SuperZero

Youve heard of superheroes, of course. Batman, Superman, He-man.

Then there are supergirls Catgirl, Batgirl, who knows, even Ratgirl.
There are superanimals like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. All these heroes can
perform amazing tricks. Theyre really good at everything and good looking besides.
Although, I personally dont think that men with little pointed ears on top of their heads
are very good looking. But then, you always see the girls going batty over Batman.

So much for superheroes. But you havent heard of any superzeroes, though. Well, you
can hear of right now ME! Im really good at nothing good for nothing. Im one big
ZERO. In short a SUPERZERO thats me.
Ma says, Youre very sweet.
Pa says, Everybody is good at something. Only, I havent discovered my hidden talents
yet. They are too well hidden. If you dont believe me, heres a list of my shortcomings
I am short for my age
I am ugly
I am terrible at school work
I am lousy at games
My feet smell (of dead fish)
Im scared of the dark, dogs and drowning.
..Well, the list goes on, but, I think you have the picture.
Sometimes Ma says, You have two left feet. Because Im always falling down.
Sometimes Pa says, Youve got ten thumbs, because things are always falling out of
my hands.
My sisters pretty good at singing. And pretty besides. My cousins good at playing the
casio. And good looking besides. Most children are geniuses (that means VERY clever)
with their computers. Me? Oh I cant manage any of these things. In fact, I cant even
get ill right. Everybody gets a cough, cold and fever once in a while. But my cough and
cold are my constant companions. My nose is always a big, red balloon. It runs so
much, Im amazed that it hasnt run away altogether! My cough is so bad that I cant play
games the way normal kids do. If I run for a minute, I run out of breath, wheeze and pant
as everyone else whizzes past me.

Yes sir, Superzero, thats me.

Wed gone on a picnic all of us. Supercasio cousin. Supersinging sister and of course,
Superzero. Along with all parents. Everyone was having a great time running about,
playing, eating and drinking. All, except, of course, me. I couldnt run or play and watch.
I couldnt eat and drink half the stuff no chilly, no cold drinks, no sour stuff. So I sat by
my miserable own self, enjoying miserable own company. We were on the banks of a
river and soon every one decided to go boating. But remember, one of my BIG fears
was of drowning. So I stayed put where I was, although everyone asked me to go along.
I watched a line of ants marching towards our food baskets and attack sandwiches.
They were pretty yucky, so I let them. I enjoyed watching the way they ran in a line,
passing the message on that there was food available. I imagined myself to be one of
the ants. A captain ant or rather a commandant who shouted instructions at the
junior ants. They all listened to me. Mama ants, papa ants, aunts and uncles. Ants in
frocks, ants in sarees, ants in pants. Everyone of them rushed to obey my orders. I was
the commandant of all ants. I was the SUPERHERO ant. Superzero no longer.
ATTENTION! I shouted and suddenly noticed a little crowd around me. Pa, Ma, sister,
cousins, uncles and ants (sorry, aunts). They all stood around, smiling at me.
That was very good, you know, said my sister.
Youve got a great sense of humour, said Pa.
You could become a story teller, or a writer! said Ma.
So, you know what? Thats what Ive decided to become a writer.
A story teller. I can just see it in the paper now: the headlines would read: SUPERZERO
the HERO! The photograph would show

