Yawn

The king yawned, once again.

“Fifty-three,” said the doctor.

“No, fifty-four,” mumbled the magician.

The king shouted in annoyance, “How does it matter whether it is the fifty-third yawn or fifty-fourth? When will I get sleep?”

“My Lord, it is just a matter of a few more minutes and then you will surely get a sound sleep,” said the doctor.

“My Lord, my magic has never failed. Just try to relax your frayed nerves and the magic will do the rest,” said the magicians.

“Throw these buffoons out of the palace,” the king thundered at his soldiers.

The king had not been able to sleep for many months. He would yawn and yawn and yawn but sleep would not come. He would toss on his bed; he would stroll in his room; he would walk in the garden but sleep refused to oblige him. Doctors had tried their medicines and magicians had tried their magic but all to no avail.

The king announced that anyone who would help him sleep would be declared heir to the throne for he had no son of his own.

One day a young man, named Hewise, came to the palace and said to the king, “My Lord, I don’t need to be declared as your heir for I am a farmer and I love my farm more than your kingdom. But if you do what I tell you to do, you will soon sleep like a child.”

The king was impressed by his confidence, “Youngman, I promise that I will do what you ask me to do.”

The man left for a few minutes and came with a boy who was about five years of age.

“My Lord, you have to pretend that you are a boy as young as my son, Newise, and just try to do whatever he does.”

The king looked at the man and his son and laughed, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

The king agreed.

Newise had never seen a king’s palace. His excitement was boundless when he saw the royal bed chamber. In sheer joy, he started jumping on the ground; next moment he was dancing on the floor and later he was singing as loudly as he could. Sometimes he rolled on the ground and sometimes he laughed for no reason.

The king pretended that he was a little boy and he started copying every action and every movement of Newise. He tried to everything that the child did. But he could not keep pace with the boy and soon he was tired and breathless. It was difficult for him to match the boy’s energy and enthusiasm.

The king finally gave in and raised his hands. He asked the boy to relax for a few minutes. Both of them lay down on the royal bed. Soon the king was sleeping like a child. The boy too fell asleep.

When the king woke up he told Hewise, “This is the magic I had been looking for. If I want to sleep like a child then I will have to live like a child and find joy in everything I do”  

*****

The king still yawns but only for a few times; he has learnt to live and sleep like a child.

********************

© i b arora 

Wolf

A wolf had not eaten for many days. Poor fellow had failed to catch even a small rabbit.

Driven by hunger he walked into a village. He thought that he would remain alert and cautious and try to steal a goat or a sheep or a rooster to satisfy his hunger.

He sneaked into a house and saw a goat in a corner. He was about to pounce on it when the goat said, “Don’t even think of eating me. I am suffering from pneumonia. My lungs are rotting. If you eat me you too will catch pneumonia and die. Why don’t you eat the sheep that is in the next house? She is such a fat sheep.”

The wolf had never heard of pneumonia. He got scared and ran away. He entered the next house. He saw a sheep. He was crawling towards the sheep when it said, “Be careful of the hounds; any moment they would be here. Be quick and hide somewhere; they are real vicious hounds.”

Hunger was driving the wolf mad. But he was too weak to face a pack of vicious hounds. He chose to beat a hasty retreat. He went into another house and saw a big rooster.

The rooster looked at the wolf and angrily shouted, “I know you are the witch that walks in the garb of a wolf. My master has been looking for you. He wants to burn you alive. Let me alert my master.”

The wolf ran for his life lest he was caught and burnt alive. He was now disheartened and tired. He thought he would make one last effort to get something to eat. He sneaked into the next house. He saw a big, fat pig in that house and smiled at his luck.

“Did the goat, the sheep and the rooster make a fool of me?” he began to ponder while eyeing the pig.  “But I will not let this pig make a fool of me.”

The pig looked at the wolf and fearlessly turned his back towards him. The wolf felt insulted. He jumped on the pig. But midway he was hit by a blast of hot, stinking air; the accompanying sound was deafening.

The pig was suffering from indigestion and he had just farted.

The poor wolf could not survive the ‘chemical weapon’ released by the pig and collapsed on the ground.

© i b arora

Naughty Rabbit

A rabbit lived near a swamp. His name was Brabit. He was a naughty and fun loving animal. And he loved to tease the crocodiles that lived in the swamp. Every crocodile hated him. Every crocodile wanted to eat him. But he was too quick for them.

Brabit would often play near the crocodiles. He would mock them. And, if any crocodile tried to catch him, he would run away as fast as he could. Once he was out of trouble and at a safe distance, he would laugh loudly. The chasing crocodile could do nothing but glare at him with angry eyes.

But one day Brabit foolishly mocked a lion. The lion lost his temper. He pounced on the silly rabbit. Even before the rabbit could think of running away, the lion caught him. But Brabit was brave and clever. He kept his nerve.

“Sir, it was foolish of me to make fun of you. I am truly sorry. If you let me go I would surely come to your help if you ever fall into some trouble,” he said to the lion.

The lion was amazed at his temerity.

“You think a small animal like you can be of any help to me? You think a strong animal like me can ever fall into trouble?” asked the lion, unable to control his curiosity.

“Sir, you are certainly strong and clever. But anyone can fall into trouble, life is like that.”

