Stories enliven our lives by adding something to our understandings about people, events, and places different from ours. As we read, we realize that though the people are different and so are the places, yet the events touch our hearts as if they were also our stories-if not in reality, at least in our fantasies. These are stories from another time and place and a world of which most people may not be aware even existed. Balan is not a naughty child. He is innocent and naive, filled with energy and verve. His friends are not any different. The other stories are real-life situations that one encounters in everyday life: stories of deceit, betrayal, selfishness, opportunism, and human frailties and also courage and loyalty. We may find ourselves as the perpetrators/victims or heroes in one form or another in the stories. Whatever it may be, I hope that the book will provide you good entertainment. And you would become a different person for having read it.