Story

Lazy Meena

Once upon a time there lived a young girl called Meena who was very, very lazy. She did not want to do any work at all. Whenever her mother called her to help with household chores, she pretended that she had not heard her.

Meena’s mother was disgusted with her laziness and prayed to the Lord, “ My Lord, let Meena understand how bad it is to be lazy!” Hearing her mother’s prayer, Meena laughed aloud, “Mummy, how silly you are! How nice it would be if none of us ever had to work! You don’t even now what to pray for. Let me pray instead!”. Then she closed her eyes in mock devotion and prayed, “ My God, let me have no occasion to ever work at all. Let all my work be done automatically without my having to do anything!

God was shocked to hear her prayer. He felt Meena needed to be taught a lesson. So he appeared in her dream that night and said, “Meena, your wish is granted. Hereafter you won’t have to do anything at all. All your work will be done automatically.” Meena was overjoyed to hear this.

The next morning when she woke up, she remembered her dream. Was it only a dream or will it come true? She climbed out of her bed wondering whether her dream would come true. But this dream did! The moment she got up from her bed. The bedsheet rose up in the air, dusted and neatly folded itself, and settled back on the bed. “Oh! My dream is coming true!” thought Meena in great excitement. As she walked towards the bathroom, the toothpaste tube opened by itself and the toothpaste came out and spread itself on her toothbrush. Then ,the toothbrush rose in the air and flying to her teeth, cleaned them perfectly. Next ,a thin jet of water rose from the tap and rinsed her mouth. How wonderful! Meena did not have to do anything at all, except keep her mouth open.

THer homework finished by itself. Her shoes and clothes cleaned themselves. Meena was in ecstasy. Hot water was ready for her in the bathroom without her having to carry it. Amazing! She thought. When she started to bathe, hot water rose by itself and fell all over her. Meena screamed as the hot water scalded her back. “Not so fast. Not so fast. Wait until I mix some cold water,” she cried out in vain. The hot water continued to rise and wash her. Crying in fear and pain, she rushed out of the bathroom. She wasn’t even clean, but she did not dare go back to the bathroom and finish her bath. Meena reached out for her clothes, but an ugly torn, old frock jumped out of the cupboard and draped itself around her. Meena hated that old frock. “Not you, not you,” shouted Meena and tried to pull the frock off. But no, the frock would not come off. Poor Meena was in tears. How could she go to school in such shabby old frock! Her classmates would laugh at her. But she was helpless.

When she came to the dining table for breakfast, Meena’s mother was surprised to see her in the old frock. “ What made you wear that frock?” she asked. Meena grew red in face. She could not admit that her lazy wish not to work had come true, but it was giving her pain not joy. She bent her head and started eating. But no, she did not have to eat at all. The rice, the dal and the sambhar and the chutney all got mixed up with one another and formed round balls. Before she could stop them, the balls rose one by one and entered her mouth.She liked eating her food separately, enjoying the different tastes, but today there was no chance to enjoy food at all. The balls flew up into her mouth so fast, that she had no time to even chew her food. Choking, she souttered, “Hey! Stop. Let me chew at least.” But there was no stopping the food. It flew like tennis balls straight into her mouth if it was open; otherwise it struck her on the nose, on the chin or on the cheek, smearing her whole face. Unable to swallow all the food balls, she stretched out her hand for some water. The glass of water suddenly shot up striking her on the teeth, splashing the water on her face, her and clothes.

“What is the matter with you today?” shouted her mother angrily. “Can’t you eat your food in a decent way?” Meena was speechless. She got up and left the table in helpless tears.

While combing her hair. there was more trouble. She usually took half an hour to do her hair in two beautiful plaits, tying the end with ribbons. All her classmates envied her rich, dark naturally curl hair. But today the comb rose by itself, combed the hair and knotted it into a bun at the nape of her neck like the hair of an old woman. Meena was horrified. “That’s not the way, I make my plaits,” she cried and tried to undo the knot and plait her hair in the usual way. But no, the knot wouldn’t open! Poor Meena had to start for school looking lie a miserable old hag. She cried all the way to school and her face was red with weeping by the tie she reached. Her friends were surprised at her strange appearance. “Why are you looking so odd today?” her classmates asked, but what could she say? She dared not tell them that her wish to be lazy had come true, with such disastrous consequences!

