Once, there was a village. The people there were so poor that they had never seen a gold coin. But one day, suddenly, a man found a gold coin on the road. The village headman decided to present the coin to the king. It was to be placed in a palanquin and carried to the […]
Once, two cats saw a piece of cake at the same time. Both started fighting over it. They did not want to share the cake. They saw a monkey near by and decided to ask him to divide the cake equally for them. They took the cake to the monkey and said, “Please divide the
Once there was a poet. He wrote a poem in praise of the king. The king was very happy and wanted to reward the poet. He asked the poet, “What do you want as a reward?” The poet replied, “I want a hound.” The king was surprised to hear this but granted the wish. Then
Once, there was a king called Midas. He was a very religious man. Pleased by his worship, one day, God appeared before him. He said, “I am pleased with you. Ask me anything you want.” Now, King Midas had a weakness. He loved gold. So, he said, “Please grant me the boon that anything I
Once, a villager saw some huge footprints on the ground near his hut. Soon, all the villagers gathered there. No one had seen such big footprints before. One said, “They must be a demon’s.” Another decided to call a so‑called wise man for help. The wise man bent over the prints and studied them. Then
Once, a man gambled away everything so he decided to end his life. A golden deer saw him and saved him. The golden deer said to the man, “Though I have saved your life, never tell anyone I saved you or where I live.” Then, the deer went away. The man went away thinking about
In 1670, the Marathas attacked the fort of Sinhagarh or Lion Fort. The fort was located on a steep cliff. Its location gave it a strong natural protection, and made it almost impossible to capture from outside. The fort was under the Mughal commander, Mirza Raja Jai Singh. However, Shivaji was determined to gain control.
Once, there was a peaceful city. One day, a witch took possession of its tower and terrorised the people. Many brave warriors fought against her and gave up their lives. The people whispered, “All our warriors are dead. If only Watanabi were still here, the bravest of them all! But all that remains is his
In 1953, a British expedition set out to conquer the highest peak in the world–Mount Everest. The team included 14 climbers and 350 porters to carry their equipment! Weather conditions were good and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay led them expertly forward. Edmund Hillary enjoyed the thrill and challenge of climbing. But as the trek progressed, he
A young English gentleman was travelling through the countryside. As he was passing through a tribal village, he saw a huge crowd. He pushed his way through the crowd and stopped in surprise. At the centre of the crowd was a beautiful young girl. He asked one of the villagers, “What is happening?” The man
Once, a jackal was looking around for some food in the jungle when he saw the lion. The jackal was scared of the lion, for he had played many tricks on the lion. He was sure that the lion would take his revenge. So, the jackal thought of a plan. “Help!” he cried. The lion
Throughout the harsh winter, Ben Johnson had worked hard to feed his cattle. Now it was time to sell them. However, when the rancher and his cowboys started rounding them up, they found that several head of cattle were missing. Ben suspected that his neighbour Harrison was the thief, but he had no proof. One
King Shibi was known all over for his word and generous nature. Once, he saw an eagle chasing a dove. The king hid the dove. The hawk demanded, “Give me my bird.” The king replied, “Please spare the dove.” The hawk replied, “I will. But you must give me the exact amount of flesh as
A young African hunter stopped at a lake for water. Suddenly, he heard a low growl and looked up to see a massive lion. The lion had recently fed, and was not hungry. So he placed the boy high up in the branches of a nearby tree. Then the lion lay down at the base
Japara was a warrior. He was still young, but he was already one of the best warriors of his tribe. One day, Japara was out hunting with some others, when he looked up and saw a flock of birds suddenly change direction. He felt it was an omen, and told the others, “We must hurry