Children Parenting

Stories on Happiness, Helpfulness, and Honesty

happiness helpfulness honesty
"Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form” - Jean Luc Godard

Children are fond of tales and they learn lessons from these recitals which guide them in knowing the practicalities of life!

Here are three short, thought-provoking stories for children that talk about Happiness, Helpfulness, and Honesty. I’m sure you’ll find them entertaining…..!!!

THE RESCUE

happiness
I was nine years old and lived in Delhi with my parents in a small flat in a crowded locality. There were neither gardens nor any fruit trees. The city was filled with cars, buses, and autos and jammed with people.

Life ran with clockwork precision. The routine was unvarying and boring. Like all children who had working parents, my life ran in a schedule, home-school-homework, with an occasional dinner-out thrown in for variety.

We went to Kolkata to spend the summer vacation with my mother’s aunt who lived alone in a big house in the suburbs. She was of a benign nature, always smiling. Seeing us, she was very happy! And I was thrilled with the place!

My parents could not afford to spend more than a week as they did not get such a long leave. So, on grandma’s ardent request and my eagerness, they decided to leave me behind to spend my entire vacation with her and left for Delhi. I was ready and all set for the fun time with grandma!

It was a stormy night. Listening to some of Grandma’s interesting stories, I fell asleep. A bright and clear morning woke me up. Nature was so beautiful! I wanted to wander in the lovely garden that was neatly maintained by Grandma. So, I went to the back garden where there was a mango tree. I found that the mangoes had fallen from the tree, during the turbulent night. Yum! my favourite…. Hence, I grabbed a basket to collect them. As I was picking the mangoes, I heard the frantic calls from a couple of bulbuls. They were fluttering around a broken bush, agitatedly calling for help. I tiptoed to the spot and found a small fledging buried under the leaves.

Oh.. no! I guess the tempest had pushed him down the nest, the previous night. He was flapping around, trying to fly, but couldn’t. He had probably hurt himself. I gingerly picked him up and put him in my basket. I took him inside to my grandma who immediately set on to nurse him. She medicated the broken wings of the tiny chick and fed him some water with a dropper.

“Nature takes care of these helpless beings. Don’t worry. We have done what we could. Now we must wait and see; if this little bird lives through the night, he will survive.” Grandma explained to me gently.

So I prayed intensely for the bird’s recovery. We kept him in a basket in the spare bathroom which had shuttered windows that opened in two parts.

Grandma’s house had two dogs and four cats as pets! So, we had to watch over the little bird day and night. I sat at the bathroom door, forever alert.

Slowly, the little chick started recovering. He came out of the basket and started flopping on the floor.

Suddenly, a strange thing happened. I saw the mother bird coming and sitting on the window sill. She tweeted and the chick, hearing the mother’s voice tried to dangle to the window. I gently picked him up and put him on the window sill and opened the upper half of the window panes.

At first, the mother was afraid. Then she furtively entered and sat on the window. The chick was frenziedly flapping his wings. The mother bird cautiously entered the room and inspected the chick.

Days passed by that the mama bird regularly visited her chick and the little one soon became strong and started to fly around inside the room.

Then one day, he was gone! I was pain-stricken and went crying to Grandma. I told her that I was sure that the cat must have gotten the small, helpless chick. Grandma understood my feelings and consoled me.

She continued….“You did keep a watch, didn’t you? So, how could the cat get him?” she explained.  And then, Grandma told me, “Don’t cry; Come, let’s look for him in the garden.”

So, Grandma and I went out to the garden. And there, on guava trees, my chick was merrily singing with his mother!

“Look,” said Grandma, “the mother has come and taken her child back. Now he is safe with his mom.” I felt relaxed and was so happy to find the chick alive!

To this day, I remember the moment and as I see the little bulbul with his mom, my heart fills with joy!

I have never known such happiness before!

Real happiness is when you are the reason for someone’s gaiety!

KINDNESS PAYS

helpfulness
It was a bright sunny morning when Sneha was rushing to the station in the auto-rickshaw. She was running late for work.

“Can you drive a little faster, I am already running late?” she requested the auto driver.

“Don’t worry madam, I’ll try my best to help you reach on time” he replied confidently. 

As they crossed the old age home she saw an old lady in her 80’s standing outside the gate asking for a lift.

The auto driver saw her standing, but ignored her and tried to move on.

“Wait…slow down, Sneha said to the auto driver in an authoritative tone.

The auto-rickshaw slowed down and stopped by the gate of the old age home where the lady stood.

“How can we help you,” asked Sneha politely, getting down from the auto-rickshaw.

 “I need to go home to get my warm clothes for winter”, answered the old lady.

Sure, I can drop you off at your place; Sneha extended her hand to help the old lady get into the auto-rickshaw.

Her eyes thanked me and she said in a pleasant tone, “ God has sent you today to help me”.

And she proceeded, “I don’t live far away; my house is just across the street.”

The rickshaw crossed the street and stopped by an old dilapidated double storied house.

Sneha got down from the rickshaw and helped the lady to get down.

“Is this your house?”, asked Sneha.

“Yes sweetheart”, replied the old woman. 

The old lady entered and took out a bunch of keys from her bag.

She started trying the keys one by one while Sneha waited outside the gate.

“Can you help me as I had left my glasses at the old age home” requested the old lady turning to Sneha.

“Oh, sure”, answered Sneha entering the gate.

She got the bunch of keys from the lady and examined the lock minutely to check for the symbol on the lock that matches the key. Soon she was able to open the lock and they entered the house. 

