Lovely story about team work

Shiny rabbit was liked by every one . He was always in a good mood. “His coat of white fur is spotless and his tooth is sparkling white ”- all the animals would say.So they called him Shiny.Shiny’s neighbour was a tortoise. “He is smiling all the time. He is so gentle with every one,” all the animals said. So everyone called him Smily.

One day both Shiny and Smily were sitting together. They were eating delicious, hot banana custard with cake bread and reading a story. The story was about their great grandfathers : Shiny’s and Smily’s great grandfathers decided to have a race. While Shiny’s grandfather went to sleep, Smily’s grandfather won the race by slowly and steadily walking towards the finishing line.“You know Shiny,”

Smily said, taking a large spoonful of the creamy custard, “If ever there is a contest we will get together and win it and not fight with each other to win.” He took a leaf of crisp lettuce from the salad bowl and said, “ I have often thought that if your great granddad had not gone off to sleep, my granddad may have never won. Winning a race at someone else’s cost is not really winning. Don’t you think so?”

Shiny took a large piece of crisp carrot from the salad bowl and dipping it into the creamy banana custard, said, “Yes Smily. Real winning is when one wins the race along with the other. And every one feels happy.” Saying this he took a big bite of the juicy carrot .

Much to their delight, the next day there was an announcement in the jungle newspaper. It said that there is a race in the jungle and any animal who wins will be given many prizes and will also be taken to visit foreign lands and do many fun things. All the jungle animals gathered around the notice board .

The details were given on the board : The race was to start from Bhopu, the bear’s bungalow. He was the governor of the jungle. From there the runners had to cross the river, which flowed in the middle of the jungle. After crossing the river the runners had to run up to the bungalow of Roho, the Rhino, who was the chief police of the jungle.The animal, who reached Roho’s bungalow first, will be declared a winner.All the animals were very excited. But most of the animals who could swim fast could not run fast and those who could run fast could not swim fast. So they didn’t know what to do.

Shiny and Smily also thought over. Then both of them raised their heads together.“ Shiny, are you thinking what I am thinking?” Smily asked with a twinkle in his eyes. “ Yes, I think I am thinking what you are thinking,” Shiny said with a big grin.Then they put their heads together and made a plan.Two days later the race began. All the animals who were participating assembled in front of Bhopu’s bungalow. Bhopu came out, looking very important. He had a white whistle in his mouth and carried a green flag in his hand.

Bhopu said “Ready steady …go” And he blew his whistle and shook the green flag vigorously . All the animals ran.Shiny ran too but not alone – on his back someone was sitting – it was Smily !All the other rabbits from the jungle who were participating in the race and other animals like deer reached the river side at the same time, along with Shiny. But once they reached the bank of the river, they saw swift current and the water was cold. So they stood there, worried. Some, hesitantly dipped their paws in the water and quickly stepped back. None of them liked the idea of crossing the river. They thought,- “What if the current is too swift? What if the river is too deep?”

Smily quickly got into the water and Shiny sat on his back. Smily started swimming. They started singing. The ripples in the river joined them in singing. And the cuckoo flying overhead, tweeted a lovely tune.Soon they reached the other side of the river. Shiny got down from Smily’s back and shook off the water from his wet tail. Then once again Smily, climbed on Shiny back and Shiny ran fast. He reached Roho Rhino, the police officer’s bungalow before any other animal of the jungle. Roho declared both of them the winner.

The next day a prize ceremony was arranged. The president of the jungle, Sheru Sher Khan presented many prizes to both Shiny and Smily. A big party was arranged with delicious food for everyone. Sheru Sher Khan said - “ Dear animals of the jungle, many years ago Shiny’s and Smily’s great grandfathers ran a race. But at that time, winning was not truly a winning because it was based on the weakness of the other creature.

This time, Shiny and Smily’s winning is the REAL winning because it is based on the strength of each other. They helped themselves to win by helping the other to win. Team Work Always WINS. So let’s give them a big hand.” All the animals of the jungle clapped and praised them on their achievement.