The crow and the swans

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful swan in a lake and there
was a tree on which a crow had its nest.
Everybody who came near the lake noticed only the swan and
praised its beauty. Nobody looked at the crow. The crow was
jealous of swan as people would only admire the swan.
One day, the crow thought of a plan to prove its superiority. It
asked the swan, In how many ways can you fly in the air?
I know only one way to fly in the air, replied the swan.
Oh, so pity! I know so many different ways of flying in the air.
Lets have a flying race, proposed the crow.
What is the use? I know you are superior to me in flying? asked
the swan.
The crow then began to force so much that at last the swan
agreed.
As soon as they started, the crow set off in high spirits flapping
its wings very hard. The swan was just flying sedately, flapping its
wings once in a while. Soon the crow felt tired.
The crow requested the swan to help it as it could not fly
anymore. The swan took pity on the poor crow and helped it to
cross the lake.
On reaching the bank, the crow thanked the swan and flew away
shamefacedly.
Moral: Boasting never pays.

THE WIND AND THE SUN

Once the Wind and the Sun had an argument. I am stronger than
you, said the Wind. No, you are not, said the Sun. Just at that
moment they saw a traveler walking across the road. He was
wrapped in a shawl.
The Sun and the Wind agreed that whoever could separate the
traveller from his shawl was stronger.
The Wind took the first turn. He blew with all his might to tear the
travellers shawl from his shoulders. But the harder he blew, the
tighter the traveller gripped the shawl to his body. The struggle
went on till the Winds turn was over.
Now it was the Suns turn. The Sun smiled warmly. The traveller
felt the warmth of the smiling Sun. Soon he let the shawl fall
open. The Suns smile grew warmer and warmer... hotter and
hotter. Now the traveller no longer needed his shawl. He took it
off and dropped it on the ground. The Sun was declared stronger
than the Wind.
Moral: Brute force cant achieve what a gentle smile can.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Once upon a time there was a lion that grew so old that he was
unable to kill any prey for his food. So, he said to himself, "I must
do something to stay my stomach else I will die of starvation." He
kept thinking and thinking and at last an idea clicked him. He
decided to lie down in the cave pretending to be ill and then whoso-ever will come to enquire about his health, will become his
prey.
The old lion put his wicked plan into practice and it started
working. Many of his well-wishers got killed. But evil is short lived.
One day, a fox came to visit the ailing lion. As foxes are clever by
nature, the fox stood at the mouth of the cave and looked about.
His sixth sense worked and he came to know the reality. So, he
called out to the lion from outside and said, "How are you, sir?"
The lion replied, "I am not feeling well at all. But why don't you
come inside?" Then the fox replied, "I would love to come in, sir!
But on seeing, all foot prints going to your cave and none coming
out, I would be foolish enough to come in." Saying so, the fox
went to alert the other animals.

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

One summer's day, a merry Grasshopper was dancing, singing
and playing his violin with all his heart. He saw an Ant passing by,
bearing along with great toil a wheatear to store for the winter.
Come and sing with me instead of working so hard, said the
Grasshopper Lets have fun together.
I must store food for the winter, said the Ant, and I advise you
to do the same.
Dont worry about winter, its still very far away, said the
Grasshopper, laughing at him. But the Ant wouldnt listen and
continued his toil.
When the winter came, the starving Grasshopper went to the
Ants house and humbly begged for something to eat.
If you had listened to my advice in the summer you would not
now be in need, said the Ant. Im afraid you will have to go
supperless to bed, and he closed the door.
Moral: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

A Thirsty Crow
There was a crow. At a very hot summer day he was feeling very
thirsty. He flew from place to place in search of water, but he
could not find it anywhere. He was very sad and disappointed at
not getting a drop of it.
At last he saw a jug of water. He flew down to the jug and sat on
its edge. When he craned his beak to quench his thirst, he, saw to
his great discouragement, that the water was just at the bottom.
His beak could not reach such a low level of water. He even tried
to overturn the jug but could not. It was too heavy for him to
move.
When he was just about to fly in despair, he thought of a plan.
Suddenly his eyes fell upon some pebbles lying near the jug. He
flew to them, picked up the pebbles one by one and dropped
them into the jug.
Slowly and slowly the level of water rose and came up to the
neck. The crow was overjoyed to see this. He dipped his beak,
quenched his thirst and flew away.
Moral : Where there is a will there is a way.

The Lion and the Mouse

One cold winter a lion was lying asleep in the sun. A mouse came
out of its hole and began to jump over the body of the sleeping
lion. This woke up the lion.
He caught the small creature and was going to crush it under his
heavy paw. The mouse begged pardon and requested the lion to
let it go. It also said that it might be of any help to him in future.
The lion simply laughed. He could not imagine that it could be of
any help to him. He however, was moved to pity and let it go.
Shortly afterwards, the lion was caught in the net laid by the
hunter in the forest. He tried his best to free himself from the net
but all his efforts remained fruitless. So he began to lament.
When the mouse heard his lamentation, it came out with its
young ones. They sat to work and it did not take them long to
nibble at the ropes and cut them with their sharp teeth.
The lion became free and thanked the mouse for its timely help.
Now he realized that even a small creature could be of help to the
stronger and bigger animals.
Moral: Kindness never goes unrewarded.

