Author Archives: Collected Tails of Jungle Land

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THE FINAL SOLUTION – THE PYTHON AND THE POMEGRANATE

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The wily leopard and his three assistant hyenas try to cure the python and also try to use their talents to save their business. 

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Pomegranate fruits – Good for your health !

There was a python who just loved to eat and sleep. That is what he would do all day long. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Now if you do this all day long and then day after day , then you are going to fall very, very sick. And that is what happened to the silly python . He became very, very sick. His tummy started hurting. Ow ! Ow ! Ow ! He howled. Now, if he had hands he would have clutched his stomach and howled just like you do. But pythons don’t have hands. Just a long body. So, he took his long body and stretched it and decided to crawl to the doctor. As the python was crawling to the doctors’ clinic he felt very hot and tired. So, he decided to rest under a tree. It was a tree with very red fruits hanging from it.

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The python was very sleepy. He opened his mouth to yawn. Just then, PLOP, one of the red fruits fell into his mouth. The python gulped down the fruit as was his habit and fell off to sleep. When the python got up he was feeling much better but then, he thought to himself that since I have come so far I might as well see the doctor and find out why my stomach aches all the time. So, he crawled to Dr. Leopards’ clinic and lay down in the waiting room along with the other animals who also had some problem or the other .

Dr. Leopard asked the python to come into his examination room and asked him to lie down. The python said, “I am already lying down since I cannot sit.” Dr. Leopard made a face as he did not like anyone to correct him and said , “Yes, yes, I meant , lie down on the couch so I can examine you . Tell me, what is your problem?”
The python said, “I had a stomach ache but now I am fine. The stomach ache is gone.”
Dr. Leopard was surprised to hear that the python was feeling better without taking any of his medicines which were quite expensive. So he asked the python, ” Tell me Mr. Python, what did you do after you had the stomach ache ?
The python said, “Don’t you want to know how and when I got the stomach ache so you can cure me ?”
The leopard looked very silly in front of his helpers so he he smiled with his very sharp teeth and said,” Yes, yes! Please tell me what you eat and what you did ?”
The python said, “Well, in the morning I swallowed my breakfast in one gulp and went to sleep. Then, at lunch, I swallowed my meal in one big gulp and went to sleep and then, at dinner …….”
The leopard said, “Wait, I am a doctor, I know what you did. You gulped down your dinner and went to sleep!”
All the doctors’ helpers clapped at the doctors intelligence.
The python said, “I have been doing this for many,many days ! But then, yesterday, I had a BIG stomach ache, not the usual small ones. Maybe, it was because I went to a party and gulped down everything .”
“Hmmmmmmmmmm” said Dr. Leopard,” I see the problem now. You don’t chew your food. You must chew your food before you eat it .”

The python was very surprised that the doctor did not know that pythons don’t have teeth. He thought to himself, ” I better get out of here and find some doctor who knows his job. This doctor has a fancy coat but he does not know what he is doing.”

The python said, ” Now, that I am much better, I think I will go home.” He tried to crawl out of the room but Dr.Leopard blocked his way and said, “Wait, wait. You didn’t tell me what happened after the stomach ache. How did you get well? ”

The python was trapped in the room with the doctor and his assistants so he decided to clear the mystery of his wellness. He said, “well, I crawled all the way to your clinic which is quite a distance away. On the way, I was feeling sleepy so I slept under a tree. It was a tree with red fruits. When I yawned one of the fruits fell in my mouth and I gulped it down and then fell asleep. When, I got up I was feeling much, much better.”

Dr. Leopard said, ” It seems to me you slept under an apple tree and that is why you are fine now!”

The python said, ” I am sure it was not an apple tree!”

Dr. Leopard said, ” How can you be so sure that it was not an apple tree. You did say the fruits were red !”

The python said , ” I know it was not an apple tree because we all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away . But, as you can see, here I am with you and you are a doctor and you are not going away and you are not letting me go away too ! So, you see it was not an apple tree . ”

Dr. Leopard was stunned by this intelligent answer. He thought to himself, this python is very smart. Maybe, I can use him to get more patients.

