Roy's Noisy Secret Author: Yamini Vijayan Illustrator: Anjali Kamat
2/16 It was on a windy afternoon that Roy tried on his Achamma’s anklets. No one else was at home, except Vasco the dog. The anklets had been tucked away in an old wooden box, deep inside Amma’s rattling cupboard. It smelled like a garden in there. It made Roy want to sneeze.
3/16 Roy knew that he should not have been in his parents’ room. And certainly not twirling in Achamma’s precious anklets. But he couldn’t help himself. Achamma never used to take o her anklets, not even when she slept. Ching, ching, ching! Roy ran towards the mirror. Ching-chiiiiing! He leapt into the air. CHING-CHING CHING-CHING-CHING
4/16 Roy threw a shawl around himself, and paced up and down the corridor. Just like Achamma used to when she had trouble sleeping. The doorbell rang just then. Who could it be? CHING-CHING, A-CHING-CHING-CHING.
5/16 “Open the door, Roy. I’m soaked!” Roy froze. Amma wasn’t meant to come back this soon! When Roy tried removing the anklets, only one came o . He quickly placed the anklet back in the rattling cupboard. Then he ran to the door with the other anklet still strapped on. AYYO!
6/16 “I forgot my umbrella,” Amma sighed. Roy walked beside her slowly, careful not to let out a single ching-ching. The last time he had sneaked into his parents’ room, he had accidentally broken a ower vase. “No more going into our room when we’re not around,” they had warned him. His heart beat wildly in his chest. Nobody could nd out what he had been up to.
7/16 Life with a secret anklet wasn’t easy. “Why can’t you wear shorts at home, Roy?” Achan said. “Pants don’t dry easily in this weather.” “The mosquitoes, Acha!”
8/16 At school, his friends looked at him curiously. “Ayye! Who wears socks in pouring rain?” Reshma laughed, jumping into a puddle. “These socks are from Russia,” Roy lied.
9/16 “Did you hear that noise?” Achachan asked, springing from his chair one evening. “What noise? I hear nothing!” Roy yelled. “A ching-ching,” Achachan whispered. “I hear frogs. But they don’t ching-ching.” Roy felt a tiny lump of sadness in his throat. He didn’t like lying to his grandfather.
10/16 After a whole week, Roy was tired of his noisy secret.The lies made him feel queasy. But if he told his parents the truth now, would he be in trouble? Amma’s temper was no joke. Achan didn’t like rules being broken. Roy used every imaginable trick to remove the anklet. But the annoying thing refused to leave his ankle!
11/16 That week, Roy overheard Amma tell Achan, “I can’t nd your mother’s anklets. Well, one anklet actually. I’ve looked everywhere!” “Is only one missing?” asked Achan. “That’s strange!” “Where, where, where could it have gone?” she cried. “I should’ve been more careful.” Amma sounded crushed. Roy had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
12/16 He took a deep breath and marched into their room. Vasco followed. “I’m sorry, Amma,” Roy muttered, lifting up his pants. “Roy! What are you even doing with this?” Achan asked in an unsteady voice. When Achan was angry, his ears turned red and his moustache quivered. Roy wished he could turn invisible just then. “I didn’t mean to… I know I shouldn’t have… I…”
13/16 “It...it’s all right, Roy,” said Amma. “But you should have asked one of us.” And then Amma twisted something — kudup, kudup — and the anklet just slipped o his leg. Just like that! “The next time, just ask, okay?” Amma said softly, taking Roy’s hands in hers.
14/16 That night, Roy thought of his Achamma. Her thunderous laughter, her soft hands with a million criss-crossing lines, the way she sat by the window — always gazing out. Would he ever stop missing her?
15/16 The next morning, Achan’s ears were no longer red. His moustache swayed, but only because he was humming as he trimmed Achachan’s nails. Roy pretended to be busy with homework. He hoped no one would talk about yesterday. And they didn’t. Haavoo! But it wasn’t easy to hide his grin as he listened to the ching-ching around the house. CHING CHING
16/16
This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories - provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The development of this book has been supported by Oracle. www.prathambooks.org Story Attribution: This story: Roy's Noisy Secret is written by Yamini Vijayan . © Pratham Books , 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Other Credits: 'Roy’s Noisy Secret’ has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. The development of this book has been supported by Oracle. www.prathambooks.org Images Attributions: Cover page: boy looking at a box and surprised with family around, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: child seated on the oor putting on jewellery , by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Boy dancing infront of the mirror, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Boy and her mother walking along a corridor, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Boy trying to untie an anklet around his leg, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Lady talking to a child, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: parents at the table and talking to a boy, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: three kids jumping onto a puddle, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Boy with his grandfather, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Boy trying to remove an anklet around his leg, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Boy peeping into a room, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.
This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories - provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The development of this book has been supported by Oracle. www.prathambooks.org Images Attributions: Page 12: Child wearing an anklet as parents watch, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: Mother and child, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: A boy in a room with his grandmother i, by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Boy studying while seated on the oor , by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Mother and child on a scooter , by Anjali Kamat © Pratham Books, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.
This is a Level 4 book for children who can read uently and with con dence. (English) Roy's Noisy Secret Nobody must nd out that Roy is wearing his grandmother’s tinkling anklet. But keeping a secret is harder than Roy imagined and he feels weighed down by guilt. How did Roy get himself into this mess and how will he nd a way out? Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of multilingual children's stories. Knitting together children, authors, illustrators and publishers. Folding in teachers, and translators. To create a rich fabric of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children of India and the world. Our unique online platform, StoryWeaver, is a playground where children, parents, teachers and librarians can get creative. Come, start weaving today, and help us get a book in every child's hand!