Short Story: The Jungle Fever

By Prathamesh Shandilya

It was Saturday morning. John was very excited because he was going for a trip to the jungle with his friends, Jacob and Rohan. They had hired a tour guide for the trip. 

The trip began when their guide blew a whistle and everyone was on the lookout for a wild animal. The guide said that the animals would not attack. And so, first came zebra. They were drinking water near a pond. Then, an ostrich and many more animals and birds were spotted.

After a long journey, came the lion’s roar. Soon after, Jacob and Rohan saw a couple of tigers, and some peacocks in the range. The guide told us to rest. 

Suddenly a monkey came and took away John’s bag while he  was drinking water. John ran after it. But he was already tired. He walked all around but could not find the monkey. He got very far from his friends. He lost all hope.

He rested for a while under a tree and then saw a cobra. He got petrified and his heart started beating like a hammer. Fortunately, he could hear his guide speaking at a distance and thought he was dreaming. Soon, he could see Rohan and Jacob. He waved at them and finally met them. He realised that it was his ‘jungle fever.’