The Happy Prince (A Short Story)

                                                             The Happy Prince

High above the city stood the statue of a prince. He was called the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with gold. For eyes he had two bright sapphires and a red ruby glowed on his sword hilt. One night a swallow came to rest at the feet of the statue. It had to set off to Egypt the next day winter, the time for migration. The prince told the swallow to give the ruby from his sword hilt to the woman living there as her little boy was very ill.  The woman was a poor seamstress. The swallow reached the poor woman’s house and laid the ruby beside her thimble and came back the prince. The prince asked the swallow to give one of his sapphire eyes to a man who was feeling cold. The swallow did so. Then he asked the swallow to give his other eye to a poor girl who was hungry and had not eaten for days. He told to swallow to take off all his gold and give it to the poor. In this way the kind prince gave away all his gold and precious stones to the poor and needy people. The swallow was so moved by the generosity of the prince that it decided to stay with the prince who had become blind after giving away his two eyes. 

In late winter, it got very cold and the swallow died and soon the leaden heart of the prince broke and the statue fell down. 

When God asked His angels to bring Him the two most precious things from the earth, they brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird. God approved their choice and said that in His garden of Paradise that little bird would sing for ever more and in His city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise Him.

(Original Author: Oscar Wilde)

Story Retold by:
Kalpesh Parmar, Class 9
Session 2014-15

In the Kingdom of Fools (A Short Story)

In the Kingdom of Fools

(A Kannada Folktale)

It is believed that fools are so dangerous that only very wise people can handle them. Once there lived a foolish king and his silly minister, they were against nature. So the king changed day into night and night into day. One day a guru and his disciple arrived there and they were very happy because each and every thing in the market cost a single rupee; they could buy and eat a lot in just a few rupees. The guru decided to leave the place but the disciple wanted to stay there and enjoy. 

One night a burglar was killed when a wall fell on him while he was stealing at a merchant’s house. His brother went to the king and complained against the merchant for having build a weak wall which fell and killed this brother (the burglar) while he carried on this ancestral trade (burglary). The king summoned the merchant and told his minister to investigate the case. After further investigation he was sentenced to death. But he was so thin that he couldn’t fit in the stake. So the king ordered his soldiers to bring a fat man who could fit for the stake. According to the king’s order, the soldiers caught the disciple who had become fat by eating a lot of ghee, fruits, sweets etc. The disciple was in a stuck. He remembered g his guru and prayed for his help. And the wise guru arrived. The guru fooled both of them, the king and the minister by saying that it was the most auspicious time and whoever would die first on this stake would become the king in the next life, and the next would become the minister. So the king and the minister decided to die on the stake. 

After their death, the guru and his disciple were free again and wanted to leave the kingdom.  The people requested them to be their king and the minister. From then on, day would be day and night would be night. And you could get nothing for a single rupee.

(A Folktale Edited by: A.K. Ramanujan)

Story Retold by:

Satish Warde, Class 9

Session 2014-15

The Adventures of Toto (A Short Story)

Short Story

The Adventures of Toto

Once there was a boy who lived along with his grandfather, grandmother and aunts. One day grandfather bought a monkey for five rupees from a Tonga-driver and was named it ‘Toto’. Grandfather decided he would add the little fellow to his private zoo. Toto was a pretty monkey and mischievous. Grandmother didn’t liked pets, she screams if she saw one. So the boy and his grandfather decided that the presence of Toto must be kept a secret. Toto was tied with a peg fastened into the wall. In attempts to get free from the peg, it tore the wallpapers and curtains. 

The next day grandfather had to go to Saharanpur for collecting pension. He could not take the risk of leaving Toto with his grandson and so he took it along with him. Here, the boy was trying to convince his grandmother. Finally she was convinced to keep Toto as a pet. He was given his home, the stable with Nana - the donkey. Toto and Nana never became friends, as they fought again and again. 

One day when the lunch table was set, Toto came there and started enjoying the meal of rice-pullao and grandmother screamed seeing Toto spoiling food. Toto threw a plate on her as a reaction to her action. It made its escape from window and climbed up the jackfruit tree along with a dish of rice-pullao. After finishing the dish it threw down the plate and broke it into pieces. 

Finally, grandfather agreed that they could not afford the frequent loss of dishes, clothes, curtains and wallpapers and decided to sell Toto off. It was sold back to the Tonga-driver for the sum of three rupees.

(Original Author: Ruskin Bond)

Story Retold by:

Gautam Khatri, Class 9

Session 2014-15

The Lost Child (A Short Story)

 The Lost Child 

Once there was a fair in a village. A little boy went to the fair with his parents. He was very happy. He saw a toy shop, and asked his parents to buy a toy for him but they refused. Then he saw a sweets shop, and asked his parents to buy him some sweets. But this time too they refused giving an excuse. As he walked ahead, he saw a flower- seller, a snake charmer, and a balloon seller. He wanted to buy a garland, listen to the music and get balloons. But this time he did not ask because he knew that they would refuse again giving some excuses.

When he saw the merry-go-round, he could not stop himself from asking to go on a ride. But when he asked to his parents there was no answer. His parents were not there. He was lost. He began to cry bitterly and tried to search for his parents. A man saw him, and tried to soothe him by offering sweets to eat but he did not listen to him, and cried only for his parents .Then the man took him to the toy shop, flower- seller, snake charmer and balloon seller. But he did not even look at them. He cried and cried only for his parents. He loved his parents more than these things and wanted them the most.       

(Original Author: Mulk Raj Anand)

Story Retold by:

Jyoti Bishnoi, Class 9

Session: 2014-15