MEENA "TOO YOUNG TO MARRY"

One day, Meena was visiting her cousin Rita’s house with a big basket of ripe mangoes. As usual, she was accompanied by Mithu, her parrot. One way she saw the village shopkeeper. He was talking aloud to himself and dancing with joy for having found a young bride for his son. The shopkeeper said with laughed if a young girl will do all the housework and he won’t had to paid. Meena was very upset when she discovered that it was Rita who was to be the young bride. Rita was only 15 years old, and she wanted to continue her studies. She didn’t want to marry but she didn’t know how to tell her parents. Meena suggested that they ask Grandmother for help. Grandmother tried to speak to her son. She told Rita’s father that Rita was too young to marry. She herself had her first child at 15. The baby had died, and Granny had almost died, too. She didn’t want Rita to suffer like her. But Rita’s father was worried. He didn’t want to turn down a good match. The shopkeeper’s son, Babu, was studying to be a doctor and the shopkeeper was insisting on an early marriage.

On the way home, Mithu had an accident. He had got entangled in the decorations put up for Babu’s return to the village. The shopkeeper chased him, and Mithu fell crashing to the ground, and hit his head. When Meena found him, lying absolutely still, she thought he was dying. She, her brother Raju, and Rita tried hard to wake him up. Suddenly, they heard an unfamiliar voice. An unfamiliar voice is a handsome youngman what is the matter. The youngman seemed to know what to do as he examined Mithu and tried a bandage around his head. Mithu soon got up. Meena and Raju were overjoyed and thanked the youngman. And Rita blushed shyly when helooked at her. Raju followed the stanger to find out who he was. He saw him being greeted joyously by the shopkeeper. Then the shopkeeper shouted, and said if he had some good news for Babu. But the shopkeeper’s happiness soon turned to anger when Babu refused to marry the girl chosen for him. Babu said that she is too young and illegal for girls under 18 to be married. Then Babu said again if unsafe for a girl of that age had to children. When Meena found out who the doctor was, she told him about Rita and how much she wanted to study. Babu agreed that it was a good idea for Rita to complete school. Babu met Rita’s father and convinced him that Rita was too young to marry. Just then, Grandmother had a wonderful idea. It was decided that Babu and Rita would get engaged and wait three years for the marriage. In the meantime, both of them would complete their studies. The shopkeeper loved his son too much so he agreed to this as well.