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curiosity

gets their answers at the right time. His

mind becomes sharper. And

towards better intelligence.

CHILDREN'S

this leads

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Can any serpent fly? What is Voga ? What Is
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Also Qvoilobls
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venom affect us?* How does fish breathe Inside
water? why Is whale not considered a Ash?
Why don't spiders get caught in their own webs ?
What causes Does In the seas ? How 6 weather
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CHAHDAMAMA

NEXT ISSUE
Vol.14

SEPTEMBER

THIS ISSUE

IN

Mythology:
The

Call from the Valley

Story of Krishna

in

Stories:

The Secret

Success

of

Miracle with a Horse

Storm

in

the

BazaarTowards a

Brighter Personality
'

The Thief

Who sneezedThe Arabian

The Three Peaches

The Dark

Star

Nights

Hairy Castle

Three Questions
"

Don Quixote

Fishy Story

The Francolin

Bird

The King Learns Humility

The Delayed

Fall

Zeb the Burglar

The Forgotten Advice
Picture Stories:

Don Quixote

Features:

Of Seven Learned Judges

i

Did

out of Water
ii

happen

in

Philadelphia?

CefflroHing Ediior

NAGI REDDI

Founder:

CHAKRAPAN1

CAUTION ON CONTESTS
We welcome

Our contests are gathering momentum.

more and more

participants.

we

like the entries to be given more attention by their

The topic for Jul*f vvss "The Most Amusing Character
have
known". The emphasis in most of the entries was on an amusing incident
and not on the character. Many jokes, already popular, were attributed to

However,

would

authors.

characters. But what we wanted was true experience

The winning entries sre published in page. 8

some

mg

GOlUCfV

WORDS

m^iif^feT rm g

of our authors.

Asminkdle lu yadyuktam tadidamm vidhiyatdm

OF YOKE

Gatam

The

in ruinusocann

wise reflect on what

present.

They do not

is

gatam

tu

gatameva

hi.

the proper thing to be done at the

regret over things past

for past

is

past.

The Ramayanam

THE MOST AMUSING CHARACTERS THEY HAVE KNOWN

Chandamama's comment see the

(For

"I Have To Tell You!"

The most amusing character
Mr. Menon.
I

editorial)

have known

is

that of our Professor

class and wrote on the board "Mr Menon will

be taking classes tomorrow." One of the students went up to ihe
absence and erased the letter 'c' from the world
'classes' which made it 'lasses' meaning 'girls'. When the professor
returned and noticed the mischief he immediately erased the letter 'I'
from 'lasses' which made the word 'asses'!
On another occasion. Mr. Menon came to our class and white teaching,
said, "I will tell you a |oke." At this a back-bencher said, "Sit, please tell
"
us when your joke ends, so that we will tickle ourselves and laugh
Once again the professor's sense of humour came to his rescue. "I know
sve to tell you. The others will understand." he told the chap.
Sushma. Bombay.

Once he entered our

lot

board, during his

The

Way

Pickle

memorable visit of the little

mind. He refused a jam

particularly

imprinted
Surprised.

my

in
I

was about

to put

it

away,

house stays
offered him
implored, "Do ask me a
not to eat anything unless was
Pickle to our

biscuit that

when he

Mummy told me

e times, Aunty.
repeatedly asked to do sol-

Pickle once plunged his father's wrist-watch into a water-tank.

to see if it was really water-proof," he said.
Cutting off his thick, curly hair in patches with a new pair of scissor,
using his mother's lipstick as a crayon, giving his puppy a 'shampoo'
all a day's work to him.
He nearly got his lather lired recently. When the boss payed a visit.
Pickle inquired innocently. "Where did the hen pecked you. Uncle? Papa
J
says you are hen-peckedl"

wanted

'

are

No wonder he

is

named

Pickle.

Renu Das

Kalla.

Sagar IM.P.)

Uncle Nidni's Giant Fish

Banchamdhi,

In

my

village.

of being
1

one among the

commonly known as Nidhi. has a reputation

few elite Be it an inaugural function or an

election meeting, nothing starts without Uncle Nidhi. At a meeting held

the nearby village, he was the chief-guest. He spoke from his
i

experience while

soliciting

the co-opertaion

of the

villagers

in

the

government's eflorts at boosting up pisciculture, in his euphenc state he

said that he knew of fish that weighed 100 kg each. He had a pull at his
dhoti by the moderator who was secretly advised to do so when the
description grew fantastic He responded and immediately brought down
the weight to 70 kg. A second pull further brought the weight to 50 kg,
and the third to 40 kg.
At yet another pull, Uncle Nidhi could not contain himself and burst out
saying that even il the whole dhoti is pulled away, he would never come
down below 40 kg.
Subhrajit Dash, Bhubaneswar

The

Fastest

Moon

latest news from the space is, there i:

moon in the solar system' that travels 70,-1
miles per hour, three times faster than the mc
know. It circles Jupiter once every sev
hours.

The

we

Mystery of Bermuda Triangle

You have read about the mystery in your magazine. (See Chandarnama May '83 issue.) Why do
the ships disappear there? According to Joe
Ploeg of the National Research Council of Canaa 100-foot high tidal wave that appears
suddenly and is called "episodic wave" can
swallow a ship leaving no trace of it. But how can
sucn waves destroy aeroplanes flying over the
Nobody knows.

da,

triangle area?

There are records and records. But nobody can

beat the 74-year-old Reg Mellor of Yorkshire',
Britain, He bore with the bite of white polecats
Iqt 5 hours and 26 minutes during which the
kriife-toothed needle-clawed creatures never
slackened their attack on his legs. For yourl
information, this is a popular sport with the
Yorkshire people how long one can bear the!
bites

When

did the greatest volcanic eruption take place?

A.Hussain,

Srinagar.

Perhaps the greatest ever volcanic eruption took place some 3,000,000
year? ago near Oregon, America, according to prehistoric evidence found by
scientists.

known

The
in
second half of the
15th century B.C. It was on an island called Thira in the Aegean Sea. Most
probably this event, by raising a tidal wave 165 feet high, destroyed the
Minoan civilization of Crete situated miles away.
T he greatest eruption in recorded history is the one that took place on 27'
August 1883, when the volcano of Pik Perbutan, on the island of Krakatan
between Java and Sumatra exploded, killng nearly 40 thousand people. The
greater par; of the 18-square-mile island itself disappeared.
greatest eruption

history took place in the

The explosion hurled rocks

to a height of 34 miles! Dust cloud surrounded

almost the entire Earth.
The sound it produced is the loudest ever heard. The sound took four
hours to reach the Island of Podriquez in the Pacific Ocean, nearly three
thousand miles away ano still it was like boomings from heavy guns.

Readers are welcome to send such queries on culture, literature or

general knowledge which should be of Interest to others too, for brief
answers from the Chandamama.

STOBV OF

By

Manoj Das

(Story so far: Krishna grows under the loving protection of King Nanda and Queen Yasoda in
Gopa white Karnsa. the demon-king of Mathura, is never tired of sending his monstrous agents
to destroy the boy Though conducting himself like a human child, Krishna nevertheless gives
glimpses of his divinity. I

THE CALL, FROM THE VALLEY

eyond the

^ green
it,

like
hill,

was a wide
Overlooking

river

valley.

a loving guardian, stood

Govardhan by name.
valley was within King

The

shifting of the residents

took place on an auspicious

day menfolk walking and lead-

ing their cattle;

women,

chil-

there.

