Kanchha, the Rhino

Author: Shilpi Pradhan

Illustrator: Abin Shrestha

Translator: Shannon David

In a vast grassland, there lived a little rhino. His name was Kanchha. Kanchha was two years old and lived with his mother.

He loved to wander about the grassland.

His mother would often warn him, “Kanchha, there are a lot of bad things out there. Be careful, son. Always remember to leave your scent so that you can smell your way back home.”

He nodded his head. Kanchha understood, but it was hard for a little rhino to remember everything his mother told him.

One afternoon, as the sun was beating down on the grassland, Kanchha decided to cool himself with a mud bath. Lying in the mud, he flicked off flies with his ears.

Suddenly, he heard a strange noise. He twitched his ears to figure out where it was coming from. He had never heard such a sound before.

He jumped up from the mud and walked closer to the sound. He walked and walked, but he couldn't make out where the noise was coming from.

He looked around and realized that he had walked much farther than he thought. He remembered his mother’s words and turned around to walk back home.

Then, he heard the same sound again. He saw a giant python sliding towards him and it filled him with fear! He ran and hid behind the tall grasses.

He whispered to himself, “That python is going to eat me up. Ma, please save me!” He was very scared. He closed his eyes tightly and stayed very still. He waited and waited. Luckily, nothing happened.

Kanchha carefully peeked through the tall grasses. He saw the python swallowing a deer.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

It was getting dark and Kanchha knew it was time to go home. He turned around. He looked right. He looked left.

He tried to find his scent, but he couldn't smell it anywhere.

He ran round and round, but couldn't make out which direction he had come from. He remembered his mother’s words again. And he began to cry.

“Kanchha…! Kanchha…!” he heard someone calling his name. He twitched his ears. Someone was calling him! He jumped with joy and ran as fast as he could.

THUMP! Kanchha landed in a pit. Darkness surrounded him.

“Kanchha…! Kanchha…!” He heard his mother calling from above the pit. He felt like crying. “I’m sorry for going too far, Ma. I’m sorry!”

It was all he could say to his mother. “Don’t worry son, I’ll go get some help,” she promised him.

Kanchha looked up at the sky. He saw the moon shining brightly. Kanchha promised himself to be more careful next time.

The next morning, Kanchha woke up to find himself tied up with ropes. He could hear noises all around him. Kanchha was confused. He didn't know what was happening.

Kanchha tried to struggle free, but it only hurt so he stopped. After a while he felt himself being lifted. “Have I been captured?” he thought.

He found himself on the ground again. He heard all sorts of strange sounds. “Hurrah! Woohoo!” He could hear claps and whistles. Blinded by bright flashes of light, he could barely see anything clearly.

There were hundreds of humans around him. They held up posters with a rhino’s photograph. Some of them had even pasted a rhino’s photograph on their caps.

Some rode on elephants. Some were driving jeeps. And some were on foot. As he got closer they were all smiling at him, but he recognized no one.

He was scared. “Who are they? Why are they here? What are they going to do to me?” he thought.

One of the humans came towards him and touched him gently. Slowly, he turned Kanchha‘s head towards the jungle.

Kanchha saw his mother waiting for him behind the trees. These humans had not captured him, they had saved him!

Kanchha ran as fast as he could to his mother. He was safe again. He would never wander so far without leaving his scent ever again.

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story:Kanchha, the Rhinois translated byShannon David. The © for this translation lies with Room to Read, 2007. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Based on Original story:'कान्छा गैँडा', byShilpi Pradhan. © Room to Read , 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'Kanchha the Rhino' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:A rhino walking, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:A rhino walks in the jungle, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:An adult rhino cautions a baby rhino, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:A rhino takes a mudbath, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:A rhino hears a sound, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:A rhino shakes his head, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:A rhino remembers a lesson, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:A rhino flees from a snake, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:A rhino hides as a snake hunts, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:A rhino watches a snake hunting, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 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/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Images Attributions:

Page 11:A rhino walks in the sunset, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 12:A rhino walks alone in the sunset, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:A rhino weeps, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:A rhino runs in the night, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:A rhino falls into a pit, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 16:An adult rhino looks at a baby rhino in a pit, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 17:A rhino looks at the sky from a pit, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 18:A rhino tied in ropes inside a pit, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 19:A rhino is hauled up from a pit, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 20:A rhino looks at a crowd of people, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 21:Rhino enthusiasts in a crowd, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 22:A captured rhino looks at a crowd of animals and people, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 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/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Images Attributions:

Page 23:A forest official helps a rhino, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 2015. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 24:A baby rhino reunites with its mother, byAbin Shrestha© Room to Read, 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/

Kanchha, the Rhino (English)

This is the story of a little rhino who lives in a big grassland. He loves to explore, but one day he strays too far from his mother and gets lost. Read on to find out how he gets out of trouble.

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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