Long ago, there lived a family of hawks on a tree in a forest. They made friends with a lion, a kingfisher and a turtle. One day, some hunters came to the forest. They saw the baby hawks and wanted to eat them. They burnt a huge fire for the same. The mother hawk saw […]
Long ago, in Yorkshire, there lived a man learned in many languages and arts. He could change copper into gold and lead into silver. He had a mirror in which he could see things happening in other parts of the world and a shell which he put at his ear to listen to anyone he
A priest knew a special magic spell which could be used only once a year, when the planets were lined up in a certain way. Then he had only to clap his hands, and a shower of precious gems came down on him. One day, the priest and his student were travelling when they were
Once upon a time, there was a castle in a valley near the Rhine River. Now, it lay desolate and in ruins. One summer afternoon, a young nobleman was out hunting and he chased a fox all the way up into the valley. But he lost the fox along the way and decided to go
Crab was a poor peasant who sold wood in the city. One day, he sold it to a doctor and was very impressed with his house and prosperity. “Can I too become a doctor?” he asked. The doctor said, “Certainly! Get an alphabet book with a picture of a cock crowing, sell off your cart
Long ago, a sage and his disciples lived high in the mountains. Once, it rained a lot. The disciples decided to go to the nearest village and seek alms. The sage sat deep in meditation while the disciples left. Upon reaching the village, they started seeking alms. Now, the king of that province was on
On a mountain was a castle surrounded by high walls and often flames were seen rising from behind the walls. One day, an old woman collecting firewood on the mountainside, strayed near the castle. The castle appeared to be desolate and in ruins, but she was curious and went in to look around. She went
The Arch Rogue was a conjuror; he was so clever that he could take things away from people right under their noses! The King came to know of him. Failing to catch him, he proclaimed that he wished him to perform his miracles of making things disappear for the King’s pleasure. The man presented himself
Once, a barber and a scholar were friends. They travelled a lot. One day, while travelling, their ship sank. The two floated on a wooden plank and reached an island. On the island, the barber hunted a wild animal and roasted it. He offered the roasted meat to the scholar but the scholar refused. Instead,
Kaiser Karl, better known as Charlemagne, lived earlier in Zurich. He had a pillar with a bell put up outside his house, so that anyone seeking justice might call him at any time. One night the bell rang, till the Kaiser himself went to the door. He found a large snake wrapped around the pillar,
The widow lived alone and was very poor, but she had a great quality: she was happy with whatever she got! She ran errands for others, did little odd jobs for them and sometimes they gave her a bowl of soup or something to eat. That made her very happy. One day, she found an
Holger is a great Danish hero, formidable in height and size! It was said that when he wished for new clothes, twelve tailors were summoned. They needed stools and ladders to climb up and measure him as, he was so tall! One of the tailors snipped his ear by mistake and Holger, thinking it was
Once, a quail lived in a nest with its siblings. Now, this quail was different from its siblings. Unlike the other quails, it never ate worms or insects. It relied only on twigs. As a result, it became weak. One day, while the other quails were away looking for food, a fierce fire broke out
A widow had an ill-natured daughter and a step-daughter. She hated her beautiful and good-natured step-daughter. One day, the step-daughter, munching a golden apple, went to fetch water. A small hand came out of the well and a voice asked for her apple. The girl gave it willingly. “Bless you thrice!” said the voice. The
Near the mill of Binnorie was a mansion and garden where a King and a Queen lived with their two princesses. A knight, Sir William, came there and sought the hand of the elder princess and presented her a ring. But as time passed, he grew to love her younger sister for her beauty and