The Scared Boy Named Jaiteg

Once upon a time, in a small town surrounded by tall hills and thick forests, lived a boy named Jaiteg. He was kind, smart, and gentle—but he was also very scared of almost everything. He was scared of the dark, scared of loud noises, scared of heights, and even scared of speaking in front of people.

Because of this, Jaiteg often sat quietly in class, played alone during recess, and stayed close to his home. While other children laughed and ran around, Jaiteg would stay back, watching from a distance.

One evening, Jaiteg’s grandmother told him a story before bed.

“Do you know, Jaiteg,” she said gently, “there is a little light inside everyone’s heart. It’s called courage. It doesn’t mean you’re never scared—it means you try, even when you are.”

Jaiteg listened, but he wasn’t sure if he believed it.

The next day, something unexpected happened. A small kitten from the neighborhood got stuck on a tall tree near the school. It was crying and scared. Everyone gathered around, but no one knew what to do. The tree was too high, and the kitten was too frightened to climb down.

Jaiteg stood quietly at the back. His heart pounded. He was afraid of heights! But then he looked at the kitten’s tiny eyes and remembered his grandmother’s words:

“There is a little light inside everyone’s heart.”

Something began to glow inside him.

Slowly, nervously, Jaiteg stepped forward.

“I… I can try,” he whispered.

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Carefully, Jaiteg climbed the tree, holding on tightly. His legs trembled, and he wanted to stop—but he didn’t. He kept going, little by little, until he reached the kitten.

He picked it up gently and held it close. Then, step by step, he climbed down. When he reached the ground, the crowd burst into cheers. Jaiteg smiled—a real, proud smile—for the first time in a long while.

From that day on, Jaiteg still felt scared sometimes—but he didn’t let it stop him anymore. He raised his hand in class. He joined games with friends. And he even spoke on stage during the school assembly!

Everyone saw a new Jaiteg—the brave one. But deep inside, Jaiteg knew:

He had always been brave. He just needed to believe in his light.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vidhi Manchanda was born on 10th October 2017 in Mohali. She lives in Chandigarh. She is in class 2 in Vivek High School, Chandigarh. It is her 18th story and she is very excited. When she was writing this story, she was very happy.