Buy the book 65 Stories online now and get it delivered to your home.
Buy Now
The Salt Merchant and His Donkey
Salt merchant . . . had a donkey who carried heavy loads of salt on its back . . . donkey had to cross a stream to transport the salt to other villages . . . once the donkey slipped in water . . . salt dissolved in water . . . load became lighter . . . donkey felt happy . . . repeated the process of falling in water everyday to lessen the burden . . . merchant suspected the donkey’s evil intentions . . . planned to teach it a lesson . . . loaded cotton on donkey’s back . . . as donkey fell in water cotton became heavy . . . donkey repented his actions . . . moral.
The Frogs Who Desired a King
Frogs tired of self-governing . . . asked Jupiter to give them a king . . . Jupiter threw them a log and said that should be their king . . . frogs terrified . . . later encouraged by its stillness . . . disrespect for such a king . . . asked Jupiter to give them a better king . . . Jupiter threw a crane . . . Frogs admired its beauty . . . but, the crane ate every frog . . . moral
The Crows and the Mean Snake
Crows lived on a tree . . . a snake lived in the hollow of the tree . . . it used to eat up the crow’s young ones . . . crows worried . . . went to a witty jackal . . . did as jackal suggested . . . stole a necklace of a queen . . . dropped it into the snake’s hole . . . the queen’s men traced it . . . dug into the hole . . . snake killed . . . moral.
The Lazy King
Lazy king . . . liked to eat and sleep all the time . . . became inactive . . . doctor called to cure him . . . minister of king met a Sadhu . . . Sadhu offered to cure the king . . . called the king to his hut on foot . . . king did as he was told . . . walked all the way to the hut . . . started sweating . . . Sadhu gave iron ball to the king and asked him to do exercise with it every day . . . king did as he was told . . . lost weight . . . got cured . . . moral
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
A rabbit . . . proud of his fast speed . . . saw a slow tortoise . . . made fun of the his speed . . . the tortoise kept his peace . . . agreed to run a race with the rabbit . . . the rabbit shot off from the starting . . . tortoise not in sight . . . the rabbit fell asleep under a tree . . . tortoise moved on steadily . . . tortoise gradually crossed the rabbit . . . got far away from the rabbit . . . when the rabbit woke up it was too late to win . . . the tortoise won the race . . . moral.
Where Love is, There is God Also
Martin . . . a cobbler . . . his son died . . . no interest in life . . . a religious man reminded that Martin couldn’t judge God’s ways . . . heard a voice . . . “Martin! Look out in the street tomorrow, for I shall come” . . . next morning an old man stood shivering in cold . . . Martin invited him inside . . . offered tea . . . no one came . . . next morning a poor woman stood with a baby in arms . . . Martin gave her his bed, food and cabbage soup . . . Martin kept on waiting but no one came . . . in a dream first saw the old man . . . then the woman with the child . . . Martin crossed himself . . . the Lord had really come to him . . . moral.
God Sees the Truth, But Waits
In Vladimir lived a young merchant Aksyonof . . . going to Nizhny Fair . . . met a merchant at the inn . . . stayed in the adjoining rooms . . . next morning he was arrested . . . blood-stained dagger found . . . remained in prison for 26 years in Siberia . . . one day a new prisoner Makar came . . . from his talks and movements Aksyonof was sure that Makar killed the merchant . . . Makar dug a tunnel . . . asked Aksyonof to go out . . . the tunnel discovered . . . Aksyonof didn’t tell anything about Makar’s conspiracy . . . Makar came to Aksyonof at night . . . wept . . . confessed his guilt to the police . . . Aksyonof died before he could be released . . . moral.
We’ll See
Old farmer . . . has just one horse . . . horse dies . . . people feel sorry for the farmer . . . the farmer maintains his calm . . . says ‘we’ll see’ . . . neighbours gift him a new horse . . . people think he is lucky . . . he says ‘we’ll see’. . . horse runs away . . . people say he is unlucky . . . he says ‘we’ll see’ . . . horse returns with two more horses . . . people say he is lucky . . . he says ‘we’ll see’ . . . his son rides the horse, falls and breaks his leg . . . people feel pity for him . . . farmer says ‘we’ll see’ . . . army come to recruit young people . . . farmer’s son spared . . . people say he is fortunate . . . farmer says ‘we’ll see’ . . . moral.
An Apple Tree
Apple tree in a house . . . small boy plays around it . . . grows up . . . has no time to play with the tree . . . tree feels sad . . . boy comes back after many years . . . asks tree to give him money for toys . . . tree asks boy to pick apples and sell them . . . boy is happy and goes . . . doesn’t return for many years . . . tree sad . . . after few years boy comes again . . . tree becomes happy . . . boy asks for house to live in . . . tree tells him to cut wood from its branches and make a house . . . boy takes wood and again doesn’t return for a few years . . . after many years comes back and asks for a place to rest . . . tree offers roots as a resting place . . . tree compared to parents . . . parents always ready to give . . . selfish children always ready to take.
The King and the Foolish Monkey
King . . . had a pet monkey . . . monkey was a fool . . . he was treated royally . . . was allowed to go wherever he liked . . . allowed entry in king’s personal rooms . . . forbidden even for his confidential servants . . . one afternoon king tired . . . slept . . . monkey guarding the king . . . fly came in and sat on king’s chest . . . monkey swayed but it didn’t move . . . monkey angry . . . chased with a sword . . . fly sat on king’s chest again . . . monkey furious . . . hit with his might . . . king’s nose badly wounded . . . monkey thrown out of the palace . . . moral.
