151 Panchatantra Tales

There was once a washerman who had a donkey. The washerman was poor, so he could not feed his donkey. One day, the washerman was passing through a forest when he saw a tiger fast asleep. Soon, he realised that the tiger was dead. He had an idea. He reached home with the tiger’s skin. […]

One day, a rich merchant said to a boatman, “I will make you very rich. But you have to ferry my belongings safely to the other side of the river.” The boatman agreed. The merchant had a lion, a goat and a bundle of grass. If the boatman took the grass first, the lion would

A hungry squirrel was searching for food. Suddenly, he heard strange noises from a field near by. The noises scared him and he wanted to run away from there. But he thought, ‘Let me see where this noise is coming from.’ The squirrel followed the sounds until he reached two drums lying under a huge

Once upon a time, a saint was reborn as a deer. He lived in a huge forest. The animals in the forest admired him as he was very cheerful. One afternoon, a prince was riding through the forest. He saw the deer grazing near by. “What a beautiful animal!” he exclaimed. The prince began chasing

Once, a lioness saw a rabbit sleeping under a bush. She crept slowly towards him and caught him in her paws. The poor rabbit was taken aback. The lioness was just about to eat him, when she saw a stag near by. ‘The stag is far bigger than the rabbit and I can have a

There was half a loaf of bread lying near a house. A cat saw it. The moment he was about to eat it, another cat pounced on it. The first cat said, “I saw it first so I will eat it.” The second cat said, “No, I saw it first. So I will have it

A hungry crow sat on the window-sill of a kitchen, where a woman was preparing breakfast. As soon as the woman left, the crow swooped in and snatched a piece of cheese. She then flew to a nearby forest and perched on a tree, with the cheese in her beak. A fox saw this. He

Two friends, Govind and Raghav, set out to explore a nearby forest on a beautiful sunny afternoon. While on their way, they promised to protect each other from danger. They had reached the middle of the forest when, suddenly, a bear came running towards them. Govind climbed a nearby tree to save his life. Raghav,

Once, a falcon befriended a farmer’s hen. The falcon would perch on the mango tree in the farmer’s courtyard every evening. One day, he said to the hen, “Pardon me, Mrs Hen, but aren’t you being ungrateful?” The hen was angry. She said, “Why do you think so? What have I done?” The falcon said,

The Camel Ride There were two friends–a camel and a jackal. One afternoon, they were passing by a watermelon field. The jackal and the camel feasted on the watermelons. After having their fill, the jackal began howling. “Dear friend, don’t howl. The farmer will hear us,” said the camel. The jackal replied, “Singing after meals

In a dense forest, there lived many animals. King Lion had grown old and could not hunt anymore. So he appointed a fox for the job. The fox went hunting and he found a donkey. The cunning fox said to the donkey, “The king wants you as his advisor.” The donkey did not believe the

Once, there lived four friends in a village. They were very poor. One morning, they met a sage praying near a river. They told him about their suffering. The sage gave them a stone each and said, “Walk towards the Himalayas. Dig wherever the stone drops.” The four friends began their journey. After a while,

King Lion lived in the forest with his advisors – a crow, a fox and a leopard. The lion would hunt for food and share it with his advisors. One day, a camel lost his way and reached the lion’s den. He said, “Please don’t kill me!” The lion said, “All right; you can live

A holy man lived in a temple. Many devotees would offer him money, garments and gold. The holy man sold these and became rich. He kept his purse with him always and never trusted anyone. A swindler wanted to rob the holy man. He went to the holy man and said, “Sir, please accept me

A Brahmin lived with his wife and baby boy in a village. One day, the Brahmin brought a mongoose with him. He told his wife, “This pet will be our child’s companion. Treat it like our own son.” His wife took great care of the mongoose. One day, the Brahmin and his wife went to