“And pray, how would you help me, if ever I am in trouble?” lion asked politely.

“I would analyse the problem and then decide the best course of possible action,” Brabit replied fearlessly.

Lion laughed loudly, “You are a cunning fellow. I will accept your offer. But if you fail to help me when I fall into trouble, I will kill you.”

He let the rabbit go.

Now, it so happened that just one week later a herd of wild buffaloes was passing by the swamp. They were going towards north; to the green pastures of north.

Buffaloes saw the lion. He was reclining under a tree. Lion too saw the buffaloes. He roared to scare away the herd. But the buffaloes felt insulted. They did not like the lions who roared at them.

“This lion needs to be taught a lesson. Why did he roar at us when we did not bother him?” said the leader of the herd.

“Yes, this lion needs to be taught a lesson,” said all the buffaloes in one voice.

The herd charged in anger. The lion knew that he had invited a trouble. He could only escape towards the swamp. But swamp was full of crocodiles. Crocodiles were as nasty as the buffaloes. Lion knew that he was trapped. He had no option but to fight the wild buffaloes and defend himself.

Brabit was, as usual, playing near the swamp. He had heard the lion’s roar. He had seen the buffaloes charging towards the lion.

“Sir, now you are in real trouble. You surely need my help,” Brabit said to himself.

Rabbit knew that he would have to do something quickly for a single lion, however strong, would be no match to a herd of angry wild buffaloes.

He looked at the crocodiles. The crocodiles were enjoying mild sun, reclining near the swamp. He thought of a plan and ran towards the swamp.

“Well, you silly and lazy lizards, why don’t you go and take a swim in the swamp? I want to recline here and enjoy the sun. Get up and get lost,” he shouted at the crocodiles.

The crocodiles hated being addressed as silly and lazy lizards. All of them began to tremble in rage.

“I think we need to teach this rude fellow some manners. What do you say, friends,” asked the leader of the crocodiles.

“We would rather eat him and not teach him,” all crocodiles said in one voice.

The crocodiles attacked the rabbit. He ran away. But this time he did not run as fast as he could. He ran but slowly. The crocodiles felt that they could catch him and they kept chasing him.

The rabbit cleverly ran towards the herd of buffaloes. The crocodiles foolishly kept following him.

Suddenly the buffaloes sensed the approaching crocodiles. The crocodiles were angry and were chasing the rabbit. But, by now, the rabbit had vanished. The buffaloes thought that the crocodiles were charging at them.

They stopped attacking the lion who had defended himself bravely. They turned towards the crocodiles and looked at them suspiciously. The crocodiles also looked at the buffaloes suspiciously. They were a bit scared; they had come too far from the swamp. They felt safe only when they were near the swamp. But they did not show their fear and growled at the buffaloes.

Buffaloes did not want to fight the crocodiles. They retreated and quietly left for the green pastures of the north. The crocodiles too retreated to their swamp.

The lion heaved a sigh of relief. Then he saw the rabbit who was hiding in a nearby bush.

“Sir, did my plan work?” Brabit asked the lion.

“Exceedingly well,” said the lion.

“Sir, you think a small animal like me could be of some help to you?” asked the rabbit. He had a broad smile on his face.

“I can say one thing for sure; in this world even the strongest one needs friends. Let us be friends and for ever,” said the lion. He shook Brabit’s hand.

The lion and the naughty rabbit became friends.

*************

© i b arora

You may also like to read “Bank Robbery”

Fake Currency

(Part 1)

Mister Jackal and Mister Hyena decided to rob a bank.

“I think we can rob Piggy’s Bank. It is small bank. Only three employees; very few customers; and most of them are senior citizens.  It would be easy to take care of three bored employees and a couple of aged customers,” suggested Mister Jackal.

“But we won’t find large amount of cash. After all the trouble, we may hardly get a few thousand rupees,” said Mister Hyena.

“No, that’s not true. Every bank has a few millions in the safe; even a small bank like Piggy’s Bank would have five or six million,” countered Mister Jackal.

“But I think we should dream big; let’s rob a big a bank,” insisted Mister Hyena.

“Let us not tempt the fate; we have never been caught and I don’t want to get caught robbing a big bank,” said Mister Jackal.

That settled the argument. They decided to rob Piggy’s Bank. In the garb of beggars they went around the bank to choose the escape route.

“Everything should be well planned, even a safe route to escape in case anything goes wrong,” Mister Jackal said to his friend. “Tomorrow you go to the bank as a customer and open an account. Just deposit five hundred rupees.”

“But why do we need an account in the bank?” asked Mister Hyena.

“We don’t need an account. You will go there to observe; I will also come with you. We will observe everything that happens in the bank and everything that is there in the bank,” said Mister Jackal.      

Next day they went to the bank. Mister Hyena filled up a form for opening an account. He went to Mister Clerk, one of the bank employees. Mister Clerk was attending to a customer who had to deposit money.

“Sir, five of these currency notes are fake,” Mister Clerk said to that customer and returned him a few currency notes.

“How can that be? These were given to me by my office and I work in a government office,” the customer argued.