The weepy wempati

Once upon a time there lived a little Wempati. She was a very sweet little thing who
loved her mummy, papa, sister, baby brother, pet dog and favourite doll very much. She
was a very happy Wempati.
When Wempati was four years old, Papa Wempati and Mama Wempati had a serious
talk.
Its time that little Wempati went to school they said. That sounded like fun to little
Wempati.
Her sister went to school and always went with yummy things packed in her lunch box
and came back with delicious paint stains on her hands and clothes.
So little Wempati went with her Mama and Papa to the shops with her shopping list.
When there was a mark next to every item to show that it had been bought, Wempati
had a big ice-cream treat.
The next morning, Little Wempati woke early and got all dressed up in one of her two
new frocks.
She did look smart. Happily she drove with Mama, Papa and big sister, after having said
bye-bye to baby brother. She felt all grown-up and very important.
The school gates were very tall. There was a policeman-looking man who stood there,
only letting children in and keeping the parents out. Little Wempati didnt like the look of
this man and held Mamas hand tightly. Big sister Wempati kissed Mama and Papa good
by and ran in. But little Wempati didnt feel so happy. She didnt feel that grown-up and
important either. Instead, she felt a little sick in her tummy. Mama and Papa walked her
to the gate. There an aunty stood with her arms stretched out. Wempati saw here
banana like fingers clutch hold of her little hand. Little Wempati felt Mama let go of her.
She felt herself being pulled into the big gates and they closed her in and her parents
out.
And little Wempati wept.
She called for her Mama and Papa. What was wrong with them? They just stood and
watched her being taken away by the banana fingered aunty.
Oh dear, little Wempati did not like school at all.
She wept through storytime, she wept through singing and she wept through plasticine
time, she wept through storytime, she wept through singing and swinging. She wept
until it was time to go home.

The same thing happened day after day. Nothing anybody said could make little
Wempati stop crying. All the other children loved school. They listened to the lovely
stories, they sang on top of their voices and they just loved the swings. Through her
tears, little Wempati saw them having so much fun. She wondered why none of the
children cried like she did, Perhaps, she thought, to herself in between her tears,
perhaps school isnt THAT bad after all.
So the next day, Wempati wept through plasticine time, storytime and singing. But when
she got onto the swings, she stopped crying and began to swing higher and higher.
Whee! This was fun.
Look at little Wempati, the other children shouted, she can swing higher than any of
us. That made her very happy.
So the next day, she cried through plasticine time and storytime. But she sang on top of
her voice at singing. What a lovely voice little Wempati has, said the teacher. And that
made her happy too.
Im sure that you can guess what happened after that. Little Wempati stopped weeping.
Then she discovered what fun school could be and she wasnt scared of the big gates
any longer.
I hope YOURE not a weepy Wempati?

Elephants dont diet

Poor Gol Matolus always sad. Why? I dont know. She looks like the most perfect
elephant. Tall, broad big ears, long strong trunk. No one likes to be sad. So why dont
you come with me to find out what the matter is with Gol Matolu?
Ah! Here comes Hornbill, lets ask him. Hello, do you know why the elephants so sad?

Of course I know.
Just look at her if you will.
Would you call her nose a nose or a bill?
That snake which hangs in front of her face Makes her feel shy and out of place.
Ah! say you and Oh! say I. And we go to Golu to tell her how lucky she is to have
such a wonderful trunk. Huh? says Golu surprised. I love my nose. Look at all the
things I can do with iteverything.
Langur, can you tell us why the elephants sad?
Her silly tails a sorry tale
Surely you can see
She cant hang from branch of tree
Like I can, look at me!
But No, my tails no problem. Its small but it doesnt get in the way like the peacocks
does!
If you ask my opinion, said the Deer,
Its her legs which cause her shame and fear
Wrinkled, ugly, grey and thick
Legs more like mine would do the trick!
But Golus happy with her legs too. They may not be pretty, but they are pretty good to
me.
But you and I can see that sadness still dances in her eyes. We wonder who can help.
Peacock thinks,
Its her colour, after all
Dull grey, mud brown make her feel small
If she were shot with emerald blue
Shed dance with happiness too!
But, I make no complaint about being grey. It may not be exciting, but it helps me hide
from hunters.
Oh dear! You and I are getting quite tired and muddled now. So we decide to try and
cheer Golu even if we dont know why she needs cheering up at all.
Golu! Come on out, come play with us.
No!
Ive a ball we could play with.
But Golu just sticks her trunk out and feels her ball lovingly. But she wont come out.
Why not, Golu?

I c-c-c-cant t-tell you Shes crying where shes hiding.

