Once upon a time, there were four girls: Jaanvi, Manvi, Aarna, and Eva. They were very good friends and used to meet every day to play together. They were almost like sisters!

One day, while playing hide and seek, Aarna was the seeker, and the other girls had to hide. Aarna counted to 100, and the seeking began. As she was looking for her friends, she stumbled upon something. She picked it up and found a magic lamp, exactly like the one in the movie Aladdin. Aarna looked at the lamp and found it very beautiful. She decided to call the others and show it to them.

Aarna shouted, “Guys, leave the game and look what I found!” The other three girls came out of their hiding spots and ran toward Aarna to see what was in her hand. As soon as they saw the lamp, they all exclaimed in unison, “Aarna! What is this?”

Aarna replied, “I stumbled upon this lamp. Isn’t it just like the one in Aladdin?”

Eva looked at the lamp and then at Aarna. “Aarna, I think you should put the lamp back. What if it belongs to someone who lost it?”

Manvi agreed, saying, “Yes, Aarna. And what if the owners come back looking for it? I think you should listen to Eva.”

Aarna shook her head and said, “Look, Eva and Manvi, finders keepers. I found this lamp, which means I will keep it.”

Manvi and Eva shook their heads. Manvi then said to her older sister Jaanvi, who had been watching the discussion, “Jaanvi Didi, aren’t you going to say something to Aarna? Look at her being so stubborn.”

Jaanvi said, “Aarna, I think you should really put the lamp back. It’s not yours to keep.”

Aarna nodded sadly and placed the lamp back on a nearby bench. After half an hour, it was time for everyone to go home. The girls waved each other goodbye and went back to their houses. But Aarna had other plans. Once everyone had left, Aarna returned, took the lamp, and ran home as fast as she could before anyone could see her.

As soon as she got home, she hid the lamp in her school bag and waited until her parents fell asleep. After a few hours, when everyone was asleep, Aarna turned on a nightlight and took the lamp out of her bag. Admiring it, she felt a thrill holding it. As she examined the lamp, she noticed a speck of dirt and began rubbing it off. Suddenly, the lamp lifted from her hands, and she felt a powerful pull. Before she could react or scream, she was pulled inside the lamp, leaving no trace of her except the lamp.

Moral of the story: Respect others’ belongings, or you may face unexpected consequences.

Written By: Laksha Ahuja, 14 years old from Jaipur