Gopa began to build houses

The settlement was called

dren and the household goods

carried by carts. The people
were sad to desert their old
village, but the call of the
charming valley was irresistible,
There were flat boats to trans-

Brindavan.

port the carts across the

The

Nanda's domain.

He

decided to

shift his village to that valley.

At

his instruction the residents of

Yamu-

up

ting

and making

houses

roads and digging pools, Krish-

na and Balarama frolicked

in

meadows

the

with the boys,

hide-and-seek. There

playing

were

charming spots on

abounding in
The wind

river-bank

Kadamba
seemed

to

the

trees.

have got excited with

the arrival of the kids. At times

it

made them

and

at

on the grass

roll

other times

into the river

it

made

a dive

and splashed them

with water.

And

became

breeze

the

strongly fragrant as spring burst

over the valley. The

cooing of the cuckoos hinted of
forth

The cattle swum through the

slow current, the sportive co-

unknown thrills. Looking at the

woods teeming with many-hued

wherd boys riding and guiding

flowers one

-na.

felt

as

if

a hundred

rainbows had fallen from the

them.

Brindavan became

sky!

Krishna and Balarama, seain a cart leaning on to

Mother Yasoda, surveyed the
new region with wide-eyed won-

beautiful.

ted

Suddenly one
hitherto

added

der. "It is marvellous!" they

excalimed. Hundreds of trees
swaying in the gentle breeze
seemed to welcome them
through their sweet rustle. "It is

unknown

afternoon a
element was

to the spring. In fact

it

brought the touch of a different

spring a heavenly one- into

the earthly season.

From some unknown nook on

no less marvellous for us to have

you here amidst us!" they
seemed to say.
Krishna and Balarama began
to love Brindavan at once.
While the elders were busy set-

the

river

flute.

came

heard

and
12

sound of

the

Never never had anyone

heard anything
wrought miracles
it.

They

like

that.

It

those

who

forgot their

work

their worries

in

and their

obli-

gations. They stood enchantedthe music unfolding in

their hearts sublime

As

emotions.

was a call from a

where one had
one's dearest friend and had
if

it

distant horizon
left

forgotten

all

about

it!

As

if it

was

a message from an island of

which one had seen in a
dream but knew not its situabliss

tion!

But those who forgot themand came out of

homes as if drawn by a

selves totally
their

magnet were some young

They were the daughters

ladies.

and the daughters-in-law of

ferent families

who

rarely

dif-

went

out into the valley except for

bathing in the river or fetching

water from it.

By and by they emerged into

the meadow and followed the

sound through that serene twiThe one to guide them
was Radha beautiful and dilight.

vinely different.

Once on the river-bank she

began to run. The other ladies
followed her. The sound of flute
was growing louder. The breeze
had stopped lest it should disturb the flow of that music! The
birds did not whistle, nor did the
cattle stir or

moo.

Soon Radha spotted the

source of the wondrous music.
Under a Kadamba tree stood
the little Krishna, tenderly
dancing to the rhythm of his

own

flute. Behind him, on the

ground and on the trees, danced'
a dozen peacocks, their feathers

rustlings atop the trees as a cool

unfurled.

meadow

Radha and the maids knelt

down in silence before the danc-

Mother Yasoda was already

midway looking for him.
Radha and the maids walked

ing Krishna.

it

Was it joy? Was it ecstasy? So

was, they realised, but it was

also

roll

it

ran through the

into the village.

but slowly even though what

began as a mild drizzle soon
changed into a shower, bathing
them entirely.
But they had just experienced

of cloud

But

Krishna

appeared to be

much more.

in the sky.

gust broke out.

loomed large

Yamuna

a different kind of bath within.

kept her murmur sweetly subdued.

An hour passed. The sun set.
Krishna stopped playing his

Their minds had been cleansed

of impurities and they gleamed

and giggled.
Only then the cloud began to
unroll itself and the whole sky

bered that they were blessed

souls born in and around Gopa
with the sole motive of coming
in touch with the Divine in His

under a

spell.

Even

the

flute

grew overcast. There were

rumblings of thunder and loud

like gold.

How many

human

of

them remem-

incarnation?

n the kingdom of Koshala

j
1
lived Samar Gupta, a
young wrestler and boxer. He
had the good fortune to learn
his art from Ajit Gupta, the
greatest wrestler and boxer of

those who had tried their

strength against him and
showed that there was no wrest-

the time.

ovations and rewards. One day,

when nobody was nearby,

Samar Gupta was extremely

sincere as a disciple. That is why
his master did not keep anything
secret

from him.

Soon Samar Gupta grew

Many wrestlers came to

famous.

left

ler

who

Samar Gupta asked

achievement.
that

who
Some

crafty than

he lacked.

Gradually
other lands

wrestlers from
to confront

came

Samar Gupta. They too

accepted

defeat.

Samar Gupta drew a

his master,

with

cannot believe

stronger than all those

have wrestled or boxed
me over all these days.

He

what they lacked. At the same

time he learnt from them what

am

Samar Gupta was never proud.

his adversaries

challenge

Ajit Gupta, "Sir, to be frank, 1

am rather surprised with my

try their strength against him,

but nobody could defeat him.

even taught

could

Samar Gupta.
Samar Gupta received many

of them are even more

I am. How then do I
succeed in defeating them?"
"My boy, it is not by strength
and craft alone that one wins a
contest. Some other quality is
necessary," replied the master.

"What

is

that quality, sir?"

friend

of

Samar Gupta asked with

of

all

curiosity.

list

He caught hold of men and

animals and ate them. The king
kill or capture
rup.

tried his best to

him, but in vain. The soldiers

got panicky and took to their
the moment
roared and started
upon them.

heels

the

giant

advancing

As soon as Samar Gupta saw

the giant the wrestler in him
was
cles

He flexed his musand challenged the giant to

inspired!

a wrestling bout.
giant, who was gleefully
coming to catch and eat the

The

traveller, stood

moment.

"You can
your

own

get the answer from

experience, in due

course," said the master.

Samar Gupta, with his master's blessings, soon went out on
a tour of different kingdoms. He

desired to meet

who would be
for

him,

if

some

wrestler

at least a

match

not stronger than

bewildered for a

was

difficult to be-

giant.

A loose boulder got dislodged

from the

hill

stepped on

from the

as

it.

Samar Gupta

To

rolling

save himself
boulder the

giant shifted to a side hurriedly.

Samar Gupta planted

a heavy blow on him and threw
him down.
The giant felt giddy. He had
barely stood up when Samar
Gupta threw him flat once
again. The fight continued for a
Just then

him.

He was

passing

through a

desolate area in the frontier of

Kammp when suddenly a voice
Irke a crack

him.

It

lieve that a human being should

wish to wrestle with him!
Samar Gupta gave out a
joyous shout and rushed at the

of thunder surprised
came running to-

giant

wards him.

