Pinku And Onky

Once upon a time there was a pink little rabbit. His name was Pinku. He lived in a lush, green meadow by a singing brook. He loved to listen to the song of the water skipping over pebbles and stones and hum with the music of the silence all around. He played by the brook , read by the side of its lapping waters and almost spent the entire day counting its tiny ripples.

Pinku did not have any friends. But he was not unhappy with his aloneness. After the mother rabbit passed away he quietly accepted that he had to spend his life with himself. He came to love his own company, his own routine of the day and his own cute little hobbies.

One desultory afternoon as Pinku was gazing at the sky lying on the velvety grass by the waters he heard a rustle of the leaves which soon became a rumble and then a soft grumble and then a loud , thunderous crunch. He got up and walked towards the grove of trees from where all the disturbing sounds emanated to find a chubby little elephant standing and grinning at him sheepishly. A long curly, leafy twig dangled by his neck while a few wanton leaves sprouted from his ears. 

He waved at Pinku happily and said, “Hi! You there! I am Onky. What’s your name little one?” Pinku hesitantly introduced himself. But it did not take two minutes for Onky to be by his side. He was a confident boy.

“What are you doing all by yourself by the brook?” He asked.

“I was watching the clouds”, replied Pinku.

“And what were you doing inside the grove?” Asked Pinku.

“Well, you see I was practising a few dance steps. We are going to have a party tonight. Why don’t you come over?” Invited Onky.

Pinku had never heard of a party. So Onky explained,” It’s when a group of merry making friends meet, eat, dance and play.”

Pinku was not quite sure he liked the idea but on Onky’s insistence agreed to join though a little reluctantly.

That night Onky introduced Pinku to all his friends. They were all very friendly and welcomed him to the group though Pinku secretly thought they were a bit rowdy. They had lots of delicious things to eat and played and danced all night. For Pinku the all night thing was a little worrisome because he was a very disciplined child who lived by the clock. But in spite of himself he enjoyed the merriment and the party and forgot all about the time.

Soon Onky and Pinku became very close friends. Onky was quite an extrovert. A little over energetic. Pinku was calm and quiet who loved Nature, read voraciously, introspected a lot and dreamt for hours. While Onky taught a lot of games to Pinku, Pinku read out to Onky and told him stories about elves and fairies, princes and princesses, distant lands and gardens, thoughts and theories.

Many afternoons when Onky over exhausted himself Pinku held his hand,  took him to the brook and both dipped their legs in the cool,  prancing water for long hours. Pinku taught him to listen to the birds and the bees, gaze at the sky, smile at the clouds, talk to the stars, wave to the moon and breathe in deeply the fragrance of the breeze.

Onky danced and pranced holding Pinku’s hands. They rolled on the grass,  giggled a lot without any reason and threw all the care to the wind. Onky did funny steps, cracked jokes, whistled and sang and made all sorts of weird faces that Pinku found extremely funny. He rolled with laughter till his tummy ached. After a while catching their breaths they sat down together to eat berries and drink the sweet water from the brook.

But at the same time Pinku made Onky aware of the importance of routine and discipline – how the day should be spent in a balanced manner combining work with play, how healthy it is to chew food well before gulping, why go to bed early and rise early and how to be respectful and responsible to everyone especially the elders (as Onky at times tended to be a little brusque). Soon Onky learned to channelise his excess energy into prayerful listening and being in nature and be contemplative and reverent of all the little things gifted by life.

On the other hand, Onky made sure that Pinku stopped being reclusive. He often took him out to parties and gatherings. They played and danced all night and made a lot of noise.

And that is how Pinku learned that there is joy and laughter also in life. Making friends is as important as enjoying one’s aloneness. And sometimes it’s also necessary to take a break from the routine and let his hair down.

All pics AI generated