1.

The boy who cried wolf

Once, there was a boy who became bored when he watched over
the village sheep grazing on the hillside. To entertain himself, he
sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!” When the
villagers heard the cry, they came running up the hill to drive the
wolf away. But, when they arrived, they saw no wolf. The boy was
amused when seeing their angry faces. “Don’t scream wolf, boy,”
warned the villagers, “when there is no wolf!” They angrily went
back down the hill. Later, the shepherd boy cried out once again,
“Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his amusement, he
looked on as the villagers came running up the hill to scare the wolf
away. As they saw there was no wolf, they said strictly, “Save your
frightened cry for when there really is a wolf! Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when
there is no wolf!” But the boy grinned at their words while they
walked grumbling down the hill once more. Later, the boy saw a real
wolf sneaking around his flock. Alarmed, he jumped on his feet and
cried out as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought
he was fooling them again, and so they didn’t come to help. At
sunset, the villagers went looking for the boy who hadn’t returned
with their sheep. When they went up the hill, they found him
weeping. “There really was a wolf here! The flock is gone! I cried
out, ‘Wolf!’ but you didn’t come,” he wailed. An old man went to
comfort the boy. As he put his arm around him, he said, “Nobody
believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!”

2. The Golden Touch

There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a
Satyr. And he was then granted a wish by Dionysus, the god of wine.
For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn to
gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that this
was a fantastic wish, and so, it was bestowed. Excited about his
newly-earned powers, Midas started touching all kinds of things,
turning each item into pure gold. But soon, Midas became hungry.
As he picked up a piece of food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had
turned to gold in his hand. Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve!
Perhaps this was not such an excellent wish after all!” Seeing his
dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms around him to
comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The golden touch is no
blessing,” Midas cried.
 3. The Fox and the grapes

One day, a fox became very hungry as he went to search for some
food. He searched high and low, but couldn’t find something that he
could eat. Finally, as his stomach rumbled, he stumbled upon a
farmer’s wall. At the top of the wall, he saw the biggest, juiciest
grapes he’d ever seen. They had a rich, purple color, telling the fox
they were ready to be eaten. To reach the grapes, the fox had to
jump high in the air. As he jumped, he opened his mouth to catch
the grapes, but he missed. The fox tried again but missed yet again.
He tried a few more times but kept failing. Finally, the fox decided it
was time to give up and go home. While he walked away, he
muttered, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.”

4. The Proud Rose

Once upon a time, in a desert far away, there was a rose who was so
proud of her beautiful looks. Her only complaint was growing next to
an ugly cactus. Every day, the beautiful rose would insult and mock
the cactus on hisooks, all while the cactus remained quiet. All the
other plants nearby tried to make the rose see sense, but she was
too swayed by her own looks. One scorching summer, the desert
became dry, and there was no water left for the plants. The rose
quickly began to wilt. Her beautiful petals dried up, losing their lush
color. Looking to the cactus, she saw a sparrow dip his beak into the
cactus to drink some water. Though ashamed, the rose asked the
cactus if she could have some water. The kind cactus readily
agreed, helping them both through the tough summer, as friends.

5. The Milkmaid and Her Pail

One day, Molly the milkmaid had filled her pails with milk. Her job
was to milk the cows, and then bring the milk to the market to sell.
Molly loved to think about what to spend her money on. As she filled
the pails with milk and went to market, she again thought of all the
things she wanted to buy. As she walked along the road, she
thought of buying a cake and a basket full of fresh strawberries. A
little further down the road, she spotted a chicken. She thought,
“With the money I get from today, I’m going to buy a chicken of my
own. That chicken will lay eggs, then I will be able to sell milk and
eggs and get more money!” She continued, “With more money, I
will be able to buy a fancy dress and make all the other milkmaids
jealous.” Out of excitement, Molly started skipping, forgetting about
the milk in her pails. Soon, the milk started spilling over the edges,
covering Molly. Drenched, Molly said to herself, “Oh no! I will never
have enough money to buy a chicken now.” She went home with her
empty pails.

“Oh, my goodness! What happened to you?” Molly’s mother asked.

“I was too busy dreaming about all the things I wanted to buy that I
forgot about the pails,” she answered.