Samar Gupta did not know

what a terror the giant had
proved to the people of Kam-

few

minutes resulting in the

death. Samar Gupta

giant's

swooned away.

Some

people, including the

who witnessed the

king's spies,

strange encounter from a safe

distance ran to the palace and

reported

the

incident

the

to

king.

The king was happy. But

"The
killed

to

in a whisper,
ought to be
before he recovers! Let us

his minister

he said

giant-killer

not know who you are. At

"
thought that

first I

"Your Highness must have

thought that I was a new giant
who had killed the old one! I
should not be surprised if you
had decided to kill me. Which
king will like his people to be
harassed by giants?" said Samar
Gupta.

hurry up!"

The

king, his minister,

and a

few guards arrived on the spot

By then some
villagers had already nursed
Samar Gupta back to his senses.
Samar Gupta greeted the
king. Returning the greeting,
at their quickest.

the king said,

"Young man,

do

Samar Gupta's courtesy and

humility charmed the king. He
"Young man, I do not

said,

understand one thing. My soldiers, put together, were certainly stronger than the giant.
But you succeeded where they
failed. Does this mean that you

are stronger than a regiment of

my

soldiers?'*

Samar Gupta smiled and

answered, "Your Highness,
once I had asked my master
about the secret of my success.
He had assured me that 1 shall
know it myself. I have just
understood it. You see, I was
out in search of a match for my
capacity. Naturally 1 had the
zeal to wrestle. The giant never
expected any challenge from a
mere human being. He was
surprised beyond words when I
rushed upon him. My zeal and

fear, together, vanquished

him. Your soldiers feared the
giant. The thought that it was
impossible to vanquish the giant
had taken firm root in their
minds. In other words, they
faced the gaint because you
ordered them to do so, but they
were ready to retreat!"
The king felt very happy with
Samar Gupta's explanation.
his

Samar Gupta remained

in the
palace as a royal guest till he
fully recovered. The king bes-

towed on him several rewards

before he departed.

O
Contest for September '83

Write in 100-150 words on "A mistake that proved rewarding". It must be

from your personal experience. [Please state the no. of words used.}
Entries should reach the Editor. Chandamama (English), 188 Arcot Road,
Madras 600 026 on or before the 15th of September. A reward of
Rs. 50.00 will go to the winner. When there are more than one winner, each
will get a reward of Rs. 25.00.

|Q

Towards

a Brighter

Personality

UNITY AND UNIFORMITY

ARE NOT THE SAME THING

OF SEVEN
LEARNED JUDGES
him up to the court. Now, seven
judges sat trying the case. At
the end the chief judge said,

"We are unanimous in our opinYou arc guilty."

ion.

The accused laughed.

"What do you mean?" asked
the chief judge.

Tfl

explain,"

said

the

ac-

He distributed seven
pieces- of paper among the
judges and said, "Your papers
contain a question. Please write
down your answers to it.
The seven judges wrote their
answers and submitted the papers to the accused. The papers
contained only one simple question: "What is dust?" Each of
the judges wrote down a separate answer. One wrote, "It is
cused.

Rajesh!"
"Yes, Grandpa!"

"Are you
to

in

mood

to listen

an old anecdote?"
"I'd

love

to!"

said

Rajesh

reaching
Grandpa Chowdhury in one

enthusiastically,
bound.

Grandpa narrated his anecdote: Once upon a time, long

long ago, there was a witty man

eople loved him while those

fho were corrupt were up
gainst him.

Once

oe*

the corrupt ones ac-

of

tay.nd

touted

the stuff the earth

is

made

of."

Another wrote: "It is the base

on which we live." The third
one wrote: "It is what we all will
ultimately become," so on and
so forth.
The accused read ihe answers
aloud and observed, "Revered
judges, there is nothing more

simple and familiar a thing than

the dust. Yet the seven learned
men could not become unanimous in their views on it and
they have seven opinions about
it. Is it possible that they be-

came unanimous on a relatively

more complex subject that is
the accusation against me?"
The anecdote amused Rajesh. Grandpa said, "I do not

know what

the judges did to the

But what we should

remember is, it is absurd to
expect everybody to have the
same outlook and opinion Of a
thing. And as one devclopes a
accused.

distinct personality,

to

form a

one

is

likely

distinctly individual

opinion of any issue."

"Right, Grandpa."
"At the same time as
civilized,

we

learn

we grow
how to re-

spect others' individuality. Uniis not uniformity, unity is a

cultured tolerance of a variety
of opinions. And, Rajesh, why

ty

do you think

made

a mention

of that anecdote?"
Rajesh laughed.

"I know,
Grandpa, you must have overheard the heated argument
among my friends in the drawing room! We were debating on
which musician to invite to. our

school

function. It was, of
course, a very unmusical pre-

lude to a musical event!" Rajesh

confessed and laughed again,'
this time joined by Grandpa.

MIRACLE
WITH A
HORSE
with you, let me ask you a
question: do I look like a thief?"
"Er-er .." the king could not
say anything as he never expected such a question. But he
looked impressed.
The burglar smiled. "I'd never care to steal a horse if not for
fc

burglar was trying to steal

the miracle..."

"What's that? That's what

a horse from the king's

He was

stable.

want

caught.

"Put him to death," the king

ordered in the morning.
He was being taken away
when he mumbled, as if to

"Oh, the miracle!"

"Stop!" the king shouted

"Your Highness, have you

heard of flying horses?"
"Well in fairy tales yes."
"Your Highness, there is a

himself,

the guards.

"What

did''

secret. In
a horse,

The burglar looked at the

in the court and showed

am

crowd

my anxiety to try it on
was

'stealing' one.

sorry, but imagine your joy

speak before

when

him

it

would have brought the

horse back to you after teaching

them.

The king

led

into

his

that

am

king's eyes

"How long will

"Your Highness," began the

"Now

the art of flying!"

The

private audience-chamber.

burglar,

secret of making horses fly.

After years of research I got the

at

you say

about miracle?"

his reluctance to

know! r the king showed

to

impatience.

a horse to fly?"

alone
26

it

grew

bigger.

take to train

"If the

horse

is

very good,

say, five years!"

I give you my best
Try your best." said the

"All right.
horse.
king.

"Thanks, my lord. Please

keep it a secret. Let not even
your ministers know of it. This
explains why I was taking away
a horse so stealthily what your

guards called 'stealing'!"

"I wish you success! But
should you fail, you shall die!"
The king said giving a pat on the
burglar's back.

All

were

surprised

at

the

heard

everything,

one

in

my

"How?"
"Well,

first,

Nobody

knows about the deal.

Secondly, I might die a natural
death. Thirdly, the horse might
die and in that case the experi-

ment does not fail, but gets

postponed. Fourthly, who
knows,

might teach the horse

to fly after

wife

the king might

die within five years.

let

burglar's

you

favour."
she persisted.

else

burglar being handed over the

the

sighed
will

"Ah my dear wife! It is all a

chance and the odds are four to

best horse in the royal stable.

When

she

and asked, "But what

do after five years?"

me

all!

In the

meanwhile

enjoy riding the king's

finest horse!" replied the fellow

THE
THREE
PEACHES
peach

at

this

season?"

In the country there lived a

good man who had three sons.