Mister Hyena was attentively listening to this argument. He stretched his neck and looked at the fake currency notes. These were one thousand rupees notes. “How do you know that these notes are fake?” he asked Mister Clerk just out of curiosity.

But Mister Clerk did not reply. He always attended to one customer at a time.

Mister Hyena was not doing what he was supposed to do but Mister Jackal had not been wasting his time. He had been carefully observing everything. He called Mister Hyena and they both left the bank.

“I could not open the account,” Hyena said in irritation.

“You were to observe the layout of the bank and the routine of bank employees and of security guard. What did you observe?” barked Mister Jackal.

“Well, actually I thought I would observe everything after opening the account,” Mister Hyena said timidly.

“Just forget it; I know what we need to know.  Tomorrow we would reach the bank few minutes before one. They close the bank for lunch at sharp one. The security guard is a careless person. He leaves his gun near the washroom to wash his hands. We will take away his gun and lock him in the washroom. Then we will rob the bank.”

“Is it that simple?” asked Hyena, he was a bit astonished.

“Yes,” said Mister Jackal. He was full of confidence.

Next day, as planned, they reached the bank few minutes before 1 PM.  They were not wearing masks on the faces. But they were using false beards and moustaches to disguise their identity.   

(to be continued)

©i b arora

You may also like this story for children 

Bank Robbery

Mister Jackal pretended that was a smart thief. And, like all vain persons, he was proud of his smartness.

“You know, I would have committed more than fifty thefts. But not even once police have been able to catch me. I never leave a clue. Police officers keep searching for clues to nab me but they have never succeeded. And they never will,” he said to friends, who like him were petty thieves. Mister Jackal always posed that he was a big time criminal

“Did you ever rob a bank?” asked Mister Hyena. He had a sniggering smile on his face for he knew the truth. Mister Jackal and Mister Hyena had been, for some time, partners-in-crime. Mister Hyena knew that Mister Jackal was just a petty criminal who would only snatch things from silly boys and little girls.

“Well, I have never robbed a bank. But my next target is the Piggy’s Bank. If you hear about a great bank robbery think of me,” Mister Jackal said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Everyone except Mister Hyena looked at him with envy. No one had ever dared to rob a bank. And they all had dreamed of robbing a bank. Mister Hyena knew that Mister Jackal could never rob a bank.

Few days later Mister Jackal sneaked into Piggy’s Bank. He had covered his face with a black mask. He was holding a pistol in one hand and a butcher’s knife in other. He thought that he was looking fearsome.

There were only two employees in the bank. He pointed his pistol towards one employee and said, “Will you please hand over the keys of the bank safe?  I intend to rob the bank.”

Now, the bank employees were timid fellows who had never seen a bank robber. They were scared of even petty pickpockets. A bank robber holding a pistol and a butcher’s knife terrified them.  One employee immediately took out a key from his table drawer and gave it Mister Jackal.

“This … is … one… of… the… two… keys. But you… can’t… open… the... safe... You... need... other ... key,” the employee was so scared that he could only stammer these words. 

“Give me the other key; don’t waste my time,” Mister Jackal first snatched the key from the employee and then shouted at him.

“We don’t have the second key. It is with our Manager. He has not come today. He is sick,” said other bank employee.

Mister Jackal was bewildered. He knew that if failed to rob the bank he would lose his face and all his friends would make fun of him. He was desperate to rob the bank.

“What is the phone number of your Manager? He will have to come here with the key, right now,” he said to the bank employees.

The employees looked at each other. Both of them were trembling in fear. One of them gave him the phone number. Mister Jackal asked one of the employees to hold the butcher’s knife. He took out his mobile phone and spoke to the bank manager.

“Is it Mister Bank Manager speaking? I am a bank robber. Please listen to me very carefully. If you do not come to the bank within fifteen minutes I will kill one of your employees. And don’t forget to bring second key of the safe or you would lose one employee.”

“Please don’t harm my employees. I am very sick. I am down with high grade fever. I can’t come. But I will surely try to come in a day or two.”

“You think I am a fool. If you are down with high grade fever then you won’t be able to leave your bed for five or six days. Last year I too was down with high grade fever and I was bed-ridden for ten days. Have you consulted a doctor?”

“Yes, I had consulted Doctor Tinybrain.”

“He is a hopeless doctor. You should consult Doctor Sharpbrain.”

“But Doctor Tinybrain is our family doctor…”

“Do what I say.”

“If you insist then I will consult Doctor Sharpbrain. But please don’t harm my employees. I will let you know when I come to the bank.”

“I am not a hard-hearted person. Why would I harm anyone for no rhyme or reason? You can call me when you come to the bank. I will leave my phone number with your employees.  But if you fail to do so your loyal employees will forfeit their lives. Get well soon.”

Mister Jackal left the bank. Bank employees immediately called the manager who suggested that the police should be informed about the incident. Police was promptly informed.

Inspector Hardnose was tough police officer who believed that every criminal must be caught red-handed. He decided to lay a trap to catch the bank robber.

One week later, Mister Jackal received a phone call from the bank manager.

“Sir, I am the bank manager. I am in the bank.  I have the keys of the safe. If you want to rob the bank you can come as soon as possible.”

“Do you have sufficient cash in the safe?”

“We have about five million.”

