Why is There a Rainbow

 Aarna was a curious little kid. Like all other young explorers, her mind sought answers to many questions. Looking around, she stretched her head up and, seeing the huge rainbow in the sky, asked her mother, "Ma, why is there a rainbow? Who made it?"

Ratna entered the verandah where Aarna was staring at the rainbow. She saw the cute and amused face of her daughter and replied, "My sweetheart, just like you have your parents to take care of you and give you the best of everything, in the same way, the Almighty is there to take care of the beautiful Earth on which we live, and also of Mother Nature, who takes care of all living souls on Earth."

"So, just as we gift you things from time to time for your good deeds and tasks, the Almighty, in the form of Mother Nature, spreads beautiful colours in all things, like flowers, trees, animals, and everything that we enjoy seeing, so that they become more beautiful. And for this purpose, the Almighty creates a rainbow."

Hearing this, Aarna enquired further, "Then what about the clouds? Do they lose their colour and give it to the rainbow?"

At this question, Ratna laughed and said, "No, my love. The clouds have lots of colours. They love sharing them! So they ask the Almighty to make rainbows, and the sun helps them sparkle in the sky."

Aarna jumped with joy and wished to catch the rainbow. Seeing her smiling face, Ratna made a rainbow-coloured sandwich for her with different-coloured vegetables, and Aarna lapped it up heartily.

Rabbit and the Cunning Fox

 

There was a very cunning fox Ginni, who was a terror for many rabbits. She often chased rabbits.

 

One day, Manu, an intelligent rabbit, went in search of food in the jungle. On the way, he met Ginni, who was quite hungry and waiting for something to eat. When she saw Manu, she wanted to eat him. On the other hand, when Manu saw Ginni, he was very afraid but decided to face the situation.

 

He thought of a plan and, in a sweet tone, started a conversation with her. He said, "Hello, Ginni. How are you? Why are you standing under the bright sun? You will get very thirsty."  

 

Ginni looked at the tiny rabbit and laughed, "Oh!! Dear Manu, do not worry. I will eat you and will feel better." Upon hearing this, Manu got really scared.

 

However, he soon controlled himself and said, "Ginni, you can certainly have me for your meal, but today is the 'Blessing Day' for rabbits. 

You must have noticed that all rabbits have beautiful white fur. This is because every year on Blessing Day, we praise the Moon, our blessing God. He gives us nice, soft-textured fur. So, in case you find it okay, you too can join us today and pray to the moon for beautiful fur."

 

Upon hearing this, the fox thought for a moment. She wanted to have beautiful white fur too. She also thought that after the prayer, there would be plenty of rabbits around, and she could fill her tummy with them.

 

So, Ginni agreed to Manu's request and promised him to meet at night. Manu immediately hopped towards his burrow and called for an emergency meeting with his fellow rabbits.

 

He told his friends, "Dear friends, the cunning fox Ginni is planning to eat all of us tonight near the river. I have thought of a plan and tricked the fox. We all must praise the reflection of the moon appearing in the river. This way, the fox will feel that the moon is impressed and blesses us with beautiful fur. But in reality, we all will apply shiny moon-dust powder on our fur. 

So, she will dive into the river hoping to get beautiful fur. When she realizes that she has been fooled, she will learn a lesson and leave us alone. This way, we all will be free from the terror of Ginni.”

 

All the rabbits jumped with joy and started preparing for the plan.

 

In the night, when Ginni came, she was surprised to see the rabbits jumping into the river and coming out with sparkling white fur. She reached closer towards the river and saw that the rabbits were praising the moon.

 

She, too, started praising the moon and, after some hesitation, jumped into the river when the rabbits encouraged her. The rabbits shouted, "Move further into the river, then you will get a wonderful fur."

 

The greedy fox went into the deeper part of the river. As she struggled in the water, her fur became completely soaked and muddy. Embarrassed and frightened, she quickly swam back to the shore.

The rabbits smiled and said, "Ginni, beautiful fur comes from kindness and good deeds, not from greed!"

Realizing that she had been fooled because of her greed, Ginni hung her head in shame and ran away into the forest. From that day onward, she never troubled the rabbits again.

 Thus, Manu's clever thinking and the rabbits' teamwork saved them from the cunning fox.

###

Two Trees and a Crow

Once, in a deep, dark forest, stood two young, green trees that were best friends and companions. They enjoyed the rain showers together and endured the harsh summer heat. But whatever the situation, they both held their branches and stood together.

One day, a wicked crow came to rest on a branch of one of the trees. He had heard about their firm friendship from other birds and animals and was very much interested in testing it. He had a shrewd plan and wanted to carry it out soon.

He greeted both the trees warmly and introduced himself. He said, "Hello, you two are fine beings of Mother Nature, and I have heard a lot about your deep friendship. So, for your kindness and affection for others, Mother Nature has given one of you the opportunity to never get old and dry, and always remain strong and lush green. But for this blessing, one of you has to sacrifice for the other. So, both of you decide which one it will be. I am the messenger of Mother Nature, and so would like to deliver the message of your choice to her. I need your decision as soon as possible."