TO BE CONTINUED ……….

ALL RIGHT, HERE’S THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY ….

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😮 OMG ! CAN I JUST GO HOME ?

The doctor looked at the python and bared his very sharp, pointy teeth and said, “Well, Mr. Python, you seem to be very smart. I see that you don’t have a job as you told me yourself. So, why don’t you come and work for me ? I will pay you very well. “

The python was very surprised that the leopard was offering a job to him because as far as he knew the animals were afraid of him especially when he was hungry.

He asked Dr. Leopard, “ How will you pay me ? And in return what do you want me to do ? “

Dr. Leopard knew that if he told the python that he was planning to use him to get rid of the animals who refused to get cured by swallowing them he may not agree to work for him. That was his plan to solve his own problem and that of the python.

So he told the python, “ Mr. Python, you don’t have to do much work. You have to be as you were before. Just eat and sleep . The only difference is that you will eat what or who I tell you to eat and you have to do this in my clinic.”

The python thought to himself, “ This leopard is very clever but also very wicked. It’s not good to be with wicked people. So let me try to find a way so that this leopard does not kill off his patients he cannot cure. And there are too many of them. Even I will not be able to swallow so many of them because I only swallow when I am hungry not just for fun ! “

The python looked at Dr. Leopard looking eagerly at him as a solution to his problem of not being able to cure his patients and said , “ Dr. Leopard, why don’t you try some other way to help your patients ?”

Dr. Leopard said, “ Mr. Python, I know there are many other ways but this one is quick and foolproof.”

Actually Dr. Leopard did not know of any other way but he did not want to admit this in front of his assistants who thought Dr. Leopard was the cat’s whiskers. Also his assistants were a couple of hyenas who lived off the leftovers which the doctor could not finish.

Mr. Python said, “ Maybe your way is the quickest and foolproof and with no danger of being sued because there is no one to sue you or no evidence but sooner or later the animals of the jungle will realize what is going on and will stop coming to you. Then what will happen to your practice ? “

The assistant hyenas gasped at this possibility because they lived on the slim pickings left by the leopard and they were already very thin. Dr. Leopard also did not want to lose his very lucrative business ( which means a kind of work in which you make a lot of money ) so he asked Mr. Python, “ All right, what is your idea so that I can cure the patients who come to me ? “

Mr. Python said, “ It’s very simple Mr. Leopard.”

ALL RIGHT , LET ME KNOW WHAT WAS MR. PYTHON’S SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND THE BEST ONE WILL GET TO GO ON A TRIP TO HAWAII PAID FOR BY THEMSELF. IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD HAVE GONE MYSELF NOT SIT HERE WRITING THESE STORIES IN DULLSVILLE.” I WOULD WRITE THEM IN HAWAII .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE ; THEY WERE GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT, JUST LIKE THE POMEGRANATE ! THIS IS MY VERSION. 

AND THERE IS A BONUS STORY , LUCKY YOU ! THE STORY IS CALLED ‘THE PYTHON AND THE POMEGRANATE TREE’ and is somewhere on this website.  Oh wait, here is the link

https://wp.me/p4LwKY-p9

” The solution is that you and your assistants get together and buy a huge farm where you grow many healthy herbs and fruit trees like the pomegranate. You encourage your patients to eat the healthy foods and exercise so that they do not fall ill again. Pomegranate juice is especially good for health so grow a lot of pomegranate trees ”

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Pomegranate tree

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Dr. Leopard said, ” But that does not solve my problem. If people get well how will I run my practice. I need people to be cured but not completely cured so that they keep coming back to me .”

The python said, ” That’s not a very nice thing for a doctor to wish for but you are a leopard and I guess you won’t change your spots. So I think then there is only one final solution to this problem. The leopard moved forward to the python eagerly. And that’s when the python wrapped himself lovingly around the python and squeezed him. That was the Final Solution.