The eldest was a shoemaker, the
second was a tailor and the
youngest was a scullery-lad in

Once there lived a king who

had one daughter. She
was very beautiful, but verywilful. Many young princes fejl
in love with her, and wished to
marry her, but she refused all of
I

them, with a toss of the head.

At last, in despair, her father
said to her,

"How will you know

which one you wish to marry in

the end?"
"I shall marry whoever brings
me at Christmas a beautiful ripe
peach plucked straight from the

This
|

was soon known

throughout the kingdom and

everyone said, "That is as much
as to say she will never marry

anyone

for

where

It happned that on Christmas

Eve the old father was passing
wood and to his surprise he saw hanging from the

-.through a

branch of a tree three magnificent ripe peaches. Quickly he

plucked them and returned

home.

He called his eldest son and

gave him one of the peaches.
"Put on your best clothes and
take it at once to the princess,"
he

said.

The young man did

tree," she said.

the royal kitchens.

to

find

as he

was

He put the peach in a fine

basket and set out to take it to
the princess. On the way
through the wood he met a
strange old man. "What have

told.

Sad and subdued, the young

returned home and told all
had happened to htm.

man
that

Then

the

father

called

his

second son and gave him one of

the peaches. "Put on your best
clothes
cess,"

and take
he said.

it

to the prin-

The young man did so and on

way through the wood he too

his

met the strange old man, who

asked him what was in his basket. "Mind your own business,"
said the young man rudely, and
went on his way.

When he reached the palace,

he presented his basket to the
princess,

but

when

she pulled

aside the leaves, she found that

the peach

was rotten and mil-

dewed, unpleasant to smell as

well as to look at. The second
young man was beaten as a
punishment for daring to offer
such a gift to the princess and
he, too, returned home sad and
subdued.

The
third

old father

drew out the

peach and gave

third son, telling

him

it

to his

to take

it

He, too, met the

funny old man on his way
through the wood.
"What have you there in your
basket?" asked the old man.
"I have a fine, ripe peach,"
to the princess.

replied the
"I

am

young kitchen-boy.

taking

it

to the princess,

because I hope when she has

seen it she will marry me."
"You are a fine young man,
kind and courtequs," said the
old man. "Here, take this tiny
whistle. You have only to blow
on it and everyone who hears
will follow you."
The young man thanked him,
took the whistle and went on to
the king's palace. There he gave
his basket to -the princess and
inside it was a fine, ripe peach.

The princess was horrified at

the thought of having to marry a

mere scullery-lad. So she

thought quickly and said, "I will
marry you, but on one condition. In the royal park are one
hundred hares. You must take
them to the pasture, guard them
carefully for a week and then
bring them back without losing
one. If you do this successfully,
I will marry you."
The young man went to the
pasture and when he blew his
magic whistle the hares followed
wherever he went, so that he
had no diffculty in keeping them
together.

On

the third day the

princess, disguised as a servant

and riding a little donkey,

went to visit him.

girl

blew a blast on his magic whistle

and the hare leaped to the
ground and raced back to join
the others.

Next day. the queen arrived,

disguised as a maid, but she had

no more success. On the third

day the king disguised himself as
groom and tried to get one of

the

hares,

but

without

again

success.

At the end of the week, the

young man returned and not
one of the hares was missing.

The
to

king, however,
let

his

still

daughter

scullery-lad.

three sacks

"First
full

you can marry

refused

marry
bring

me

of truth, then

my daughter,"

he

said.

The young man went away,

puzzled over
"Will you

sell

me one

of those

hares?" she asked.

"No they are not for sale,"
said the .young man. "I will give
fine

you one

if

you

kiss that

donkey

of yours on the muzzle."

The princess wrinkled up her
nose at this, but she was so
upset at the thought of marrying
a common scullery-lad that she
did so and went away
wilh a hare under her arm.
finally

However,
gone very

she had
young man

before

far. the

this.

Suddenly he
t

man of the forest appeared

before him.
"Take three sacks and go
back to the king." he said. "Tell
old

him about the three visitors you

had when you were at the pasture, who each wanted to buy a
hare. They were really the
queen and the king
in disguise. As you tell each
story, blow your whistle and
each of them will jump into the

princess, the

sack."

The young man went back

lo

the king with the three sacks.

He

the story of his

told

visitor,

first

who had pretended to be

a servant-girl and had agreed to

kiss her donkey on the muzzle

one of the hares. As

he did so, he blew his whistle
and the princess jumped into
just to get

the sack.

Then he

told

how

he

had been visited by a maid who

wanted to buy a hare and when
he blew his whistle, the queen

jumped

into the sack.

"Enough, enough." cried the

king, but the young man went
on to tell of the groom who had

come
his

to

him and when he blew

whistle,

the

king

jumped

into the third sack.

"You have

told the truth,

you

my daughter at
once," cried the king, greatly
alarmed. So the young man let
shall

marry

them out of the three sacks and

wedding was arranged in
the

great style.

The princess soon found thai

she had such a kind, clever and
honest young man for a husband
that she was not in the least
sorry she had to marry a scullery-lad.

The Dark Star

My mother always

mc

outside, a photographer from

Once while was playing

some magazine asked me whether

he could photograph me.

happily agreed.

The week

after,

calls

a dirty girl.

when my photo came out

in

the magazine.

shouted for the attention of my mother and

They saw the picture and hegan to laugh. Puzzled as I
I asked ihem what made them laugh. Then ihey showed me
what was written at the bottom of the page: IE YOU EVER
HAVE A DIRTY GIRL LIKE THIS. YOU NEED OUR

was excited.
cousins.

was.

SOAP!


How can the anabas remain alive while it is
out of the water It is able to do this because it
mass

spongy substance
so called because it
resembles a much branched tree and, like a
tree, it collects oxygen from the air.
Another species ol fish that can live out of
water is the Asiatic snakehead. This has
pouches under the gills, and when the fish is
out of water these fill with air from which the
oxygen is extracted.
Some species of catfish native to Asia have
tubes extending the length of the creature's
body just inside its back When the catfish is out
of the water, these fill with oxygen trom the air
by a kind of gill
There is also a species of loach a small river
fishwhich can stay alive out of water by
swallowing air in great gulps. The air then
passes to a special lung-like organ which
extracts the oxygen
Also quite happy out of the water is the
synbmnchus of India which has a sac or pouch
on each side of the throat This fills with air
has inside

its gills

called arborescence.

FISH

OUT OF WATER

MOST FISH WOULD

DIE IF THEY LEFT THE

WATER BUT THERE ARE SOME WHICH
ARE ABLE TO SURVIVE QUITE HAPPILY ON
DRY LAND

Danish

explorer Gusiav Daldorff had a shock

when ha was

swamp

in

walking along the edge of a

Tranquebar, India. On the trunk ol a

tall tree were some fish At first he thought that

they were dead and had been carried there by
an overflowing river,
Then he saw two mote fish crawling across

swampy ground. He saw that their gill cover

had spines, pectoral and pelvic, which gave
support and helped to push the body along.
When the fish reached the base of the palm,
Ihey climbed up the trunk and joined those
the

already there.

