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Sringeri Srinivas Learns to Laugh

Author : Rohini Nilekani   Illustrators : Angie & Upesh

français

Sringeri Srinivas was a good farmer.
He grew the best bananas, which made the best banana halwa.

2/20

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But he also had the scariest frown in the world.
When he was angry, his forehead became full of deep lines.
His nose became red. His eyes became very sharp.

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When Sringeri Srinivas frowned, everyone ran away from him. His wife, his children and his friends tried to hide. His cows and his dogs ran away. Even the crows in the field flew away when Sringeri Srinivas frowned.

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And Sringeri Srinivas frowned often. When his crops were not growing well. When his barber had no time to cut his hair. When the TV did not work. And so on. And on.

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One day, Sringeri Srinivas went into his field to look at his banana harvest. He was in a bad mood. No one knew why.

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He walked quickly to his biggest banana plant. There were big bunches of lovely fruit. Soon, he would begin to make his famous banana halwa. His frown changed to a small smile.

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Just then, a troop of monkeys came swinging from a tree nearby. The biggest one, with a fiery red bottom, jumped exactly onto the plant that Sringeri Srinivas was looking at proudly.

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This made him frown again. His frown grew and grew. It was his biggest frown ever. It began from his head and spread right to his toes.

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The monkey, with his own nasty temper, was surprised. He had never seen a frown like that. He dropped a half-peeled banana on the ground, then he dropped a few more. Quickly, he jumped to the next plant and then the next. Soon, he was far away and safe from the frown.

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Sringeri Srinivas saw the monkey leap from plant to plant. He chased the monkey. He wanted to teach the monkey a lesson.

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On the way, he slipped on a banana peel.
Swoosh, he went down, and his chappals got stuck in the mud.

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Sringeri Srinivas sat up and tried to chase the monkey again.
Swoosh! He slipped again. This time, he fell with his face down.

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Somehow, he managed to sit up again, his mouth full of leaves and mud and twigs. When he looked up, the monkeys had gone.

14/20

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Sringeri Srinivas looked down at himself. His nice shirt was brown. His hands were dirty and scratched. He could not even find his own legs. They were all mixed up in the soil.

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Suddenly, he realised that he looked very funny. Sringeri Srinivas, the famous farmer. He was now sitting all by himself on a pile of leaves, mud and bananas. It was all very funny. And Sringeri Srinivas began to laugh. It was a little laugh at first. Hee Hee. Then it became bigger. Ha Ha!

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The more he laughed, the more Sringeri Srinivas wanted to laugh.
The laugh grew bigger. HA HA HA. And bigger!
Soon, he was clutching his stomach, and rolling on the mud. HA HA HA HAAAA!
Tears were rolling out of his eyes.

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The laugh was so musical that the birds nearby came to listen. The laugh was so loud that the monkeys came back. The laugh was so funny that many kids came along. The laugh was so new that his whole family came out to hear it, too.

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Sringeri Srinivas laughed so much that everyone else began to laugh as well. The birds twittered. The crows cawed. The monkeys chattered. The kids began to giggle. The banana plants began to sway. The barber in the shop grinned. The tailor began to chortle. Even the tiger sleeping far away in his cave smiled into his whiskers.

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Suddenly, Sringeri Srinivas finished laughing. Everything and everyone around him looked so happy. He felt happy too. “Come on, let’s go home,” he said, holding his hands out to his children.
Sringeri Srinivas still frowns sometimes. But now, he also likes to laugh. And he has the biggest laugh in town.

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The end

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses.