Trishka was a Russian peasant. One day, he noticed that his Caftan, or long-skirted gown, was torn at the elbows. It was simple, he thought. He cut off a quarter of each sleeve, and patched it on the elbows. The elbows looked fine now, but his arms had lost a quarter of their length. Everyone […]
Once, an ass saw a nightingale and said, “My friend, I have heard that you have a really beautiful voice. I have been waiting from a long time to hear you sing.” Delighted by the praise, the nightingale began to sing, whistling in myriad ways, with long-drawn, sniveling notes. She sang one song after another.
Once, a merchant was ready to set out on a journey. He asked his three daughters, “What gifts do you all want?” The eldest daughter asked for a golden crown, and the second one requested a crystal mirror. The youngest daughter asked only for the little crimson flower. The merchant set out on his journey.
Once, a diamond was lying alongside the pebble in the dust on the roadside. Finally, a merchant picked it up and sold it to the King. The King had it set in his royal crown. Now, the pebble heard of the diamond’s great future and complained about its own hard luck. Once, it saw a
Robby rabbit hated carrots. Every day Mama rabbit scolded him. “Robby, if you don’t eat carrots your eyesight will become weak.” But he never listened to her. Finally, Mama had an idea. She told the donkey, “Can you come to my burrow tonight and howl like a wolf?” Then Mama went to the squirrel and
A crowd of people had assembled in front of a merchant’s house. They were wondering at a squirrel that ran in the revolving wheel of its cage. A thrust that was sitting on a nearby tree asked the squirrel, “Friend, please tell me what you are doing.” “My dear fellow,” replied the squirrel, “I don’t
Tsar Elidar and Tsarina Militissa had three sons, Aksof, Hut and Lyubim. Aksof and Hut went out to see the world and never returned. Then, Lyubim set off to search for his brothers. He found a strong horse and a sword in his father’s house. He reached a point with three roads: the sign said
Bonsie and Mopsie were two puppies. Bonsie loved to chase butterflies with his sister Mopsie in the lawn of Mrs Jeniffer. Today both the puppies started racing in the lawn. While racing they trampled over the vegetables in the lawn. The cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and radishes, all got trampled over! They stopped when they saw
Old Charles loved his brown shoes. They were more than twenty years old. He found them so comfortable that he didn’t want to give them away and buy a new pair. “Why do I need new shoes? These are better than the best!” he always said. He would wear them for special occasions too. One
Tony was staying at his grandma’s house for the weekend. Grandma had many cats. Tony loved her and all her little cats. “Where is Mr Tin Tin, Grandma?” asked Tony while he searched for the furry white cat. Mr Tin Tin was his favourite cat. “Meow!” Tony suddenly saw Mr Tin Tin! Down the lane
There was a magician who lived in a town. He had a magic wand that he used to make things disappear. “Zoop!Zoop!” and things would disappear in the air. People of the town were very disturbed by his tricks. One day, they went to him and asked him to leave the town. The magician had
Mrs Timbaktoo baked delicious cakes everyday. A bubbly bee who lived near by longed for the cakes. But Mrs Timbaktoo disliked insects. If she ever spotted a spider weaving a web, she chased the spider out of her house with her broomstick. “How will I ever get to taste those delicious cakes?” wondered the bubbly
A woodsman had a kind wife and a pretty little daughter, but his wife died. He married a widow with two daughters of her own. She was neither good nor kind and her daughters were nasty little girls. They grew up into very plain-looking, lazy girls while the eldest daughter grew up to be very
An old merchant had three daughters, the two elder ones were greedy and lazy but the youngest was good and wise. The elder girls called her Stupid. The merchant was going to a fair and asked his daughters what they wanted. The eldest wanted a necklace and the second one a golden dress. The youngest
Peter was about to go to bed when he heard a loud noise. He opened his door and peered into the dining room. “What’s this?” he exclaimed. The salt and pepper shakers were talking! “Without me your food shall have no taste!” said the salt. “And if you don’t use me, your food will taste