Seven

 

Having failed to fill enough air into Balloon, the children became grumpy and irritable. They argued with everyone, including their parents and their teachers. They left their food on the table and didn’t even complete their homework. They spoke rudely to the adults and quarrelled with their friends.

Seeing the children’s state, the village postman thought it would be a good idea to organise a picnic, and get the parents to join in the merriment of filling Balloon with air. He visited all the houses in the village and told them of his idea. ‘Think of it as a get-together. What have you got to lose?’ the postman said.

At first, the parents were not convinced. But once the children joined in with cries of ‘Please, Mummy! Please, Daddy!’ nothing more could be said. A picnic it was to be and so, all the wives sat together to decide who would cook what.

The children, however, had other plans and little fights started breaking out. ‘My father is stronger than yours,’ said one child, ‘and he’ll be able to fill Balloon in no time. You’ll see.’

‘Rubbish,’ said another child, ‘my father exercises every morning. You should see his muscles. He’ll fill Balloon with air before your father.’

The old man was not exactly pleased with the turn of events. ‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ he mumbled to himself. ‘What, I wonder, is going to happen now? I don’t think this is how it is going to work. After all, it is a girl child who will fill Balloon with air. This is going to be a big problem. No one likes girls to win!’

His wife smiled indulgently and said that it was all in good humour and that there was really no need to get unnecessarily worried.

Now, it so happened that the other balloons were getting quite annoyed at all the attention Balloon was getting. And since balloons could talk to one another, quite a conversation was going on.

‘What does she think of herself ?’ said Fatty, pointing contemptuously at Balloon.

‘She thinks she’s the best. Well, she can’t even fly!’ sniggered Banana Balloon.

‘Is she a balloon?’ asked Star Balloon in her normal highpitched voice, dripping with sarcasm.

While Balloon had indeed enjoyed all the attention in the beginning, especially from the children, what she really wanted to do now was to fly. She would spend the whole day gazing at the sky and sigh. Every time a child came and tried to fill her with air, she would pray, ‘Please, God! Please help this child so that I might fly.’

But in the end, the children all gave up, and Balloon lay limp and alone in the grass.

She listened to the jibes from all the other balloons and felt awfully sad. ‘I really can’t blame them,’ she told herself, ‘because it is true. I am not a balloon if I can’t even fly.’

The talk of the picnic was, however, exciting. Perhaps one of the parents would be able to fill her with enough air, Balloon told herself. Who knows, maybe she would finally be up there in the sky, where she had always wanted to be. Balloon, of course, didn’t know of the dream and the girl child.