The Thirsty Crow

One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over the fields looking for water. For a long time, he could not find any. He felt very weak, almost lost all hope. Suddenly, he saw a water jug below the tree. He flew straight down to see if there was any water inside. Yes, he could see some water inside the jug!

The crow tried to push his head into the jug. Sadly, he found that the neck of the jug was too narrow. Then he tried to push the jug to tilt for the water to flow out but the jug was too heavy.

The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around it, he saw some pebbles. he suddenly had a good idea. he started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. His plan had worked!

Moral: Think and work hard, you may find solution to any problem.

The Monkey and Cats

It was the aftermath of a big festival. Two cats were prowling together. One of the cats saw a big cake and mieued. The other jumped up and picket it.The first cat said, Give me the cake. It is I who saw it first.The other cat said Keep away from it. It is I who picked it up.

They were fighting and fighting. But there was no solution. Just then, a monkey passed by. He thought What foolish cats they must be! Let me make use of this chance.

He came to the cats and said in a loud voice. Dont fight. Let me share the cake among you both. The cake was handed over to the monkey.

The monkey split the cake into tow parts. He shook his head and said, Oho! One is bigger. One is smaller. He had a bit of the bigger and now said Oho! This has become smaller now. He ate from the other. And thus, he went on eating from part to part and finally finished the whole cake.

The poor cats were disappointed.

Moral: When you quarrel someone else gains.

Foolish Monkeys

Before several centuries, there was a very large, dense and dark forest. A group of monkeys arrived at the forest. It was winter season, and the monkeys struggled hard to survive the freezing cold nights. They were hunting for fire to get warm. One night, they saw a firefly and considered it a dab of fire. All the monkeys in the group shouted Fire, Fire, Fire, Yeah we got fire! A couple of monkeys tried to catch the firefly and it escaped. They were sad as they could not catch the fire. They were talking to themselves that they cannot live in the cold if they dont get the fire. The next night, again they saw many fireflies. After several attempts, the monkeys caught a few fireflies. They put the fireflies in a hole dug in the land and tried to blow the flies. They blew the flies very hard without knowing the fact that they are flies! An owl was watching the activities of the monkeys. The owl reached the monkeys and told them, Hey those are not fire! They are flies, you wont be able to make fire from it!The monkeys laughed at the owl. One monkey replied the owl, Hey old owl you dont know anything about how to make fire. Dont disturb us!Owl warned the monkeys again and asked them to stop their foolish act. Monkeys, you cannot make fire from the flies! Please hear my words.The monkeys tried to make fire from the flies. Owl told them again to stop their foolish act. You are struggling so much, go take your shelter in a nearby cave. You can save yourself from the freezing cold! You wont get fire! One monkey shouted at the owl and the owl left the place. The monkeys were simply doing the foolish activity for several hours and it was almost midnight. They were very tired and realized that the words of the owl were correct and they were trying to blow a fly. They sheltered at the cave and escaped from the cold.

Moral: We may go wrong many times and should seek and accept the advice / suggestions provided by others.

The Strange Bird with Two Heads

Double headed birdOnce upon a time, there lived a strange bird with two heads, facing opposite direction. The two heads used to fight and argue with each even for very simple reasons. While they share the same body, the two heads behave like rivals! The strange bird lived in a big banyan tree, along the bank of the river. One day, while flying over the river, one head of the bird found a beautiful tree with a fruit in bright red colour. One head of the bird wanted to eat the fruit and the bird flew down to pick the fruit from the tree. The bird plucked the sweet smelling fruit and sat by the banks of the river and started eating it. The fruit was eaten by one head, which saw the fruit from the sky. The head that ate the part praised the fruit so much as the fruit was very tasty. While eating, the other head, asked the first head, Can you give me a piece to taste it? The first head said See, we are having only one stomach. So even If I eat in my mouth, it will go into our stomach.The other head asked But I wanted to taste the fruit. You should give me.The first head replied in anger I only saw the fruit and I have the right to eat it without sharing with anyone.The depressed second head, became very sad went silent. Few days later, while the bird was flying, the second head saw a beautiful pink fruit in a tree. It flew down near the tree and was trying to pick the fruit and eat it. The other birds living in the tree said, dont eat it. It is a poison fruit. It will make you die. The first head shouted, Dont eat it. Dont eat it. However the second head did not hear the first head. The second head said, I will eat it, because I saw it. The first head shouted, Please dont eat it. We will all die.The second head, Since I saw it, I have the right to eat it. It will go to our stomach only.The fruit was eaten by the second head and in few minutes, the strange bird with two heads died!!!!

