How Brahma Stole the Cowherd Boys and Calves

After Krishna saved His friends from the serpent Aghasura, He smiled and said:

Krishna: “My dear friends, look at this beautiful place by the Yamuna!

The lotus flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, the cuckoos are calling, and the peacocks are dancing.

Let’s sit here on the soft sand and have our lunch. Let the calves graze and drink water while we enjoy our meal.”

Cowherd boys (together): “Yes! What a wonderful idea!”

They sat down in a circle, and Krishna sat in the center — like the heart of a lotus. They opened their baskets of food, shared everything with each other, joked, and laughed. Krishna held a morsel of rice mixed with yogurt and fruit in His hand, and every boy around Him felt that he was the most fortunate of all.

While they were eating, they didn’t notice that the calves had wandered far away.

Cowherd boy (alarmed): “Krishna! The calves are gone!”

Krishna: “Don’t worry, my friends. Keep eating — I’ll find them.”

Holding His little handful of food, Krishna went to look for the calves. But they had disappeared. At that moment, far above the earth, the great Lord Brahma , the creator of the universe, looked down. He had seen how Krishna defeated the mighty Aghasura and was astonished.

Brahma (to himself): “Can this little boy truly be the Supreme Lord, as they say? It’s hard to believe. Let me test Him and see what happens…”

And with his mystic power, while Krishna was away, Brahma stole all the calves and boys and hid them inside a cave.

Krishna (gently): “Neither the calves nor My friends are here. Ah… I see. This must be Brahma’s trick. But I can’t let the mothers in Vrindavan grieve. I shall create new boys and calves — exactly as they were.”

In that instant, thousands of Krishna’s forms appeared — each one identical to the original boys and calves. Every smile, every voice, every tiny gesture — all perfectly the same. ✨

(Play tip: you can use the same figures again, pretending they’re Krishna’s divine copies.)

When the boys returned home that evening, their mothers hugged them tightly and fed them milk —

but in truth, they were hugging Krishna Himself .

The cows licked their calves with love — but they were showing affection to Krishna in those forms.

Mothers (joyfully): “Oh, my dear son, how happy I am to see you!”

Cows: “Moooo!”

The love of the mothers and cows grew stronger than ever — because unknowingly, they were loving the Supreme Lord Himself.

And thus a whole year passed on Earth. One day, Balarama noticed something strange. Even the cows that had older calves suddenly ran down from the hill to embrace the younger ones. Their affection seemed boundless.

The parents, too, were overcome with tender love for their sons — far beyond anything before.

Balarama (astonished): “Brother Krishna, this is no ordinary wonder. I’ve never seen anyone loved like this in all of Vrindavan! Tell me — what’s happening here?”

Krishna (smiling): “Yes, Balarama, you’ve understood. That day, Brahma took away the real calves and boys.

So that no one would feel sorrow, I became every calf and every boy Myself.”

For Brahma, only a moment had passed, but on Earth, an entire year had gone by. He quickly returned to see the result of his “little prank.”

But when he arrived… he was speechless. Everything was exactly as before — the same boys, the same calves, and Krishna still standing there with a bite of food in His left hand, as if no time had passed at all.

Brahma (confused): “But… I took them all! How can they be here again?!”

Then, before his eyes, every boy and calf transformed — each one became a radiant Vishnu form, with four arms, a shining crown, a lotus, a conch, a discus, and a mace.

The whole scene was filled with countless divine forms, each one emanating light and spiritual bliss.

(Play tip: use the Vishnu cut-outs from your add-on set for this part.)

Brahma (in awe): “This is no illusion… This is truly the Supreme Lord Himself! I am only His servant.”

Descending from his swan carrier, Brahma bowed down flat like a golden stick before Krishna. Tears streamed from his eyes as he washed the Lord’s feet with his tears.

Brahma: “O Lord, please forgive my foolish trick! Even I, the creator of the universe, could not understand Your greatness. You are the Supreme One — and all that exists is but Your divine energy.”

And so Brahma realized that the little boy of Vrindavan, who played and laughed and shared His lunch with friends, was in truth the Original Supreme Lord — the One who creates, sustains, and loves every living being.