From the author's desk
When I was writing the story about Mini falling in love with books, I knew that the books she liked would not be the usual adventure ones. Mini is an unusual and very special girl, and so the books she likes would need to be special too. And that’s how I came up with the idea of monsters with big stomachs and large voices. I knew that these monsters were fond of eating and loved noisy food items. But just like you all, I too was eager to know more about them.
What kinds of games did they play? Did they have friends? And what about school? How did they deal with that? That’s why I sat down and wrote a story about the smallest Big Little Monster, Gollum. And because the Big Little Monsters love food so much, I wrote a story about the food they eat. And just like Mini, I too was curious about this food. How could I make the Big Little Monster food in my own kitchen? So, I added a recipe to make Gollum’s favourite Dotted-Spotted-Round-Rounds.
I hope you enjoy the story. If you try out the recipe, do write and let me know what it tasted like. And like Mini, I hope the books you read will introduce you to many new books.
Happy reading!
BIG LITTLE MONSTERS - HOW GOLLUM WENT TO SCHOOL
For as long as he could remember, Gollum had wanted to go to school. But he was the smallest of the Big Little Monsters. And so, he had to wait till he was old enough to start school.
Gollum had heard many things about school from his sister Tallbis and his brother Middleum. They told him about the classes and all the new things they learnt there. They described the games they played and the fun they had in lunch time. But the stories Gollum liked the best were about the friends his sister and brother had at school. Gollum was the youngest Big Little Monster and so, he had no friends.
‘Soon,’ Momali told him, ‘you’ll go to school.’
‘And then,’ Daddum smiled, ‘you’ll have friends of your own too!’
That was why Gollum was excited about going to school. But he was scared too. This was because his school was not a Big Little Monster school, but one where children of all kinds came.
Everyone said he would be fine. Gollum hoped so. On the first day of school, he waved goodbye and set off.
‘Remember,’ Momali called, ‘behave yourself!’ Gollum nodded. Momali had told him that if he wanted to make friends, he should be kind and generous. Gollum was waiting to be kind. He was eager to be generous. But Momali had also said, ‘The other children are not used to our Big Little Monster voices. So, Gollum, remember to speak softly!’
On the way to school Gollum met many other children. They all looked at Gollum and Gollum looked at them. They thought that Gollum looked strange, with his big stomach. Gollum felt sorry for them because they had such small stomachs.
‘What is your name?’ the teacher asked. Gollum remembered what Momali had said about his voice. So, he said as softly as he could, ‘Gollum!’ The other children shouted in surprise. Some of them clapped their hands to their ears. Even Gollum’s softest voice was too loud for them. It made the windows rattle. It made the floor shake.
After that Gollum said nothing at all. He didn’t answer the questions the teacher asked. He didn’t talk to the other children. Instead, he sat alone at his desk and said nothing at all. It was a very sad time for him. He remembered the lunch Momali had packed for him. She had made his favourite Dotted-Spotted-Round-Rounds and Gollum smiled at the thought of eating them. Then he remembered that when Big Little Monsters ate, they crunched and munched, they chomped and chewed noisily. What if he frightened his classmates again?
So, Gollum decided not to eat his lunch. When lunch time came, the classroom filled with the most delicious smells. Gollum’s stomach growled hungrily but he folded his arms neatly on his desk and sat still. No one seemed to notice that he wasn’t eating. That was because they all had friends to talk to. Then Gollum saw that someone was staring at him. It was a girl, sitting alone.
Gollum ate his round-rounds as he walked home. They were delicious and he had a grand time chomping and chewing loudly. He didn’t have to worry about scaring his classmates. He was so busy eating that Gollum did not notice the girl who was following him.
The next day the classroom was full of happy voices as everyone talked to their new friends. Only Gollum said nothing at all. Today Momali had packed Sweet Sour Snaps and Gollum was thinking of them. When it was lunch time, Gollum got ready to fold his hands on the table and sit still.
‘Why aren’t you eating?’ someone asked. It was the girl who had been staring at him yesterday. Gollum shook his head.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s eat together!’ Gollum shook his head, horrified.
‘You will enjoy it,’ she said. ‘It’s a special lunch today!’
Gollum wondered what made it special. Everything seemed just like it had been yesterday. The other children pulled out their lunch boxes and opened them. And then, the noise began.
It was the biggest, loudest noise Gollum had ever heard. It was the noise of many children chomping and chewing, crunching, and munching. It was louder than the noise Gollum’s family made when they ate dinner.
‘It’s a competition,’ the girl shouted over the noise. ‘A competition to find the noisiest eater in the class!’
Gollum was astonished. He had not known that schools had competitions like these. Neither Tallbis nor Middleum had ever spoken about it. By now it was too noisy for Gollum to even think. The room was full of loud gurgles as people drank water, watery slurping as they sucked on slices of watermelon and sudden cracks and snaps as they bit into big lollipops. And now Gollum could not sit still any longer. He pulled out his lunch box. It was full of crisp Sweet and Sour Snaps. Gollum pulled out the longest one and bit into it. It crackled and crunched in his mouth. But no one heard because they were all making so much noise themselves.
‘Wow!’ the girl said admiringly. ‘You are a wonderfully noisy eater!’
Gollum grinned at her.
‘But I bet I am louder,’ she said and bit into a long carrot stick. It snapped in her mouth and she crunched it.
‘Watch me,’ Gollum said. He was so excited that he didn’t bother to speak softly. The floor shook and things rattled. But no one paid attention. He pushed four long Sweet and Sour Snaps into his mouth and bit into them. A massive crumpching and crackling broke out. Gollum swallowed with a huge gulp and said, ‘I am louder!’
‘And I am Ruta,’ the girl said.
And that was how Gollum found a friend.
Dotted-Spotted-Round-Rounds
Hers how you can try out Gollum’s favourite dish! What you will need to make Dotted- Spotted- Round-Rounds
1 cup of wheat flour
Two sweet potatoes, boiled.
1 cup powdered sugar
A pinch of salt
Oil to fry
Water
An adult who is willing to help!
What to do
Peel the boiled sweet potatoes. (This is a sticky business, so it is better left to the grown-up with you!)
Then mash them. (Mashing things is a lot of fun!) Make sure that there are no lumps. You can add some powdered sugar to the mashed sweet potatoes. (How do you know if the sweet potatoes are sweet enough? By tasting them, of course!)
Divide the mashed sweet potatoes into six balls and set aside. (Not too far aside, though. Or you are likely to forget them.)
Now, add a pinch of salt to the wheat flour.
Pour in the water carefully and mix well to make a soft dough. (This is a very sticky business and should most certainly be left to the grown-up who has offered to help you.)
Divide the dough into two large balls.
Dust one ball well and then roll it out into a large roti. (Rolling rotis can be fun and should be tried by everyone!)
Take one of the sweet potato balls. Roll it between your hands till you get a long, narrow rope. Place this on one end of the roti.
Roll the roti over it, till the sweet potatoes are completely hidden.
Now lay the next sweet potato roll on the roti. Roll the roti till the sweet potatoes are covered. Repeat this with the third rope of sweet potatoes.
Do the same for the other ball of dough and the sweet potato mixture.
You will now have two large rolls. Tuck in the ends and make sure they are sealed well. With a sharp knife, cut the rolls into pieces that are around one inch thick.
Take one of the pieces and dust it with flour. Press it gently and then roll it into a large puri.
Now, fry this in hot oil. You can also put this on a hot tava, and add ghee to fry it gently.
Your Dotted-Spotted- Round-Rounds are ready! Gollum likes to eat them with lots of powdered sugar. How do you like them?
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