Forever Friends

Feisal Alkazi
Neeta Gangopadhya RGF Pratham
S E R I E S
Original Story (Hindi) Dosti Ka Safar by Feisal Alkazi
© Rajiv Gandhi Foundation – Pratham Books, 2008

First English Edition: 2008

Illustrations: Neeta Gangopadhya

English Translation: Feisal Alkazi

ISBN: 978-81-8479-019-1

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Forever Friends
Written by
Feisal Alkazi
Illustrated by
Neeta Gangopadhya
English Translation by
Feisal Alkazi
2
 3

T
here was once a jungle, so full of trees, that
even if you tried you couldn't count them.
And so full of animals and birds that you
wouldn't be able to fit them into a zoo.
All the trees and the animals and the birds of the
jungle lived together happily. One day a parrot
was flying over this jungle, and seeing the lovely
jungle he was so happy that he wanted to sing. But
as he opened his mouth to sing, the seeds he was
carrying in his beak tumbled out, one after the
other! And as they reached the ground one of the
seeds pushed its way deep into the soil. It sprouted
a leaf that grew upwards and a root that grew
downwards. And the seed found itself a home in
the jungle.
From this seed a tree began to grow. A large and
beautiful tree. A morinda tree. All around this baby
4
tree stood old and unfriendly trees who worked
through the day and slept through the night. So
there was just no one to play with the morinda.
He grew more and more lonely. One day he told
the parrot, “Listen, I am very grateful that you
dropped me here, in this beautiful forest. But I am
very lonely now so can you get a friend for me?”
The very next morning the parrot flew out to find
a friend for the morinda tree. He flew far away
and by evening he returned with another seed. He
pushed it into the soil with his beak and the seed
sprouted a leaf that grew upwards and a root that
grew downwards. And soon a baby tree began to
grow near the morinda. The morinda was happy,
for now he had a friend. Both the trees, the
morinda and the himu grew up together. As one
sprouted a leaf, so did the other. As one danced in
the cool monsoon breeze, so did the other. They
both loved each other very dearly and promised
one another, “We will always be friends whatever
happens. We enjoy each other’s company such a
lot!”
5
6
But one day the silence of the jungle was shattered
by an unfamiliar sound – the roar of a truck. A
heavy, frightening sort of sound. Out of this truck,
a large man appeared with long legs and a big
moustache. He had a deep voice too.
“Yes, park the truck here. I've bought this entire
jungle. All these trees belong to me now. Wah!
What a fine jungle it is. I'll cut the trees and sell
the wood and I'll become soooo rich! Hmm! Let us
start immediately. Cut this tree, and that one and
that one too….”
Both the friends were frightened and upset. Who
was this man? And why did he
want to cut down all
the trees? What would
happen to both of
them? They shivered
with fear.
“Wah! Wah!” the big
man exclaimed. “The
best trees are in a group
 7
here. Look at this morinda, how much money we
can get for its wood. Cut it down immediately.
We'll take it to the mandi today and get a good
price. The himu tree next to it can also fetch a
good price but it is much too young. We'll cut it
down when it is a bit older.”
The himu tree was worried. Oh dear, what would
he do? If his friend the morinda was cut down, he
would be left all alone in the forest.
With a dreadful crash the morinda fell on the
forest floor.
“Now cut off all its branches! What are you
waiting for?”
And almost
immediately the
himu tree heard,
“Now which fool
has cut this
himu tree down?
8
Didn't I just say we'd cut it later. Who has done
this?”
“Not me sir!”, “Not me.” “Not me.”
“Well if no one's cut it down, then how is it lying
here? How can a young, healthy tree just
collapse?” The big man sounded really angry.
“But Sir come and see, there's not even the mark of
an axe on it.”
“It’s obviously fallen by itself.”
The big man was examining the himu now.
The workers were right. It was obviously ill and it
had collapsed. Well… so what… he could still sell
it… even if he only got a low price.
“Gather it up with the others. Lets
take them all to the
mandi…”
And so both the friends, the
himu and the morinda reached
the mandi. One, because he had
 9
been cut down, the other because he didn't want
to be parted from his friend.
The mandi was full of many trees, so many trees
that you couldn't even count them – really only
trunks of trees, because their branches, leaves and
roots had been chopped off.
The himu and the morinda were made to stand
leaning against a wall with several others. Their
bodies ached where they had been cut. Everything
here was new to them. Their friend, the parrot was
nowhere to be seen. But at least they had one
another. As long as they stayed together, things
would be fine.
A pine tree standing close-by called out to them,
“How can you even think you'll always be
together? No one in their right mind will buy both
a himu and a morinda tree together. Forget it.”
The two friends got really upset. The pine tree was
so old, almost a hundred. He had so much
experience, how could he be wrong? His wood
10
was so expensive. They felt small and unimportant
compared to him.
Suddenly another tree spoke up, a sal
tree. Tall and dominating, almost 40-
60m high. He said “Shh, shh don't
listen to the words of the pine tree.
He is such a show off. Always trying
