check if he was teething. And their suspicion came true. Indeed he was teething. His two cute little teeth were peeping out of his gums. They were the lower set of teeth right in the front.

So Reema's dad replied, "Reema, Rohit is getting his baby teeth now. What you see are his new teeth."

"What a wonderful fairy the tooth fairy is! She took away my teeth and gave it to my sweet little brother. Thank you tooth fairy," Reema spoke loudly and also let her dad know how grateful she was to the tooth fairy.

And then she was very eager to share this phenomenon with her mom then and there. She coaxed her dad into ringing her mom using the car's hands free speak phone. Mom got the ring on her cell phone.

Before mom could even say a word, Reema shared her new found discovery with her mom, "Mom, mom. A super incredible thing took place. I lost my two baby teeth yesterday and the tooth fairy has been so nice- she recycled those two teeth and gave them to my sweet sweet brother. And do you know the new teeth in Rohit's mouth are exactly at the same place where I had lost them from my mouth. The lower teeth right in the front."

Before mom could say anything Reema had already reached her school and was getting down from her car.

Reema's mom smiled. After a few seconds she smiled once more thinking about her daughter's imagination. But she did think seriously about this fantasy, "Do the tooth fairies really recycle the teeth? That's why they take away children's baby teeth to give them to the little babies. And the cycle continues."

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.

Thank God, It’s Friday

One week passed by after the cat and the dog became the spy cat and the spy dog. You might have already read the stories how they became the spy cat and the spy dog. (For those of you who did not read these stories, we are giving their titles:  The names are:  “Spy Cat and Spy Dog” and “The First Spy Job of Spy Cat and Spy Dog”. You can read these two stories in the first volume of the book "Stories Children Will Love" at chapters 16 and 17).

The formidable four Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju wanted additional help to handle their increased work load in their office. And that’s how they recruited the spy dog and the spy cat. Perhaps you already know that the formidable four are the famous brothers and sisters who keep busy with spy work in their free time. Perhaps you also know that Bhanu is 10 years old; sister Shanu is 8 years, brother Kaju is 6 and the youngest sister Biju is 4.

OK. So after the first grueling week of spy work assigned to them by Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju, the cat and the dog were really tired.

Out of sheer exhaustion, the cat involuntarily spoke out, “Thank God, it’s Friday.”

The dog heard this philosophical expression of the cat. He blurted out, “You too now! Using that silly expression? I have often heard it from Bhanu and his mom and dad. I hear them saying ‘Thank God, it’s Friday’ with smiles all over their faces at least once a week. You copycat; you are saying the same silly thing without even knowing its meaning. Oh, now I know why everyone calls cats as copycats.”

The cat instead of becoming angry felt amused. She teased the dog by saying, “You silly bone. Your upper storey is absolutely vacant. You should have had brain like me. Doggy dear, tell me what day it is today?”

The dog replied, “What’s so great about that question? It is obviously a Friday. So what?”

The cat said, “That’s what I told. It came out of my mouth automatically. I did not have to even think about it.”

Now the dog was very happy. He understood that the cat really did not know the meaning of that expression. He mentioned, “No catty, you have said it alright. But ‘Thank God, it’s Friday’ has some deeper meaning than Friday being a Friday. Let us go to Bhanu and ask why he and his mom and dad are always beaming with joy expressing ‘Thank God it’s Friday’.”

So they went to the room which Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju used as their conference room.

The one week’s training on the spy job made the cat and the dog quite disciplined. They did not utter a word after they reached the conference room because Bhanu, Shanu, Kaju and Biju were engrossed in a serious discussion about a new detective work they were working on.

Then Biju the littlest sister noticed the two and told Bhanu and others, “Hey, our new recruits are also here and listening about the new case with interest.”

Bhanu inquired, “Hey two, what’s the matter? Have you finished all the work we gave you? You know that today is Friday and we never keep any important work pending over the weekend.”

The cat spoke, “The doggy and I finished every job that you gave us. And since it is Friday, we have come to you to ask one explanation about this Friday business.”

All the four brothers and sisters brought a quizzical look on their faces listening to the cat. Seeing this, the dog took over from the cat and said, “What catty is saying is why you and mom and dad become so happy saying ‘Thank God it’s Friday’?”

Bhanu replied laughingly, “And now it is going to be your turn to repeat that line and feel happy. You have just started working with us but you do not know that Saturday and Sunday are our holidays. So when Friday comes we know that the days after that will be our holidays. On holidays we can do many other things that we are not in a position to carry out on the working days. And so we feel happy thinking about it and automatically the expression comes out ‘Thank God, it’s Friday’ and we feel happy.

The dog and the cat yelled out in chorus, “Yay, thank God, it’s Friday. Now we are happy too.” And then they ran away. It was already 5 in the evening and it was time to pack up.

The two new spies finally heaved a sigh of relief. Now they got some respite from the first week’s work.

Both ran to the lawn running after each other and singing loudly, “Thank God, its Friday. And we are going to have lots of fun.”

Now here is your chance of owning the book.......

"Stories Children Will Love (Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju Stories Volume 1)"

(Readers picked up more than 250 copies of the book just in couple of days) (Preview the book at: https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1097151

We are very happy to announce that the first volume of the book containing the stories of Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju has been released. It is available for sale through Amazon.com. You can also borrow the book from Amazon's Kindle Library (KOLL- Kindle Owners Lending Library).

The book is available in the print format as well as an eBook.

We give below the following links where you can see some details about the book like preview of few pages of the book, price, how to order etc):

eBook format: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Children-Will-Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju-ebook/dp/B0071J74CA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330490337&sr=1-1

Print format: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Children-Will-Shyam-Bhatawdekar/dp/1470005395/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330490445&sr=1-1

We wish you happy reading of the book.

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.

Stories Children Will Love: The Book

Now here is your chance of owning the book.......
"Stories Children Will Love (Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju Stories Volume 1)"

(Readers picked up more than 250 copies of the book just in couple of days during January-February 2012) (Preview the book at: https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1097151

We are very happy to announce that the first volume of the book containing the stories of Dholu Ram Gadbad Singh and Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju has been released. It is available for sale through Amazon.com. You can also borrow the book from Amazon's Kindle Library (KOLL- Kindle Owners Lending Library).

The book is available in the print format as well as an eBook.

We give below the following links where you can see some details about the book like preview of few pages of the book, price, how to order etc):

eBook format: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Children-Will-Bhanu-Shanu-Kaju-Biju-ebook/dp/B0071J74CA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330490337&sr=1-1

Print format: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Children-Will-Shyam-Bhatawdekar/dp/1470005395/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330490445&sr=1-1

We wish you happy reading of the book.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.