ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my faculty, Mr. Roney Devassia for providing me the opportunity to write and illustrate this book. Next, I thank my mother for hunting down this story for me from my childhood storybooks. I thank my classmates and my collegemates for giving me their valuable feedbacks. Special thanks to Vinita Sethuraman, Sathwika Kataria and Sahil Shaikh for being there for me and giving me feedback at every step I took. Lastly, thanks to Mrunal Kulkarni for helping me with the cover page.
This book is dedicated to my younger brother, Gaurav.
Arohi was a little girl. She was studying in standard three. She was very fond of eating chocolates and lollipops. Arohi’s mother always advised her, “If you don’t stop eating chocolates, your teeth will decay. And if you don’t give up eating lollipops, you will have worms in your stomach.” Every day, Arohi’s mother gave her the same advice. Yet, Arohi did not give up her habit of eating chocolates and lollipops.
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One day, Arohi got ready to go to school. She saw her mother’s purse lying on the table. Arohi was tempted to take some money from the purse. So, she quietly opened the purse and took a five – rupee coin from it. She then kept the purse on the table. As soon as she stepped out of the house, she heard her mother’s advice, “Arohi, don’t eat chocolates, or…” “…your teeth will decay,” Arohi completed the sentence. Arohi and her mother burst into laughter. Mother said, “Ah! How sensible my daughter is!” Arohi smiled and left for school.
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During the recess, Arohi came out of the school and went to a shop. She bought five lollipops. She finished two lollipops in the shop itself. She ate the third one on her way back to class. She carefully put the remaining two lollipops in her bag.
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Arohi returned home in the evening. She changed her clothes and went out to play with her friend. Arohi’s mother took her school bag to arrange her books. She found the two lollipops in her bag. So, she took them and kept them in her cupboard. When Arohi came back late in the evening, they had dinner together. After dinner, mother said, “Arohi, now you should do your homework.” Arohi took her bag and sat down to do her homework. But she could not find the two lollipops in her bag. She realized that her mother must have taken them away.
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Arohi ran to her mother. She put her head in her mother’s lap and began to cry. She was feeling guilty. She promised her mother, “Mother, henceforth, I will never eat chocolates and lollipops. I am sorry that I stole money from your purse this morning. I promise I will never repeat this mistake.” Mother smiled and comforted her lovingly. She said, “My dear daughter, I am happy that you have realized your mistake at last. I will not say a word on this issue now. I think, you no longer need my advice. You are, indeed, very sensible.”
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Goodbye!
Illustrated by Vaibhavi Kodnani