lion

Once upon a time there lived a lion in a forest. One day after a heavy meal. It was sleeping
under a tree. After a while, there came a mouse and it started to play on the lion. Suddenly
the lion got up with anger and looked for those who disturbed its nice sleep. Then it saw a
small mouse standing trembling with fear. The lion jumped on it and started to kill it. The
mouse requested the lion to forgive it. The lion felt pity and left it. The mouse ran away.

On another day, the lion was caught in a net by a hunter. The mouse came there and cut
the net. Thus it escaped. There after, the mouse and the lion became friends. They lived
happily in the forest afterwards.

Mouse

A Town Mouse and a Country Mouse were friends. The Country Mouse one day invited his
friend to come and see him at his home in the fields. The Town Mouse came and they sat
down to a dinner of barleycorns and roots the latter of which had a distinctly earthy
flavour.

The flavour was not much to the taste of the guest and presently he broke out with “My
poor dear friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see how I fare!
My larder is a regular horn of plenty. You must come and stay with me and I promise you
shall live on the fat of the land."

So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with him and showed him into a
larder containing flour and oatmeal and figs and honey and dates.

The Country Mouse had never seen anything like it and sat down to enjoy the luxuries his
friend provided. But before they had well begun, the door of the larder opened and some
one came in. The two Mice scampered off and hid themselves in a narrow and exceedingly
uncomfortable hole. Presently, when all was quiet, they ventured out again. But some one
else came in, and off they scuttled again. This was too much for the visitor. "Good bye,"
said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I can see, but you are surrounded by dangers
whereas at home I can enjoy my simple dinner of roots and corn in peace."

Elephant and Friends :

One day an elephant wandered into a forest in search of friends.

He saw a monkey on a tree.

“Will you be my friend?" asked the elephant.

Replied the monkey, “You are too big. You can not swing from trees like me."
Next, the elephant met a rabbit. He asked him to be his friends.

But the rabbit said, “You are too big to play in my burrow!"

Then the elephant met a frog.

“Will you be my friend? He asked.

“How can I?" asked the frog.

“You are too big to leap about like me."

The elephant was upset. He met a fox next.

“Will you be my friend?" he asked the fox.

The fox said, “Sorry, sir, you are too big."

The next day, the elephant saw all the animals in the forest running for their lives.

The elephant asked them what the matter was.

The bear replied, “There is a tier in the forest. He’s trying to gobble us all up!"

The animals all ran away to hide.

The elephant wondered what he could do to solve everyone in the forest.

Meanwhile, the tiger kept eating up whoever he could find.

The elephant walked up to the tiger and said, “Please, Mr. Tiger, do not eat up these poor
animals."

“Mind your own business!" growled the tiger.

The elephant has a no choice but to give the tiger a hefty kick.

The frightened tiger ran for his life.

The elephant ambled back into the forest to announce the good news to everyone.

All the animals thanked the elephant.

They said, “You are just the right size to be our friend."
Hungry Wolf

This is a short story about Hungry Wolf.

Once, a wolf was very hungry. It looked for food here and there. But it couldn't get any. At
last it found a loaf of bread and piece of meat in the hole of a tree.

The hungry wolf squeezed into the hole. It ate all the food. It was a woodcutter's lunch. He
was on his way back to the tree to have lunch. But he saw there was no food in the hole,
instead, a wolf.

On seeing the woodcutter, the wolf tried to get out of the hole. But it couldn't. Its tummy
was swollen.

The woodcutter caught the wolf and gave it nice beatings.

The Clever Crab :

There lived a heron by a big lake. He used to catch fish and eat them. But he had become
old and could not catch fish like before. He went without food for many days together.

“I have to think of a plan. Otherwise I won't live for long," thought the heron. Soon he came
out with a clever plan. The heron sat at the water’s edge looking depressed and thoughtful.
In the same lake lived a crab who was friendly and thoughtful. As he went past, he noticed
how the heron looked and asked him, “Why are you looking depressed my friend?"

“What can I say," said the heron in a sad voice. “Something terrible is going to happen."

“What is that?" asked the crab anxiously.

“When I was on my way here this morning, I heard an astrologer say that there will be no
rains in these parts for the next twelve years. The lake will dry up and we will all die. I am
quite old. It does not matter if I die. But you all are so young. There is so much for you to
see and enjoy," said the heron.

