The Story of a Book📔

"Discover the mystery behind the book with different endings at Janakpur’s Book Fair. Can four friends uncover the secret behind the strange books? A thrilling tale of curiosity and adventure."

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Janakpur was a quiet village nestled amidst the greenery. The homes were neatly placed, as if arranged by a meticulous collector. Despite occasional squabbles, the villagers were loyal, loving, and protective of one another. Tranquility spread through the village—muddy roads, cool breezes, a Peepal Tree, and the constant hum of activity.

The village field, lit by the distant sun, was where people gathered at dawn. The men bathed and prepared for work, their bodies roughened by the sun. The women stayed at home, and the children played from dawn to dusk. Among them were Amar, Navneet, Sharad, and Chhotu—four best friends who spent the day together. Amar was fair-skinned, Navneet was the tallest, Sharad was witty, and Chhotu, as his name suggested, was the shortest.

Basking in the sun, the four boys wouldn’t move unless their mothers came chasing after them with rolling pins. The mothers would drag them by their ears, and this was the daily routine—eat, sleep, and repeat.

One day, the village drum was beaten at the top of the hill. Women, men in kurtas, and old men rushed to hear the news. The crier shouted that the village was organizing its first-ever Book Fair. The news was met with joy, smiles, and a cheerful rumble. The children were excited, and the mothers were even happier—this meant their children would be occupied, leaving no time for mischief. The Book Fair was set to take place in two days.

That night, a truck came rushing into the village and parked under the Peepal Tree. The driver slept soundly after unloading the goods.

On Wednesday, the sun shone brightly as the Book Fair was set up. The event stretched across the village field. By 10 a.m., people began visiting, creating a buzz throughout the village. The four best friends joined in, eagerly exploring the rows of books. In the center, there was a glass display showcasing small books—the most coveted ones, with only 50 copies in stock. The book was titled "Cell Phone Mystery," written in shining Hindi letters.

The boys were lucky enough to get one each. They couldn’t believe their luck, especially since the bookseller had allowed them to pick first. They rushed home, read the book, and finished it by nightfall. All four of them were satisfied with the book's ending. But they didn’t realize something was amiss.

The next day, the best friends gathered in the field, basking in the sun.

“Hey, the book was nice. What an ending!” said Amar.

“Yeah, it was his little brother who played some mischief on the guy,” said Chhotu.

“No! The cell phone had a virus,” said Amar.

“But I have a different ending!” Navneet added.

“And I got a different ending too!” Sharad chimed in.

Confused, they went to the Book Fair to investigate. They asked the bookseller where the books had come from. The seller revealed that the books had been delivered by a truck early that morning, and the truck was parked under the Peepal Tree. The boys thought back to the truck and realized something was off.

The children hurried to the Peepal Tree. They searched for clues but tripped over each other. After some time, they found a man sleeping nearby. To their surprise, he was the driver of the truck. But if he was the driver, who had unloaded the books?

They went back to the bookseller and asked more questions. “Can you remember who unloaded the truck? What did he look like? What did he do with the books?”

After much discussion, they set off to find the mysterious man. It wasn’t easy—amongst the bustling crowd, finding one person seemed impossible. After five hours, they finally spotted him. He was tall, lean, with a wavy mustache and a grin on his chin.

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The Mystery Unveiled

They brought him to the Book Fair and interrogated him. The man hesitated but eventually admitted the truth. He had changed the endings of the books.

“I knew those books were boring,” he confessed. “I’m a writer, and I couldn’t stand the idea of children reading them. So, I decided to swap the endings. But I didn’t want to change the format of the book. I tore off the alternative endings and kept just one in each book. That’s why all the books had different endings.”

The man’s intention was clear—he did it for the children, so they could enjoy reading something exciting instead of boring stories.

The man was forgiven, and he promised to send more books to the village children every month. Over time, the children started loving the new Game Books. They would each choose different endings and discuss them with one another. The village began to change. The children who once lazed around in the sun were now always seen reading. Families were happy, and soon, schools opened. The village began to progress.

Every night, the sweeper came to the field to clean, and he often found a torn piece of paper from one of the books. He would take it home and give it to his son, who would arrange the pieces in sequence and create new endings. No one knew who the sweeper’s son was, but it’s possible that he was the one who invented the Game Books.