There was a small hare living in a burrow in a forest. When he was four months old, he told his mother that he wanted to run very fast. As the little hare grew up, he still longed to run fast. So, he prayed to God every night to express his wish. Well, one day, […]
It was once when a poet visited Tenali Raman. He thought he would impress the court jester with some of his compositions. But when he met Raman, he asked the poet to leave his poems with him, and promised to read them on a later date. But the poet insisted that he wanted to read
Chapter-9 “You can stay till you have eaten these twelve pop-corns,” said his mother, expecting to see them vanish at one mouthful. But Rob was a shrewd little man, and got the better of her by eating them one by one very slowly, and enjoying every minute with all his might. “Hadn’t you better tell
Once, on a beautiful summer day, an elephant was wandering in the jungle. Suddenly, he stopped. He saw his friend, the hummingbird, lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air. “Hello friend! What are you doing?” asked the elephant. The hummingbird replied, “Hello, Mr. Elephant! I heard that the sky was
Krishnadeva Raya loved hunting and used to escape to go hunting even from his studies. One day, when Krishnadeva Raya went hunting, he and some of his courtiers went so fast that they left the others behind. As the evening fell, they found that they had lost their way and now did not know where
One morning when Tenali’s wife looked out of the window, she saw three fat men coming towards her house and guessed at once they were coming to her house for lunch at her husband’s invitation. When they entered the house they were puzzled by a strange sight – a mortar and pestle made ready for
Tenali Raman once took up a job as a coachman. One day, he had to drive his employer to a disreputable part of the town. “Keep your eyes open,” his employer advised him, as he alighted from the coach at his destination, “This place is infested with thieves.” Sometime later, the man thought of checking
Chapter-8 With the October frosts came the cheery fires in the great fireplaces; and Demi’s dry pine-chips helped Dan’s oak-knots to blaze royally, and go roaring up the chimney with a jolly sound. All were glad to gather round the hearth, as the evenings grew longer, to play games, read, or lay plans for the
One day, a beggar knocked at the door of Tenali Raman’s house. When Tenali Raman’s wife opened the door, the beggar asked her for alms. “I’ve nothing to give you,” said Raman’s wife, “Please go!” When Tenali heard her refusing alms to the beggar, he became furious. “Who are you to refuse alms to this
Hari Prasad was the most sought-after man in the marketplace. He was a palmist who was roumored to be the best in the village. All he had to do was staring at the faint little criss-crossing lines on someone’s palm for a little while. The client would listen astounded, as the palmist laid his life
Bunny and Mugsy, two dogs, lived in a farm near a forest. One day, Bunny told Mugsy that he met a guinea pig named Bob near their farm. Mugsy wanted to meet him too. So, both the dogs went to meet Bob, a small, brown coloured guinea pig. The two dogs played with a small
Tenali Raman was once brought before a judge by a man to whom he owed some money. The creditor said to the judge, “This man owes me 500 dinars which is long overdue. I request your excellency to order him to pay me immediately, without further delay.” “I do owe him money,” said Raman, “and
The Sultan’s elephant had wandered into Tenali Raman’s village and was causing havoc in the fields.The villagers finally decided to go in a delegation to the Sultan and request him to take the elephant away. As Tenali Raman was known to the ruler, they asked him to lead the delegation. When they arrived at the
Once at a crossroad, Tenali Raman saw a portly nobleman riding towards him.“I say, Raman,” said the man, “Which is the way to the palace?” “How did you know I was Raman?” asked Tenali Raman. The nobleman had a habit of addressing every scholarly-looking man as “Raman,” which was a title given to learned men
Once the king dreamt of a beautiful palace. He made a public announcement: “If someone can make such a palace for me, I will give him a hundred thousand gold coins!” But no one had the courage to say so. A few days later, a very old man tottered into the king’s court. “I’ve been