The crab went to the fishes in the lake and told them what the heron had told him. They
were all filled with fear. “O no! What do we do? We will all die." they cried.

“There is a very big lake some distance from here. I can take you all there one by one."
offered the heron. All the fishes were comforted and they agreed to be carried to the bigger
lake one by one.

Every day, the heron would fly the fishes one by one. He would hold one gingerly between
his long beak and fly away. But instead of taking them to any lake, he would land on a rock
some distance away and eat them. Then he would rest till evening and return to the lake.

After some days, the crab went up to the heron. “You have been taking the fishes to the
other lake. When will you take me?" he asked.

The heron thought to himself, “I am tired of eating fish. Crab meat should be a pleasant
change."

The heron agreed to take the crab to the other lake.

But the crab was too large for the heron to carry in his beak. So the crab climbed on to the
heron’s back and they started the journey. After a while, the crab grew impatient.

“How far is the lake?" he asked the heron.

“You fool," laughed the heron. “I am not taking you to any lake. I am going to dash you
against those rocks and eat you like I ate all those fishes."

“I am not a fool to allow you to kill me," said the crab.

He held the heron’s neck in his powerful claws and strangled the wicked heron to death.

The Crane and The Snake

In a forest close to the river bank mere lived a crane with his wife. They were very
unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who lived in a hollow
in the tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab. He went to his friend the
crab and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless….That sneaking thief has eaten our eggs
again," complained the crane angrily.

“Don’t worry," said the crab comfortingly. “You need not be hopeless when you have a
friend like me. We will come up with a solution."

The crab sat to think of a plan. Suddenly he jumped up and rushed to the crane.

“Friend, I have a wonderful plan," said the crab and whispered something into the crane’s
car.

The crane flew back to his nest and told his wife all about the crab’s plan. He was very
excited.

“Are you sure this will work?" asked the wife.

“I hope we are not making a mistake. Think twice before going ahead with the plan."
But the crane was eager to try out the plan. The crane flew down to the river bank and
began to fish. He caught several little fishes and went down to the hole in which a
mongoose lived. He dropped a fish at the mouth of the hole. Then he took another fish and
dropped it a little further away from the first one. Repeating this, he made a trail of fishes
leading to the tree where his nest was.

The mongoose smelt the fish and came out of the hole. “Ah, a fish!" exclaimed the
mongoose joyfully and quickly ate it up. He then followed the trail of fishes. As he neared
the tree where the cranes and the snake lived, the trail ended. Finding no more fishes, he
looked around.

Suddenly he came across the black cobra at the foot of the tree. Seeing the mongoose, the
cobra fought for his life. Both fought for a long time and in the end the mongoose killed the
snake. The cranes who were watching the fight from their nest sighed with relief.

The next day the mongoose began to follow the same trail hoping to find more food. When
he came to the tree where the trail ended, he decided to climb the tree in search of food.

The cranes who were away at the river bank returned to find the mongoose climbing down
the tree. On looking in their nest, they discovered that this time, the mongoose had eaten
up all their eggs.

“Alas! We got rid of one enemy only to find another," said the crane to his wife.

The Crow and The Necklace

Once a crow and his wife built their nest atop a huge banyan tree beside a river. They were
very happy there. But when the female crow laid her eggs, they were in for an unpleasant
shock. A huge snake who lived in a hole at the bottom of the tree came up and ate all their
beautiful eggs.

The crows were helpless with anger and pain. “You can’t let this wicked snake eat our
children anymore," cried the female crow bitterly. “You have to find a way to save them
from him,’ she said.

“Let us go to our friend the jackal. He is very clever. He will surely be able to help us with a
solution," said the male crow.

They both flew to the cave in the forest where their friend the jackal lived.

The jackal saw them coming. “Hello my friends. Why do you look so sad and worried? Can I
help you in any way?"he asked.

“Every time my wife lays eggs in our nest, a wicked snake living at the foot of the tree eats
them up," explained the crow.
“We want to get rid of him and save our children. Please tell us what we can do."

The jackal thought for some time. “I know what you should do," said the jackal and he told
the plan to the crows.

It was a habit of the queen to come with her maids for a bath to the river. When they did
so, they removed all their clothes and jewels and placed them on the river bank. On the
following day the queen and her maids as usual entered the river.

