Shatrughna's deep brown eyes sparkled with excitement. He clapped his hands and beamed. “How wonderful！ I love plays. One day I'll be Arjun in the Mahabharata.” And puffing out his chest， he shouted， “ Krishna the changeless， take my chariot， there where the warriors， bold for battle， face their enemy.”

　　The women giggled behind their saree pallus and the children screamed with laughter. Then they mimicked Shatrughna with glee， “ Krishna the changeless， take my chariot……！”

　　All of them loved the twelve-year-old orphan， who had come to live with his uncle some years ago. Everyone in the village of Kelabari liked the slender boy， who was always willing to give a helping hand and was ever ready for a laugh and little fun.

　　“All right， Shatrughna，” said Chitan Devi， the eldest of the women， still chuckling softly to herself. “we'll take you with us. We are leaving early in the evening.”

　　Shatrughna jumped about with excitement and then dashed down the village path towards his uncle's hut. Whistling and singing at the top of his voice， Shatrughna bathed. After changing into a fresh cotton shirt and shorts， he squatted down before his brass thali in the dark smoky kitchen and began wolfing down his food.

　　“Slowly， Shatrughna， son slowly.”

　　To eat slowly was difficult for Shatrughna and to eat his favourite peas and rice slowly was impossible. Finally he licked his lips and his fingertips and cried， “What a delicious meal， Aunt. I think I have eaten too much.”

　　“As usual”， smiled his aunt. “But today I will need all this food for we are going to see the Mahabharata in Bhata. We will be back in the morning. Chitan Devi is taking us.”

　　“That's all right， Shatrughna， but take care， and …… behave yourself.”

　　“ I will Aunt， I will，” said Shatrughna and added with a mischievous smile， “as usual”。 And out he went. His aunt shook her head with an affectionate smile， and sighed.

　　The sun was setting， when the group of four women and six children finally set out. Night crept over the barren plain dotted with bushes on both sides of the narrow road. A cold November wind nipped their noses.

　　“Winter is around the corner，” said Chitan Devi and the other women nodded， drawing their shawls tighter around their shoulders.

　　Shatrughna took little Nirmal's hand and whistled softly.

　　“Let's follow the railway track，” suggested Chitan Devi when they reached the railway line， which ran from Bhilai， “it's easier to cross the Phuljhar nullah that way.”

　　“ But is it safe？” asked Shatrughna.

　　“Safer than the road. No train comes at this time. Come on， let's hurry. We shouldn't be late.”

　　Shatrughna helped the women and children up on to the track.

　　Then holding Nirmal's hand firmly， he led the way. Night had fallen like a thick blanket. They had to feel rather than see their way. But once Shatrughna discovered the right length of stride to take， walking over the sleepers was easy.

　　“ Slowly， Ma， I can't run so fast，” He heard a boy cry from behind， and little Babli in Chintan Devi's arms started to whine.

　　“Shhh，” soothed Chitan Devi， “don't cry. We'll soon be there. Now， do you know the story of Shakuntala？”

　　“Yes”， teased Shatrughna ， “ quite well， I have heard it a hundred times.”

　　“All right，” began Chitan Devi unperturbed， “ here is Shakuntala's story for those who don't know it and for those who have heard it over thousand times”。

　　Shatrughna groaned in mock boredom， but he listened entranced， forgetting time and place as Chitan Devi brought to life the sorrows and joys of the king and Shakuntala.

　　All were silent except for Chitan Devi's voice. But suddenly Shatrughna paused. Wasn't there a slight tremor in the track？

　　With knitted brows he tried to pierce the darkness before him， then turned around. “ Shhh，” he said， “isn't there a train coming？”

　　“ A train， a train，” shrieked the children panicking.

　　“ Ah，” scolded Chitan Devi ， “ What nonsense！ At this time no train has ever passed this track and never will. Behave yourself， Shatrughna. Stop scaring the children， and don't interrupt me all the time. Now， where was I…… Ah， yes， Shakuntala wept……”

　　Shatrughna shrugged his shoulders. Maybe Chitan Devi was right. He too had never heard of a train coming down this track at 8 o'clock in the evening.

　　Shortly afterwards they reached they reached the narrow bridge running over the Phuljhar Nullah. A sudden gust of wind whistled and howled through the girders. It tugged at their hair and pinched their faces with cold fingers. “Stay close together，” shouted Chitan Devi， but the wind carried her words away. Little Nirmal shivered and held Shatrughna's hand tighter.

　　“ Hurry， hurry，” urged the women. Their feet pounded rhythmically， as Chitan Devi herded the small group over the bridge. In great haste they pushed forward with Shatrughna in the lead. They had reached the middle of the bridge， when suddenly another tremor ran through the rails.

　　“The bridge is shaking！” cried a woman.

　　“Ma， the bridge is breaking！” screamed a girl horrified.

　　“Nonsense！” shouted Chitan Devi against the wind. “It's the wind， the wind. Hurry， hurry.”

　　Shatrughna strained to hear. Wasn't that the sound of a train behind them， or was it right in front of them？ Once again his eyes tried to pierce the darkness but in vain. Another gust of wind whipped his face.

　　There， something was coming. Shatrughna could feel it in the air， something rushing on the wings of night. It was hurtling forward. A train， a train.

　　“Nirmal， Chitan Devi ， run run， everybody， run！”

　　But there was no time to run away. He could already feel the steaming engine in front of him

主站蜘蛛池模板： 欧美精品色精品一区二区三区 | 久久精品高清 | 成年人免费看视频 | 国产一区二区三区在线观看视频 | 欧美特级午夜一区二区三区 | 欧美hdvideosex4k | 国产成人黄网址在线视频 | 欧美精品国产制服第一页 | 久久精品人人爽人人爽快 | 久草在线中文视频 | 欧美成在线视频 | 伊人2233 | 黄色成人免费观看 | 日韩毛片欧美一级国产毛片 | 免费观看欧美精品成人毛片 | 国产亚洲毛片在线 | 中国a级黄色片 | 午夜mm131美女做爰视频 | 手机看片国产日韩 | 亚洲在线视频一区 | 国产成人久久精品二区三区牛 | 美女视频一区二区三区 | 精品三级视频 | 成人综合影院 | 免费播放欧美毛片欧美aaaaa | 一级一片一_级一片一 | 国产精品国产精品国产三级普 | 欧美三级三级三级爽爽爽 | 中国黄色网址大全 | 午夜毛片视频高清不卡免费 | 九九草在线观看 | 一区二区三区免费视频观看 | 日韩国产三级 | 久草在线观看首页 | 国产dvd毛片在线视频 | 日本午夜vr影院新入口 | 国内精品伊人久久 | 国产一区二区中文字幕 | 米奇精品一区二区三区 | 一级性毛片 | 国产欧美成人免费观看 |