Once upon a time, a king had placed a boulder on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but […]
One day, a widow sought Birbal’s help. Her husband had left a strange will. She was not able to understand what it meant. Birbal saw the will. It read: Divide the property among the three daughters equally. None of them should be able to use it. Each daughter should give one thousand gold coins to
Once a boy hurriedly came up to his mother in the kitchen, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. Mother became astounded to see and to read that, in which money had been asked, for cutting the grass: $5.00, for cleaning up the room: $1.00, for going to the
One day, Akbar said to Birbal, “I want to know whether the farmers of my kingdom are happy. Let’s go and find out.” Akbar and Birbal set off on horseback. The countryside was beautiful. On the way, they came across a field of cabbages. Akbar said, “I just love cabbages. Don’t you like those?” Birbal
Once, a tortoise met a hare who scornfully remarked, “How slowly you move!” This remark seemed to agitate him to take an audacious decision.The tortoise said, “Let’s have a race and see who is the faster.” The hare contemptuously laughed and said he would reach the other side of the hill first. Off he ran,
It was such a scorching day that every animal could hardly get relief. One day, a fox wandered across the jungle in order to get food. Soon he came to a vineyard which was laden with juicy grapes. The fox observed around him to confirm whether he was safe from the hunters or not. He
Once a mother duck with her ducklings was proceeding towards a lake. The ducklings happily followed their mother quacking along the way. Suddenly, she saw a fox in the distance. She got frightened and shouted to move hurriedly to the lake to her ducklings as there’s a fox. The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The
Occasionally, Akbar would disguise himself as a common man and walk the streets alone. Birbal would advise him to take along his guards, but Akbar never listened to him. One day, Akbar took to the streets, ignoring Birbal’s advice. After a while, a bearded man started following him. Akbar asked the man, “Who are you?
Once, after diligently hard work, a gardener happily went with his son to his garden to bring the fruits which he had been caring for a long time. As he reached there, he was astounded to see a stranger picking the fruits without informing anybody. He went berserk and shouted, “Hey you! What are you
A fragile and doddering man lived with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Since the grandfather had broken a dish or two,
Once a king named Chandravahan ruled over an affluent country. One day, he went to hunt animals in some remote area. When he returned back from the trip, he felt too exhausted to move anymore. His felt were sore after a long trip on the rough and gravelled road of distant areas. It was his
One day, Akbar asked his courtiers, “Which is the finest season?” One courtier said, “Your Majesty! It’s spring, when flowers are in bloom, and the buzzing of bees and chirping of birds fills the air. “No, winter is the best,” said another courtier, “when people enjoy the warm rays of the sun. Vegetables abound and
Once upon a time , a discussion was going on between a lion, the king of the forest, and his friend, elephant, who was the inhabitant of the same forest. They were talking about their great deeds. Then suddenly, the lion disclosed his fear of the crowing of cocks. The elephant started ridiculing him. Just
Once in a beautiful spring rose a pine tree in a forest looked at a red blossomed rose and said, “What a beautiful flower; I wish I were you. The rose said, “It seems that I am the most beautiful plant.” Then a sunflower raising its head said there were many plants including the rose
Long ago, a pond was dug by a very affluent king and it was announced that one person from each household would have to bring a glass of milk during the night and pour it into the pond. So, the pond should be full of milk by the morning. After receiving the order, everybody went