“You know what to do right?" asked the crow to his wife. “Yes," she answered.

Both of them flew over the pile of clothes and jewels. The female crow swiftly picked up a
precious pearl necklace in her beak. At the same time the male crow began to caw loudly to
gain the attention of the queen and her maids.

“Oh, those crows have taken my pearl necklace." cried the queen. “Guards!" she cried. “Get
that necklace back from those pesky crows." Her guards chased the crows shouting loudly.

The crows flew straight to the banyan tree with the guards close behind. Hearing all the
noise, the snake came out of his hole at the foot of the tree. Immediately, the female crow
dropped the necklace right where the snake was.

“Look out! There is a huge snake near the necklace," alerted one guard.

Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp
spears and killed him. The guards then picked up the necklace and took it back to their
queen.

The crows thanked their friend the jackal for helping them get rid of their enemy. They lived
happily with their children.

The Crow and The Necklace

Once a crow and his wife built their nest atop a huge banyan tree beside a river. They were
very happy there. But when the female crow laid her eggs, they were in for an unpleasant
shock. A huge snake who lived in a hole at the bottom of the tree came up and ate all their
beautiful eggs.

The crows were helpless with anger and pain. “You can’t let this wicked snake eat our
children anymore," cried the female crow bitterly. “You have to find a way to save them
from him,’ she said.

“Let us go to our friend the jackal. He is very clever. He will surely be able to help us with a
solution," said the male crow.
They both flew to the cave in the forest where their friend the jackal lived.

The jackal saw them coming. “Hello my friends. Why do you look so sad and worried? Can I
help you in any way?"he asked.

“Every time my wife lays eggs in our nest, a wicked snake living at the foot of the tree eats
them up," explained the crow.

“We want to get rid of him and save our children. Please tell us what we can do."

The jackal thought for some time. “I know what you should do," said the jackal and he told
the plan to the crows.

It was a habit of the queen to come with her maids for a bath to the river. When they did
so, they removed all their clothes and jewels and placed them on the river bank. On the
following day the queen and her maids as usual entered the river.

“You know what to do right?" asked the crow to his wife. “Yes," she answered.

Both of them flew over the pile of clothes and jewels. The female crow swiftly picked up a
precious pearl necklace in her beak. At the same time the male crow began to caw loudly to
gain the attention of the queen and her maids.

“Oh, those crows have taken my pearl necklace." cried the queen. “Guards!" she cried. “Get
that necklace back from those pesky crows." Her guards chased the crows shouting loudly.

The crows flew straight to the banyan tree with the guards close behind. Hearing all the
noise, the snake came out of his hole at the foot of the tree. Immediately, the female crow
dropped the necklace right where the snake was.

“Look out! There is a huge snake near the necklace," alerted one guard.

Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp
spears and killed him. The guards then picked up the necklace and took it back to their
queen.

The crows thanked their friend the jackal for helping them get rid of their enemy. They lived
happily with their children.

The Faithful Mongoose

Once there lived a kind Brahmin in a small village with his wife. They had a little son. One
day, as he was returning home from a nearby village, he came across a baby mongoose
crying next to its mother’s dead body.
“Oh! poor creature," thought the Brahmin. “If I leave it here it will surely die." He picked it
up and took it home with him.

“Gowri, I found this little creature on my way home. Let us take care of him," he said to his
wife. “Very well along with our son, I will take care of the mongoose also," replied his wife.

The mongoose grew up with a lot of love and care in the Brahmin’s house. He slept next to
the Brahmin’s son in the cradle, drank milk and played with the boy everyday. The baby
mongoose’s days were full of joy in the Brahmin’s house. As both the boy and the
mongoose grew up, their friendship changed to a relationship between two brothers.

The mongoose grew up fast and as days went by, the Brahmin’s wife began to get doubts in
her mind. “After all, this is a wild animal. Sooner or later it will show its true colours," she
thought to herself. She put the mongoose’s bed separately and would watch him carefully
when ever he played with her son.

One day when the Brahmin was away. Gowri decided to go to the river to fetch a pot of
water. She looked around and saw her son sound asleep in his cradle. The mongoose was
also asleep on the floor at the foot of the cradle. This should take only a few moments I
hope I can trust that mongoose not to harm my little son," she said to herself and after a
final look at them both she hurried down to the river.

