Bhujar

Author: Mohammad Shah Alam

Illustrator: Shamim Ahmed

Translator: Alisha Berger

Today Rini's class shared interesting stories. Their teacher wanted to know who had a pet at home! Mithu said he had a pet cat named Tuni. Rupa had a pet sheep named Tusi. And Ratan had a pet owl named Tuli.

The whole class burst out laughing: Tuni, Tusi, Tuli! They sounded like fun.

But Rini did not say anything. She didn't have a pet.

That evening, Rini couldn't wait to talk to her father. “Daddy, can I have a pet like my classmates?” she asked.

“Yes, I suppose so. You can have a cat or a dog," he said.

"Hooray!" said Rini. “I want a dog, please. Oh, please please bring me a dog.”

“Okay, I will bring you a puppy," Rini's dad told her. "Thieves don't come to steal from your house when you have a dog!”

Soon, Rini’s father

brought her a puppy.

It was a white puppy with

really soft fur.

Rini named her Bhujar.

Bhujar was full of energy!

Her Dad taught Rini how to take care of a puppy. He said, “You must feed her and clean her regularly. Then she will know to be faithful.”

Rini looked after Bhujar everyday. Rini gave Bhujar baths, and took her for walks and on adventures. Bhujar adored Rini, and Rini adored Bhujar.

Wherever Rini went, Bhujar went with her.

But Bhujar was not allowed to go to school with Rini.

When Rini went to school, Bhujar had to stay at home alone.

One day, Bhujar followed Rini to school. She moved around Rini, barking and jumping. “Bhujar, why are you coming with me?" Rini scolded. "You can't come to school. If you do, boys and girls will tease you. And the teacher won't be happy!”

So Bhujar went home.

A man was roaming to and fro near the school. Rini had been seeing the man for  several days. She knew was  not from her village. He comes here very often riding a motorcycle, thought Rini . He always wears a black cap.

The man asked, “How are you, Rini? You look so beautiful today. Do you like peanuts? I’d love to buy some peanuts for you.”

“I do not know you," answered Rini. "Why are you speaking to me?”

The man said, “Everyone knows me. My name is Basu. All children call me Uncle Basu. Let’s go, I’ll buy some peanuts for you.”

“No, I don’t need peanuts. Please leave me alone!”

Rini went to the class and told her friends about the man. She was surprised that everybody in the class knew about him! He was good friends with all children. Mithu said, “Uncle Basu is very good. A few days ago, he bought delicious peanuts for Ratan and me.”

Rupa said, “Don’t you know about Uncle Basu? He brings so many things for us to eat. Yesterday, Uncle Basu bought us mango-pickles. Uncle Basu is a very good man.”

Rini said, “He doesn't seem very good. You are greedy to eat his mango-pickles!”

On her way home, Rini ran into Uncle Basu again. With him were four other men Rini didn't recognize.

Uncle Basu blocked her way. “Let’s go, Rini," he said. "I will take you somewhere for a nice outing. Come along with us now.”

“No no, I will not go anywhere," said Rini. "I have lot of work to do. I have lot of lessons to learn today.”

She was terrified.

The man said, “Come on, Rini. Let’s go to the park. The park is very beautiful.”

Rini said, “Please, please leave me alone. I don't want to go to the park.”

But then men forced her to get on the minibus.

And then, Bhujar arrived. She came running, barking, furious!

She bit Uncle Basu and yanked him from the minibus. He began to yell in pain.

The village people came running when they heard the screams and noise. The four strange men drove away in fear.

But the man—Uncle Basu—could not get rid of Bhujar. He was caught and confessed his guilt to the people. He said, “We kidnap children and sell them. We get lot of money in return.”

Weeping, Rini hugged Bhujar. She said, “Bhujar, you saved me from that man!”

People began to praise Bhujar.

From then on, Bhujar does not stay at home. She is welcome at school with Rini. When Rini is in class, Bhujar sits under the nearby banyan-tree.

Under this banyan tree the wicked man used to come and roam. Now Bhujar barks whenever she sees a stranger.

Now all the children

know Rini's pet.

And they all love her...

almost as much as Rini does.

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:Bhujaris translated byAlisha Berger. The © for this translation lies with Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Based on Original story:'ভুজার', byMohammad Shah Alam. © Room to Read , 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This story 'Bhujar' has been published on StoryWeaver by Room to Read.

Images Attributions:

Cover page:Girl and dog smiling, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 2:Children going to school, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 3:Children in a classroom, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 4:Man talking to girl, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 5:Family talking, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 6:Girl chasing dog, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 7:Girl and dog playing near stream, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 8:Girl and dog swimming, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 9:Girl and dog trying to catch insect, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 10:Dog dreaming of girl, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. 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:Girl is walking alone with dog looking on, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 12:Scary man is peeking out of bushes while girl walking, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 13:Man is scaring girl, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 14:Girl is talking to her friends, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 15:Elements of the story, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 16:Scary characters and girl, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 17:Girl running while characters chasing, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 18:Girl caught and dog comes looking, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 19:Girl shouting and dog chasing, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 20:Dog attacking man, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 21:People attacking man and girl hugging dog, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.Page 22:Dog waiting outside school, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. 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:Girl hugging dog, byShamim Ahmed© Room to Read, 2014. 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/

Bhujar (English)

Rini and her new pet dog Bhujar are best friends-they play together every day. One day, when Rini is walking home from school, a kidnapper tries to force Rini into his car. Can Bhujar help her now?

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

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