An original story on the scientific concept of skeleton written by our student Harshvardhan Singh Shekhawat.

Harshvardhan is 13 years old young writer from New Delhi. He is enthusiastic about sports, and music. We are proud to have him as a student of the Little Writers Program, an Online Creative Writing Program using Applied Storytelling & Applied Theatre tools under the mentorship of Trainer Khusshbo Chokhaani. We congratulate Harshvardhan for this exemplary true self-expression.

Once Upon A Skeleton

Have you ever wondered how are we able to walk, move and protect ourselves? For all this, we have the skeletal system of our body to thank. You must have learned about it when you were in school today let me explain the skeleton of our body with a story.

It was a late Halloween-eve night. Jill and her mom were taking out the trash. Jill’s dad was an orthopedic surgeon (A doctor working on bones) and was out late working again. He was working on the “hand bone” which is also known as the “Radius and Ulna.” He couldn’t say no to work because these were very crucial bones for everything we do. The patient’s bones were fractured and he was unable to move his arm as it was painful. A fracture is when a bone breaks inside your body making your arm, leg, etc. hurt when you try to move it. After giving the patient treatment for his injury. Jill’s dad got in the car and came home.

Her father reached home at 10 pm in the evening. Jill was very angry at her father. She was angry at him. She scolded him for working so late. Jill told her father about how we don’t need bones and that it’s just a waste of time. She continuously reiterated that “we need you father and not bones on our special days especially”.

Jill’s father was a calm man. He explained to her how we need bones to live. He said, “Bones support, protect and help us in movement”. She asked,  “what all bones do we need?”

Her father said, “there are many more important bones which each provide their own help. For example, The Skull helps protect the brain and the ribs protect the heart and lungs. We have bones like Arm bones (Ulna, Radius, and Humerus) and Leg bones (Tibia, Fibula, and Femur) which help us in movement.”

She understood and asked, “Okay, well can you tell me anything about the toes and palms?” He said, “Yes, We also have bones in our palms and toes. The bones in our palms are called Carpals, Metacarpals, and phalanges. Toe bones are called Tarsals, Metatarsals, and Phalanges.”

Jill was feeling guilty. She said sorry to her father and spent the rest of the evening happily with her father.

She now knew how hard her father worked and wanted to know more. She went to school the next day in her Halloween costume. She boasted to the whole school about how her father is a superhero. One kid came up to her and said “I always wondered what a funny bone is. Do you think you could ask him and explain it to me?”

She immediately replied, “sure”. She asked her father in the evening. Her father told her that a funny bone was actually a nerve and not even a bone. She conjectured about what she would tell her friend. She got into her skeleton outfit and ran down for trick-or-treating. She found her friend and told him the truth that the funny bone was actually a nerve. He tried to contain his laughter. In a mean voice, he said, “The funny bone is actually a nerve. Hahahaha. Your father is a liar. How can it be both a nerve and a bone.” She ran away crying to her father. She told about how he laughed at her face. Her father comforted her and told her not to worry. He told her to enjoy her time and not worry about what others say. She agreed with her dad and studied hard.

Years later, she grew up and became one of the finest orthopedic surgeons. Now that she is all grown up, she shares stories of her father and that boy, who is now an adult regret how he teased her. She now knew how important a bone was. She went to her father’s house and thanked him for such an enriched childhood.

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