Surprise,surprise!

But soon,I observed something unusual. My mom went about doing her routine work,my sister was in her own world,listening to music,and my father left home very early. This made me a bit sad and I thought that probably they had forgotten my birthday. I dressed up and went to school in my uniform without any chocolates for my friends and with a sad face,something which I never had on any of my earlier birthdays.

In the evening on my way home,darkness had already started to set in and when I rang the doorbell,no one answered. Soon,I realised that the door was open. The hall was quite dark and it seemed like no one was at home. I slowly went in and thought that the lights must have gone off . As I got to the middle of the room,suddenly the lights switched on and there were decorations all around. There was a large cake with birthday candles and my name on it and my dad,mom and all my school friends who were hiding in the room rushed out to greet me. To my surprise,all the preparations had been done for my birthday without my knowledge.

To this day,the 15th of February remains to be my happiest day and makes me feel happy always.

n Aditya Sawant,Sou. Laxmibai School,Mulund

As children,we played a lot of games to entertain ourselves. One such game that I remember was to break a branch of the coconut tree and my friend would catch the bottom end and I would sit on the leaves while he pulled me across the road from one end to the other. I felt as if I was sitting on a rickshaw and was being pulled for a good ride from one end of the road to the other. It was great fun and we enjoyed this to our heart’s content. The other children used to run around us and enjoy the ride with us.

One day,as usual we got a branch of a coconut tree and this time my friend decided to sit on the leaves while I pulled him across the road. It was quite some time since I had pulled him to the end of the road . My friend kept suggesting that he was uneasy sitting on the leaves and wanted to get down,but I continued pulling him across the road.

Finally,I stopped and asked him to get up. The mother of all surprises was ready to greet both of us. He was actually sitting on top of a snake which had sneaked beneath the leaves. As soon as he got away the snake made its way to the bush nearby. This very sight blew the wind out of both of us and we were trembling with fright.

Surprises sometimes refrain you from doing things that you love to do and from that day,we stopped playing with coconut leaves. But my friend became well-known in the colony as he had sat on a snake for almost an hour without being bitten. What a surprise this visitor gave us is something that no one could imagine.

n Eshwar Iyer,Father Agnel,Vashi

My love for pets has always been there,right from my childhood. I would not hesitate to stop and play with pets my neighbours in the building had,be it a dog,cat or a bird. I would spend my free time in the company of these lovely animals and feed them whenever I came across them either indoors or on street.

My parents were aware of my love for pets,especially dogs,but the moment I said I wanted to keep one in the house,they would change the topic and pretend to give a deaf ear to my demands.

This went on for a while. One fine day,both my parents had gone out for shopping and returned late. I was almost asleep when the doorbell rang and Mama and Papa entered with a host of purchases they had made for the festive season.

Of all the boxes they had brought,one box with a silver packing and with holes on the roof of the box drew my attention and I thought that they might be the strawberries that Mama loved.

Shaken off from my sleep,I watched Mama segregate the purchases that she made and confirm that all the things they had got were there .Then my parents called me and gave me the wrapped silver box and told me that it was for me.

When I opened the lid of the box,it was such a wonderful surprise and I just couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a cute little Labrador that they had purchased for me. My joy knew no bounds and this was the sweetest surprise that my parents ever gifted me. I immediately christened him as Prince for he looked princely and of course,he was to be the prince of my house hereafter.

n Nishant Iyer,Father Agnel,Vashi

The biggest surprise that I ever got was when one day my father,without my knowledge,ordered a piano and it was delivered on my birthday. The children who came for my birthday were busy enjoying their treats and I was busy collecting the gifts that they had brought for me. Mama was pouring soft drinks for the children and there was noise all around.

Suddenly the bell rang and there was a tall man who had a huge parcel in his hands and was struggling to keep it above his head. The parcel was in the name of Prakriti Iyer and mom and I were taken by surprise. First,my mom told the gentleman that the packet may not be for us,but the man insisted that this packet was to be delivered at this address.

Suddenly,the doorbell rang again and to our surprise we saw that my father was at the door. He then told us that the gift was ordered by him and there was no need to return it. He then hugged me and wished me a happy birthday and said that this was my birthday gift.

Everyone in the house was keen to know what was there in the huge packet,and we kept guessing what could it be,and then to my surprise when I unpacked it,I saw the wonderful electric piano.