Tenali Raman Story: The Roots of Rasgulla
A king . . . ruled Vijay Nagar . . . affluent merchant from Middle Eastern country came to see the city . . . the king happy . . . gave a room in his palace to live . . . the merchant enjoyed the culture, dance and food . . . ate various dishes and desserts every day . . . was served Rasgulla, the delicacy of the city and the king’s favorite dish . . . the merchant loved it . . . thought it was a fruit . . . dreamed of becoming rich by selling the fruit in his country . . . asked for the roots of its plant . . . the chef confused . . . told the problem to the king . . . king also confused . . . asked his courtiers, “What is the root of Rasgulla?” . . . courtiers confused . . . Tenali Raman in the court . . . promised the king to bring the roots of Rasgulla the next day . . . king confused but agreed . . . all the courtiers astonished . . . the very next day, Tenali Raman brought sugarcane in the bowl . . . king pleased . . . the merchant ate sugarcane with enthusiasm . . . “Sugarcane is the root of Rasgulla” said Tenali Raman.
A Field of Gold
A servant of Akbar cleaning Akbar’s room . . . breaks the king’s favorite vase . . . terrified . . . takes the pieces and goes off . . . Akbar notices the missing vase . . . asks the servant about the vase . . . servant says, “I have taken it with me for better cleaning.” . . . Akbar asks to bring the vase back . . . the servant tells king the truth . . . broken vase . . . Akbar punishes him for lying . . . tells this story in the court . . . all the courtiers justify king’s decision . . . Birbal quiet . . . courtiers claim that they have never spoken lies . . . Birbal still quiet . . . Akbar asks Birbal, “Have you ever spoken a lie?” . . . Birbal answers that he tells lies many a times . . . Akbar furious . . . removes Birbal from the court . . . Birbal plans of an idea . . . takes a golden stalk to the king and says if we sow this stalk, it will raise gold . . . king astonished . . . they go to the most fertile soil . . . Akbar orders Birbal to sow the stalk . . . Birbal tells that only people who have not told lies can sow the stalk to raise gold . . . Akbar asks his courtiers to sow the stalk . . . no one comes forward . . . Birbal suggests Akbar to sow the stalk . . . Akbar speechless . . . realizes his mistake . . . moral.
A Bundle of Sticks
A farmer . . . had four sons . . . sons always fighting among themselves . . . father angry . . . planned to teach lesson . . . gave a bundle of sticks . . . asked to break the bundle into pieces . . . all failed . . . father opened the bundle . . . gave one stick to each . . . asked to break the stick . . . all succeeded . . . moral.
The Fisherman and Jinn
A poor fisherman . . . used to cast his net only four times . . . one day, cast his net . . . found in it the carcass of an ass . . . second time came a jar full of mud and sand . . . third time came broken jars and pots . . . last time came a bottle with Solomon’s seal . . . fisherman happy . . . could sell the seal for 10 gold coins . . . rose a cloud from the bottle . . . a Jinn appeared . . . threatened to kill the fisherman . . . the fisherman scared . . . pleaded that he had liberated him . . . Jinn stubborn . . . fisherman thought of a plan to get saved . . . asked how such a huge Jinn could enter the bottle . . . the Jinn entered the bottle to show . . . fisherman sealed bottle again . . . Jinn trapped . . . pleaded . . . fisherman took the bottle and threw it deep into the sea . . . moral.
Dharmabuddhi and Paapbuddhi
Two friends, Dharmabuddhi and Paapbuddhi . . . live happily . . . Paapbuddhi naive person . . . convinces his friend to take him foreign to earn money . . . both go foreign lands and come back with lots of money . . . they hide the money in a forest and take some money . . . one night, Paapbuddhi takes away all the hidden money . . . blames Dharmabuddhi for stealing it . . . quarrel . . . a court case . . . judge decides that the God of the forest is the witness . . . Paapbuddhi scared . . . requests his father to be the God and blame Dharmabuddhi . . . father agrees . . . they go to the forest . . . father hidden in the hollow of a tree . . . says Dharmabuddhi is at fault . . . Dharmabuddhi suspicious . . . throws a burning stick in the big tree . . . father comes down burning . . . says Paapbuddhi is guilty . . . Paapbuddhi arrested . . . moral.
The Larks in the Cornfield
A lark with her babies . . . lives in a cornfield . . . keeps careful look on the wheat and the farmer . . . always tells her children to keep an eye on the wheat and farmer while collecting food . . . wheat gets riped one day . . . farmer invites neighbours to reap it . . . lark’s babies hear this and inform their mother . . . babies excited to get moved . . . lark says that they will not . . . days later, the wheat gets much riped . . . farmer calls relatives to reap the wheat . . . babies inform their mother . . . mother does not agree to move . . . days later, farmer decides to reap the wheat himself . . . babies inform their mother . . . mother moves her house readily . . . moral.
