Tini's adventure


Tini was a small squirrel. She lived on the huge tamarind tree in front of a big house. Mili and Babli were her best friends. They had lovely brown furry skins with dark stripes on them and gorgeous bushy tails. They had lived here for the last two years. They ran about the whole day, chasing each other, talking in their shrill voices. They would sit on a branch when tired or hungry and munch on delicious tamarind leaves or its tasty fruit. Their tails would stand up like question marks. Mili and Babli were happy with their life on the tree but Tini was more adventurous. She was also a little greedy. She said she wanted to go into the house and see what was in there. Her friends told her it was not safe to leave their tree and look into strange places.
But Tini was a stubborn little squirrel. She was very intelligent too. So she decided to sit on the branch closest to the house and observe the people living there. She noticed that there was a little girl who ran about in the house just like Tini in the tree. The little girl had a shrill voice too. Tini felt she could be her friend.
Rani was the little girl. She was 3 years old. She was as active and talkative as a squirrel, her grandmother said. She went to a nearby school in the morning and came home at noon. In the evening, Rani would sit in the big sit-out close to the tamarind tree and do her school work with her grandparents sitting near her. Tini would also wait for this time. She would leave her friends and come close to where Rani was sitting. Tini would observe her writing with her pencil.
One day Rani too noticed the squirrel looking at her. She jumped in excitement. Tini was a little scared. She ran away from there and in no time she was in the highest branch. But the next day she again came down and sat looking at Rani doing her homework. The third day, Rani brought a biscuit. She bit a part of it and threw one at Tini. Tini was so scared she ran away. But she came back in some time and slowly took the biscuit with her paws. Rani was excited.
Soon it became a daily happening. From eating only leaves and fruits, Tini was now used to eating unnatural food. They tasted yummy! She boasted about her new food to her friends. Then she grew more confident and one day when Rani was holding the biscuit in her hand, Tini ran up to her and snatched it from her. Rani was a little afraid but she was thrilled to have a pet squirrel. She told everyone about Tini. Soon, whenever Rani called her, the squirrel would run up to her. Then one day, when Tini saw Rani sitting on the dining table eating her food, she sprang to the window. There was a nylon mesh on the window. When Rani saw her, she called her name. Tini could not resist the temptation and she simply bit through the nylon mesh, making a big enough hole to push her slender body into the room. By then Rani was screaming and her parents, grandparents and servants all came running. Tini grew nervous in the ruckus. She climbed up a big shelf and from that safe height she looked down. Everyone was talking and shouting and staring at her. Some were shooing her away, some ran to get a stick. Tini’s heart beat fast. She was still eyeing the food on Rani’s plate. In one moment she jumped down from the shelf, grabbed a piece of roti and when everyone began chasing her, she simply ran helter-skelter in the room and then into the next room and when everyone followed her there, she hid behind a table and began eating. Very tasty, she told herself, I should come every day. This house is so interesting. It has many nice places to run and hide. I should call Mili and babli too. Meanwhile the family lost track of Tini and they thought she had run away from the back door. Tini quietly came out of her hiding place, and looked into the next room. There she saw Rani sitting on a chair with her dolls. No one else was there.
Slowly Tini crept up to Rani’s chair and from there jumped on to the table. Her eyes were twinkling with joy at being so close to Rani and she uttered a small shriek of happiness. Rani was at first scared, then she recognized Tini and with her small hands she tried to hold her. But Tini ran up the wardrobe and then she leapt over to the fan. ‘Don’t be afraid’ Rani told her ‘I won’t harm you’. Tini jumped like an athlete from the fan to Rani’s bed and in another elegant hop she was on Rani’s table. This time when Rani stroked her gently, Tini only shook her tail in joy. She had truly turned a pet squirrel. Rani began to talk to Tini as if she was a close friend. She told her about her school, about that bad girl Megha, about the chocolate she liked best. Tini listened. Suddenly someone opened the door. When Rani turned to see who it was, Tini disappeared under the bed. It was Rani’s grandmother. It was 9 o clock and time for Rani to go to sleep. Rani excitedly told ger grandmother about Tini coming to her table. Grandmother told her that she was happy but then she warned Rani to be careful. Squirrels have sharp teeth and they can bite anything. She told Rani not to give the squirrel things to eat. She explained that Nature had taught animals to search their food and it was wrong to give them food they are not meant to eat. Rani was a little disappointed to hear all this. Soon she fell asleep.
Meanwhile Tini was still under the bed. Somehow it did not feel cosy like the tamarind tree. Though Rani, her new friend was sleeping close by, she missed Mili and Babli. She missed the fresh air on the tree. She wanted to go back at once. But the air conditioner was turned on. The door was shut tight so was the window. Tini became desperate. She tried to bite the door but it was too hard. She ran here and there and she felt acutely hungry. There were neither leaves nor fruits and worst was there were no biscuits anywhere. Then she saw that the door of Rani’s wardrobe was a little open. She went there and managed to push her body into the cupboard. It was dark inside. There were clothes and books and Rani’s soft toys but no biscuits. In despair, Tini bit Rani’s costly teddy bear. Then she bit Rani’s favorite yellow frock and tore it to shreds. Then she put her nose into her school bag and bit Rani’s neat homework notebook. But Tini did not find anything to eat and she could not sleep too. The room felt cold. She felt like crying.
In this unnatural place Tini could not understand when it would be dawn. Up in her tree, it was as if Nature has put an alarm clock into her system. She and her friends would wake up exactly at 5 am but here it was all confusing. Tini thought she would die.
The next morning Rani woke up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Tini watched her from a corner. The bathroom seemed like an exciting place to explore. When Rani went to the kitchen to drink her milk, Tini quickly ran into the bathroom. She found a tube of toothpaste which she bit into. It was so yummy! She ate some more, smeared some on her face and let the rest of the paste fall down on the floor. Then she bit into the soap but didn’t like the taste. She saw a bucket of water and climbed on it to see inside. She saw her reflection in the water and wondered who it was. That was when there was a loud shriek from Rani. She had opened her cupboard and seen all the havoc inside. She cried so loudly that everyone came running. They were all dismayed and began looking for the squirrel here and there. Rani’s father came with a wooden ruler and looked into the bathroom. He saw Tini sitting on top of the bucket. Whack, he hit her. Tini was frightened out of her wits. She had never been hit before. She fell plonk into the bucket of cold water. How awful it was! Rani’s father asked the servants to take the bucket out and throw the rascal squirrel out.
When Tini came out of the bucket, she was a funny sight to see. Her fur was wet and she looked like a little mouse. The usually bushy tail was like a straw stick. While Tini was trying to get to her feet Babli and Mili came there. They could not stop laughing at Tini. While they were rolling about in laughter with their eyes shut, Tini raced past them and reached the highest branch. In five minutes, she has shaken herself thoroughly and in the wonderful sunlight she was again the fluffy squirrel with the bushy tail.
‘You will never believe what a great adventure I had’ she shrieked for the whole world to hear!