THE END

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FISH MARKET IN 4 BUNGALOWS, MUMBAI

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THE FIRST ‘CUSTOMERS’ AT THE FISH MARKET, FOUR BUNGALOWS, MUMBAI ! EGRETS, CATS AND A SLEEPING DOG.

HMMM , THEY LOOK FRESH AND SHE IS LOOKING AWAY TOO ! SHOULD I , PERCHANCE ……. ?

CATS AND FISH GAME

WE CAN ALL LIVE TOGETHER AMICABLY EXCEPT THE FISH BECAUSE ITS’S OUT OF WATER

CHECKING OUT THE WARES !

HURRY UP ! OPEN THE BASKET , LET’S GET A WHIFF .

THOSE WHO WAIT MAY NOT LIVE IN WANT

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THE PYTHON AND THE POMEGRANATE TREE – THE BONUS STORY I PROMISED .

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SHORT STORY FOR CHILDREN 4 to 7 years

This is the story of a python . The python was a very strange looking fellow. He loved to do strange things too . Every day he would swallow an animal and go to sleep. Now if you only eat and sleep 😴 and eat and sleep 😴 💤 you are going to fall sick. And that is why the python got very very sick 🤒. And his tummy hurt.

So his wife, Mrs Python said, ” Why don’t you go to the doctor Mr. Python ?”

So Mr. Python set off to get himself treated by Doctor Cheetah.

Now we all know that pythons do not have feet so he started to crawl to Dr. Cheetah’s clinic. He crawled and he crawled. It was very hot so he got very tired and lay down under the shade of a tree which had many red fruits hanging on its branches . One of the fruits fell on the python’s head. The python, as was his habit, gulped down the fruit in a jiffy.

After some time Mr. Python felt that he was feeling well. He also had no stomach ache. But by now he had crawled to Dr. Cheetah’s clinic.

Dr. Cheetah, who was always very troubled about his work asked Mr. Python, “Mr. Python, what is your problem ? ”

The python said , “I had a stomach ache but now I am all right . I was feeling very sick but now I am fine.”

Dr. Cheetah said, ” How come you are feeling fine. I have not given you my medicine ? ”

Mr. Python said, “I don’t know. I crawled all the way here. On the way I slept under a tree and when a fruit from the tree fell on me I eat it up. ”

Dr. Cheetah said, “What did the fruit look like ? ”

The python said, ” It was round and red. Inside the fruit there were many tiny red seeds. It was very sweet but it’s skin was very thick .

Dr. Cheetah said, ” It seems to me you eat a pomegranate. The pomegranate fruit is very good for your health. Besides this you came crawling all the way here which is good exercise . Exercise is very good for health . Now bear in mind, eat some fruits and vegetables and also exercise. All right then, give me my fees now. ”

The python said, ” Fees ? Why should I give you fees. I got well on my own.”

Dr. Cheetah thought to himself that if the animals of the jungle start getting well on their own just like this python then what will happen to me, how will I put food on my table ? ”

Dr. Cheetah quickly opened Mr. Python’s mouth and popped in a burger. As soon as the burger went into the python’s stomach it started aching . He started crying loudly, ” Help me, save me ! It feels like a hundred rats are jumping inside and biting my stomach. He started to cry, “Ow !Ow !Ow !”

Then Dr. Cheetah said, “Should I give you some medicine ? ”

Mr. Python understood that Dr. Cheetah was being clever and only wanted to take his money.

Mr. Python said, ” No, I will crawl back home. On the way I will eat a pomegranate. I do not need your services. ”

The other animals who had come to get treated heard what Mr. Python said and were very happy. They thought to themselves , this is an excellent idea. If we can keep ourselves healthy then we don’t have to give Dr. Cheetah his very hefty fees. In a trice they got up and followed the python but kept their distance from him for they did not want to be swallowed by the python in case he got hungry.

When the animals reached the pomegranate tree they all started jumping up to pluck the pomegranate fruits and pop them in their mouths.

