No Smiles Today

Author: Cheryl Rao

Illustrator: Saurabh Pandey

Shanti and Arun were good friends. They had so much fun together.

They shared secrets in class. They ran races on the way home.

She was always cheerful.

One day, Shanti came into the classroom slowly. Her head was bent. She looked sad. “Did someone scold you?” asked Arun.

Shanti shook her head. She sat down and did not look up. She did not answer ‘Present!’ when Sona Miss called her name. Sona Miss called again, louder this time, “Shanti Kumar!” Shanti raised her hand.

“Do you have a sore throat?” her teacher asked her. Shanti shook her head.

Her cheeks were red and it looked like she had a fever.

“Are you feeling okay?” Sona Miss asked.

Shanti nodded, still not daring to look up.

“Why does Shanti look so sad?”

“Is your little brother okay?”

“Is your puppy okay?”

“Is your grandmother okay?”

Shanti kept nodding her head to each of her friends. But she did not look up.

Arun wanted to make her smile. He had an idea! He took out something from his bag.

As he ran to show it to Shanti, it slipped out of his hands. Shanti saw something flying towards her and she grabbed it.

It was a BIG, green, rubber frog!

Shanti's eyes flew open. Then she opened her mouth to laugh.

THEN Arun and her friends saw why she had not smiled or talked all day!

Four of her front teeth had gone missing!

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Story Attribution:

This story: No Smiles Today is written by Cheryl Rao . © Pratham Books , 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books.The development of the print version of this book has been supported by HDFC Asset Management Company Limited (A joint venture with Standard Life Investments). Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organization that publishes books in multiple Indian languages to promote reading among children. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Girl looking sad and other childen looking at her , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Children going happily to school , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Teacher taking attendance and girl raising her hand , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Teacher with hand on sad girl's forehead , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Girl looking sad and friends looking at her , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Boy and girl looking at something in the air , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Girl holding a frog and laughing , by Saurabh Pandey © Pratham Books, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

No Smiles Today (English)

Shanti was a happy girl. No one had seen her sad or quiet. Then one day she went very quiet. What had happened to Shanti?

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

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