Her misery was not over yet. When the bell rang and the class started, she found herself unable to write notes. The notebooks opened by themselves, and the ink pot danced a jig, sprinkling ink on her text books. Her pen scribbled on all the pages by itself. “Don’t do that. You are spoiling my note,” she whispered in a scared voice. Her teacher noticed Meena’s restlessness and scolded her for not being attentive in the class. The maths teacher was very angry because instead of sums, the pen wrote a song in her maths copy. She shouted at Meena, “Stand on the bench till recess!” Meena was the cleverest student in her class, and so far had never been punished in any class. Today she had to stand on the bench while the whole class looked at her and smiled. What a shame!

When it was time for recess, she was so ashamed that she could not meet any of her friends. She ran all by herself to a lonely corner, and sat near the pond. Brooding over her predicament, she stretched her hand out to theclear water. Immediately the water rose up and splashed all over the place, wetting Meena thoroughly. Shivering in her wet, old frock, she tried to sit on a swing in the playground. The moment she sat, the swing moved so violently to and fro and swung so high that Meena was terrified. “Not so high, not so high. Stop! Please stop.” It rose higher and higher. Meena felt so dizzy that she could not hold on to the swing and fell down, scraping her knee badly.

Now. Meena understood why her mother said that laziness was wicked. If she did not work by herself, and allowed things to work automatically, she could neither enjoy herself, nor play, nor eat, nor dress properly. Meena realised that she had been very wicked. She closed her eyes and sincerely prayed to God, “Oh God! Please let things be as before. I promise not to be lazy any more.”

God was satisfied that she had learnt her lesson at last. He withdrew His boon. Now things stopped happening automatically. Meena was relieved and grateful to see that she could do her work by herself once again. God had answered her sincere prayer. Now she always hard and takes good care to never be lazy.

Activity

Story

The Great Wild Car Race

In a far away land there was once a type of small wild car that would drive freely around the countryside. They didn’t need motorways or gasoline, since all they needed to be able to move was good thoughts and desires – a rather original idea of their eccentric inventor.

Those cars became really famous, and the wild car races were everyone’s favourite pastime. Every boy dreamt about driving one, as their light weight and their honesty and sincerity made them ideal drivers. And as it was difficult to find light children with such good hearts that they could maintain good thoughts throughout an entire race, there were often tests to discover new talent, during which every boy would have a unique opportunity to demonstrate his ability with the wild cars.

So, one day, the testing team arrived at the small town where Nicky lived. Nicky was a good kid who, like many others, didn’t sleep that night, while queuing up, waiting his turn to drive one of the cars. During the wait, many boys rehearsed and practiced their good wishes and thoughts, but as soon as the gates were opened, a great lot of elbowing and pushing revealed that not all were as good as they appeared. However,the organisers expected this kind of thing, and after a few simple tests such as thanking someone for giving you a chocolate, helping to prepare the races, and respectfully attending to a rather annoying little old lady, there was only a small group of really good children left. Nicky was among them.

So, those children took turns to get into the cars and do a few laps of the circuit. Nicky would go last, but it didn’t bother him much, since he enjoyed seeing up close how the cars accelerated. When his turn came, his heart was beating ten to the dozen. Due to the excitement, he could hardly run, and so was about the last to get into his car. He was so happy, that he was a little late in realising that there was one last boy yet to get into his car; a boy who walked using crutches, and who hadn’t been able to reach the car earlier. Nicky could hear the head of testing say: “I’m very sorry, my boy, there are no cars left, and this is the last test of the day. The cars have to be rested soon. Come on, you’ll get your opportunity some other day…” Seeing the shine of excitement disappear from that boy’s face, and witnessing his deep sadness, Nicky took a deep breath, got out of his car and said: -“It’s OK, he can have my car.”

The engine of that car roared like never before, while the injured boy got in, filled with joy. Nicky was happy at what he had done, though a little bit disappointed. But before setting off, the other boy saw the hint of sadness in Nicky’s face and, grateful to him, reached out his hand, saying: -“Get in. We’ll go together, even though it’ll make us a bit slower.”