A Greedy Dog
One day, a dog stole a piece of meat from a meat shop in the
market place. He wanted to take it home. He was crossing a river
by bridge. When the dog was in the middle of the bridge, he
noticed his own shadow in the water below.
But he thought that it was another dog that was carrying in his
mouth another piece of meat. The greedy dog wanted to grab
that piece of meat also. So he jumped into the water in great
excitement. He was carried away by the strong current of the
river.
Moral: Greed brings about disaster.

The Ant And The Dove

On a very hot sunny day, an ant was very thirsty. It went to a
pond to drink water. The poor ant lost its balance when drinking
the water and it fell inside the water. A dove was watching all this
from a nearby tree.
The ant was struggling for life in the water. The dove felt very sad
for the little ant. It plucked a leaf from that tree and dropped it
into the pond. The leaf fell near the ant. The ant got over the leaf
and then reached the shore. The ant thanked the dove for his kind
help.
Days passed by, after few months when the ant was going near
the pond, he saw a bad hunter with a gun. The hunter
was targeting at the dove sitting in the tree. The dove didn't know
about the hunter. Just when the hunter was about to shoot the
dove, the little ant got over his leg and bit him. The hunter
shouted in pain and also missed his focus.
Hearing this loud sound, dove realized the danger he was about
to face. The dove flew away from the tree and escaped. Later he
thanked the ant for the help.
MORAL : Every good deed we do for others will surely come back
to
us.

A Hare And A Tortoise

Once there lived in a forest a hair and a tortoise. The hare was
very proud of his speed. He made fun of the tortoise for his slow
speed. The tortoise challenged the hare to have a race with him.
The hare accepted the challenge.
The race started. The crow was the referee. The hare ran very
fast. The tortoise was left much behind. The hare stopped to take
rest under a tree. He fell asleep. The tortoise passed him and
reached the winning post. The hare woke up and ran as fast as he
could. He saw that the tortoise was already there at the winning
post. He had won the race.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race or pride hath a fall.

A Hare And A Lion

Once there lived a lion in the forest. He was the king of the
animals. He killed many animals. The animals were in terror. They
held a meeting. An old hare stood up. He was wise. He brought
forth a plan. All the animals went to the lion. The animals told him
that they would send one animal every day. The lion agreed.
One day, it was the hare's turn. He reached the lion late. The lion
was angry. He asked the hare why he was late. The hare said that
another lion had held him on the way. The lion told him to show
the other lion.
The hare led him to a deep well. The lion looked into the well and
saw his own image in the water. He took his image for another
lion. He at once jumped into the well and died. The animals lived
happily after that.
Moral: Wisdom is stronger than strength.

10

The honest wood cutter

Once upon a time a poor woodcutter lived in a small village.
Though he was very poor he was always a an honest and godfearing person. On a very hot day, he took his axe and went inside
the nearby forest in search of wood. After searching for a long
time, he found one good tree near a river inside the forest.
As the woodcutter was cutting the woods, his axe slipped from his
hands and fell inside the river. The river was very deep. So he
couldn't get into the water to take his axe out. He started crying.
Suddenly, an angel appeared from inside the river water. She
asked why the woodcutter was crying. The woodcutter told her
about how his axe fell inside the water. The angel went inside the
water and after sometime came out with a golden axe in her
hands. The woodcutter refused to accept that golden axe.
The angel again went inside the water. This time she came out
with a silver axe and gave it to the woodcutter. Again the
woodcutter refused saying that his was not a silver axe. The angel
dived into the water. This time she came out with the
woodcutter's iron axe.
The woodcutter happily accepted his axe and thanked the angel.
The angel was pleased with his honesty. The angel rewarded the
gold and the silver axes to that woodcutter.
11

MORAL: Honesty always gets rewarded.

The Chicken That Laid Golden Eggs

In olden days there was a farmer. He owned a wonderful hen that
laid a golden egg every day. He was extremely happy.
But after some time only one egg could not satisfy his greed. It
was a slow process to get only one egg after every twenty four
hours.
So he said to himself, "'One egg a day. It will take long to be rich."
He grew so impatient that he wanted to get all the egg at once.
He made up his mind to put the hen to death and become rich in
an overnight.
He killed the hen at once and cut open its belly. He began to look
for the eggs but there was none to be found.
He saw that his hen was just like other hens. By his stupid act he
lost even the egg he used to get every day. Thus the foolish fellow
lost the hen that laid a golden egg daily.
Moral:
As you sow, so shall you reap? Contentment is a great wealth.

12