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.

###