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Pomegranate fruits – Good for your health !

 

The pomegranate tree had no fruits left. He thought to himself , ” Goodness gracious , one fruit tree and a hundred impatients! Now what will happen to me if I fall ill ? Boo boo ! ”

A butterfly 🦋 who was flitting by saw the pomegranate tree crying and said, ” Brother Pomegranate tree, don’t worry. The few flowers which are left on you will soon become fruits. That is our job. We will fly from the flowers of one tree to the flowers of another one so that we can help them to become fruits. ”

The pomegranate tree was very happy. He thought to himself, ” It’s quite all right if the animals plucked all my fruits and eat them up. Now they will be cured soon. And, I, too will be well for the person who helps another person stays always well for God helps him. Yes, but God punishes those who rob from other people for no reason at all. Just like that cheetah who is called cheetah for a reason . Now he will always be worried that now that the animals have cured themselves who will come to me for treatment and how will I put food on my table ”

That is why it is said , ” ‘ Cheetahs’ never prosper . ”

THIS STORY IS INSPIRED BY MY FATHER, COL. B. C. SHUKLA WHO GAVE UP ALL HIS FRUITS TO HELP THE ANIMALS OF JUNGLE LAND .

Here is a poem written for him ( on the left and a poem by him , ‘MARTYRDOM’ ( on the right )

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The python and the pomegranate – continued

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The wily Dr. Leopard and his three assistant hyenas try to cure the python of his stomach ache and also try to use his talents to save their business .

There was a python who just loved to eat and sleep. That is what he would do all day long. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Now, if you do this all day long and then day after day , then you are going to fall very, very sick. And that is what happened to the silly python . He became very, very sick. His tummy started hurting. Ow ! Ow ! Ow ! He howled. Now, if he had hands he would have clutched his stomach and howled just like you do. But pythons don’t have hands. Just a long body. So, he took his long body and stretched it and decided to crawl to the doctor. As the python was crawling to the doctors’ clinic he felt very hot and tired. So, he decided to rest under a tree. It was a tree with very red fruits hanging from it.

B260988B-F4B9-4437-BBEF-DA574E8F407B.jpeg

The python was very sleepy. He opened his mouth to yawn. Just then, PLOP, one of the red fruits fell into his mouth. The python gulped down the fruit as was his habit and fell off to sleep. When the python got up he was feeling much better but then, he thought to himself that since I have come so far I might as well see the doctor and find out why my stomach aches all the time. So, he crawled to Dr. Leopards’ clinic and lay down in the waiting room along with the other animals who also had some problem or the other .

Dr. Leopard asked the python to come into his examination room and asked him to lie down. The python said, “I am already lying down since I cannot sit.” Dr. Leopard made a face as he did not like anyone to correct him and said , “Yes, yes, I meant , lie down on the couch so I can examine you . Tell me, what is your problem?”
The python said, “I had a stomach ache but now I am fine. The stomach ache is gone.”
Dr. Leopard was surprised to hear that the python was feeling better without taking any of his medicines which were quite expensive. So he asked the python, ” Tell me Mr. Python, what did you do after you had the stomach ache ?
The python said, “Don’t you want to know how and when I got the stomach ache so you can cure me ?”
The leopard looked very silly in front of his helpers so he he smiled with his very sharp teeth and said,” Yes, yes! Please tell me what you eat and what you did ?”
The python said, “Well, in the morning I swallowed my breakfast in one gulp and went to sleep. Then, at lunch, I swallowed my meal in one big gulp and went to sleep and then, at dinner …….”
The leopard said, “Wait, I am a doctor, I know what you did. You gulped down your dinner and went to sleep!”
All the doctors’ helpers clapped at the doctors intelligence.
The python said, “I have been doing this for many,many days ! But then, yesterday, I had a BIG stomach ache, not the usual small ones. Maybe, it was because I went to a party and gulped down everything .”
“Hmmmmmmmmmm” said Dr. Leopard,” I see the problem now. You don’t chew your food. You must chew your food before you eat it .”

