The boy who hated mornings

She had tried everything. But it would take her a really long time to wake him up and when he did, he would be in a very grumpy mood. Arjun couldn't wait till his exams got over. He couldn't wait to laze around the whole summer and wake up as late as possible .On the first day of his holidays, Arjun was busy watching TV, when his mom walked in. "Guess what Arjun. We have a surprise for you! We are visiting your grandparents in Sheharpur. And they have invited you to spend the entire summer with them! Isn't that great?" Arjun didn't know how to react to this. You would assume that Arjun would be excited. But he hated staying at his grandparents place! Not that he didn't love his grandparents but whenever he visited,his grandpa would wake him early in the morning and he hated it! He insisted that Arjun wake up by 6 AM. So he usually was glad to get out of Sheharpur. But the whole summer?! That would be too much. Arjun just smiled weakly and tried to persuade his mum to let him come back sooner. "Your grandparents are very excited to have you there and now you are old enough to take care of yourself, so you won't be too much trouble". And so they set out the next day. Arjun was sulking the whole day. After a long and tiresome journey they reached Sheharpur. His grandparents were very happy to see their only grandson. His grandma had made all his favourite dishes. Arjun was enjoying all the attention. And so his first day there ended well.

The next day 6 AM sharp his grandpa walked in to Arjun's room and started waking him up. Arjun tried to protest but to no avail. Grandpa just wouldn't listen. Arjun was very annoyed. "This is not how I planned to spend my holidays. I wish I were home! I could have slept till 10 at least." Grumbling, he got ready and went outside. "Hello there sleepy head! How did you sleep? All ready for your morning walk then?" said his grandma. Arjun just mumbled a reply and went in search of his grandpa who was waiting for him in the courtyard. His grandpa had a very strict routine. Every morning he would go for a brisk walk in the nearby woods and come back only after an hour. Now he insisted that Arjun accompany him,much to Arjun' s dismay."Ah there you are. You still look sleepy. Nothing like a walk in the morning to freshen you up" said his enthusiastic grandpa. And so they set off. Arjun rambled along behind his grandpa who was walking briskly ahead. Finally after exactly one hour they returned. Grandma had known that Arjun would be sulking on his first day there so she had made him his favourite breakfast. He felt a little better.

This went on for a few days and Arjun's bad moods slowly disappeared. A few days

later Arjun woke up without protesting and he didn't grumble during their walk too. Grandpa was surprised! "Ah looks like someone is in a good mood today! Come, I'll show you something." His grandpa was pointing to a shrub. "Do you know what this does? We used to play with this when we were kids." Arjun had no clue. Then his grandpa plucked a leaf,bent it and brought it close to his mouth and he blew a bubble! Arjun was amazed. Living in a city all his life he had never imagined nature could be fun!

Grandpa showed him many more of such wondrous plants and animals. Grandpa was pleased that Arjun was finally enjoying himself. On one such morning Arjun was busy chattering with his grand dad when he saw a rabbit behind a bush. He went close to it.The rabbit didn't move at all. It seemed to be hurt. His grandpa picked it up and examined it. "Poor thing, his leg is injured. I don't think he'll survive if we leave him here." So they took it back home and nursed it till it got better. Arjun spent the remainder of his stay taking care of his new pet,Sniffles.

A month had passed. Arjun's parents were coming to pick him up. Arjun had mixed feelings. He had thoroughly enjoyed himself and had gotten really close to his grandparents. When it was time to leave Arjun asked his dad " Dad this is the rabbit that me and grandpa rescued. His name is Sniffles. Can we please take him home?" His dad agreed. Arjun was really going to miss his grandparents. He gave them a huge hug and promised to come stay with them next holidays too.

School was starting in 2 days. Arjun spent his remaining two days playing with Sniffles. That Monday his mom came to wake him up. She couldn't believe her eyes! Arjun was already up and had started to get ready. She smiled to herself and wondered where the boy who hated mornings had disappeared.