LOLLIPOPS

LOLLIPOP

“Don’t eat so many sweets. They are not good for your teeth. Don’t buy the sweets selling on the footpath, especially in front of your school.” Deepa’s mother used to tell her. Deepa was tired of listening to this.

One morning, Deepa was ready for school early. She was about to leave in her neat uniform when she saw her mother’s purse on the table. Her mother was busy in the kitchen. Her father was in the room reading the paper. Deepa looked into the purse. Two fifty paise coins were there. “I have no money for lollipops, chocolates or anything else” her mother had told the night before. Deepa quietly put the two coins in her school bag and left the house.

During lunch-break all the children came out of their classes. An old lady was selling sweets and groundnuts in front of the school gate. Deepa’s friends ran to her and bought groundnuts. Deepa also went with them and bought five lollipops. They were all brightly colored. Deepa ate two of the lollipops. Then the bell rang again and all the children went back to their classes.

After the school was over at four O’clock. Deepa ate one more on her way back. Still two more lollipops were left with her. She didn’t know where to hide them. She left them in her school bag itself. By now she had realized that she had done something wrong by taking the money from her mother’s purse and spending it. Just then her mother gave her milk and some snacks and sent her out to play.

Deepa returned in the evening after playing with her friends and went to see her bag. She searched her bag but did not find any lollipops. Instead she saw her mother’s purse lying beside the bag. She understood that her mother had found out and had not scolded her.

Feeling ashamed of what she had done. Deepa ran to her mother crying. She promised that she would not do such a thing again.