Little Krishna at Play

Little Krishna was growing up, and mother Yashoda and father Nanda were happy with Him every day. The neighbour gopis loved Him like their own son and often came to visit — to play with the little one. “Look at this lovely boy! What a delight!” they would say.

One day a gopi brought Krishna a present. “Look what I have for You!” It was a wooden cow on wheels. Krishna clapped His hands: “May I roll it?”

“Catch it! Whooosh!” — and the little cow rolled straight to Him. Krishna laughed, caught it and pushed it back. “Whooosh! Off it goes to you! What a toy!”

“Let us play hide-and-seek!” said the gopi. “One, two, three, four, five — I am coming to look for You!” Krishna hid behind His mother’s skirt and giggled quietly: “Hee-hee-hee!”

“Ah, there You are!” laughed the gopi. “Next time hide better!” “Again, again, again!” begged Krishna.

This time Krishna ran further away and hid behind a tree. The gopi looked everywhere. “He is not here, and He is not there… Ah, there You are! I could hardly find You!”

“What a clever boy! And He must be strong as well. Krishna, bring me that basket over there!” Krishna ran, threw His arms around the basket and dragged it along in front of Him. “Oooof! Aaaah!” He puffed — but He brought it.

“And now bring me the little stool, I shall fall over laughing!” Krishna brought the stool too, and then patted His own arms: look how strong I am! “What strength there is in Your arms!” the gopi marvelled.

Then Krishna ran to the butter pots, to help His mother. He walked around the pot, and squatted down, and pushed it with His foot. It would not move! “Oof! It does not work,” the little one sighed, looked at the gopi and burst out laughing Himself.

And then He lifted His arms and began to run in circles around the gopi. “This boy runs like lightning!” “My head is spinning!” “I hope His own head does not start spinning!” said Yashoda.

And then Krishna tripped and fell. “Mother!” He cried, and rubbed His eyes with His little fists. Yashoda swept her son up into her arms. “Come to me, I will make it better.”

Evening came, and a round moon rose in the sky. Krishna pointed at it with His finger. “Mother, I want that lollipop!” “My son, that is the moon, You cannot reach it!” “But I want it! I want it, I want it, I want it!”

“If we take the moon away it will be dark, and the animals in the forest will not find their way home,” the gopis coaxed Him. So His mother gave Krishna a little piece of butter. “Mmm, how tasty!” said Krishna, and patted His tummy.

“Dance for us, and You shall have a whole sweet!” At first Krishna was shy, but when the gopis began to sing and clap, He could not hold back and danced, moving His little arms and legs so funnily. “Like this! Like that! What a good boy!”

The gopis gave Krishna not one sweet but a whole basket of them. Krishna stuffed the sweets into both cheeks at once and beamed: “Sho tashty! Mother, let your friendsh come tomorrow too!”

Then His big brother Balarama came in. “So You ate all the sweets without Me? Then I shall take Your golden coins!” “Do not take them, they are Mine!” Krishna squeezed the coins in His fist and ran off, and Balarama ran after Him, laughing. And so the days passed in Gokula — in laughter, running about and love.