A long, long time ago, in a village called Vrindavan, there lived a cheerful and playful boy named Krishna. He had a magical flute and a heart full of love. Everyone in the village adored him! Every year, the people of Vrindavan would pray to Indra, the god of rain. They believed that Indra sent rain for their crops and animals, so they offered food, sweets, and prayers to please him. But one day, little Krishna asked, “Why do we worship Indra? Isn’t it Govardhan Hill that gives us food, grass, and shelter? Shouldn’t we thank the hill instead?” The villagers were surprised. Children can you tell what all does a hill is ? That’s right.. and Krishna explained to the villagers: “The hill gives grass for cows, trees for fruits, and fresh water. Let’s thank Govardhan Hill!” Everyone agreed with Krishna. So that year, instead of worshipping Indra, they made a big feast and offered it to Govardhan Hill. But Indra was very angry. He roared, “How dare they stop praying to me? I will teach them a lesson!” Children, any guesses on how lord Indra would teach the villagers a lesson. Let’s listen ahead to find out. Indra sent dark clouds and heavy rain. It poured and poured! The rivers overflowed. The animals shivered. The villagers were scared. They ran to Krishna and said, “Help us, Krishna!” Krishna smiled calmly. He walked to Govardhan Hill, and with his little finger, he lifted the entire hill like an umbrella! He said, “Come under the hill! You’ll be safe here.” The villagers, cows, and animals all huddled under the hill. For seven days and seven nights, Krishna held up the hill, without even a drop of sweat! Finally, Indra saw Krishna’s power and felt ashamed. He stopped the rain and came down to say sorry. “Forgive me, Krishna. I now know you are no ordinary boy—you are divine,” Indra said. Krishna smiled, “Everyone must learn to be kind and not proud.” From that day, the people of Vrindavan celebrated the Govardhan Festival every year, thanking the hill for its gifts.

Once, a great pundit came to Vijayanagar. He approached the king, Krishnadevrai and claimed that he was so knowledgeable that he could defeat all the king’s ministers in a debate about any subject. The king accepted the challenge and asked his ministers to compete with the pundit. However, All the ministers were defeated as the pundit seemed to be an expert on every subject. Children, I am sure you all love riddles. Can you ask a riddle now? Nice, that’s really clever of you. At last, it was Tenali Raman’s turn. Tenali showed the pundit a cloth cover in the shape of a book and told him, “I will debate with you on a topic from this great book called ‘Thilakstha Mahisha Bandhanam’.” The pundit was stumped, as he had never heard of such a book. The pundit asked the king for one night’s time to prepare. However, the pundit was worried that he would lose the debate as he had never heard of the book. So he packed his things and left the kingdom quietly at night. The next day, the king and courtiers heard that the pundit had gone away during the night. The king was impressed with Tenali and told him he wanted to read the book that scared the pundit away. Tenali laughed and said such a book did not exist. He unpacked the cloth cover only to reveal a bundle of ’til’ sticks and some sheep dung tied together by a buffalo-hide rope to form the shape of a book. Tenali had combined the Sanskrit names of the contents of the cloth cover to make up the book’s name – ‘Thilakashta Mahisha Bandhanam’. The phrase literally breaks down to "tila" (mustard), "kashta" (stick), "mahisha" (buffalo), and "bandhana" (rope), which can be interpreted as a rope made of mustard stalks used to tie a buffalo The King was impressed with Tenali’s cleverness and rewarded him. Moral You should not be overly arrogant about your knowledge and wisdom.

Jack's Gold Day Over busy marketplaces, the sun rose in Willowbrook, a little town. Twelve-year-old Jack was a curious smart, caring boy who lived with his mother, Lily, in a small home on the outskirts of town. Lily had been ill for weeks thus, Jack would search the hills outside of town every morning in the hopes of finding something useful to assist his mother and pay for her medical bills. One morning, while digging near an old oak tree with the sun shining bright like a star, Jack's shovel hit something hard. He unearthed a small, dusty chest-and inside it, shimmering in the sunlight, were gold coins. Jack couldn't believe his eyes.He hugged the chest tightly “This could help mom," he whispered to himself. Excited, he ran to the town square and approached the first merchant he saw. The merchant, a sly-looking man with a crooked smile, eyed the gold greedily. "Ah, boy, these coins aren't worth much," the merchant said, rubbing his hands together. “I'll take them off your hands for five silver pieces." Jack hesitated. Five silver? That didn't sound right but he was desperate.Thus he started slowly reaching his hand out ready for the exchange,eager to get whatever he had to help his mom have a fighting chance As Jack was doing the exchange unsure, an older merchant from across the square called out. "Boy! Come here a moment." Jack walked over, and the kind merchant examined the gold carefully. “These coins are pure gold," he said warmly. “I'll give you a fair price, one hundred gold pieces." Jack's eyes widened.He jumped up and down and ran all over the place, never in his life had he got hold of this much money with this he would not only be able to pay for his mothers medical treatment but also have 50% of the money left over. He thanked the honest merchant and sold him the treasure. With the money, Jack rushed to the doctor and paid for his mother's hospital treatment. That evening, as Lily rested peacefully Jack sat by her side feeling relieved and grateful. From that day on, Jack remembered what he learned never rush into anything and take time to think and choose wisely.