The python was very surprised that the doctor did not know that pythons don’t have teeth. He thought to himself, ” I better get out of here and find some doctor who knows his job. This doctor has a fancy coat but he does not know what he is doing.”

The python said, ” Now, that I am much better, I think I will go home.” He tried to crawl out of the room but Dr.Leopard blocked his way and said, “Wait, wait. You didn’t tell me what happened after the stomach ache. How did you get well? ”

The python was trapped in the room with the doctor and his assistants so he decided to clear the mystery of his wellness. He said, “well, I crawled all the way to your clinic which is quite a distance away. On the way, I was feeling sleepy so I slept under a tree. It was a tree with red fruits. When I yawned one of the fruits fell in my mouth and I gulped it down and then fell asleep. When, I got up I was feeling much, much better.”

Dr. Leopard said, ” It seems to me you slept under an apple tree and that is why you are fine now!”

The python said, ” I am sure it was not an apple tree!”

Dr. Leopard said, ” How can you be so sure that it was not an apple tree. You did say the fruits were red !”

The python said , ” I know it was not an apple tree because we all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away . But, as you can see, here I am with you and you are a doctor and you are not going away and you are not letting me go away too ! So, you see it was not an apple tree . ”

Dr. Leopard was stunned by this intelligent answer. He thought to himself, this python is very smart. Maybe, I can use him to get more patients.

TO BE CONTINUED ……….

ALL RIGHT, HERE’S THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY ….

1536270795703

😮 OMG ! CAN I JUST GO HOME ?

The doctor looked at the python and bared his very sharp, pointy teeth and said, “Well, Mr. Python, you seem to be very smart. I see that you don’t have a job as you told me yourself. So, why don’t you come and work for me ? I will pay you very well. “

The python was very surprised that the leopard was offering a job to him because as far as he knew the animals were afraid of him especially when he was hungry.

He asked Dr. Leopard, “ How will you pay me ? And in return what do you want me to do ? “

Dr. Leopard knew that if he told the python that he was planning to use him to get rid of the animals who refused to get cured by swallowing them he may not agree to work for him. That was his plan to solve his own problem and that of the python.

So he told the python, “ Mr. Python, you don’t have to do much work. You have to be as you were before. Just eat and sleep . The only difference is that you will eat what or who I tell you to eat and you have to do this in my clinic.”

The python thought to himself, “ This leopard is very clever but also very wicked. It’s not good to be with wicked people. So let me try to find a way so that this leopard does not kill off his patients he cannot cure. And there are too many of them. Even I will not be able to swallow so many of them because I only swallow when I am hungry not just for fun ! “

The python looked at Dr. Leopard looking eagerly at him as a solution to his problem of not being able to cure his patients and said , “ Dr. Leopard, why don’t you try some other way to help your patients ?”

Dr. Leopard said, “ Mr. Python, I know there are many other ways but this one is quick and foolproof.”

Actually Dr. Leopard did not know of any other way but he did not want to admit this in front of his assistants who thought Dr. Leopard was the cat’s whiskers. Also his assistants were a couple of hyenas who lived off the leftovers which the doctor could not finish.

Mr. Python said, “ Maybe your way is the quickest and foolproof and with no danger of being sued because there is no one to sue you or no evidence but sooner or later the animals of the jungle will realize what is going on and will stop coming to you. Then what will happen to your practice ? “

The assistant hyenas gasped at this possibility because they lived on the slim pickings left by the leopard and they were already very thin. Dr. Leopard also did not want to lose his very lucrative business ( which means a kind of work in which you make a lot of money ) so he asked Mr. Python, “ All right, what is your idea so that I can cure the patients who come to me ? “

Mr. Python said, “ It’s very simple Mr. Leopard.”

