Defrosting forgotten tales

Winter walked into the jungle as stealthily as a tiny pair of feet climbing up the ladder for some forbidden cookies. All was quiet in the Griz household...well , almost. Little Miya crept noiselessly out of the cave, holding tightly to her coat and scarf. Her big eyes got even bigger as she looked at the winter wonderland all around her. The snow was thick and untouched as if someone had spread a brand new white blanket all over the grass. Miya gingerly touched the snow, afraid her paws would leave brown stains on the crispy white snow for all to see. The snow was cold to touch ; she put a handful in her mouth and shrieked with glee. A shiver ran down her spine and with one last look into the warm, dark cave she ran towards the Moonbeam lake, leaving tiny paw-prints in her wake.

Why was a bear cub prowling alone on a winter night? It all began on the last party of Fall, the one Mama Griz threw every year for her friends before her entire family went into hibernation. If there was one thing that Miya regretted, it was not having tasted snow. Ever. Being a bear cub and having your bedtime much before Fall came to a close did nothing to help either. Every Spring when Otto and Adhee talked about snow-ball fights and skating across Moonbeam lake, Miya just sat grumpily on her cushion. Even the picture of a tall Giraffe skating on his bum across a frozen lake wasn’t enough to make her smile.

But this Winter it would all change.

The moon shone brightly, lighting up the ice spectacle that was Moonbeam lake. Miya gaped at the frozen lake, spellbound at the many shiny icy crystals on the overhead tree branches. Just as she edged closer to the lake, a flash of red streaked past her. Miya stopped in her tracks clutching her scarf tightly. Was that Mama Griz who had come in search of her? Was it that pesky Adee and his buddy Otto, trying to scare her? She made a mental note to tell Aunty Gif how much a brat her son is, inspite of his cute giraffe looks.

"Hey! Are you here to skate too?"

The voice shook Miya from her reverie and she fell with a bump on the snow. There in front of her, all bundled up in red hat and coat was the coolest Penguin she has ever met. Well, ofcourse not having been outside in winter ever before Miya didn't know it was a penguin.

She stared at the stranger.

"Where are your skates? No problem, I have another pair. Want a hand?", the penguin asked, reaching out a hand to help Miya from the ground.

"what...er..who are you?", asked Miya having finally found her voice.

"Oh! Sorry to scare you like that. I am Pingu, a penguin. I live on the other side of Moonbeam lake. I always come here in winter to skate. My dad feels skating is not for penguins, but I love it. So I sneak in the dark to skate. And you?", said Pingu, all the time twirling on the frozen lake.

....to be continued


P.S: As the title suggests, this is a story I started last New Year and left lying in my Drafts for want of a better spark/time/moment. This year my resolution is to write more, preferably get published but write regularly. You can all see how that is going, since I get on the blog only now and that too with an incomplete story. But if I don't push, I will never fall off this couch of inertia so this is all you get.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!