Oh, you say, Youre so beautiful, Golu.
Oh, I say, look at all this yummy sugarcane. Can we have some?
Soon you and I are stripping a sugarcane each while the sweet, sticky juice trickles
down our chins. You have one too, Golu, we say in between chews. No, says Golu
sadly turning away, No thank you.
Arent you hungry?
Hungry? I am hungry. Very, very, very hungry.
Then whats the problem?
No!
But Golu, whats the matter? Youre hungry, theres plenty to eat, but you wont, why?
Im so Im so FAT! and she burst into tears.
But Golu, youre an elephant. And elephants are meant to be you know healthy.
Besides youre big, youre not fat.
Not fat? Of course Im fat. Very fat!!
We look at her carefully and notice that, in fact, shes very thin. Her bones stick out.
I havent eaten for three days, sobs Golu, but Im still fat!
Three days? Golu, youll die if you dont eat.
At least Ill die thin!
But Golu, a few sticks of sugarcane cant do much harm.
Oh dont you understand? Im on a diet!
Elephants are meant to be big and strong!
But not FAT!
Just then we heard a CRASH! a SCREAM! a cry for HELP!!
Whats that? Come quick. Someones in trouble. Come on, Golu.
No, Im too shy to show my fat to anyone.
So you and I run in the direction of the sound. A tigress is caught under a fallen tree.
She yowls in pain. Although you and I are a bit frightened of her, we still try to roll the big
tree off her. Oooof its heavy!
Ah! Heres Hornbill, Please can you help?
Yes, come on now listen to me
Push, push this big old fallen tree
Thats right, alright,
Push now with all your might.
He was no help really. He just kept giving us endless instructions. The langur said :
Ill take this branch with my tail,

you lift the rest, now dont fail

Oh, you are just too weak, you fool,
bye, Im for a dip in the pool
The peacock was just as bad, saying,
Im too lovely to waste my time
My feathers dont like to slip in slime.
The deer ran off, saying,
Im too, too slender,
My muscles are too tender,
Besides the tiger will eat me
As soon as she gets free.
We tried to push again, but it was no good. There was only one thing to do, so we ran
back to where Gol Matolu hid.
Come on, Golu, youve got to help.
No! Im not coming out of hiding.
Golu, a life depends on you. Youve got to think of more than your shape and size.
Why me? Ask someone else.
We tried, we honestly did try, But no one else can do the job. We need your strength,
your broad back, your clever trunk.
Butbut
Theres no time for ifs and buts. Youve got to come Now!
It took some effort. It took some courage. But Golu came out at last. The three of us
rushed back to where the tigress lay trapped. She lay quiet now. Quiet and still. Oh dear.
Shes badly hurt. Tigress, dont worry, well get you out now.
But there was no reply. I hope we are not too late. Hurry, Golu, hurry!
Golu began to pull and push. We pulled and pushed too. Golu huffs and puffs, puffs and
huffs. But the tree wont move. Golu is weak from starving herself. So you run off and
get some sugarcane. At last Golu ate and smilingly said, Sugarcane is the secret of my
energy!
Our energy! We shout as we push and pull. The log starts to roll until
YIPEE! The tigress is free! She thanks us with a lick each and runs off.
Oh Golu, we love you just as you are. Strong and dependable. Dont try to change. And
remember, ELEPHANTS DONT DIET!!
So its time to get back to your real world. Goodbye for now, and thanks for your help.
Hope you will join Golu and me for other adventures yet to come.
Bye

If tooth be told

Dada and Dadi were very funny. They were good fun too. They loved everyone and
always had a good thing to say for everyone they met. They could always make people
laugh.
All, that is, except each other. Somehow, they just had to look at each other, and theyd
start fighting. It was really silly how the two of them were forever snapping at each other.
And since they spent lots of time together, their moods were becoming more and more
sour. Soon they didnt have a good thing to say about anyone. They made no one laugh
anymore. In fact, they often ended up making people cry.
Oh dear, Dada and Dadi werent that much fun anymore. One day, Dada shouted at
Shivi for having left his shoes under the dining table. Then Dadi shouted at Gogo for
jumping on the sofa. Gogo went crying to Shivi and found him crying too.
We must DO something! said Gogo.
But WHAT? What are children supposed to do when grown-ups start behaving like badly
brought up children? But Shivi and Gogo were very angry and they simply HAD TO DO
SOMETHING!
That night Dada and Dadi fought and fought and fought. Over nothing. The whole house
went to bed sad. Shivi and Gogo couldnt sleep. They waited till everyone else was