Tom and His Aunt
A naïve boy, Tom . . . he goes everyday to see his aunt . . . one day, aunt gives a piece of cake . . . Tom happy . . . holds the cake in his fist . . . all scrunched up . . . only a fistful of cream bits left . . . mom curious . . . Tom says it is cake . . . Mom teaches the way to carry cake . . . says it should be wrapped in leaves, put inside a hat and the hat be worn . . . Tom nods his head . . . next day . . . aunt gives a piece of butter . . . Tom carries it in his hat . . . scorching weather melts the butter . . . his shirt stinks . . . mom asks what it is . . . Tom answers it to be butter . . . Mom says butter should be cooled down and carried in a closed container . . . aunt gives a puppy, the next day . . . Tom cools the puppy and then carries it in a closed container . . . puppy dies . . . mom angry . . . asks what it is . . . a puppy . . . puppy to be carried with a string tied around the its neck and dragged. . . Tom nods . . . receives a bread from aunt the next day . . . Tom carries it with a string . . . mom asks what it is . . . a bread . . . mom annoyed . . . she will not tell how to carry a bread . . . mom warns Tom about the pies on their doorstep . . . warns to be careful while passing . . . Tom ruins pies while crossing
The Retiring Carpenter
A fine carpenter . . . decides to retire . . . employer requests a last favor . . . carpenter agrees . . . does it with no enthusiasm and finesse . . . no interest in work . . . employer gives the keys of the building to the carpenter. . . says the house is a gift to the carpenter . . . carpenter shocked . . . repents. . . moral.
The Hen That Laid Golden Eggs
A poor farmer . . . has a hen . . . farmer hard-working . . . one day, hen lays a golden egg . . . farmer astonished . . . dances in joy . . . sells the egg . . . hen lays a golden egg daily . . . farmer becomes rich . . . wants to be richest . . . cuts it to get all golden eggs . . . finds no gold . . . farmer sad . . . becomes poor again . . . moral.
Who Killed the Thief?
A king . . . a man comes and says his brother died . . . king calms and asks for details . . . man says he was a thief and died while carrying a theft . . . king objects that what happened is right . . . man pleads for justice . . . requests that criminal should be punished . . . king agrees . . . asks what exactly happened . . . man narrates . . . brother gone to a merchant’s house to steal jewellery. . . made a hole . . . wall fell . . . died . . . king calls for the merchant . . . merchant says he is innocent . . . the bricklayer is at fault for not building strong wall . . . king asks for bricklayer . . . bricklayer declares he is innocent . . . blames a woman with jingling anklets . . . says she would go many a times . . . king asks for the woman . . . woman says a goldsmith was delaying her order . . . king confused . . . asks for the goldsmith . . . goldsmith says he had to complete the order of a merchant . . . the merchant was the father of the man who first came . . . no one at fault . . . king announces the thief is responsible for his own death.
The Water-Carrier Who Ruled India for a Day
Two kings, Humayun and Sher Shah . . . both enemies . . . Sher Shah vexed to see Humayun living happily . . . planned to kill Humayun at night . . . a battle took place at night . . . Humayun riding on horse to escape . . . fell in water . . . drowning . . . water-carrier saved the king’s life . . . king impressed . . . insisted that the water-carrier should be king for one day . . . water-carrier ruled India . . . ordered to cut pieces of his bag and use them as a currency for the day . . . moral.
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A wise monkey . . . lives on a big mango tree with other monkeys . . . one day, meets a crocodile . . . gives ripe mangoes to the crocodile . . . they become close friends . . . monkeys on the tree warned the monkey . . . monkey ignorant . . . crocodile takes some mangoes for his wife . . . wife loves them . . . they eat happily . . . but, the wife is wicked . . . one day, asks crocodile where does he get these mangoes . . . crocodile tells about his friendship . . . the wife wants to eat the monkey’s heart . . . she invites monkey for dinner . . . crocodile doesn’t cooperate . . . wife stubborn. . . crocodile agrees. . . invites monkey for lunch. . . monkey loves it . . . monkey on crocodile’s back . . . in the middle of the river the crocodile discloses wife’s plan . . . monkey scared . . . monkey tells that his heart is hanging on the tree . . . crocodile back to the tree . . . monkey climbs again . . . tricks the crocodile and laughs . . . says ‘heart is inside me’ . . . friendship ends . . . moral.
The Pact with the Sun
A girl, Saeeda . . . her mom seriously ill . . . general doctor advises to stay indoors with windows closed and to not eat spicy food . . . mom follows all the advice . . . but does not get cured . . . long time passes . . . neighbours support . . . they all decide to consult a specialist, though expensive . . . mom sells her jewelleries and sees a specialist . . . specialist advises to stay outdoors in bright sun and to eat healthy . . . allows little spicy food . . . mom follows specialist . . . but, the weather bad for some days . . . does not get cured . . . Saeeda distressed . . . pleads the Sun to come out . . . Sun agrees . . . mom gets cured. . . moral.
Life is an Echo
A father . . . takes his son for hiking . . . on a mountain . . . son falls . . . shouts . . . hears back his voice . . . curious . . . thinks that someone is making fun . . . calls his father to punish the stranger . . . father explains the echo of mountain . . . moral.
The Honest Woodcutter
Poor woodcutter . . . one day, cutting trees in a forest . . . axe falls in the river . . . river deep . . . weeps . . . River Goddes appears . . . woodcutter tells his problem . . . Goddess brings a golden axe . . . woodcutter says it is not his . . . refuses to take . . . Goddess brings silver axe . . . woodcutter refuses . . . Goddess brings his iron axe . . . woodcutter agrees to take iron axe . . . Goddess pleased by honesty . . . gives woodcutter all axes . . . woodcutter happy . . . moral.
