Seven-year-old Mini’s sister Simi was born a year ago. With the arrival of her sister, Mini was no longer under her mother’s constant scrutiny. She could do as she pleased.
Excitement
One day, Sohan Lal returned home with a tortoise. He had gone fishing and while at it, he had seen it near the river bank. He brought it home thinking that it would be a diversion for Mini. He took the tortoise from his cloth bag and placed it on the grass. He shouted, “Mini baby, bahar aao .” Mini excitedly rushed outside, “Sohan Bhaiya , what did you bring today?” Mini was amazed to see the tortoise. It had a hard, round shell with orange and brown marks.It would pull its head and legs into the shell when it sensed danger. Mini found this antic intriguing. She said, “Where will we keep it? Can itsleep with me?” Sohan Lal laughed and said, “Mini, we will have to put it in the water tank in the garden.”
Then, the water tank was cleaned and filled with water. Mini picked the tortoise gingerly and placed it in the tank. She spent the rest of the day watching it and had to be dragged inside to have dinner. The next day. she awoke to find the tortoise missing and was in tears. A frantic search began and everyone began to look for it. Word spread and neighbours joined the search. The tortoise was found in a drain in Major Bhardwaj’s garden. Mini scolded it, “You naughty tortoise! Don’t run away again.”
That night, the garden gate was locked, but to no avail. The tortoise had gone missing again. It was found in Captain Kapoor’s garden pond. Mini was despondent. She could not understand why the tortoise did not stay put. Her mother said, “Mini, you enjoy your freedom. When I don’t permit you to do as you wish, you become sad. The tortoise too loves its freedom. We have tried to confine it to our water tank. However, it is not happy. That is why it slips out repeatedly in search of its natural habitat. A change in environment is difficult for it to adjust to. If we prolong its captivity, it may die yearning for the river and the green plants.”
Mini understood this. It was decided that the tortoise would be restored to its original home. Mini went along with Sohan Lal and left it on the river bank to chart its own course of life.
