the shortstory was written by Mulk Raj Anand

1. Presented by
J.Devasumathi
Department Of English (SF)
S.B.K.College
Aruppukottai

2. 1. A little boy and his parents set out from a city to pay a visit
to a village fair at the time of the Spring festival.
2. The boy lingered at some toy shops on the way and asked
for a toy.
3. The father refused by a look; and the mother took his hand
and diverted his attention.
4. A beautiful mustard field with yellow flowers reflecting
golden light charms the boy. He stepped into it with
dancing feet.
5. He tried to catch the dragon-flies and butterflies hovering
over the field. Nor did the insects and worms on the
ground fails to attract his notice.

3. 6. They started for a hole under a big banyan tree in a grove
full of fruit and flower trees.
7. The boy was in raptures when a rain of flowers fell on him,
some doves flew by and a cuckoo sang.
8. At the fair, they first saw a stall of sweets. The display of
delicacies filled the boy with longing.
9. Though he wanted a ‘burfi’, he did not ask for it lest his
father would refuse it. Similarly, he wanted a ‘gulmohur’
garland from the flower-shop, but kept silent.
10. Nor did he ask for a balloon, Though the display of
balloons of many colours, tied to pole, enchanted him.

4. 11. Then he walked on to where a snake-charmer was playing
on his flute to a snake. He linked the music but did not
stay there as his parents would consider it to be coarse.
12. Now he saw a roundabout. An overwhelming desire rose
in him to be on it.
13. No replay came. He turned round and found that they
were not nearby. He fell into a panic.
14. He ran blindly here and there, sobbing and weeping. His
dress became disordered, but he did not mind it.
15. After a few minutes he stopped. He carefully looked in all
directions through his tears.

5. 16. Seeing a crowd in the distance near a shrine, he ran there,
calling for his parents. Trying to make his way through
the crowd, he fell down.
17. He was in danger of being crushed. But a kind man heard
his cries and lifted him up. The boy could only tell him
that he wanted his parents.
18. In order to console the boy, the man took him to the
roundabout, the snake-charmer, the dealer in balloons, the
flower-shop and the sweets stall.
19. Though the boy had been attracted by all these earlier, he
now did not care for them.
20. The only words that came from his mouth were that he
wanted his parents.

6. Thank YouThank You

7. Thank YouThank You