The Brave Children

Himvan was a lush green forest located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Many animals and birds lived there.

- Vandana Gupta

Max monkey, Molly mongoose, Honey deer, Leo lamb, Sheena sheep, and Ria raccoon were all good friends and played together every day.

One Sunday, all the children went out to play.

“What lovely weather today—it’s getting cloudy! Why don’t we go up to the mountains to play?” said Leo.

“Yes! I've heard there are many fruit trees and fields of green grass up there,” Sheena agreed excitedly.

“But it’s very far, and our parents won’t allow us to go,” said Ria, cautiously.

“We'll be back by evening; they won’t even know where we went!” Leo said.

All the children were excited to visit the mountains, so they went without telling anyone. They had just begun to play when suddenly the weather turned bad. Strong winds began to blow, and soon it started raining heavily along with thunder and lightning. Frightened, the children rushed into a nearby cave. They stayed there all day, and due to the storm, it grew dark much earlier than usual.

“It’s almost evening, and the rain still isn’t stopping. How will we go home?” Honey asked, worried.

“Our moms and dads don’t even know we came here,” Sheena added, almost crying.

Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder, and lightning lit up the cave. The children huddled together in fear.

Soon it was night. And then they heard a crashing sound, as if something heavy had fallen.

“I want my Mommy!” Leo cried.

“You were the one who insisted we come to the mountains. Don’t panic now! Let’s face this together with courage,” Max tried to calm him.

“But I’m used to sleeping next to my mother,” Ria said.

“Right now, we’re each other’s family,” Honey consoled her.

“We used to ask our mothers if we could stay overnight at each other’s homes to study, and they'd always refuse, saying we were still too young. Well, now we have the chance to spend a night together. Instead of being scared, we should try to enjoy it,” Molly said, trying to lighten the mood.