Once, there was an old man named Abrosim. He lived with his old wife Fetinia and a son, Ivanushka. They were very poor and could barely survive. One day, the old man brought home a crust of bread for his wife and son. Hardly had they begun to cut it when Krutchina (Sorrow) came from […]
It was a fine sunny morning and Katie, Sam and Steve were on their way to school. Suddenly, Steve’s dog darted in front of them. “Booww-Whoww!” “Oh no!” cried Steve, “Bennie is out of home again! The children ran after Bennie. They were running so hard that they did not see the big hole. Thud!
Once, there lived an old widowed hunter, Kokovanya. He had no family, so he adopted a little orphan girl, Daryonka. Daryonka asked Kokovanya if she could take her kitten along with her. Kokovanya agreed and all of them started living together. They were not rich but lived a comfortable life. The old man went to
Once upon a time, a Pope’s daughter went for a walk into the woods without taking permission from her father or mother. She lost her way. Her parents tried to search but could not find her. Three years passed. Now, in the same woods where her parents lived, there was a brave hunter. On every
Mr. Wilson had a majestic red car. The car was very proud of his appearance. “How shabby the other cars look!” thought he when he saw the other cars. One day a new car came to the neighbourhood. She was a small blue car and looked very pretty. A young girl owned her. All the
Once upon a time, there lived a King. He was so powerful that whenever he sneezed, the people in his kingdom were bound to say ‘To your good health!’ Everyone said it except the shepherd with the glaring eyes. The King got to know this and was very angry. He ordered the shepherd to be
Long time ago, there lived a very naughty boy called Nelly. He was a cause of trouble for all. He chased the girls and pulled their hair; he swore at old and young. Even the poor harmless birds were not spared. He hit them with stones and broke their wings. His poor mother spent her
There was a snail and her cousin slug who lived in the shade of a cool, damp log. One day the snail came nearer towards a juicy stalk. Her cousin slug saw and soon overtook her. Snail felt offended but when she saw the slug feeding on a juicy leaf, she overtook him and said
In a small village in Russia, there lived two brothers, one rich, the other poor. The rich brother went to live in the town and became a merchant. The poor brother became very poor and did not have anything to feed his children. One day, he went to meet his rich brother and asked for
Once, there lived a King and a Queen. The King wished to go out in the world and try his strength battling with the other kings. So, he called his ministers and ordered them to get the army ready to march towards a far-off country where a heathen king ruled who was cruel and ill-treated
Samuel was the son of a poor carpenter. Every day Samuel went with his father to the forest to cut trees. One day Samuel was sitting ‘on a log to take some rest. Suddenly he heard a cry, “Help me, please…!” He looked around but there was no one. He again heard the same voice.
There was deep snow in the forest. The branches of the trees were laden with snow. Huge lumps of snow kept falling on the ground under the trees. In the middle of this forest was a small hut. It was made up of pine logs cut from the forest. Inside the hut, Maroosia sat with
Once in Russia, there lived a Tsar and a Tsarina. They had one daughter, Marya Tsarevna. After some time, the old Tsarina died and the Tsar married another woman who was in reality a witch. Now, the witch had three daughters, one of whom had one eye, the next two eyes, and the third had
There was a tiny island. It was ruled by a wise and good chief. The island had an annual ritual. Every year a grand festival in honour of the deity, Bhumidev was held. On this occasion, the chief would select the most beautiful flower in the garden to offer to their deity. For the past
In a small Russian city, a merchant lived with his wife. They had a son, Vasili, who was wiser than his age. Once, when all of them were having their lunch, a nightingale who sat in a cage over the table started singing sadly. The merchant was angry and could not bear it. He said,