Tuk-Tuk And Toru

There was a magical jungle. All the animals could talk to each other like human beings. A tiger named “Toru” lived there in a den. Beside the den, there was a big Banyan tree, where he took rest. In the trunk of the tree lived a big Termite family. The King Termite “Tuk-Tuk” and the Queen Termite “Mini” looked after the family. Everybody shared the work and lived happily.

Whenever Toru felt hot he sat under the Banyan tree because it gave him shade. The Termites did not like this because whenever Toru slept, he snored, “Ghrr.....Ghrr.....”, which disturbed Tuk – Tuk and Mini. So the termites made a plan to get rid of this problem. They decided to talk to their friend “Appu” the elephant.

One evening they called “Appu” and asked him to splash water on Toru while he was sleeping. Appu did not agree to the termites and told, “Toru is my friend! He looks so pretty. He has unique stripes on his body, and he never disturbed me! Then why should I disturb him?”

Tuk-Tuk said, “Appu whenever Toru sleeps and snores “Ghrr....Ghrr.....”, our family gets disturbed. Appu agreed to their plan.

Mini had been listening to all this but she was not happy with the idea. She advised Tuk-Tuk to discuss the matter first with Toru. She said, “We all live in this forest and this whole forest is our home, so we should take care of each other rather than disturbing or punishing each other. If we disturb him, then maybe he will also disturb or hurt our family.” Tuk Tuk and Appu thought for a moment and agreed to Mini’s advice.

Next morning they all went to Toru’s den. Toru at the moment was in deep sleep. Appu trumpeted softly. Rubbing his eyes Toru came out of the den and said, “What happened? Why have you all gathered here? I was in a deep sleep.” Then Appu said, “Tuk-Tuk and Mini want to talk to you.”

Toru – “Hmm.... What’s the matter? These tiny creatures want to talk to me.”

Ha Ha Ha .....

Tuk – Tuk said, “I am sorry to disturb you Toru but we also get disturbed by your snores, when you sleep in the den, under the banyan tree. In an angry voice Toru roared and asked, “So what can I do to help you and solve your problem?”

Tuk-Tuk said, “We live in this forest together as this is our home. We all should take care of each other and live happily. So can you shift your resting place?”

Ha Ha Ha ..... Toru laughed and said, “I am the King of the Jungle. You silly tiny creatures want me to change my resting place. Why don’t you change your colony?”

Tuk – Tuk said, “In my family only king and Queen have eyes and rest of them don’t have eyes, so, it will be difficult for us to change our colony. I request you to change your place.” 

Ha Ha Ha .....Toru said “Will this help you?” Mini timidly said,“Yes, My Lord, it will be a great favour to us.”

Toru agreed to Mini and said,“Okay, from now onwards, I will take rest under the shade of the peepal tree so that you don’t get disturbed.

Tuk – Tuk, and Mini:         “Thank you Toru.”

Toru:    “You’re most welcome.”

Tuk – Tuk:      “Thank you Appu”

Appu:      “It’s my pleasure.”

And from then, they all lived happily in that forest and from time to time met each other.

Interesting Facts :

Termites:      Only king and queen termites have eyes, the workers and soldiers are blind. They don’t have ears. They have only the sense of vibrations. It leaves pheromone scent trails to recruit other termites. If exposed to open air termites construct mud tubes from packed earth and these tubes protect them from dehydration and ant attack.

Tigers :           Tigers have unique stripes on the body. They don’t hunt in groups. The male tiger takes care of female tigers and cubs. The Bengal tiger is white in colour and has blue eyes. He is the main part of ecosystem. The tigers are fertile for 4 to 5 days throughout the year.

GLOSSARY :

Magical:    produced by magic

Agreed:        to share an opinion or feeling

Snored:          a sound while sleeping

To get rid of:          to be free from something

Unique:          special

Timidly:          lacking in self-assurance