to bully others. Each tree has its own
value, its own worth.”
And then a tiny voice broke the silence, “Do
the two of you want to remain together
forever?” It was the tiny, raspy voice of a
bamboo. “I know everyone doesn't think
much of me, but I'll do everything I can
to help you.”
The himu and morinda didn't believe
him. They grew more and more quiet
and afraid. How could a thin little
bamboo help them?
 11
The very next day a toymaker arrived at the
mandi. A bright turban on his head and twinkling
eyes. He was looking for wood to make toys for
children. As he walked past the row of cut trees,
suddenly the bamboo fell in front of him.
“Oh dear, what's wrong!” the toy maker exclaimed.
“Bamboo, stand up straight and tall,”
and lifting the bamboo carefully
he put it back in place.
And then he saw the morinda.
“What a beautiful morinda tree!
This is ideal to carve into toys
for children. But let me look
further. If I don't find
anything else in the mandi,
I'll definitely buy this tree…”
And the bamboo fell in the
toymaker's path once again.
12
 13
“Oops, what a strange bamboo this is. He keeps
toppling over,” The toymaker gave a little laugh as
he propped up the bamboo once
more.
After going around the whole mandi,
the toymaker bought the morinda
tree. He was just on his way out when
Bang! Clatter! The bamboo was once
more in front of him, blocking his way.
“Why is this bamboo behaving in this strange
way? Is he trying to tell me something?”
The toymaker wondered. “Hmm, that tree
next to the morinda looks lonely, let me
buy it as well. It's a himu tree, good for
making toys too. The two trees
obviously share a close relationship.”
And so the toymaker bought the himu
tree too. And carrying both of them, he
went home.
14
The toymaker's home was overflowing with toys.
There were so many toys here, that even if you
tried you wouldn't be able to count them. And he
had made so many different types of animals, that
they wouldn't have fitted into a zoo.
The very same day, the toymaker began to make
the morinda into a toy. First he made four legs,
 15
then a head with two perky ears, then a body with
a tail. What do you think he had made? A dog? A
camel? An elephant?
The morinda himself did not know which animal
the toymaker had turned him into. But once the
toymaker had completed him in every way, he
took him and placed him in front of a mirror.
16
The morinda saw that he was now a horse!
A handsome horse with large eyes and
a bushy tail.
And now it was himu's turn.
First, four legs, then a
head, two tiny cute ears,
then a body with a tail.
Can you guess
what he was? Another horse? No. An
elephant? No. Perhaps a giraffe?
Certainly not. Himu had become a deer!
A beautiful deer with a curving
neck and gentle eyes.
“Hmm, I've never made such
beautiful animals before. And
how smart they look together.
There's definitely a close bond
between these two.”
How happy the morinda and himu were! Not only
were they still together but they'd also been
transformed into attractive animals.
 17
The same night, for it was a full moon night, all
the toys in the workroom came alive.
“Hullo, hullo!”
“Look, some lovely new toys have come to stay
with us.”
“How wonderful you look!”
“Come dance with us.”
The animals chatted gaily with the pair.
“Do you like the toymaker?”
“We all love him a great deal.”
“He also cares for all of us
so much that he'll
never sell us, never!”
“Shall I tell you what
happened once? A
gypsy came by and she
was ill, very ill. The
18
 19
toymaker looked after her so well that she recovered
quickly. The gypsy was extremely grateful that he had
been so kind. She told him that whatever he asked for,
she would grant, for she had the gift of magic.
And do you know what the toymaker wanted most
of all?”
“What did he ask for? What did he want most of all?”
Excited chatter filled the air.
“He wished that on the night of the full
moon, his toys should all come alive,
and dance and sing the night away.”
“And that's why we sing and
dance and have lots and lots of
fun every full moon night!”
20
“Though of course the toymaker never believed the
gypsy's story. Can you imagine he still doesn't know
that we animals come alive every time the moon is full.”
The night passed swiftly by. And soon it was time
for dawn. The himu and morinda were so happy to
be among so many new friends. And the toymaker?
He was extra special for them. How they loved
him! They looked forward to seeing him in the
morning.
But the toymaker never came into the workroom
that day or the next day. Or even the third
day. The toys began to get worried.
What had happened to him? They
could only check out on the
night of the next full moon.
And when that night came,
the toys heard a sneeze-
and another sneeze and a
cough from the next
room.
 21
“Oh dear, our beloved toymaker has fallen ill.”
“What shall we do?”
“He's not going to die, is he?”
“Come on, let’s all go and visit him.”
When the door opened and all the toys peeped in,
the toymaker was so shocked he almost fell out of
his bed! Seeing him huddling below his thin quilt,
the animals decided they needed to
call a doctor. But where would they
get the money from?
“One of us will have to be sold to
get the money.”
“But who? And how?”
Without waiting for a minute, the
horse and the deer came out of the
toymaker's home and stood by the
side of the road. They were sure
that quite soon somebody would
pass by and buy them.
22
 23

