Vikram and his friends were in the land of giants!
“That must be a giant’s house! " said Vikram, shading his eyes and peering into the distance.
“Let’s say hello to him!” giggled Anshul.
“Don’t be silly!” retorted Ajit. “Want to be gobbled up?”
Vikram was already making his way towards the building.
“FEE! FO! FUM!” roared someone. “Who’s there? I smell the blood of man! Be he alive or he dead, I’ll have him with my bread!”
The boys clutched each other in fright.”
“Run out!” shouted Vikram.
Too late! The huge man, who appeared, stared at them in astonishment.
“Come here!” he roared.
Trembling in fright, the boys huddled up in front of him.
“Well! Well! Well! grinned the Goliath. “I was just wondering what to make for lunch.”
He pulled Vikram towards himself. “You seem to be a healthy fellow. Maybe I should eat you first,” bellowed the huge man.
Vikram quaked with fright, racking his brains to find a way to escape. “You can’t eat me!” he shouted. “I have scurvy!”
“So what!” retorted the giant.
“Bleeding gums and loose teeth! Weak bones and spotted skin,” yelled Vikram, “Eat me and get sick!”
“I… I… I have anae… anaemia!” shouted Mohit, stuttering with fear.
The others nodded their heads.
“Pale face and weak limbs,” shouted Vikram. “See how thin he is.”
“Rickets!” shouted Ajit, seeing the monstrous man eye him. “Deformed, soft, chalky bones!”
“That noise? " asked the giant.
“My rickety knee bones knocking each other,” yelled Ajit.
“That sound?” whispered Mohit.
“Ajit must be carrying his walkman. It’s on full blast!” grinned Vikram. “Must be the drumbeat of some musicband!”
“You look sickly!” declared the giant, in disgust as he looked at Anshul.
“Acne!” said Anshul apologetically.
“Dirty skin!” yelled Ajit.
Anshul glared at him.
“umph!” grumbled the giant. “A sickly lot you turned out to be! Now I will have to have soup and bread!!”
“May we have some too,” asked Mohit. “I’m hungry!”
So they all had hot soup and bread.
“Would you really have eaten us if we were healthy,” asked Vikram, in a loud voice.
“Can’t!” roared the giant. “I have cavities in my teeth. It pains when I eat sweets. But, my brother will be back soon. He is a healthy fellow. Eats anything. You must meet him. Do stay for tea.”
“Have this!” said Anshul. “It’s yummy!”
“What is it?” whispered Ajit.
“Kit-Kat!” murmured Anshul.
The giant gobbled it up.
“It’s sweet,” exclaimed the giant in horror. “Oooooooh! I Can feel the pain starting. Why you scheming little…”
‘I’ll get clove oil for you,” said Anshul, running as fast as he could towards the front door.
I’ll get disprin,” yelled Mohit as he followed Anshul.
“I’ll get you… I’ll get you antibiotics,” screamed Vikram.
“Wait for me!” shouted Ajit as he ran after the trio.
Then there was silence. Then the thunderous sound of applause! The class VIII A play was a big success!
It did not win the first prize. Nor the second or the third. The biology teacher felt that their theme was all wrong. Vitamins made one healthy and strong. Their play extolled the virtues of looking sickly! She was not impressed by class VIII A’s argument that they had shown how lack of vitamins made one look sickly!
But Class VIII A enacted the play again in the inter- school festival. This time they got the first prize! They titled it “Imperfect Diet the Perfect Giant Repellant!” Perseverance pays, for one never knows when one hits the jackpot. Do you?
596 words |
6 minutes
Readability:
Grade 3 (8-9 year old children)
Based on Flesch–Kincaid readability scores
Filed under: stories
Tags: #prizes, #bones, #giant, #teeth
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