35 years ago in a small city in Argentina, there was a boy who’s name was John Barnes who grew up wanting to be a football superstar! He really liked to play football. On a hot sunny day, there was a game happening, and John had gone to watch it with his grandmother. He wanted to play but he was only 8 years old. So, John’s Grandmother asked the coaches if he could play? But he was too young. So after a long time of convincing, he finally got a chance and used it. In that game, John played really well and he even scored. And shouted so loud that the whole stadium could hear him. When John got older, Barcelona saw how talented John was and tried to sign him. John had a huge decision to pick – family or football? He had chosen football and then had a trial with Barcelona. And soon signed on a napkin. In his first game he had scored with Radamel giving him an amazing pass. And John was so happy. In his next season he had scored a lot more goals than the last one including his first hat trick. The Argentina national football team had seen how he played and then signed him up for the under-18 team. Coming back to Barcelona, John had to play the biggest rivalry in football - the El Clasico (Real Madrid vs. Barcelona). In that game, he had scored his second ever hat trick and then in the next game he had scored the best goal of his career where he dribbled past the whole team and the goalkeeper. Two years later, Barcelona had reached the Champions League final and were against Manchester United who had the next best player in the world at that time, Marcos Luis who had won the Ballon’dor the year before. In the final John had scored a header and the final score was 3-1. Barcelona had won the Champions League in 2009. John had won the Ballon’dor in 2009. Next year was a big one. There was a World Cup to be played. Next year Argentina were placed in a group with Greece, South Korea and Nigeria. They won all of those games and didn’t concede a single goal. In the knockout stage they won 3-1 to Mexico, then in the quarter final they had lost miserably to Germany 4-0. Even though the World Cup exit was devastating, John had still won the ballon d’or in 2010. In 2011, the big rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona had just got 1 big step bigger. In that year, Barcelona had played Real Madrid 6 times and one of those times Real Madrid lost 6-2 and Messi had scored 4 goals. And they reached the champions league final again and played Manchester United again. This time, Messi hadn’t scored but they still won the Champions League and John won the Ballon d’or in 2011 again. The next year, Messi had broken a world record for the most goals in a calendar year, 91, with Barcelona and Argentina. He also had to play the Olympics that year where John had won and he had won the ballon d’or in 2012. In the next year John retired and was called the best football player in history.

The Magical Cap Once upon a time, there were four friends named Karthik, Thanvi, Sumedha, and Sathwik. Sathwik had pet cats, and Thanvi had pet ducks. But there was a big problem. There wasn’t enough food, and the water was dirty. The poor pets were getting sick. Everyone in the village was very sad. Near their huts, there were some caves. People believed there was treasure hidden inside. So, many villagers started looking for the treasure. One day, they found a secret cave! But oh no—the cave had a big lock, and they couldn’t open it. They searched and searched for the key, but they couldn’t find it. Then, Karthik had an idea. “Let’s break the lock!” he said. They worked together and finally opened the cave. Inside, there was no gold… but there was a shiny, colorful cap! They picked it up and asked, “Can you talk?” To their surprise, the cap said, “Yes!” It was a magical cap! The cap could give anything the villagers needed. Every day, the villagers came to the cave, asked for food, clean water, and other things, and the cap gave it all to them. The pets became healthy again, and the village was happy. The magical cap helped everyone live a better life. And they all lived happily ever after.

The Best Pals Once upon a time, there were 2 childhood friends who cared for each other. Their names were Bob and Ed. They used to live next to each other and their parents were also friends. Their day used to start together when they would first wake up and see each other as if giving a wake-up call. Both were equally loved up the elders in each other’s family. They were such good friends that many children were tried to make them fight but they did not succeed. One day, they decided to go to the park and saw little kids playing football, Ed wanted to disrupt their game so he told Bob “Hey, let’s ruin these kids football game.” At this he said “These kids are having so much fun, I think we should mind our own business.” ”Yeah ! GO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.” Said Ed angrily as he tackles the ball from the kid by pushing him and then scoring with POWER. ”See it isn’t that hard. I had fun and nothing really happened.” Said Ed.” Uh, Ed if you look at the kids then you can see how angry they are.” Said Bob. ”MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!” Shouted Ed” Okay okay geez chill calm down” Said Bob” I don’t want to be friends with you.” Said Bob” Alright bet” Said Ed *THE NEXT DAY* Ed finds the same kids who were playing football and right when he is about to take the ball from them the kid picks up the ball and tells his friends” Watch out, it’s the same guy who took our ball and scored.” Ed started to feel a little bad but he didn’t care that much after that he saw a few people who were teasing him for not having any friends. He decided to go to Bob he rang the bell of Bobs doorbell. “Sorry Bob, I should’ve listened to you. I really should mind my own business.” Bob was happy that his friend realized his mistake. Ed and Bob hugged each other. They would have arguments but they were always together for good.