My dad knew my choice well as I was interested in music and loved to sing and that is why he had bought me this wonderful piano,which I keep as my prized possession even today.

What a wonderful present it was. Surely the neighbours’ envy and the owners’ pride.

n Prakriti Iyer,IX A,Sri Ma Vidyalay,Thane

OUR exams were over and the results out. Parents were gathered all around the classroom and busy calculating the marks their children had obtained. The teacher called out the roll numbers of students and the report card was handed to each parent.

My father and I were waiting for my roll number to be called out,but it seemed that the teacher was in no hurry to call roll number 72. Both of us waited till the teacher announced that all the numbers have been called and reports were handed over. This made me and my father very impatient and both of us rushed to her to ask why my roll number was not called.

All sorts of fears started hovering in my mind and this made me burst into tears at once. The teacher then explained that this girl has topped the class with 95% marks and her report card is with the principal and he would like to hand over the report card to the outstanding student himself.

What a surprise that was and it made me and my father proud. My strenuous efforts and the support of parents and teachers had not gone in vain and I had made the school proud of my achievement.

n Harshala Sanghavi,Arunodaya Public School

Exams were on and midnight fever had caught up with all the children. I could find one and all burning midnight oil and sipping cups of coffee to ensure that they stayed awake at night to complete their studies for the exam the next day.

Somehow,I felt quite uneasy as I had the History paper the next day and I had covered only half the portion. Sleep and exhaustion and the thought of the exam kept bothering me time and again.

I finally decided that I will go to sleep as the time was already 12 am. Sleep caught up with me quickly and I was in deep slumber very soon.

When I woke up the next day,the thought of the History paper still bothered me and not having done all the chapters worried me more .

As soon as the question paper was handed to me,I took a deep breath and opened it. The first question said “Describe the Coronation Ceremony of Shivaji” . This was a question for which I had mugged so well that even in my sleep I could have written the answer.

My pen started to complete the first question very easily and when I read the other questions it surprised me as all the questions were from the chapters that I had studied well and was confident about. None of the questions were from the chapters that I had not touched. What a pleasant surprise it was and what a relief it gave me. And I knew that I had done well in this paper. A wonderful smile came upon on my face and it was lit up due to excitement and surprise.

I scored 75 out of 100 marks in History,the subject that always bothered me and kept my teachers and my parents guessing about how I would perform in this paper.

n Rucha Paranjpe,Sou Laxmibai School,Mulund

The date for the sports events in school had been announced and the class teachers had given the names of the participants in various athletic and sport events. I decided to take part in the ‘cricket ball’ throw event and suggested my name to the teacher. I play cricket and hence was confident about my throw,as during practise we throw from the fence to the wickets. But there were other friends of mine who were better in terms of fitness as well as agility,and they too were participating in this event.

The Sports Day arrived and all the participants were in their sports outfit and ready for the final showdown. I thought to myself that I would do my best and was a bit nervous,as others who threw before me threw it to a great distance.

My number was announced and I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. I picked up the cricket ball and grasped it firmly in my hands . Then with all my might I let it fly from my hands. It rose quite high and disappeared in the distant part of the ground.

The sports event had come to an end and one after another the result for each sports were declared and I was anxiously waiting for the results of the cricket ball throw event.

Then came the announcement of the cricket ball throw results. I was taken by surprise as my name was announced as the winner of this event, and I had surpassed all the others by a good distance. My coach rushed to me and congratulated me for the performance and complimented me,saying that it was indeed a wonderful throw,well-timed and well-executed.

n Saurabh Shintre,Sou Laxmibai School,Mulund

Life is full of surprises — some good and some bad. As school children,we had gone for a picnic to the zoo and it was fun watching animals,specially lions and tigers.

The monkeys,as usual,were busy with their pranks and keeping the children delighted by eating bananas and other eatables thrown at them. I decided to feed a monkey which lay quiet in the corner of the cage and offered some peanuts to him.

To my surprise,it sprang and caught hold of my bag which was within his reach and pulled it towards him. This threw me off balance and I bumped on the cage bars,injuring my forehead. I started bleeding.

My teacher and other children took me to a doctor who treated me.

Now,the very thought of feeding monkeys frightens me and I keep my distance from them.

n Sanjana Deshpande,Sou Laxmibai School,Mulund

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