An 8-Year-Old Teacher Decides To Teach

Friends, here is a children's story with a twist in the end. Thanks.

Nanu was glumly seated alone in his classroom. Everyone else had gone out to play. The time was the midday recess, and the venue was Class III, Section B, Government Boys School, located in Sector 12, Noida city near Delhi. The season was a mellow autumn, when the days are sunny with a slight nip in the air. All in all, it was a joyful time, with the twin festivals of Durga Puja and Deepavali following each other closely.

Alas! This joy was absent from the eight-year-old's mind. Why? Because Ranjana Madam, the teacher in charge of Science and Maths, had taken a sudden quiz yesterday. In the quiz, she had set certain tough algebra sums, and in today’s class, she had returned the corrected answer script to Nanu with 2 out of 10 marks. Plus, she had added a biting remark in red ink on the top of the quiz paper: “Nanu, if you pay less attention to your art and more attention to your maths, you will do better in life.”

Yes, Nanu was a born artist. Whenever he found some spare time, he used to doodle in his notebook, especially during the boring Maths class. And our Nanu did not like Maths. No, not at all. So, you cannot blame him if he filled his maths classwork notebook with sketches while Ranjana Madam was teaching how to solve a difficult arithmetic sum on the blackboard. This might explain why she wrote those remarks on the quiz paper.

Nanu was sad, therefore. Life did not seem to be fair. Why did he have to do Maths when he could very well draw a beautiful picture of the ‘Gulmohar’ tree that grew with magnificent abandon right by the school building? All this while, Nanu’s tiffin box lay untouched. On other days, he used to gobble the delicious sandwiches made by his mom. Today, she had packed his favourite 'paneer' (cottage cheese) sandwich. Yet, he was in no mood to eat.

A sudden movement caught his eye. It was an ant, tiny in size and red in colour. Their tiny size belies their ferocious bite. Suddenly, a shadow seemed to lift off his mind. Instead, a tiny flicker of a smile crept on his face. He rose from his desk and set to work.

Soon, students started coming back as the bell sounded. The tiffin period was over. The next class, which was the fourth period of the day, was Science. It was Ranjana Madam again. As her stern figure entered, a hush fell on the class. The boys were afraid of this strict teacher.

But what was this? Why did this bulky lady jump straight up the moment she sat down on her big chair?

Well, the reason was simple. It was due to a tiny red ant attracted to the chair by tiny, almost invisible breadcrumbs spread on that seat. And why was she rushing out of the class within two minutes of her entrance? Oh, it was to go to the teachers' common room, borrow a tube of Boroline antiseptic cream, and apply it to her swollen buttock.

All this while, Nanu kept a straight face. Internally, he was smiling in satisfaction. For Ranjana Madam may know a lot of things, but still, there are a few things in life that Nanu can teach her, too. So, let his teacher beware in the future; else, a friendly red ant may agree to give her company once more.
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