Prologue:
Kavish turned 3 in December 2018 and loves to read stories. This is also
an age he’s picking up new words, languages and more importantly, his thoughts
and behavior are being influenced by external cues like the books we read to
him and the TV cartoons he watches. Thought this was an apt time to put
together a set of stories (1 per month until he turns 4) for him to learn from and
remember ~ will be personally very satisfying for me to have penned down 12
bespoke stories in this critical developmental year as he turns from a toddler into a kid.
Appu's Trunk
Appu, the
elephant had a long and strong trunk
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It could
pull up a chunk!
In a wild
fire at the forest
A herd of
deer were caught in a trap
With no
place to go even for the strongest
Appu’s
trunk became a tap
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It pulled
up a chunk of water from the river
When the
cool water poured over the fire
One
shower… two showers… and thrice over again
The flames began to dim and tire
As the
deer returned safely to their den
Appu, the
elephant had a long and strong trunk
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It could
pull up a chunk!
In a
grass-land by the mountain slope
A flock
of grazing sheep were attacked by a tiger
With no
escape, even for the ones with hope
Appu’s
trunk became a digger
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It pulled
up a chunk of rocks down the mountain
As rocks
rolled down the slope onto the grass-land
They
blocked the attack, building a wall there and then
The tiger could not break in, though he tried his hand
Untouched,
the sheep returned to their pen
Appu, the
elephant had a long and strong trunk
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It could
pull up a chunk!
In a
heavy flood at the river
A pack of
wolves were stopped in their tracks
With no
way out, even for the wiser
Appu’s
trunk became an axe
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It pulled
up a chunk of trees from the jungle
As the
trees dropped from one river-bank to the other
The
bridge that got made helped to save
While the water level kept rising further
The
wolves returned happy and dry to their cave
Appu, the
elephant had a long and strong trunk
Trumpet,
Trumpet, Trumpet..
It could
pull up a chunk!
For the
strength of his trunk, Appu had no pride
Always ready to serve, he was a true friend and guide