Junior Vocab
Arjun's Birthday Speech
Mira: "Arjun, why are you under the table? The cake is waiting!"
Arjun: "I don’t want to say my birthday speech. It sounds silly."
Mira: "You wrote it in your sparkly notebook. I saw all the laddoos you drew."
Arjun: "Exactly! I wrote about laddoos and Dadi’s old radio. Not like the fancy TV speeches."
Amma: "Arjun, beta, everyone’s ready. The candles are bending."
Arjun: "Amma, my speech is just about our house and that power cut night. It’s too simple."
Mira: "Simple is nice. I liked that night. We ate mango and played carrom in the dark."
Amma: "You wrote what you really feel, na? That makes it special."
Arjun: "But I didn’t put any big words. Just my normal words."
Mira: "Normal words can still be strong. Like when you said sorry for breaking my truck."
Amma: "That sorry was from your heart. It was a heartfelt sorry."
Arjun: "Heartfelt means… my heart is really saying it?"
Amma: "Yes. Not just your mouth. Your heart too."
Mira:heartfelt." "Like when Dadi tells her train story and her eyes get watery. That feels
Arjun: "So my speech can be heartfelt if I talk about laddoos and power cuts and us?"
Amma: "Yes, beta. That’s the best kind of speech."
Mira: "Come on. Give a short, sweet, heartfelt one. Then we attack the cake."
Arjun: "Okay. I’ll do my heartfelt speech. But if I cry, no teasing."
Mira: "No teasing. I’ll just say your heartfelt words made the candles wobble."