From the windowsill Ishey could see the snow melting on the peaks.Spring was in the air «!

In the distance she could see Uncle Namgyal herd the sheep.

The whole house wore a festive look as everyone readied for their house guests. Her friend ,Angmo, was coming from Delhi to spend her summer vacations with them.

µExcuse me,where can I find the house of Abale Norbu and Amale Dolkar?¶ asked a polite man .Ishey¶s brother ,Otsal, bobbed his head in the direction of their house and excitedly ran ahead.

µAma-le, they have come !Should I show them where they are to stay?¶ µYes Otsal but calm down«¶replied his mother .

In the meanwhile, Ishey¶s friend ,Angmo, looked around quite thrilled . The magpies outside trilled a pretty song and paused in between to pick up the grains all around.She was sure this would be her best vacation ever!

Seeing Angmo,all of Ishey¶s friends and cousins came running to welcome her.The whole day they played on the hills and dales .It was a Sunday and all the children were around. The next morning they would be at school. In Ladakh they had long vacations in the winter but one in the spring« unlike Angmo who lived in Delhi and had summer vacations.

Soon the sun set .All her friends went home to study and Ishey ran off ahead. Angmo was just climbing down a hill when she twisted her leg .She cried out hoping someone would hear her.Suddenly she missed her parents«they had gone to the neighbouring Village,Likir, to fetch Ishey¶s aunt.She had been so caught with up playing with her friends she didn¶t even notice them go.But now she wished she were there«.

Uncle Dorjay heard her and helped her on to his back.Seeing her in pain he tried to divert her attention telling her about his adventures in the hill«he told her of how he fell down a cliff and then had to go to the doctor to get his foot stitched up«he fought the nurses and they ended up accidentally injecting themselves!

Back home uncle Dorjay brought out Granny¶s wheelchair and helped Angmo on to it.He also promised to tell Angmo¶s parents so they wouldn¶t be worried;he¶d be visiting Likir soon after.

Angmo felt sad «this was not the vacation she planned for herself.She wouldn¶t be able to move or run around or climb hills.She would be sitting all by herself in the house with nothing to do while the children would be out all day.

Seeing her so crestfallen Ishey and her brother Otsal brought out their cat,,Thimpu, for Angmo to play with.But Thimpu escaped from Ishey¶s grasp and ran crazily around the house dropping vessels and tearing through clothes!Everyone laughed and laughed and granny «she couldn¶t stop laughing till there were tears in her eyes!

While everyone was enjoying themselves Grandpa was busy with his evening prayers . He lit a candle and offered some food at his shrine. His eyes filled as he thanked the Buddha for his bounty.From behind Angmo watched thinking even she should pray quietly, and that she should be a lot more selfless than she was«

The next morning Angmo woke up happy.Her prayers had worked !She decided not to spend all her time feeling sorry for herself.Her friends were happy to see her cheerful.

It was time to go to school .Angmo pleaded with Otsal and Ishey to take her with them. Otsal smiled and helped her along as Ishey ran ahead to tell the bus driver to wait«

The school bus came rumbling down a narrow hill road.Inside the children sang happy songs«Angmo watched happily then saw off both Otsal and Ishey.Then she wheeled herself back.

With everyone in school and her parents busy helping Ishey¶s parnets Angmo was all alone. It gave her time to think about the simple life in Ladakh «She had her own room fancy toys in Delhi but still complained .Here with nothing much the children seemed so content.They even helped in the household chores after which they studied all by themselves«And the adults were so cheerful though the weather was so harsh and there was shortage of food and water.They so thoughtfully gave her the wheelchair and kept her entertained. They brought her things to eat not once complaining about the effort it took them.Angmo realised that she needed to learn from their generosity«

Thoughtfully she coloured a picture feeling this was one of her best vacations.She decided she would go back to Delhi and tell her class about the simple people in Ladakh and their winning ways.