Father’s Love
A father, Darius . . . his son, Zubaid . . . Zubaid seriously ill . . . Darius in tension . . . called many doctors. . . Darius pleaded God to take his own life instead of his son . . . Zubaid improved . . . opened eyes . . . Darius fell ill . . . died . . . moral.
The Lioness and the Young Jackal
A lion and lioness . . . lived together in a forest . . . lion brought food every evening . . . one day, found no food . . . saw a baby jackal . . . brought it alive . . . lioness did not agree to kill him . . . kept as her third son . . . the cubs and jackal played together . . . cubs saw an elephant, one day . . . ran after it . . . jackal stopped them and went home . . . cubs thought he was scared . . . made fun of his in front of father . . . jackal angry . . . rebuked . . . the lioness calmed him . . . explained that he should go with other jackals . . . the jackal went to mix up with other jackals . . . moral.
The Little Red Hen
A little red hen . . . very hard working . . . chickens also dedicated . . . hen’s friends, a mongoose, a dog and a cat . . . all of them very lazy . . . one day, hen found a few grains of wheat . . . wanted to plant it . . . friends refused to help . . . hen planted it herself . . . wheat ripe . . . friends refused to harvest . . . hen did it herself . . . friends again refused to carry the wheat to the miller to grind it . . . hen did it herself . . . hard work . . . friends lazily refused to bake the bread . . . the hen did herself . . . bread’s smell pleasing . . . all friends wanted it . . . hen refused because they did not help her . . . she ate it with her children . . . moral.
The Elephant and the Tailor
An elephant . . . always passes by a tailor’s shop . . . tailor kind . . . gives food to the elephant every day . . . one day, tailor angry with a customer . . . in a bad temper . . . elephant passes . . . tailor pricks with a needle instead of giving food . . . elephant dissatisfied . . . fills his trunk with dirty water . . . throws it all around in the tailor’s shop . . . tailor dirty and clothes spoiled . . . moral.
God Coming Home
An elderly lady . . . God promises her that He would visit her . . . lady happy . . . cleans and polishes . . . waits for God on her sofa . . . someone at the door . . . lady dances in joy . . . sees a poor woman at the door . . . angry . . . does not show mercy . . . sends her off . . . someone at the door again . . . elderly lady opens and sees a poor beggar . . . sends him off again . . . lady eagerly waiting . . . again, the doorbell rings . . . lady really happy . . . sees a poor child begging . . . sends him off angrily . . . finally sleeps . . . she sees God in her dreams . . . God says “I came to you three times today, but, you did not let me in.” lady stunned . . . moral.
The Lion and the Rabbit
A forest . . . a lion in it . . . lion kills animals randomly . . . many animals killed . . . animals gather . . . decide to give the lion one or two animals per day to kill and eat . . . lion agrees . . . animals roam fearlessly . . . one day, a rabbit’s turn . . . rabbit scared . . . takes a very long time to approach lion . . . lion furious . . . rabbit says he met another bold lion while coming . . . lion curious and decides to kill the other lion, his enemy . . . rabbit narrates the lion to a well . . . lion peeps . . . jumps in the well . . . moral.
The Loyal Mongoose
A farmer lived with his wife . . . had a baby . . . looking for a pet . . . farmer found a mongoose while returning home . . . carried it home . . . asked his wife whether to keep it as a pet . . . wife suspicious but agreed . . . baby and mongoose best friends . . . wife went out to bring vegetables one day . . . baby sleeping . . . farmer remembered some work left . . . saw the mongoose guarding the sleeping baby . . . went to his farm without tension . . . wife returned . . . mongoose came running to the door to welcome . . . wife saw the mongoose with mouth full of blood . . . terrified . . . rebuked, “You wicked creature! You killed my baby!” . . . thinking that mongoose killed the baby, she killed the mongoose . . . threw the bag full of vegetables . . . went inside . . . saw a dead snake . . . baby crying . . . understood that the mongoose had saved her baby’s life . . . repented . . . moral.
The Tale of Two Birds
A mother bird . . . her two young ones . . . in a forest . . . mother bird killed in storm . . . young birds saved . . . separated from each-other . . . each found a home . . . one landed in a cave of robbers . . . second one reached a rishi’s ashram . . . grew up . . . king came to the forest for hunting . . . saw a deer . . . ran after it . . . tired . . . sat near a cave . . . amazed to hear a voice of a bird ordering to rob the king . . . it was the bird that landed near the cave . . . king ran away on his horse . . . reached a rishi’s ashram . . . heard another voice of bird welcoming politely . . . confused . . . asked rishi about the birds . . . rishi explained everything . . . one is by the company one keeps . . . moral.
The Talkative Tortoise
A tortoise . . . talkative . . . has two friends, swans . . . close friends . . . their lake about to dry up . . . swans tell tortoise to grab a stick in mouth and they will hold the stick in hands and take away tortoise to another lake . . . but, they warn that the tortoise must not utter a word . . . tortoise agrees . . . they do as planned . . . people astonished to see the swans carrying tortoise . . . tortoise unable to shut his mouth . . . speaks out, “Shut up!” . . . falls . . . dies . . . moral.