asleep. Then they stole quietly into Dada, Dadis room. Dadi was snoring and Dada was
snoring and Dada was mumbling still fighting in his sleep!
Shivi and Gogo looked around, trying to think of SOMETHING they could do. But
nothing turned up. Then Shivi went into the bathroom. The moon shone on the shelf and
Shivi saw two pairs of laughing teeth floating in two glasses of water.
Gogo, look, he said.
Its Dada Dadis teeth, Said Gogo, But how does that help us?
Isnt it funny that the teeth seem to be laughing at each other now, but when theyre in
Dada Dadis mouths, they have nothing nice to say to each other at all?
Then Gogo had an idea. He dipped his fingers into one glass and fished out the set of
teeth. Then he fished out the other set of teeth. And do you know what he did? He
plopped the teeth into the wrong glasses! So now Dadas teeth laughed silently in Dadis
glass while Dadis smiled happily in Dadas. Shivi and Gogo werent sure how any of this
was going to help, but they sniggered their way out of the room and jumped into bed.
Next morning, Dada awoke first. He was grumbling already. He said that he hadnt slept
a wink because of Dadis snoring and that his throat hurt and it was all HER fault. Dadi
immediately sat up and grumbled back at him, saying that his throat hurt because he
had grumbled all night and kept her awake, so it was all HIS fault. Dada went to the
bathroom. He washed his face and then he put on his teeth. Only, you know, of course,
that they werent HIS teeth but HERS! Then Dadi washed her face and put on her teeth.
Only, of course, they werent HER teeth but HIS. They came out of the bathroom.
Good morning, dear, can I get you some nice hot tea to soothe your sore throat? said
Dadi.
Dont botherji, you rest. Im sorry I kept you awake all night. You rest now, let ME bring
you some tea.!
Dada came out singing. He patted the dog instead of kicking him aside. He made a big
pot of tulsi tea and whistled his way back to the room. Dadi leapt out of bed and hugged
Dada and lightly skipped to the kitchen to fetch Dadas favourite biscuits.

Gogo and Shivi crept out of their room. They peeped into Dada Dadis room. They found
them sitting on their beds, laughing, joking and sipping tulsi tea. Their old Dada and
Dadi were back. Laughing, joking and being NICE instead of NASTY.
Shivi and Gogo winked at each other. They knew the TOOTH about the change. If the
TOOTH be told, they were glad.

The lion on the loose

Once it started raining, it just wouldnt stop. The sky wept great tears in an endless
stream until the clouds had entered everyones hearts and made them feel as grey and
weepy as the weather. But still it rained on and on.
Everyone stayed at home, gloomy and bored. I wish we could DO something, moaned
Geeti, Nothing exciting ever happens to us said Vikki.
Mummy wouldnt let them go out but she tried to cheer them up by baking a cake. The
children helped too. The cake was yummy and they ate it hot. The rest they covered and
left on the table.

