The Gold Coins
by Aarushi, 4C

   Long ago, there lived a little girl named Andy, with her parents, who was nine years old, and had long, curly hair. She was tall, had big, black eyes and was always ready to go out somewhere, as she disliked the idea of staying at home.

     Andy lived in a village, with lush greenery and trees, surrounded with many houses near the Ganga river. She was also very lonely as she had no friends, because the village was small and not many families lived there. She always wished that she could have at least one good friend.

     One day, Andy was in her room playing when she heard her parents, who were in the other room, talking about going to a distant place in search of some treasure that they read of, in that day’s newspaper. If they were lucky in finding the treasure, then could have more food, move to a bigger village and Andy could also make friends with many children there. Andy was astonished when she heard of their conversation.

     In the night, she slowly went to the other room and found a map, which only showed the route from the village to the Ganga river. She was surprised as she discovered that the map did not show the entire route to the place, which her parents had talked about earlier. Then, Andy took the map, packed it in her bag, ready to go on a journey to the place, the next day.
     
     The next morning, Andy set off on her journey. Very soon, she came near a river, where she found a cup, in which was a map to the place that her parents were discussing about. She kept on walking following the directions given in the map.

     Suddenly, Andy fell down as she accidentally tripped over a stone in her way. Then a boy named Jackie, saw her and helped her to stand up. Jackie was eight years old and lived with his family, near the river and liked being lonely, most of the time. After a while, Andy thanked Jackie and asked him, “Would you like to come with me?” Jackie told, “Of course!” Then, they both set off together.

     Later, they saw a waterfall near to which there was a small, dark cave. Andy immediately recollected the cave as the place that her parents were talking about, in order to find the treasure that was hidden there. Then, Andy and Jackie went inside the cave and to their surprise, they found a chest of gold coins there.

     Andy came to know that Jackie was poor too and that he needed a proper place to stay. So she decided to divide the treasure equally between Jackie and herself. Once the treasure was distributed among the two children, Andy started on her journey back to her parents.
     
     When she reached home, her parents were very glad to see her come back and that too with the gold coins. After a few days, they moved to a bigger village, where Andy saw a boy and instantly recognised him as Jackie. She was very happy on seeing Jackie with proper food to eat as well a house to stay in.

     Andy was so delighted at this sight that she felt like getting tears of joy. They both played every day and stayed as best friends for ever.

Author’s Details:
Aarushi studies in Grade 4C, Manthan School, Tellapur. Her hobbies include dancing and singing. Her favourite colours are pink and sky blue. She aspires of becoming an actor or a doctor when she grows up.