Suddenly, the mongoose woke up with a start. He had heard a very faint noise. Looking up,
the mongoose saw a large black snake crawling in through a hole in the wall.

“The snake will harm my brother. Mother and father are away. I will have to protect my
little brother," thought the mongoose, as the snake came slithering towards the cradle.

The brave little mongoose pounced on the huge black snake. After a long, ferocious fight,
the little mongoose finally managed to kill the snake.

Just then, he heard the Brahmin’s wife returning. Joyfully, he ran out to meet his mother
and tried telling her through his little animal signs that he had protected his little brother
from a dreadful snake.

But as soon as Gowri saw blood on the mongoose’s mouth and paws, she thought, “This
wretched animal has killed my little son." In a fit of anger the Brahmin’s wife threw the pot
full of water on the mongoose killing him instantly.

Entering the house with a heavy heart, she was amazed to see her little son lying in his
cradle still deep in sleep. On the floor was a huge black snake with its ugly head bitten off.

“Oh what have I done," cried the Brahmin’s wife. “I killed that faithful little mongoose who
saved the life of my precious son."
The Foolish Crow:

The winter had been especially cold. The snow lay thick and heavy on the ground. The
squirrels, the badgers and the hedgehogs had vanished into their snug winter homes to
sleep away the cold, dark months. The swifts and the swallows had left for warmer
countries long ago. Even the slugs and snails had disappeared, hiding away in some dark,
warm patch of woodland to wait for the spring. The woods and fields were silent and empty.
Only a big, black Crow was hunting for her evening meal.

The Crow had flown all day in search of food. But she had found nothing, not even a tiny
mouse or a piece of someone’s leftover lunch. Now she was tired and hungry. She cawed
sadly.

“I will have to go without dinner tonight,’ she thought as she flapped slowly across the sky
in one last desperate search for something to eat.

She was on the point of turning back when she saw a thin column of smoke coming up into
the sky, far away in the distance.

“Smoke means fire and fire means cooking and cooking means food!" thought the Crow.
She flew as fast as she could, towards the curling smoke. The smoke came from the
chimney of a large farmhouse where the farmer's wife was cooking dinner for her family. A
delicious-smelling stew was bubbling in a large pot over the fire and loaves of fresh-baked
bread were on the table, ready to be cut into slices. A pat of butter and a chunk of cheese
lay in their platters on the window sill. The farmer’s wife had left the window open so the
cold air would keep the butter from melting and the cheese from sweating.

The Crow saw the cheese by the open window. Quick as a flash, she flew down to the
window sill, picked cheese in her big black beak and flew off. The farmer’s wife was stirring
the stew, with her back to the window. She did not see the Crow. The Crow was very
pleased with herself. 'Nothing like a piece of cheese on a cold winter afternoon!' she
thought.

She flew towards a clump of tall trees and perched comfortably on a bare branch high above
the ground to enjoy her meal in comfort.

A wily old Fox lay hidden among the bushes in the farmer’s garden. He had roamed the
woods and fields all day in search of food. But he had found nothing to eat, not a bird nor a
mouse nor even the scraps from someone’s picnic. Now he was tired and hungry.

“I will have to go without dinner tonight.’ he sighed.

He was on the point of turning back, when he saw the Crow perch on the bare branch with
the piece of cheese in her beak.

“What a lovely, smelly piece of cheese!' thought the Fox. I must have that piece of cheese
for my dinner. Now, if only I can take that cheese away from the Crow…"

The Fox watched the Crow settle herself comfortably on the branch. He smiled slyly to
himself. Strolling up to the foot of the tree, the Fox called out.

“Good evening. Mrs. Crow! You look well today!'

The Crow looked down at the Fox in surprise. She had never heard him speak so politely
before.

The Fox continued. 'Oh Mrs. Crow, how beautiful you are! Your feathers are so black! So
smooth and shining! Truly. I have never seen such feathers before!'

The Crow was even more surprised. No one had ever called her beautiful before! Of course,
she had always known how pretty she was. But it was pleasant to be admired by some one
else.

The Fox looked up at her and sighed. ‘How graceful you are. Mrs. Crow, how elegant! You
fly so wonderfully well too and higher than an eagle!'