The fish Daldorff saw was an anabas scandens or climbing perch. But whether he actually
li-ia
lish climb the tree, or allowed his

saw

imagination to colour his story, is

this

occurred

in

1791 and his

grown with each

doubt, for
could have

in

tale

retelling

SEIZED BY KITES
Experts today say that the story that the
snabas climbs trees is widely quoted, but is
almost certainly due to misinterpretation These
fish can move over land and do so during ram.

They are sometimes seized by

kites

and

taken to a roost in the trees to be eaten.

Sometimes they escape and are found high up
in trees as a result

It

of

is

when

the fish comes on to land. The air in the

sac then passes to gills which extract the
oxygen and keep the fish alive
Muds kippers, which are found in the streams
rivers of Indian mangrove swamps often
to mudbanks. As they cannot
oxygen from the air, they are entirely
dependent on the oxygen extracted from the
water by means of their gills
Before leaving the water, the mudskipper
takes in an extra supply of water for the oxygen
to be extracted by its gills It can lie on the
mudbank for a few minutes before returning to
the water for a fresh supply of oxygen.
Lungfish, of which there are several kinds,
can breathe air directly as well as extract it from
the water by their gills They are among
the fishes which matte up the varied
population belowand above

and

come ashore on
extract

the water.

A HAIRY CASTLE
fteiottf

long ago there was a

brave king. He took care
of his people well and whenever
they faced any danger he was
ready to protect them from it.
But he was no match for the
new danger the subjects faced.
It was from a giant who took
position near a forest and began

Long

Someone saw
him from distance and ran and
ran and informed the king. The

eating up people.

king immediately despatched a

battalion of his ablest fighters.

But none of them came back.

giant went on creating

The

havoc with

the

By

P.

lives

Raja.

of

people.

the
..-i

The whole kingdom was, id

The king was
upset, but he knew that he could
the grip of terror.

not just leave matters at that.

He chose a hundred able sol-

armed them to the teeth

and marched against the giant.
As he approached the forest
the giant's laughter was heard.
That made half of the soldiers to
take to their heels. Then, as
soon as 'the giant came out of
diers,

the forest, the other half

lowed

suit.

fol-

stop eating his subjects on one

hand and work for their benefit

on the other hand!
"What if you cannot do the
work I give you?" he asked.
"Then I'll leave your king

dom!" said the giant.

The king returned to the
capital with the giant

and asked

him

city

to

rebuild the

walls

which were crumbling.

The

giant

but before the

left,

king had taken off his helmet he

and

returned
Next?"

said,

The king could

ears.

roof

"Done

not believe his

to the castle

He climbed
and looked

at

the

city

They looked new.

The king felt very bad. but

kept standing. He did not try to

walls.

apply his weapons against the

giant because he knew that it

ing all the silt, and filth from the

ponds, wells and rivers in our
kingdom?*' asked the king.

be of no avail.
"Bravo, Your Majesty, I've

will

met

true

man

at

You

last.

ought to be rewarded for your

What do you want?"

courage.

"Good. Will you mind

The giant went out of his sight

a few bounds. The king
heaved a sigh of relief and sat
in

for dinner.

He had

asked the giant.

"Stop eating my people," said

the

the king.

back.

"That
can give
I'll

is

not easy. But

me work enough

if

you

to do,

Mind you, you

continous work."

forget eating.

must give

me

The king was very happy at

It amounted to a.
the giant would

the condition.

double boon

clear-

just put

mouth when

something
the giant

in

was

"Done. Next?"

The king began

to dread these

words. "There are a few hills to

the north of the town. .Will you
please make stone houses out of

them?"
The giant nodded and

left fo:

the

site.

The king

sal pensive.

He had no taste for food.

"Why don't you eat?" asked
the queen.

"How

am

can

going to sleep?
I

those shreds of hair for me. Go

over to the roof and carry on

with the work."

Through the whole night the

He

be here
before 1 get up. Then he will be
back once every minute.' How
can I?

will

What work

him?"

give

The queen

smiled.

"You

giant tried to tear the hair leng-

By morning he had succeeded in dividing it into just

two shreds.
He wiped his forehead and
palmed his tired eyes and went
thwise.

leave the task to me," she said.

down and banged on

And

queen's door.

she

had said only that

much when
"Here

is

was back.
your next work,"

the giant

said the queen, plucking a long

hair from her own head and
handing it out to the giant.
"Make a hundred shreds of it
lenthwise. When you have done
this, report to me and my maids
will give you plenty more. Then
you have to build a castle of

if.

"Done?" the queen asked

peeping through the window.
"I am leaving your kingdom,"
the giant said ruefully.
"What about the castle

of

hair?"

"Did

not

say

that

am

your kingdom?" The

giant bellowed and he ran away
and he was never seen again.
leaving

New

Tales of King Vlkram

and the Vampire

THREE
QTTESTIONS
r\ ark was the night and fear*-* ful the atmosphere.
It
rained from time to time. At
intervals of the peals of thunder
could be heard moaning of jackals

and the eerie laughter of

spirits.

Flashes

of

lightning

showed fearful faces.

But King Vikram swerved
not.

once

He climbed the
again

and

ancient tree
the

brought

corpse down. However, as soon

as he began crossing the desolate cremation ground with the
corpse lying astride on his shoulder the vampire that possessed
the corpse observed, "O King, I
wonder if the interest with

which you are now pursuing

your work will remain strong in
you for long. Kings are whimsical.
Often they show great
curiosity to learn something, but
lose interest in it after a while.

Let me give you an example.

Pay attention to my narration.
That might bring you some relief."

The Vampire went on: One

day King Jaidev of Shripur pul

capital

was

lived there.

a forest.

hermit

The King knew

that

(he hermit was extremely wise,

but he spoke very little and did
not like people going to htm
with pomp and show.
The king, accompanied by a
few bodyguards, entered the
forest and found out the hermit's abode. He told his bodyguards, "Do not enter the hermit's compound under any circumstance." Then he went in

alone.

The hermit was digging earth.

The king bowed to him and

[three questions to his courtiers.

They were, what

is

man's best

What is the most auspimoment to act? What can

guide?
cious

eliminate one's enemies?

There were many answers to

these questions.

A wise minister

was one's best guide, said most

of the courtiers. To the second
question the common answer
was, one should consult astrologers to determine the right

ment

for an action.

question
|the best

To

mo-

the third

was said that war was

way to eliminate one's
it

[enemies.

The king was not satisfied,

though he kept quiet.
Nlnt far frnm Kinn lairiev's

introduced himself and put the

three questions to him. The
hermit continued with
his

work

without making any answer.

The king took the instrument

from the hermit's hand and began working himself. A long

time passed and the king looked
the hermit. Even then the
hermit said nothing. The king

at

resumed his work without a

murmur.
Suddenly a stranger rushed in
and fell on the ground between
the hermit and the king. He was
bleeding. An arrow remained
stuck to his person.
The king at once removed the
arrow and applied some herbs

and leaves on the

wnnnH With

stranger's
the hermit's helD

he then carried the stranger into

a hut and nursed him and fed
him with milk and bananas.
The king liked the atmosphere of the hermitage very

much. He spent the whole day

there. In the evening the stran-

ger

came limping to him and

flat at his feet.

"My

lord,

"What were you doing in the

Who wounded you?" he

forest?

asked, quite surprised.