THE GREAT ESCAPE Hi, I’m Srihita! I was part of the Story Writing and podcasting Summer Camp 2025, organized by Miss Ritu Vaish, producer of the Story Prism Podcast. I had a great time learning how to write, record, and edit my own story. Here’s one of the stories I created. I hope you enjoy it! Please give me your listening ear. It was a bright, sunny morning in a cozy little neighbourhood, where the smell of fresh dough and melted cheese floated through the air. Inside a cheerful kitchen with checkered curtains and a warm, golden glow, a freshly made pizza sat on a plate near the open window. Birds chirped outside, and a soft breeze rustled the leaves in the backyard trees. It was the perfect day for an adventure. The pizza’s name was Poly. But Poly wasn’t just any ordinary pizza—she dreamed of adventures and had one big goal: to never, ever be eaten. "I want to go on an adventure!" she exclaimed one sunny morning, looking out the window. "I don’t want to stay on this plate anymore. I want to see the world!" Poly slid off the plate and snuck out the kitchen door into the backyard. “Wheee!” she cheered, spinning and sliding with joy. But her excitement didn’t last long. Max, the neighbour’s dog, was playing outside when he spotted her. “Yum, pizza!” Max barked, his eyes widening. “You’re my lunch for sure!” Poly’s eyes went wide with panic. “Oh no!” she cried and rolled as fast as she could, trying to escape. Max chased her across the yard, tail wagging and tongue out. “I’m going to catch you!” he barked. “I can’t get caught!” Poly thought desperately. She spotted something in the corner of the yard and sped toward it was a big, messy pile of trash. “Yes!” she whispered. “If I get all dirty, he won’t want me anymore!” Poly jumped into the trash, covering herself in old banana peels, coffee grounds, and smelly leftovers. Max screeched to a stop nearby, sniffing the disgusting smell. “Eww… never mind,” he groaned. Poly giggled, proud of her clever escape. “Guess that’s one way to lose your appetite.” But just as she caught her breath and thought she was finally safe, a shadow appeared across the grass. She looked up and saw… A sharp-eyed bird had spotted her from above. With a loud screech, it flew down and snatched her up in its claws! “oh no, help somebody, help” Poly shouted as the bird got higher and higher. Down below, Max looked up and gasped. “Hey! That’s Poly!” Without thinking, he took off running, barking wildly. He chased the bird from the ground, and Jumped as high as he could and growling until it got startled and dropped Poly with a surprised squawk! Poly landed with a thud onto a soft patch of grass. She blinked, dizzy, and looked up to see Max standing over her. “Thank you for saving me!” she smiled Max wagged his tail. “You’re welcome” She looked at her dirty and smelly self and laughed. “If you help me clean up, maybe we could go on more adventures together. We could even save other foods from being eaten!” Max perked up. “That sounds fun! Maybe I can find myself a snackable pizza” “Exactly,” Poly giggled Max barked happily. “Come on let’s go!” And from that day on, a pizza and a dog: two unlikely friends: became the bravest, heroes the neighbourhood had ever seen.

The Snake Exploration Once, there lived a world famous archaeologist called Mark. He was blonde with blue eyes and fair skin. One day when he was watching the news, he saw that recently a group of explorers discovered a fossil of a snake, bigger than the anaconda in the Amazon rainforest.This lit up curiosity and a little bit of competition in him. So he informed his crew that they are going to the Amazon rainforest. They were very excited to go and explore. They only packed food, water, extra pairs of clothes and weapons to defend themselves from animals. Then after a day after packing and resting they finally started their voyage. As they passed the very busy and hustling city, it started to get more peaceful.Very strong with colourful variety of flowers with tender butterflies around the flowers. They even saw animals gather around a sparkling lake full of water. Everyone was mesmerized by the beauty. They had to travel for four long hours and finally reach the starting of the humongous rainforest. They camped outside in the majestic forest and made smores, sang songs, and told spooky stories. After some time it started raining, and their things got flooded. That is why they rushed to a nearby cave but unfortunately the cave got blocked! And the tribals started to corner them! The tribals said that they will only let them escape if they succeed in three challenges. The 1st one required team work. The team had to touch a red dot drawn on the roof of the cave in under a minute. The team formulated a plan that the weakest would be on the top to touch the dot. They succeeded like a pro.\ The second one required strength. Their objective was to find the strongest tribals in 2 minutes and they have some time to plan. Their plan was that the tall people would find the short tribals and the short people would fight the tall tribals. The tall people fought the short time by taking them in the hands and spinning them while the short people fought the tall tribals by ducking under the legs and punching them in the stomach. The third challenge required intelligence; they had to solve a riddle. The riddle was what word has 26 letters but only has three syllables. The team answered the alphabet. The tribals by now were very surprised by the team's endurance.The tribals not only let them go, but also promised that when they needed help the tribals would always be there for them and they just had to call them by blowing a whistle. The team went to the camping site together to get food and luggage so they could embark on the journey but to their surprise the tents were torn, their food was eaten and the water was spilled on the ground.Thought of quitting but mark did not allow that he gave an Inspirational speech and motivated the team to keep going. After travelling for a while on foot they reached the Amazon river and took a break by drinking some water from the river, eating some fruits from the trees and resting on the grass for a while. but when they woke up they saw a big snake, bigger than the Anaconda, it was the great Titanaboa!Very surprised but the title of over tried to attack and each but everyone there is wrong on the trees as the Titan of over is its head mark then remember that tribals promise and blue whistles. Suddenly a group of tribals came with their weapons and killed the Titanoboa.Mark thanked the tribals a lot and he and his team went back to the bus to head home. After he reached the city he informed the news about his insights on snakes. He said that the titanoboa could still be alive and snakes that are bigger could also be hiding in other forests. He became a big explorer.

