A CHILDHOOD LESSON

Eight-year-old Anshu lived in a village with his mother, Lata. His father had passed away in an accident a couple of years ago. Lata worked day and night to raise Anshu, trying to fulfill all his desires. He was studying in the third class at the village school.

- Dr. K Rani

One day, he was walking to school in the morning with his classmates Rahul, Shyam, Brij, and Anil. On the way, they passed by Gopi Dadi's large field. It was the rainy season, and cucumbers were planted there.

Rahul said, "Dad's field has a lot of cucumbers. Let's go and pick some."

"Dadi will be very angry if she sees us. She keeps a close eye on her field," Shyam replied.

"We are five, and Dadi is alone. Anshu can keep watch while we sneak into the field and pick cucumbers. Okay, Anshu?"

Anshu didn't want to join them in the theft. His mother had always warned him against doing wrong things.

Seeing him stay quiet, Brij said, "Don't think too much, Anshu. Picking cucumbers isn't really theft. You can ask anyone."

Anshu felt reassured by this. He had also heard from his uncle that taking cucumbers from someone's field in the mountains wasn't considered theft.

The four friends reached Dadi's field to pick cucumbers while Anshu stood off to the side, keeping watch. They had just picked two cucumbers when Dadi's loud voice rang out. Anshu shouted, "Run, Dadi is coming!"

The four of them grabbed their bags and ran towards the school, but Anshu stayed behind. He hoped Dadi wouldn't scold him, as she often visited their home and was affectionate toward both Lata and him. Dadi caught him and said, "Aren't you ashamed of stealing, Anshu?"

"I didn't pick any cucumbers, Dadi."

"But you were with those four thieves!" Saying this, Dadi twisted his ear hard and added, "Wait here; I will go and complain to your mother. She works hard day and night to raise you, and now you've joined these hooligans and started stealing."