The Iron-Eating Rats
A merchant named Lakshman . . . in debt . . . had weighing scales made from solid iron . . . really precious . . . Lakshman left the scales with a friend, Nanduka and went abroad. . . Nanduka really greedy . . . Lakshman came back from abroad . . . Nanduka denied giving scales . . . “rats ate them” . . . Lakshman realized his friend’s greediness . . . kept quiet . . . said he wanted to bath in a nearby river . . . asked Nanduka to send his son to carry bathing things and look after clothes . . . Nanduka sent his son happily . . . Lakshman hid his son in cave…Nanduka asked for his son . . . “Falcon took him away” . . . Nanduka angry . . . quarrel . . . court case . . . Judge asked “How can falcon lift a boy” . . . Lakshman replied “in the same way as rats ate iron” . . . judge understood everything . . . gave verdict in Lakshman’s favour . . . Lakshman returned his son, he returned scales . . . moral
A Wolf in a Sheepskin
A wolf . . . hungry . . . sees sheep . . . wants to eat them . . . finds a sheepskin . . . puts it on . . . goes among the sheep . . . naïve sheep think it as a sheep . . . wolf eats some sheep every day . . . lives happily . . . shepherd catches the wolf to eat it himself . . . wolf dead . . . moral.
Androclus and the Lion
A slave in Carthage . . . cruel master . . . slave wants to get rid of his master . . . runs away into a forest . . . sleeps that night in a cave . . . sound sleep . . . waked up by terrible roar . . . sees lion coming into cave . . . terrified . . . but lion quite gentle . . . shows his wounded paw . . . slave takes out a big thorn . . . lion grateful and wags his tail happily . . . slave and lion live together as friends . . . slave not afraid of the lion . . . soldiers searching for the slave . . . slave is caught by his master . . . condemned by judge to be thrown to lions . . . thousands of on-lookers . . . people laughing . . . slave brought out . . . lion rushes to attack him . . . but when he sees slave, lies down and licks his feet . . . the same lion . . . people astonished . . . governor sends for the slave . . . hears his story . . . frees slave and gives him the lion . . . moral.
The Nobleman, the Fisherman and the Porter
Rich nobleman . . . gives a grand feast . . . delicious food . . . but no fish . . . nobleman wishes to have at least one fish . . . his steward tells him a fisherman has brought a fine fish . . . nobleman tells him to pay him his price . . . steward says his price is a hundred lashes . . . nobleman confused . . . sends for fisherman . . . fisherman confirms steward’s report . . . nobleman agrees . . . fisherman quietly receives fifty lashes . . . then asks to stop . . . says, he has a partner to whom he promised half the price . . . “Who is he?”, asked nobleman . . . fisherman says it is porter . . . continues that the porter refused to let him in if he did not agree to pay the half price . . . porter brought in and given the other fifty lashes . . . guests enjoy joke . . . nobleman rewards the fisherman . . . moral.
The Tiger, Jackal and the Brahmin
A Brahmin . . . travelling through deadly forest . . . comes across a tiger caught in a trap . . . tiger begs the Brahmin to open the cage . . . Brahmin in pity does so . . . tiger knocks him down . . . Brahmin pleads for his life and says the tiger is ungrateful . . . tiger agrees that he may appeal to three things against tiger . . . Brahmin first asks a pipal tree . . . tree says all men are ungrateful . . . tree gives them shade and they cut its branches . . . Brahmin next asks the road . . . the road says that in return for its services men trample on it with heavy boots . . . Brahmin then asks a buffalo . . . buffalo says her master beats her and makes her turn a Persian wheel . . . Brahmin in despair . . . consults a jackal . . . jackal asks how tiger got into cage . . . tiger jumps in to show the jackal . . . jackal shuts cage and walks away with Brahmin . . . moral.
The Stone on the Road
A king . . . distressed because of his lazy people . . . wants to teach them a lesson . . . he puts a big stone in the middle of a road one night . . . next day king watches from side . . . sees merchants pass and go round it . . . an officer driving in his carriage does the same . . . a young soldier comes riding, does the same . . . all curse the stone and blame the government for not removing it . . . then, in the evening, a girl comes . . . girl tired by working. . . notices the stone . . . removes it out of the road . . . sees an iron box under the stone . . . on the iron box, it was marked, “For the man who moves away the stone” . . . girl curious . . . opens the box . . . inside a purse . . . the purse full of money . . . girl rejoices . . . the people ashamed.
Baghdad Merchant and the Camel-Driver
Baghdad merchant . . . has expensive silk . . . about to go with a caravan to Damascus . . . suddenly falls ill . . . entrusts his bales of silk to a camel-driver . . . says he will go to Damascus as soon as he gets well . . . will pay camel-driver when he arrives . . . camel-driver agrees . . . waits in Damascus with the silk . . . no sign of the merchant . . . camel-driver tired . . . sells the silk for a large sum . . . shaves his beard, dyes his hair and dresses in fine clothes . . . Baghdad merchant at last arrives . . . searches whole Damascus for camel-driver . . . one day recognizes him . . . camel-driver pretends to be a merchant of Samarkand . . . they quarrel . . . Baghdad merchant brings him before the judge . . . judge decides he can do nothing, as there are no witnesses . . . camel-driver happy . . . leaves court . . . judge suddenly calls out “Camel-driver!” . . . he stops and turns round . . . judge puts him in prison, and makes him pay money to Baghdad merchant . . . moral.
