Anushka Paints Multicolor Appu - Chapter 3

Anushka Paints

Multicolor Appu the Elephant.  

Chapter 3: Friends Change Colors

Next Sunday Appu said to his mommy, “Mommy, can I go Anushka?

Mommy said, “Yes. Today I will give you freshly prepared ‘Besan ladoo’ prepared in pure Ghee, Chakali and ‘Of-course Chiwada’. 

“Wow! ‘Typical Maharashtrian Cuisines’! Anushka likes them very much. Even more than cake and jelly. She will be very happy.”

--- --- ---

When Appu reached the jungle all friends were waiting at their usual meeting place. They came shouting and running towards him. All were very excited with the thought of going to Anushka and changing their colors.  

Friends Meet Appu

Pancharangi parrot shouted, “Heee! We are going to Anushka. She will change our colors. Oh! I'm fed up of these five colors. I want to be red with blue beak.”

Tuntin deer said, “I'm bored of this dull brown color. I want to be blue with red dots.”

 Neelu peacock said, “yes! I also want to be white, pure and total white, as a wedding gown. I don’t think these shades of greens and peacock blues are beautiful. They are very common colors. They cannot make me special and different from others.”

And Grogor tiger said, “I don’t like this yellow color. I want to be orange with green stripes.”  

“Okay, Okay, Okay!” Appu said. “We will go to Anushka and ask her. Let's go!"

Everybody had some gifts for Anushka. Grogor had mutton kebabs; Neelu had lots of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc.; Tuntin had various salads and a bouquet of assorted wild flowers and Pancharangi had different types of fruits for Anushka.

Then they all went through the open gate with the sign ‘Exit from Jungle - Entry to the Hill’.

From the top of the hill they saw a beautiful garden and Anushka’s palace. They saw a blue dot in the garden and that dot was moving. They said, “oh, what is that? A moving blue dot!”

Appu smiled and said, “let’s see. And oh! There are two dots, one blue and one green.”

Friends Arrive at Anushka’s Home

When they went closer, the dots grew bigger and bigger. They saw, they were Anushka and Saya. Anushka was wearing a blue gown and she had two delicate semitransparent white wings made up of clouds. She was practicing magic in the garden. She was changing the colors of flowers. Saya was wearing a green gown and she was observing Anushka’s magic very keenly. 
   
“Anushka, how are you? Hi Saya! I have come with all my friends. They want to be your friends. And they want to see your magic.” Appu said.

“Welcome to my home. It’s nice of you Appu, to bring all your friends. Please introduce me with them.”

“Of course! He is Grogor, the Tiger; Neelu the Peacock; Tuntin, the Fawn and Pancharangi, the multicolored Parrot. And she is Anushka, The Princesses and Great magician,” Appu said. “And she is Saya, the Little Princess and great climber.”

“Hi, how are you Grogor, Neelu, Tuntin and Pancharangi? Now I am your friend.”  

“We have brought you these presents, please accept.” Everybody said.

“Thanks,” said Anushka.

Anushka & Saya Welcome Friends

“Everybody wants to change their colors. They think, with your magic you can change their colors.” Appu said.  

“Oh! I am not a great magician. I can only change the colors of flowers only temporarily.”

Everybody said, “oh, please Anushka. We know you are a great magician. Last Sunday you had done the magic of making Appu happy.”

Anushka said, “but your colors are very good. In fact, all colors are good and beautiful. They are helpful and very important for you. They make you unique, different from others. They are according to your habitat and feeding habits. They help you protect yourself by camouflaging.”

“What is camouflaging?”

“It is a property that merges, conceals and makes you inconspicuous in your surroundings, thereby protecting you. So don't change the colors.”   

But all said, “no. Please do your magic and change them.”  

Anushka said, “okay! I will only try.” So she tried and tried and tried. But Phussss! All in vain! Nothing happened. She concentrated and tried again and again. But Phussss! Nothing happened.

Anushka said, “I am only in fifth grade and just learning magic. My magic is only at a medium stage. I will have to take degree and master’s degree and then Ph. D. in magic to change your colors. But I can call my friend ‘Sevening’. She is a fairy and she can do this type of magic.”

“Then please call her. Oh, Anushka, call her for us.”

Then Anushka dialed the number 300 850 1100 and called Sevening.

Anushka Calls ‘Sevening’

When the fairy came, Anushka said, “Thank you Sevening for coming. These are my friends. They want to change their colors. Can you do that for me?”

Fairy Sevening said, “but why they want to change their colors? They are very beautiful with their original colors. And it is not advisable to change the colors.”

But all said, “no! We are bored of these colors.”

Sevening said, “but your colors are very important for your protection in the jungle. It is very dangerous to change them. We are not allowed to do any magic that can harm anybody.”

“No. But, we want to change them. We want different colors”  

Sevening said, “okay! But remember, I can change them only temporarily. The magic will last only for 2 hours. Now it is 11 o'clock. At 1 p.m. the magic will be over and you will come to your original colors.”

“Okay”, all said. “We are ready.”

Then Sevening transformed Pancharangi parrot into red with blue beak and Neelu peacock into white as a wedding gown or like pure white wings of Anushka. 

Then she turned Tuntin deer into deep blue with big red dots and Grogor tiger into orange with green stripes.

Everybody was very happy. They started to jump and dance. They were admiring each other and also teasing and laughing at each other. 

 “Thank you Sevening”, they all said. 

“Remember, the magic will end at 1 p.m. and then you will come to your original colors.” Sevening said and then she vanished.  

‘Sevening’ Changes Colors of All Friends

Anushka said, “wow! You all are looking very beautiful but very funny. But now let's not waste time. We will play ‘Hide and Seek’. Last time it was Appu’s turn to seek. He will continue and all other will hide.”