ALL RIGHT , LET ME KNOW WHAT WAS MR. PYTHON’S SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND THE BEST ONE WILL GET TO GO ON A TRIP TO HAWAII PAID FOR BY THEMSELF. IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD HAVE GONE MYSELF NOT SIT HERE WRITING THESE STORIES IN “ DULLSVILLE.” I WOULD WRITE THEM IN HAWAII .

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MY PACK

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It’s back to school for the kids and they have been hunting for bagpacks and pencil boxes. As for me I have been busy shepherding my pack in the right direction. After all, the flock has to be safe in the pen, safe from the wolves that skulk in the shadows waiting to prey on unsuspecting teenagers and kids.

Now you will ask who are these wolves and what do I have against them ? After all I am from the wolf family too. Then why the animosity towards them .

You have got the wrong end of the stick if you think I am talking about wolves from the animal kingdom. No siree bob, there is a twist in this tail. The wolves in question are the human wolves, far far more dangerous than the animal ones. And ever ready to prey on unsuspecting, innocent and fragile young lambs.

So now the question is how do I keep the children in my pack safe ? The answer is just by being there, Yes siree bob again. Just by being in their lives is a huge safety net for the children . Children with dogs and dogs with children go together like macaroni and cheese. One dog will do things which the combined force of parents,police force and the education system cannot do.

Just our presence will keep the child grounded, busy, responsible . Our positive energy will beat back the negative energy of human wolves. At the cost of repeating myself for the zillionth time – DOG spelt backwards is , you got it ! And once you get a dog for your kids God will forever hold them in the palm of his hands.

The last phrase is from a famous Irish blessing which goes something like this

” May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields

and until we meet again

may God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

So until we meet again on this website BOW WOW ! ( in this case it’s your turn to BOW to the WOW in us dogs 🐕 🐶! )

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CRAZY CUCKOO – books with good values

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CRAZY CUCKOO – Story , in the previous post and elsewhere on the blog .

This book, targeted for four- to seven-year-olds, is filled with a number of moral messages, including these:

It is not your skin color that counts, but your skills.

Never, ever give up.

Everyone has a unique talent that needs to be developed.

If you do not practice your gifted talent, you will lose it.

Selfish people end up very lonely.

An adopted mother who loves and cares for you is more important than the mother who gives birth to you and then abandons you.

A cage is a cage, even if it is a golden one. Fly free!

 

 

Interview of the author SHIPRA SHUKLA by Brian Feinblum of MEDIA CONNECT

1. Shipra, what inspired you to write Crazy Cuckoo?
God inspired me to write ‘Crazy Cuckoo.’ Having said that some characters that inhabit Jungle Land did pop out when I used to tell my children bedtime stories. There was a particularly naughty 🐒  who would take them in a rocket 🚀 to different planets. And some sketchy plot lines were told to sundry people over the years.
2. What happens in the story?
A cuckoo bird with stars in her eyes abandons her baby in a single mom crows’ nest. The crow mom wants her four crow children to become singing stars and hires a frog to teach them. Their  caw- caw and the ribbid- ribbid drive the jungle folks nuts and they, in turn, drive them out of the jungle.. But mother crow is not one to give up. The crows do become singing stars but not in the way you would expect ! The prima donna cuckoo is in for a shock too !
3. What’s the book’s message and why is it so important that we teach this to young children?
The message is that it’s not your skin but your skill that is important. The mother crow and her children were able to drive away the pesky rats which plagued the town. For that service they became heroes for the town folks. Later their raucous voices were taped to drive away the pests from the fields.
Children should realize that everyone has a talent that is unique to them . An earthworm only twists and turns but he makes the soil fertile. A tree only stands in one place but who can deny the usefulness of a tree. So, everyone is special. If they don’t believe this, they are welcome to ask their parents!
4. One of the book’s themes centres on adoption. What do we want children to understand in regards to this topic?
A mother who loves you and takes care of you is far more important than one who merely gives birth to you and leaves you.
5. There is a mother-child relationship in the story that is very strong. What really bonds a child and the one who raises him or her?
  Love, love and  love !