Bedtime stories for kids

Presence of Mind

       Karthik is a 10 year old boy studying in a well known school in Bangalore. From his childhood, he loved Animals. His father used to take him to Bannerghatta National Park that was in the close vicinity of Bangalore city frequently to see Wild Animals. He never used to miss jungle safari when he gave a visit to Bannerghatta.

      One day, while Karthik was getting ready to school, his father read an article in the newspaper that caught Karthik's attention. The white Tigress in Mysore zoo had given birth to 3 pretty cubs. Karthik quickly snatched the paper from his father's hands and saw the photo of the Tigress and its cubs. He so badly wanted to see them in real. With the same thoughts he went to school.

     In the next couple of days, his class teacher announced in the class that they had finalized Mysore Zoo and Ranganathittu Bird Sanchuary as the places of Visit as part of class trip which was in another two weeks. Karthik's excitement knew no bounds. As soon as he came home, he told his parents about the school trip and to add to the excitement, his father happily agreed to lend him his Camera to capture the pictures of Animals. Karthik was eagerly waiting for the school trip.

     Two weeks passed and the class tour day came. Karthik had got his back pack ready with water bottle, little snacks, an extra pair of clothes and his father's camera. His father dropped him to the school in the early morning where the school had arranged a bus for the trip. Two sections, each of twenty students of class 5 along with two class teachers boarded the bus. The Bus left for Mysore at sharp 6:30 AM.

      They halted in the middle for breakfast at around 8 AM and then reached Mysore Zoo by around 9:30 AM. All the kids happily got down the bus and entered the zoo along with their teachers. It was a very sunny day and the zoo was flooded with people. The kids moved from one cage to another, took lot of photos of birds and animals. It was around 12 PM when they were close to the White Tigress cage. Karthik couldn't wait to see the new born cubs with their Mother.

     While they were walking, Swetha, Karthik's classmate started vomiting. The teachers called all the students to the tree shade where they made Swetha sit and rest for a while. But unfortunately, Karthik didn't pay attention to his teachers' instructions. He just moved on till he reached the Tigress cage. There was a huge crowd near the Tigress cage. Karthik somehow made some space for himself and got near the cage. He just got lost seeing the cubs playing with their mother. He took lot of pictures of the mother and cubs. After some time, he just realized seeing the watch that he almost spent twenty minutes near the cage. He looked around to find his friends and teachers, but none to be seen.

      Meanwhile, Swetha's condition worsened. She vomited 3 to 4 times and due to walking in sun for so long, got completely dehydrated. Teachers gave her water and glucose but she was almost unconscious. The teachers sensed the need of medical help and took her along with all the students to the room where immediate medical treatment was available. The teachers, in hurry, did not notice Karthik missing.  

        Karthik got totally scared when he realized he was alone and the entire group of his classmates and teachers were not to be seen anywhere. He went under a tree, sat and thought for a while. He remembered his father telling that whenever something is lost, Police could help us find and get our stuff back. He looked around to find if any police men were around. He saw some security men standing near Gorilla's cage and advising people not to tease animals. He went straight to them and told that he wanted to contact his teachers. 

       The security men took him to the Zoo administrator's room where he told the in charge person how he got separated from his school mates. Karthik didn't know his school number or his teacher's contact number. He thought to call up his mother. He called up his mother and told her what had happened and asked her not to panic. His mother immediately took his school diary and called up the emergency number and asked for Karthik's class teacher's number. 

      On the other side, Swetha got better and the teachers decided to break for lunch and later continue with their zoo tour. One of the teachers started counting the pupils and got one less. After a short while of discussion, they got to know Karthik was missing. Every body got terribly worried. Karthik's class teacher got a call and she could hear Karthik's mother speaking on the other side. After a minute of words of displeasure, Karthik's mother asked the teacher to check him in administrator's office and confirm her.

     Every one rushed to the administrator's office and found Karthik safe there. The teacher immediately contacted Karthik's mother and informed that he was fine. The teacher, though scolded Karthik for being irresponsible by not listening to the teachers, appreciated him for his presence of mind and his action there after. Karthik too apologized and promised to always stay with the group.

    The group completed the zoo visit and later went to the bird sanchuary and came back to Bangalore safely. The school staff too appreciated Karthik's bravery and timely reaction.