The Corn Thief
It was a lovely spring afternoon. The sky was clear and blue. Birds were chirping in the trees. And the weather was just right, too - neither too cool nor too hot. Popat Lal, the corn seller, pushed his cart under the large neem tree outside Bal Vihar school. The school bell would ring soon. The hungry children were his best customers. Popat Lal depended on them to make a living.
Popat Lal wedged a few large stones under the wheels to prevent his cart from rolling away. He lit his small coal stove and set a large dustbin beside his cart. Now that the cart was set up, Popat Lal carefully peeled a few ears of corn. He always had a pile of golden corn ready to attract customers. Finally, Popat Lal covered the pile of corn with a clear plastic sheet to keep it clean. He was prepared for the children!
After setting up his cart, Popat Lal sat in the shade of the tree to have lunch. His wife had packed his favourite brinjal curry with rotis that day. After a satisfying meal, Popat Lal walked to a tap nearby to wash his hands. No sooner had he turned his back and taken a few steps than he heard a loud crash!
Popat Lal hurried back to his cart to see what had happened. The cart was in a mess! The plastic sheet was torn, and his pile of beautiful golden corn was lying on the ground. Poor Popat Lal was quite upset. The corn had cost him a lot of money. He shook his head at his bad luck. Nothing like this had ever happened before. So Popat Lal decided it must have been a cat or a dog.
Popat Lal folded his torn plastic sheet and peeled more corn before the school bell rang, and the children came running to the cart. That day, Popat Lal made less money than usual because he couldn’t peel enough corn in time. Some of the children went to the ice cream seller nearby instead.
The next day, Popat Lal decided to tightly tuck the plastic sheet under the pile of peeled corn so that no dog could tug it and upset his cart.
Alas! When Popat Lal went to wash his hands, the same thing happened again. The mysterious thief had caused more damage than before. All the peeled corn lay on the ground. The thief had also spilled all of Popat Lal’s spices.
Popat Lal sighed. “I can’t afford to lose so much corn every day”, he said to himself. Then he set to work clearing the mess and peeling more corn. Just like the day before, Popat Lal’s sales were poor.
After dinner that night, Popat Lal told his wife what had happened. “The worst part is that I don’t know who it could have been! Do you think I need to find a new spot for my cart?” he moaned.
“Business is good there. Let’s not give up yet. Why don’t you hide behind the tree and watch tomorrow? Maybe you can catch the culprit that way!” his wife suggested.
“That’s a wonderful idea! Why didn’t I think of that?” said Popat Lal.
On the third day, Popat Lal had his lunch and hid behind the tree to see if someone would come to steal his corn. He watched keenly with bated breath. He was sure the culprit was a dog or a mischievous child. But to his great surprise, he saw a little monkey! The monkey tugged the plastic sheet with its teeth and again to get at the pile of peeled corn.
“Hey! Shoo!” shouted Popat Lal. But the damage was done. The corn rolled off the cart. The monkey grabbed some of the peeled corn and scampered away.
Popat Lal went home and told his wife what had happened. Things were getting serious. Popat Lal’s stock of corn for the week had almost run out. He hadn’t earned enough money to buy much corn either. Popat Lal’s wife thought hard about the problem. Then she had an idea!
“A monkey can’t peel corn, can it? No wonder it’s trying to steal from the pile that you have already peeled. Why don’t you peel your corn after you have had your lunch tomorrow?” Popat Lal’s wife suggested.
“That’s an excellent idea!” said Popat Lal. He decided to do what his wife said.
On the fourth day, Popat Lal set up his cart, stove, and dustbin as usual. But he did not peel any corn. Instead, the corn seller hid behind the large neem tree. The little monkey soon came back.
This time, Popat Lal took a good look at his thief. The monkey was thin and scruffy, with a red collar around her neck. The little animal climbed onto the cart and searched for a peeled ear of corn, but there was nothing. So she sat in the shade under the cart and scratched herself. After a few minutes, she climbed the cart again. When she found no corn, she whimpered.
Popat Lal felt sorry for the little monkey. She had clearly escaped from someone who hadn’t treated her well. Popat Lal opened his lunch box and offered a roti to the monkey. The little monkey was hungry, so she took the roti and gobbled it up! Popat Lal patted her gently and said, “You were hungry, weren’t you, little one?” The monkey chattered in agreement.
Now that the mystery was solved, Popat Lal could run his business again. He decided to keep an eye on the monkey and have lunch later. He peeled an ear of corn and gave half of it to the monkey. Popat Lal used a strip of cloth to tie her loosely to the cart as the monkey munched contentedly. He did not want the monkey to grab corn from the children or accidentally harm them. Popat Lal could finally serve his hungry customers.
Once the children had left, Popat Lal asked the watchman to keep an eye on his cart. He then went into the school to meet the principal. Popat Lal told her all about the monkey. “I don’t mind giving the monkey something to eat every day, but I don’t think she belongs here,” he said.
The principal agreed and said, “Yes, you’re right. Besides, what if she tries to grab something from the children? That would cause a problem. Thank you for informing me, Popat Lal. I will call an animal rescue team to find the monkey a new home.” Popat Lal was glad to hear that. He thanked the principal.
When Popat Lal returned to his cart, he found the little monkey napping under it. So he sat in the neem tree shade and had lunch. A little while later, the principal escorted an animal rescue team to Popat Lal’s cart. They took the sleepy little monkey and put her in a cage.
“Thank you for calling us. Someone must have separated the little monkey from her mother when she was very small. I don’t think they were kind to her either,” said the team leader.
“What will you do with her now?” Popat Lal asked them.
“We will take her to our centre and care for her for a while. Then, we can send her to a zoo or wildlife centre. She will have friends and be happy there,” said a rescuer as he loaded the cage into the van.
“That’s reassuring to hear. The monkey is not dangerous. She was just hungry”, said Popat Lal. He smiled and waved as the team drove away.
With the monkey taken care of, the principal turned to Popat Lal and said, “Thank you so much for thinking about the safety of our children. Please allow us to give you a small reward to show our appreciation. I know you must have lost business while waiting for the rescuers”.
Popat Lal wouldn’t hear of it. “Why should I take a reward for such a small thing? I see these children every day. They’re my children too, aren’t they? I’m just relieved I can continue my business as usual”, he said.
That night, Popat Lal had a lot to share with his wife. After hearing his story, his wife said, “I’m happy the little monkey won’t be alone anymore. And you did the right thing by turning down the reward.”
“Your clever ideas helped me catch the thief. The little monkey has a home now, and our corn is safe. I needn’t move my cart after all!” Popat Lal replied with a smile.