A Purse of a Hundred Pieces of Gold
A miser . . . loses a purse of a hundred pieces of gold . . . in great distress . . . goes to town crier for advice . . . crier says he must offer a reward . . . offers reward of ten pieces of gold . . . the crier announces this . . . a few days later a farmer finds the purse . . . comes to the miser and returns it . . . miser counts the money . . . a hundred pieces of gold . . . thanks the farmer . . . the farmer asks for the reward . . . miser says there were a hundred and ten pieces in the purse, so the farmer has already taken his reward of ten pieces . . . they quarrel . . . farmer appeals to the judge . . . the judge hears the case, and asks for the purse . . . sees that it only holds a hundred pieces . . . decides it cannot be the miser’s purse . . . so gives the purse to farmer . . . the miser overreaches out of greed . . . has to walk without any gold . . . moral.
The Old Pipal Tree
A young man . . . goes abroad for business . . . accompanied part way by an old man . . . young man asks old man to keep Rs. 100 for him till he returns . . . old man agrees quickly and takes money . . . they part under a big pipal tree . . . young man continues his journey . . . old man is a palm reader and so sits under the tree . . . young man returns after months . . . asks old man to give his money back . . . old man says he never gave him any to keep . . . young man angry . . . they quarrel . . . takes him before judge . . . judge sends young man to summon tree to court as a proof . . . a long time away . . . judge asks old man, “Why is it too long to summon the tree?” . . . old man says tree is long way off . . . judge sees that the old man knows which tree it is . . . when young man returns, judge gives verdict in his favour . . . moral.
The Loyal Nurse
A son is born to a Rajah . . . the mother dies in childbirth . . . king needs a nurse . . . a young mother with a son is chosen as nurse . . . she nurses both babies together . . . enemies of the Rajah plot to kill his son . . . they bribe the guards and get into the palace . . . the nurse is warned just in time . . . nurse quickly changes the children’s dresses . . . leaves her own child dressed as prince and flies with real prince . . . enemies enter room and kill the nurse’s baby, thinking it is the prince . . . so prince is saved . . . Rajah offers nurse rewards . . . she refuses them . . . kills herself . . . Rajah grieved . . . erects splendid tomb for the faithful nurse . . . moral.
The Snake Named Mandvisha
An old lazy snake . . . could move in various patterns . . . wanted to find a way of getting food easily . . . one day, found an idea . . . went and sat on a nearby lake . . . lake full of frogs . . . snake acting sad . . . one frog asked what happened . . . snake said that he had bitten a son of brahmin while chasing a frog . . . father had cursed the snake to carry frogs on back . . . the frog heard the story . . . told it to other frogs . . . frogs told it to the king . . . king glad . . . sits on the snake with other frogs . . . snake happy . . . trick worked . . . moved in various patterns . . . frogs enjoyed . . . next day . . . the snake sluggish . . . frogs asked what happened . . . snake said he was hungry . . . the king of frogs offered some frogs to eat . . . snake happy . . . ate a few frogs every day . . . got his food without any effort . . . moral.
The Barber of Baghdad
Ali . . . a barber in Baghdad . . . Hassan, a wood-seller . . . Wood scarce in Baghdad . . . Hassan brings a load of wood on a donkey to Ali for sale . . . they bargain about the price . . . at last Hassan offers all the wood on the donkey’s back for nominal price . . . Ali agrees . . . Hassan unloads the wood and gives it to Ali . . . Ali claims donkey’s wooden saddles . . . Hassan protests . . . quarrel . . . Ali seizes saddle and drives Hassan away with blows . . . Hassan appeals to Khalif . . . Khalif gives him advice . . . some days later Hassan goes to Ali’s shop . . . asks Ali to shave him and a friend for so much . . . Ali agrees . . . shaves Hassan first . . . Hassan then tells that his friend is outside waiting. . . Hassan fetches in his donkey . . . Ali refuses to shave donkey . . . drives Hassan away . . . Hassan reports to Khalif . . . Khalif sends for Ali . . . forces him to fulfill his bargain . . . Ali has to shave Hassan’s friend, the donkey, before all the courtiers . . . great laughter, and shame for Ali . . . moral.
King Solomon and the Bees
King Solomon . . . noted for his wisdom . . . Queen of Sheba hears of his fame . . . comes to visit him . . . impressed by his wealth, palace and grandeur . . . wants to test the king’s power of solving puzzles . . . shows him two garlands of flowers . . . one is real, the other artificial . . . asks, “Which is the real and which is the artificial one?” . . . courtiers puzzled . . . both garlands identical . . . Solomon silent . . . Queen feels triumphant . . . Solomon orders windows to be opened . . . bees fly in from garden . . . they buzz about the Queen . . . all settle on garland in her right hand . . . Solomon says the flowers in right hand real, in left hand artificial . . . Queen impressed with his wisdom . . . courtiers stunned . . . moral.
The Tiger and the Golden Bangle
A tiger in a forest . . . kills an Indian lady travelling through the jungle . . . as he eats her body, he notices her gold bangle . . . keeps it as he thinks it may be useful . . . later hides himself by a pool . . . traveller comes to pool, dusty and tired . . . strips and bathes in cool water . . . sees the tiger in bushes watching him . . . terrified . . . tiger greets him . . . with a mild voice, says that he is pious and spends time in prayer . . . as a sign of goodwill, offers the traveller the golden bangle . . . traveller’s greed overcomes his fear . . . crossed pool to take bangle . . . tiger springs on him and kills him.