"My

lord, I was roaming abin the forest when 1 saw you

entering the forest, alone. 1
took it as a golden opportunity
kill you. I sat hiding behind a

out

fell

to

am

bush and aimed

my arrow at
I did not know that your
bodyguards were hiding there.

Bhim Singh, son of ,Vairav

Singh," he said.
The king gave a start. Vairav

you.

Singh had been ordered to be

killed by King Jaidev's father,
the previous king. Bhim Singh
had taken a vow to avenage his
father's death by killing King
Jaidev. The king knew this
much, but he had never seen

arrow before my arrow had left

my bow. They were rushing
upon me when I came running
to you. I do not know why they
did not pursue me," said Bhim

Bhim

Singh.

One

of thent struck

me

with his

Singh.
"I had instructed them not to
enter the hermitage," said the

An
the

hour

later the king

hermit,

answers to

asked

"What about

my questions?

the

must

my palace now."
The sage smiled and said,

return to

"My

answers

child, the

be the same for

that

are

all.

meant

will not

The answers

for

you have

already been given, Meditate!

with me for a little while and
reflect on all the events and they

king.

"My lord, had you not taken

out that deadly arrow carefully
and applied those medicinal
herbs and leaves immediately, I
would have died in no time.
You are so noble. Yet I had
|been your enemy all these
lyears! Now I've surrendered,
myself to you and you can punjish

me!" Bhim Singh

said,

weeping.

"Bhim
(already

Singh, have you not

suffered

for

your ac-

tion? Forget the past," said the

Iking.
|

"My lord, from today I'll be

your most zealous servant."
"You'll be my friend,"

should flash in your mind."

The king meditated with the
hermit. Afterwards he said, "O
great sage, I've indeed got the
answers to my questions. I'm
grateful to you." He then tLok
leave of the hermit.
The vampire paused for a
moment and then demanded of

King Vikram

in

a challenging

"O King, what did the

hermit mean by saying that the
answers to the questions were

tone,

different for different people?

Was

he not just avoiding

answering the king? And how
did the king claim to have received answers to his questions?
I think he had got bored and
had lost interest in the questions. What do you have to say
to this? Answer me if you can. If
you keep mum despite your
knowledge of the answer, your
head would roll off your neck."
Forthwith replied Kine Vik-

ram, "First I will answer your

second question. The king's
queries were answered by the
chain of events. What guided
him to the hermit? It was his

own quest for truth, his own

inspiration. So one's own inspiration was one's best guide.
What is the best moment to act?
The present moment. What the
king did to help the hermit in his
work, what he did to save Bhim

is

his

not have been

another time.
compassion that

conquered

his

enemy

could

Singh,

postponed

Then
Singh.

it

So,

to

it

is

not

in

Bhim

physical

conquest but kindness and compassion the eliminate one's

enemies.

"New, when

the hermit said

were different
persons, he was
King Jaidev was a true
seeker and a man of goodwill.
That is why his own inspiration
that the answers
for

different

right.

was

his guide. In the case of

another, a good human counsellor may be necessary; the king

was a man of compassion. That

is

why

his

enemy's heart

changed. The situation

will

be

different in the case of an ordin-

ary man!"

No

sooner had King Vikram

concluded his answer than the
vampire, along with the corpse,
gave him the slip.

MAKE SURE OF YOUR COPY OF ENGLISH CHANDAMAMA

BY PLACING A REGULAR ORDER
WITH YOUR NEWSAGENT

Fishy Story
One day when and my friend, who were Fishing in a pond near
my house, hooked a (rout. My friend tried to pull Ihe fish, but it
I

came

off the

hook and went

sailing

up over

his head.

It fell

on

the golf course.

My friend set down his rod and walked over to the golf course
and peered into the grass looking for his trout. "What in the
world are you doing here?" some men who looked after the field
asked.
"Fishing.

"

gravely replied

my

friend.

"You fool." said one of the men. "The fish is down in the
"Here!" my friend grabbed the trout by the gills and lifted
up for the men to see it. He put it in his basket and joined me.
Hours later we saw those men still combing the field for trouts!

river.
it

C.

HMk

Kumar.

THE FRANCOLIN BIRD

rp here was a young robber
1

who could

the wind.

He

gallop as fast as

wielded his sword

He galloped up
long road that

like lightning.

and down a

passed through wilderness.

He

descended on travellers, killed

them and took away their valuables. Then he disappeared into
the rocks.

The

Sultan's police

could not trace him.

One afternoon an old

man

from another land who did not

know about the dangers on the

way was

quietly walking

when

young robber surprised him.

"Old man, you'll die!" he

the

yelled out.

The terror-struck traveller

said, "Young man, this bag of

my life's saving.
am on my
my daughter who lives in

mine contains

My

wife died and

way

to

the next town, to spend the rest

of my life with her. Please take
half of

my money

and spare the

other half."
"No, old man. That

is

not

my

bird, a francolin,

was

flying.

"O Francolin, bear witness to

the fact that this robber is killing

me

for

no reason.

gave him

all

had without putting forth any

would let
pass in peace. But he is..."
Before the old man had
finished, the robber's sword beheaded him.
Time passed. The robber
grew very rich. He now desired
position and fame. He settled
down in the city. As he was a
good chess-player and the Sultan was fond of chess, he beI

resistance so that he

me

came
I plunder everything my
prey has!" said the robber.
The old man sighed. "Ail
right, young man, I'm helpless.
Take it and let me go."
The robber took the bag but
laughed and said, I won't let

policy.

'l

You must die."

"Why, young man? I've given
you everything I had. Why then
should you kill me?" asked the
you go.

traveller in great anguish.

The robber laughed.

whom

loot," he said

"I kill

all

and un-

sheathed his sword.

The traveller looked in all
directions, but saw none. He
knelt down and raised his eyes
to the sky in prayer. A solitary

friendly with the Sultan.

Their friendship became

deeper and often they feasted
and drank together. At times
young man narrated his
adventures as a highwayman.
The Sultan did not mind his past
because he appeared a changed
man now.
One night they were dining
together. The young man was
rather drunk. At the middle of
the

the course an attendant placed

on the table a roasted francolin.

The young man laughed

at

its

sight.

'What caused your

laugh-

ter?" asked the Sultan, "is there

anything wrong with the dinner

or the conduct of any of

attendants?

my

"Not so, my lord, not so..."

"Then? Why did you laugh?"
"It

is

this

me

reminded

roasted bird that

of an incident.

man. He
thought that I'll let him go after
taking away his money. He was
surprised when I was ready to
kill
him. There was nobody
nearby. The old man saw a
francolin flying overhead and

Once

spoke to

robbed

it

to bear witness to

my

Whoever has
heard of a man asking a bird to
be a witness! Ha, ha!!"
The young man then looked
at the roasted francolin and
said, "Hello birdie, do you happen to be that very francolin?
conduct! Ha, ha!!

Maybe, you are a cousin of that

one! Ha, ha!!"
"Stop laughing!" roared the
Sultan.

Taken aback the young man

stopped and looked at the Sultan with fear.

"Finish your dinner quickly.

francolin has given its testi-

The

mony and your

the

bird

victim's faith in

must be respected,"

said the Sultan.

