Chapter 8 : Entertain Me

Mango reached a foot tapping Shahrukh. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. He was awake after his two hour nap and now she had to find away to entertain him. The only problem was that she was not sure what he would like to do. He didn't really reveal much about himself except for the fact that he didn't really get to decide what he did in his free time. She shrugged and decided to wing it. After all, if he got bored she was sure he would tell her.

"So, Shahrukh, what do you want to do?" Mango asked.

"I am getting bored, entertain me." The mongoose said with a scowl.

"Kind of where I was going with my question, but ok." Mango muttered. Then she began to talk louder. "So I guess I'll just think about what to do, since no one around here seems to have any ideas." Mango hinted at Shahrukh being less than helpful.

Shahrukh, not getting the hint, just sat down and stared at Mango. Waiting to be entertained. Mango sighed and searched her mind for something to do to entertain him. Then she had a great idea. She would tell Shahrukh a story. He was an actor so she figured he must appreciate a good story. Everyone did, stories took you places you could not go. Helped you sort throughout problems you couldn't sort through alone. Maybe even opened up your eyes to a few truths. Mango nodded her head. She prepared to tell a story.

"In a far off land there was a mongoose. He was the jewel of his kingdom. He had money and riches and fame, and everybody thought he was something special." Mango began.

Shahrukh paid little attention to the story. It sounded like his life so far and he knew how great his life was. Still, he had nothing better to do and decided to stay where he was and at least act like he was interested. He was doing it because he didn't want to move, not to make Mango happy.

"He performed for them on a great stage every day, receiving gifts and luxury. But once the curtains closed he was dragged off to other smaller stages, doing the same thing over and over again. At the end of every day he slept in his giant bed, awaiting the morning when it would all begin again." Mango continued. "He never gave this any thought until one day. He was walking to the next stage when he saw a Mango tree. He was hungry and wanted a fruit badly. He stomped his foot and demanded that the Mangos fall. But they would not obey. He yelled and bragged and pouted, but no fruit would fall."

Shahrukh leaned forward slightly. He was surprised that the superstar mongoose could not get a simple Mango. He had assumed that he could get anything he wanted, but a simple tree was defying him. Shahrukh fought the urge to huff. If the Mangos would not fall the mongoose should just deal with it and go get some other fruit. That tree was not going to bend just because he ordered it too. He wasn't that special.

Mango saw Shahrukh lean forward. She grinned and continued the story. "The mongoose did not know what to do. The Mangos would not listen. Frustrated, he walked away into a village instead of the stage. The village was named Littlest Peasant Sanctuary. He saw all the small houses and shuddered. The place was cramped, dirty, and full of peasants. The mongoose stopped when he saw some children running by. The children stopped in between two buildings. One was a bakery and the other was a toy store. He watched as some went to the bakery, and others went into the toy store. He then saw a pet with chickens in a cage walk by. The pet went into a feeding place and the chickens had to follow. The Mongoose laughed. He was glad he was not those chickens. Forced to go where someone else told him to."

Shahrukh wanted to laugh too. The mongoose was not a simple chicken. He was a great superstar and he controlled his life. No one could tell such a famous pet what to do. Shahrukh was about to get up, it seemed as if the story was over, but he froze as soon as Mango began to speak again.

"But then, the mongoose was picked up and carried away by his agents. The pets dragged the mongoose onto his luxurious wagon and drove back to the stage he was supposed to be at. When he left the mongoose glanced back at the small village. He saw the children going everywhere and the chickens still in the cage. He thought about his life. Then he remembered the Mango tree. The Mango tree who refused to follow his orders just because he thought he was special. He realized that he was not special because he was a superstar, he was special because he chose to be. He could decide for himself and control his own life. Just then a Mango fell into the wagon. The mongoose looked up and saw the branches of the Mango tree above him. Then he jumped out of the wagon."

Shahrukh was intrigued. He wondered what the mongoose would do next. Was he going back to the small village? He had to make a choice, fame or freedom. Shahrukh thought hard about which one he would choose if he was the mongoose in the story.

Mango was almost done with the story. She hoped Shahrukh would like the ending. "The agents asked the mongoose what he was doing. The mongoose told them all he had learned and told them that he wanted more time to choose what he was going to do. He was done being pulled around from stage to stage. He would decide when and where to go. The agents were shocked, but there was nothing they could do. He was the one in charge. The mongoose just hadn't realized it until then. From that day on the mongoose's life was better than ever. He performed on the stages he wanted too and made sure he had enough free time to himself. His favorite pastimes were sitting down under the Mango tree that had shown him that what he was did not make him special, and going down to the village that had shown him that he had the right to choose. The End."

Mango stopped her story and looked to see what Shahrukh had thought. She was pleased to see that he was actually paying attention, and smiling. Her heart felt near to bursting. He had listened to the story and he had liked the ending. Him liking the ending had meant at lot to her. It meant that he agreed with the mongoose's decision. She hoped that it also meant he would have made that decision himself. Mango's tail wagged hard as she waited for Shahrukh to say something.

Shahrukh was amazed. He had not expected the mongoose to get to have both fame and freedom. It made him happier than a story should. He did not know why he had felt so connected with the story. The mongoose becoming happy had meant a lot to him. He raised his paws and began to clap them. He clapped slowly at first, then he clapped faster, and faster, and even faster. He had never clapped so hard! Not even when watching one of his own movies. When he finished he looked at Mango and said. "I suppose that will do."

But he said it with a smile.