The Blessed Relief

Friends, here is a new story for children. Happy Reading!

The white marble floor of Munia’s room was gleaming under the lights. Outside her house, painted in light blue, birds were returning to their nests. The vivid red ball of the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon. And the autumn clouds sported a delicate orange glow.

But the seven-year-old child, wearing a dark blue silk frock, was far too busy to look at nature. All her attention was now fixed on Kalu, the jet-black kitten her family had adopted.

More correctly, it was Kalu who had adopted them. It began one night when a cat left a tiny, thin, dirty-looking kitten under the windowsill of the kitchen. The kitten’s soft “mew-mew” drew the attention of Rita, Munia’s mom, busy cooking dinner. She came out at once with a saucer of milk. Since then, Kalu has remained with the family.

Well-fed and healthy, Kalu soon became Munia’s favourite playmate. She took the kitten with her wherever she went. One night, Munia suddenly heard Kalu speak in Bengali—her own mother tongue!

To have a talking cat was so exciting at first...! Munia felt transported to the seventh heaven. But soon the girl came down to earth when she realized what lay in store for her.

For Kalu had become a little spy. It began to disclose all the little secrets of Munia to Rita. Kalu would sit on the kitchen floor at night as Rita was cleaning up after dinner. Then, with great relish, it would narrate Munia’s crime of the day in detail.

That crime could be sneaking a chocolate from the fridge when everyone was asleep. It could also be watching Tom and Jerry on TV instead of doing Maths homework. And then came the worst offence: eating two vanilla ice creams from the Kwality ice-cream man instead of her daily quota of one. Then, of course, Rita would scold her daughter.

Uff! What a sneak! Munia was at her wits’ end about what to do. Her life felt so restricted! A merciless judge was watching her with its bright green eyes 24/7.

The solution arrived unexpectedly in the shape of a huge stray cat. One evening, Kalu had the misfortune to meet this cat in the garden. To cut a long story short, it was left badly hurt in the unequal fight. It had to go to a corner and lie down for many days to recover.

After it healed, Kalu tried to speak to Rita in the kitchen one night. But only a normal “meow” came out. No matter how hard it tried, it could no longer speak a single word.

Munia, who was drinking milk nearby, reached out and patted Kalu’s soft black head. The cat purred gently.

Ah! What a relief!
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