Dheera's Workshop of Whimsy

Kalu Bhaloo had a comfortable life,

He had three cubs and a sensible wife. 

But to all, it was quite plain,

That Kalu had a kinky brain.

He devoured beehives whole for honey,

He had a fascination for paper money.

He liked the feel and smell of notes,

He stashed them in his coats and totes.

And in this most peculiar bent,

He imitated a certain quirky gent.

Mr. Singh was thin and lank,

He was the manager of State Bank.

Singh sat in office overlooking the boats,

He issued orders and counted notes.

Now you may wonder how Bhaloo got money,

He dispatched his wife with a great big gunny.

Gentle Kali was forced to frown,

And terrorize the people of the town.

She always returned with her sack over flowing,

But she was resentful, and the feeling kept growing.

One day, Kali abandoning her post,

Went off on a cruise to the Kerala coast.

"Who cares?" growled Bhaloo, scratching his back,

"We do!" shouted the cubs, "we feel her lack."

The cubs became bratty, they decided to fly,

They bought gas balloons and rose up to the sky,

They floated a while in the silent blue,

But soon a high wind rose and flew,

The three cubs over the big dark jungle,

Notorious for the carnivorous Mangal

As it grew dark, the balloons went 'pop!'

And the three cubs began to drop, drop, drop!

Down they fell, faster and faster,

And then, just before the final disaster,

They landed with a sloosh, atop,

The feathery trees, which cushioned their drop

Mangal raised his mighty head,

He sniffed the air, the quadruped,

He bellowed and from his doubled barreled nose,

An orange sheet of flame arose.

Mangal sniffed, smelt young cub meat,

He moved in quick, for a tandoori treat.

The suspended cubs felt the forest tense,

The air of dread was something intense,

The darkening jungle became eerily silent,

The green earth shook, atrociously violent.

Mighty Mangal galloped into view,

His eyes blood red an alarming hue.

He spied the cubs, hanging like buntings,

He spat fire, made terrible gruntings,

The cubs were scared, they quivered and froze,

While Mangal tried to get at their toes.

Where was Kalu, you may wonder,

He was raving, falling asunder.

No notes to count, no cubs to scare,

He was screaming out in despair.

Chillum Cheel, with his eagle eye,

Came home to roost, and as he flew by,

The big dark jungle, he saw in a flash,

The mighty Mangal, behaving brash,

Chillum forgot that he was tired,

He had to save the cubs from being fired.

"Chee!" He called, "Chee! That's not fair!"

 He raised an alarm and alerted Kalu Bear.

 Now do you remember Bank Manager Singh?

 He was in the jungle, taping a roaring,

In his hand he had a gun,

A dangerous double barreled one.

He heard the Cheel and fired high,

Up into the darkening sky.

The blast scared Mangal, he stood rooted,

Then up he leapt and off he scooted,

Back to his den without a backward glance,

The shock of the gun-shot left him askance.

At this precise moment, Kalu announced,

His hairy black presence with a pronounced,

Snarl and a growl, which the cubs recognized,

It was a sound they had often criticized.

This story has a happy ending,

Though the cubs missed Kali, which was heart rending.

Kalu repented and became a good father,

He gave up honey, the money and would rather,

Cook and clean and look after his cubs,

He lovingly fed them deep fried grubs.

Life took on a rosy hue,

Until one day, quite out of the blue,

Kali returned with a lovely sun-tan,

She wore a hat and carried a leaf fan.

Kalu was delirious, with this lucky godsend,

And here is where this story must end!