A Cloud of Trash: Learn English (US) with subtitles - Story for Children and Adults "BookBox.com"

A cloud of trash is hanging over Cheekoo’s head, making her the unhappiest girl in the world. Read this wonderful story to find out how Cheekoo gets rid of this horrible trash cloud.
A Cloud of Trash
Cheekoo was the unhappiest girl
among her friends.
She was certainly the unhappiest girl
in her entire class.
She was perhaps
the unhappiest girl in the world.
Friends?
Cheekoo had no friends anymore.
No one wanted to play with Cheekoo.
Because she had a
cloud hanging over her head.
A cloud of TRASH.
Orange peels and biscuit packets,
Broken toys and pencil shavings,
Twisted plastic bottles and
colorful plastic bags,
All surrounded by a swarm
of buzzing flies.
No one wanted to play with a girl
who had a cloud of trash
hanging over her.
What if a rotten banana peel
fell on your head?
YUCK!
Cheekoo couldn’t even play
hide-and-seek anymore.
The cloud would always give her away.
“Let’s walk to school together,”
she said to Sona.
Sona ran off in the opposite direction.
“May I borrow your pencil sharpener?”
she asked Sweety.
Sweety made a face
and changed her seat
to go sit with Asha.
Cheekoo even had to eat her lunch alone.
Cheekoo knew she should have listened
to her Amma.
Amma always told her not to litter.
“Don’t throw the banana peel
on the road!”
“Throw the empty biscuit packet
in the dustbin.”
But Cheekoo never listened.
She only laughed and kept littering.
Then one day,
Amma became very angry.
“Soon, all this trash
will start following you!” she said.
Cheekoo just laughed.
The next morning,
Cheekoo woke up to a foul smell
and the sound of buzzing flies.
The cloud of trash
was hanging over her head.
Amma’s words had come true!
And then,
Cheekoo was unable to laugh.
Cheekoo tried to run away.
But the trash cloud
followed her everywhere.
Cheekoo took a broom
to sweep the cloud down.
But the trash could not be swept away.
Cheekoo tried EVERYTHING.
She screamed and asked the cloud
to leave her alone.
She even tried throwing the cloud
into the dustbin.
But the cloud of trash just wouldn’t go.
So Cheekoo became very unhappy.
Then something happened!
Cheekoo saw Bala
throwing a banana peel on the road.
Cheekoo was annoyed.
Could he not see the cloud
over her head?
“Oye silly boy!” she yelled.
“Don’t throw the peel on the road.
Someone will slip!”
Bala, scared of the trash cloud,
threw the peel in the dustbin.
The next day,
the trash cloud had become smaller!
“How did that happen?”
Cheekoo wondered.
Then, Cheekoo saw Reema Aunty
throwing away plastic bags.
“Aunty!” Cheekoo said.
“Please pick up these bags
and reuse them.”
Reema Aunty picked up the bags
and left.
The next day when Cheekoo woke up,
the cloud was much smaller.
Cheekoo smiled.
She knew what she had to do.
When someone threw away
a biscuit packet
or pencil shavings,
Cheekoo stopped them.
She picked up
every twisted plastic bottle
and put it in the dustbin.
The village became cleaner and cleaner.
And Cheekoo’s cloud became smaller
and smaller.
Until one day, it was gone.
COMPLETELY gone.
Cheekoo was now perhaps
the happiest girl in the world.
Cheekoo never littered again.
Secretly,
she liked living in a clean village.
But she was also scared
that the trash cloud would come back,
some day.
Who knew!
Story: Karanjeet Kaur
Illustrations: Bhavana Vyas Vipparthi
Narration: Anu Anand
Music: Rajesh Gilbert
Animation: BookBox
This story has been provided for free under the CC-BY license by Pratham Books, which is a not-for-profit children's books publisher with a mission to see "A book in every child's hand". Visit and ... to know more. Artwork has been adapted from the original book while the animation, music and narration have all been done by BookBox. This story artwork is originally illustrated by Bhavana Vyas Vipparthi.
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