THE cat dodged Farhan, when he angrily tossed his school backpack in the corner, slammed the door and plopped into a chair.

He was in very bad mood. If only his math teacher hadn’t caught him red-handedly stirring up the squirrels’ nest during the recess!

‘I’m sure the new classmate, Danny, had informed the teacher about me! And the principal has surely called dad by now! Ahh!’ Fury boiled in his chest, as he thought. ‘I’m going to pin back this boy’s ears tomorrow!’

Little Sarah rushed to her brother to show him her new colour book, but he impatiently shooed her awaym, “Don’t bother me!”

“Farhan, freshen up quickly and join us at the dinner table! Mum has prepared your favourite pasta dish!” said his eldest sister, Maria, from the doorway, but seeing her brother fuming, she silently retreated into the kitchen.

Though the lunch was really delicious, his bad mood prevented him from enjoying it. Back in his room he picked up the math book, but after fruitlessly flipping through a couple of pages, he put it back. His anger didn’t let him concentrate. Desperate, the boy closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands.

“Beta, what’s the matter? Come here,” the kind soothing voice of his grandpa broke into his thoughts. He lovingly stroked Farhan’s hair and hugged him.

“Today, I’d like to share with you the story that I’d heard from my grandfather…

“Long ago, in one faraway forest there was a river. Though it was small, it happily supplied all plants, birds and animals with crystal-clear and refreshingly cold water. Everyone was welcomed to admire its shiny mirror-like surface. Friendly and courteous, it was truly the soul of the woods.

“The days were passing blissfully when one day the river woke up in a bad mood. Whether it had some nasty dream the night before, or there was something else — it couldn’t remember exactly. It sadly sighed and stretched out, and suddenly its wave hitched on a piece of snag and got slightly scratched. The river frowned and its water misted up.

“The rising sun was watching everything. ‘Let me cheer up our little buddy,’ it decided and tickled it with his long sparkly ray. But what’s this? The lumpy ray broke and pricked the wounded wave of the streamlet!

“The river yelled huffily “What a stupid joke!” The next moment it felt someone hurtfully stomped her with hoofs. It was a young calf who (his thin legs trembling with fear!) came to quench his thirst. The poor animal accidently became stranded in the weeds, fell into the water and barely escaped with his life!

“This incident put it off completely and it spilled out of its banks. Yes, beta, the river got upset and angry, and then it put itself out. Out of its banks….

“First, it covered the riparian grass, next came the nearby bushes. Then it spun around the trees. And then it spread further and further, in all directions … and though it realised by now that it was doing something wrong, it couldn’t turn back. Of course, the snags didn’t scratch it intentionally, and the prick of the sunbeam was surely unintended and the tiny calf didn’t deliberately fell into the water!

“Now the river understood everything! Well, it was not a river any more — but a huge shapeless shallow puddle. And though it understood everything by now, that there wasn’t a way back, it broke loose and kept going. Too exhausted, it couldn’t move forward.

“A puddle of stagnant water now wobbles amidst the trees and bushes, its surface invisible under the debris of rotten leaves, branches and grass. Thus, nobody drinks from this dirty stagnant puddle. Once a crystal-clean streamlet turned into a turbid, muddy quagmire!

A murky swamp filled with bumpy tufts and creeping stems of shrubbery...”

Grandpa paused and looked lovingly at his grandson.

“It’s easy to lose one’s temper, beta. We all do at times. But it’s important to have control over our anger. Never let it dominate our actions and affect our relations. Otherwise, we’ll be left with nothing but remorse, just like that little forest streamlet…”

Farhan who was attentively absorbing every word of his grandfather slowly nodded and smiled. He had learnt a valuable lesson, the lesson of self-control.