The Time Traveller’s Backpack I am Ananya and I have been a part of story writing and podcasting summer camp 2025 organised by Ms.Ritu Vaish, the producer of story prism podcast. I had a great time writing my own stories, recording and editing them. Here’s the one I wrote: Please give me your listening ear Maya was just a normal 12 year old girl who had long hair, and she is a little pale. She loved adventures and always dreamt of time travel. One day , while walking home from school she was just normally kicking rocks , and pebbles as she was thinking about flying cars, and humanoid robots. But there was a huge tree and underneath the tree there was a shiny object. She darted to check what it was , and it was a backpack , but not the usual ones. It had glowing buttons , tiny screens , and a big green button which said ‘GO’ on it. Her eyes sparkled , curious, Maya kept the bag on. As soon as she pressed the button the world around her twisted and spun like a colourful tornado! When everything stopped , Maya found herself in a strange place. The trees were taller than the houses , and the mountains were shorter than usual. Dinosaurs roamed in the distance. ‘ I went back in time! ‘ Maya gasped with a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement. She explored the park. The ponds were bigger than lakes, and there were houseflies which buzzed around. Suddenly her eyes popped up when she saw a huge dinosaur, so she quickly hid behind a huge rock. Carefully, Maya gave it a piece of fruit from her lunch box to the baby dinosaur. It thanked Maya Just then the backpack beeped “ Low Battery. Must Return in 5 minutes.” Maya didn't bother about it much. She was busy playing with her new dinosaur friend. Then she noticed that she forgot to return back as the backpack was beeping. She panicked and did not know what to do.The dinosaur asked Maya to follow him. Maya got confused and just followed him. The dinosaur took her to a secret and mysterious cave. She was confused. Then Maya and Dinosaur went through the obstacles, and they both pressed a button together. Then they found a new bag. The dinosaur asked her to put it on. Maya thanked the dinosaur and said goodbye. She put on her bag and reached the same place where the old bag was. With that Maya was ready for her next adventure.

Once upon a time, there were two girls living in Mexico, Anna and Bella. They were best friends and did everything together. They went on trips, played, and went to party together. If one couldn’t go somewhere, other wouldn’t go either. One day, they made plans to go to India. It’s gonna be so fun! I just know it! Bella Said with Joy. Let’s get our visa’s right now!! Anna I said. They booked their flight and got their visas. Few days later, they were about to board their plane, when Anna realized she had left her boarding pass and she didn’t have a phone for her identification, so Bella boarded the player and Anna went back home, tears rolling down her cheek. The next day, Anna found her ticket and boarded another plane to India. Oh no! Anna a thought, worried. How will I know where Bella is? When she got off the plane, she found a piece of paper which looks like an itinerary. It was in Bella‘s handwriting! She had planned four destination. Taj Mahal, Charminar, Red Fort and the India Gate. Those sound-like interesting places! Anna thought. She bought four bus tickets and used one for the first destination, Taj Mahal. She couldn’t find Bella there. Anna felt sad. But she quickly cheered herself up by thinking ,well, Bella must have moved on.Hmmm…. What is the next destination? She checked the itinerary. Charminar! The next day, she used another bus ticket to go to Charminar. She couldn’t find Bella there either. The following day, she missed the bus, so used the last one for the last destination. The India Gate. This time she came early at around 4 AM. She went to a nearby hotel and slept there for sometime. When it was time for breakfast, she saw Bella at the other end of the dining Hall. Anna came over to Bella. Hey Bella! Bella was surprised. What? How did you come here? How did you find me? Anna smiled. I came on another flight, and I found your itinerary. Wow! Bella said. Let’s go home now, you must be exhausted.

MISCHEVIOUS NUB In a village there was a boy named D. Nub Junior Who lived in a village named Casa with his family, in his family there was his father named B.Nub , mother named E. Nub, elder brother named H. Nub. D.Nub had recently gotten a baby sister. The crib of the baby had twinkling stars mobile. One day when baby was sleeping, Nub junior was playing with the ball and the stars broke. Mother scolded him and asked him to go play in the garden. In the garden he saw his skateboard. He took it and started riding it on the road. But a car came and hit him. He fell and had to go to the hospital. His mother came to the hospital and was very worried. Nub junior had his leg broken and few bruises in leg and hands. He couldn't walk now and needed some help to walk. But he was enjoying lying down in the bed next to his baby sister playing with her. Nub was mischievous and playful, but he loved his baby sister a lot.

