Finding Moti .

- Ansh Mehta

Once upon a time, there lived a cheerful little boy named Rohan. He had two best friends in the whole world—his shiny red bicycle and his playful dog, Moti. Every day, Rohan and Moti went on little adventures around their neighborhood, with Moti joyfully running beside the whizzing bicycle.

One sunny afternoon, while riding through a muddy lane, Rohan's bicycle suddenly got stuck in the mud. "Oh no!" he cried, pulling and tugging with all his might. Finally, with Moti’s excited barking as encouragement, he pulled the bike free and headed straight to the cycle shop.

At the store, kind Mohan Bhaiya fixed the bicycle quickly. “Here, take this,” he said, handing Rohan a small bottle of oil. “After you clean your bike, oil the chain properly.” Rohan nodded happily and dropped the bottle into the bicycle’s basket.

When they reached home, Rohan and Moti were covered in mud from head to toe! Seeing them so dirty, Rohan's mother exclaimed, “Bath first—now!” Rohan wanted to clean his bicycle but was too tired. After a nice hot bath and a yummy dinner, he completely forgot about the oil and the bike. Soon, both Rohan and Moti were fast asleep.

But that night, something strange happened.

Around midnight, Moti heard a noise near the front yard. He padded quietly to the window and saw a shadowy figure sneaking around Rohan's bicycle. Moti barked softly and tried to wake Rohan, but Rohan was deep in dreamland. Worried, Moti slipped out the door without waking anyone.

The next morning, Rohan stretched, yawned, and looked around. His eyes grew wide. “Papa!” he shouted. “My cycle’s gone! And Moti’s missing too!”

Rohan’s father looked concerned. “Let’s search,” he said. Together, they went from street to street, asking neighbors, calling out Moti’s name, and checking every place the dog might’ve gone. But after hours of looking, they returned home, tired and disappointed.

As Rohan sat on the doorstep, he noticed something—muddy tire marks near the gate! “Papa! Look!” he cried. But his father, exhausted, said, “We’ll look later, Rohan. Come inside.”

Rohan didn’t wait. He followed the tire marks all by himself, hoping they would lead him to Moti. The trail led past the village square, through the edge of town, and into a lonely path he had never seen before. But soon, the muddy marks faded away, and Rohan stood at a crossroads—one road led to the busy market, and the other to a quiet, creepy lane with no houses in sight.

Just as he was about to give up, he spotted tiny oil drops on the ground. “Wait!” he whispered. “The oil Mohan Bhaiya gave me!” His heart thumped with new hope as he followed the oil trail.

The path led to an old, broken-down house that looked completely abandoned. Rohan's bicycle was leaning against the wall!

He tiptoed to a window and peeked inside. What he saw made his eyes widen in fear. Inside were cages—lots of them—with different animals locked up! And there, in one of the cages, was Moti!

A scary-looking man was speaking on the phone, “Come quickly! We need to sell these animals before anyone finds out.”

Rohan’s father quickly called the police. Within minutes, they were all racing back to the spooky house. The police surrounded the place, caught the thieves, and freed all the trapped animals—including Moti!

The police patted Rohan on the back and said, “You’re a very brave boy, Rohan. Because of you, many animals are safe today.”

Rohan hugged Moti tightly. His tail wagged like crazy, and his eyes sparkled with joy.

That evening, Rohan, his father, and Moti returned home—tired but happy. And Rohan never forgot to clean or oil his bicycle again. g