“That’s great. I would be there in fifteen minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later Mister Jackal was hiding behind a school bus parked near the bank. He looked carefully in all directions. He could not see any police around the bank. There were no customers in the bank. He quietly sneaked into the bank. He was wearing a black mask and holding a pistol in one hand.

The manager was waiting for him.

“Good day Sir, I hope I have not disappointed you. Please do not harm my employees,” the manager greeted him with a smile and gave him the keys of the safe.

“Now, will you all please go into the bathroom,” Mister Jackal said and pointed towards the bathroom.

Manager and the two employees promptly went into the bathroom. Mister Jackal locked the bathroom door. He then opened the safe with the keys that manager had given to him. Safe was full of currency notes.

“This manger is a sensible person. And he is a man of his word too. I must reward him,” Mister Jackal said to himself.

He quickly filled his bag with the cash. All the time he was smiling at his smartness.

“What would my friends think if any of them were here? They would be jealous of me. Now they will all have to respect me and fear me. They …”

Someone tapped on his shoulder with a stick. He turned around and was shocked to see a police officer. He noticed that the police officer was holding only a stick. He decided to shoot the officer.

“You want to shoot me. Go ahead,” said the officer who had read his mind.

Mister Jackal just kept looking at the officer like a fool. The officer laughed and said, “But you can’t, can you? You left your pistol on the manager’s desk.”

Mister Jackal had already realized that he had foolishly left his pistol on the manager’s desk. He could see the pistol but it was beyond his reach. He knew the game was over for him.

The officer arrested him and said, “Did you think that the bank manager would just invite you to rob the bank without telling anything to police? How could you be so stupid? It was my plan to trap you red-handed and you fell for the trap.”

Mister Jackal was sent to the prison and he became a laughing stock of all criminals of the town. Everyone started calling him Mister Jackass. It hurt the poor fellow more than the prison sentence.

*********

© i b arora

Stone Warrior
(Part 4)

(Please see my post of 15th Nov for third part of the story)

Roock had read his mind. He knew that his time had come.

“Talavian army is nothing but an evil force; don’t you think so? And Zoran is the most evil soldier I have ever seen,” Roock said mildly.

“Would the king let me help our army?” asked Arwiz.

“No, never; he is great king and he will not even hear such a proposal,” Roock said.

“Then you must find out who is helping Talavians. I will reason with that magician; I will persuade him not to help Talavians,” Arwiz suggested.

“I can do that if I can go to Talavia. But I am afraid that if I enter Talavia, I may lose my vision permanently. Something worse could also happen. Zoran is an evil man; he will do anything to protect the wizard who is helping him,” Roock said and looked gloomy. But after a few moments he smiled as if a bright idea had struck him.

“But there is way out of this impasse. You give me some magical power to kill Zoran. We will not tell anyone about this. I will, with king’s permission, challenge Zoran. I will fight a duel with him. If he fights me like a true soldier I will not use the magical power. But if he uses any magical powers to defeat me or kill me, I will then use your powers and kill him,”Roock said.

“Even if you are able to kill Zoran you will still have to defeat his army. And you won’t be able to defeat them if the magician continues to help them. We will have to deal with this evil magician,” Arwiz said.

Roock became nervous; he knew there was no magician helping Talavians. He had just cooked a story to deceive Arwiz and get some magical powers from him. He only wanted to kill Zoran and show to the world and to his king that he was a great warrior. He knew he could not kill Zoran without magical powers.

“You don’t understand; once Zoran is dead the magician will not help Talavians. That magician is Zoran’s friend and he is helping Talavians only because of his friendship with Zoran. He will not help Talavian soldiers or Talavian King if Zoran dies.”

Arwiz was a simple person. He got influenced by this smooth and deceptive talk of Roock.

“I will give you dagger. It is the dagger of Tones. He was great wizard who lived two thousand years ago. If you stab Zoran with that dagger he will turn into a stone. You can stab him on any part of the body but his blood must fall on the earth. Even a drop of his blood falling on the earth would be enough to turn him into a stone,” said Arwiz.

Arwiz opened a safe and took a beautiful dagger gave. He gave the dagger to Roock. Roock’s joy knew no bound. He thanked Arwiz and left his palace.

“Remember, you can use it against Zoran only. It will lose its magical power if you use it against any other person,” Arwiz warned Roock and wished him victory in his duel against Zoran.

(To be continued)

 © i b arora

You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior
(Part 3)

(please see post of 7th Nov for second part of the story)

Zoran had now acquired a formidable reputation. Even in far off countries people knew of a fearsome warrior who was invincible; who fought like ZZaraan the legendary warrior of times gone by; who could not be defeated even by hundred soldiers.

The king of Brasia was wild with anger. He could not believe that his army had been twice beaten by Talavian soldiers. He was angry because the attack had been planned for months. Still his soldiers could not even capture one post. They had all been badly beaten. When he saw his soldiers he was shocked; they did not look like soldiers, they looked like dirty street urchins.

The king of Brasia was thirsting for revenge. He wanted to teach Talavian army a bitter lesson. But he knew that as long as Zoran was guarding Talavia his army would never succeed. Zoran had to be killed before his army attacked Talavia again.

