Ruchi's jar.

Ruchi is a smart, seven years old 2nd grader, studying in Rainwood High. She is a bit of an explorer and loves observing her surroundings. Her home is only a few blocks away from her school. So she gets to walk to and fro. And this gives her an ample opportunity to do what she likes the best-exploring! 

A beautiful stream runs all the way from her school to her home and past it. This stream makes a pleasant gurgling sound as it gently flows. On either side of the stream, there are small shrubs and pebbles that add to the serene beauty of the stream. 

On her way to school, Ruchi is usually in a hurry. So she rushes past it, without much thought. On the way back though, she takes it easy. She will deliberately walk back slowly. Its her time to unwind and explore. With her eyes rummaging the banks of the stream, Ruchi intently looks for shiny stones. She collects beautiful pebbles and by now has a sizeable collection of them, her favourite one being a purplish pebble with light pink streaks in it. When she goes home with her hands full of pretty pebbles, her first task is to call her mom to show her the haul. Mom comes, kneels in front of her, closes her eyes and smilingly stretches her hand as Ruchi pours her treasure in Mom's outstretched hand. Then her mom would excitedly wash the pebbles, dry them with a tissue and put them in a jar- Ruchi's gems jar. 

Ruchi's father is a loving and caring dad. But he finds this exploration of Ruchi pointless. He would gently admonish her to hurry back home and rather spend her time doing worksheets. You see, Ruchi is not so great in languages. So her Dad wants her to spend time solving languages-worksheet. He feels nothing is hard when you keep working at it steadily and practise enough.

One evening, as Ruchi was reading her story books, sitting in her bed after dinner, she overheard her parents talking. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, yet she could not help it. She heard her Mom's distressed voice, narrating how she lost her diamond ring. She said she had no knowledge when it slipped off her finger. Could it be when she was returning from the market? she was not sure. Dad sounded visibly upset too. He told her she should have been more careful. What else was there to say now? Ruchi felt sad for her parents.

Next day afternoon, as Ruchi was returning from her school, her eyes were again rumaging the banks of the stream excitedly. She had found a particularly attractive parrot-green stone and was looking for some more. Just then Her eyes spotted a beautiful pebble, the like of which she had never seen before. It shined brightly in the setting Sun. As Ruchi picked it up, her heart skipped a beat. It was not just a stone. It was attached to a golden ring! In an instant, Ruchi realised its her Mom's lost ring. 

Ruchi could not contain her joy and excitement. She ran home and called her Mom. Her Mom came, knelt in front of her and smilingly stretched her hand. As Ruch dropped The gem, her mother's eyes widened and so did her smile. Her mom excitedly called her Dad to show him the lost diamond ring. Dad was happy beyond words. When he came to know where Ruchi had found it, He picked Ruchi up, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and told her to find as many gem stones as she wants near the stream.

So now our explorer Ruchi has full permission of her Dad to carry out her mission. She could not have been more happier.