Sneha reached the cupboard and helped the lady pack a bag with warm clothes and all the essentials that she might need in the months to come.

Soon they were out of the house. Sneha instructed the auto driver to proceed to the old age home.

The auto-rickshaw stopped at the old age home. The old day got down and said, “Thank You, dear. May God Bless You!”

Sneha took the blessings and with a self-satisfaction, made her way to the station. Finally, she boarded the train and reached the office in the afternoon.

She was very late and her boss was already fuming!

Disha, his assistant interrogated, “Where have you been madam?, the boss asked for you twice, he is very angry,” said Disha hesitantly.

“Oh, I met an old lady and got tied up helping her, replied Sneha keeping her bag on the table.

And then, Sneha was about to enter her boss’s cabin when Disha stopped her.

 “Let me go in; do not enter until the boss calls you,” said Disha hurrying in.

Sneha stood there while Disha entered.

“Hasn’t Sneha arrived yet?” She heard her boss shouting at Disha.

“Yes sir, she had already reached an hour ago.

What happened was: I was feeling sick, so I rang up Sneha and asked her to get me medicines, on the way. Unfortunately, she was held up in the traffic jam when she had gone to the medical shop. Sneha had actually called to inform me that she was running late. It was my fault that I did not keep you informed, explained Disha. 

Listening to Disha, the boss apologised and said, I hope you are feeling better now, you can take leave if you want to”. His voice mellowed down and the rage dissipated.

Sneha overheard their conversation.

“Call her in”, said the boss in a composed voice.

Disha opened the cabin door for Sneha, smiling at her.

Sneha walked in, feeling relieved. She returned her smile silently thanking Disha for saving her day.

So, what do you understand from this story?

Timely help returns as a blessing in some form! 

THE MONEY ORDER

honesty
It was 6.30 in the evening. I was standing at the railway platform with my friend, waiting to board the train. We had logged out early than usual as we were to attend an invitation.

While we were expecting the train, my friend Reema went to the refreshment stall to get some food for us.

So, I stayed back and was checking on my phone. Suddenly, a tall man approached me. “Madam, can you help me, I am in trouble?” he said in a shaky voice.

I looked straight into his eyes; they were red and were barely able to hold back tears.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Somebody stole my money bag in the station today and now I am left with no money” he replied in a rush.

 He implored, ”Can you please lend me Rs.500”? “I will send it back to you as soon as I reach home, I promise!”

 Moved by his pathetic situation, I opened my bag to take out the money when I heard the siren of the train from far behind.

“Kindly give me your address so that I can send you a money order,” he interrupted.

 I was about to open my purse when Reema came back with a plate in her hand.

She was puzzled to see me talking to a stranger and enquired, “Who is he?” “Oh, this gentleman lost his purse and is now stranded at the station without any money” I answered.

Reema continued…. So, what are you going to do about it now?

I said, “ I think I should help him. He has assured me to repay my money. My friend asked me, “How will he return the money when you don’t even know you”? Think before you act”.

She further added firmly, “ Sorry, Gentleman, we do not have any money to lend you, you may seek help from someone else”.

 The gentleman seemed embarrassed hearing her words.

 “I am sorry” he replied and took a step back.

The man was about to turn back and leave.

 “Please stop…” I said and quickly opened my purse. Reema stopped me, but I didn’t pay heed.

 I took out a 500 rupee note, a paper, and a pencil from my purse. I wrote down my name and address on the paper and handed over the money and the paper to the gentleman.

 The man took the note and thanked me. There was a sign of relief in his voice.

The train arrived and we boarded it. We had to get down at our station after half-an-hour.

My friend seemed disappointed with my act and angrily exclaimed, “You shouldn’t have given him the cash”. Now, tell me what is the guarantee that you will receive your money?

 “But… Reema.” I said in an unsure voice.

 “Do you know how many people get robbed every day on the station, this is a trick they use to influence people and extract money out of them”, she replied in an annoyed tone. 

“But this man seemed to be a gentleman, he has promised me that he would send me a money order”, I tried to convince him but in vain.

 “Forget it! There’s no point in discussing as you have lost your money, do not expect any money order from him because nothing is going to happen that way,” he said to me bluntly, as we walked our way out of the station and headed to our homes.

 I started feeling low hearing her words.

It was month-end and I was really hard on cash. The good feeling that I had after helping the man had suddenly turned into concern. For a moment, Reema’s words raced my mind.

I went to bed, perplexed.

The next morning…..

The doorbell rang.

I opened the door and saw the postman standing.

“Madam, there is a money order for you”, said the postman smiling at me. He handed me the receipt and the cash.

I closed the door behind him and counted the cash. To my surprise, there were five hundred rupee notes.

 I looked at the receipt. At the bottom of my signature, it read: “Thank you, madam, for your help; it was only because of your kind gesture that I could reach home safely”.

Yes! It was from the gentlemen who had kept up his words! I realised that honesty still exists in this world…..

 Honesty is not a trait one is born with. It is a choice a person makes voluntarily!

Did you guys enjoy reading the stories? Interesting? Well, let’s conduct lives accordingly to see ourselves as the most loved human beings!

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About the author

Ipshita Bose

She wanted to paint her thoughts, but she was bad with colors and brushes. So she picked up a pen. She believes, we all make our series of short stories through the incidental incidents of life. All her life she has ventured in different directions, and collected stories.

A small-town girl from West Bengal grew up to be a professional writer after she decided to make her passion into her profession in 2018.

A caller turned HR Manager turned author, she has had a colorful life all throughout.
And, here she is to splash colors in the lives of her readers with her writings.

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