Wizard Waddle's watermelon seeds
SUNILA GUPTE
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Waddle's tricks were getting out of hand. And the only way to teach him a lesson was to banish him from Wizardland.
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Waddle the wizard was sad. He had been banished from wizard land for misusing his magic powers. He kept playing tricks on his friends and wasted his magic. The Wise Wizard had decided that Waddle was too old to play tricks and needed to be taught to a lesson.
Thump! Waddle had landed in human land, on a riverside, far from home. Everything was strange here. He thought longingly of wizard land, an island where jalebis grew on trees and bushes had idlis and foodis (a special wizard snack). He was hungry... but he only had his magic marbles, string and his watermelon seeds.
Waddle loved watermelon... the lovely red slices with black seeds, were so juicy! And so pretty too. He was going to plant some, and that is how they were in his pocket.
He looked around, and saw a small boy crying.
Best friends
"Hey," he asked kindly, "what's wrong? Can I help?" Though naughty, he was kind.
"No you can't, for I need four strong men to harvest a field, as my father is ill... he will lose his job if the work is not done on time".
The boy, Chandu, took him to the field, and in a jiffy the field was harvested; the sheaves were heaped in piles neatly. How happy Chandu was!
Waddle and he became good friends. But Waddle could not stop his tricks. Once he coloured all the mangoes blue and all the pineapples purple! Later he made the well water a bright red, and laughed till tears rolled down his cheeks when he saw the shocked faces of the people. He put a spell on a pond and the buffaloes were stuck there for an hour till the spell wore off. Time passed by. Then one day, Chandu came crying again. "Waddle, my father is sick again and all the water melons have to be cut and put into piles, and loaded for the market!"
"I'll do it." Sadly, Waddle realised he had wasted all his magic.. so he toiled all night, he was crying with weariness, but by morning the job was done. Chandu was grateful saying, "what a good, true friend you are."
Waddle felt himself flying... he was returning to wizard land ! He threw the watermelon seeds to Chandu. "They are magic and you will get the most wonderful melons and make a fortune for your father!" he shouted, overjoyed at returning home. Truly the seeds were magic for yellow and green watermelons grew on the same stalks and people bought them all. As for Waddle, the Wise Wizard praised him for being a true friend and for finally understanding the power of magic.
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