The Crow held herself taller. She had always known how graceful and elegant she was. Of
course, she could fly most wonderfully high! How clever of the Fox to know that. She
flapped her wings just a little bit so he could admire them again. What a charming creature
he was!

The Fox took a deep breath and continued. ‘Your claws, ahem, I mean your talons. Mrs.
Crow! They are stronger than steel!'

Ah… her talons! She had always been proud of her talons. She hopped clumsily on the
branch so that the Fox could take another look at her claws. Really, he did say the nicest
things!

The Crow was by now quite sure that she was the prettiest, most graceful and the strongest
bird of all.

The Fox smiled secretly to himself. He looked admiringly at the Crow and said. 'Dear Mrs.
Crow. I have not heard your voice. It must be the sweetest voice in the world, as beautiful
as you are. Dear Mrs. Crow, won't you sing for me?'

The Crow was flattered. All the other birds had told her that she had an awful voice. And
here was the Fox begging her to sing for him! Of course, she had always known what a
lovely voice she had...
The Crow took a deep breath and opened her beak in a loud and raucous Caw!' Down
dropped the piece of cheese! The Fox snapped it up as it fell and swallowed it before the
Crow realised what had happened.

The Fox walked off chuckling. ’Next time, Mrs. Crow, be careful what you believe!' he cried
as he vanished through the trees.

The Crow was left feeling foolish. How could she have been so vain and so silly, as to be
taken in by the Fox's clever words and to lose her lovely dinner!

The Crow ruffled her feathers sadly and got ready for a hungry night.

The Indigo Jackal :

In a jungle there lived a pack of jackals. They would hunt together to eat from the left-overs
of the lion’s meal. One of the jackals was getting a little old. All the younger jackals bullied
him and did not allow him to share the food.

"I have to do something to satisfy my hunger. Like this, I will not survive for very long,"
thought the jackal to himself.

He decided to leave his pack and go in search of food. He wandered around for many days
but could not find any food. Everywhere he went, other animals chased him away.

Finally he decided to venture into the village in search of food. After nightfall, the jackal
walked down the village streets in search of food. Suddenly a pack of dogs began to chase
the jackal. Scared for his life, the jackal ran as fast as his weak legs could carry him.
Finding no way of escape, the jackal jumped into the first open house he found.

Suddenly he found himself in a vat of foul smelling liquid. It was a vat of indigo dye. The
house belonged to the village washer man. When the jackal climbed hurriedly out of the
liquid and peered out fearfully, the dogs which were waiting for him outside, let out a howl
and ran away with their tails tucked between their legs. The jackal was surprised. But
finding the dogs gone, he carefully went back into the jungle.

The jackal went to the water hole in the jungle to quench his thirst. As the jackal went
closer, all the other animals which had come there ran aw ay in panic. The jackal looked
around in surprise to see what had frightened them. But he saw nothing wrong. He was
very thirsty and so went to the water hole to quench his thirst. As he bent down to drink, he
was shocked to see a strange looking creature in a brilliant and unearthly colour looking up
at him from the water. The jackal was first frightened, but soon realised that he was looking
at his own reflection. He remembered the foul smelling liquid into which he had fallen. “So
that is why all those dogs and all these animals in the forest were afraid!" he reasoned to
himself. His cunning mind thought of a plan quickly.
He called out to the frightened animals. “Do not be afraid of me. I have been sent down by
Brahma to protect you." The animals all believed him at once and made him king.

As the days went by, the jackal became prouder and lazier. He did not have to look for food
any longer. His subjects would bring him food to cat and take care of every need of his. The
jackal was very happy with his life.

One full moon night, the pack of jackals to whom the jackal had belonged before began to
howl at the moon. The indigo jackal had not heard his brothers howl for a long time. The
urge to howl was too strong for him to control. He threw back his head and began to howl
to hisheart’scontent.

The other animals were astonished to hear their heaven sent king howl like a common
jackal. And soon they realised their mistake.

“This is no extraordinary animal sent by Brahma. He howls like a jackal," said the bear.
“Yes. He is calling out to the other jackals." “He has fooled us." “He has to be punished,"
said several other animals. “Come let’s teach him a lesson." The animals joined together
and gave the indigo jackal a severe beating.

The Jackal and The War Drum :

Once in a forest there lived a jackal named Gomaya. He was too lazy to hunt for his food.
He often chased away younger jackals who would catch a prey and eat it himself.

