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The Louse's New House Author: Nandita Jayaraj Illustrator: Vridhhi Chaudhry There was once a jolly louse which lived in the hair of a girl. Every day, it sipped blood from her head. The poor girl! She scratched and scratched! With its stomach full, the louse was happy. One day, the louse heard about a bed bug. This bed bug lived in the royal mattress of the King himself. “How marvellous to live in such a grand home!” thought the louse. The louse dreamt about the King’s head all day and all night. “His hair must be so soft and thick, not sweaty and smelly like this little girl’s head.” The next day, the louse decided, “I am moving to a new home!” So while the little girl was playing in the park, the louse hopped out of her head and landed on... ... the head of a little boy! This boy’s mother was the King’s chariot driver. As the boy kissed his mother goodnight, the clever louse leapt into the woman’s hair. There it waited quietly, until the next day when the chariot driver set off for the palace. The louse was careful not to give her an itch. If she scratched, it may fall off. The louse did not want that! Not when it was so close to the King's royal hair. At the palace gates, the King was waiting to go for his morning ride. As soon as he sat down, the louse bit into the driver’s scalp. “Ouch!” said the lady, and scratched her head. The louse flew off her hair and landed on... ... the King's freshly-bathed shoulder. Mmmm. He smelt good! After a breezy chariot ride, the King returned to the palace. As he sat down to rest, the louse looked around his room. It was thrilled. No dirt! No heat! And such a lovely smell! But soon, the louse got hungry. The King was asleep so this was the perfect time for a royal feast! The louse ran up the sleeping King’s neck. It crawled higher and higher, stomach rumbling with hunger. Finally, on top of the King’s head, the louse was shocked. The old King barely had any hair! What a terrible mistake ! Published by Pratham Books (Pratham Books, 2019) under a CC BY 4.0 license on StoryWeaver. Read, create and translate stories for free on www.storyweaver.org.in