There was an ambitious soldier in Brasian army. His name was Roock. He was not a brave soldier; he was not even well-trained. He had fought Talavian army; but every time he was sent to the battle he had managed to cleverly run away from the battle field; every time he escaped being killed or wounded.

Roock was a wicked and a dishonest person. He wanted to rise in the esteem of the king but did not want to work hard. He did not want to face any danger; he did not want risk his life in the battle field. He wanted rise in the Army by deceit.

He had befriended a wizard, Arwiz, who lived in an old palace in a dense forest. Arwiz, the wizard, knew every type of magic and sorcery. But he was a kind man and did not hurt even a fly. He spent all his time in his forest palace, experimenting with magic wands and magic potions and concoctions and with fiery dragons and what not. He had some faithful and loyal assistants who stayed with him in his palace.

Roock was son of one of these assistants of Arwiz who had, unfortunately, died young. Arwiz had looked after Roock after the death of his father.  But he was not happy with boy’s unruly behaviour and bad manners. He advised and admonished Roock many a time but the boy was not willing to change himself. One day Roock asked him to leave his palace and join the army. He thought that military training and discipline will do him some good.

Roock joined the army. He remained in touch with the wizard. In time, he learnt to pretend that he had become a brave and disciplined soldier. Arwiz was pleased with this change. They became good friends, even though Arwiz was much older than Roock.

Roock visited the wizard in his forest palace. He pretended that he was badly wounded and some rest to recover from his wounds.

“What happened?” asked the worried Arwiz.

“Did you not hear? Our army fought a battle with Talavian army. It was a fierce battle. We had almost beaten the enemy who were trying to capture our country. But then they played a dirty trick. They took help of a vile magician. We fought like true and brave soldiers but enemy fought us with magic and sorcery. All of us lost our vision in the battlefield; we became blind temporarily; we did not know what was happening to us. And soon we were badly beaten. I too was badly wounded. But I refused to give in and kept on fighting till my friends dragged me away from the battle field,” Roock lied smoothly.

“That’s very unbecoming of Talavians. They should have gallantly fought like soldiers. But I hear they have a brave and a great warrior in their army. I think his name is Zoran. Was he there in the battle?” Arwiz asked.

“Yes, and he was leading the enemy. It was he who took help of the magician. No doubt, he is big and stong, but he is not a brave soldier. Now that they have an evil wizard to help them we can never beat them. They can attack us any time they want. They can capture our country whenever they want. It is so disgusting for us, any day our women and children will become slaves of Talavia,” Roock spoke as per a plan.

He wanted to take help of Arwiz. But he knew that old man would not help him to fight an army of brave and chivalrous soldiers. He was too decent to help him in the treachery he was planning. He had planned to deceive Arwiz and take his help in killing Zoran.

Arwiz was fooled by false story that Roock had told him. He thought that Roock was speaking the truth and that made him angry. He was angry for he believed that magic and sorcery should never be used against soldiers in a battle field. Magic could be used only to fight and crush evil forces.

(to be continued)

© i b arora

You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior
(Part 2)

 (please see my post of 6th Nov for first part of story)

Talavian soldiers chased the enemy soldiers out of their beloved country. Talavia had won a great victory. But everyone knew that this victory had been won only because of one man. That man was Zoran. He had fought a fierce battle when other Talavian soldiers had lost their confidence and they were running away from the battle field. They had lost all hope of beating Brasian army. But Zoran had refused to give in. he had fought bravely. He was unstoppable. He had turned the tide of battle.

Everyone praised Zoran for his courage and bravery. The King awarded him the Star of Bravery. It was the highest military honour which very few Talavian soldiers had received. But he didn’t look much enthused by this award.

“You don’t appear pleased with the honour that we have bestowed on you?” the King asked Zoran.

“My Lord, I am grateful for the honour that you have given me. I will wear this Star with pride. But I would be happy if you let me guard our borders. Please release from the King’s guards; please send me to the border,” Zoran replied very humbly.

The King was pleased with Zoran and he accepted his request. He was posted as the Captain of Eastern Post.   

Zoran became a hero of Talavia. His reputation spread far and wide. Enemy began to fear him for his strength. Talavians began to respect him for his bravery.

Brasian army was smarting under the defeat suffered by them at the hands of one man. They were thirsting for revenge. Six months later they again attacked Talavia. This time they were better prepared and were expecting a swift victory.  They had attacked after a lot planning and preparation.

The attack was launched on the Eastern Post. Zoran was well prepared to defend his post. He had fifty soldiers under his command. They all fought fiercely. Even though they were outnumbered they did not retreat even an inch. Zoran led his troops from the front. He struck the enemy like lightening. His sword was like a thunderbolt. No one could withstand his assault. Most of the enemy soldiers were either killed or seriously wounded.

Enemy soon realized the futility of their adventure. They had lost most of the men but they had not been able to advance even by an inch. Enemy lost heart and ran away from the battle field.

(To be continued)

 © i b arora

You can read next part of the story here

Stone Warrior

                                                              (part 1)

Nine hundred and sixty five years ago a boy was born in the town of Talavia. Even at birth he was a big baby. In fact he was a giant baby. When his grandmother saw him she shouted in glee. She said, “My, my, he is such a big boy. In his own time he will surely be big, strong man; he will be as strong as Zzaraan.  Let us name him Zoran.”

