NCERT Book Class 7 English (The Alien Hand) Chapter 4 Chandni

Abbu Khan kept goats as pets.
He loved his goats, but they left him one by one.
He bought a young pretty goat and called her Chandni.

ONCE upon a time there lived an old man in Almora. He
was popularly known as Abbu Khan. He lived all alone
except for a few goats which he always kept as pets. He
gave his goats funny names such as Kalua, Moongia or
Gujri. He would take them out for grazing during the day
and talk to them as one talks to one’s own children; at
night he would bring them back to his little hut and put a
string round the neck of each goat.
Poor Abbu Khan was a little unlucky in the matter of his
goats. Very often at night one of the goats would pull and
pull at the string till it broke loose, and then would disappear
in the hills beyond. Goats in hilly regions hate being tied to
trees or poles. They love their freedom. Abbu Khan’s goats
were of the best hill breed. They too loved their freedom. So
whenever they got the chance, they would run away only to
get killed by an old wolf who lived in the hills.
Whenever one of his goats disappeared, Abbu Khan was
very sad. He did not understand why even the juiciest grass
and grains that he gave them, and all the love that he