Children's Story - 1

The Thorny Skin

The animals were competing with each other for survival.  The main needs were food and shelter.  The porcupine was a rodent.  It would go in search of roots and nuts.  Without its spikes it would resemble a bandicoot or a mongoose, but the only difference was it had no tail to boast of.

The mongoose and the bandicoot hated its company.  The rat thought that the porcupine was too big a fellow.  They all hated the porcupine as it would eat more root and crack any nut easily.  Jealousy was the reason.  The wild boar too had a reason to hate the porcupine.  One day, it stopped him and said,                      

“You stinking little fellow, why do you eat so much of roots? If you are found anywhere here,         you’ll be gored.”

The rat, the bandicoot and the mongoose were happy that the wild boar was angry with the porcupine.  They decided to make use of the opportunity.  So, they started a discussion.

            “Somehow we should make the wild boar kill the porcupine,” the rat suggested.

            “I have a wonderful idea,” said the bandicoot.

            “We will cook up some story and make the wild boar the deadliest enemy of the porcupine.”

“You little fellow,” said the irritated mongoose, “there is no point in our talking. We will     straightaway meet the wild boar.  Mind you, as we go, we have to plan what we should do.”

They walked and walked, and planned and planned.  They saw the wild boar busily uprooting a plant.

            “Start crying boy,” ordered the bandicoot, and the rat started crying and yelling.

            “Who’s that crying in my garden? asked the wild boar.

            “The poor boy rat, Sir,” said the bandicoot.

            “What’s the matter?” demanded the wild boar.

“ He is tormented by the porcupine, Sir.  That fellow is sticking thorns to all the roots and the poor rat has injured its mouth,” said the bandicoot.

“We should teach a good lesson to him,” suggested the mongoose.  All along, the rat pretended to be in pain.

“We should take revenge,” was the decree of the wild boar.

They planned for some time and then the rat, the mongoose and the bandicoot ran here and there, and collected the longest and the most pointed thorns.  The wild boar was busy stitching the thorns together.  The mongoose brought some glue.  The wild boar applied the glue.  It called the rat and said,

“Take it to the place where the porcupine will come in search of roots.  Let these hundreds of

thorns pierce that nasty fellow tonight”.

The rat was very happy.  It could not carry the thorns.  So, it dragged it. God was watching all these.  He felt pity on the innocent porcupine.  He wanted to save it.  He wanted to throw the thorns upside down.  So, he sent a big wind.  The wind lifted the thorns, and they fell upside down on the back of the porcupine, the glue sticking fast on its back.

Suddenly the porcupine realized that it got a powerful weapon  to fight against even the deadliest wild boar.