Swing High
Sueli had a new swing. Hooray! It all happened yesterday. She saw two thick ropes being attached securely to a wooden board and the long ropes were tied tight on a branch of a huge tree by two men. When she tested the swing, it felt strong. It was late evening when the men finished setting up the swing while Sueli and her father watched.
“There you are Sueli, the swing is fixed and you can swing high and low,” said father. “Thank you, Thatha, I shall swing high,” replied Sueli, beaming.
The next day Sueli woke up very early. She washed, dressed and ran to the swing and started swinging. Sueli knew how to get an extra spurt on the swing. She bent her knees under the seat when swinging back and then stretched the legs straight and away up and up to swing high.
Each time she did this she found herself swinging higher. As Sueli’s house was on high land she could see the opposite side hillock well. She started singing a little song to herself. “Swing high and high till you catch the sky , Like a bird on the wing I am happy on my swing.”
She was higher than the top of the trees on the slope. The creak of the tree as the rope stretched this way and that was as if the old tree too was enjoying the hustle and bustle about it after many years. As she sang she went up and up and then she saw something that made her stop singing. She swung harder as she wanted to be high enough to continue observing what was happening on the yonder hillock. Each time she focused her eyes on the hillock in front as it was still hazy in the morning, the swing took her on the backward roll. But, she kept at it and saw that three men with laden sacks on their back and shoulders were trekking upwards.
It’s very early still and the men are already working thought Sueli. She remembered the seven dwarfs of Snow White who walked in a straight line one behind the other after their work was done. Surprisingly, one by one the men disappeared. How can that be? She asked herself. Perhaps there are shrubs and they’ve gone behind them. She could see the upward track on the hillock but not a single man appeared again. That’s funny, she thought.
Sueli forgot about the incident as the birds were waking up and various calls of the birds were getting louder. Soon, the garden was filled with birdsong and birdcall. It was nearly seven in the morning. Sueli stopped swinging, thanking the swing and the old tree, she skipped indoors. She had her bath and got ready for breakfast, planning what she would do the whole day. It was end of July and the holiday season had begun. Hooray!
At breakfast, father as usual was looking at the newspaper when he got a call. Afterwards, he announced that their temple nearby had been robbed. Something clicked in Sueli’s brain. She said in a rush, “Thatha, I saw three men on the opposite hillock and they looked furtive.” Father asked, “Where?” “I was swinging and I saw them.” Mum said, “Sueli, stop it, you have to curb your imagination.” “No, Thatha,” she insisted, ”I did swing very high and I can see the hill well and I saw these men with sacks on their back. The funny thing is that they disappeared into the hill one by one.” “What?” Mum interrupted “There she goes again.” Father quickly said, “Ok duwa, what did you see? Tell me slowly.”
Sueli recounted step by step what she saw early morning, the goings on, on the opposite hill. Thatha got on the phone to someone. Then what do you think? Sueli’s father wanted to go on the swing. Sueli and Amma were so surprised that they went silent for a while. Both mother and daughter accompanied father to the swing and he sat on the seat and began to swing. Sueli saw that he knew how to swing well and to get the extra spurt to rise high. “What are you doing?” asked Amma. “I want to see the exact spot that Sueli saw.”
Sueli knew at once that father was going to look for the men and she piped in saying “Can I come too?” “Certainly not,” replied father. “You can swing high and see what’s happening.” “Ok,” said Sueli smiling. Amma just shook her head and went in.
Later, all found out that father with the police had gone to the exact spot seen on the hill when swinging high on Sueli’s swing. They had searched the place thoroughly and found a cave hidden by a thick creeper. That’s where the men had disappeared. Sueli’s puzzle was solved. The team had found one man sleeping and the temple treasures as well as other stolen goods. Once they caught the man it was easy for the police to catch his roguish pals. It was indeed a good day’s work
Father came home with the police and Sueli was thanked profusely. The police said that Sueli should be given a prize. Both father and daughter said, “No, not at all.” Father said, “High swinging saved the day.”