Have you ever asked people in your neighborhood for help? Sometimes going really fast can be scary, and sometimes it can be fun. What do you think?

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Story Transcript:

Muni was a mason. He had built all the buildings in his village, big and small. One morning, Doctor Sheila asked him to build a clinic for her.

“Muni, please break down my old shed,” said Doctor Sheila. “That’s where I want the new clinic to be built.”

“I can do that, Doctor Amma,” said Muni, “But first, I need my helpers, Anju and Sanju. They live up on the hill.”

Muni set off to fetch his helpers. On the way, he met Bahadur the plumber. “I will help remove the taps and pipes in the shed,” said Bahadur. “Wait here, Bahadur, while I fetch Anju and Sanju.”

Further up the hill, Muni met Babu the milkman and his buffalo, Rani. “Will you help me break down Doctor Amma’s shed, Babu and Rani?” asked Muni. “No, no,” said Babu. “She’s a good doctor. I won’t break her shed down!”

Muni met Mastan, the carpenter. “I will help remove all the wood in the building,” said Mastan.

Finally, Muni met Anju and Sanju atop the hill. “We need your big and heavy hammer,” said Muni.

The hammer was so big and heavy that Muni tipped over. “AAAAIEEEE! Careful,” said Anju.

Muni caught hold of Sanju. Sanju caught hold of Anju.

GUDUGU-GUDUGU-GUDUGU! Muni, Sanju and Anju came sliding down the hill and fell on Mastan.

THADUGU-THADUGU-THADUGU! Muni, Sanju, Anju and Mastan rolled down the hill. “Hey!” said Babu. “Bey!” said Rani.

“I am coming too!” said Bahadur and joined the helpers.

BADAGADA-THAGUDUGU, BADAGADA-THAGUDUGU! Muni, Sanju, Anju, Mastan, Babu, Rani and Bahadur came rolling down the hill and…

…hit the doctor’s shed with a loud THADABUDAAAL!

The shed broke into a hundred pieces.

Doctor Sheila was very happy. She paid them and gave everyone sweets to eat. “Thank you, Muni and helpers,” she said, “You broke down my shed very fast. Now please help me build my clinic quickly, too!”

THE END

Creative Commons Story Attribution Text: Gudugu Thadugu (English), written by Ashok Rajagopalan, illustrated by Ashok Rajagopalan, published by Pratham Books (© Pratham Books,2019) under a CC BY 4.0 license, first released on StoryWeaver. Read, create and translate stories for free at storyweaver.org.in