Nicky leapt in. The two happily embraced, but they hardly managed to do anything else. Their car thundered like a rocket, and made off at the speed of light! That race broke all known records, and during that season Nicky and his friend won every competition they entered, becoming the idols of all, spreading their friendship and good wishes to every corner of the world.

Simplicity means being humble and natural. It also means being happy with what you have, without wanting something more all the time.

A simple person depends on very few things to be happy.

Simplicity in food – Simple food is healthy food. Rich, spicy food leads to many diseases

Simplicity in dress – Simple clean clothes are better than fancy ones. Dress neatly and well in comfortable clothes for the occasion.

Greatness is not in what you wear and what you own. It is in the kind of person you are.

Many great men and women dressed in a simple manner and were modest in their behaviour.

Gandhiji led a very simple life, wearing only Khadi cloth that he wove himself. He became the Father of Nation because of his character and qualities of leadership. Even after he became important and famous, his daily life was as simple as ever. He would weave his own cloth, help in the kitchen, peel and chop vegetables and clean up and do simple jobs around the house whenever he could.

Story – The ornament of Simplicity

Here is an incident in the life of Michael Faraday, the great scientist who invented the dynamo. It is this force that converts magnetic force and generates electricity.

Michael Faraday was a very simple man. He dressed simply and spoke so humbly that no one ever knew what a brilliant scientist he was.

One day, an officer of the Royal Mint of England wanted to meet Faraday.

On reaching the building of Royal society, the officer was shown to Faraday’s lab.

When the officer went in, he saw an old man in a simple dress washing bottles in a basin. The smartly dressed officer asked him, “Are you the watchman here?” “Yes” said the old man. The officer asked the old man a few questions about his wages and his work, to which the latter replied politely. Finally, the officer casually asked the old man his name.

“They call me Michael Faraday,” said the old man. The officer was full of apologies, but Faraday was not at all offended by all this. The officer thought to himself, “How simple this great man is! Or, is he even greater because he is so simple?”

Activity

Simplicity can be associated with many other qualities. Circle the qualities you think go with simplicity.

• Jealous, independent, proud, modest, naughty, hardworking, lazy, humble, greedy. content, friendly Can you find a story of any other person who was simple and great

Story

Puppies For Sale

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read “Puppies For Sale.” Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign. “How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.

The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I please look at them?”

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.

One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to buy.”

The store owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said, “I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”

The store owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!”

We ALL need is someone who understands us!!!

Story

The Flute Boy

There was once a boy who loved to play the flute. Whenever he played the flute, people would come out of their houses to listen to him. Even animals would forget their fear of humans and follow the sound of his flute. At times when the boy was very happy, his music would become magical. As he played, flowers would open up their petals and tiny fairies would fly out and dance to the melody of his flute. He spread much joy wherever he went and so was loved by all.

One day the flute boy was passing by the king’s palace. The young princess who was very proud and naughty was standing at the window deep in her thoughts. On hearing the beautiful melody of the boy’s flute, she looked down and saw the flute boy. To her surprise she saw flowers opening and fairies jumping and dancing to the melody of the boy’s flute. “What a wonderful toy!” she exclaimed. “I must have it.” Picking up her skirts, she ran down the steps and out into the garden where the flute boy was playing his lute. Going up to him the princess asked him to sell his flute to her.

The boy stopped playing his flute and smiled at her. “Certainly you can have the flute,” he said. “I don’t want any money for it. But, he added, “there is one condition.” At first the princess got angry when the boy spoke of a condition. But she was bewitched by the flute that she asked the boy what his condition was. The boy said, “This is not an ordinary flute. For good things to happen around you, you must have love in your heart. You must play the flute to give joy to others and not for your own selfish pleasure.” So saying he bowed down and handed over the flute to the princess.

The princess snatched the flute from him and ran to another part of the garden. “What a stupid boy he is,” she thought. “How can he know what I am thinking of? Why should I think of other people? Nothing is more important than my own amusement.” With these negative thoughts in her mind, she started playing the flute. Immediately a flower opened up but instead of a fairy a big spider jumped out and started to spin a web around her. At the same time, a black and orange wasp flew out of another flower and stung the princess right on the tip of her nose. Squealing with pain, the princess threw down the flute and ran back to the palace. The little flute boy who had been watching the whole scene from the other side of the garden, felt very sorry for her. He knew that she had not followed the condition that he had laid down. He picked up the flute from where the princess had dropped it and walked away. As he again started playing the flute, melodious notes changed the whole atmosphere and filled it with love and peace.