The Inchcape Rock
A pirate . . . becalms near rocky coast . . . pirate sees bell fastened to dangerous submerged rock . . . asks what it is . . . is told it was placed there to warn sailors in storms . . . thinks it is useless . . . rows across in boat to rock . . . cuts the chain and sinks the bell . . . wind rises and they sail away . . . years after . . . pirate returns with enormous wealth . . . entire ship covered with jewels, gold and pearls . . . sea covered with fog and storm rising . . . pirate does not know where he is . . . pirate motivates his sailors to go on sailing . . . pirate terrified . . . a terrible crash . . . ship strikes on the same rock . . . as they go down the pirate realizes his ship wrecked on the same rock . . . pirate wishes he had left the bell alone . . . repents . . . moral.
Tit for Tat
A jackal . . . wants crabs on the other side of a river . . . wonders how to get across . . . tells camel that there is sugarcane the other side . . . camel happy . . . agrees to carry him across in return for the information . . . they cross . . . jackal finishes his meal . . . plays trick on camel . . . runs round the fields howling . . . villagers rush out . . . see camel in sugarcane . . . beat him with sticks . . . camel runs to river . . . jackal jumps on his back . . . while crossing, camel asks jackal why he played him such a trick . . . jackal says he always howls after a good meal . . . camel replies he always takes a bath after a good meal . . . rolls in the river . . . jackal nearly drowned . . . moral
The Blind Lady and a Greedy Doctor
An old lady . . . becomes blind . . . calls in a doctor . . . aggress to pay large fee only if completely cured . . . but no fee if not cured . . . the doctor comes to the lady’s house everyday . . . doctor loves lady’s furniture . . . gets jealous . . . covets of lady’s furniture . . . delays the cure . . . every day takes away some of her furniture . . . at last, cures her . . . demands his fees . . . lady refuses to pay, saying the cure is not complete . . . doctor angry . . . brings a court case . . . judge asks lady why she will not pay . . . she says sight not properly restored . . . she cannot see all her furniture . . . judge gives verdict in her favor . . . moral.
The Tale of the Many-Times-Killed Hunchback
A tailor in Baghdad . . . met a hunchback . . . invited him to his house . . . his wife served fish . . . a large piece of fish stuck in hunchback’s throat . . . hunchback died . . . tailor scared . . . the dead body to a Jewish physician . . . set the dead man against the wall . . . the physician struck against hunchback’s body . . . physician thought that the sick man died with his blow . . . placed the dead body in the terrace of his neighbor . . . a steward and a Muslim . . . the steward thought a thief was hiding . . . struck with a mallet . . . thought he killed the hunchback . . . took the body to market place . . . placed the dead hunchback there . . . soon came a Christian clerk in intoxication . . . struck him . . . the watchman handed him over to the governor. . . he was to be hanged . . . when the rope was put around his neck, came running the Muslim steward . . . confessed . . . the rope was put in his neck . . . when the Muslim steward was to be hanged, came the Jewish physician running . . . confessed and the rope was put around his neck . . . in the end came the tailor . . . the unique case was presented before the king . . . pleased that so many honest and sincere people in his kingdom . . . set all of them free . . . moral.
The Patient Little Girl
A village . . . terrible famine in it . . . people and children starving . . . rich man . . . started to give bread to children . . . long queues in front of the camps . . . the queues broken . . . children fighting for food . . . a little girl in the queue . . . stood there patiently . . . got the smallest loaf of bread . . . the rich man rewarded with two coins in the bread . . . girl went to return them . . . man impressed by her honesty . . . gave two more coins . . . girl happy . . . moral.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
A town in Germany . . . full of rats . . . people tired . . . mayor set a reward for the person who rids the town of the rats . . . a strange young man . . . man pied-dressed . . . offers to get the town rid of rats . . . mayor gives him a chance . . . says he would give the reward after disappearing the rats . . . man agrees . . . plays a beautiful tune the next morning . . . all the rats come out . . . run after him . . . man puts all of them in the river . . . rats disappear . . . but, the mayor refuses to reward . . . says such deal never happened . . . man angry . . . next noon, man plays his pipe . . . people laughing . . . but, children come out and dance in the tune . . . many children . . . parents force to come back, but in vain . . . man hid all the children in a cave . . . two children saved . . . told to the town everything . . . town repented . . . got children back . . . rewarded the man . . . moral.
The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!”
A boy ordered to look after sheep by villagers . . . villagers told to shriek out if a wolf happened to come . . . boy agreed . . . grazed sheep . . . the whole time in the pasture . . . bored . . . decides to fool villagers by shouting, “Wolf!” . . . shouted . . . villagers rushed . . . fooled . . . boy played the same trick again . . . villagers fooled again . . . villagers angry . . . a wolf came . . . boy shouted, but in vain . . . no one came . . . moral.
