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One day, Meena and Mithu were returning home after coi lect ing f i rewood.i&wr'. ,r,*W

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They hacj to pass the vi l lage schooi on the way. Raju went to this school. Meenaand l \ , i i thu decided to stop at the school and see what was happening.

i \ leena and Miihu l iked the story so much that they l istened i i l l the very end.lVleena wished so much that she could go to school, too.

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i-';q,,'h en 1,",r "* *iJ,rt h 0 ni e,i i re iearnt at scncol .

Raju was pr"oudly ie i i ing ihe in fa ther about a l l the th inqs

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"You are needed at home to help Mother," said her father. "Gir ls only need tocook, clean and look after the house," added her mother. "You don't need to go toschool for that!"

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Poor Meena! That night she stood sadly at the window. The school building wasshining in the moonl ight. How she wished she could study!

The next morning, Meena watched sadly as Raju and hrs frrends v'rent to sehooi

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She remennbered her dream and sat down to think. Somehow, she rnrust nrake i tcome true. But how?

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Then Meena had a wonderful idea. She would send Mithu to school. And hewould come back and teach her everything he learnt there!

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Arid then he f lew back horne and tauqht hleena.".

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%That afternoon, when Meena and Mithu were busy, a thief came creeping up thewall . He stole one of the chickens and ran off .

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Meena was puzzled. She looked al l around, and that 's when she saw the thiefrunning away. "Thief, thief l" shouted Meena, as she and Mithu ran after him.

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Soon, ha l f the v i l lage had jo ined in the chase.

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" ' i f f i ' . *%.f f icn' l- l ief,

thief," squavoiked lVlithu irtto the tlrief's ear." l- i : -*

marr was so *qcareC that he fel l backward rnto the paddy f ieid.

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The vi l lage headman was very proud of Meena. Henoticed the thief and Meena explained that she hadfound one miss ing.

asked her how she hadcounted the chickens and

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The headman then congratulated Meena's parents for sending such a clever gir lto school. When Meena's parents said that Meena did not go to school, thevi l lagers were amazed. "Every chi ld should go to school," said the headman.

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r ! Y"Yes," said a neighbour, "my married daughter l ives far away, but she can wri te rneietters, because I sent her to school." " lV1y educated daughter runs her ownpoultry business," said an old woman proudly. " l went to school and can look aftermy baby better," added a shy, young mother.

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Fveryone was st i l i puzzleel about one thing. Who had taught lVleena to count?"A fr ien, l ," saiej Meena and giggled as Mithu announced proudiy, " f iy narne is s..4l thu!"

i Th* next day was Meena's f i rst clay at school. She was so happyShe haci caucl ' r t a chicken thief and nrade her drearn come true!

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Meena and Mithu say, "Every chi ld must go to school!"

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Solve this puzzle by placing the point of your pencil on dot number 1 and drawing a line todot number 2. Then draw another l ine to dot number 3 andso on, until you have connected all the dots. After you have done this, youmay use your crayons to color this surprise picture.

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Other titles in this series1. Dividing the Mango2 .3 .4.

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7.B.9.1 0 .1 1 .1 2 .

Will Meena Leave School?Who's Afraid of the Bully?Saving a LifeMeena's Three WishesSay No to DowryTooYoung to MarryTake Care of GirlsI Love SchoolIt's Got to Be a Boy!Meena in the CityA Girl's Story

Also Available" Meena Educational Package*Video cassettes* Radio Series

unicef @Resiondl Otlice for Soudr Ata

For details contact:UNICEF RegionalOffice for South AsiaP.O. Box 5815, Lekhnath MargKathmandu, Nepal.Tel:977-1- 417082Email: nshahzadi@unicef.org

rosa@unicef.orgwww.unicef.org Copyright @ 2002