Happiness at Avurudu for everyone
The Koha-bird sat on a branch to start singing his famous Avurudu song. But before he could start, a sad cry was heard from nearby. It came from somewhere below. The Koha flew near a house. Behind the house was a small wooden kennel. The crying came from there.
“Hello,” said Koha, “who is crying in there?”
Timmy the dog poked out his nose.
“I am in terrible pain,” he cried.
“What happened to you?” asked Koha.
“It’s this time of the year that I fear the most,” whined Timmy.
“But why?” asked Koha in surprise, “this is not a time to feel scared or unhappy! This is the Avurudu season. Everyone is happy at this time of the year!”
“You don’t understand,” cried Timmy, “during this time people light those horrible things called crackers. We can’t bear the sound of those, as our hearing is very sharp unlike humans. It’s just terrifying for us animals!”
Timmy showed his leg to Koha. It was wounded. “Yesterday, Baba who lives in this house, lit those horrible crackers and threw them in every direction. I was sleeping near the hedge and I got wounded when it burst near me like a bomb!” Timmy started to cry again in pain and Koha felt very sorry about Timmy’s leg.
“What about Kitty? Did she get wounded too?” asked Koha, remembering the cat who lived in the house.
“No, Kitty got so scared of the sound that she ran away. I saw her running towards the road. She has not returned yet and I worry about her safety,” said Timmy looking even more unhappy.
“I hope she didn’t run away too far,” said Koha. “She’ll get lost and won’t be able to find her way back home!”
“There’s a small nest on the mango tree. Did you hear the chicks in it crying all morning?” asked Timmy.
“Yes I did,” said Koha, “do you know why?”
“Well the crackers frightened their mother and she abandoned the nest.
The little birds are crying in hunger!” replied Timmy.
“How awful!” sighed Koha feeling
very sorry for the chicks.
Koha felt very sad. He flew away and landed on an Erabadu tree branch. The branch was covered in red flowers.
“Sing for us Koha,” said the Erabadu flowers, “We would love to hear your beautiful songs!”
“But I am too sad to sing,” said Koha. “Baba has lit crackers yesterday. Timmy has got wounded and Kitty has run away from home because she got frightened. The chicks in the nest are crying because their mother also got scared and flew away!”
“That is so sad,” cried the red Erabadu flowers. One by one their petals fell down to the ground, out of sadness.
Baba came out to hear the Koha sing. He also wanted to look at the Erabadu tree; to see if it looked bright red with flowers, more than it did yesterday. But the garden was very quiet. The Erabadu tree branches were bare as it had no flowers.
“Where is Koha? Where are the Erabadu flowers? Why is everything so silent and gloomy around here?” asked Baba looking around and wondering what was wrong. Then he spotted Koha sitting quietly on the Erabadu branch.
“Why won’t you sing Koha?” asked Baba, “and where have all the Erabadu flowers gone?”
“They fell off because they were sad and I too don’t feel like singing because
I am also very sad!” replied Koha.
“Why are you so sad?” asked Baba. “This is Avurudu time and everyone is happy at this time of the year!”
“I am sad because Timmy has got wounded by a cracker you have thrown,” said Koha.
Baba looked very sad, “I would never hurt Timmy. I never saw him around when I threw the crackers!”
“Even you could have got hurt if you threw them around so carelessly, Baba,” said Koha shaking his head in disapproval.
“And that’s not all. Kitty has run away because she got very scared. The chicks in the nest on the mango tree, are crying in hunger because their mother also flew away. Animals hear the sound of crackers much louder than people do.
It’s terrifying for them and it’s a lot more than they can bear!” continued Koha.
“This is terrible,” lamented Baba.
“I lit crackers just for the fun of it. I never knew that it causes this much of terror to the animal friends around my house!”
Baba went to Timmy’s kennel and put medicine on his wounds. Then he went all over the neighbourhood and found poor Kitty, who was still shivering and hiding in an old shed. They all felt very happy to notice that the mother bird had also returned to her nest.
“I won’t be careless and selfish like this again!” promised Baba. “I won’t scare any of you again!”
“Let’s get together and clear the garden of this mess!” said Timmy, who was limping around. There were pieces of paper from the burst crackers scattered all over the garden. They all got together and cleaned it.
The Erabadu tree saw and heard all this and felt very happy. It was so happy that small red buds started growing on its branches. The Koha also sat on a high branch and started singing beautiful songs. Happiness started to spread all over the garden and the neighbourhood.
“Nobody should be harmed or terrified when we celebrate a happy occasion,” said Baba who was sitting in the veranda with his two pets, Timmy and Kitty. “Avurudu should be a safe and happy time for everyone!”