Back in the palace, the little princess now in great pain sat rubbing her stung nose, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gradually realised that she was selfish and unkind.

She decided to turn over a new leaf and slowly began to become gentle, kind and generous girl and soon everyone started loving her.

Story

Love all serve all
Listen to the call of the Lord
When you love the Lord then you must love all
When you serve the Lord you must serve all

Story

Unity is Strength

Once upon a time, there was a flock of doves that flew in search of food led by their king. One day, they had flown a long distance and were very tired. The dove king encouraged them to fly a little further. The smallest dove picked up speed and found some rice scattered beneath a banyan tree. So all the doves landed and began to eat.

Suddenly a net fell over them and they were all trapped. They saw a hunter approaching carrying a huge club. The doves desperately fluttered their wings trying to get out, but to no avail. The king had an idea. He advised all the doves to fly up together carrying the net with them. He said that there was strength in unity.

Each dove picked up a portion of the net and together they flew off carrying the net with them. The hunter looked up in astonishment. He tried to follow them, but they were flying high over hills and valleys. They flew to a hill near a city of temples where there lived a mouse who could help them. He was a faithful friend of the dove king.

When the mouse heard the loud noise of their approach, he went into hiding. The dove king gently called out to him and then the mouse was happy to see him. The dove king explained that they had been caught in a trap and needed the mouse’s help to gnaw at the net with his teeth and set them free.

The mouse agreed saying that he would set the king free first. The king insisted that he first free his subjects and the king last. The mouse understood the king’s feelings and complied with his wishes. He began to cut the net and one by one all the doves were freed including the dove king.

They all thanked the mouse and flew away together, united in their strength.

Moral: When you work together, you are stronger.

Activity

• Any activity on team work

There was a king named Yash. A very old mango tree stood in his royal garden. Very sweet mangoes used to grow on that tree. The king liked that tree. Now the branches of the old tree were drying and dying. Very few mangoes grew on it.

The king thought of planting a new tree in its place. He ordered the minister to cut down the tree and plant a new mango sapling. The minister asked the woodcutter named ‘Shiva’ to axe the tree and clear the wood.

Shiva came with is axe to cut the tree down. Before his axe could start the cutting work, he saw a hollow in the trunk. A parrot sat inside with its two chicks.

The woodcutter said to the parrot, “Dear Parrot! Clear out and go to some other tree with your chicks. The king has ordered me to cut down this tree.”

The parrot spoke, “Look brother! I won’t go to any other tree. If you want to axe the tree, do so. I shall stay inside with my chicks.

The woodcutter thought that it was a silly bird. He warned, “ In a short time this tree will be cut down by my axe. You and the chicks will get hurt or killed. So. Take your chicks from this place. Go and look for some other tree. Hurry up!”

But the parrot ignored the warning and kept sitting inside along with its chicks. The woodcutter tried to shoo them away.It did not work. The woodcutter tried to make the parrot understand the situation. But the parrot refused to move.

Shiva was a kind hearted person, he didn’t want to kill the bird and its chicks. He went to the king and told him about the parrot. The king was also a person who loved animals and birds. So, the king went to the garden with the woodcutter to talk to the parrot.

He found the parrot and its two chicks sitting inside the hollow of the mango tree. He spoke to the parrot, “dear parrot! I want to plant a new tree in place of this old tree. Therefore, this tree has to be cut down to make place for the new one. You may go to some other tree with your chicks.”

The parrot said, “King! I won’t leave this tree.”

“But why? Don’t you want to stay alive? Your chicks might get killed,” the king remarked.

The parrot explained its position, “King! Every creature by nature wants to stay alive. So do I. But duty and loyalty is more important than one’s life. Only because of that I and my chicks are not leaving this tree.”

“What duty, dear parrot? Will you make it clear?” the king wanted to know.

The parrot said, “King! The duty of loyalty to a friend. This tree is my old friend. I was born inside the hollow of this very tree. I grew up under its care. It provided me food and branches to perch on. It stood by me through thick and thin. God knows from how many storms, rains, blizzards and hot summers it has sheltered me! Every summer it helps me raise a family of chicks as you see now. Today this friendly tree of mine has grown old and faces death.How can I leave it alone at such a troubled hour? If you want this tree cut down, you may go ahead. But we won’t leave. We have decided to stand by our friend even if it means death.”

