Brother Gopal
Brother Gopal :
It was a bright and sunny morning. Little Shyam was very excited. It was his first day at school.
“Mother," he called out. “Where is my lunch? If I do not hurry, I won’t get to school on time."
Shyam’s school was across the forest and it would take him an hour to get there. Mother quickly gave him his lunch and sent him on his way.
Shyam skipped along the forest path. He loved to watch the sunlight peeping between the trees and the sounds of the birds chirping.
He soon reached scholl and ran in to meet his friends from the village. He had a wonderful time in school.
Shyam learnt many new things at school and the day was soon over. It was evening and Shyam was his way back home.
But the forest in the evening was very scary. There were many strange sounds and shapes that scared little Shyam.
Suddenly, “HOOOOOOOOT" came a loud sound in the dark.
“AH!" screamed Shyam in fear.
He was so scared that he did not stop to find out what had made the sound. He just ran as fast as he could until he reached home.
Mother was very worried to see Shyam crying.
“What happened Shyam?" she asked.
“I will not go to school again." He sobbed.
“The forest is very dark in the evenings and I am scared to walk all alone."
“How can I help Shyma get over his fear?" she wondered.
Suddenly she came up with a plan.
“Shyam, when you feel scared, just close your eyes and call out for your brother Gopal. He will come and help you," she said.
“I did not know that I had a brother," said a surprised Shyam.
“You always had a brother. You only never thought of him," said his mother.
“Now go and wash your hands and I will get you some food," said mother with a smile.
SHyam was satisfied. His brother Gopal would help him. He had nothing to worry about. He ate his food and slept in peace.
The next morning Shyam hurried to school. In the evening, as he was coming home, the forest scared him again. He decided to call his brother.
“Brother Gopal, where are you? Please come and take me home," he called out.
As Shyam looked about, a melodious music filled the forest. Suddenly out of no where a boy appeared and walked up to Shyam.
He looked charming with dark skin and a mischievous smile. He took hold of Shyam’s hand and led him to the end of the forest. Shyam was delighted.
Every evening from that day on, Gopal would arrive to take Shyam back home. They would chat and laugh and they became the best friends.
One morning, all the students decided to bring a gift for their teacher on his birthday the next day.
Shyam did not know what to take as a gift. He decided to ask brother Gopal for advice.
“What gift can I take for my teacher tomorrow?" asked Shyam.
Gopal thought for a minute and said, “You can take my bowl of rich curd."
Shyam was very happy to hear this. He proudly took it to school the next day and gave it to his teacher.
His teacher found the curd very tasty but he realized that no matter how many times he ate from the bowl, the curd never seemed to reduce.
“Shyam," said his teacher, “Where did you get this curd?"
“My brother Gopal gave it to me sir." Shyam replied.
“What! You do n to have a brother. Do not lie," scolded his teacher.
“I am not lying. Come with me to the forest and I will show you my brother," he said.
His teacher was very angry, but went to the forest with Shyam.
“Where is he? I do not see him." He yelled.
Just as he raised his hand to whack Shyam, a melodious music filled the forest.
“Only those who are true at heart can see me," came a gentle voice.
“Please forgive me, Lord," said the surprised teacher fallin to his knees.
Shyam also realized that his brother was none other than Lord Goplakrishna. He was very happy to see that The Lord had come to him whenever he called out to him.
Brother Gopal
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