In the small town of Hubli, lived two friends, Ramesh and Suresh. They were neighbors, classmates, and partners in all sorts of mischief. While Ramesh was clever and quick-witted, Suresh was simple-minded and always hungry.

One hot summer afternoon, the boys were sitting under the big neem tree near their homes. The air smelled of ripe mangoes. Suresh licked his lips and said,
“Ramesh, if I don’t eat a mango today, I will faint!”

Ramesh chuckled. “Don’t worry. Let’s go to old Gowda uncle’s orchard. The trees are full. We’ll quietly pluck a few and run.”

So, off they went, tiptoeing into the orchard. The mangoes looked golden, hanging like little suns. Ramesh climbed the tree nimbly, while Suresh waited below with a sack.

Just as Ramesh plucked the first mango, Gowda uncle’s loud voice thundered,
“Who is there? Thieves!”

In a hurry, Ramesh threw the mango down. It landed right on Suresh’s head! Suresh yelped, but instead of running, he sat down and started eating it.

“Arrey, run, fool!” cried Ramesh from the tree.

With his mouth full, Suresh mumbled, “I can’t waste such a sweet mango.”

Gowda uncle came running with a stick. Ramesh jumped down, both of them dashed out, but poor Suresh still carried mango juice dripping down his shirt.

Later, Gowda uncle arrived at their homes, angry.
“These boys steal my mangoes! They should be punished.”

Ramesh and Suresh’s mothers scolded them. Ramesh, quick as ever, said,
“Uncle, we only tasted one mango. It was so sweet that we wanted to tell everyone about your orchard. Isn’t that good for your business?”

Gowda uncle’s frown softened. He was secretly proud of his mangoes. He sighed and said,
“Alright. But next time, ask me. I will give you both as many as you want. On one condition—no stealing.”

Suresh whispered to Ramesh, “See? If I hadn’t eaten it on the spot, we would never have got free mangoes!”

Sometimes mistakes, when faced with honesty (and a bit of wit), can turn into sweet lessons—just like mangoes in summer.