The Rabbit, the Whale and the Elephant
A rabbit . . . very wise . . . hears an elephant and a whale talking of becoming kings . . . blushes . . . requests elephant to get his dear cow out of mud by pulling a rope . . . rabbit grabs a strong rope and ties around elephants trunk . . . requests the whale to do the same . . . ties the same rope to the whale’s tail . . . asks both to pull . . . both pull each other . . . rabbit laughs . . . rope breaks . . . both find each other pulling . . . quarrel . . . moral.
The Cunning Fox and the Foolish Crow
A crow steals a piece of bread . . . sits on a tree to eat it . . . bread in his beak . . . a hungry fox sees the crow . . . wishes to eat the piece of bread . . . adulates the crow’s voice . . . begs to sing once . . . the crow caws . . . piece of bread falls down . . . fox gulps it . . . foolish crow . . . moral.
The Fox and the Goat
A fox . . . thirsty . . . searches for water . . . finds a well . . . peeps to drink water . . . falls . . . drowning . . . a goat comes . . . looks into the well . . . fox says he is enjoying the water . . . asks the goat to come in . . . goat jumps . . . the fox climbs up the goat and comes out . . . goat drowning . . . moral.
The Stork and the Crab
An old stork . . . cannot catch fish . . . one day, struck with an idea . . . sat sadly near the lake . . . a crab asks about the matter . . . stork says a famine will occur and the lake will dry up . . . worried . . . says some soothsayers say so . . . all crabs and fish hear the news . . . stork responds that there is a way to escape . . . a lake nearby . . . all creature present there agree . . . creatures cannot get out of water . . . stork suggests, “I will carry some of you in my beak and quickly fly over the other lake. You all will reach safely.” . . . fish and other animals agree . . . stork takes some fish . . . goes to a deserted place and eats them . . . takes the crab too . . . brings to the deserted place . . . reveals the truth . . . crab bites in stork’s neck . . . stork dead . . . crab returns . . . moral.
Shooting the Bird’s Eye
Guru Dronacharya . . . saw Arjuna practising archery at night . . . impressed . . . next day, selected a tree in forest . . . placed a wooden bird on a bare branch . . . ordered the Pandavas to hit the bird in the eye . . . Yudhisthir stepped forward . . . “Can you see me?” asked Dronacharya . . . “Yes” replied Yudhisthir . . . Dronacharya asked him to put down the bow . . . next prince . . . Dronacharya asked the same question and got the same reply . . . each prince replied the same . . . asked to retire from the competition . . . finally came Arjuna . . . “Arjuna, do you see me?” asked Dronacharya . . . “I see only my target,” said Arjuna . . . Arjuna hit the bird’s eye . . . moral.
The Foolish Stork and the Crab
A tree . . . lots of stork families in it . . . a snake in the hollow . . . eats away all the babies of storks . . . one day, a stork sees this and sits sadly near a lake . . . a crab asks about the matter . . . stork tells about the snake . . . crab seems to be sad . . . wicked . . . suggests to leave a piece of dead fish in the hollow . . . a mongoose will come running and will eat away the snake . . . stork agrees . . . does so . . . mongoose comes . . . eats the snake and storks . . . storks dead . . . crab happy . . . moral.
Eklavya’s Loyalty
Eklavya . . . adores Guru Dronacharya . . . perfect in archery . . . but, Guru Dronacharya refuses to teach him . . . loves Arjuna . . . Eklavya makes a statue of Dronacharya through mud and sand . . . practises archery in front of it . . . gets better . . . Dronacharya and Arjuna, once, walking past Eklavya’s house . . . a dog barking . . . Eklavya hits in its mouth . . . Dog not killed but definitely harmed . . . Arjuna and Dronacharya surprised by archery . . . sees Eklavya . . . Dronacharya praises him . . . Dronacharya asks for gurudakshina . . . asks for Eklavya’s thumb for giving knowledge . . . Dronacharya’s evil intentions . . . Eklavya gives away his thumb . . . still practises archery . . . moral.
How Squirrel Got Its Stripes
Lord Rama . . . his army building a bridge to cross the river to defeat Ravana . . . many moneys working . . . a little squirrel carrying pebbles to help Lord Rama . . . a monkey notices . . . makes fun . . . all monkeys laugh . . . one monkey pushes the squirrel . . . squirrel goes far away . . . falls right in the hands of Lord Rama . . . Rama carresses her . . . Rama explains the monkeys . . . monkeys ashamed . . . squirrel continues her work . . . moral.
Birbal Identifies the Thief
A rich merchant . . . gifted a golden necklace to his wife . . . wife happy . . . necklace lost . . . both sad . . . went to Emperor Akbar . . . Akbar ordered Birbal to solve the case . . . Birbal grabbed some sticks . . . gave to all the servants of the merchant . . . said the thief’s stick will get longer by an inch till the next morning . . . next day, all the sticks same except one . . . one of them shorter by one inch . . . the thief had cut the stick by an inch to not get suspected . . . Birbal caught the thief . . . moral.
The Talking Cave
An old lion . . . finds difficult to hunt food . . . one day, sees a cave . . . hides in cave awaiting his prey to enter . . . cave belongs to intelligent jackal . . . jackal returns . . . sees lion paws entering cave . . . suspects danger . . . an idea . . . shrieks out the name of the cave . . . gets no response . . . shrieks again . . . lion worries . . . thinks the cave talks but is afraid due to his presence . . . lion responses pretending to be the cave . . . jackal gets alerted . . . escapes . . . impatient and silly lion goes hungry again . . . moral.
