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： 国产成人免费高清视频 | 精品欧美一区二区三区在线观看 | 午夜精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 亚洲精品一区二区三区五区 | 亚洲国产精品久久卡一 | 欧美精品日日鲁夜夜添 | 久久亚洲人成国产精品 | 亚洲视频偷拍自拍 | 亚洲第一在线播放 | 男人都懂的网址在线看片 | 国产精品视频免费播放 | 国产精品黄网站免费进入 | 亚洲成人毛片 | 免费a级毛片大学生免费观看 | 九九爱精品 | 亚洲国产精品欧美日韩一区二区 | 亚洲国产激情一区二区三区 | 欧美一级精品高清在线观看 | 成人免费在线播放视频 | 日韩精品久久久毛片一区二区 | 我要看三级毛片 | 久久久久国产午夜 | 日韩a级毛片免费视频 | 亚洲国产成人久久一区二区三区 | 日韩欧美在线播放视频 | 亚洲人成网站色7799在线观看 | 黑人黄色毛片 | 91精品在线免费 | 国产一区二区三区免费在线视频 | 国产日韩精品欧美一区视频 | 在线中文字幕播放 | 视频在线观看一区 | 亚洲系列中文字幕一区二区 | 色综合久久综合 | 亚洲人成亚洲人成在线观看 | 免费观看呢日本天堂视频 | 国产精品久久久久影院 | 中国黄色一级毛片 | 久久国产夜色精品噜噜亚洲a | 亚洲精品久久九九热 | 欧美日韩国产一区三区 |