There was a mango tree by a river. It was home to many birds who lived on its branches. A little bird lived there too. She had worked hard collecting straws, leaves and feathers to build her nest. She was proud of her lovely home. One evening, it rained heavily. All the birds and the […]
It was a hot summer. Waters in the lake had dried up. King Elephant called his subjects and said, “I know of a huge lake in another forest. Let’s go there.” They marched towards that forest and reached the lake after five nights. The elephants were so ecstatic to see water that they unknowingly trampled
One day, the birds of a jungle gathered to choose their king. An owl was perched on a tree near by. The discussion went on for hours. Finally, a parrot suggested, “The owl should be our king.” The owl couldn’t see anything in the daylight but heard everything clearly. He was glad. As the birds
Once upon a time, there lived a king. His palace was surrounded by a lake with a garden around it. Many golden swans lived in the lake. The king would go for a walk in the garden every morning and collect the golden feathers shed by the swans. One day, when the king came to
Once upon a time, a flock of doves was flying in search of food. Soon, they saw rice grains lying under a banyan tree. They began pecking at the grains, but realised that a hunter had laid his net there. The doves were trapped. King Dove said, “Union is strength. Let’s fly together, clutching the
Once, there was a king who had a pet monkey. He used to take it wherever he went. The monkey would stay in the king’s bedroom and guard him. One night, when the king was sleeping, the monkey was fanning him, sitting by his side. A housefly came through the window and sat on the
The King Pigeon’s words were wise, “Never allow your greed to overcome your common sense, my friends.” But one of the pigeons was rebellious. He wanted to eat the grains, so he told them that wisdom does not mean they should go hungry. “We should not follow only the advice of old people,” he said
“So what are you here for?” asked the traveller again. “A wise and holy person asked me to do good deeds to repent for my sins. So here I am, old, toothless and weak. I am waiting to give this bangle to someone as a gift, but no one believes that I am harmless now,
A tiger was sitting on the bank of a pool in a dense forest in the Deccan. He had bathed and was wearing a flower garland, looking very saintly. He kept calling out to passers-by offering them a gold bangle. Most people went by without heeding him, but one greedy traveller stopped. For a moment
It was the King of Pigeons flying along with his entourage. He was a beautiful bird with a speckled neck. They noticed the grains of rice on the ground below. The Pigeon King was a very wise bird. So when he saw that his flock wanted to eat the rice, he said, “Yes, we’ll have
Vishnu Sharma began with a story to teach the King’s sons how wise friends can find a way to overcome difficulties, even if they are not rich or powerful. Once upon a time, a shalmali tree stood on the banks of the Godavari river. Hundreds of birds roosted on that tree every night. A hunter
The King continued to think deeply, ‘Is everything based on fate only? Or can we make some effort to change ourselves and what happens to us?’ he wondered, ‘I think we must make efforts to achieve something we wish for.’ “After all, even a lion cannot get its food by simply waiting in its den!
Long, long ago on the banks of the holy river Ganga was the great city of Pataliputra, the capital of a powerful kingdom. It was ruled by King Sudarshana. One day, King Sudarshana was travelling through his kingdom and heard someone reciting a verse that stated that wisdom is the most important possession a person
In a forest, there lived a cruel lion who killed animals every day. One day, all the animals asked him to stop killing the other animals. The lion said, “One of you has to come every day to be my meal. The day no one comes, I will kill you all.” One day, it was
On a lonely night, a jackal was running for his life. He was being chased by some mongrels. Soon, the jackal reached the end of the village where a washerman lived. To save his life, he entered the washerman’s house and jumped into a vat of indigo. He hid there until the mongrels had left.