"Fireflies of Mars" ( Mangal Grah ke Jugnoo-11)
A squirrel had brought a small mulberry twig from somewhere, which had two or three small fruits on it. She knew very well that she wouldn't be able to eat that much breakfast at once and someone or the other would ask her for the fruit. The cockroach was always on the lookout for such opportunities. That's why she carefully climbed up to the highest branch of the neem tree. She thought she would eat half of the mulberries now and hide the rest in the leaves here so she could come back later and eat them comfortably.
She was still rustling through the leaves looking for a small hole to hide her fruits when a small parrot flew by and perched there. As soon as he saw the squirrel, he said excitedly, "Sister, do you know that our tree has got electricity?"
"How can a tree get electricity? Are you stupid?" the squirrel mocked him.
"I'm telling the truth, come and see, there are two small bulbs glowing in our hollow," the parrot said.
The squirrel, surprised, followed behind it. When it reached there, it saw two small shining stars in Mithu's hollow. But it thought they might be fireflies, Annu-Vannu, who had come and sat there.
However, it then remembered that Annu-Vannu the fireflies had gone to bathe in the pond with the frog and the turtle. Since the two fireflies from Mars had come to live on Earth, they went to bathe at the pond every day. They had even learned to swim.
The squirrel, hardening its voice a bit, asked them, "Who are you? Where have you come from?"
At first, the two tiny insects were scared, but then they mustered courage and said, "We have come from Mars. Two of our companions used to come here every year for a visit, but this time they didn't return; they stayed here on Earth. We have come here looking for them." Out of fear, they had even stopped glowing.
Hearing this, the squirrel's eyes lit up with joy. Mithu also became happy. Snatching the mulberry from the squirrel's hand and giving it to them, it said, "Here, eat this. You both must be tired and hungry after coming from so far."
The squirrel first looked angrily at Mithu, then quickly, feeling embarrassed, said, "Yes, yes, take it."
But then the two fireflies said, "We do not feel hungry." One of them then said, "Will you help us find our companions who have come here from our planet?"
"Why not?" The squirrel and the parrot spoke together.
Then the squirrel told them that their two friends lived here but had gone to bathe in the pond and would be back soon. Hearing this, the two fireflies were happy.
The parrot flew towards the pond. He thought he would make the fireflies happy by telling them that their friends were coming back to the land.
But upon seeing the scene at the edge of the pond, the parrot forgot everything. He saw that by the pond, in a beautiful garden, some children were sitting and drawing pictures. Shrihan, Suyash, and many of their friends were there, making colorful drawings.
Mitthu noticed that a small mirror was lying nearby. Perhaps one of Srihan's friends had left it there by mistake. As soon as Srihan and Suyash got up to go back home with their friends, Mitthu quietly went and sat near the mirror. He thought that he would take this mirror up the tree and show it to the two fireflies. How happy the guests from Mars would be to see such a miracle, seeing their own reflection in the mirror. It would be so much fun.
Mitthu was just about to pick it up when he saw Suyash coming back. Oh no, Mitthu thought, what if Suyash saw the mirror and took it back from him? Mitthu quickly grabbed it in his beak and flew away. But Suyash had come back to get a pencil he had left behind.
Suddenly, Suyash noticed Mitthu too. He was very happy to see this sight of a parrot flying in the sky with something like a mirror. He called out to Srihan quickly. He was still pointing out the flying parrot to him when all the friends returned to see this spectacle. Srihan quickly took out his mobile from his pocket and snapped a photo of it.
The very next day, at school, Shrihan and Suyash were given homework in their class to write an article on "wonders." The whole class received this assignment, so one of Suyash's friends asked, "Hey, what is a wonder?"
Another friend replied, "Oh, haven't you seen Amitabh Bachchan's movie 'Ajooba'? That's what a wonder is."
Then a girl chimed in, "I think you all are wonders. You don't know what a wonder is? A wonder means something amusing and incredible. Like... like..."
Just then, Suyash interrupted, "Let me tell you, like the parrot we saw in the garden yesterday that was flying with a mirror in its beak."
- "Yeah, yeah, I'll write about that. I even have its photo," Shrihan said happily.
- "No way, I was the one who saw it first," Suyash said.
- "So what? We'll all write about it," another friend suggested. "Everyone saw it."
- "No, if we all write about it, the teacher will say we copied from each other," Suyash said somewhat disappointed.
Just then, the girl shouted with excitement. She pointed to a tree and said, "Look, look, another wonder over there!"
Everyone turned to look. On a high branch of the tree, a parrot was sitting with a mirror in its beak, showing two fireflies their reflections. A squirrel sitting nearby was clapping with joy.
The fireflies were looking at their faces in the mirror and were very happy.
The parrot spoke to the fireflies from Mars, "Look, look, you can see your two friends in the glass. Meet them. Talk to them."
The squirrel clapped and shouted with joy, "Fooled you, fooled you! They are not your friends. It's your reflection in the glass."
The squirrel started explaining to them, "This mirror is painted on one side. So whatever is in front of it, that's what reflects in it. These are not your friends but your own reflection."
But then another miracle happened. Both fireflies also clapped and laughed with joy, "Fooled you, fooled you! We are not friends of Annu and Vannu. We are Annu and Vannu ourselves. We didn't go to the pond for a bath today; instead, we were sitting here resting. We played a joke on you."
Annu took a comb out of his pocket and started grooming his hair while looking in the mirror. Vannu stuck out his tongue and made a face to tease the squirrel.
Now the squirrel and the parrot felt embarrassed and started to blush.
Just then, the sound of children singing loudly started coming from below the tree. They were laughing and singing:
**(Song)**
In this world of great wonders,
Here's a true marvel,
A wonder we have seen,
This little piece of glass.
Some call it a mirror,
Some call it a looking glass,
In front of it, everyone washes away
Their stained faces.
Holding it for hours,
Going to the beauty parlor,
Auntie returns in two hours
As a young beauty.
Seen sitting in front of it
Are even good people,
The barber makes the face shine,
Earlier they were like wild men.
Holding it, Grandpa shaved
So many beards,
He saw his red eye in it
When he got chili in his eye.
Whenever Chunnu-Munnu performed a play,
Leaving the house,
They combed their hair in the mirror
Whenever they changed clothes.
On the crowded road, taking the car,
Dad reached the office,
He saw all the traffic in it,
Then avoided the accident.
Whenever Mom picked up her purse
And went to the market,
Lipstick and mirror
Were always a pair.
Brother sped his bike
With his girlfriend seated,
One eye on the world,
The other on the mirror.
Whenever Sister made paintings
Colorful and lovely,
She framed them in mirrors,
Then they looked beautiful.
Be they real or false,
Grandma's teeth,
Toothpaste and toothbrush,
Were always with it.
When Grandma saw wrinkles
On Grandpa's face,
She quickly showed him the mirror,
Bringing it from inside.
Placing a big bindi on her forehead,
Holding the glass in her hands,
She confuses Grandpa
By talking and chatting.
Teacher says, children listen,
Always pay attention,
Mirrors are delicate, don't
Mistake them for stones.
If they ever slip from your hands,
They will shatter into pieces,
They will injure your hands,
And you won't be able to save them.
But children, mirrors always teach
A noble lesson,
Even shattered, they don't forget
Their duty.
No matter how many pieces
The mirror breaks into,
In every piece, you can still see
Your own face.
It breaks but doesn't let
The reflection of others break,
It cares more about others
Than about itself.
You too become like mirrors,
Think well of everyone,
Meeting you should brighten up
Everyone's face like a dream.