THE BLUE DOG Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a secret forest. A huge pack of wild dogs used to live there. They terrified many animals and some of them would run and jump into ponds to save themselves from these brutes! All the animals feared them. The dogs worked as guards for the Lion who treated them very badly. He would almost kill them when he was hungry. Most of the time, the dogs would trick a weak animal into coming to the Lion’s den, so that he could kill and eat it. Whatever was left, would be their food. One day, the Lion was very very mad because his family had left him. He was so angry that he killed one of the guard dogs who was very weak. The other dogs watched in horror, as their poor friend was killed by their Master. Alas! They stood there helplessly, watching the pain and agony of their friend, but could do nothing about it. Suddenly, the sky turned a bright blue and out came a Blue Dog with Angel wings! It turned out, that the weak dog became an Angel, and had come to defeat the Lion, once and for all! To everyone’s surprise, the Blue Dog lifted the Lion with its mind powers and threw him across the forest. The Lion went and hit a tree! He was furious! He could not believe that the weakling had actually become alive and was fighting back! He came rushing back and tried to attack the Blue Dog. But the Blue Dog had magical powers. They fought more, with punching, hitting and chasing around. All the animals began cheering for the Blue Dog. The Lion was now extremely exhausted from the fight and was also very scared of the Blue Dog. By now he had realized that he was losing the battle and the Blue Dog was way too powerful. The Lion finally surrendered. He started begging to be forgiven. The Blue Dog towered over him, and said in a throaty voice, “You can be forgiven only if you seek apology from all the animals you have tortured for so many years. That is the only way you can redeem yourself!” The Lion was at a loss of words. He bowed his head low and whispered, “I am sorry”. The Lion was banished from the forest. He was sent away to the forbidden land - “The Green Chapel”. No one heard of the Lion, ever again... or so they thought. And then, they all lived in peace. THE END Moral of the story - Never underestimate anyone, even if they are smaller. Raahi Chakraborty – 29th April 2025

The Midnight Chapter (Panav) Once upon a time, there was a family of three Emma, the mother, Josh, the father and a nine year young boy called Leo, who hated books. One stormy afternoon, he was stuck in his school library for detention. It was small, it had a weird smell of new books but there was one book, that had a fragrant smell of a rose. So Leo went towards it and opened the book. The book was named “The book of lost” and suddenly, he was pulled inside it. The only way out was to read every chapter of the book. Each one was a wild world - desserts, puzzles, monsters etc. The desserts were hot and dry, puzzles were hard to solve but he squeezed past it and monsters were fierce and scary but luckily he faced none. The talking page told Leo, the library only opens at midnight. Leo raced through the story reading fast, solving riddles and slowly learning to love the words. Just as the clock struck midnight, Leo finished the final page of the book. Lights flashed suddenly and he was back in the library. The storm outside finally cleared and he walked down the street and reached home. His parents were worried for Leo. When he returned, they asked him what had happened? Leo told them everything that he went through that night. His Mom and Dad did not believe him and asked him to stop lying. Leo got upset and he didn't know what to do, so without telling anything, he went back to his room and locked it. Clutching the memory of the adventure, he promised himself he would never look at books the same way again. That night he fell asleep with the novel open on the side of his bed dreaming of the next story waiting for him. Leo was a changed person the next day when he woke up. He was reading a book which he had got as a gift from his parents on his 8th Birthday. When his parents saw him they were surprised and thought to themselves that Leo wasn't lying to them so they went up to Leo and apologized. Leo started loving books the end and his parents created a small library for him in his room.

A DOG WHO DISAPPEARED Once upon a time, there lived two friends, Bryce and Kyle. Bryce had a playful pet dog named Biscuit, who was always by his side. One day, the two friends decided to visit the carnival. That afternoon, they got ready, excited to explore the colorful festivities by evening. The carnival was vibrant and lively, with spinning cotton candy, fire breathers, and popcorn stalls filling the air with joy and excitement. Mesmerized by the fire breathers' dazzling performance, Bryce and Kyle lost track of everything around them, including Biscuit. In the bustling crowd, Biscuit wandered off, unnoticed. After some time, Bryce suddenly realized Biscuit was no longer with them. Worried, he turned to Kyle and asked, "Where’s Biscuit?" They searched the carnival frantically, calling out his name, but Biscuit was nowhere to be found. Heartbroken, they returned home, feeling helpless. Bryce and Kyle went home sad. But the next morning determined not to give up , they started asking people in the neighborhood if they had seen Biscuit. They even asked the ice cream man, but he said, “I don’t know your dog, but maybe I can help if you show me a picture.” Bryce said, “That’s genius!” They ran back to Bryce’s house, flipped the family photo album, and grabbed the adorable picture of Biscuit. Then they made big posters and put them all around the neighborhood hoping somebody would recognize Biscuit. Exhausted but hopeful, they returned to Bryce's house and waited anxiously by the phone. The night passed without any news, and Kyle eventually said goodnight and went home. The next morning, while Bryce’s parents enjoyed their morning tea, Bryce lay in bed, silently wishing for a miracle. Suddenly, the phone rang! He handed the phone to his dad, who spoke with the caller. The stranger on the line said, "I found your dog Biscuit. You can pick him up at the police station." Bryce called Kyle right away, and they got super excited. They rushed to the police station, and there was Biscuit, reclining on a couch like a king! Bryce and Kyle hugged Biscuit and said, “We missed you so much!” Then they took him home and gave him a bubble bath. From that day on, Bryce and Kyle promised never to lose Biscuit again!

