No Smiles Today

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Violet

No Smiles Today follows Shanti and Arun, close friends who share secrets and races to school. One day Shanti enters quiet and worried, hiding her sadness when classmates and teachers ask what is wrong. Arun tries to cheer her up, but a green rubber frog reveals the real reason she stayed silent all day: several front teeth are missing. The story highlights empathy, gentle humor, and confidence-building moments for children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time12 min

AccessFree to download

Shanti Seems Sad

A Friend Tries to Help

The Reason for No Smiles

No Smiles Today Cheryl Rao Saurabh Pandey Shanti and Arun were good friends. They had so much fun together. They shared secrets in class. They ran races on the way home. She was always cheerful. One day, Shanti came into the classroom slowly. Her head was bent. She looked sad. ”Did someone scold you?” asked Arun. Shanti shook her head. She sat down and did not look up. She did not answer ‘Present!’ when Sona Miss called her name . Sona Miss called again, louder this time,”Shanti Kumar!” Shanti raised her hand. ”Do you have a sore throat?” her teacher asked her. Shanti shook her head. Her cheeks were red and it looked like she had a fever .”Are you feeling okay?” Sona Miss asked. Shanti nodded, still not daring to look up. ”Why does Shanti look so sad?””Is your little brother okay?””Is your puppy okay?””Is your grandmother okay?” Shanti kept nodding her head to each of her friends. But she did not look up. Arun wanted to make her smile. He had an idea! He took out something from his bag. As he ran to show it to Shanti, it slipped out of his hands. Shanti saw something flying towards her and she grabbed it. It was a BIG, green, rubber frog! Shanti’s eyes flew open. Then she opened her mouth to laugh. THEN Arun and her friends saw why she had not smiled or talked all day! Four of her front teeth had gone missing! Brought to you by Let’s Read is a program of The Asia Foundation that supports early reading skills and habits to develop our next generation of critical thinkers and creative innovators in Asia and the Pacific. To read more books like this and get further information, visit: [letsreadasia.org](letsreadasia.org) Original Story No Smiles Today. Author: Cheryl Rao. Illustrator: Saurabh Pandey. Published by Pratham Books, © Pratham Books. Released under CC-BY-4 .0. This work is a modified version of the original story. @ The Asia Foundation, 2021. Some rights reserved. Released under CC-BY-4 .0. For full terms of use and attribution, [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

FAQs

Why does Shanti look sad during class?

Shanti looks sad and avoids answering because four of her front teeth are missing.

What does Arun do to make Shanti smile?

Arun tries to cheer Shanti up by bringing out something from his bag and showing it to her.

What reveals the real reason Shanti did not talk or smile?

When Shanti grabs a BIG, green, rubber frog, she opens her mouth to laugh, and her missing front teeth become clearly visible.

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Violet