All the other jackals were upset with him. They all got together and decided to get rid of
Gomaya. None of them was as big as he, and could not challenge him individually. “This is
getting beyond control," said one jackal.

“We make all the effort and kill a prey and Gomaya comes and claims it."

“I have an idea," said another jackal.

“We will take turns catching prey. And while one of us has his food, the others together will
keep Gomaya away. He is no match for all of us."

Things became very difficult for Gomaya after that. He could no longer snatch food from the
other jackals. They all attacked him together and chased him away. They would not even
allow him to hunt in that part of the forest any more.

Gomaya wandered far away into another part of the forest. At last he came to the farthest
part of the forest. By now, he had not eaten for many days. He was feeling very weak and
tired. “I have to find some food soon or else I will die," he thought. As he wandered around,
he came to an abandoned battle field.

Suddenly, there was a loud and frightening noise. “Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gomaya was filled with fear and turned and ran away as fast as he could. After running a
short distance, Gomaya stopped. He could still hear the sound. But it was not coming closer.
“I must be brave and find out what is causing that terrible sound," he decided. Gomaya
slowly went back to the battle field. His heart was full of dread, but he decided to be brave.

When he got there, Gomaya sighed with relief. The sound was being made by a harmless
old war drum lying beside a tree in the abandoned battle field. Every time the wind blew,
the lower branches of the tree would brush against the drum making a loud noise.

Gomaya was thrilled to find a lot of food lying near the war drum. He ate heartily till his
stomach was full.

What a fool I would have been if I had run away in fear and missed all this delicious food,"
thought the jackal.

The Lion and The Hare :

Once in a forest there lived a lion who was very proud of his strength. He would kill any
animal which came in his way just for fun. All the animals in the forest were worried about
their survival.

“If the lion keeps this up, none of us will be left in the forest," said the bear.

“He kills much more than he really needs to," squeaked the little hare.

“We have to come up with something to stop this massacre," said the monkey. So they all
joined together and went to meet the lion.

“O king of the forest, we have come to make a small request," they all said to the lion.

“Now what would that be?" asked the amused lion.

“You are the king of the forest, but soon there will be no animals to rule over. So we beg
you to stop this unreasonable killing and we promise that one of us will come to you
everyday for your food," pleaded all the animals with the lion.

So from that day, the animals drew lots to decide on who was to go to the lion as his prey.

One day, the lots fell on the hare to visit the lion. All the animals consoled him and sent him
on his way to meet his doom. But the hare was a clever animal. He did not want to die at
the hands of the cruel lion. He saw an old well on the way. It was very deep and was a
danger for all the animals. He thought of a plan.

The little hare went to sleep near the well all day. In the evening, he made his way to the
lion's den. The lion was terribly hungry by then and when he saw a tiny hare coming
towards him, he became furious.

“You little thing, how dare you come so late? How dare they send such a small animal? I will
kill them all," the angry lion roared.

“It is not my fault, O mighty lion. There were three other hares with me. But on the way
here, another lion attacked us. I just managed to escape. The other three hares were eaten
by that lion,"said the hare.

“What? Another lion in my jungle? Take me to him immediately," said the lion in a fit of
rage.

The hare took the lion to the well and pointed it out to him from a distance. The other lion
jumped out at us from inside the well when we tried to drink some water from the well. The
lion rushed angrily to the well and peeped in.

There inside the well he could see another lion glaring at him. What the foolish lion did not
realise in his anger was that he was looking at his reflection. He roared angrily at the other
lion. He heard an answering roar.

It was only the echo of his own roar. But the lion thought that the other lion was challenging
him. He jumped in and landed inside with a loud splash. And that was the end of the wicked
lion.

The Lazy Dreamer :

Once, in a small village, there lived a poor Brahmin. He was very learned, but did nothing
all day. He lived on the alms the villagers gave him every day.

One day, as usual, the Brahmin got up in the morning, performed his morning rituals and
set out to beg for alms. As he went from door to door, people gave him several things.
Some gave dal. Others gave him rice and yet others gave him vegetables. But one generous
lady gave the Brahmin a large measure of flour.

“Ah! What good luck. I will not have to beg for alms for a long time," thought the Brahmin
to himself.