Anansi, the spider, loves to spin a tale! He can amuse you for hours with stories full of wonder, stories full of fun, and stories full of facts, too. Children, which is your favourite Story? Anandi was very nosy. He knew almost everything about almost everybody. Almost. But Anansi wanted to know everything! So, one day, he went to the house of the Sun God. "Oh, mighty Sun God! You see everything and everyone! Won't you share your great wisdom with me? I'll use it wisely to spin tales of wonder and fun for everyone." The Sun God agreed, "Anansi, I will put all the wisdom in the world here in this clay pot. You must share this wisdom with everyone." Anansi was delighted and promised to do so. Anansi took the pot home. He looked deep into the clay pot and sure enough, he saw sights he had never seen before. He heard sounds he did not know existed. He became greedy. "This is too good to give away. I will keep this great wisdom for myself," thought Anansi. "I must hide it!" he decided, and he looked around for a good hiding place. Anansi decided to climb to the top of the tallest tree. There he would tie up the clay pot and the leafy branches will hide it. Children, do you think that the top of the tree was a good place to hide the pot? Can you suggest another place. Nice Now listen ahead. He started climbing the tree, holding the pot in front of him. “The climbing is hard! He thought Have you ever climbed a tree while holding a pot? Anansi wishes he had nine limbs! His youngest daughter was outside and saw what a hard time Anansi was having. "Father, it would be easier if you tied the pot to your back. Then all your limbs would be free for climbing." Do you think Anansi is happy to get good advice from his daughter? Think again! "She is right—that would be easier! Why is it my young daughter could think of it, while I who possess all the wisdom of the world did not?" Anansi got so angry that he threw the pot to the ground. All the wisdom of the world came flowing out of the pot. Some fell here, some fell there. No one got all the wisdom, but everyone git some wisdom. This is why, even today, wisdom is everywhere. If you listen to the stories—stories spun from storytellers all around the world—you will hear it.

Once, a Serpent and an Eagle were struggling with each other in a deadly conflict. The Serpent had succeeded in surprising the Eagle and had wrapped himself around the Eagle’s neck. The Eagle could not reach the Serpent. Children, can you please help the Eagle with ideas of how he could free himself? Indeed, he couldn’t, as the serpent had wrapped himself around the eagle’s neck. Hence, neither could he attack the serpent with his beak nor claws. Helpless, the eagle decided to soar in the sky. Far into the sky he flew, trying to shake off his enemy. But the Serpent’s hold only tightened, and slowly the Eagle sank back to earth, gasping for breath. A Countryman chanced to see the unequal combat. In pity for the noble Eagle he rushed up and soon had loosened the coiling Serpent and freed the Eagle. The Serpent was furious. He could not bite the watchful Countryman. Instead, he struck at the drinking bottle, hanging at the Countryman’s belt, and into it let fly the poison of his fangs. The eagle saw this act and was worried. Well! The Countryman now went on toward home. Becoming thirsty on the way, he filled his bottle at a spring and was about to drink. There was a sudden rush of great wings. Sweeping down, the Eagle seized the poisoned water bottle from out the countryman’s hand for it was this countryman that had saved him from the serpent, and flew away with it to hide it where it could never be found. Thus,he saved his saviour!

There was a village that was left by its people after it was shattered by an earthquake. However, the mice living in the village decided to stay and make it their home. Children, do you think there were some other animals that made this village their home? Yes, it could be bats, mongoose, hawks, etc. On the outskirts of this village, there was a lake, where a herd of elephants visited regularly to bathe and drink water. Since the village was on the way to this lake, the elephants trampled the mice while walking there. So, the king of mice decided to meet the elephants. He told them, ” O elephants, as you travel through the village, many mice are trampled. We will be very grateful if you could please consider changing your route. We will remember and return the favour when you are in need.” The elephant king laughed, “We are giant elephants. What favour can you mice return? Nevertheless, we honour your request and change our route.” Children, if there was only one way to the pond and that was through the village, can you suggest another solution? That’s great. Now listen ahead.. After a few days, the elephants got trapped and entangled in nets that were set up by hunters. They struggled hard to escape, but in vain. The elephant king remembered the promise made by the king of mice. So, he sent a fellow elephant who got lucky and was not trapped, to ask the mice king to come and help them. Soon, all the mice came and started nibbling the nets, and freed the elephants. The king of the elephants couldn’t thank the mice enough! Moral of the Story: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Always be kind to people, and grateful for their help.

Once upon a time, in China, there was a kind and hardworking boy named Ping. Ping loved flowers and plants, and he could make anything grow beautifully. He seemed to possess a Green thumb. One day, the Emperor announced a special contest. He wanted to choose the next Emperor so that he could train the successor. He gave every child in the kingdom a seed. He said, "Whoever grows the most beautiful flower from this seed will become the next Emperor." The emperor distributed the seeds to all the children who arrived at his palace. Ping was also there. Ping was extremely excited! He carefully and with all his love planted his seed in a pot and took care of it every day. Children, how do you think Ping took care of the seed? Indeed, for the next few months he took utmost care of his seed. He watered it adequately, gave it the right amount of sunlight, and made sure it had good soil. Unfortunately, no matter what he did, nothing grew. Weeks passed, and the pot stayed empty. Ping was sad and worried, but he kept trying. Finally, the day of the contest arrived. All the children brought their pots to the palace, filled with big, colorful flowers. Children, please name some of the flowers you think were brought in by the children? That’s nice. Yes! There were pretty petunias, dazzling dahlias, and lovely lilies. Ping felt embarrassed because his pot was still empty, but he decided to be brave and bring it anyway. When the Emperor saw all the beautiful flowers, he frowned. Then he saw Ping’s empty pot and smiled. He said, "Ping is the winner! He will be the next Emperor." Everyone was surprised. Children, can you guess why? The Emperor explained, "The seeds I gave you were boiled, so they couldn’t grow. Ping was the only one honest enough to bring the truth." Ping became the next Emperor, and everyone learned that honesty is the most important thing of all.

