151 Panchatantra Tales

There was a lake in a forest. It was surrounded by beautiful trees and bushes. A peacock lived near the lake. He had beautiful feathers and he looked at his reflection on the surface of the lake water every day. One day, a crane came there searching for food. The lake was full of fish […]

A Brahmin’s wife gave birth to a son. But the child turned out to be a snake. They showered him with love and affection. When the snake grew up, the Brahmin and his wife married their son to a young lady amid grand celebrations. Soon, something new happened. The snake would turn into a young

A dead mouse lay on the roadside. A poor young man stood there, looking at it. Just then, the royal advisor was passing by. He said, “That dead mouse can make you wealthy!” The young man took the mouse to a grocer. The grocer fed it to his cat and gave the man a copper

There was once a sage who found a baby elephant in a forest. He took her home and cared for her like his own daughter. He named her Lakshmi. The sage had to leave for the village one day. He bought basketfuls of bananas before he left. When Lakshmi was hungry, she ate one basket

There was a pious hare, who lived in a forest. He prayed every day. Once, there was a festival which involved fasting and offering food to guests. The hare had no delicacies to offer his guests. So he decided to offer himself as food. Then he lit a bonfire. God learnt about the hare’s pledge

A monkey, named Hanu, lived in a forest on a banyan tree, with his old mother and father. Hanu was a dutiful son. Hanu’s mother was blind; he was always waiting near by to help her. They were living a peaceful life until a hunter came that way. He wanted to kill Hanu’s mother. Hanu

There lived a pious fish in a lake. Many marine animals lived there happily. Once, there was a severe drought and the lake was drying up. Many fish and other animals died, while others lay dying. The pious fish felt sorry for his fellow beings in the lake. He would have to act soon, or

Once, there was a king. Some of his elephants were wounded. So he sent a messenger to fetch the royal vet. It was a hot day and on the way to the palace, the vet lay down under a tree. He had barely closed his eyes, when a crow’s droppings fell on his cheek. He

A man was travelling by a cart, which was being pulled by his donkey. They were riding on rough roads. Suddenly, the donkey broke free from the cart. He was so excited with his newfound freedom that he ran without direction. His master called him back, but the donkey did not pay heed. Before the

There was a poisonous snake in a forest. Whenever wicked people would make fun of him, he would bite them. One day, a hermit came to meditate in the forest. He asked the snake not to bite anyone. The snake was mesmerised by the hermit’s supernatural powers and agreed. Some time later, the hermit left

In a forest, there lived a jackal. He stole food from a village near by. The villagers were tired of looking for the thief, but could not find him. One night, when the jackal went to steal food, he saw that the villagers were still looking for him. The jackal stole some food and waited

One morning, Mother Frog went looking for food. Her babies were playing near a pool. Soon, a donkey came to the pool to drink water. He accidentally stepped on two baby frogs and they died. The third baby frog hid near a hedge by the pool. After some time, the donkey went away. When Mother

In a village, there was a huge tower. It had a bell that rang every noon. One day, a thief stole the bell. He was passing through the forest near by, when he saw a tiger. In his fright, the bell slipped from his hands and he ran away. Several monkeys lived near the place

A crow was walking on the beach, looking for food. He watched as the waves washed an oyster on the shore. He began pecking at it with his beak to break it open and eat the meat inside. But the oyster didn’t open. Then he jumped on it, but the shell was too hard. It

There was a cruel hunter. He was fond of rabbit meat. Every day, he would hunt a rabbit for lunch. One afternoon, he caught a rabbit and was walking towards his home. On the way, he came across a saint. The saint said, “Son, let go of the rabbit. God will bless you for this