The king was amazed at the parrot’s words of great wisdom and his spirit of loyalty to the old tree. He was deeply moved and spoke to the parrot, “ O parrot! I admire your loyalty to a friend. I promise you that we won’t ever touch this tee. I wish you long life and good luck.”

The king sent back the woodcutter.

Song

Tune – Mary had a little lamb..

gems, valuable gems
God has gifted valuable gems
They are five together.
Truth is what we think and say
Think and say, think and say,
Truth is what we think and say
And do the same in action.
If we practice morality
Loyalty in reality
If we practice morality- we
Feel the peace within.
Love is a tool, powerful tool
Sharing and caring tool
Love is a tool, powerful tool
Grows up by giving.
Non-violence a precious gift
Person needs, Nation needs
Non-violence a precious gift
Completes human values.

Story

The Wish-Fulfilling Tree

Once a man was travelling in a desert area. He had been walking for a long time in the hot sun and could not get any water to drink. Exhausted and tired, he looked around for a shelter to rest for some time. Lo! In front of him within fifty yards was a beautiful tree with huge branches giving wide shade. The traveller got new energy on seeing it and ran towards it for shelter. He reached it with a sigh of relief and sat down under its shade.

After a time, when he had rested a little, it came into his mind how wonderful it would be if he could have a glass of water. He did not know that the tree under which he was resting was a kalpavriksha, a wish-fulfilling tree. As he wished for water, a glass full of crystal clear water appeared in front of him. He was surprised at its appearance, but eagerly drank the water. With that need satisfied, he soon wished that he had some food to eat. The moment he thought of it, enough food appeared on a plate to satisfy his hunger.

Then he felt sleepy and thought how nice it would be to have a cot and mattress to sleep on. The cot and the mattress appeared and he lay down comfortably. After the long walk in the desert he was very tired. Yawning, he thought how wonderful it would be to have someone pressing his tired legs. Immediately, he saw a young person sitting by his bedside pressing his legs.

It occurred to him that every wish of his was getting fulfilled and he wondered whether all this was real or not. He thought what if a tiger were to appear here and eat me up. The moment he thought this, a tiger appeared and pounced on him and ate him up.

Poor man, not knowing that he was sitting under a wish-fulfilling tree, he had a wrong thought and was destroyed by it.

The Lord fulfils even the least of our wishes.

Not knowing it, when we wish for evil things or think wrong thoughts, they too get fulfilled and we are ultimately destroyed by our own wicked thoughts and wishes.

Attitude test

• If you are going to the beach and the weather looks rainy, Would you:
  a) Go anyway and hope the sun comes out OR
  b) Feel sad for yourself and stay at home
• If it rains on your holiday, would you
  a) Mope around the house because you can’t go outside OR
  b) Invite a friend in to read or play a board game
• If your mother tells you to stay at home and clean your room would you
  a) Do it quickly and gladly so you could go out to play
  b) Sit on your bed and keep complaining and crying
• If you were offered ice-cream in chocolate and vanilla flavours and you disliked both would you
  a) Refuse both angrily
  b) Accept one of the flavours and enjoy the ice cream
• You are watching your favourite program on the television. Your friend comes and asks you to go out with him and play. What would you do?
  a) Refuse saying that you are watching the television
  b) Ask him to wait till the program gets over
  c) Switch off the set and happily go to play
• Your father has go a big box of chocolates. And has asked you to share it with
  your brother / sister who are not at home. Would you …..
  a) Hide the box and eat all the chocolates
  b) Eat as much as you can before the others come back
  c) Wait until they come and share it equally

Story

The Three Fishes

Once upon a time there lived three big fish in a lake. They were close friends, but characteristically very different.

The first one was very wise. He always did everything after careful thought

The second one was very cheerful, intelligent and resourceful.. He always used his brains to find a solution for any problem.

The third one believed in fate. He believed that whatever was to happen would happen and nobody could change it.

One day while playing in the water near the shore, the wise fish overheard a fisherman telling another fisherman, “This lake is full of good fish. Let us come back here tomorrow for fishing.”

