Dancing in the rain
FOREST DIARY
Every animal and bird in Jadoomasti forest loved Pichoo. All except Villoo, the vulture. Every time Villoo saw Pichoo’s gorgeous blue-green feathers, he was filled with jealousy
After one crosses the river and goes beyond the hills, the land suddenly starts to look very green. The trees grow tall and thick. In the cool shade of the tall trees, wild flowers grow in abundance. Many birds have made their home in these trees. Welcome to Jadoomasti forest. This is the home of so many animals — wild and not-so-wild but all of them, wonderful. They have many stories to share. Do you want to hear some?
Pichoo, the peacock
In Jadoomasti forest, there lived a beautiful peacock called Pichoo. Pichoo loved the rain. His whole body moved to the rhythm of the rain. He would close his eyes, feel the fresh spray on his lovely blue-green feathers and start dancing.
Pichoo’s dance was a real treat. The squirrels, the rabbits, the deer, the birds, the elephants and the giraffes would hurry to Pichoo’s place as soon as they saw the first raindrops. They would sit down and watch the splendid show.
Pichoo never felt shy to dance in front of an audience. He simply loved dancing. He would fan out his feathers, close his eyes and go into a very special world.
Every animal and bird in Jadoomasti loved Pichoo. All except Villoo, the vulture. Every time Villoo saw Pichoo’s beautiful blue-green feathers, he was filled with jealousy and began to hate his dull brown-grey feathers. He did not like the way he looked. And, he did not like the attention that Pichoo got from everyone.
One dark night, when Pichoo was asleep, Villoo pecked at the peacock’s feathers and plucked them out. He hid the feathers in the branches of a tall tree, where Pichoo could never find them. Poor Pichoo did not even realise that his beautiful feathers were gone.
The next morning when Pichoo awoke, he was shocked. He ran to the pond and saw his reflection. He felt dreadful. He shut himself up in his house for three full days, without food or water. His friends felt sorry for him and wondered if they would ever see Pichoo cheerful again.
On the fourth day, Pichoo heard the pitter-patter of raindrops. All the animals and birds hurried to Pichoo. Even though Pichoo was sad that he looked different, he looked around and saw that nothing had changed. The rain was as refreshing as ever, his friends were all there to cheer for him, and he loved to dance. So, Pichoo began to dance and all the animals and birds clapped for him.
Villoo was amazed that despite taking away Pichoo’s feathers and making him look ugly, Pichoo was still the darling of the forest. He realised that Pichoo’s talent was something he could never ever take away.
He felt ashamed and guilty. That night when Pichoo was asleep, Villoo quietly returned the feathers and flew away.
The next morning Pichoo was surprised to see his feathers at his feet. He tried to fix them back on his body, but they would not stick. He thought he had no use for them and thought of throwing them away in the river. As he was nearing the river, he was surprised to see two baby rabbits trying to dance like him. This gave Pichoo an idea.
Since there were many animals who liked to watch him dance, why not teach them to dance!
Soon, Pichoo’s dance school became a huge success in the forest. The animals decided to have a dance competition every year and the winner would receive one of Pichoo’s feathers as a trophy.
If you happen to go to Jadoomasti forest when it rains, you will find not just Pichoo but many animals dancing to the music of the rain.