Appu said, “why always me?”

Anushka said, “don't worry. You will see something different today. Believe me. Go behind the door and close your eyes.” Then she said to all, “you go and hide. After 10 counts Appu will start searching you.”

Appu went behind the big palace door and after 10 counts came out. And oh! He could see all of them very easily and clearly in their hiding places. He was surprised. Pancharangi was looking very conspicuous in his red color behind green leaves. Appu shouted, “Pancharangi, I have found you. Come out from behind that tree branch.”

Everybody Hiding

Now it was Pancharangi’s turn to seek. He went behind the big clock on the clock tower. He counted 10 counts and when he came out from behind the clock on the tower, he immediately saw Tuntin, with his deep Blue color and big red dots, behind the brown bushes. He was very surprised to find him very easily.

“Tuntin, come out from behind the bushes. I have found you”, Pancharangi shouted with excitement.

Then it was Tuntin’s turn to seek. When he came out after counting 10, he found out white Neelu very easily, hiding behind a green bush near a stone bench. He was also surprised with his luck to find anyone so easily.

“Neelu, I have found you. Come out of the bush near the stone bench. Now it is your turn.” Tuntin shouted.

Then Neelu was also surprised to see all of them very easily in there hiding places. It was as if nobody was able to hide anywhere with their bright and conspicuous colors. He called out for orange Grogor who was hiding behind yellow grass.

Then it was Grogor’s turn to seek. He again found out Pancharangi very easily and it was pancharangi’s turn. 

They played again and again. But it was the same.  They could find everybody else very easily and nobody could hide properly. So there was no fun at all.  Everybody got tired and bored.

But they could not find Anushka, Saya and Appu. Anushka had disappeared and there were only sparkles on the grass and air above, where she was standing. Nobody could recognize her.

Saya was hiding behind a big tree trunk and Appu was sitting very still like a big Rock in the middle of many big rocks. He was sitting in front of their eyes. But he was so totally merged in the rocky surroundings that nobody could find him.   

They called Anushka to come out from her hiding places. When she reappeared everybody said, “Anushka, we are not getting any fun. What can we do? We are bored to play hide and seek. Everybody can easily find out where others are hiding.”

“That is because of your changed bright colors. Because of them you are looking very prominent in your usual surroundings. Usually when you hide, and stay still, you are almost invisible. That is because of your matching colors with your usual surroundings and habitat. That is known as camouflage. It protects us from being a pray and it helps hunting animals to approach their pray unseen. Now, for fun, you have changed your colors and these colors are making you prominent and conspicuous.”

Everybody said, “oh! And where is Appu? We cannot find him. Can we play something else?” 

Anushka said, “and last time, when it was Appu’s turn to seek, again and again, and he couldn’t find you, he was frustrated and about to cry, you insisted that the play must go on and on … it is not fair.”

“Oh! That was our mistake. Now call him and Saya. Appu, we are sorry. Now please come out of your hiding place.”  

Appu Hiding as a Rock

Then Anushka asked Appu to come out of his hiding place. He just moved and stood up. Everybody was surprised. He was just in front of their eyes, sitting still on the ground. He was just looking like a big rock amongst many other rocks on the ground. But until he moved, nobody could see him.

“See! This is camouflage.” Anushka said.  

“Now what can we do? We don't want these changed colors now.” All shouted. Anushka asked them to wait for few minutes and then the clock struck 1: ‘Bong!’ And the magic vanished. Everybody came to their natural and original colors and everybody was relieved and happy.

From the palace Anushka’s Mommy, Queen Sonal, was calling, “Come on, lunch is ready. Lunch is served. Come quickly after washing your hands and feet”. They all washed their hands, feet and faces in the pond, came running in the palace and sat around the dining table. It was a memorable lunch. Everybody had what they liked. Saya also was very happy to meet and play with Anushka’s friends.  

After lunch they all played other games for some time.

Anushka Draws Her Friends in Desired Colors

Then Anushka, with her magic brush in her left hand, painted the pictures of all of them, in their desired colors. She painted Pancharangi parrot in red with blue beak; Neelu peacock into pure white, like bridal gown; Tuntin deer in dark blue with red dots and Grogor tiger in orange with green stripes. She gave these paintings to them as gifts, in the memory of today's fun and remarkable experience.

Everybody was very happy and they all went to their homes laughing, singing and dancing. Everybody was saying, how Anushka, very cleverly, pointed out the importance of their original colors and also painted them with magic brush into their desired colors and made them happy. Yes, she was a real friend.

Saya was happy because she was learning some magic from Anushka and she had a chance to play with Anushka’s friends.

And Anushka was also very happy because she had made everyone happy, as always. That was her real magic.

But now she was tired also. After dinner she came out in the garden. Saya also came out with her. It was very calm and pleasant. In the faint moonlight, everything appeared like a dream. There was a cool breeze, fragrant with mixed scents of flowers. The sky was clear, studded with millions of stars and on the western horizon there was boat shaped moon.

“Saya, I am so happy, I feel like going to the moon. I want to sleep there. Will you come with me?”

“Yes, of course. I will ask Mommy. Wait for me. I will come in a minute.”

When Saya came, Anushka, with her magic wand, made her to disappear. She also disappeared and they reappeared on the moon.

Anushka & Saya Disappear

“Hi, Anushka and Saya, how are you?”

“We are fine, how are you Moon Uncle? Can we sleep here?”

“Yes of course. Be comfortable.”

Then, on the soft sparkling sand bed and under the shawl of white soft cloud, Anushka and Saya slept on the Moon.

Anushka & Saya Sleeping on the Moon

End of Chapter 3

Told by

Rajan Aaba & Anushka

Illustrated by

Rajan