Page:Masani - Gandhi's story.pdf/26

22 his age, decided to smoke cigarettes like their uncle. They didn't have any money to buy the cigarettes so they picked up the stubs left behind by the uncle and smoked these. But the uncle became suspicious when he saw the stubs miraculously disappearing the moment he threw them away, so Mohan and his cousin had to think of another way to get cigarettes.

Why not take a few coppers from the box where Mother keeps the servants’ pocket money, they thought. It was not difficult to creep into the room when no one was there and to take a few coppers out of the box. They began doing this quite often and felt proud of themselves for having at last broken away from the authority of their elders. It made them feel very important and brave.