Ammu does not have a puppy. But she tells her friends that she does! She tells them so much about Shankar that her friends want to come home and meet him. Now, what will Ammu do? Ammu's Puppy Ammu did not have a puppy, but she told everyone in school that she did. "My puppy’s name is Shankar," she told Venu. "Shankar eats bananas," she told Abdul. "Shankar is black," she said to Kumari. "Shankar plays ball with me," she told Unni. So Venu, Abdul, Kumari, and Unni asked Ammu if they could go to see Shankar. Ammu simply shook her head. "You can’t," she said. "Why?" they asked. "Because Shankar is scared of crowds," Ammu replied. "Then we’ll play with him one by one," said Kumari. "You can’t," Ammu told her. "Why?" asked Unni. "Because we’re going out today," said Ammu. "Then we’ll come tomorrow," said Abdul. "We’ll bring bananas for him," said Venu. "We’ll play with him one by one," said Kumari. Finally Ammu gave in. "Okay," she said because she didn’t know what else to say. That evening, Ammu asked her father if he would buy a puppy for her. "We’ll see," he said. "But it’s urgent," said Ammu. Her father just laughed. Ammu didn’t eat dinner that night. She felt sick. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow. In the morning, her mother said, "You look ill." She touched Ammu’s forehead. “A fever!” She exclaimed, “Stay at home today.” So Ammu skipped school. She lay in bed all day. She didn’t smile at all. All she ate was a slice of bread. In the evening, Venu, Abdul, Kumari, and Unni came home. "Why didn’t you come to school today?" asked Unni. "I am sick," said Ammu. “We saw Shankar,” said Abdul. “Where?” asked Ammu. “In the garden,” said Kumari. "He didn’t want to play ball," said Abdul. Suddenly, Ammu got up from bed. She ran outside. It was true. There was a puppy in her garden. Shankar! "But he’s not black," said Venu. "He’s brown." "Oh," said Ammu, "I made that up!" "He’s not afraid of crowds," said Abdul. "Oh," said Ammu, "I made that up too!" "He doesn’t like playing ball," said Unni. "Oh," said Ammu, "I made that up also!" "But he does love bananas," said Kumari. "I told you, didn’t I?" said Ammu happily, with a smile on her face. Story: Sowmya Rajendran Illustrations: Kallol Majumder Music: Arnab B. Chowdhury Narration: Bernadette Joseph, Tara Kothari & Akash Kothari Animation: BookBox FREE Apps for iPads & iPhones: http://www.bookbox.com/ios FREE Apps for Android phones & tablets: http://www.bookbox.com/android Many more stories, languages & multiple subtitle options: http://www.bookbox.com