The resourceful fish said, “I will not leave the lake. When the fishermen come, I will find a way to save myself.”

The third fish said, “ I have lived in this lake all my life and will not leave it. Whatever has to happen, let it happen.”

The wise one did not want to take risks and left for the the other lake

The next morning the fishermen came and cast their net. The 2 friends were caught in the net. The resourceful fish thought of a way out. He lay still and pretended to be dead. The fishermen threw him out into the water.

The fish who believed in fate kept flipping around in the net. One of the fishermen struck him dead.

Story

The Unsatisfied Rat

It was a very hot summer day and Billy rat felt very hot! ! He looked at the sun shining brightly and thought, “Oh! How I wish I could be the mighty sun.”

God in the heaven said, “So be it” and Billy turned into a Sun.

For many days he shone brightly until one day big thunderclouds came floating by. They hid the Sun Billy could not see anything. “The clouds are mightier than me, Oh! if only I were a cloud!” he thought moaned.

And Oh Billy turned into thundercloud and floated about with other clouds in the sky. One day, he bumped into a mountain And could not move further.

“So the mountain is mightier than me , he thought! How I wish I were a mountain!” Next moment he turned into a mighty mountain which stood tall and proud Suddenly he felt an itch on his toe. Looking down, he saw a little rat digging a hole at his feet!

Oh ! This rat is able to dig a hole in me. He surely must be the mightiest, thought Billy. He prayed to God, “Please God make me a rat again.”

The sun shone brightly in the sky; thunderclouds passed by and the mountains towered like giants all around but Billy did not complain anymore! He lived in his tiny hole happily.

Story

A Doorway to the World

Albert was mad about computers and video games. He could spend hours and hours in front of then screen, and even though his parents found it hard to believe, he really enjoyed every minute of it. He hardly left his seat. When people encouraged him to get involved with normal life, he would respond:-”This is my doorway to the world, there is much more here than you realise.”

Among all his games there was one he especially liked. In it he would move a character around, collecting turtles on an infinity of levels and screens. He was a real expert at it. Maybe there was no one else in the world who had collected as many turtles as he had, but, nevertheless, Albert still wanted more and more and more…

One day, when he got home from school, everything had changed. As usual, as soon as he arrived, he ran to his room to switch the computer on. But this time he heard some strange noises, like breaking glass. Suddenly the screen broke, and from inside came dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of little turtles. And they filled every square inch of his bedroom. Albert was stunned. He couldn’t believe what was happening. But after pinching himself, he shut down and started the computer up many times, and called to his parents to see if he was dreaming this. As it happens, he had to accept that on that day something very strange was happening.

On entering, his parents put their heads in their hands. Seeing that the turtles were staying in Albert’s room, they decided to make them his responsibility

Looking after thousands of turtles, day after day, was no easy task. Over the following days Albert set himself to learning all he could about turtles. He studied their diet, their habits, and he began to think up ways to feed them. He also tried to trick them into leaving his room, but it never worked. Gradually, he got used to living among turtles, and actually began to enjoy it. He liked playing with them, showing them tricks, and calling them by their names. This despite the fact that feeding them and cleaning up after them hardly left him with any free time. And everyone, including his parents, his friends, and his teachers, enjoyed hearing Albert’s stories and his growing knowledge about nature.

Finally, the day arrived when Albert forgot about his beloved computer. He now much preferred living with his turtles, learning about them and watching the way they interacted. He went out into the countryside to see how they lived there. He felt happy that they were part of his world.

That same day, just as quickly as they had arrived, the turtles disappeared. On finding out, his parents worried that he would return to his video games, and go back to being grumpy, but that didn’t happen. Albert didn’t shed a tear. Nor did he waste a second looking for the turtles amongst the cables and chips of his computer. Instead, he emptied his savings from his piggybank and shot straight down to the pet shop. He returned with a turtle, and some other animal he wanted to look after and learn about.

And even today Albert is still learning and discovering new things about animals and nature. Now he also uses the computer to do that. However, any time someone asks him about it he points at his pets and says,-”They are definitely my doorway to the world, there’s a lot more to them than you’d realise.”

Activity

• Ask every child to make a note of the time that he spends in front of the television and ask them to cut it by half the time. Ask them to report as to what they did in the time that they did not watch the television.