Far away on the road to Ujjayini was a large tree on which a heron and a crow lived. One day, a traveller carrying a bow and arrows sat down to rest under the tree on his way to the city. He put down his bow and arrows and was so tired that he soon […]
King Jewel Plume appointed a parrot to go with Long-Bill to Karpuradweepa as his messenger. But the parrot objected. “Sir, I will go,” said the parrot, “but not with this wicked crane! It is said that bad things will happen even to good people if we accompany an evil person!” The King was not sure
Long-Bill told his King that he challenged the soldiers of Jambudweepa telling them that Silver Plume was the greatest King in the world. The angry soldiers took him to their King Jewel Plume and presented him as a wicked crane who was criticising their country and king. Long-Bill said he was from Karpuradweepa. A vulture
“Lord Moon is very angry, sir,” said the Old Hare. You have entered his lake and killed the hares. They are the guardians of his lake.” This worried King Elephant, who replied, “It was done by mistake, sir. We are very sorry, but we only wanted to drink water and crushed the hares without intending
The hares were in panic. They called a meeting and wondered how to deal with the herd of elephants. Finally an old hare said, “You leave it to me. Let me think. I’ll find some way to solve our problem.” The hares were puzzled how the Old One was going to find a solution. But
Two swans and a talkative turtle lived in a lake. They were close friends. In the summer, when the lake began to dry up, the swans decided to move to another lake. But the turtle could not fly. So he asked the swans to find a strong wooden stick. He said, “You hold the stick
Long ago in a forest, there lived a herd of elephants. They had a lake where they would regularly drink and bathe. During one rainy season, however, there was very little rain. So, their lake became dry. The elephants needed a lot of water. Soon, they became desperate. So, they went to their king and
Long-Bill heard the King’s story but said, “I told them, Sir, that you will also become petty like a petty master if you serve him!” They asked the crane, “What do you mean?” “Haven’t you ever looked into trick mirrors? In them, a fat man will appear thin and a giant will look like a
A jackal lived in a cave deep in the forest. Every morning, he would go out looking for food and would return in the evening. One day, an old lion hid in the cave. He thought, ‘Some animal lives here and is sure to return. I will eat him up.’ In the evening, when the
A crow was flying in search of water on a hot summer afternoon. He couldn’t find a single drop. Thirsty and tired, the crow sat on the branch of a banyan tree. Suddenly, he saw a pitcher on the other side of the tree. Delighted, the crow flew to the pitcher and saw there was
Soon the washerman’s donkey began to look plump and healthy. He was not exhausted carrying his master’s loads on his rounds. The farmer to whom the corn fields belonged was not very happy. He would find his corn had been grazed every day. He began to keep watch at night, holding a stout cudgel. Soon
A washerman named Vilasa lived in Hastinapura. He had a donkey who carried his heavy loads. But the washerman never had enough to feed him. So, the poor donkey became weak. One day, Vilasa found a tiger’s skin lying on a road while he was on his rounds. He picked it up and then, slowly,
In a huge lake, there lived three big fish. They were close friends. The first one believed in fate. The second one was intelligent and knew there’s a solution to every problem. The third one was wise and could anticipate trouble beforehand. One day, the wise fish overheard a fisherman talking to another. “This lake
“There’s no point talking sense to stupid people, Sir,” said Long-Bill. He said the birds were very angry and pecked at him for daring to criticise their king. The crane, however, defended his words in praise of his own king and his kingdom. The soldiers of Jewel Plume abused him. But still, the crane held
The monkeys had been listening to the birds’ whispering among themselves and soon they caught the whispers. They were very upset and angry hearing the birds mocking them. “They are so proud of their nests! We’ll show them!” decided the vengeful monkeys. They waited for the rain to stop. Then they sat together and wondered