The young man nervously

ate

another mouthful, but could not

go on.
"Take him away. In the
morning he dies!"
The palace-guards dragged
the young man away.

THE KING LEARNS HUMILITY

Otnfirtp

Dosuch

not try to teach a

not

fit,"

things for which

man
he

is

Guru Soumyananda

told his disciple, Vijayananda.

The

tatter

was going out

at the

wide world, after spending a

number

of years in the

Ashram.

But Vijayananda was ambitious.

lesser

He desired to teach no
man than the king him-

self!

Vijayananda

observed

that

the king was very proud. Every

day, upon his appearing in the
court, the chief herald shouted.

"Here comes our great king,

who is no inferior to Indra, the
king of the gods, whose effulgence dazzles all, who is the hero
of heroes" and so on and so
forth.

The

king evidently enjoyed

He

He went to the court and the

king received him wilh respect.
He was lodged in the royal guest

the eulogy.

house.

ly told the king,

smiled proudly

and nodded.
Vijayananda one day

"My

privatelord,

no

virtue is greater than humility.

"How to be humble?"
queried the king.
**You should give up your

dazzling robe and speak softly

and kindly,"

explained Vijayananda.
The king agreed to be humble. Next day Vijayananda left
the capital and went over to a
News of the king donning a poor man's robe and
speaking always with folded
hands reached him. He was very
village.

pleased.

A year later he returned to

the capital, but instead of
announcing himself to the king,
he stood amidst the audience
waiting outside the court, but

capable of observing the proceedings in the court.

The king arrived indeed in

quite ordinary robes

hands folded.
herald began, "Here
his

and with

The

chief

comes our

"

and he ended
with" the king who, though able

great

king.

to put on the clothes equal to

those of Indra, wears ordinary

clothes out of humility, who,

though has the right to stop
most of us, stands with foldec

hands out of humility!"

There was tremendous applause.

The king nodded

with

great happiness.
Vijayananda did not meet the

king..He left the capital immediately, very sad.

THE DELAYED FALL

the side of a pond. Rahim
stumbled over a stone. He would have fallen into the pond if
Jubin would not have cought him by the arm.
"Thanks," said Rahim.
He forgot the incident in a day or two, but Jubin did not. He
went on telling all their acquaintances, "Do you know what
happened the other day? Rahim was tumbling into a pond when
I took hold of him and saved him from the fall."
Rahim heard this from his friends again and again. One day he
asked Jubin and a few of their friends to accompany him. He led
them to the pond and then fell into it delibrately. Coming out, he
told Jubin, "Look here, I am as wet as I would have been had
you not held me back that day. Now, will you please stop telling
about it?"

Rahim and Jubin were walking by

Unsolved Mysleries

_,__.

A FANTASTIC RUMOUR OF
OUR TIME CLAIMED
facti

DID IT HAPPEN to be
IN PHILADELPHIA?
Off the coast of Philadelphia

the sea was calm. One of

the ships harboured was
ordered to be taken a little far
into the sea. The crew perhaps

did not care to

know what

the

reason was.

Even if they would have

grown curious, their curiosity
would have gone unsatisfied. If
the report about the incident
authentic, very few

was

is

knew what

solitary ship

it

was a kind of strange light,

became known much later to
those

who read

the [eport about

the incredible incident.

What do you

think

happened
The

next? Something fantastic.

ship just disappeared!

That very moment on the sea

near Norfolk one thousand
miles away from Philadephia

the apparition of a ship flashed.

in the offing.

The

ly filled

be volleys of green mist. That

was sudden-

with what appeared to

Then

it disappeared and at Philadelphia the vanished ship

reappeared. Then it was off

again and the apparition reappeared at Norfolk. This weird

process went on for some time.

Was it a secret experiment
carried on by the American
Navy? That was the conclusion
of a young scientist. Dr. Morris

K. Jessup.

He had

himself, in

the course of his research, hit

upon

a principle

by which

it

was

make physical obinvisible, He claimed that

possible to
jects

he had formulated the principle

following a theory by Einstein.
Dr. jessup also claimed that
he had passed on the process he
had evolved to the Navy and the

Navy

tried

it

on the said

What happened

ship.

to the ship?

A good number of its crew died.

Others grew mad.

Soon after a newspaper reported the matter that had been
leaked by Dr. Jessup, the scientist
committed suicide. Some
believe that it was because he
was under oath never to disclose
the experiment. Since

it

became

known, he was afraid of harassment.

This extraordinary story was
first told by George Langelaan
in

his

book

Terrifying

Facts.

Since then several other authors

have written on the subject. But
nothing authentic can be known
about it for all the papers con-

cerning it have been transferred

to the Navy's top-secret section.

Was the experiment a fact or

a fiction? That is the question.

ZED THE BURGLAR

I

could easily

n olden days the captialcity of

Romania had many

burglar.

Do

know

the Robber!"

It was a
night.
"Who are you?" asked the
young man who had just come
to the town from his home in a

ber.

distant village.

caught.

"Whoever I may
who you are. You

be,

Now,

all

that

not fear.

parks and gardens.

welldressed man spotted a young
man near a park and smiled at
him.
moonlit

the

you are
I

am Zed

people of the

land had heard of Zed the RobZed never injured anybody, but he burgled houses and
robbed people in such a clever
manner that he was never

The young man

know

"Let me see
plished you are.

are a burg-

man.
"No, never!" protested the
young man vehemently.
The other man laughed.
"Look here, young man, from
the manner you looked this way
and that way, from your voice
and from your movements, I

lar!" said the well-dressed

saluted Zed.

how accomCan you steal

an egg from the crow's nest in

this tree without scaring the
crow?" asked Zed.
The young man climbed the
tree like a lizard

and

stealthily

transferred an egg from the nest

to his pocket. But, on coming
57


The pupil filled a bag with
gold coins from a jar.
Zed knew that the king supervised his treasury only once
wall.

every month. What he did not

know was that the very next day

was the day for the supervision.

The king found out the theft,
but could not understand
thief entered the

detained

an

how

asked him about

"My

room. He had

old

thief

in

prison close to his palace.

the

He

it.

lord," said the old pris-

oner, "since a man could enter

room, there must be an
entry. Fill the room with smoke
the

and observe where

down, he found the egg missing

from his pocket. The laughing

Zed showed it to him.

"I accept you as my master,"
said the young man. bowing
down to Zed.
"You are a worthy pupil. I
was looking for a trainee like
I want to retire from the
business. But I should teach my

you.
art

to

somebody before

ing!" said

Zed

retir-

Zed.

young man into

They were near the
palace. Zed knew where
led the

the town.
king's

the royal treasury was. He tied

end of a rope
and lowered him into the right
room, himself standing on the
his pupil to the

it

is

leaking

out."

The king did as advised. He

saw a column of smoke going
out through a hidden gap between the wall and the roof.
He met the old prisoner again
and sought his advice for captur-

ing the theief.

"My lord, do not let it be

known that you have found out
the theft. Since the thief has got
gold coins, he will feel tempted
to try to steal once again
probably tonight. Keep a large
jar filled with gum exactly on
the spot below the gap. The
column of the ja* should be
dark," said the old prisoner,

It

was done.