He went home and cooked his lunch. After he had eaten, the Brahmin put the flour into a
large mud pot and hung it near his bed. “Now, it will be safe from rats," he said to himself
as he lay down in his cot for an afternoon nap.

He began to think, “I will save this flour until there is a famine. Then I will sell it at a very
good price. With that, I will buy a pair of goats. Very soon, I will have a large flock of goats.
With their milk, I will make more money. Then I will buy a cow and a bull. Very soon I will
also have a large herd of cows. Their milk will fetch me a lot of money. I will become very
wealthy. I will build for myself, a huge palace and get married to a beautiful woman... Then
we will have a little son. I will be a proud father. In a few months my son will start crawling.
He will be mischievous and I will be very worried that he may come to some harm. 1 will
call out to my wife to take care of him. But she will be busy with house work and will ignore
my call. I will get so angry. I will kick her to teach her a lesson like this..."

The Brahmin threw out his leg up. His foot hit the pot of flour hanging overhead and it came
down with a resounding crash, spilling the flour all over the dirty floor. The lazy Brahmin
realised that his foolishness and vanity had cost him a precious measure of flour. The
laziness and foolishness taught him a lesson. Thereafter he lived an active life which took to
heights.

The Merchant and The Foolish Barber :

In a small town there lived a merchant named Manibhadra. He and his wife were very
generous and kind. Everyone in the town knew them and visited their house and enjoyed
their hospitality.

One day. Manibhadra lost all his ships in a storm at sea. They were loaded with valuable
cargo. All the people who had lent him money for trading demanded immediate repayment.
Manibhadra had to sell all his possessions and pay them. In the end he was left with
nothing.

Along with his wealth, all his friends also left him. Manibhadra was very discouraged. “Even
my friends have deserted me. They just liked my wealth," he thought bitterly.

“I have nothing to give my wife and children except pain and suffering. Maybe it is better to
end my life. I can’t bear to see them suffer." With such disturbed thoughts, Manibhadra
went to sleep.

That night he had a strange dream. A monk appeared in his dream and said, “If you touch
me on my head with a stick I will change into enough gold to last many lifetimes." In the
dream Manibhadra saw himself touching the monk with a stick and the monk turning into a
huge pile of gold coins.

The next morning Manibhadra woke to the sound of someone knocking at the door. “Can my
dream be true? Will I ever become rich again?" thought Manibhadra to himself.

“The barber is here for you," called out his wife from the door.
“How foolish of me to believe in a dream. It will never come true," said Manibhadra to
himself as he sat down for his shave. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Manibhadra got up and opened the door. To his surprise, there stood a monk looking at him
silently and meaningfully.

Manibhadra picked up a stick and in a daze, touched the monk on his head with it. And
there in front of him was a huge pile of gold coins. Manibhadra was overjoyed. He sent the
barber away with a generous measure of gold coins, advising him to keep things to himself.

The barber was a greedy man. He was also very foolish. “So when you hit these monks on
the head, they change into gold. Now I know how to become rich. I am tired of shaving and
cutting people s hair and earning a rupee or two, he thought."

He went to a monastery and invited a few monks to his house for a feast As soon as the
monks entered his house, the barber took a stick and started to beat them on their heads.
The poor monks were terrified. One of them managed to escape from the barber’s house
and called the soldiers for help. The soldiers arrested the barber and took him to the Judge.

“Why did you beat the monks with a stick?" asked the judge. “When Manibhadra hit a monk
on his head, he turned into a heap of gold," answered the barber.

The judge called Manibhadra and asked him if that was true. Manibhadra explained the
whole story to the judge in detail. On hearing the story, the judge realised that the barber
had acted due to greed and dishonesty and punished the foolish barber.

The Foolish Lion

In a forest there lived a lion. He had grown old and could not run fast anymore. As days
went by it became more and more difficult for him to hunt.

One day while he was wandering through the forest in search of food, he came across a
cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. “Some animal must be staying here,"
he said to himself. He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. “I will hide inside and wait
for the animal to return," he thought.

The cave was the home of a jackal. Everyday, the jackal would go out in search of food and
return to the cave in the evening to rest. That evening, the jackal after having his meal
started towards home. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around
him very quiet. “Something is wrong," the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and
insects so silent?"