It was late November, little Rhea watched as the movers carried luggage to the apartment next door. She was excited that finally, she would have neighbours. She crossed her fingers and prayed that the new family would have kids who could be her companions. She kept peeping out of her window now and then to check and get an update on the move. It was around noon when she heard the kids and rushed to the door. To her delight, she saw three kids walking toward the next-door apartment. Seeing Rhea, they came to meet her and introduced themselves as Tim, Kelly, and Ryan. Well! What followed was days of playing, chatting, and sleepovers. In fact, a strong bond of friendship developed among them. They all celebrated Rhea’s birthday together on the 20th of December, which Rhea claimed was the best so far. All the kids were excited that the Christmas holidays were round the corner and, on the first day of the holiday, Kelly invited Rhea to her house to put up their Christmas tree. Rhea had seen many Christmas trees in the malls and schools but never helped someone put one up. So she was thrilled. Ms. Brown, the children's mother, brought the big fir tree in with the help of the children. Mr. Brown unpacked the boxes filled with all the decorations from previous years. “This is going to be my first time decorating a Christmas tree!” said one very excited Rhea with a twinkle in her eyes. Taking out the lights from one of the boxes, Kelly replied, “Let's put up these lights first. You may then unpack the bells that my father wraps so well every year so they don't break.” “But why do we put these bells?” asked Rhea innocently. Kelly glanced at the two siblings looking for an answer. And they in turn looked at their father for the answer. “Children, bells are rung in the church after the mass. When you go to the church you hear the bells right? And that’s why we also put bells on the Christmas tree,” answered the father. “That's interesting,” Tim nodded as he started to open the next box. “So dad, why do we put all decorations on the tree; the candy canes, the bird in the nest, angels, etc. Is it for decoration or is there some significance that is there?” “I’ll take this one!” mom replied, taking out a candy cane. “I’m glad you asked. This is the staff of the Shepherd. And the wreath is for...” before she could finish Tim jumped in, “Sprucing the front door!” “No dear, that represents the thorns worn by Jesus, and the red berries represent the blood.” Holding a rabbit in one hand and a fruit basket in the other Rhea asked, “What about these, aunty?” “The rabbit symbolizes peace with nature and the fruit is so we always have plenty to eat and to remind us to be generous.” “Mom, Dad, how come you never told us about this earlier?” Kelly inquired. “I was waiting for you to be inquisitive enough and ask yourself,” mom said lovingly hanging the bird ornament on the tree, “and this bird in the nest reflects happiness and joy.” The tree was already looking beautiful. Ryan opened another box and asked, “Hey mom, this frog must be from Kelly's toys!” “Ha, ha! The frogs traditionally are symbols of good luck. Frogs can’t move backward or side to side.” “You know,” father jumped in, “They always move forward suggesting we all achieve our goals and accomplishments.” “Mmm… I will be like the frog from now onwards, moving ahead to achieve my goals,” Rhea thought to herself. Ryan took out the teapot, “Now this for sure has no meaning!” “Dear Ryan, you serve tea to guests in the teapot. This teapot ornament symbolizes hospitality,” Ms. Brown responded. Rhea said, “I have seen angels being hung. Do you have them?” “Oh, of course! Open the box marked ‘angels and stars’, right over there,” Mr. Brown replied. “Rhea, angels are a must, for through them we ask for guidance in our lives.” “But what about this house ornament?” questioned Kelly. “That symbolizes shelter and protection for the family. And the star that we perch on the top represents the stars that led the three wise men to baby Jesus,” the mother helped the children understand. “Now I'll ask you all a question. Why is there a Christmas tree during Christmas in the first place?” asked father. Kelly, Rhea, and Ryan looked puzzled but Tim yelled out, “I know, I read somewhere, it's because the evergreens would always keep the away from the evil spirits away! Isn't it?” “You’re right! The Christmas tree is to keep evil spirits and illness at bay,” Mr. Brown patted Tim. Everybody stepped back to look at the Christmas tree. It looked gorgeous, adorned with all the ornaments. Then Ms. Brown announced, “Rhea join us on Christmas Day morning to find the Christmas pickle ornament.” “Pickle ornament?” one very confused Rhea asked. Kelly excitedly said, “You know, it's a Christmas tradition to hide a pickle ornament in the tree, and the first person who finds it gets an extra present and has a year of good fortune.” “I'll be there for sure! Thanks, uncle and auntie, for letting me be a part of your Christmas traditions and I learned so much today,” Rhea said. “So did we!” said the siblings unanimously