Zzaraan was a legendry warrior who had killed hundreds of dragons and demons when they had attacked Talavia two thousand years ago. People of Talavia worshipped Zzaraan. Every man wanted to be brave like Zzaraan. Every father wanted a son as strong and powerful as Zzaraan

Zoran grew into a strong boy. Even at the age fourteen he was seven feet tall; he was big and strong as a bull. He could with one blow of an axe cut a huge tree. He could with bare hands kill a huge bear.

His father was a simple shepherd. He wanted Zoran to look after sheep and goats. He wanted Zoran to become a good, simple shepherd. But Zoran wanted to become a soldier. He wanted to fight the enemy and defend his beloved country. He wanted to kill the demons if they ever dared to attack Talavia. He wanted to be as brave as Zzaraan was.

One day, without telling his father, Zoran presented himself before the King. The King looked at Zoran and said, “My boy, why don’t you become a soldier? My army needs brave and strong men like you to defend our country.”

Zoran said, “My Lord, my father wants me to look after his goats and sheep. I must not disobey him.”

“We will persuade your father. He will agree,” King said to him.

 Zoran’s father got persuaded and he became a soldier. For two years he trained and trained hard. He learnt archery; he learnt to fight with swords and daggers; he learnt to use spears and lances, hammers and clubs. After two years of rigorous training he could fight and fight fiercely with every weapon. He became a fearsome fighter. Every soldier of Talavian army held him in high esteem.

The King too was pleased to see Zoran in his battle gear; he looked so majestic and fearsome. The king appointed him as one of his personal body guards. But Zoran was not pleased for he wanted to be on a border post to defend the country.

When his father saw him he felt proud of his son, “I think you did well by joining the army. You are a born soldier. Always fight the enemy like a tiger. Then they will all fear you for your strength and respect you for your bravery.”

One night when everyone in Talavia was asleep, soldiers of Brasia attacked. Talavian army was taken by surprise. Brasia was a friendly neighbour and in last one thousand years its army had never attacked Talavia.

Talavian soldiers were not well prepared; but they fought bravely. They were outnumbered. A messenger rushed to inform the King and to request for reinforcement.

The King was taken aback and did not know what to do. Zoran requested the King, “My Lord, let me go and fight the enemy. If we dither we are likely to face a huge defeat. I will take just ten of your guards and beat the hell out of Brasians.”

The King had no option but to accept the suggestion of Zoran. All Talavian soldiers were in far off posts and no reinforcement could be sent immediately to fight Brasians.     

Zoran went with ten of King’s guards. But by the time they reached the battle ground Talavian army had already been beaten. Talavian soldiers were retreating.  Brasian army was regrouping to enter the town.

Zoran let out a huge battle cry. He and the King’s guards attacked the Brasian army. They were brave soldiers. But Zoran was exceptional. He fought like a tiger. He moved on the battle ground like a whirlwind. Brasian army just could not withstand this onslaught.  No Brasian soldier could match his strength and ferocity. They began to lose the ground. The tide of the battle turned and Brasian soldiers began to retreat.

Talavian soldiers who had retreated came back and joined the battle.  

(To be continued)

 © i b arora

You can read next part of the story here

An Empty Bottle

Mr Fox and Mr Hyena were thieves. But they were only petty thieves; they had never succeeded in stealing something valuable like a rare painting or a priceless diamond. They had never robbed a bank or a reputed store. No one in the underworld, therefore, respected them.

“I think our time has come,” said Mr Fox.

“How come?” asked Mr Hyena.  

“Mr Bear, who is the regular guard of Tiny’s Bank, has gone on leave. Mr Tiny has hired Mr Jackal as a temporary gap guard.”

“How does that help us?”

“No one in the bank knows that Mr Jackal loves to drink; in fact he loves to get drunk.’

“Well, I can see an opening there. We can offer him a free drink and he will let us rob the bank.”

Same day, at about 10 PM, Mr Fox and Mr Hyena were loitering near Tiny’s Bank. Mr Fox was holding a bottle of whisky in his hand. Mr Jackal looked at them with suspicion. He was alert and kept a close watch on them.

“Sir,do you have a lighter?” Mr Fox politely inquired of Mr Jackal.

“No. I don’t like to smoke when I am on duty,” he answered tersely. But his eyes were focused on the bottle that Mr Fox was holding. It was a whisky he had never tasted.

“You are great guy; I like you and thanks anyway,” Mr Fox could sense that it would be easy to trap Mr Jackal.

Next day same time the two thieves were again loafing near the bank. This time Mr Hyena was holding a bottle of whisky; and he made no pretence of hiding it. They cleverly engaged Mr Jackal in small talk.

“You drink whisky every day?” he could not resist asking them.

“Well, not every day; but we do love to drink when we are with our friends,” said Mr Fox.

“We can be friends too and a have drink when you are off duty,” said Mr Hyena.

Mr Fox and Mr Hyena did not come near the bank for next couple of nights. Mr Jackal had been eagerly waiting for them, for he wanted to befriend them.

Then, one night Mr Fox came but he was alone. He was carrying a bottle of whisky.  He looked a bit sad.

“What happened, why this long face?” asked Mr Jackal.

