(This story and other children’s stories that may be published here are dedicated to Anna and other children like her who like to listen to "a new story every night".)
Once upon a time in
the deep jungles of India lived a tiger named Waghoba. He was the only animal
in the jungle who could cook his food on the fire.
Every evening he got
his pots out and cooked mouth-watering dishes which he didn’t share with
anybody. The other animals hovered around him as they ate their raw food. All
of them were envious of Waghoba.
One evening, during
the monsoon, a great storm blew out Waghoba’s fire. A monkey who was close by
saw this and ran to tell his friends what had happened. They laughed on hearing
this news and thought about how Waghoba would have to eat his food raw like the
rest of them. Soon, all over the jungle the news spread that “Waghoba has lost his
fire!”
Meanwhile, Waghoba
sat in a quiet cave sadly licking his raw food. As night fell, the news
travelled far. The monkeys told the elephants who were playing in the river.
The elephants told the giraffes as they ate tender leaves on the tree tops.
The giraffes told the hippopotamuses who lazed in the pond. The hippos told the
birds who told the rhinos who told the bears....
After some time it
was so dark that the animals could not see each other. They still carried the
news to every nook and corner of the jungle. “Waghoba has lost his fire!” they
whispered to all they met.
A monkey saw a cave
and popped in to see if anybody lived there. On seeing the back of an animal in
the shadows, he gently tapped on its shoulder.
“Hey you!” said the
monkey.
“Hmmm” grunted the
animal.
“Hey, do you know
what happened today?” whispered the monkey.
“No” mumbled the
animal.
“Do you know Waghoba
– the selfish tiger who cooked his food and didn’t share it with anybody? asked
the monkey.
“Hmmmm” muttered the
animal.
“Do you know that
Waghoba has lost his fire? Ha, Ha!” laughed the monkey.
On hearing this, the
animal suddenly turned around and growled, “I AM WAGHOBA!”
The monkey jumped up
and ran away as fast as his legs could take him!
(Story
inspired by an anecdote Dad told us about a man who burned his mouth while
drinking tea. The news spread among his friends who joked about it. Finally,
most comically, it was reported to the man himself! )