Both the trees were amazed and a little confused. Then one tree told the other, "Dear friend, as I am a bit older than you, I suggest you take the opportunity gifted by Mother Nature. Seeing you remain lush green and healthy will always give me immense pleasure and happiness."

To this, the other tree responded, "Dear friend, taking this blessing and remaining evergreen will not give me any happiness as I wish to grow old with you and enjoy the time of our youth and old age together."

Looking at both the trees, the crow felt ashamed of his thoughts. He understood their friendship could not be broken by any kind of greed. Their bond was pure and strong. 

He told them, "I am extremely sorry for lying. I am no messenger of Mother Nature, and no such wish has been granted by her that could make any living being evergreen. I am very sorry for my act."

Then the crow flew away and never came back.

Hearing the crow's confession, both trees became very happy and entangled their vines in joy.

The Fight

Once upon a time, Sun and Moon were fighting to prove who was stronger and more important entity in the universe.

Sun said "Obviously I am the strongest and the brightest. My rays help people on earth and provide enough energy for the stars to shine bright in night.You don't posses such power."

The moon replied "Oh sure, you are powerful, but in this universe, brute force always has lesser value than softer emotions like beauty and calmness. My beauty is incomparable. I have been the subject of poets throughout the world across all ages. My rays are not harsh as yours and I give comfort to the tired people in the night. Also I am like a beauty spot on this dark sky."

Their quarrel went on for a long time. It disturbed other heavenly bodies around them.

Finally, the North star who was the bravest and the brightest amongst all other stars, gathered courage and interrupted with a loud yell, "Stop!! You are disturbing all of us". Upon hearing such a statement both Sun and Moon stopped fighting and stared at the North star. The north star said "Look, both of you are equally important in this universe. Sun, you are an essential source of energy for all , and Moon you are our soothing source. Think of all the living things that are there on planet Earth. If both of you keep on fighting, the life on earth will get very disturbed, so please maintain your peace and work together as a team".

Upon hearing this both understood each other's importance and learnt the lesson of not being egoistic and helping those who are dependent on them.

The lost ear rings

Anjali was very excited because today was Picnic Day at her school. She woke up a little earlier than usual and got ready. She packed all the items on her list in her small pink bag.

Sneaking from her mother's eyes, she wore the expensive earrings that her mother had given her on her tenth birthday. 

She was eager to show them to her friends. Her mother called her for breakfast, but she rushed to the bus stand, pretending she was late for the picnic. She saw a few of her friends at the stand.

 Smiling and feeling proud of her earrings, she walked towards the stand and started chit-chatting with them. Her friend, Nandita, noticed the earrings. She said, "Wow, Anjali! They are so beautiful. They must be expensive!" Anjali lifted her head up and, in a very deliberate tone, answered: "Yes, these are very expensive; my mother gifted them to me on my birthday." All other friends gathered around her and admired her earrings. The bus came, and all the friends went to school.
 At school, Anjali's beautiful earrings were the morning topic among her friends. The teacher asked all students to gather and go to their respective buses for the picnic trip. All students headed for their respective buses, and their picnic trip started.
The picnic location was a beautiful garden, "Millennium Park". As the bus reached the destination, all the students yelled with joy and rushed out of the bus towards the garden. They all settled into suitable places and began playing games in groups. After lunch break, as all of them started playing again, Reena asked Anjali, "Where is one of your earrings?" To her utter surprise, Anjali found one earring missing. She was shocked and confused. She started looking for it, and her friends helped her too. But the effort become useless as the earring was not found. Anjali started to cry as  she knew that her mother will punish her for this loss badly.
The teacher was reported about the missing earring. She called Anjali and explained why bringing expensive jewelry to a picnic was not a good idea.

 Anjali's picnic was spoiled because of her own carelessness. She regretted losing her earrings and was afraid of her mother's reaction to the issue.
The picnic went on as scheduled, and all the students boarded the buses. All were very happy and excited; they yelled and sang songs on the way back, but only Anjali was quiet and sad. She was getting more scared as the distance to her house grew shorter. 

The bus stopped at the stand. Anjali, along with her friends, got down and started walking towards her house. She rang the bell and her mother opened the door. As she entered, she held her mother and cried very badly. Confused and anxious, her mother questioned her about this behavior. Anjali was sobbing. She said, "Mother, I lost my gold earring. I had worn it in the morning to show it to my friends. I am really sorry." Her mother was shocked and angry to hear this. She scolded her, " How could you do such a thing, Anjali? Such a careless attitude. You did not even ask me? " Hearing this, Anjali saw her mother as if feeling guilty of her mistake. Her mother went inside and, with an angry face show her the pair of the same earrings. Anjali was shocked. Her mother smiled and said, " I thought you might be tempted to wear the earrings, so I kept an imitation pair in your drawer. I hope you have learned a good lesson from your mistake and you will not repeat it again. " Anjali hugged her mother and promised not to do such a thing again.