THE PRINCELING

Short STORY

-  Lakshmi Narayan

Once, there was a little boy who roamed the streets of the city, because he didn't have a roof over his head. He had no idea what his name was or who his parents were. If he was lucky, someone threw him a stale vada pao or a half-drunk bottle of Coke. But most nights, he went to bed hungry, having been kicked around by irate shopkeepers and their customers when he tried to cadge a biscuit or a samosa off them.

That was until a lady in a swanky car saw him at the traffic signal. She fell for his sweet, innocent face and took him home. He was bathed, fed, dressed in clean clothes and put to bed. The lady who was very kind-hearted decided to adopt him. She put him in an excellent school and was pleased to find him a quick learner.