Very slowly and cautiously, he walked towards his cave. He looked around him, watching for
any signs of danger. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave, all his instincts alerted him
of danger. “I have to make sure that everything is alright," thought the jackal. Suddenly, he
thought of a plan.

The clever jackal called out to the cave. “Hello my good cave, what happened to you today?
Why are you so quiet?"

The jackal’s voice echoed deep inside the cave. The lion, who by now could control his
hunger no longer, thought to himself, “I think it is because I am here that the cave is silent.
Before the jackal realises that something is wrong, I should do something."

The jackal continued to call out, “Have you forgotten our agreement cave? You are
supposed to greet me when I return home." The lion tried to make his voice sound hollow
and called out from within the cave, “Welcome home my friend."

The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lion’s roar. As for the jackal, he
shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce on him and eat him up, the jackal ran
for his dear life as fast as his legs could carry him.

The lion waited for a long while for the jackal to enter the cave. But when the jackal did not
come in, the lion realised that he had been fooled. He cursed himself for his foolishness that
made him lose a prey.

Let us enjoy reading this story of Bell The Cat.

There was a grocery shop in a town. Plenty of mice lived in that grocery shop. Food was in
plenty for them. They ate everything and spoiled all the bags. They also wasted the bread,
biscuits and fruits of the shop.

The grocer got really worried. So, he thought "I should buy a cat and let it stay at the
grocery. Only then I can save my things."

He bought a nice, big fat cat and let him stay there. The cat had a nice time hunting the
mice and killing them. The mice could not move freely now. They were afraid that anytime
the cat would eat them up.

The mice wanted to do something. They held a meeting and all of them tweeted "We must
get rid of the cat. Can someone give a suggestion"?

All the mice sat and brooded. A smart looking mouse stood up and said, "The cat moves
softly. That is the problem. If we can tie a bell around her neck, then things will be fine. We
can know the movements of the cat".

“Yes, that is answer," stated all the mice. An old mouse slowly stood up and asked, "Who
would tie the bell?" After some moments there was no one there to answer this question.
Bye Baby Bunting :

Betty Botter

One day, Betty Botter wanted to bake a cake. She bought some cheap butter to bake it. But
something was wrong with the butter.

“This butter is bitter," said Betty Botter as she tasted the butter.

“If I put it in my cake batter, it will make the batter bitter. But if I put a bit of better butter
that would make my batter better."

So, she went off to buy a better butter than her bitter butter. She mixed a bit of better
butter into her cake batter. She tasted the batter and was happy that the batter was not
bitter.

She adopted the best way to solve the problem. Because there will be always one.

Moral of the story :

If you have a problem, always think of the best way to solve it.

Bye Baby Bunting

One fine morning, a hunter was getting ready to go hunting. Before departing, he went to
see his little baby. His baby was awake in a baby crib. He looked at his baby’s blanket and
thought the blanket might not be thick enough for the coming winter.

“Bye, my little baby. Daddy is going hunting. Daddy is going to fetch some rabbit skin to
make you a new blanket," said the hunter to his baby.

He kissed his baby and went off hunting. After the hunting, he bought a blanket which
saved his child from the sever winter that followed.

Moral of the story :

As the head of the family, you must be able to provide food and clothing for your family.

A Wise Old Owl

There was an old owl that lived in an oak. Everyday he saw incidents happening around
him. Yesterday he saw a boy helping an old man to carry a heavy basket. Today he saw a
girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw the less he spoke.

As he spoke less, he heard more. He heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a
woman saying that an elephant jumped over a fence. He also heard a man saying that he
had never made a mistake.
The old owl had seen and heard about what happened to people. Some became better and
some became worse. But the old owl had become wiser each and every day.

Moral of the story :

You should be observant, talk less but listen more. This will make you a wise person.

A Wise Old Owl

There was an old owl that lived in an oak. Everyday he saw incidents happening around
him. Yesterday he saw a boy helping an old man to carry a heavy basket. Today he saw a
girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw the less he spoke.

As he spoke less, he heard more. He heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a
woman saying that an elephant jumped over a fence. He also heard a man saying that he
had never made a mistake.

The old owl had seen and heard about what happened to people. Some became better and
some became worse. But the old owl had become wiser each and every day.

Moral of the story :

You should be observant, talk less but listen more. This will make you a wise person.