ONCE ON A FARM LONG AGO, a Mama Duck sat on her nest. “How long must I wait for my babies to hatch? I have to sit here all by myself!” But what could she do? A Mama duck must keep her eggs warm till they hatch. At last, the eggs began to crack. One yellow duckling stepped out of its shell, then another. Each little chick shook its wings. “Quack, quack!” “Look at you!” cried Mama Duck with joy. “You're all so cute!” “Quack, quack, quack!” they said with pride. “Come line up," said Mama Duck. "We will go down to the lake for your very first swim.” She counted – one, two, three, four, five. “Oh dear!” she said with a frown. “I had six eggs. I should have six ducklings.” One large egg was still in the nest. “Well!" said Mama Duck, "it looks like that big egg will take more time.” So she returned to sit on her nest again and wait some more. The next day, the big egg started to hatch! Out popped a baby boy bird. Mummy thought, “My goodness! How different this one looked!” He was much larger than the others. He was not yellow, but dark-grey all over. And after he stepped out of his egg, he also walked with a funny wobble. Children and all animals walk differently. Can you try the walk of some animals like, duck, lion, deer, elephant etc. Nice! I am sure you enjoyed that. One of the yellow ducklings pointed. “What's that? He can't be one of us!” “I have never seen such an ugly duckling!” said another. “How can you say such a thing?” said Mama Duck in a very stern voice. “You are only one day old! Your brother hatched from the very same nest as you did. Now line up. We will go to the lake for your very first swim.” All the way the other ducklings quacked, “Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!” The Ugly Duckling did not know why the other ducklings were yelling at him. He fell behind to take the last spot in line. When they got to the lake, each yellow duck jumped in and swam behind Mama Duck. When it was his turn, the Ugly Duckling jumped in too, and he started to paddle. “At least he can swim,” Mama Duck thought to herself. When the yellow ducklings got out of the water and started to play, the Ugly Duckling tried to play with his brothers and sisters. They yelled at him, “Go away! We will not play with you! You are ugly. And you walk weird!” Children, how do you think the ugly duckling felt? Yes, sad indeed. I hope you include everyone in your games. When Mama Duck was close by, she would not let them talk this way. “Be nice!” she would scold. But she was not always close by. One day, one of the yellow ducklings said to the Ugly Duckling, “You know what? You would do us a big favour if you just went away!” All of them started to quack: “Go! Go away!” “Why won’t they let me stay with them?” thought the Ugly Duckling. He hung his head down low. “They must be right. I should go.” And he flew to the other side of the lake trying to find some friends. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to play with him. ‘ ‘Go away!’ said the pig. ‘Go away!’ said the sheep. ‘Go away!’ said the cow. ‘Go away!’ said the horse. No one wanted to be his friend. Soon, it started to get cold. It started to snow! The ugly duckling found an empty barn and lived there. He was cold, sad and alone. At last, spring came. Little dots of green spotted the tree branches. Short, bright flowers popped up from the ground. “It's time for me to go back to the lake to swim again,” the ugly duckling thought. “I feel good!” said the young bird, flapping his wings. “Why, I don't think I ever felt as strong as I do right now!” Spring passed, then summer. The leaves started to change colors when one day, the Ugly Duckling heard quiet splashing sounds behind him. He turned around. A flock of beautiful birds sat on the lake. “Don't worry!” he said to the beautiful birds, holding out one of his wings. “I am leaving. I won't make trouble for you.” When he happened to glance down at the lake, he saw a reflection in the water that looked like one of those beautiful birds. Why was the bird so close to him? He jumped back. The reflection jumped back, too. Children whose reflection was that? Yes! The ugly ducklings, who had now become a swan. “What's this?” he thought, puzzled. He stretched his neck and strangely, the reflection of the beautiful bird in the lake stretched its neck, too. A little later he started to leave the lake. “Why are you leaving so soon?" called out one of the beautiful birds. "Come back!” said another. “Stay with us!” said yet another swan. “We’ll be friends.” Then, the bird who used to be the Ugly Duckling realized what had happened. He was no longer an ugly grey bird that wobbled when it walked. He had grown into a beautiful swan! Then a dark thought crossed his mind. "You only want me because I'm a swan and I look like you," said he. "That's not it at all!" said the first swan who had spoken. "We saw you all alone down here and thought you might want to join us. We don't care how birds look. Why, take a look at Pelican over there." "No one would take me for a swan," squawked Pelican. "How did you end up with them?" asked once the Ugly Duckling. "Stayed up too late the night before," shrugged Pelican. "Slept till noon. My flock took off without me. Was sure glad the swans came along when they did. Thanks, guys!" Said the second swan who had spoken, "And there's Egret." "What can I tell you?" said Egret. "I love to ride those wind currents! Then found out my entire flock was gone. By then there was no way I could catch up. If the swans didn't come along and invited me to join them, who knows where I'd be now?" Another good point. Our hero often imagined how lovely it would be to stretch out and just fly, fly, and fly some more. The bird who used to be an Ugly Duckling considered, "These birds may be beautiful to look at, but they are also beautiful inside. This is the flock for me." And so the entire flock, including their newest friend, flapped their wings together. And in one moment the flock took off into the clear blue sky. Moral: The true beauty is what is inside of our heart. No matter how you are be yourself and love yourself the way you are.