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What was the need to be careful when being careless was just enough, thought Rimi.
Rimi was engaged in a massive search. She could not find her box of colours or her school uniform for Saturday. Her mother was busy repeating the same lecture she gave every morning. But Rimi didn’t bother to listen, as she was busy searching.
A lesson for Rimi: Manjari Shukla
Rimi’s attitude was simple: if all it took was one big effort every morning to find all that she needed, what was the point of keeping objects at their designated places? She was so involved in her thoughts that she wore a mismatched pair of socks – one black and one white – and left for school without her colouring box.
As soon as she entered the school gate, she noticed all the kids pointing towards her and smiling. Perhaps she looked prettier than usual today, she thought, and started walking more confidently. She had no idea that her schoolmates were laughing at her combination of socks.
Enjoying the attention, she reached her class and sat next to her best friend, Neetu, and told her, “Do you know that I am looking quite pretty today? In fact, almost all the school noticed.”
Neetu, who had noticed the odd pair of socks, smiled and said “Of course, you are quite good looking. If only you could work on your carelessness, you will be absolutely fantastic.”
“Oh what is the difference between careful and careless? You just remove ‘ful’ and add ‘less’,” retorted Rimi and laughed loudly.
Time to shine
Suddenly, the drawing teacher entered the classroom and announced seriously, “Students, take out your pencils and colours and get ready for a drawing competition. As you are all aware, today is World Environment Day and that will be the theme for your drawings. The paper will be given out soon. Don’t ask for help from your classmates. Anyone found seeking or offering help during the competition will be disqualified. Only one student per bench.”
Neetu patted Rimi, as she rose from her seat, “All the best. I know you will be a winner. You are the best in our class.”
Rimi used all her imagination and creativity and drew a breathtaking picture. She was elated at her effort. Now, it was time to colour it. She put her hand in her bag to search for her box of colours and got a shock. She had forgotten to bring it to school. It was lying at home.
She felt like crying. Her mother’s advice to be tidy and get things ready well in advance echoed in her ears. Tears of remorse dropped on her drawing sheet. She could have managed on other days by borrowing from her classmates, but not today. She dropped her pencil on her sheet and hid her face in her hands.
When the bell rang, she was the first to submit her drawing. As she walked up to the teacher, she noticed that everyone in the class was laughing at her. Puzzled, she looked towards Neetu, who pointed at her feet. Rimi looked down. Now she understood why she had been greeted by smiles in the morning. She submitted her sheet and came back to her seat as quickly as she could.
Neetu calmed her, “Rimi, you are a very good student but your carelessness caused you such embarrassment today.” Rimi made up her mind. “ I promise that I will stop being careless from this moment onwards,” she told Neetu. “I lost a chance to win because of this.”
She couldn’t wait to get home and tell her mother that she was sorry for not listening to her.
