[Continued from here.]
Each box was numbered and Jeremy knew from watching the children that you were supposed to go from one number to the next. Gingerly, he hopped onto square 1. Square 2 was right beside it. “How can it hurt to try?” he thought, and before he knew it, he had number 2 under his feet. “This is fun!” he said to himself, as he quickly hopped to 3.
4, 5 and 6 later, he had only two squares left. 7 and 8 were a piece of cake, and soon he was hopping back in full gusto, pebble in his beak like he had seen the children hold. So thrilled was he at his achievement that he almost swallowed the pebble and remembered to spit it out only just in time. He bounced all the way home, brimming over with news for Mamacita, who listened with a kind smile on her face.
After that evening, there was no stopping Jeremy. Each day, he’d wait for the children to disperse and hop onto his territory to claim his squares. On some days, he’d hop backward for fun. On others, he’d close his eyes. Even though he did it twenty times each evening, Jeremy never tired of this delightful game that he called Hopparoo. It was on precisely one such evening that Jeremy was hopping along the squares, this time backwards and with his eyes closed, that he heard a commotion.
Opening his eyes with mild irritation, he realized he was surrounded by children, all gaping and pointing and smiling wonderingly at him. “The crow plays hopscotch!” they were saying to each other in amazement. The shy bird watched as if in a dream. He, Jeremy, wasn’t being mocked or laughed at. On the contrary, he could see delight and respect on the children’s faces and he wasn’t afraid of them. Showing off a little, he hurtled from one square to another, doing a pirouette at the end and blushing at the resounding applause.
From that day on, the children would look out for Jeremy and ask him to join in their games. He rode on the back of bicycles and brought back their marbles in his beak, but his favorite sport remained Hopparoo. Mamacita was so proud of him and he now had many friends. He was bolder, happier and had the best legs ever seen on a crow. And so it came to be that Jeremy M. Hoppola became the neighborhood hopscotch champion, loved and feted by the residents of Glen Gate Street. He learned that it’s okay to be different, as long as you’re happy and not hurting anybody. And that being all the same isn’t that much fun anyway. So if you see a crow with the shiniest black feathers, bright raisin eyes and a lopsided gait hopping up to you, you’ll know who it is, won’t you?
~The End~
Wisdom Wears Neon Pyjamas 
Yay! I get to comment first!!!!! 😀
That was SO beautiful OJ! How did the darling little boy like his present?
Oh btw, if I ever do start up a children’s publishing company like I dream of doing… I hope you’ll consent to being one of our authors. It would be a privilege to work with you 🙂
Oh I guess I’m not the first commenter after all. dang!
This was just just just TERRIFIC:)
I love you, Jeremy, and OJ!
Thank God for such happy endings
All pleas were given ear-lendings
Three cheers and a hurrah
For Jeremy M. Hoppola
And may OJ give us many more such renderings!
omi god omi god…. that was beautiful…lovely lovely gift OJ ….
Beautiful.
aww.. that`s sooooo touching! 🙂 Teaches us something too, doesnt it?
Did the lil boy like it?
loved it….keep writing
oh my, that was such a beautiful story….and the little message tucked in it all…i loved it…:)
Lovely!!
Loved it! This is our bedtime story for tonight. So simple and uncomplicated, and that little message.
Hope the little boy loved it too.
Loved it & hope the precious little boy for whom this was written loved it even more.
Keep ‘em coming, won’t you ?
🙂
awww 🙂
Damn, I do like happy endings too.
And what three and a half readers are you talking about?
we’re already reading Jeremy at bedtime, and Nino asks OJ kaki why she can’t ‘illustrations by’ also!
I AM the first to comment?! 😀 woohoo!!! Okay don’t mind me acting so immature 😀
Like I said earlier… very beautiful story. You have a knack for this sort of thing OJ… you go girl!
Ah…atlast! Tell me, is this Bandra or Edinbrough? I figure with the anglo names it could be either 🙂
DewdropDream: Sure thing. I’m up for fat paychecks. Yennytime! And yes, you’re the first to comment, since it matters so much. 😉
dipali: We love you too, Dipali! 🙂
Aunty G: I have so many balls in the air, I’d give professional jugglers a run for their money. But I’ll try.
M: Thanks!
gaganjain: Thank you. 🙂
Piper: He didn’t get past the first paragraph and wanted to read Akbar-Birbal instead. I suspect he’s a shade too young to like picture-less tales.
sukanya: I try!
suma: Thank you, Suma.
wordjunkie: 🙂 Hug.
In love with my life: Ahh…enjoy. 😉
Shivani: Oh no, all this pressure! 😛
Nino’s Mum: You may have to gently inform Ninokins that Masi OJ barely passed art in school. But fear not, for the gallant Boy has come to the rescue and we hope to have pretty pictures sometime. (Not necessarily for blogosphere consumption, though.)
girlonthebridge: I was thinking Peru.
aww thats a sweet story!! ur really good at kid stories OJ!! im all amazed and in awe! 🙂
Oh bravo! Please do hurry up with that book now!
Mish: Now, now. I’m all embarrassed.
M4: Sigh. Thanks to your generous compliments, the Boy’s dreaming of an Altamount Road apartment bought with royalty money.
😀
adopt Cubby?!
Abha: Are rosogollas white? Is Santa jolly? Are my pyjamas neon orange? 😀