“Oh, Molly, my dear. How many times do I need to say, ‘Don’t count
your chickens until they hatch?’”

6. A wise old owl

There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he
observed incidents that occurred around him. Yesterday, he
watched as a young boy helped an old man carry a heavy basket.
Today, he saw a young girl shouting at her mother. The more he
saw, the less he spoke. As the days went on, he spoke less but
heard more. The old owl heard people talking and telling stories. He
heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence. He heard a
man saying that he had never made a mistake. The old owl had
seen and heard what happened to people. There were some who
became better, some who became worse. But the old owl in the tree
had become wiser, each and every day.

7. The golden egg

Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg
every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his
wife to support their daily needs. The farmer and his wife continued
to be happy for a long time. But, one day, the farmer thought to
himself, “Why should we take just one egg a day? Why can’t we
take them all at once and make a lot of money?” The farmer told his
wife his idea, and she foolishly agreed. Then, the next day, as the
goose laid its golden egg, the farmer was quick with a sharp knife.
He killed the goose and cut its stomach open, in the hopes of finding
all its golden eggs. But, as he opened the stomach, the only thing he
found was guts and blood. The farmer quickly realized his foolish
mistake and proceeded to cry over his lost resource. As the days
went on, the farmer and his wife became poorer and poorer. How
jinxed and how foolish they were.

8. The Farmer and the Well

One day, a farmer was looking for a water source for his farm, when
he bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor, however, was
cunning. The next day, as the farmer came to draw water from his
well, the neighbor refused to let him take any water. When the
farmer asked why, the neighbor replied, “I sold you the well, not the
water,” and walked away. Distraught, the farmer went to the
emperor to ask for justice. He explained what had happened. The
emperor called on Birbal, one of his nine, and wisest, courtiers.
Birbal proceeded to question the neighbor, “Why don’t you let the
farmer take water from the well? You did sell the well to the
farmer?” The neighbor replied, “Birbal, I did sell the well to the
farmer but not the water within it. He has no right to draw water
from the well.” Birbal said, “Look, since you sold the well, you have
no right to keep the water in the farmer’s well. Either you pay rent
to the farmer, or take it out immediately.” Realizing that his scheme
had failed, the neighbor apologized and went home.

9. Elephan and Friends

A lone elephant walked through the forest, looking for friends. She
soon saw a monkey and proceeded to ask, ‘Can we be friends,
monkey?’ The monkey quickly replied, ‘You are big and can’t swing
on trees like I do, so I cannot be your friend.’ Defeated, the elephant
continued to search when it stumbled across a rabbit. She
proceeded to ask him, ‘Can we be friends, rabbit?’ The rabbit looked
at the elephant and replied, “You are too big to fit inside my burrow.
You cannot be my friend.” Then, the elephant continued until she
met a frog. She asked, “Will you be my friend, frog?” The frog
replied, “You are too big and heavy; you cannot jump like me. I am
sorry, but you can’t be my friend.” The elephant continued to ask
the animals she met on her way, but always received the same
reply. The following day, the elephant saw all the forest animals run
in fear. She stopped a bear to ask what was happening and was told
the tiger was attacking all the small animals. The elephant wanted
to save the other animals, so she went to the tiger and said,
“Please, sir, leave my friends alone. Do not eat them.” The tiger
didn’t listen. He merely told the elephant to mind her own business.
Seeing no other way, the elephant kicked the tiger and scared him
away. Upon hearing of the brave tale, the other animals agreed,
“You are just the right size to be our friend.”

10. When Adversity Knocks

Asha was getting frustrated and tired of life, so she asked her father
what to do. Her father told her to bring an egg, two tea leaves, and
a potato. He then brought out three vessels, filled them with water,
and placed them on the stove. Once the water was boiling, he told
Asha to place the items into each pot and keep an eye on them.
After 10 minutes, he asked Asha to peel the egg, peel the potato,
and strain the leaves. Asha was left confused. Her father explained,
“Each item was placed into the same circumstance, boiling water.
See how each responded differently?” He continued, “The egg was
soft, but is now hard. The potato was hard, but is now soft. And the
tea leaves, they changed the water itself.” The father then asked,
“When adversity calls, we respond in the same manner as they
have. Now, are you an egg, a potato, or tea leaves?”