The Goat Who Ate the Homework

Bittu did not like homework. Luckily, Bittu had a goat. Her name was Laali, and she was very useful.

"Ma'am, my goat ate my homework," Bittu said on Monday. The class laughed, and the teacher sighed.

On Tuesday it was his spelling list. "Laali again, ma'am." On Wednesday, his maths. The teacher wrote a note to his mother.

The truth was that Laali had never eaten a single page. She liked pumpkin peels. Bittu simply had not done the work.

On Thursday evening his mother sat next to him until every sum was finished. Bittu worked for a whole hour. He drew margins. He underlined the answers twice. It was, he thought, the most beautiful homework in the history of Class 4.

He left it on the cot in the courtyard and went in for dinner.

When he came out, Laali was standing by the cot, chewing thoughtfully. From her mouth hung half a page. On it Bittu could read, underlined twice, "= 56".

On Friday morning Bittu stood in front of the teacher's desk.

"Ma'am," he said, "you will not believe this."

"No," said the teacher. "I will not."

"But this time it is true!"

The whole class roared. Bittu had to do the sums again in the lunch break. He got them all right, which nobody could deny.

That evening he gave Laali a long, serious look. Laali gave him a longer one, and burped.

From then on Bittu did his homework at the table and kept it in his bag. And he never blamed Laali again, not even for the things she really did.