Kaushik, the Kind Detective

That morning, Kaushik felt like a real detective. After all, he had just got a shiny new torch and a magnifying glass from the local store.

His grandpa had said to him, "Kaushik, you look like a true detective today. I wonder what you are going to find!" Kaushik was very excited as he walked briskly towards the forest near their farm.

He looked at the wet grass and said to himself, "Hmm... I think it has just rained in this place."

The torch and the magnifying glass were great. He had already found his first clue. Not bad for a first time detective! Just then, he noticed a few red objects on the grass. What could these be?

They looked like mushrooms. But, should a detective accept that? He wanted to be absolutely certain. So he tiptoed around these objects, took out his magnifying glass and looked closely. Wonders of wonders! He saw a tiny girl sitting there, under an umbrella.

Kaushik looked at her through his magnifying glass. He asked, in a brave voice, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The tiny girl got frightened by his loud voice and eyes, which looked enormous behind the magnifying glass. She let go of her umbrella and leaned back in fear.

Through the magnifying glass, Kaushik could see her expressions clearly. She looked worried. So he told her, kindly, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I want to be your friend."

She stared at him for few minutes and asked softly, "Is it still raining?" "No, the rain stopped long ago. There is no need for an umbrella now. You can also ask your friends to close their umbrellas," said Kaushik.

The girl climbed on top of Kaushik's hat and gave him a warm smile. "My name is Lalitha. I live in this forest along with my family. We don't know how to build a house. So when it rains, we use our umbrellas to protect ourselves from the shower."

"I can teach you and your family how to build a house. My father says that I could be a great architect someday," said Kaushik. With that, Kaushik's detective dream came to an end, and the next dream began.