Moral: AVOID QUARREL IN A FAMILY

The Wolf and the Lamb

Short Stories It was a little lamb, accompanied by a flock of sheep to a grazing land. As the flock was grazing the green grass, the little lamb, which was so mischievous, was wandering here and there. It saw fresh grass in a distance and separated from the crew to enjoy the fresh bites. It came across a long way from its group and was eating the fresh and delicious grass unaware of the fact that it was closely followed by a wolf! When the lamb realized that it lost its way from its group and reached a distant place, it decided to join them. However, the lamb was stunned to see a hungry and cunning wolf standing behind it. The lamb realized that there is no option left except to surrender itself to the wolf. The lamb asked the wolf, Are you going to eat me?The wolf said, Yes, at any cost!The lamb said again, But can you please wait for some more time. I eat a lot of grass now and my stomach is filled with grass. If you eat me, you will feel like eating grass! The wolf agreed, Oh yes I will wait. You are here before me and I can wait for some time! The lamb thanked. After sometime, the wolf got ready to kill lamb, but the lamb stopped him. Dear wolf, please wait for some more time. The grass is yet to get digest. If you eat me now, you will see a lot of grass in my stomach! Let me dance and it will be digested easily. Wolf agreed. The little lamb danced crazily and carefully and moved the foot towards the group. Suddenly the lamb stopped dancing. Wolf enquired what happen. See, remove this bell tied to my neck and rang it as fast as you can, so that I will dance faster and the food will digest very soonerThe wolf, with the desire to eat the lamb removed the bell tied to the lambs neck and ranged it speedily. Meanwhile, shepherd was searching for the little lamb and heard the bell sound. He saw the wolf and the lamb. He ran towards wolf with a stick. Seeing the shepherd with a stick, the wolf ran away, and the lamb was saved!

Moral: Physical strength isnt just sufficient. Sometimes, weaker people with smart mind can overcome the physically strong ones!The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.

They imagined that if the bird must be able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.

However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose!

MORAL: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT

The Master and his Student

Once, a Master was walking on the banks of a river. Suddenly, he heard a cry. He ran to the riverside and saw his Student in the water. The Student was waving his arms and crying out loud. When he saw the Master, he shouted, Master! Please help me. I will drown in the river.

The Master asked his Student to stay calm. He said, Son! Do not panic! I shall find a way to bring you out. But how did you fall into the river?

The Student replied, I was learning how to swim with the help of a log of wood. After a while, I felt I could swim without it. So, I left the log and started swimming without it. The force of the stream was very rough and I lost my balance.

The Master looked around for another log of wood, and found one lying upon the bank. He threw it towards his Student and said, Let this be a warning to you. In future, never throw away the log until you are quite sure you have learnt to swim without it.

Moral: Do not make rash and hasty decisions.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King!" cried the little Mouse, "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, but I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days?"

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.

Sometime later a few hunters captured the King and tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, ran up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse, very happy to help the Lion.

MORAL: Little friends may prove great friends.

The Rabbit and the Turtle

One day a rabbit was boasting about how fast he could run. He was laughing at the turtle for being so slow. Much to the rabbits surprise, the turtle challenged him to a race. The rabbit thought this was a good joke and accepted the challenge. The fox was to be the umpire of the race. As the race began, the rabbit raced way ahead of the turtle, just like everyone thought. The rabbit got to the halfway point and could not see the turtle anywhere. He was hot and tired and decided to stop and take a short nap. Even if the turtle passed him, he would be able to race to the finish line ahead of him. All this time the turtle kept walking step by step by step.

He never quit no matter how hot or tired he got. He just kept going.

However, the rabbit slept longer than he had thought and woke up. He could not see the turtle anywhere! He went at full-speed to the finish line but found the turtle there waiting for him.

Moral: never underestimate the weakest opponent.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling away?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same." "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of food at present."

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.Then the Grasshopper knew.

MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!

The Ant and the Dove

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.

She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground. Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it.

Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety.

Moral: One good turn deserves another.

The Fox and the Grapes

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoted the fox.

Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them but still failed.

Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, "They're probably sour anyway," and proceeded to walk away.

MORAL: IT'S EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT HAVE.

The Monkey and the Dolphin

One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey.

When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship. Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown. Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up.

They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the dolphins back. The dolphin asked the monkey, Do you know this place?

The monkey replied, Yes, I do. In fact, the king of the island is my best friend. Do you know that I am actually a prince?

Knowing that no one lived on the island, the dolphin said, Well, well, so you are a prince! Now you can be a king! The monkey asked, How can I be a king?

As the dolphin started swimming away, he answered, That is easy. As you are the only creature on this island, you will naturally be the king!

Moral: Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.