“My son is a good for nothing fellow; that is what I always thought. But he proved me wrong. He will become an Army officer. I thought I will have a drink with my friend and celebrate the success of my stupid son. I bought this expensive bottle of whisky too. But Mr Hyena has already left for Green Town on a business assignment. I am so disappointed. Today I can’t even celebrate and have a small drink, for my friend is not here to give me company,” said Mr Fox.

“It is really a great news and we must celebrate it. I will give you company. But mind you, I will have only one small drink,” said Mr Jackal.

 Mr Fox thanked him profusely. He had come prepared for the occasion. Each of them took a small drink. But Mr Fox was clever. He kept praising and flattering Mr Jackal, and he kept on pouring whisky in Mr Jackal’s glass. While Mr Fox drank a small quantity of whisky, Mr Jackal kept on drinking till the bottle was empty. Mr Jackal was eventually dead drunk.

Mr Hyena appeared on the scene; all the time he had been hiding nearby. They tied Mr Jackal’s hands and feet with a thick rope. They broke open the lock of the main door of the bank. Inside the bank there was a huge safe.  Mr Fox had brought the necessary tools to break open the safe. Now, Tiny’s Bank was actually a tiny bank and did not even have an alarm system. No one came to know that bank was being robbed.

Mr Fox and Mr Hyena stole all the cash that was in the safe. The whole operation did not take even ten minutes.

“Don’t leave any evidence, no foot prints, no finger prints,” cautioned Mr Hyena.

“Don’t you worry; police will find nothing that would lead them to us,” Mr Fox said arrogantly.

Before leaving the bank they untied the hands and feet of Mr Jackal who was sleeping like a log. They were excited for they had, for the first time, robbed a bank, even if it was a tiny bank. No one would make fun of them, they said to each other. They were no longer petty thieves; they were now bank robbers. 

Morning came and Mr Jackal woke up from his sleep.

“What a sound sleep I had after many nights,” Mr Jackal said to himself. But then he got a shock of his life. He was not in his home, enjoying his sleep in his cosy bed. He had been sleeping outside the bank. The door of the bank was open. Inside the bank, the safe was open and empty.

“The bank has been robbed. Those two crooks must have robbed the bank. It was foolish of me to drink while on duty. Mr Fox tricked me. What should I do now? Should I inform the manager? Should I call the police? I think I am in deep trouble; I think I should run away.” Mr Jackal cursed himself and took to his heels.

The bank manager arrived at his usual time. He too got a shock when he saw the bank door open. He immediately called the police. Police officer instructed him on telephone, “Do not touch anything, we have to collect evidence and take finger prints to nab the robbers.”

In minutes the police officers arrived. They promptly got busy looking for evidence.

“Can I talk to the bank guard?” asked the Senior Inspector.

“Our regular guard is on leave for last fifteen days. We had hired Mr Jackal as a temporary guard; but he is nowhere around,” replied the manager.

“Did you check his background before hiring him?”

“Well, I was just thinking of getting his background verified,” manager replied weakly.

“But you ought to have verified it before hiring him,” Inspector said harshly.

At that point of time a constable came and showed an empty bottle of whisky that he had found outside, near main door.

“Who in the bank is fond drinking such an expensive whisky?”

“No one in the bank can afford to buy this whisky. Someone must have left the bottle there,” manager said after inspecting the empty bottle.

“That someone could be a bank robber.” He asked one of the constables to check with all whisky shops in the town, “It could be well worth a try”.

By afternoon the police knew that Mr Fox had purchased that bottle of whisky.

“Well Mr Fox, you were not smart enough and you left behind evidence in the form of an empty bottle,” mumbled the Senior Inspector.

Now Mr Fox and Mr Hyena were very confident that they had not left any evidence in the bank; they did not think it necessary to go into hiding. Police were able to nab them without any difficulty.

“You have no evidence against us,” Mr Fox said arrogantly.

“We have this empty bottle of whisky; it has your finger prints.”

“That’s impossible, it cannot have my finger prints, I was wearing rubber gloves,” blurted Mr Fox. But no sooner had uttered these words he knew he had committed a blunder.

“You are right; it does not have your finger prints. I lied and now you have admitted your guilt,” said the police officer with a polite smile.

Mr Fox and Mr Hyena were sent to jail for five years. But they did become famous in the underworld. Didn't they?

© i b arora

Misdeeds

A large troop of monkeys lived on a huge banyan tree near an ancient temple. Moti was the leader of this troop. Moti was a wise and sensible monkey. He took care of every monkey, young and old. Everyone was happy and enjoyed a carefree life.

But there was one monkey in the troop who was foolish and rude. His name was Timkoo.  Moti had, on many occasions, advised and cautioned him. But Timkoo would never take Moti seriously. He thought that he was smart enough to take care of himself. He thought that Moti was a weak and silly monkey.

Every Tuesday a large number of devotees would come to the temple to offer prayers. Everyone would bring some offering for the Deity. Some people brought sweets and some people brought fruits and nuts.

The fragrance of the sweets and fruits was too tempting for the monkeys. They would all, one by one, come inside the temple. They would eagerly look at the people coming in and going out of the temple. Many people would give sweets and fruits to the monkeys which they devoured quickly.

