On the banks of the Bhagirathi there was a fig tree. In the hollow of the tree lived an old and feeble vulture. He was blind and had lost his talons too, so he couldn’t hunt. The birds that nested on the tree usually gave him some food. One day when the birds had gone […]
The deer and the crow were great friends. The deer was a friendly fellow who roamed around freely in the woods. One day, a jackal saw him and his mouth watered at the thought of eating the deer. He called out to the deer and told him that he was happy to make a friend
Wise-Eye, the crow, had followed the pigeons from the old tree and saw this whole episode. He was very impressed seeing the way the Mouse King had helped the pigeons. “Mouse King!” he called, “Will you be my friend too, please?” “And who are you?” asked the cautious Mouse King. “I am Wise-Eye, the Crow,”
“Where should we go, O King?” asked the pigeons. “To a forest near the Gandaki river,” said the King, “There, I have a friend, Nibbles, the Mouse King, who will cut through this net.” The pigeons came down outside the house of the Mouse King. When the Pigeon King called out to him, the King
“Don’t blame him,” said the Pigeon King, “If you have a friend, then sticking to him even in a calamity will cause you to fall into the disaster too. We must find a way out of this trouble now. When small things combine, they can have great strength.” He thought for a while. Then he
Once, a Brahmin lived in a small village. He made a living by performing rituals. One day, a rich merchant gave him a goat for his services. The Brahmin slung the goat over his shoulders and walked towards his home. On the way, two crooks saw the Brahmin. They wanted to cheat him and take
One morning, King Lion was in a bad mood. Queen Lioness had told him that he had bad breath. He wanted to confirm the same, so he called upon his three counsellors – the sheep, the wolf and the fox. First he asked the sheep, “Do I have bad breath?” The sheep bowed and said,
There was a mango tree by a river. It was home to many birds who lived on its branches. A little bird lived there too. She had worked hard collecting straws, leaves and feathers to build her nest. She was proud of her lovely home. One evening, it rained heavily. All the birds and the
It was a hot summer. Waters in the lake had dried up. King Elephant called his subjects and said, “I know of a huge lake in another forest. Let’s go there.” They marched towards that forest and reached the lake after five nights. The elephants were so ecstatic to see water that they unknowingly trampled
One day, the birds of a jungle gathered to choose their king. An owl was perched on a tree near by. The discussion went on for hours. Finally, a parrot suggested, “The owl should be our king.” The owl couldn’t see anything in the daylight but heard everything clearly. He was glad. As the birds
Once upon a time, there lived a king. His palace was surrounded by a lake with a garden around it. Many golden swans lived in the lake. The king would go for a walk in the garden every morning and collect the golden feathers shed by the swans. One day, when the king came to
Once upon a time, a flock of doves was flying in search of food. Soon, they saw rice grains lying under a banyan tree. They began pecking at the grains, but realised that a hunter had laid his net there. The doves were trapped. King Dove said, “Union is strength. Let’s fly together, clutching the
Once, there was a king who had a pet monkey. He used to take it wherever he went. The monkey would stay in the king’s bedroom and guard him. One night, when the king was sleeping, the monkey was fanning him, sitting by his side. A housefly came through the window and sat on the
The King Pigeon’s words were wise, “Never allow your greed to overcome your common sense, my friends.” But one of the pigeons was rebellious. He wanted to eat the grains, so he told them that wisdom does not mean they should go hungry. “We should not follow only the advice of old people,” he said
“So what are you here for?” asked the traveller again. “A wise and holy person asked me to do good deeds to repent for my sins. So here I am, old, toothless and weak. I am waiting to give this bangle to someone as a gift, but no one believes that I am harmless now,