It

the old prisoner

happened as
had thought.

Zed, hoping to get more, lowered his assistant right into the
jar.

The assistant realised that he

had been caught in a pool of
gum from which it was impossible to get out. He told Zed,
"Master, I do not want to be
caught alive. Please pass on a
little poison."
"Not necessary," said Zed. "I
have with me a potion that
would make you appear dead,
but you won't die. Your captors, taking you to be dead,
would not punish you. I shall

manage

to free

you tomorrow."

Zed treated his assistant with

the potion and slipped away.
In the morning the king was
happy to find the thief caught.
But coming closer, he got the
impression that the culprit was
dead.

The king reported

the matter

to the old prisoner.

"My lord, the thief has an

accomplice" said the old prisoner.

"How
"Who
wise?

did you

know?"

killed the thief other-

One does

"What is to be done now?"

asked the king.
"Let the corpse be placed
outside the palace. Let some
guards be posted nearby, but
not very close to it. The thieFs
accomplice is likely to try to
steaJ the corpse. The guards can
pounce upon him when he does
so," said the old man.
The king ordered the corpse
to be put in a chair outside the
palace. He also posted guards to
keep an eye on it.
Late at night Zed drove a
carriage that way.

He managed

when

to topple the carriage himself

caught up in gum!" observed the

and, coming out of it, told the

guards who were looking on.

old man.

not die

"Good you told me. He might

my horse if I become
unmindful!"
steal

The guards laughed. "He

dead," they informed him.

is

That is no guarantee that he

won't steal my horse " commented Zed.
!

The guards laughed and

laughed, but not for long. Sleep

overtook them.

Zed approached his assistant

and treated him to another potion. The assistant came to his
senses soon.

"Do
horse

"My brothers, won't you help

me to set my carriage right?
Wine might flow out of
four vials I'm carrying

delay

in

putting

the

all

there

if

flee,"

is

carriage

straight."

"We'll help

one

you

vial," the

'"Happily,

if

you give us

guards said.

friends,

happily,"

Zed and he gave them a

said
vial.

The guards began drinking at

once. Now, Zed had mixed with
the

my

Detach my
and
young man.

carriage

told the

The guards requested him not

do so. They paid him a
hundred coins as compensation

wine a potion to induce

to

sleep.

"Who

is

pointing his

he?"

Zed asked,

hand

at

for his horse.

his assis-

In the morning the king heard

tant.

"A

not delay.

from

Zed

After his assistant rode away

Zed woke up the guards and
shouted at them, saying, "Had I
not said that the thief might
escape with my horse? That is
what he has done! I did not pay
attention to him because you
fellows assured me that he was
dead! What do I do now? I must
complain to the king in the
morning!"

the

that the corpse

thief." replied the guards,

60

had sprung

to

life

and escaped!

He
old

He was

puzzled.

reported the matter to the

prisoner who said. "My
the two thieves are ex-

The

king

made

a declaration

accordingly. Zed was already

thinking of giving up burglary.

declare on oath that you will not

He surrendered to the king

along with his assistant. The
king took both of them in his

punish them

service.

lord,

tremely clever.
if

Why

don't you

they surrender?"

SPOT THE TEN DIFFERENCES

THE FORGOTTEN ADVICE

The

king of the forest, the

lion, was dying of old age.
His young son knew nothing of
the world, but was very proud of

and knowledge.
"My son, you have nothing to
fear from any beast of the
forest, but beware of men who
visit our forest from time to
time." This was the old lion's
his status

last

advice to his son.

Very reluctantly the swan led

Soon they

the lion on the way.

saw a mushroom of dust and

heard the sound of hurried
steps. "That must be the man,"
thought the lion. But it was a
horse.
"I don't suppose

man!" observed the

I

you are a
lion.

"I am a horse, scared of men.

served them for years. They

But the young Hon decided to

teach a lesson to men as soon as
a chance came. One day he saw
a duck trying to hide inside a

have nothing for me but the

whip. At last I have escaped!"

bush.

him. At

"Wait a minute. What are you

of?" asked the young

scared
lion.

"A man, He was aiming his

arrow at me," said the swan.
"That is the creature I wish to
see.

Lead me

to the place

where

you saw him," the young lion

commanded.

said the horse.

"I

am

out to teach a lesson to

last I have escaped!"

the lion.

"Thanks, but I'd rather go the

opposite way," said the horse
and he galloped away.
The Hon had just come out to
the narrow road that meandered
by the forest when his eyes fell

on a man. The man' at once

bowed to the lion and said,

"Long

live

the king!"

At the sight of the man the

duck swooned away. There was
nobody to inform the Hon that
the creature he saw was a man.
"Who are you?" asked the
lion.

"I am a poor carpenter, my

man.
"I see. I thought you are a
man. Where are you- going?"

forget the greatest animal, that

myself? Where
asked the lion.
is

is

the house?"

"It is close by, my lord. You

may be pleased to inspect it."
The carpenter led the lion to a
cage he had just built. The lion

entered

it

and nodded and

said,

lord," said the

"It

asked the lion.

"I have just built a nice little
house for any great animal of
the forest
a tiger or a panthto dwell in it. I was going to

The carpenter silently went

on drawing the cage along the

er

invite

them

to inspect it," said

the carpenter.
"Is

it

not foolish of you to

seems all right. I can relax

here for a change."
The carpenter shut the cage
and began drawing it.
"This is a moving house!
fine!"

exclaimed the

How

lion.

road.

"Where
asked the

are you taking

lion.

me?"

PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST

Madana Go pal

Devidas Kasbekar

few words,

Can you formulate

a caption

each other?

you may write

Contest.

If

yes.

Chandamama.

of Rs.50V- will

go

in

it

to suit these pictures related to

on a post card and mail to Photo Caption

by 20th of the current month. A reward
which will be published in the issue after

to reach us

to the best entry

the next.
Prize for July '83 goes torMr. B.Suresh, Hat Hill 19.
Officers Quarters. Mangalore6.

The

The Winning

Entry;

'Wondering' 'Wandering'
PICKS

An exaggeration

is

a truth that

has

FROM THE WISE

temper.

lost its

Kahlil Gibran.
Art

is

artist

a collaboration between
does the better.

have made

make

it

this a rather

shorter.

God and

the

artist,

long letter because

and the less the

Andre Gide.

haven't had time to

Blaise

Pascal.

SEPTEMBER

1983

0666

Regd No

Jeevan and Hanu communicate about

THOSE TALKATIVE ANIMALS

Flw.

._

different odours pi
special glands
utwii marks a

inds of light Special

on a glowing

itch

quick -fading

These

danger Another

community,

are used
Each of the

lights

signals

ai

ifeltahi
r

uiner knrfe

rounding

fishes sense

large as sound, with

at

notes

in

comple*

inations and subtle

Scientists are trying to

m
5Ke island

thrs

puzzling

anguage

Py sen
waves tocWghl
abdo
Fleas talk

near Small

openings narrow
vary the pitch

|lil

Sensitive hairs or

pick up these sounds, u

usually communicate an

Life

Insurance

safest surest

is

the

way to

protect your future.

Find out about it.

Oft insurance
I

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