Highly Commended Story - The Magic Watch

“The Magic Watch” by Aalia Marediya, Rustomjee Cambridge International School and Jr. College, India, is the Highly Commended story in the junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2020.

Aalia Marediya is currently studying in Rustomjee Cambridge International School. She is a very enthusiastic girl and enjoys reading books and watching stories online. She likes to write her own new stories and she is a quick learner. She makes paintings and loves sketching and she's always willing to search for unique ideas to make her art look beautiful. She passes her leisure time by skating, skipping or watching TV. She also likes spending time with the family. She is a very positive and ambitious girl.

The Magic Watch

John was a rich boy who lived with his parents, in a bungalow. He was a very naughty boy and he used to hit everyone around him and even the little animals. He never studied well and misbehaved with his parents. He snatched the toys from his friends and never gave them back. His behavior was getting worse day by day. His parents were fed up of seeing him like this. A good fairy was also watching everything and was very disappointed with John’s behavior. So she decided to teach him a lesson.

One night when John was fast asleep, the fairy entered into his room through the window and kept a wrist watch on his study table. That morning when John woke up he was surprised to see an elegant watch on his table. He quickly strapped the watch around his wrist. As soon as he wore the watch it locked itself automatically. That day while John was walking to school, he saw a little puppy coming towards him and started abusing it. The moment he kicked it, he felt a throbbing pain on his leg. “Aah! That hurts!!” cried John in pain. Despite that pain, he strolled to the school. After school, all of his friends were coming out to play with their toys. When John went to the park, he saw his friend Alex playing with his new toy car. John was very jealous and so he went to Alex and hit him hard on his face. But when he slapped Alex, he felt the pain on his cheek as if someone hit him. Since then, every time when John hit someone, he could feel the pain after hitting. This made him realize how much it would hurt when he’d hit someone.

Gradually, John’s behavior started changing and he became a very sincere boy. He returned all the toys that he had taken away from his friends. He also started to work very hard for his studies. His parents noticed this change in his behavior and became very happy. The good fairy was also very pleased and so she decided to end John’s punishment. So, one night when John was dining with his parents the little fairy sneaked into his room and turned the magic watch into a normal watch. All this time when John felt the pain on hitting someone, it was the effect of the magic watch. In this way, the good fairy was successful in improving one more child.