Slowly, carefully, she tied one end of the vine around Bholu’s big toe while he was dozing. Then she tied the other end to a low branch of the mango tree.

Bholu looked at the fallen mangoes, then at the hungry little faces around him. His grumpy heart softened.

Bholu woke with a roar and jumped up to chase the imaginary thief. But as he leaped forward, his toe was yanked back by the vine. Thud! He fell flat on his furry belly.

Chikoo didn’t argue. Instead, she flew a short distance away, where she found a long, dry vine. She picked it up in her beak and flew back.