Once, there was a prince named Gautam. When he came of age, he became the king and his father renounced the world and became an ascetic. He lived in a forest on the bank of a river. The river was named after a Naga king. The Naga king was very kind and compassionate. He was […]
The little brown underground people who lived in the hills were very careful about their things, shoes, caps, belts and buckles. If they lost anything, they felt miserable, spending sleepless nights till they found it. And since they could transform themselves into any shape, they searched for it disguised as humans, birds, animals, insects, anything!
Prince Tender-Heart was given a strong horse, a trusted servant and his father’s blessing to travel in the world, to make him wiser and more learned. On the way, the Prince saw an eagle attacking a swan, and shot the eagle down with his gun. The swan thanked him, for she was the daughter of
Once, the king of Banaras fought and conquered another kingdom. He took all the wealth of that kingdom to his own kingdom. He filled the wealth in iron pots and buried the pots in the royal garden. Now, unknown to him, the prince of that kingdom escaped in disguise. Later, he became an ascetic and
On the edge of the village lived the good woman who was the village nurse. She helped everyone who was sick or having babies. One night, she heard someone knocking violently at her door. She opened it and saw a tall man, wearing a large cloak, standing outside. “Please come immediately,” he said, “My wife
A king had a minister. He was very judicious. The king also had a lawyer who used to take bribes and give wrong decisions in court cases. One day, as usual, he took bribe and gave a wrong decision. The accused came to the minister for help. The minister looked at the case. He fought
One day, Paracelsus was walking along when he heard a voice calling out for help. He looked around and found that the voice came from inside a fir tree. Going closer, he saw that it seemed to have a hole in its trunk, sealed with a lid that had three crosses on it. It was
When it was time for Hans to go home after seven years of service, he asked his master for wages. His master gave him a huge piece of silver, almost as big as his head! He carried it in a sack but was getting rather tired, when he saw a man on horseback. He exchanged
Everyone knew that the hill-men were terrified of thunder. The sound of it frightened them. And when they heard drums beating, it sounded so much like thunder that they were frightened of drums too! If anyone played a drum where they lived, they would get up and go away. A farmer had a hill-man for
A peasant had three sons. He took two of them to work while the third stayed home to help his mother. When the parents died, they told their sons to share everything. But the elder brothers gave the youngest lad just a large trough in which he used to knead flour for his mother. He
Once, a baby was born in a family of Brahmins. This baby was very illustrious. The baby turned into a very educated man in time. One day, he renounced the world and became an ascetic. He performed heavy penances. The stories of his penances and dedication spread everywhere. God also heard about them. He wanted
An old man, who had been a warrior, had become a monk. He and his brave son, Conrad, came to live in a forest to protect the people of the countryside from all evils. One day, when Conrad went to cut wood, a huge white wolf leapt out at him. Unable to take out his
Once, a merchant and his wife were very religious. They had a son who never prayed or performed any religious duties. One day, his mother sent him to a temple to listen to a saint’s sermons. She hoped that listening to the sermons would change him. She also promised to give him money if he
A farmer went to his fields every day past a large stone-cross. He stopped there daily to offer a prayer before he went on his way. One morning, he saw a little black insect on the cross, scurrying up and down, looking very troubled. It seemed to be in some kind of agony. ‘It seems
There lived a hunter whose wife was a terrible shrew. She yelled and screamed, and talked non-stop, till he was driven out of the house to get some peace! When he went hunting, he took his two dogs also with him. One day, when he went out with his gun and his dogs, he could