Page 1
Chapter
9. Madhu’s Wish
Let us read Let us read
Madhu loved food.
He always wanted
to eat different
kinds of food and
snacks. He was
never tired of eating.
Every day, at noon, he
would sit under a banyan
tree and eat his lunch. One
day, as he was eating, an old
Page 2
Chapter
9. Madhu’s Wish
Let us read Let us read
Madhu loved food.
He always wanted
to eat different
kinds of food and
snacks. He was
never tired of eating.
Every day, at noon, he
would sit under a banyan
tree and eat his lunch. One
day, as he was eating, an old
89
Santoor ¦ Class 3
man came. Madhu felt sorry for him and
shared his food with him. The old man
was so happy that as he was leaving, he
said, “My child, you have been so kind.
In return, you can wish for anything
from this tree and it will be granted.”
Madhu felt very happy.
He thought, I can ask for different types of food,
and enjoy them forever. He
sat there and closing his
eyes said, “Oh tree, let
me have different types
of food. Nothing else.”
What do you think Madhu will do now?
Page 3
Chapter
9. Madhu’s Wish
Let us read Let us read
Madhu loved food.
He always wanted
to eat different
kinds of food and
snacks. He was
never tired of eating.
Every day, at noon, he
would sit under a banyan
tree and eat his lunch. One
day, as he was eating, an old
89
Santoor ¦ Class 3
man came. Madhu felt sorry for him and
shared his food with him. The old man
was so happy that as he was leaving, he
said, “My child, you have been so kind.
In return, you can wish for anything
from this tree and it will be granted.”
Madhu felt very happy.
He thought, I can ask for different types of food,
and enjoy them forever. He
sat there and closing his
eyes said, “Oh tree, let
me have different types
of food. Nothing else.”
What do you think Madhu will do now?
90
Santoor ¦ Class 3
What do you think will happen now?
He heard a voice from
the tree. “You don’t want
anything else? Think it over.”
Without thinking, Madhu
said, “Nothing else”. First, he
asked for laddoos. At once, a
basket full of laddoos appeared.
He happily started eating it. After some time, he got
bored. Then he thought of colourful fruits. Immediately, fruit
in baskets appeared. He started
eating them. There were
grapes, mangoes, apples,
bananas, jackfruit, melons,
guavas, oranges and many
more. Then he got bored
eating only fruits. He asked for
savouries. Immediately
savouries like matri ,
samosas, kachori ,
potato chips and vada
appeared i n h u g e
baskets. He happily
started eating them.
Page 4
Chapter
9. Madhu’s Wish
Let us read Let us read
Madhu loved food.
He always wanted
to eat different
kinds of food and
snacks. He was
never tired of eating.
Every day, at noon, he
would sit under a banyan
tree and eat his lunch. One
day, as he was eating, an old
89
Santoor ¦ Class 3
man came. Madhu felt sorry for him and
shared his food with him. The old man
was so happy that as he was leaving, he
said, “My child, you have been so kind.
In return, you can wish for anything
from this tree and it will be granted.”
Madhu felt very happy.
He thought, I can ask for different types of food,
and enjoy them forever. He
sat there and closing his
eyes said, “Oh tree, let
me have different types
of food. Nothing else.”
What do you think Madhu will do now?
90
Santoor ¦ Class 3
What do you think will happen now?
He heard a voice from
the tree. “You don’t want
anything else? Think it over.”
Without thinking, Madhu
said, “Nothing else”. First, he
asked for laddoos. At once, a
basket full of laddoos appeared.
He happily started eating it. After some time, he got
bored. Then he thought of colourful fruits. Immediately, fruit
in baskets appeared. He started
eating them. There were
grapes, mangoes, apples,
bananas, jackfruit, melons,
guavas, oranges and many
more. Then he got bored
eating only fruits. He asked for
savouries. Immediately
savouries like matri ,
samosas, kachori ,
potato chips and vada
appeared i n h u g e
baskets. He happily
started eating them.
91
Santoor ¦ Class 3
As he was eating, he
suddenly got hiccups. He
wanted water. He looked
around. There was food
everywhere but no water!
He asked for water but
the tree said, “You wanted
only food not water.”
“So what if I don’t get
water I will have sharbat ,
kheer and badam milk for
my thirst,” thought Madhu.
Soon, all these appeared in
jugs.
Madhu drank them all but the hiccups
did not stop. They became louder. He was
now desperate for water.
He prayed to the tree, “May all this food
disappear, and let me
have water instead.”
“Are you sure?”
the voice from the tree
asked.
“Yes, I am sure. Now
I know the importance of water. No other
Page 5
Chapter
9. Madhu’s Wish
Let us read Let us read
Madhu loved food.
He always wanted
to eat different
kinds of food and
snacks. He was
never tired of eating.
Every day, at noon, he
would sit under a banyan
tree and eat his lunch. One
day, as he was eating, an old
89
Santoor ¦ Class 3
man came. Madhu felt sorry for him and
shared his food with him. The old man
was so happy that as he was leaving, he
said, “My child, you have been so kind.
In return, you can wish for anything
from this tree and it will be granted.”
Madhu felt very happy.
He thought, I can ask for different types of food,
and enjoy them forever. He
sat there and closing his
eyes said, “Oh tree, let
me have different types
of food. Nothing else.”
What do you think Madhu will do now?
90
Santoor ¦ Class 3
What do you think will happen now?
He heard a voice from
the tree. “You don’t want
anything else? Think it over.”
Without thinking, Madhu
said, “Nothing else”. First, he
asked for laddoos. At once, a
basket full of laddoos appeared.
He happily started eating it. After some time, he got
bored. Then he thought of colourful fruits. Immediately, fruit
in baskets appeared. He started
eating them. There were
grapes, mangoes, apples,
bananas, jackfruit, melons,
guavas, oranges and many
more. Then he got bored
eating only fruits. He asked for
savouries. Immediately
savouries like matri ,
samosas, kachori ,
potato chips and vada
appeared i n h u g e
baskets. He happily
started eating them.
91
Santoor ¦ Class 3
As he was eating, he
suddenly got hiccups. He
wanted water. He looked
around. There was food
everywhere but no water!
He asked for water but
the tree said, “You wanted
only food not water.”
“So what if I don’t get
water I will have sharbat ,
kheer and badam milk for
my thirst,” thought Madhu.
Soon, all these appeared in
jugs.
Madhu drank them all but the hiccups
did not stop. They became louder. He was
now desperate for water.
He prayed to the tree, “May all this food
disappear, and let me
have water instead.”
“Are you sure?”
the voice from the tree
asked.
“Yes, I am sure. Now
I know the importance of water. No other
92
Santoor ¦ Class 3
drink can replace water.
Please give me just water.”
A jug of water appeared. Thirsty,
Madhu drank as though he had
never seen water. His hiccups stopped.
He was no longer thirsty.
— Sudha Murty
New words
forever immediately appeared savouries hiccups
disappear instead replace thirsty
Note to the teacher
Ask children that when they get hiccups, what do their
parents and elders suggest to them.
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