Then there would be enough money to call the

doctor, and buy the medicines.
They stood there through the day but not a single
person passed by. They were almost giving up
hope when they heard a distant sound.
The sound of a circus parade approaching. Drums
and trumpets, the laughter of jokers, the roar of
tigers and soon the circus was in sight.
24
Brightly dressed acrobats led the parade
followed by dancing horses, clowns
on one-wheel cycles, beautiful
dancers…..
“Stop!” A voice barked
out the order.
The circus manager
walked up to himu
and morinda,
“What a
beautiful horse.
And an exquisite
deer. I will buy
both of them
for the merry-
go-round in
my circus.
Let me see
what is
the price
on
 25
the tag around their necks? Only twenty rupees
each! What a bargain!”
The circus manager pulled out a fat wallet and
counting out forty rupees pushed it under the
toymaker's door. He whisked the deer and the
horse under his arms and the circus parade started
off again.
“Arre! Arre! Arre!” The toymaker's eyes widened
with surprise when the money was pushed under
the door. “Where has this money come from? I'll
just go to the doctor but first let me tell the toys
the good news…” But when he opened the door to
the workroom he immediately noticed that the
horse and the deer were missing. Where on earth
had they gone, he wondered.
By now they were both miles away attached to the
merry-go-round in the circus. As the music began,
children would clamber on and sit on them and
the merry-go-round whirled them round and round.
26
 27
Both himu and morinda were thrilled as they moved
round and round the merry-go-round. But then a
thought struck the horse, “Where is the deer?”
They had both been fixed on opposite sides of the
merry-go-round. They couldn't even see one
another. The horse thought I'll gallop and catch up
with the deer.
He must be
wondering
where I am.
And as the
music started,
he began to
gallop faster
and faster and
faster still but
the deer
remained as far
as when he had
started.
Then the horse
thought maybe
28
I'm going too fast. So my friend the deer is getting
left behind. If I move slower he'll catch up with
me. But try as he might, he didn't succeed.
Many days passed by in this way. Daytime was
fun–the noise and laughter of children as they took
their rides, the constant galloping; but by evening
everything was silent and quiet. How much they
wanted to be together, to chat and laugh but the
distance between them was so great that they
couldn't even talk.
One night, a storm broke out over the circus.
Pouring rain, thunder and lightning. By morning,
the horse and deer were in a sad state. When the
manager came by he looked at them and said,
“This horse is totally drenched and is looking
miserable. And look at the deer, his colour has
washed off. I don't want such sad looking animals
on my merry-go-round. Remove them at once and
throw them away.”
And that is exactly what happened. For many days,
they lay on a rubbish dump. But they were happy,
29
30
extremely happy because they were together again.
Then one evening they heard the sound of a little
girl crying.
Every day the little girl had come to the merry-go-
round and had gone for a ride on the deer. She
really enjoyed it. And the day she didn't see the
deer anymore, she was upset.
 31
But now that she had found
both the deer and the horse,
she persuaded the circus
manager to let her buy them.
And she took them home.
Imagine their surprise when to
paint them afresh, she
called the very same
toymaker!

Till today the himu and

the morinda live
with the little
girl,
happy
and
content to
be together.
Forever friends!
32
Green Gyan
Every tree has a story to tell and this particular story was inspired
by two actual trees that grow in the Himalayas. The himu is a large
deciduous tree, often used for carving and furniture. In English, it is
known as the mulberry tree. The morinda is a large evergreen tree
known in English as the west Himalayan spruce. It is used
extensively to make railway sleepers, furniture,
ceilings and floors.
Trees were, are and will always be essential
for our survival. Have you ever heard the
heartbeat of a tree? Difficult to believe! But
if you take a doctor's stethoscope and hold
it to the bark of a tree, you will be amazed
to hear the wonderful, crackling flow of
life. Deciduous trees are better for listening
to and you need to choose a tree that is at
least six inches in diameter and has thin
bark. You may have to try several different
places on the tree trunk before you find a
good listening spot!
Scientists have also now proved without a doubt
that trees can communicate with one another and
that when they are cut or broken, they scream!
Surprisingly experiments also prove that one tree can feel
the pain of another or even of a person who regularly
tends it. Trees also respond to music and to human
conversation. So the story you have just read is based on a
lot of scientific fact!
 Namaste, I am Shreya. I enjoy played carrom. I am going to
study hard to become a Doctor. I love reading books too!...
Thank you for buying this book. My friends and I will get to
read many more books in our library because you bought this
book.

Educationist, social activist and theatre director, Feisal Alkazi lives and works in
New Delhi. Over the past 35 years he has regularly worked with children in
non-formal education, environment and heritage education, television and
drama. He is the author of 14 books for children and teachers, in English and
Hindi.

A post graduate from the College of Art, New Delhi, Neeta Gangopadhya has
illustrated several books for children. She represented India at the Biennale of
Illustrations, Bratislava in 1995. Her illustrations are included in the book
"Once upon a time in India" which has been nominated for the IBBY Honour
List, 2006.
 Himu and Morinda stood next to each other
in the forest and were the best of friends.
But their idyllic life soon turns upside down
when they find themselves turned into
wooden toys! Read this heartwarming story of
two trees who remain friends forever.

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ISBN 978-81-8479-019-1

Age Group: 11-14 years

Forever Friends (English)
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