Ammu's Puppy

Sowmya Rajendran

Ammu did not have a puppy.
But she told everyone in school that she did.

"My puppy’s name is Shankar," she told Venu.
"Shankar eats bananas," she told Abdul.
"Shankar is black," she told Kumari.
"Shankar plays ball with me," she told Unni.

So Venu, Abdul, Kumari, and Unni told Ammu that they would come home.
To see Shankar. Ammu shook her head.
"You can’t," she said.

"Why?" they asked.
"Because Shankar is scared of crowds," said Ammu.
"Then we’ll play with him one by one," said Kumari.

"You can’t," Ammu said.
"Why?" asked Unni.
"Because we’re going out today," said Ammu.

"Then we’ll come tomorrow," said Abdul.
"We’ll bring bananas for him," said Venu.
"We’ll play with him one by one," said Kumari.
"Okay," said Ammu. She didn’t know what else to say.

That evening, Ammu asked Achan if he would buy a puppy for her. "We’ll see," said Achan.
"But it’s urgent," said Ammu. Achan laughed . Ammu didn’t eat dinner. She felt sick.

She didn’t want to think about tomorrow.
In the morning, Amma said, "You look ill."
She touched Ammu’s forehead. A fever!

"Stay at home today," Amma said.
So Ammu skipped school.
She lay in bed all day. She didn’t smile at all.
All she ate was a slice of bread.

In the evening, Venu, Abdul, Kumari, and Unni came home.
"Why didn’t you come to school today?" asked Unni.
"I am sick," said Ammu.

"We saw Shankar," said Abdul.
"Where?" asked Ammu.
"In the garden," said Kumari.

"He didn’t want to play ball," said Abdul.
Suddenly, Ammu got up from bed. She ran outside.

It was true. There was a puppy in her garden. Shankar!
"But he’s not black," said Venu. "He’s brown.’"
"Oh," said Ammu. "I made that up!"

"He’s not afraid of crowds," said Abdul.
"Oh," said Ammu. "I made that up!"

"He doesn’t like playing ball," said Unni.
"Oh," said Ammu. "I made that up!"

"But he loves bananas," said Kumari.
"I told you, didn’t I?" smiled Ammu happily.