#554 - The Tale of a Naughty Prank
by Anand Neelakantan and illustrated by Doodlenerve
“The Tale of a Naughty Prank” by Anand Neelakantan and illustrated by Doodlenerve. Published by Penguin. A humorous tale of how Narada played a prank on the world’s richest man.
Narada is known for his mischievous nature. Trouble inevitably follows him wherever he goes. This time he decides to prank Kubera, the god of wealth. Kubera is having a happy time counting his gold coins one morning. He dreams of getting richer and is never tired of counting his money. It is this weakness of his that Narada targets. He tricks him into believing that God Shiva can grant him a boon of becoming richer in return for a favour that he can do.
Kubera only has to host a birthday party for Ganesha. Sounds easy isn’t it? Well, the problem is that Kubera is a miser and can’t think of spending money on a party. Secondly, Ganesha has a huge appetite. Not a good thing at all for Kubera. But the allure of a boon from Shiva is too much to resist and not to be missed. He agrees with difficulty and Narada sets his plan in motion. What ensues is a medley of action, fun and loads of laughter at the expense of Ganesha and Kuber! Read the book to savour the delightful chaos caused by Narada’s prank.
The book proved to be a delightful read. I read it aloud to a trio of children at home who listened in rapt attention with a twinkle in their eyes. We loved the narration style peppered with brilliant wordplay. While my ten year old son gave a grin every now and then, the six year old nephew and three year old niece were curious to know what would happen next. Narada is clearly a favourite now for them. His innocent seeming chant of “Narayana, Narayana!” tinged with a slight hint of mischief is surely going to be a favourite for the little mischievous ones :) His antics and pranks are always amusing despite feeling sorry momentarily for the people at the receiving end. Given that most of his pranks ended up teaching a lesson to those who needed it the most, we were rest assured that it was alright to admire him :) Even in this case, Kubera and Ganesha learnt some important lessons the hard way in a memorable manner. Kubera sitting and singing a happy song while counting his money brought back memories of Uncle Scrooge diving into his iconic money bin for me :) The delightful illustrations brought the story to life. This is the second book by the author in the “Puffin Chapter Book” series which aims to introduce the stories from Indian mythology to children in a fun and entertaining manner. We had enjoyed reading the first book which is called “The Tale of the Naughty Flying Mountains” and also features Narada.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6 and above.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India, for review. Thank you to Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!