The Mo ey's Hea e onke art

Once upon a time there li O ived a monk key hap ppily on a Ja amun tree on the bank of a n f rive He saw o day a cro er. one ocodile comi ing out the river an asked him t nd m,"Oh, what ma akes you loite here?" Th Crocodile er he said live in th river, and I move abo d,"I his d out in s search of foo The monkey said, od." "W Welcome! The ere's a lot of Jamuns her f re wh I'll pluck for you." T monkey hich k The thre Jamuns d ew down the tre and the ee cro ocodile ate th to his he hem eart's con ntent.Then h said, "Tha you, dear he ank r Mo onkey, for th sweet Jam he muns.Will you trea me in the same way if I come agai at f in?" The Monkey sa e aid,"Certainl Lonely as I ly! am I'll like you company." m, ur Aft some chit ter t-chat with t monkey t the the cro ocodile return While departing he ned. e said "I'll surely come tomo d, y orrow!" The next day also the cro y ocodile came and the e Mo onkey served him sweet Jamuns. d The Mon nkey gave him sweet Jam muns for his wife. The crocodile said to his wife, "I a gift to y o It's you from my friend." The wife enjoy the fruits and e yed said, " How sweet they are! Bring them for m me tomorrow too!" w One day the wife ask ked,"Who's t friend tha gives the at you such sweet fruits daily?" Th crocodile h s he said,"We he's a mo ell, onkey and he lives on the e e yonder tr You kno how affec ree. ow ctionately he sends e the Jamu for you!" uns " The wife was shrewd and she tho e d ought to hers self, "If the fruits are so swee how swee would be t s et, et the heart of t monkey who is alwa fed on th that ays hem? How nice if I could get his heart to eat?" e g She said to the crocodile," Won't you e e ever inv your nob friend to our abode? I vite ble ear rnestly desire to see him. The croco e ." odile said d,"O.K. I'll i invite him an see how h nd he cou be broug here!" Bu he avoided uld ght ut d inv viting the mo onkey under one or the o other pre etext. The wi eagerly a ife awaited the mo onkey's arrival.

Her desire to eat the monkey's heart grew so strong that she posed to be ill one day and groaned as if with pain when the crocodile came. The crocodile took he to be really ill and said, " Oh dear, I am prepared to do anything to restore you do health!" The wife seized this opportunity and said,"Only the monkey's heart can save me. But I know you love your friend so much that you'll never bring it." The crocodile thought that he had duty towards his wife too! So he said, "All right, I'm just now going to bring him here!" The monkey was waiting for the crocodile. He said," Friend, why are you so late today?" The crocodile said, "Nothing serious, but a quarrel with wife. She says I enjoy your hospitality everyday without showing the courtesy to invite you for dinner. She has resolved to kill herself if I do not take you with me. The dinner is ready." The monkey said,"She is right, but I don't know how to across the waters to come to your abode." The crocodile said,"Water is no problem, dear friend! I'll carry you safely if you ride on my back." The monkey frightfully said, "Friend kindly swim slowly. I'm all drenched and frightened. Please do not dive." The crocodile thought it fit to disclose his intention at this juncture. He said, "I must have to dive. I have brought you here to kill you at the suggestion of my wife." The monkey was in trouble but he was intelligent and resourceful as well. So he said in a composed voice, "Dear friend, what wrong have I done to you that you wish to kill me?" The crocodile said, "Well, my wife is ill and she can be saved only of she gets a monkey's heart. Where else could I get it except from you?" The monkey was startled on hearing this but his resourceful nature came to his rescue and he said calmly,"Oh, my dear, if it's so why didn't you tell me earlier? I would gladly give my heart to save my beloved friend's wife. I always put my heart in a safe place on that tree. Had you asked for it there I would have certainly given you on the spot. Now we'll have to return to the tree to take it

with us. Hurry up. We've no time. Her life is very precious!" The crocodile turned its back and swam speedily. No sooner did they arrive at the bank the monkey jumped over the tree and said from there, "Good bye, Stupid creature! Now go home and tell your wife that you are the stupidest of all living creature to believe that the heart could be separated from the body!" The crocodile was crestfallen. He said, "O dear friend, I was just joking. Come on again!" But the monkey would not be deceived now. He said,"Enough of it now. It's truly said in scriptures - Never trust a betrayer or else you'll put your life in danger."

