Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn a small Mumbai apartment, where the evening diya flickered, a little mouse named Mushak sat on the kitchen shelf and sighed.
“Bappa,” he whispered. “I lost my laddoo.”
Bappa looked up, his elephant eyes calm and warm in the lamplight. “The one Dadi gave you?”
Mushak nodded. A tiny tear rolled down his whiskers.
“Then we will find it together,” said Bappa.
They tiptoed past the steel thali. Past the rice tin. Past the old brass pot where the water stayed cool.
“Stop,” said Bappa. “Look under the doormat.”
There, tucked in the corner, sat the laddoo — safe and warm.
Beside it sat a tiny ant, looking very sorry.
“I was so hungry,” said the ant. “I only took one small bite.”
Mushak looked at Bappa. Bappa smiled. He broke the laddoo into two soft pieces.
“One for you,” he said. “One for our little friend.”
They sat together under the diya’s light. Mushak ate his piece slowly. It tasted sweeter than any laddoo he had ever eaten.
“Bappa,” whispered Mushak, “I thought I lost everything.”
“You did not lose it,” said Bappa. “You found it. And you shared it.”
Mushak snuggled close. Outside, Mumbai hummed its quiet night song — a train, a scooter, a distant laugh.
“Good night, Bappa,” whispered Mushak.
“Good night, little Mushak,” said Bappa. “Good night, little laddoo, shared and sweet.”
📄 Free printable worksheet available below.
Complete the learning activities and download it at the end of this lesson.
📖 Story in Brief
A little mouse named Mushak loses the laddoo his grandmother gave him, and Bappa the elephant helps him search their small Mumbai kitchen. They find it guarded by a hungry, apologetic ant. Mushak learns that a sweet shared is sweeter than one kept whole.
💡 The Lesson Inside
Mushak thought losing his laddoo meant losing everything sweet in his evening. But the laddoo was never really lost — it just needed sharing to taste its best. Sometimes what feels like less becomes more the moment you give part of it away.
✨ Words Worth Keeping
Whiskersthe long thin hairs near a mouse's nose that help it feel its way in the dark.
Example:The cat's whiskers brushed against the doorframe as it squeezed through.
Tiptoedwalked very quietly and carefully, usually on the tips of the toes.
Example:She tiptoed past the sleeping baby's room.
Snuggledmoved in close to someone for warmth and comfort.
Example:The children snuggled under one blanket during the power cut.
🌱 Phrases to Remember
Found togetherdiscovered something as a team, not alone.
Example:We lost the house keys for an hour, but we found them together.
One small bitea tiny taken portion, often mentioned when explaining a small mistake.
Example:I only took one small bite of your sandwich, I promise.
Shared and sweetsomething that feels better and kinder because it was given, not kept.
Example:The last piece of cake tasted shared and sweet once we split it three ways.
📚 Quick Glossary
Diya
a small clay oil lamp lit in Indian homes in the evening, especially during festivals and daily prayer.
Laddoo
a round Indian sweet, often made of gram flour, sugar, and ghee, and a common festive or homemade treat.
🗣️ Say It Right
Laddoo/say it like: LAH-doo/
Diya/say it like: DEE-yah/