No monkey would ever attack any devotee. No monkey would ever snatch anything from any person, not even from a small child.  Moti had clearly told them that no man, woman or a child was ever to be attacked or threatened.

No monkey, not even Timkoo, had ever dared to disobey Moti. But on one Tuesday, Timkoo attacked a small child. He had come to the temple with his parents. The child was holding a large paper bag full of sweets. Timkoo   snatched the paper bag. The child was too terrified to even scream. Timkoo ran away with the sweets. He climbed on the roof of the temple.  Some of his friends joined him. They greedily ate the sweets and felt proud of themselves.

Moti had been quietly watching this incident. He was angry and horrified.  He said to himself, “Timkoo is an idiot.  He does not know what trouble he will bring on all of us.”

In anger he ordered his troop, “Back to the tree, at once.”

When every monkey was back on the tree, Moti said to them, “Today Timkoo has committed a blunder. He attacked a small child and snatched the sweets. Till now people coming to the temple were not afraid of us. Many of them were willingly giving us sweets and fruits. But now they will fear us. They may even attack us. Therefore, listen to me very carefully. I am not going to repeat this warning again. Never ever attack anyone coming to the temple. Never ever snatch anything from anyone. Just eat what people willingly give you. If you attack anyone or snatch anything from anyone, we would all be in serious trouble.”

While every monkey saw sense in what Moti was saying, Timkoo was not impressed. He thought it was fun to terrify kids and women and to snatch things they were carrying. He provoked some of his friends, “Moti is now too old to be leader of this troop. He is a timid fellow. I am not going to accept his silly orders. Let us do what we want to do. Let us have some fun in life.”

Some of his friends got carried away by these provoking words. Next Tuesday Timkoo and his gang of monkeys started attacking young children and women. They snatched sweets and fruits from many women and children. Some of the children even got injured while running away from the monkeys.

Men holding large sticks attacked the monkeys and chased them away. Big boys pelted stones on them. Monkeys ran helter-skelter. Some of the monkeys got hurt.

Moti was wild with anger. He slapped Timkoo hard on his face. He shouted at Timkoo’s friends. They promised that they would never behave in this manner; they would follow Moti’s order; they would not attack people coming to the temple.

But Timkoo was incorrigible. And so were his friends. Tuesday came. Timkoo and his gang again attacked the people who had come to the temple. Moti was disappointed but not surprised. He knew that Timkoo and his gang would not stop attacking prople.

Back on the tree, Moti said, “Now we will never go to the temple. People are angry with us. They must be planning to get rid of us.  Now it will not be safe to go to the temple.”

Monkeys were disappointed. But they knew that what Moti was saying was right. Everyone accepted Moti’s direction.

But Timkoo and his gang were in no mood to go by Moti’s order. They no longer treated themselves as part of the troop.

Next Tuesday Moti and other monkeys of the troop did not go to the temple. But Timkoo and his gang were eagerly looking forward to their weekly visit to the temple.

“I think we should target boys and girls only; particularly those who carry large bags,” Timkoo suggested.

“Yes, that way we will get large quantity of sweets and fruits,” said one of his friends.

“Yes, we will then eat sweets and fruits to our hearts fill,” said another friend.

As per their plan Timkoo and his friends targeted a little boy who was carrying a large paper. Bag was full of tasty sweets. They could not resist the temptation of snatching that bag. They attacked the boy. The boy got scared. He dropped the bag and ran for his life. Before anyone could attack them Timkoo picked the bag and climbed on the roof the temple.  His friends quickly followed him.

Timkoo and his friends greedily devoured the sweets that were in the bag. They were all pleased with themselves. But soon all of them felt dizzy. A little later they were all asleep.

And when they woke up they were all stunned. They were not on the roof of the temple. They found themselves in a dense forest. For a moment they were dumbstruck.

“Where are we?” asked one monkey when he found his voice.

“How did we reach here?’ asked another monkey.

“I think we are in the forest, on the other side of river Chandravati,” said Timkoo.

“Then we are all doomed and for ever. We will never find our way out of this forest,” all other monkeys shouted in one voice.

Timkoo and his friends did not know that people had planned to trap them. They had mixed a medicine in the sweets which the little boy was carrying in a large paper bag. Monkeys fell for the trap. They snatched the medicated sweets and devoured them greedily.

 All of them fell unconscious. Men, holding large gunny bags, were just waiting for that moment. They stuffed the unconscious monkeys in the bags. They carried the bags across Chadravati River and left the monkeys in the dense forest.

“Don’t you worry, I will find a way to go back to that temple,” Timkoo tried to cheer his friends.

But they were already regretting their foolishness and misdeeds.

“We were fools that we chose to ignore the warning given by Moti. He is a true leader. He is wise and cares for everyone. You are an idiot and unfit to be our leader. We should have never followed you. We should have never troubled people coming to the temple. They trapped us and now we will have to live in this forest forever. Leave us now or we will thrash you,” everyone said in one voice.

Timkoo had no option but to beat a hasty retreat. He was now totally friendless in that dense forest.

A wise crow, perched on a nearby tree, had been listening to their arguments. He laughed and said, “Your misdeeds catch up with you, always.”

© i b arora