I wonder what the animals and birds do? asked Geeti thoughtfully.
They must be cooped in their cages.
No, silly, I mean the wild ones. The tigers in the jungles, the birds on trees, what do
they do in all this rain?
At least theyre free. Think of the animals in the zoo. How awful for them.
And it was true. The animals in the zoo were worried and irritable. The wetness was
terrible for the creatures big and small.
The more it rained, the more everything filled up with water. The moat around the lions
enclosure filled up too. The lion watched. He was an old fellow, who had never been out
of the enclosure. He had never seen anything like this before., As the water lapped the
sides of the moat temptingly, the old fellow decided to make a go for it. He sniffed here,
and he sniffed there. He put one paw delicately into the water and then, with one big
breath, he jumped right in.
At first he sank. Then he panicked. He thought, for one awful moment that he was going
to die. But he didnt. His mighty head popped up and he paddled along until he could
feel the wall just under his chin. Putting his big paws onto the wall, he heaved himself
up. And then he was out. Out and free. Free to walk around the world, just as he had
seen hundreds of people do. Now he, the mighty raja was going to have the adventure
of a lifetime.
No one saw him for it was night and all the zoo keepers were fast asleep. Lion walked
out, king of everything he saw. Softly, softly, he crept on padded feet to the enclosure
next to him. He grinned in at the bear who woke up with a start.
He looked in at all the cages and thought how wonderful it was to be free.. Then he had
an idea. He was going to be really free. What was the point of freedom if he was still
within the four walls of the zoo? So, asking the way at every cage he passed, Lion
reached the main gate.
He could smell a human. He carefully peered into the ticket booth. Sure enouch, the
guard sat there. Lion was a clever old fellow and knew that the guard wouldnt let him
just walk out. So he waited and watched. The guard didnt move. He snored gently.
When lion was sure that the man was fast asleep, he padded his way past him gently.

Hmmm humph said a guard in his sleep. Lion almost roared in fright. But he didnt,
he waited quietly until he was sure that all was safe. And then he was FREE! Really
free, for the very first time in his life.
He walked around, looking with wonder at the big, black, wet roads. He stared up at the
high buildings and he sniffed at people huddled up, asleep in the driest corners they
could find. One little child peeped out of his thin blanket and saw him. Papa, he
whispered, theres a lion on the loose! Yes. Yes, said his Papa sleepily, hell go away,
now get back to sleep.
And lion went on. This was the longest walk that hed ever had. He was in the bazaar
now. But, of course, everyone was fast asleep. He peered into shop windows,
fascinated by the glittering things that shone there.
He walked on and on. On and on. Until he was one very wet, hungry and tired lion. He
now suddenly caught the smell of freshly baked cake. Hed never smelled anything so
invitingly warm or warmly inviting. Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! He found the window to Geeti and
Vikkis room open. Quickly, quietly, he jumped right in. He saw the children asleep in
their soft, warm beds. And he felt like getting in with them. But first to find out where that
delicious smell was coming from. Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!
Of course, with his sharp lions nose, he found the cake. And with his sharp lions teeth,
he quickly gulped it down. It was delicious. Not like the smelly raw meat he got.
And now, to bed. Slipping back into the childrens room, lion tried to get into Vikkis bed.
But it was too small for one big lion. So, he crawled under the bed and found it
wonderfully cosy and just right for one big lion. Soon he was fast asleep.
Next morning, mummy woke up to find the cake missing.
Did you eat the cake?
No mummy.
Then who could it have been?
It must have been the lion! said Geeti.
What lion? Geeti, dont be silly.
Shes not being silly said Vikki.
Theres a lion under our bed!
What? shouted mummy as loudly as she could. And she rushed right away to look for
the lion under her childrens bed.
She looked, but there was no lion there. Oh children, she said crossly, You gave me a
fright. Of course theres no lion there.
But there was mummy, protested the children. Look, there are lion paw prints on the
carpet.

And a big wet patch on our beds.

And lion hair on my sheet!
Mummy had to believe them then, but try as they might, they couldnt find the lion any
more. And do you know why? The lion had a good snooze and decided to get back to
his cage before there was any fuss. So he had slipped away at dawn and no one saw
him going. He slipped past the guard who still lay asleep and swam back into his cage.
What an adventure it had been! But he was glad to be home.
As soon as the rain stopped, Geeti and Vikki went to the zoo. They stood outside the
lions enclosure and whispered to each other. Im sure that our lion recognized them too,
and let out a big rumbling ROAR of a thank you to his little friends.
Maybe, next time it rains very hard, Lion may come to YOUR house, so remember to
give him some freshly baked cake!