Jack In Wonderland

VBC conducted the event 'Jack In Wonderland' on 5th April.

The event was organised on the occasion of International Children's Book Day where participants had to tell their favourite childhood stories with a creative plot twist changing the characters, setting, or ending of the story.

The following are the Top-3 Stories received.

The Gingerbread Man and The Young Boy

Once upon a time, in a quaint little town, there lived an old man with his lovely wife and grandson. It was the 

season of giving, the day of Christmas Eve and the townsfolk were busy with decorations and preparing gifts and 

sweets.

The old lady cooked pies, potatoes, roasted duck and chocolate tart. Yet she felt that the meal would be 

incomplete without something special. So she poured her heart and soul into a gingerbread in the shape of a tiny 

man. She used icing and syrup for his hair and clothes and little blobs of dough for his eyes and nose. She made 

sure the gingerbread man had plenty of sugar so he would be sweet at his core.

"A perfect dish for my handsome young grandchild," she thought. She was pleased with her cooking and wished to 

take a break. So she went to the parlor where her husband was putting up the lights.

But then a Christmas miracle took place and the gingerbread man opened his eyes. Shocked by his vision, he 

opened his mouth and let out a shrill cry! The young boy, who was skipping along nearby, heard his cry and 

entered the kitchen. He saw the gingerbread man standing on his dough legs and couldn't believe his eyes.

"You're alive! You're alive!" he exclaimed in delight. "And so are you," replied the gingerbread man. The boy moved 

towards him in an attempt to catch him, but the gingerbread man was quick and jumped off the counter before his 

hands could reach him.

"Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

The gingerbread man ran out the front door and the young boy followed him. The boy couldn't believe his eyes and 

he didn't want to let go of this sight. The chase continued for quite a little while until the boy's legs hurt.

"Where will you go, what will you do? Your only purpose is to be eaten. Isn't that true?" he asked the gingerbread 

man. The gingerbread man looked back and said, "I have been given the gift of life. I'll cherish it and use it however 

I like."

"Then come back home and let me be a part of your life. I can teach you spelling, sports and math and all that you 

like."

The gingerbread accepted the boy's offer. That night he danced with the boy and hung Christmas ornaments with 

the old man. The old lady made him a gingerbread hat. He became a part of their family and filled a void. He had 

found his true purpose in life.

~ Vibhor Agrawal

HANSEL AND GRETEL AND THE CURSED WITCH

Once upon a time, in the Irish countryside lived a woodcutter with his two children Hansel and Gretel, and his second wife. Food was rare and the children were made to do chores all day. The stepmother was sure that they all would starve to death if they kept providing for the children. She managed to convince her husband to leave the children in the forest, even if it broke his heart. The children who heard their parents’ discussion, came up with an idea to come back home safely, they used breadcrumbs to leave a trail. This trail did not last. Lost, Hansel and Gretel kept walking. They finally reached a house made of bread and cakes. Restless with hunger the kids took a bite out of the house. The meal was soon interrupted by the owner of the house, an old lady, a witch. The witch had a declining eyesight.

The witch was angry at the kids for eating and told them to leave immediately. The sun had set and it was getting cold. They begged the witch to let them stay. She agreed but told them to leave as soon as daylight would hit. Next day morning, the children were supposed to leave after breakfast was done however, Hansel told the witch that they will be her eyes, if she let them stay. She conceded to their wish but now they were bound to the witch and would not be allowed to leave.

One day, when Hansel had gone to collect some firewood, Gretel approached the old lady and asked her can’t you just wish your eyesight back. The old lady said “I would have if I could kid, back in the day I tried to break the curse, now I am just trying to make it through.”

The kids missed their father deeply, they wished to visit him. They told the witch their desire, she decides to accompany them. The father was overjoyed to see them; however, the stepmother was just as cold. The witch on seeing this, cursed the stepmother and set the kids free. Gretel said “oh! but your eyes…” the witch replied “I can see now, I was the reason behind many incomplete families, today I have reunited one. The curse has been broken.” She thanked them and bid farewell.

~ FARIHA SHIRAZ 

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Charlie was a poor boy who lived with his parents and grandparents in a small house on the

outskirts of town.

One day, he heard that Willy Wonka, the eccentric chocolatier, was looking for a successor

to his chocolate factory. Charlie couldn't believe his luck when he found one of the five

golden tickets that would grant him entry to the factory.

However when Charlie and the other children arrived at the factory, they discovered that

Willy Wonka had gone missing. Instead, they were greeted by the devious candy

manufacturer, Lucas.

Lucas had always been jealous of Wonka's success and had hatched a plan to take over the

chocolate factory by luring Wonka away and impersonating him. Using Wonka's inventions

and recipes, Lucas created a twisted version of the chocolate factory, filled with dangerous

and deadly candy creations.

One by one, the children were tempted by Lucas's sinister treats and suffered terrible

consequences. Augustus fell into a chocolate river and got sucked in by a whirlpool, Veruca

was turned into a giant blueberry, and Mike turned into a choclate toy.

Charlie was the only one who managed to survive Lucas's deadly creations. As he explored

the factory, he discovered that Willy Wonka was being held captive in a secret room, where

Lucas had locked him away.

With the help of some quick thinking and a few of Wonka's inventions, Charlie managed to

free Wonka and take down Lucas. Wonka was grateful to Charlie for saving him and offered

to make him his successor to the chocolate factory.

However, Charlie had learnt an important lesson during his time in the chocolate factory. He

realized that the pursuit of wealth and power can lead people down a dark path, and that

true success lies in the joy and happiness that one can bring to others.

And so, Charlie took over the chocolate factory with a renewed sense of purpose, creating

delicious and magical treats that brought joy to people all over the world, and never

forgetting the lessons he learned on his twisted journey.

~ R. Meghana

Congrats for all the winners for participating in the event !

VBC Family hopes to hear what more your stories have to say.