In the Sharma family, the youngest son, Chintu, was everyone’s favorite. His grandmother called him “the apple of my eye,” while his father lovingly called him “my pride and joy.” However, the school teacher knew him by another name—“the mischievous little star.”

At home, Chintu acted very innocent. His mother would say, “My son can never do anything wrong.” And at the same time, Chintu would quietly steal a chocolate from the refrigerator and disappear.

One day, a complaint came from school saying that Chintu had placed a balloon under a classroom chair. As soon as the teacher sat down, there was a loud “pop!” The whole class burst into laughter. The teacher asked seriously, “Who did this?” Chintu replied with an innocent face, “Sir, maybe the chair became happy.”

At home, his father scolded him, “You are the apple of our eye. Why do you do such mischief?”
Chintu replied, “If I am a star, I should shine a little.”
His grandmother laughed and supported him, saying, “If children don’t do mischief, then who will?” His father fell silent.

The next week, there was a kite-flying event in the neighborhood. Chintu promised everyone that he would not play any tricks.
But as soon as the competition started, he tied a small bell to his kite. When the wind blew, it made a “ting-ting” sound, distracting the other children.

When his kite won, everyone shouted, “This is cheating!”
Chintu replied, “No, this is creative thinking.”
Gradually, people realized that Chintu truly was the apple of everyone’s eye, but his sparkle came with a touch of harmless mischief.

One day, his father explained, “Mischief is not bad, but it should not hurt anyone.” Chintu nodded and said, “From now on, my mischief will be limited edition.”

The villagers still say that every home should have a child like Chintu—someone who is the apple of everyone’s eye and fills life with laughter through a little harmless mischief.