1. Story of a Widow and Her Son

There lived a poor widow mother and her only son in a village beyond a forest. When the boy grew up a little, the mother thought to send him to school. But the school was in the city and to go to city one had to cross that forest. But she had to send him to school so she sent him there.

For a couple of months she herself took him to school and brought him from there. But then there were some days when she could not go with him, so she sent him alone. Sometimes the boy used to say that he was afraid to go alone through that forest. The mother then thought another way for him to send him to school. She was a great devotee of Krishn. She said - "Dear son, whenever you feel afraid, you should call Gopaal (another name of Krishn). He will come and be with you all the time through the forest." The boy asked her - "Maa, How does He look like? Is he of my age?" Mother said - "Yes my son, He is very beautiful and he will always accompany you while you will be going to school. Just call Him whenever you need Him." The boy got satisfied and he started going to school again.

One day, again, he got afraid of lonely forest. He wanted to speak, but could not speak of fear. Then he remembered his mother words "Call Gopaal", so he called "Gopaal, Gopaal" and looked here and there around him. He saw nobody around, but the then he saw a beautiful boy coming from his behind and saying - "Friend, why are you so afraid? I am here with you." The boy held His hand and proceeded further to school. Now he was happy and was not afraid of anything. Gopaal accompanied him through the forest. When the city came near, He said - "OK, now I take leave. We will see each other some other time." and He went away.

Now the boy was very happy. First he called Him whenever he was afraid, but later he used to call Him often, because he had started liking his company. When Gopaal had come, both crossed the forest playing together.

After some time his mother asked - "My son, how do you feel now going through the forest? Don't you feel afraid now?" The boy said excitingly - "Maa, The day you told me to call Gopaal, when I got afraid, I called Gopaal and since then He often joins me as the forest starts and we cross the forest together playing. Then He leaves me at the corner of the forest and goes away. I am not afraid any more now."

Mother was surprised to hear this, so she asked again - "What are you saying? Are you speaking the truth? Does Gopaal really join you in the forest?" "Yes, Maa. I am speaking the truth." Mother whispered - "I just asked him to call Gopaal so that he is not afraid, but I never knew that Bhagavaan will really come to help him. He has really seen Gopaal. He is so fortunate that he has seen God at such a young age."

She said loudly - "My son, I also want to see your Gopaal, so I will also go with you to school tomorrow." And next day she went to school with him. When they entered the forest, the mother asked him to call Gopaal. He called "Gopaal, Gopaal" and Gopaal came there hopping and jumping. The boy said to his mother - "See, this is my friend Gopaal. This is the one with whom I go to school daily."

But mother could not see anybody there. She asked "Where is He? I can't see anybody here." The boy said to her several times pointing towards Him that that was Him, but still she could not see Him. Then the boy asked Gopaal as why his mother couldn't see Him? He wanted her to see his everyday friend. Then Gopaal appeared before her and she could see Gopaal. She fell on His feet and thanked Him for taking care of her son who helped her to see Gopaal.

[The mother believed in Krishn, and the boy believed in his mother, that is why both got what they wanted.]