Tit for Tat

Long ago there lived an honest merchant named Dharamchand. He was very rich and he used to donate generously to the poor and the needy out of his wealth. At one time his business fell on bad days and he suffered a heavy loss. Now he had to borrow money but these borrow money but these borrowings made him bankrupt. As it was of no use crying over misfortunes he resolved to shift to some foreign land for earning. He sold off all that he had except his weighing machine. There was another merchant named Harakhchand in the town. Because of good business-relations Dharamchand went to him and narrated the story of his downfall.

Harakhchand expressed his deep sorrow and said, "How can I help you?" Dharamchand replied, "I've a heavy weighing machine which is difficult to carry. I'll be happy if you keep it with you until I return." After that Dharamchand went for business and returned as successful business man. He now thought of getting his weighing machine back from Harakhchand. The later gave excuses that the machine was damaged by rats and he can only give it back, if he can buy an old one from the market. Dharamchand was socked but said, "If it's damaged by rats than don't worry. Let's forget about it." While Dharamchand was living he asked Harakhchand if he would send his son Dhanpal to the river so that he can take care of the things. While Dharamchand was taking a bath. Harakhchand was greedy and tried to explain his son, Dhanpal, to grab to precious things, but he fail to understand it. Near the river at the foot of the hill, there was a cave. Dharamchand asked Dhanpal to go inside the cave, while he was taking a bath. Dharamchand sealed the cave with a big stone. He returned to Harakhchand and said, "May heavens save me. While both of us were returning a big eagle lifted your son and flew away. "It's a white lie." cried Harakhchand. While they were both quarreling a wise man took them to the judge. When both of them told their own stories about the rats eating the weighing scale and the eagle taking away the boy, The judge thought there was some mystery. He told Harakhchand, "Return the weighing scale and Dharamchand will return you your son." Both had abide by the judgement to get their belongings back.

The Three Fish

There lived three fish in a pond. One was called Agambuddhi. The second Taratbudi, and the third Vilambbuddhi. Agambuddhi thought much before doing anything. In fact, she could foresee the results of the action. So she could take appropriate decisions accordingly. Whenever you see her she would be engrossed in deep thoughts. Taratbuddhi took immediate decision in all matters. If she were in trouble she would quickly find its solution. She was ever smiling and humorous. Once Agambuddhi was swimming in the water of the pond when she heard two fishermen talking at the bank of the pond. One fisherman said to the other, "Look, how fat is that fish! As such, there are plenty of fish in this pond. We shall come here tomorrow the catch them." As soon as Agambuddhi heard this she thought to herself, "These fisherman have become greedy. They will come here not only tomorrow but on all the days after, and catch the fish. Now it is not advisable to live here. Leaving this pond is the only way to save life." She talked about it with her friends Taratbuddhi and Vilambbuddhi. She gave her opinion also, "Dear friends, it you believe me, must quit just now. the pond is linked with canals. We must go to the other pond to live there peacefully throughout these canals." Taratbuddhi reacted, "Oh, let the fishermen come first. I've lived here all my life. Why should I leave the pond for fear such danger which has not yet befallen. Fate does not spare any. Things will happen as they are shaped if you stay here or go elsewhere." And she resumed swimming. the first fish contemplated, "Once that I've learnt about the coming danger, I must not ignore it. Let me leave the pond instantly." And truly did she do as she thought.

She reached another pond through the canal. The next day both of those fishermen came to the pond, spread their net and caught many fish including Taratbuddhi and Vilambbudhi too. Taratbuddhi quickly thoughts of a plan to save her life. She lay in the net as if dead. The fishermen weeded out the dead fish from the net to throw them out as useless. Seeing Taratbuddhi thus lying still they thoughts, "This is a dead fish." Possibly it is rotten too. Let's throw it back into the pond. Taratbuddhi was thus saved and lived in the pond. Vilambbudhi had faith in fate. When she knew she was caught, she tried to escape form the net. She began to jump and hop in the net. The fisherman saw her jumping thus and caught her to strangle her to death.

The Greedy Fox

Once there was a hunter. He followed a boar to hunt it. A greedy fox saw this secretly. It was like a race between the hunter and the boar. At last the hunter could aim effectively at the boar. The wounded boar attacked the hunter and killed him with its tusk before it died.

Now the dead bodies of both the hunter and the boar were lying side by side. The hunter's bow was lying near his dead body. The fox came out of its hiding and said to itself, "Oh, I've got food without any effort. the boar will be my meals for about two months. Let me keep aside these two dead bodies and eat the small dish first." Then it caught the string of the bow and bit it. As soon as it bit the string it was cut and the curved bow was straightened. The sharp end of the bow entered into its palate and pierced it through its skull. The fox was dead on the spot.